Senju's Heir
~~Three Years Later~~
~~Daimyō's Palace, Naruto's Room~~
Jiraiya watched the blond as he paced through the room back and forth, picking things up and putting them down. "Did you finish packing everything you need?"
"Ojii. Seriously, I'll be fine. It's the third time you've asked..."
"Snooty little..." Jiraiya found himself watching him again; he had grown so tall in such a short time, 4'9", 148.9 cm last time he checked. It made sense considering his grandmother carefully watched his nutrition. "That's not what I asked..."
"Yeah, but i know it's what you want to hear."
"..." Jiraiya couldn't deny that.
"We'll see each other again in Konoha after you return from your assignment, right? Same with Shizune-neechan!"
"Sigh..." His mission would take him to Suna for a week or so. "Promise you'll send me a messenger toad if anything comes up."
"What's with you?" The blond asked as he packed. "Obaa wouldn't be happy to hear you saying she can't protect me, y'know! She is coming with me, after all."
Jiraiya's eyes followed a few of the leaves twirling around Naruto's head. "That's not what I'm worried about..."
"Then," he continued from his walk-in closet. "What are you worried about?"
"..."
"What? Just say it, Ojii...! You're acting so timid today..."
Jiraiya nearly scoffed. Timid? if only he understood how scared he was for him. Today was the day he would be introducing himself to the world, he was more anxious than "timid".
"Don't let it get to your head, but you're kinda... famous," Jiraiya knew it was a massive understatement. "People will talk. And not all of them necessarily from Konoha."
"I'm used to having people talking behind my back," the young teen said without hesitation. "I was famous in Konoha long before the rumors of my Senju lineage spread, remember? Which to this day I still don't know why... hm..."
"That's being infamous... There's a big difference..."
"Yeah I know. Tenzo-sensei told me that when he left a year ago."
"Then you know what I want you to do."
"..."
"Can you?"
"... I'm not gonna keep myself out of the public's eye by saying I'm not a Senju. Besides, Obaa said that's pointless when I have the clan's freakin' crest on my back. Adding that she already forwarded the request to change my surname to Senju, FYI! She muttered something about not repeating her mistakes..."
"Senju Naruto, huh...?" He would admit it had a nice ring to it. "I still don't know how I feel about that..."
"She and Jiji may have proposed it, but it was my choice in the end. I can't become the heir to a clan I'm not registered to be a part of, after all."
"That's irrelevant, besides that's not what I meant."
"I'm not hiding my Mokuton. Me and Obaa agreed that it's best for the world to know just how much of a threat I am to discourage any attempts against me. At which point, she'll pummel them mercilessly."
A tick appeared over Jiraiya's forehead. "You keep misinterpreting what I want from you, idiot!"
Naruto, equally as frustrated, stuck his head out from the edge of the closet doors. "Then spit it out, Ojii!"
Jiraiya grinned, a thumbs up in his hand. "I want you to hold nothing back. Show everyone and everything what I already know."
Naruto's Uzumaki eyes shone in excitement, his whiskers curling. "You got it!"
~~Konoha, Hokage's Office~~
Shinobi dealt with stress in a number of ways.
In the Anbu, one did it by destroying training grounds - it was customary, and nobody ever got hurt. Jōnins blew steam by enjoying specific hobbies, and when that didn't work, one would usually take it out on their Genin trainees by making them do excruciating drills; likewise, nobody important got hurt.
Sarutobi was the kind of man that hurt more people than anyone when stressed. By smoking nonstop.
He was the village's leader, its head, and every puff was like tightening a noose around his own throat. Maybe he was giving himself too much credit, but the problem remained. His home was getting closer to losing its symbol, the crown jewel that made the whole thing all the more valuable.
It's why he needed another symbol, one much younger...
...
The past few years after Naruto's ordeal had not been kind to Hiruzen.
Extortions, attempts to his life, espionage infiltrators: these problems were the regulars, all of which came with the job, so he had learned to deal with them. His stress came from somewhere else entirely.
It came from every other shinobi village around the globe.
It was amazing how fast rumors could spread, and even more amazing how easily they could be turned into complete inversions of the truth.
Apparently, half of the shinobi villages who had heard of Naruto thought the lad had escaped from the pits of Anbu headquarters on his own, using Mokuton not seen since Hashirama himself. To be honest, he hadn't known if to laugh or feel insulted. How they could think a nine year old could manage to pull that of, Sarutobi could not understand.
As for the members of the Five Great Ninja Villages... they were much more discreet.
...
The Land of Earth made few, but prominent attempts to contact them for the first time since the Third Shinobi World War. Iwagakure, their capital, stands as one of the most powerful alongide Kumogakure, and he of course knew how fruitful a relationship between the two could be. The very Tsuchikage sent words of awe, respect and appeals for a possible reconciliation.
A proposition from the man himself, Õnoki, made it to his desk years ago. He wished to lift all embargo laws put into effect ever since the warring days, back when Madara made a mess of things. He wanted to resume trade between the two nations, or so he claimed.
That time Sarutobi did feel insulted.
Going ahead with something so foolish would result in open borders, allowing Õnoki more leisure when it came to infiltrating the Land of Fire, and by extension, Konoha. He would no doubt use the opportunity to send in flocks of spies in his humble little caravans disguised as civilians. It was a bad idea through and through.
He even had suspicions his agents were some of the assailants that attepted against Naruto's life years ago.
...
The Land of Lightning had been much bolder in their attempts.
They sent diplomatic envoys their way for the first time since the Hyūga incident. Pensions for an embassy had been requested, they even marked lots on possible construction sites. Some of which were suspiciously close to where the Senju's compound once stood.
Hiruzen did not know what Kumogakure's Raikage, A, had in mind. But his advisors knew he was a shrewd, crafty man. If he had his sights set on Naruto, many felt he would come and say it himself, but others were suspicious that he may want him to come of his own free will.
Kumogakure may have changed for the better under A, and no longer sought bloodlines like they used to. But the nation itself had a bit of a superiority complex, and would not turn its head at the chance of adding more firepower to their already expanding arsenal.
Hiruzen had no doubt that Naruto, a Senju by blood and right, would fit into their nation like an old shoe... He would be the perfect crown jewel to them...
Denied, he remembered stamping A's form, absolutely denied.
...
The Land of Water had stubbornly requested a meeting with the unknown, young Senju. It wasn't common Sarutobi received such humble -excited, even- messages from a fellow Kage, especially not from one ruling over one of the Great Villages. Most Kages like those were complete assess that 'demanded,' not asked for favors.
The Mizukage, Mei Terumī, had been polite and concise in her letters.
She wanted to meet Naruto. She made it perfectly clear that she did not have any ill intent, all she wished was to meet him, and possibly take him on a tour of her country. She felt the knowledge of a Senju with Mokuton would provide her people with closure, who just recently survived a bloody civil war involving bloodlines.
It had been very difficult for Hiruzen to turn her down, painfully so. It was almost unfair how selfless and earnest she seemed to be. You could truly see she only had her nation's best interest in mind. But as the Hokage, he also had his nation's best interest in mind. He could not afford to let Naruto out of the country so early, not when he still had much to do in Konoha.
After denying her, she replied with yet another very understanding letter, one that made him cringe in guilt. Alas, he had a feeling he hadn't heard the last of Mei Terumī.
...
The Land of Wind had remained majorly unresponsive, nearly sloppily so... He had just sent Jiraiya to check that out.
All of this chaos, which took place in the time Naruto was gone, had been a stressful ordeal to handle, each unique in its own way.
It's not that he didn't wish for close diplomacy among nations, far from it; he was probably the biggest pacifist among the five Kage. But he could sense each individual nation had its own agenda and goals, and that goal -for the most of them- was to find out everything they could about Naruto.
He gave the exact same answer to every single one that asked about a Senju existing among their ranks; perhaps. He never denied it, but he never assured it either. He left them with the fleeting curiosity and the unbearable suspense. And as expected, he received what he and Jiraiya had aimed from the very beginning.
Attention.
In every backwater source around the globe, the same words were repeated: a male Senju possessing one of the strongest bloodlines in history lived; the Mokuton. The sheer mention of the Mokuton once again in Konoha's clutches had increased the demand of their shinobi by an impressive margin.
Usually such a spike in the charts did not occur unless your Genins made quite a spectacle in the Chūnin Exams, and even then it was unprecedented.
The mere name Senju and Mokuton in the same sentence had changed the balance of power in the world, both in military and political terms. Part of him briefly wondered if this was fair to Naruto -to use his legacy like this-, but in the end he figured this outcome would be inevitable even if he hadn't intervened.
At least with his influence, he could keep it all in check.
Thankfully Naruto's safety wasn't an issue, not when those rumors were eventually accompanied by the notion that the child was being protected by one of the most powerful tag-teams in the ninja world; the Sannins, Tsunade the Slug Princess, and Jiraiya the Toad Sage.
Usually that was plenty for any government and S-class criminal to think twice before even trying, though he wouldn't get confident.
"Lord Third,"
Scratching his scraggly beard, Sarutobi looked up from his work. "Tsuki, huh?" He raised a white eyebrow seeing the excitement on his assistant's face. "What is it? You seem a bit distracted..."
"My lord," Tsuki bowed out of habit with her hands folded before her. "He is here..."
Hearing this, Sarutobi felt a decent twenty years younger. "Well well, is he now? Interesting... Our meeting wasn't scheduled until a few days from now..." He chuckled. "I guess he was more impatient to return to Konoha than I was. Very well, send them in."
Hiruzen began to feel a little antsy as his assistant hurriedly went to follow his orders.
Sarutobi was a brilliant man who could think dozens of steps ahead of anything, or so he liked to think. But just like Naruto's great grandfather -and Naruto's mother-, that brilliance which many hailed him to have has always been easily brushed aside by the unpredictable nature of two specific clans.
Damn those Senju/Uzumakis. If only he had more of them.
Nevertheless, the new Genin teams wouldn't be solid until a week from now, so Sarutobi figured the only prudent option remaining would be to put Naruto in the Academy for the remainder of that week. He needed to get well-acquainted with those he would be fighting alongside with, after all.
...
Naruto smiled into his scarf as he opened the door. "Jiji!"
Ah, that nostalgic, maturing voice and that confidence oozing out of it...
"My, word..." Sarutobi took in every detail of the boy.
Naruto had orange pants, a similarly colored zip-up, sleeveless jacket with the Uzumaki crest where his heart should be, black sandals, and white tape around his forearms and shins. Everything about him screamed effectiveness first, fashion and looks second. At first glance he appeared like a strictly Taijutsu shinobi, but he knew better.
If Tenzo's report was anything to go by, Naruto was proficient in much more than just Taijutsu... He immediately knew this to be true when he saw the leaves scurrying around him like satellites in perfect orbit.
The addition to his attire that stood out above all else, however, was that dark scarf around his throat. It gave him a flair which was seldom seen in shinobi, one only felt in special cases. Physically-wise, what stood out the most were his cerulean-lilac eyes, and his slightly longer blond hair.
The Sandaime needed a moment to settle the nostalgia bubbling inside. It was heartbreaking how much Naruto reminded him of Minato.
"Naruto..." The Third found himself slowly standing up from his chair in sheer amazement at the change of the boy- no, he was no longer a boy. He could tell at first glance of his eyes. Those were not the eyes of a child. "I, almost didn't recognize you there..."
It was obvious Tsunade had some influence on the teen's choice of clothing. Unfortunately, it looked like no man or god would be able to make him change his... interesting taste in color...
Well... Naruto will be Naruto.
"Isn't he stunning?" Tsunade came from behind the blond and patted his head, though it was only now starting to dawn on her how she was having to do this higher than before. Kid was growing like a tree on steroids. "I tried to make him give the orange, but it was like trying to convince the moon to stop following us around. Still, I think it fits him for some reason..."
"Hmph, well I think orange is the greatest color in the world!" Naruto crowed, a pout on his lips. He crossed his arms behind his head, and clipped an "oh" of realization remembering something. "Look, Jiji!"
Once he turned to expose his back, Hiruzen's eyes went wide again. Even his rusty heart skipped a beat.
There, in the pinnacle of Naruto's back, rested a symbol that represented both indestructible and irresistible force. It was the indistinguishable insignia of one of the most renown clans in shinobi history, one not seen since Hashirama, the founder of Konoha. The Senju clan's crest in all its glory.
He would give Naruto credit for one specific detail. Smiling, he sat back down and interlocked his fingers. "You carry that crest almost too naturally, Senju-kun..."
"Oi, you can't call him that just yet..." Tsunade scolded her teacher. "That reminds me, when will his name be officially changed...?"
Naruto took a moment to glance at the crest over his heart. "I really will be Senju Naruto, huh...?"
Hiruzen never thought he'd see Naruto act so mature at his age. He seemed very aware of the repercussions of accepting that name. "Changing his name to Senju is no picnic, obviously..." He smiled as the blond nervously looked up. "But don't worry, I'll make sure it's official before you finish your first Chūnin Exams... You have my word."
~~Academy~~
Landing before the Academy's gates, Naruto immediately noticed one thing. "I could've sworn this gate was bigger..."
Shrugging, Naruto walked through the clump of steel and made his way across the empty playground. Nostalgia quickly overwhelmed him seeing the bended masses of steel all scarred with the effects of the Land of Fire's intense sun. His eyes traveled towards the slumps behind the classrooms, where he had often lounged undisturbed.
Stopping before the double doors that lead into the many classrooms, Naruto grunted. 'Jiji should really consider renovating this place...'
He could tell it was only a matter of time before the Academy's insignia would be falling on some unfortunate kid's head. The thought made Naruto snigger.
...
The bell rang, signaling the beginning of recess... Shit.
Welp, people were gonna find out about him eventually, it may as well be now.
Closing his eyes, he relaxed his posture and felt his body light, like that of his many surrounding buddies. First he heard footsteps, many small, almost unnoticeable footsteps. After which came the shouts of excitement, and the cries of his name.
A group of first-years squealed in awe noticing him, "Wait, isn't he the Naruto people haven't shut up about for three years now?!"
"Oi, look at the symbol on his back!" Dozens of girls gasped seeing the insignia on the back of his shirt. "You're kidding... Isn't that the Senju clan's crest?!"
Naruto's own self-consciousness attracted more leaves from the nearby vicinity, some of them already dry. Once they came in contact with his bubbly aura, they immediately rejuvenated and turned green again. He pleaded for their protection in the depths of his mind, and like its award-giving duty, they began to spin and take off in random directions.
He reopened his eyes and found himself surrounded from all sides by children and teens his age. Of course, he had already known this to begin with, but seeing it for himself was much more impactful than sensing it. All around he listened to their mutterings and found himself grinning, both embarrassed and nervous.
"You're right," a tall, brown haired boy said. "So he is a Senju!"
"I KNEW it!" Another with messy light hair crowed. "Bitchin'! I just won a hundred Ryō!"
"Shite!" Several boys grimaced hearing that. "I just lost forty! I'm neck deep in dept and I'm not even a Genin yet!"
Oh, apparently there was a pot going around involving his lineage, that's nice.
"Yo, Naruto!"
"Hm?" Naruto lifted his head to see a sight for sore eyes. "Ohhh, Shikamaru! Kiba! Chōji!"
If his fellow 'deadlast' escapees couldn't bring an honest smile to his face, the blond didn't know what could.
He waved and smiled, his eyes sparkling with the aid of the sun's rays. "Hey, guys! If there's anything I've missed in Konoha, it's getting in trouble with you! How've you been?"
"Us?" Entering the center circle where Naruto stood, Shikamaru snickered. "Dude, you're the one who's been missing for three years now. Where have you been? What's with all the commotion?"
"Oh," the blond smiled. "Looks like people have finally realized that I really am a Senju. Took them long enough." Seeing all his friends stare at him like a bunch of startled owls -Akamaru included-, Naruto lifted an amused eyebrow. "What? You're telling me you know others that can make seeds sprout with nothing but chakra? Come on guys, only an idiot in denial wouldn't admit that I'm a Senju after seeing that!"
"This guy!" Kiba tied an arm around Naruto's neck, his face split into a grin mutely similar to Naruto's. "So you're really a Senju, huh? I gotta be honest, I thought all those rumors were bull because of your constant failures!"
"You're not the only one," said Chōji, his mouth crammed with chips. "Practically everyone with a brain did. It's basically the reason why so many people doubted he was a Senju to begin with. I already knew he was because Shikamaru said so..."
Naruto warily watched the leaves' trajectory to Kiba's sudden approach. He wondered yet again if they could tell the difference between aggressive approaches and affectionate ones. Tsunade had once made the mistake of thinking he had absolute control.
Seeing them calm, he turned to Shikamaru. "So you knew all along, Shika?"
"Heh, 'course I did." The Nara heir shoved one hand in his pocket, and scratched the back of his head with the other. "Only a dimwit would doubt it, really. We all saw the chakra being used, and it wasn't your standard hue. The flower blooming was just the cherry on top... But really, that was nothing compared to the chaos that followed.
According to my old man, a four dimensional god wouldn't be able to fathom just how much of a drag that day had been. At one point the Hokage was literally drowning in a mountain of his own paperwork, and that was just the first year. He made sure to put emphasis on literally... I have no idea how that is physically possible."
...
"Naruto..."
Silence spread across the whole playground when another, more menacing voice froze the veins pumping warmth into the reunion. The crowd parted from before the stairs, and Uchiha Sasuke walked through, his hands stored in the pockets of his shorts.
"It's been years..." Sasuke's eyes could freeze lightning itself. "Fight me."
Naruto's attention instantly shifted to Sasuke.
"Wow," Shikamaru remarked dryly. "Five seconds. It's your first time seeing Naruto in three years and it took you five seconds to pick a fight with him. That's a new record, Sasuke. Even for you."
Whining and grunting, Akamaru jumped from Kiba's head and took shelter inside his jacket.
Kiba snarled at Sasuke, his lips pulling to portray his distaste. "Oi, keep your chakra in check! You're scaring Akamaru, asshole!" Hearing another of Akamaru's whimpers, Kiba's eyes shot towards Naruto. 'Wait... What do you mean it's not Sasuke...! You mean it's...' Realization struck him like a current of electricity. 'Seriously?!'
Kiba was suddenly seeing Naruto in a new light.
...
Aware of the pending explosion, Shikamaru stepped in front of Naruto, his bored eyes sticking with Sasuke. "Are you serious...? He literally just got here, man. How about asking how he is first before you try and kill him?"
"It's alright, Shikamaru," Naruto made his opinion known. He placed a hand on Shika's shoulder and gently moved him aside. "You may be surprised to hear it, but I was kinda hoping for this. In fact, it's nothing new when you think about it..."
All Academy students present exchanged glances of agreement hearing this. Most of them knew that one of the greatest rivalries in shinobi history was synonymous to Senju and Uchiha. It's common knowledge that the Senju won. It's the reason any Uchiha would relish the chance to prove otherwise.
"You shouldn't even bother, Nara," Sasuke warned, his eyes fierce and calculative. Still, one could easily detect the excitement within. "This is as natural as time itself... It's inevitable. Right, Senju...?"
'Senju, and Uchiha, huh...? Somehow this feels nostalgic...' Naruto's body was flooded in adrenaline as he lowered his natural defenses, dropping the leaves hovering inches from his body. He did not want to end this quickly. "You look pissed, Sasuke-chan." He grinned seeing his opponent twitching. "Are you that desperate to embarrass yourself in front of this many people... Sasuke-chan...?"
Sasuke's left cheekbone twitched twice at the suffix.
Livid, it would be an understatement of how he felt. But he hid it perfectly, just like every emotion he'd ever experienced. Emotions made you hesitate, therefore they were weaknesses.
Sasuke made an effort to sound cruel, and he did it perfectly by saying, "Big talk coming from a loser who used to waste all of his time trying to catch up to my shadow."
Naruto admitted it. That one hurt.
"Guess what, Sasuke," Purple eyes flashed in the definition of power. A wind passed by, and Naruto's hair flailed as strongly as his scarf did. "That kid you knew, the one you knew as a loser... he's long been gone... I got rid of him myself. Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm the same person I was back then."
"Tch, a weakling will always be a weakling..." Sasuke stood there, two feet away from his target, Shikamaru to his side and Kiba on the other. His nostrils involuntarily expanding, Sasuke arched his entire left arm as his fist went straight for Naruto's face. 'The dobe I know would never be able to dodge something of this caliber...'
A chorus of gasps came from all around.
In Naruto's left hand, Sasuke's trembling fist rested. His eyes dull and a smug sneer on his face, the blond's eyes were spilling tease. "Tell me, asshole... think I'm still a weakling?"
...
The moment she had heard shouts of Sasuke fighting in the courtyard, Sakura had, without thinking, instantly blasted out of the faculty room leaving smoke in her trail -with Ino and Hinata eating said smoke-.
Basking in the glorious view offered by standing atop the stairs, she swallowed what she hoped to be her nerves. "Is that... Naruto...?"
"Naruto what?" Ino too joined her pink colored friend. "Hmm...?" She narrowed her eyes and wondered a little, her lips puckered. Finally, she swiped away Sakura's faulty outcome with one hand. "No way, no way. That golden, porcelain apparition of godliness can't possibly be our Naruto. Just look at his eyes, he's way too hot."
"It is him!" Hinata's activated Byakugan confirmed this, but it wasn't the only thing. Corking her mouth, she gasped. "Oh, wow, and it's even bigger than before!"
Ino and Sakura gawked, the former more than the latter. "Hinata! You sly little devil, you...! No wonder they say to beware the quiet ones..." Ino coughed into her fist and whispered to the Hyūga. "Is it really that big...? Are we talking inches or...?"
"N-no~!" Hinata steamed in embarrassment, more for Ino than herself, really. "I meant his chakra! It was abnormally big even when we were younger, but now it's at the least Jōnin level, maybe even higher... While Sasuke-kun's... well... I, I don't think Naruto-kun is an opponent he should be striving for..."
"Hah!" Ino leered at Sakura, the latter reeling away from her stupid grin. "I don't particularly mind if it's small. What about you, Forehead?"
"First of all," Sakura shoved the still snickering Ino away, annoyed and willing to show it. "Hinata-chan's talking about his chakra, Pig. And need I remind you we're all barely teens? Besides, it takes more than chakra to win a fight-"
"UWOOOOH!" The crowed cried in unison, having never seen someone stop Sasuke.
A few of the girls swooned as they watched him, "He stopped Uchiha Sasuke's attack with one hand!"
Naruto found it pathetic -and glorious- to see Sasuke's face glowing in sheer disbelief. A shinobi should not be showing such an open window.
"Now then." He dragged Sasuke's hand, took ahold of his arm, and flung his body over his back, crashing him into the ground. Lifting his heel well above his head, Naruto grinned. "What's wrong, Sasuke...? Not what you were expecting?"
Wincing as the pain of his back colliding against the ground traveled his nervous system, Sasuke flipped back and gained some distance, right in time to avoid Naruto's heel from coming down over his face.
'This impeccable fluency...' Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration. 'I've never seen it, not since...'
"You're sweating," Naruto pointed out to purposely disrupt his thoughts. Tenzo's rules of engagement, don't allow an inferior target time to think. "If I remember correctly, something so simple would've totally had me on my ass, right? Sorry, I'm not that frail anymore."
"Is that so?" Sasuke just about had enough of his pretentious tone of voice. "You want me to get serious? You got it. But don't blame me if you end up dead."
"I don't know what's cuter..." Naruto cackled as he built up his stance, opened hands forward and legs at the ready. "Your pathetic little bluff..." He dropped all playfulness and focused solely on combat. "Or that you think you can actually hurt me anymore..."
"Oi, Naruto..." Shikamaru proceeded to complain further. "I've never seen anyone beat Sasuke, not in a spar or a brawl. I don't know how strong you've gotten, but I've seen what he can do."
"You think he can beat me...?" Naruto pouted and playfully moped. "I'm hurt, Shikamaru... Don't you know I have feelings too?"
"That's not it, idiot." Shikamaru patted Naruto's shoulder. "He's mostly Taijutsu, so try to keep your distance and focus on projectiles."
Seemingly on cue, both raised a shiny thumbs up at each other.
After an impromptu hand clapping session between the two, Shikamaru began to drag a grumbling Kiba and a still eating Chōji away. "Give them some room if you don't want to get hurt and make this even more troublesome than it already is!"
"I've seriously dreamt about this moment, Sasuke..." Naruto's chakra fluctuated to further beckon the feeling of weightlessness that came with. He took a kunai in each hand and readied for battle. "I'm going to kick, your, ASS! Let's get this on already!"
"My pleasure." As he ran towards him, Sasuke pulled out two kunais of his own. "Show me you really are a Senju..." He crashed his knifes against Naruto's, sparks of molten steel flinging outwards. He twirled the one in his left hand, and forced Naruto to release his own.
Taking the opening, Sasuke went low and aimed to brush his legs from under him with a clockwise kick.
Naruto jumped over Sasuke's attack, and kicked a kunai out of the Uchiha's hand while still in midair. He landed and slid over the ground, the cries of awe from the surrounding spectators barely registering. He flung his kunai aimed straight for Sasuke, and the latter did the same.
The two sharp objects marched towards the other.
At seemingly timed intervals, both tips met perfectly over the other. The temper of each one influenced their trajectory the moment the inertia had become too much to stop there. They waged battle, until each one was heading straight for their targets' face.
Sasuke caught the handle of Naruto's kunai without mishap.
Naruto caught Sasuke's by sliding his middle finger through the ring, laughing as the kunai spinned to dust away the remains of momentum it had left.
Sasuke rose from his kneeling position. He scowled furiously seeing what finger Naruto was aiming. He stored the kunai he had caught, and Naruto did the same.
A memento of their first battle in years...
On cue, they both ran towards each other, their arms flailing back to allow easy mobility. Sasuke's left leg came to search contact, and Naruto's right arm came to block.
The moment he felt the blow land squarely over his right bicep, Naruto was shocked at a revelation. 'This is Sasuke's full power...? Then, when we were kids, he wasn't even trying against me?'
That snapped something in him, something frail. It took him a moment to realize it had been his ability to show mercy...
Naruto's left fist struck Sasuke's gut, mercilessly and without holding a single shred of muscle. The Uchiha's body seemed to mold over his fist, coughing spit and blood over his left shoulder.
The crowd was stunned into silence, his scarf initiated yet another turbulant dance, and no mercy could be seen on the surface of Naruto's lilac eyes.
Both their eyes flashed a crimson as blood itself, but only momentarily, and neither had noticed it.
Sasuke adjusted his head to look into Naruto's eyes. They were steeled to show nothing but what he wished. At the moment, Sasuke could see they were trying to show him his defeat.
Naruto dragged Sasuke's head down and planted his knee over his face. Sasuke stumbled back, but was far from finished. Sending one last glare at his opponent, Sasuke sent two kicks for Naruto's head, but were easily avoided. He scurried through Naruto's volley of counter-kicks, and sent a fist at the same time Naruto did.
They met in the middle, their fists going numb with pain, but neither allowing the other to see an inch of it.
It was about time to end it, Sasuke thought.
His hands scrambled through seals that were second nature to him. He jumped, his hands together in the horse-seal. "Fire Release," he formed a ring over his lips with his thumb and index. "Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A bead of sweat trailed down Shika's expression of dread, Kiba and Chōji mirroring.
"WAIT! SASUKE!"
Everyone behind Naruto began to run fearing for their safety.
Storing his hands away, Naruto stood under Sasuke's great fireball without so much as an ounce of worry. "What's so 'great' about a fireball like that...?"
Fire and smoke consumed Naruto, the cry of a lavender-eyed girl came from somewhere, Shikamaru began running headfirst towards the fire, and fear was suddenly thick around the entirety of the large group of people.
A flail of winds forced everyone present to shield their eyes.
...
In the middle of a charred amount of land stood a dome of leaves.
Its surface was crisped, but before the eyes of everyone present, the leaves that were harmed by the flames seemed to be rejuvenating at an exponential rate. Greenery was all you could see moments later, and the thoughts of worry were dispelled in an instant.
Several spectators watched in awe of the phenomenon, "What the hell kinda Jutsu... is this...?!"
The whole thing crumbled to reveal Naruto completely unharmed. Three large tendrils stopped short of the blond Senju's midsection. None of the leaves touched the ground, they just floated, like rings they kept with a steady rhythm.
Feeling Naruto's annoyance, the whole thing furiously trailed around him in perfect balance, like a gyroscope made entirely out of leaves.
"Me and you, Sasuke," Naruto finally spoke, his expression returning to its usual cheery self. "We are on completely different levels. Unlike you, I'm not against asking for the help of others to grow stronger. Nobody on this earth can do anything great on his own.
"Years back, my sole reason for being was to become Hokage, but in time, another of my goals became to beat you. Now, after years of training, I wonder... did I overdo it...? What do you think?"
Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing. Different philosophies fought for supremacy inside of him, each poising rather intriguing points.
"No... NO!" Before he could stop himself, however, he was running into the fray with his eyes refusing to believe Naruto's power. "I'm NOT done yet!"
"Actually," Naruto clasped his hands together in the snake seal. "Yes. Yes you are. Mokuton!"
Drawing the corners of a hexagonal figure on the ground, sharpened pillars of wood launched out and headed straight for Sasuke's neck at impressive speeds. Literally inches from the surface of his opponent's skin, the six razor-sharp points stopped.
Naruto forced his annoyance into submission, and calmed the leaves keeping him safe. "We aren't even in the same league, you and I."
Sasuke had experience with death, so he knew when it lurked about. Which is why, when he felt its cold hand starting to caress his soul, he had no choice but to stop, less he wished to face the consequences. He couldn't even move without risking -quite literally- his neck.
It was then that he admitted it. "I... lost...?"
"U-unbelievable!" Two girls screamed, each with a yellow and red bow respectively.
"Naruto won with Mokuton!"
"The Senju win again!" An older male declared. "I knew it! The Senju always win!"
"GREAT! Now I just lost a hundred Ryō!"
Naruto laughed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Humbly thanking a couple of excited juniors who had neared to say their congrats, he started closing in on Sasuke one step at a time. He stopped right in front and brought his hands into the snake-seal once more. The strong blocks of wood retreated on his order, and Naruto clasped a hand on Sasuke to snap him out of his reverie.
Naruto grinned, "Out of our dozens of challenges, I finally beat you in one, Sasuke!"
Sasuke stared.
He had expected Naruto to boast, to laugh at him at the very least, but yet again this idiot seemed to have surpassed him in yet another subject; humility. He couldn't reply, his pride wouldn't allow it, so instead, his eyes just shifted away from him. It was obvious to him who was the bigger person.
'I...' Sasuke stared at the droplets of blood in his hand. 'I no longer know what...'
"Naruto-san!"
"Hm?" Said whiskered teen turned towards a group of girls coming to greet him. "Hello!" His smile could make the sun blush and the moon swoon. "What's up?"
~~Academy's Rooftop~~
Tenzo's eyes flickered left and right as the playground brawl took place.
He was beyond impressed with Naruto's progress. His speed, strength, affinity and chakra; everything was on a whole different level from which he'd left them. An Anbu captain couldn't stay away from Konoha for no more than a year; unless a special task was assigned to him.
If the next official heir to the Mokuton wasn't special, Tenzo didn't know what was. But even that wasn't enough to keep him away for over two years. He was a very important piece of Konoha's property, after all.
'Looks like my first assumption was right,' Tenzo's eyes narrowed seeing the blond's leaves orbiting him. 'Even if the intention comes from 'Mother Nature', the Shield of Leaves is only as strong as Naruto himself. At some level, perhaps genetic, that technique is still connected to the intensity of his own chakra and affinity. From what I can tell, the shield is likely several times stronger than when I first saw it.'
"Impressed?"
Tenzo's head snapped back, his body tense. Ah, he wondered who could possibly be skilled enough to get the sneak on him, an Anbu captain. "Tsunade-sama. Yes, very. I never expected he'd get this strong in just a few years."
"As did I and Jiraiya." She came to the narrow-end of the rooftop. Oddly enough, she felt a sense of déjà vu seeing Naruto use Mokuton to immobilize the snooty Uchiha. "I was discussing with Sarutobi about promoting him to Chūnin, but I don't think Naruto would like that, even if it would help him become Hokage faster. I'm sure he wants to grow with people the same age as he... Still, I'll ask him about it later, just in case."
Tenzo agreed with a nod. "I'm surprised the teachers didn't come out and interfere with this little brawl."
"That'd be my doing," Sarutobi landed on the rooftop as well. When Tenzo fell to a single knee, he grunted for him to be at ease. "I had them rounded in my building for a special meeting involving Naruto's arrival. I don't want any more incompetent Mizukis discriminating against him, even if it is only a week he will be spending here. I trust you kept watch over him, Tenzo?"
"Of course, sir." Tenzo stood back up, his posture firm. "I was about to interfere when the Uchiha used a fireball, but I felt Naruto had things under control... Was this your idea, Lord Third?"
"Nope," Tsunade denied. "It was originally Naruto who wanted me to do something about the teachers so they could have their little bout. I said no at first but, Sarutobi argued it would benefit Sasuke, too. I don't know why, but Naruto holds Sasuke's opinion in high regard. Plus, Sarutobi wants him to start building a reputation, only God knows why."
"Tsunade," Sarutobi spoke again. "I need you to give my offer some serious thought."
Sighing, Tsunade turned back to Naruto. "You really are persistent... I already told you, if I accept, not only will I not be able to keep Naruto protected as much as I'd like, but I'd be tied to a village which I hold no love for."
"If it's protecting Naruto what's keeping you from accepting," the Third quickly retorted. "Know that Tenzo and Jiraiya are perfectly capable of doing what you've been doing for the past several years."
"It's not only that!" Tsunade snapped, her eyes softening yet again when the blond entered her peripheral. "I want to be there for him in every stage of his life... Besides, a certain snake will be having an eye out for him. He's the only natural Mokuton user on the planet, he's even more valuable than Sasuke is. No offense, Tenzo."
Tenzo saluted, "Non-taken, ma'am."
"All I ask is that you think about it..." Squirming between his agent and student, Sarutobi caught Naruto chatting with some girls. "Oh, looks like little Naruto's attracting some female eyes... Good man. He reminds me of when I was his age..." He raised an eyebrow in confusion seeing Naruto simply laughing. "Hm, why does he seem so oblivious to their intentions?"
Tsunade chuckled, "He's probably telling them his thanks for their 'kind' and 'pure' words. Kid's more oblivious to a girl's heart than his father was... Which now that you mention it... I don't think I want him dating so soon..." Her eyes sharpened into those of a hawk. "Gold-digging, midgets...!"
Shaking his head, Sarutobi sighed. "Don't tell me you're one of those protective guardians, Tsunade. For god's sake, they're barely teens..."
"Yeah," Tsunade grunted. "That's what they want you to think..."
Beta: PrincessDystopia, July 31, 2016.