Chapter 5: Progress

Sasuke was leaning against a tree, hands in his pockets. He and his teammate had been waiting in silence for the past few minutes, and he had thought about many things. Not only had he improved as a shinobi, he had acquired two techniques that were invaluable to their 'victory' over Kakashi the day before. It bugged him. "Naruto."

Kurama looked up from his seat on the Memorial Stone's pedestal. "What is it?"

"What was the technique you used to make my fireball bigger?" The technique had come out of nowhere, and it had taken over his thoughts at how much stronger he had become. He needed to know what it was.

Kurama blinked. "You were there when I explained the technique, weren't you?"

Sasuke nodded. "Where did you learn the technique? I never felt so... powerful."

Kurama stood up and walked towards Sasuke. "Do you have the Sharingan?"

This is the second time he's asked. "Why are you so interested in that all of a sudden?" Sasuke asked.

"Like I said the other day, I just want to know if you have it," Kurama replied. Sasuke mumbled something incoherent. "Speak up! What did you say?"

Sasuke pulled his hands out of his pockets and pushed off the tree. "Didn't you hear me? I don't have it."

Good. He's not a threat, not yet that is. Kurama smirked. "Fine. You know, there's nothing to be ashamed about not having it, you know."

Sasuke scowled. "What would you know?"

Kurama raised an eyebrow, lips quirked into a frown. "Explain."

They were standing face to face. "...Never mind, it's not that important," Sasuke lied.

"Alright." Kurama walked back to the Memorial Stone and sat down on the pedestal once again.

I'm making progress. I just need to wait it out and let Sasuke come to me. I'll make sure that an Uchiha never controls me with his Sharingan ever again.

Sakura woke up late after spending part of the night mulling over her parents' speech, about how she had to take responsibility for herself and be the best ninja she could be. They said she had to start toning down the habits she got from the Academy: barely training, not eating a lot and other minor quirks that added up over time. They had a point, but she was certain that they might have exaggerated on some of the finer details.

In her rush to get to the Memorial Stone, she barely got time to eat a full breakfast and prepare for her first team meeting the way she wanted to. For one, she had to cut down on the time she spent in the shower. Her hair didn't maintain itself and it was one of her finest traits.

After a frantic, nonstop sprint, she finally arrived at the Memorial Stone, immediately clutching her knees and panting loudly to regain her breath. She looked around and saw her teammates. Kakashi was - fortunately - nowhere to be found. Her efforts hadn't been in vain. She didn't want to be late, and not just because she wanted to start fresh. She didn't want to start making a habit of it.

Straightening herself up, Sakura walked to her teammates. "Hey Naruto... Sasuke." Naruto waved at her while Sasuke made eye contact with her and nodded. "When did you guys get here?"

"I came here about ten minutes after Sasuke did," Naruto replied.

Sakura turned her head around, scanning the area. "So... Kakashi-sensei hasn't come yet?"

"Nope. He's late. Again," Naruto deadpanned.

Sakura plopped down to the ground. "Looks like we'll have to wait. Again."

Kakashi arrived about ten minutes after Sakura did, appearing almost instantaneously. When he saw his new team, he rubbed the back of his head. Next time, we're meeting somewhere else. How can I reminisce if my team waits here? It wasn't a good habit for him, but Kakashi knew that he had a reputation of being late, so he took the time to indulge in his daily routine as often as he could.

"Hello, my cute little Genin," Kakashi said with a wave of his hand.

Sakura jumped up to her feet, a glare marring her features. "You're late!"

"But not as late as the last couple of times," Kurama remarked. Sasuke snorted in agreement.

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't really have an excuse as to why I'm late, so we'll begin with some light exercise before we do skill assessment."

"Why do you need to test us, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, curiosity overcoming her ire.

"That's for me to know and for you to figure out," Kakashi replied. Yesterday's test had inspired Kakashi to test his new team, since it was possible that there might have been some discrepancies in the Academy's reports. And it was always good to know a team's potential limitations and strengths, after all. "Now, let's get started."

–Scene Break–

After following Kakashi's example and performing multiple stretches, along with a lot of jogging, Team Seven returned to the three training posts. Sakura was panting heavily while Sasuke and Kurama were only lightly affected by the exercise.

Kakashi tucked away his book. "Now that you've warmed up, it's time for you to spar against me."

"You call that light exercise?" Sakura breathed out.

"Yes, that was pretty light," Kakashi replied. "Since you seem to be tired, you can sit out for the first round of sparring."

Sakura sat down wordlessly, a wide smile on her face.

"Okay then. Naruto, it's time for me to see if you actually deserve your ranking as the Academy's worst student. Who knows? Maybe you won't be pathetic. Maybe, and this is more likely: you'll be a lot worse."

Kurama approached Kakashi, tightening his fists. Sasuke leaned against the training post and watched attentively. Besides that technique and his Shadow Clones, Naruto shouldn't have become that much stronger in just a week. Let's see how the 'Dead Last' does.

"Ah yes, Naruto, before we begin, this is a Taijutsu-only battle."

Damn, no Shadow Clones. Kurama scoffed, but before he could complain, he thought about how it would be a good test of his ability to fight without any crutches, so to speak. Now to layer on the excitement... "Let me show you how awesome my Taijutsu really is!" Kurama exclaimed.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Whenever you're ready, you can begin."

Kurama ran towards Kakashi, jumping into the air and putting all of his weight behind his punch. Kakashi stepped out of the way and watched as Kurama opened his fist and planted his palm on the ground, turning on the spot so that he could face the silver-haired man. Springing up from his crouching position, Kurama began to hit Kakashi with a series of unpredictable punches. Parrying the strikes effortlessly, Kakashi took advantage of an opening in Kurama's defence and punched him in the stomach, dropping him to his knees and planting him on his back with a straight-legged stomp.

Kakashi jumped up in order to avoid Kurama's leg sweep after the blond staggered to his feet. After he made a safe landing, Kakashi sent Kurama face-first into the ground with a punishing back-handed fist. "Your fighting style is too impulsive. You focus more on hitting your opponent then anticipating his or her attacks then reacting accordingly. Learn to adapt and react. You can do that, right?"

Kurama got up, spitting at the ground. "Of course! I'm not through with you yet!"

As Kurama and Kakashi continued to spar, Kurama's attacks slowly became more focused while simultaneously keeping his signature unpredictability. Kakashi began to take the fight more seriously as a result, noting Kurama's ingenuity - Kurama would bait him into one attack, then follow up with an attack from a different angle.

"That's enough for now, Naruto," Kakashi said after a few more minutes of sparring. He had got what he wanted: Kurama was able to keep cool under pressure, he could adapt pretty well and his pain tolerance and stamina were as good as he predicted it would be. "You did alright, better than I would have expected, in fact. Especially since I heard you were the 'Dead Last'. I figured you'd live up to your rep, and then some."

Kurama's brow furrowed. "Taijutsu was the thing I got the best marks in." He frowned. "But I do need some help."

"I'll make sure that you improve, Naruto." Kakashi ruffled Kurama's hair. Kurama had a dazed, yet happy expression on his face.

Almost as good as getting my ears scratched. Kurama thought.

Kakashi smiled from under his mask. "Alright, Sasuke, you're up."

After Kakashi sparred with Sasuke and Sakura, he let his team take a breather.

Sasuke's Taijutsu was quite good, for a rookie. While he was aggressive, his attacks were controlled, his reflexes were excellent and he was fast. The day Sasuke unlocked the Sharingan, his combat ability would rise dramatically with its ability to enhance the user's perception, reflexes and its capability to predict the opponent's movements. However, he would need to learn that the Sharingan was only a tool and not a one-way ticket to being the strongest.

Sakura's Taijutsu was textbook and rigid, with no innovation whatsoever, and she was hesitant too. Unlike Naruto, whose unpredictability overcame his flawed technique and Sasuke's reflexive, intercepting style, Sakura's Taijutsu was mediocre and she had little motivation. But when Kakashi goaded her in order to throw off her composure, the opposite happened: her punches and kicks became much, much harder and she was determined to hurt him.

If I can get her to consciously fight like that, she'll be a force to be reckoned with. Kind of like her mother was.

"Team, front and center." All three of them lounged towards Kakashi, still battered from their previous spar.

"You did well. I've gotten a basic idea of where you can improve with regards to Taijutsu," Kakashi started. He faced Naruto. "Naruto, you need to improve your technique. Being unpredictable is good, but you have to be able to put in the appropriate amount of force behind your attacks. You also have to leave as few openings as possible when fighting. Even a mediocre fighter would have ruthlessly exploited the amount of openings you made."

Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you need to craft your own style of fighting. If you met an opponent who knew how to counter the Academy's style of Taijutsu, you would have been defeated quickly. I also noticed that as the fight went on and you got angrier, your strength and speed increased dramatically."

"Really?" Sakura asked in surprise. Apparently she also lacked confidence in her skill, Kakashi noted.

Naruto cut in. "Didn't you notice how hard you were hitting when you attacked me back at the Academy?"

Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "I never did. I was never angry at Taijutsu practice and I never noticed when I hit you – it was just impulse."

Kakashi nodded. "Well, it's something to consider, Sakura, so we'll see how you can turn your inner strength into something useful."

Kakashi moved on to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I don't really have any complaints with your technique. You can use your speed to get around your opponent faster, or increase your strength, but those are things that can be solved with fitness training." A small smirk appeared on Sasuke's face. "Tomorrow, we won't be meeting here. Instead we'll be meeting at the bridge over the river, the one with the three torii."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"It's more convenient," Kakashi replied. For me, that is.

Before Sakura could protest, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "By the way, Naruto, Lord Hokage instructed me to tell you to go to his office after team training."

"Why?" Naruto asked indignantly.

"He just told me to tell you to go there. Do you have a problem with that? I know a few people in ANBU, so I could get someone to escort you there."

Naruto cringed. "No thanks." If Kakashi knew any better, he would have thought that Naruto knew the reportedly uncomfortable feeling of being escorted by an ANBU member.

"Well, I think we've done enough training, don't you?" Sakura nodded hesitantly. Kakashi knew she had a lot of potential, and he would do his best to nudge Sakura in the right direction. "I have something to do, so I'll see you tomorrow."

The Hokage was thinking deeply and nearly didn't notice Kurama enter his office, but decades of experience had helped his situational awareness stay sharp.

"I'm glad that you could join me, Naruto. Have a seat," the Hokage said pleasantly.

After Kurama took the offered seat, the Hokage started speaking. "Naruto, how do you like your team and sensei so far?"

Kurama smiled. "They're alright. I thought that I would have had a harder time dealing with both of them since they weren't exactly the nicest people, but they were convinced that I wasn't joking when I made the plan to pass Kakashi-sensei's test. Kakashi-sensei seems to be a decent person, but he's always late and likes to poke fun at everything."

Old habits die hard. The Hokage nodded. "That's good. Kakashi has told me about a rather interesting technique you performed yesterday."

"Was it the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Kurama asked.

"No, no." His eyes glinted. "Kakashi told me how you helped Sasuke create a fireball that was many times larger than what his reported limit was supposed to be."

Kurama sighed. "I was able to pump some of my chakra into Sasuke, which was used to boost the Fireball Jutsu's power."

"You were able to use an advanced Chakra Transfer technique consciously? That's rather impressive, Naruto." The Hokage's features hardened. "Have you spoken with the Nine-Tailed Fox in order to gain such a technique?"

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Kurama asked.

"There have been reports of the Hidden Cloud's jinchūriki being capable of performing such a technique with the assistance of his Tailed Beast. It would be safe to assume that the Nine-Tailed Fox would be capable of doing something similar."

What Tailed Beast belongs to Hidden Cloud? It's been too long since I've seen any of them. Kurama chuckled. Maybe there's a Tailed Beast out there that's just like me: impersonating a child and trying to gain his freedom. "In that case, then I have." Might as well reveal some additional information about my training. "I've also been training in using the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra. The Nine-Tails has been... co-operative, so far." Kurama smiled afterwards.

"I hope that you're not letting the demon fox influence you," the Hokage said gravelly.

"I'm not." Kurama did feel influenced by something, but every time he would delve into his mindscape, he would only see the seal where the majority of his powers were being kept and a representation of his body. It's as if whoever or whatever is influencing me wants to stay hidden. At any rate, it's only a matter of time before he or she or it reveals itself.

"Well in that case, I'll want to monitor your progress while you train in using the Nine-Tailed Fox's power. We'll have a meeting every second week to discuss your progress. Does that sound okay?"

Kurama nodded. "What about missions?"

"If it's a mission that lasts for more than two weeks, then the meeting will take place after your debriefing," the Hokage replied.

An out to practice using my chakra all I want. I have to take this opportunity; it would be a waste not to do so! "That sounds good." Kurama grinned. "Thanks, Old Man Hokage!"

The Hokage smiled. "It's my pleasure, Naruto. In fact, I have to thank you. Konohamaru has been training much harder and when I asked him about it, he said that he was inspired by 'Naruto-sensei'."

"He's a good kid and I felt some sort of... relation to him," Kurama explained.

"Is that so?" The Hokage smiled once again, the type of smile that always put Kurama at ease. "Well, it looks like both you and Konohamaru will benefit from this new relationship."

Kurama could only smile. Things just keep on getting better and better. "If that's all, can I go now?"

The Hokage nodded. He would have to talk to Kakashi about placing more focus on Team Seven's training. Not only had Kurama had shown some remarkable progress in more ways than one, Kakashi's reports had shown great promise. "Of course."

After eating lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, Kurama went to the Third Training Ground and placed himself in front of the training posts. He summoned a Shadow Clone and started sparring with it. Taking Kakashi's advice into consideration, Kurama adopted a fox-like stance, which left few openings and emphasized both speed and power.

Both Kurama and his clone formed a red chakra cloak and didn't forget to suppress any killing intent. He wanted to try and use his tail in combat, as well as his chakra arms. If he mastered using his cloak in that manner, his combat potential would skyrocket.

The clone rushed at Kurama, snapping a punch with alarming speed. It looks like my speed and strength increase whenever I use this chakra cloak. Boosting my abilities with my true chakra must be the cause of that. Kurama thought as he swerved towards the left and used his chakra tail to sweep his clone off of his feet. The clone jumped over the tail and spun like a tornado, releasing an arm made of pure chakra. Kurama released a chakra arm of his own and clutched the clone's approaching chakra arm.

With a roar, Kurama ripped the chakra arm clean off from the wrist, without a single sound being made. The clone watched wide-eyed as its creator threw a fist made of chakra at it, dispelling it forcefully as its chest caved in from the impact.

I'll have to work on it, but using the chakra cloak to form arms and a tail – hopefully tails – opens a whole new dimension to battle. Kurama thought after dispelling his clone. He grinned demonically. Once Sakura and Sasuke know that I'm a jinchūriki, our team dynamic will only be that much greater. Unless they decide to be like the rest of the village and hate me.

Kurama let the chakra cloak recede and felt a bit drained. He noted that it was a side-effect of having additional chakra coursing through his chakra network, a side-effect he would have to alleviate. At least on himself, before he could send it to others. Exactly like what happened to Sasuke.

Sasuke would become a major threat once he unlocked the Sharingan, which was something that would happen soon. If Kurama couldn't stop Sasuke from unlocking the Sharingan, he would make sure to learn how to work around it.

With that in mind, he sent two transformed Shadow Clones to the Leaf's Archive Library to learn more about shinobi tactics and kekkei genkai. The Shadow Clone Jutsu was quickly becoming Kurama's most effective technique. The fact that he could gain memories from them was a boon, and they were really useful in a combat situation. Even with the drain the technique caused, he was still feeling alright, so he summoned four more clones and sparred against them, creating more clones once they dispelled.

Hinata Hyūga was taking a walk through the outlying forests of the Hidden Leaf Village after training with Team Eight had been completed for the day.

Hinata was one to walk absently as she would think about life or enjoy the wondrous nature of her home. She was currently thinking about her team, and how they could become a cohesive unit. Kiba and Shino were both nice people, even if the former was brash and the latter was distant. Kurenai-sensei was a great teacher and supportive too, although she never really pushed her like her father did. In fact, Kurenai-sensei trained her less than she trained her other teammates, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.

I hope that Kurenai-sensei doesn't think that I'm a failure. Hinata thought as she found herself walking to the Third Training Ground. Father and Hanabi already think I'm one, so I hope that she doesn't think I'm a failure as well. Hinata returned to reality after seeing two people clad in orange run off in different directions. They look familiar. Unperturbed, she continued her walk to find Naruto training with clones of himself. Wait... Naruto wasn't able to use the Clone Jutsu, so how can he make solid clones? Hinata smiled after quickly figuring out the reason.

Naruto's so amazing. I wish I could have even a bit of his determination or dedication to training himself. She hid behind a nearby tree so that Naruto couldn't see her as she watched, drawing inspiration from watching the person she admired the most train. As Hinata continued to watch Naruto train, she noticed something... different in the way he acted. His stance and fighting style were far more animalistic than she could remember.

In order to get a closer look, Hinata used the Byakugan to monitor Naruto's movements. Chakra pulsed through Naruto's chakra network at an alarmingly fast pace. What was most puzzling to Hinata was how a red chakra would be released from a seal around Naruto's stomach, then immediately convert to the familiar blue kind, if it didn't disappear outright. There was, however, no red chakra surrounding Naruto.

Hinata noticed Naruto's chakra output increase as he placed his hands in a cross-seal. She was shocked to see the clone move around the clearing and surrounding forest. Oh no! He'll probably see me and wonder why I was watching him.

After subconsciously releasing the Byakugan, Hinata ran away from her hiding place and attempted to make her escape, but Naruto caught her before she could do so. "Hinata?"

Hinata's cheeks turned red. "Oh, Naruto! Good afternoon."

"How much of my training did you see?"

Hinata was saddened when she saw Naruto's ice-cold stare. "I... only came here after I saw two of your clones leave the area."

Naruto relaxed slightly, his eyes warming back into their vibrant blue colour. "Why would you want to watch me train? You could have asked if you wanted to join me, you know."

He doesn't hate me. Thank goodness that he doesn't hate me. "Really?" Hinata asked nervously.

"Yeah. My Taijutsu needs work and since you're good at Taijutsu..."

Hinata's cheeks flared up. He wants me to train with him? This is almost as good as being on his team! Even if I'm not that good at Taijutsu... "I'd love to help you, Naruto."

"Great! I'll contact you whenever I need your help. Maybe I can get Sakura or Sasuke to join us, since Kakashi-sensei said that our Taijutsu needs work."

Oh... "Um... Okay, whenever I'm available, I'll... uh... make sure to help you out." Hinata's blush waned a bit before she continued. "As well as your... teammates. I'll help them out too, if you'd like that."

Naruto smiled that beautiful smile of his. "I appreciate it, Hinata! Thanks a lot."

Hinata smiled as well, with her blush continuing to spread throughout her face. "It's my pleasure to help you, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes grew larger, as if he remembered something. "Before I forget, Hinata, don't come looking for me if I'm training. I'll come to you, okay?"

While Hinata was a bit confused by Naruto's words, she didn't deny him his request. "...Okay."

Naruto smiled again. "Alright then, Hinata. You're free to continue watching me fight, but you can join in. That is, if you want that."

Hinata had a golden opportunity in front of her and didn't hesitate to take it. Smiling brightly, she said, "I'd love that."

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand, causing her to flush profusely. "Come on! Daylight's burning."

Naruto and Hinata ran off to join the real Naruto and his clones, where they began to train for the rest of the day.