Chapter 5: Flashbackseption and MORE exposition.
After the training montage started Naruto's days in the orphanage started somewhat like this (physical world time):
-At night Naruto spent seven hours training with Machiko.
-In the morning he ate and talked with Yugao.
-Then three more hours with Kyuubi.
-More food and vocal exercise (usually just some singing when nobody was around of course).
-Some quality time with Machiko (three hours).
-Another feeding.
-Three more kitsune hours.
-Last set of food for the day (by the way, each time he ate, he also did some physical exercise and trained his 'soul sense' and 'chakra enhancement'.)
-Leftover hours were spent in mindscape/meditating (not the kind of meditating when he looked inside himself, but rather the kind when he connected to the outside world on a deeper level than the usual five senses).
Naruto also made a TV with a list of amine/movies/games he's been in, as well as a book containing all the stories he lived through. Both contained canon as well as his version. And there also was a gaming console if Machiko ever felt like playing through the world he lived through.
In the next two years not much interesting happened.
There were a couple of moments that broke the routine, though. After a year's time Naruto could already walk and run better than any five year old and he could talk on par with any adult. He also started leveling up chakra enhancement.
One day he asked Yugao to bring him some books on shogi, after skillfully moving the conversation towards the game. Our hero already knew how to play, but he needed to come up with some excuse to test his theory. And his theory was proven to be correct. By playing shogi he started leveling INT. With his experience he could easily win in just a few minutes, but decided against creating an image of a super – genius. He made games last for quite a bit and made his wins seem as fits of luck rather than skill, so his win/loose ratio was about 50/50.
A few other moments were what you might expect – assassinations attempts. Two of them were stopped by the anbu.
The third attempt was crafty, however. When the 'caretaker' was changing Naruto's sheets she tried to suffocate him, while the other one was obscuring the view by unfolding new sheets in front of the window. They, of course, couldn't have known about his mind control abilities. The one moment anbu outside the window was wondering if he should move to look around the bed sheet and the next he was looking at the weirdest sight he had ever laid his eyes upon (and coming from an anbu that says something). The woman that was in process of changing Naruto's pillow (trying to suffocate him) started eating it. The other woman that previously held the sheet moved to help her with the task. Together it took them almost half an hour to stuff the pillow down the woman's throat. Anbu was strangely mesmerized by the sight and never questioned why he hadn't made a move to save the woman. Eating a feather pillow, of course, wasn't healthy and the woman soon died. The anbu went into the room after the other, seemingly unperturbed, woman left it, and sealed the body into the scroll. He then went past the grinning (?) baby, creating the shadow clone to watch it. He was rather curious about what the other woman was about to do now.
The woman in question went to the cafeteria; the lunch was over and only two portions were left – hers and the dead woman's. She sat down in front of her portion and slowly lowered her head into the bowl full of soup.
After a moment of stunned silence, the anbu moved to pull her out.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
The woman had a happy smile on her face.
"I finally understand!" she said in a cheerful voice. "I can only achieve true happiness by drowning in soup. I fucking love soup."
The anbu was so stunned that he released her head, which she promptly lowered back into the bowl. He could only gape behind his mask as the woman finally succumbed to the urge to breathe and inhaled almost all of the soup. She held all of it in with a blissful smile. After a minute a new body was added to anbu's scroll.
"What the fuck." Anbu just shook his head and moved to report to the hokage.
In the future the anbu member would have wondered why hasn't he had done anything to help her, but would quickly dismiss the thought and move on with his life. The only reminder of this event would be the unexplainable fear he got from looking into young Naruto's eyes. That day Naruto also made an interesting discovery. While he could issue his mental commands to anyone he could feel through his soul sense, he could also use the connection humans had with their shadow clones for the task. With shadow clones, however, he had to make eye contact and his control appeared to be not as perfect.
Needles to say, after that incident the rumors about the 'demon brat' only grew stronger and the assassination attempts never stopped.
The last straw came just a month shy of Naruto's birthday. He was eating his food and Yugao was setting up a shogi game.
"Hm," Naruto hummed amused with his grin™ (It was a slight tug on the right side of his lips and a full on grin on his left, flashing a longer than normal fang). "It's poisoned."
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Yugao and rushed to him.
"Relax, poisons don't work on me," said Naruto and ate another spoonful. "Cyanide and oatmeal… interesting combination," he said as he finished his plate.
"That's it, I'm going to Hokage–sama." Yugao shunshined out.
After that incident he got a lot more people to play shogi with, as he was watched from inside the room 24/7. He also decided that it was the right time to ask Yugao something.
"Nee–chan, you're shinobi, right?" after receiving a nod he continued, "Can you tell me about shinobi system?"
Yugao started her lecture, but Naruto didn't listen as he already got what he wanted – a 'shinobi .inf' file. In it he found what he was looking for – levels. For Genin you need minimum 10th level, Chunin – lvl 25, Jonin – lvl 40, anbu – lvl 55 and Hokage – lvl 70.
All missions are quests: D rank awarded 50 – 150 exp, C rank – 200 - 500 exp, B rank – 600 – 800 exp, A rank – 1000 – 1500 exp, S rank – 2000 exp. Quests could also be received by interacting with people and certain objects.
There was also a chart with exp required to level up.
From 1 through 5 to level up 1000 exp is needed, from 5 to 10 – 1500 exp, from 10 to 20 – 2000 exp, from 20 to 30 – 2500 exp, from 30 to 40 – 3000 exp, from 40 to 50 – 4000 exp and from 50 – 5000 exp.
{'Is this why I haven't received any exp from Kushina? Because shinobi only get a ranking after they get into the bingo book?'
[Precisely. I know it's a bit unfair, seeing how she was an anbu and should have similar reward as Minato…] he trailed off, unsure of how to finish.
'Yeah, I get it. If you didn't make it that way, I could just could go and kill everyone I see and get easy exp that way.' If Naruto could shrug, he would. 'Besides I already feel like I've cheated by getting all that exp from Machiko's kill.'
[Well, that was just half of it. You weren't the one who killed him after all.]
'Half? Hmm, that makes sense. He was an SS – ranked shinobi with a flee on sight order. I guess he would be worth six thousand exp.'}
"Do you want to be a shinobi, Naruto?" Yugao asked.
'The way she's talking it's evident that Hiruzen asked her to get me interested. No one will let a Jinchuuriki be a civilian after all.'
(Flashback – the day before, council room.)
"92. In almost past two years there has been 92 attempts on Naruto's life," Hiruzen stated to the council.
"If you don't want me to adopt him than let one of the anbu do so. God knows he practically lives with them," Tsume was still unhappy that he couldn't adopt her best friend's son.
"That way other anbu will be freed of the task of watching the Jinchuuriki as well. And who would be better than an anbu he trusts and lives with to teach him the shinobi ways," Danzo backed her up. It wasn't the best option for him, but at least Hokage's anbu was the closest to the true shinobi after his own root.
"Very well, I'll see if Yugao is up to the job. She's the one Naruto seems to trust the most." Hokage came to the decision and dismissed the council.
(Flashback end.)
"If I say yes, will you train me?" he asked with a smile.
'I imagine having an anbu to train me would be most beneficial.'
"If you want me to," she answered with a smile of her own.
"Then yes."
After that Yugao became a little unnerved. Naruto could feel that there was always something on her mind. It became more evident when they were playing shogi.
"Did something happen nee–chan? That kind of play is way below you," he asked with concern.
"Naruto, do you…" she took a deep breath and calmed herself, "Do you want to live with me?"
Yugao had her poker face on, but thanks to his insight Naruto could see all those emotions she tried to hide.
"Sure, I'd love to," he said with a grin™.
Relief was evident on her face. She smiled and hugged our newly adopted hero. All in all Naruto lived in the orphanage for just a week shy of two years.
Believe it or not, this wasn't the biggest event young hanyou lived through. That title goes to the leap his relationship with Machiko took.
(Flashback - one and a half years ago. Also, this is a lemon.)
"Damn," Naruto dropped to the floor, his tails and hair making him look like the warning on laser pointers. "This is harder than I imagined."
Machiko in her free time decided to do some redecorating. She added some eastern element to the house. It now had sliding doors and a dojo they were now in. The house took a turn for the better and now looked like a nice mix between eastern and western styles.
"Need some rest?" Asked Machiko sitting nearby in a seiza position.
"Yeah," came a tired answer.
"What do you usually do to relax?"
"Practice with a sword, sing or go to hotsprings."
"Hotsprings?" she sounded intrigued.
"You don't know what hotsprings are?" Naruto asked with a smile, standing up. "Come on," he did a 'follow me' gesture. They walked a little and came to a door Naruto just created. Inside were a small changing room and a shower. Behind another door was a round pool made of stone filled with a steaming hot water. Naruto's clothes became mist and disappeared as he lowered himself into the water.
"Ahh, why didn't I think of this earlier?" Naruto let out a content sigh.
"What was the previous room for?" Machiko asked looking at everything but him.
"You usually leave your clothes there and wash yourself before coming into the pool, but we don't really need that here, do we?" said our relaxing hero with his eyes closed. "Come on, jump in. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
Deciding to follow his invitation she dressed down and stepped into the water.
"This does feel nice," she said relaxing.
However, Naruto still could sense some tension in his tenant. So being a troll that he is, he decided to get rid of that tension the most childish way possible. By splashing some water on her.
"What are you doing?!" she squealed.
Instead of answering he splashed her again.
"So you wanna play like this," soaked kitsune said with an evil grin and used her both hands to splash even more water at him.
'That's the spirit!' Naruto thought with a grin. And a splashing war started. Soon tails came into play. Naruto moved around, trying to catch her, but she always escaped. However, Naruto's aim was not to catch her, but to place a light, barely registerable, yet stimulating touch on one of her erogenous zones. That he did not fail to do. The touches, of course, weren't just physical; some chakra was involved as well.
After a more heated exchange, Naruto disappeared from view. Machiko started to look around when a pair of hands grabbed her waist from behind, lifted her into the air and dropped her into the water. She emerged laughing, but it suddenly stopped as her breath got caught in her throat. Naruto was standing right in front of her. Very closely. Their eyes were locked; amethyst looking deep into the molten silver. She was aware of lack of clothing, but, at the same time, was also too mesmerized by his deep pools of purple, that seemed to suck her in, to care about anything.
He slipped his left hand behind her waist and brushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear with another. Her head unconsciously leaned towards his hand and Naruto kept it there. She was panting heavily and had a deep blush on her face. Machiko's hands were on his chest, but Naruto didn't meet any resistance as he moved closer. Her eyes were half closed and her lips slightly parted, as if inviting him. He took her invitation and their lips met.
They kept kissing for a few minutes and when Naruto moved to deepen the kiss, she didn't resist. They tongues locked in a dance. Naruto could feel her every wish and acted accordingly.
His hands moved across her back, barely touching her skin. The sensations from a full on contact were weaker than from a fleeting one. Succumbing to her desire, Machiko started to move her hands as well. How long she waited for this! To touch him, to feel his touch, to feel his body against hers. She moaned into the kiss as her hardened nipples brushed against his chest. As their hands moved exploring each other bodies, our thousand year old hero's mind was crossed by only two fleeting thoughts:
'I've never been so glad that time moves slower here,' and 'Damn, she's beautiful.' But even they didn't stay for long as he gave in to his desire.
Dusky skinned kitsune mewed into the kiss as Naruto started to massage her ass with his left hand while his right lightly traced the curve of her hip, her flat stomach and up to her left breast. She moaned out loud as his mouth went to her chin, down her neck, collarbone and finally stopping at her right breast.
"Oh, yes!" Machiko said, as she grabbed a fistful of his hair and pressed his head more firmly to her body. Machiko moaned loudly as Naruto switched breasts and began to play with her left nipple as well.
"Mmm, you're pretty good," she said happily.
"Decades of experience my sexy kitsune, decades of experience," Naruto said smiling.
She could feel his erection pressing firmly against her pussy. She pressed her tights together and moved back and forth a little, causing him to moan.
"Someone's eager," he whispered, nibbling at her ear.
"I spent nearly a century either behind bars or chained to a rock," she said panting. "I think my actions are quite justified," and pressed her lips against his.
"Lucky you, I'm not the kind of guy to keep a woman waiting," Naruto said and moved to set her down on the pools edge. He moved down between her spread legs and liked insides of her tights clean of her juices. He took in her soaking wet nether lips and her entrance, which he knew from experience, would be tight even for his finger. Naruto leaned forward and gave her pussy a long lick. Machiko gave a loud approving moan.
"Damn, you taste good," he said going in for the seconds and started to move his hands from her legs up to her breasts. She moaned even louder as he inserted his tongue to get more of her love juice. Which he received as she soon came from his master tongue work.
He moved upwards, kissing her stomach, then stopping at her breasts, giving some attention to both of them. After that he moved further up, getting another moan as he kissed and sucked at her neck and finally stopped at her lips, giving her a deep and passionate kiss. He pressed their foreheads together and smiled as she moaned from his stiff member pressing against her entrance. Her moans were music to his ears as he sank deeper and deeper into her. Machiko moaned all the way till Naruto bottomed her out, further stimulated by the kisses he's been leaving on neck and collarbone. He was pleased as his assumption was correct, she was very tight but so wet, that he had no difficulty entering her. In fact her pussy seemed to suck him in.
"You feel amazing Naruto," she said clearly happy to be with a man again. Feeling her desire, Naruto nearly pulled out, leaving less than an inch inside and slammed his hips onto hers.
"Oh, FUCK yes! Just like that! Don't you fucking dare to stop," she cried out.
"Oh, I don't intent to. I'll do it all night long," he said ramming his cock into her cervix once again. "Physical world time," he growled into kitsune's ear, causing a shiver run down her spine. Machiko's hips started to rise to meet Naruto's as his man meat repeatedly entered her deepest spot. Her eyes became clouded as she lost herself to the pleasure. Kitsune's pussy gripped him like a vice and every time he pulled back, her walls sucked him back in. If the rock below them was real, it would already be dust. Machiko was one of the sexiest women Naruto has ever seen and his hands and lips did a damn god job at showing his appreciation. Machiko was in heaven, her new lower somehow knew all her spots and used them to their fullest. Feeling her end nearing, she wrapped her legs around his waist to help her meet his thrusts and her nails dug into the back of his shoulders. With a loud growl Naruto flooded his lover's insides, triggering her orgasm. They kissed as Machiko's pussy milked Naruto's cock out of every last drop of his seed. Her nails dragged across his shoulders leaving four bleeding trances on each one. Naruto didn't mind the pain, he was long used to it. Machiko's world was white with pleasure as she felt her lover's hot load filling her womb.
Naruto let out a sigh as he felt his sexy kitsune relax below him but her legs were still locked behind his back, keeping him in… not that he was going anywhere. After a minute or so she smiled and locked their lips in another heated kiss.
"Ready for round two?" she asked.
Naruto just smiled as he said, "Always ready," and transported them into a bedroom. Answering her questioning gaze he said with a smirk, "We'll be her for quite some time, might as well get comfortable."
As he finished his sentence, Naruto twisted her on his cock so that they ended up in a doggy style position. He grabbed both her wrists with his tails and pulled her arms behind her back, keeping her in the air. Machiko moaned as he slowly moved his hands up from her ass to her breasts and started playing with her nipples. Kitsune's moans grew in volume as Naruto started moving his hips. In this new position Naruto's pole constantly rubbed against her G – spot, bringing her to orgasm faster than before. Answering to that Machiko used her bound hands as leverage and started meeting his thrusts. But that was proven to be only the tip of the iceberg as she started to flex her inner muscles, tightening her grip at the same time. Naruto growl loudly in appreciation. It wasn't long before they reached their second orgasm.
For the third round Machiko decided to take the lead and as soon as Naruto released her wrists she flipped her lover over and straddled him. She placed her hands on his chiseled chest slowly lowered herself on his still fully erect member. She began to slowly ride him, savoring every moment. She moaned in appreciation as Naruto's hands moved up from her tights, barely touching her skin and began massaging her breasts. Naruto decided against being idle and rose his hips to meet hers puling a loud moan from his lovers lips. Machiko, after having her lust recede from her previous two orgasms, could finally appreciate every millimeter of the magnificent piece of man meat she was riding.
She had her eyes closed, basking in the feeling of their mutual pleasure. Let's not forget the little point in the 'Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki' perk. Naruto didn't get the ability to sense emotion just 'cause. Just imagine for a second – you feel the pleasure of your lover and they feel yours. Your feelings bounce of off each other increasing every time. An infinitely escalating ladder of pleasure.
As they neared they release once again, Naruto pulled his kitsune closer and kissed her hungrily. He greatly enjoyed the feeling of her erect nipples brushing against his chest. She, apparently, did too as her orgasm came faster than expected. Her back arched upwards and she placed her hands on his knees, never stopping moving her hips.
"Oh, Kami, NAUTOOO," She screamed her lovers name as her pussy started to milk him of his seed, which he happily provided just a second later thanks to her actions.
After caching their breaths Naruto suddenly shot upwards so that he ended up on top of her, "I still got a lot more in me so let us continue," he softly growled and nibbled her ear, sending a shiver of pleasure and anticipation down her spine. As an answer Machiko caught his lips in a searing, passionate kiss which Naruto eagerly returned. True to Naruto's earlier words, their first lovemaking session continued throughout the entire outside world's night. Since that day their training sessions was cut slightly short and always ended with a bang.
(Flashback (and lemon) end)
Having sex with Machiko in every position imaginable wasn't Naruto's only achievement in over 40 years. He completed 3 of quest's objectives and started learning fuinjutsu.
(Another flashback – two months ago.)
Naruto was in a middle of a spacious empty room with a wooden floor and a YinYang symbol on the far wall. He was sitting in a lotus position, backs of his hands resting on his knees, palms relaxed and open.
"Ok, I have a good feeling about this one. Just remember what I told you in the beginning and you'll do fine." His teacher said with a smile.
(In true 'Naruto' tradition I present to you a flashback within a flashback – two years ago.)
"For starters tell me what you know about chakra?" said Machiko beginning her lesson.
"Ok, there are three types of chakra – Yin, Yang and Nature. Yin is spirit; it embodies an idea and gives it form. Yang is body; it governs the physical world and is responsible for the purely physical aspect of things, as well as life force. Things like change in form, element or material and healing. Nature chakra is different, it's pure energy that exists everywhere: plants, rocks you name it."
"Very good, that saves me a lot of time explaining things. Do you know that humans can use nature chakra as well?" came her second question.
"Yes, they are called sages," Naruto confidently answered.
"You are very well informed, but there was one mistake in your understanding. Yin and Yang aren't types of chakra. They are two aspects of every being that, when put together, produce chakra humans use for ninjutsu." Machiko started her lesson, "To master Yin and Yang styles you must learn to use them separately."
"That doesn't sound too difficult," Naruto was a bit skeptical.
"Oh but it is. As I already said, in order to use chakra as people do now Yin and Yang got bound together. You will need to separate them."
"Will I'll be able to use other styles after I separate them?" Naruto asked, a bit concerned.
"What's the matter? Having second thoughts?" His teacher asked with a smile.
"No, just curious," Naruto tried to sound indifferent.
"You will," Machiko answered with a giggle. "It's quite easy to connect and separate them after you do it once."
"Good," Naruto was relieved.
"Now, I remember you telling me, that this house is the center of your mind," Machiko asked and receiving a nod continued, "Good, saves me some trouble. You will need to go very deep into your being, to the core of your existence. There you will find what you see as your spiritual and physical energies bound together. You must understand that those binds are your will and you can control them as you please."
(Flashback within flashback end.)
(And another flashback within the flashback starts – two weeks after Naruto's training started.)
Diving so deep into himself was a new experience for our hero. He never dove deeper than his mindscape after all, but he learned it fairly quickly – in just over a year (mindscape time). Not to say he never tried, but he stopped after learning the consequences of diving too deep. He couldn't always return without falling asleep. Instead of opening his eyes in the waking world, he would wake up in a dream, or a Nightmare rather (yes, with a capital 'N'). Just FYI Nightmares weren't the reason he never slept, it was just so much more convenient that way. He could sort out his memories since day X thanks to the GUI.
Back to the nightmares. Those weren't just your normal, realistic nightmares with something you fear in front of you. No, they were much worse. Most of the time he didn't even know what the fuck was going on. Anxiety, fear, sense of dread and danger filled him to the brim, jet he was alone. Correction – he could see only himself, but he definitely wasn't alone. He desperately wanted to run away and so he ran.
It was a never ending labyrinth. Always turning, twisting. Naruto could feel it right behind him. When he pushed himself of the walls he ran into from the fear of losing speed or just because he tripped, he could feel it right behind the wall. If he turned his head fast enough, he could see it through the walls of ever shifting, ever forming labyrinth. It was something inhuman, something that was never supposed to be born, something that would make 'Bloodborne' hunters take a step back in fear and disgust. It was sentient and something living, that never should be alive.
His vision was never clear, it was always shaking. At times Naruto's vision became black and he had to run simply on instinct. Always forward, never back. Other times he saw images, images of something so alien and unnatural that his brain immediately locked those memories down. But anxiety and fear remained. His legs were burning. It felt like running through water. Then his legs became led, then cotton. The slower Naruto got, the worse his anxiety became. A head – splitting headache didn't help ether. He crawled using his arms, elbows and even chin. He would have used his teeth too if he could. Fear of death wasn't something that made Naruto move, he never feared death in the first place. No, he knew, if that thing caught up, he wouldn't die and that scared him the most.
He moved slower and slower. He felt, he knew that if he stopped, he would be put through something so incomprehensively vile, that torture by flaying would seem like a day at the spa.
Naruto could feel it's eyes drilling holes on the back of his head. The headache grew so strong, he could have sworn his head was actually smashed into pieces. And then… then…
He felt something cool touch his forehead. There was no more headache, fear or anxiety. He realized he was awake. Naruto didn't bother opening his eyes. One gentle hand was stroking his hair, while the other held his own. His head rested on something soft and very comfortable. He brought the caramel colored hand to his face and only then slightly opened his eyes. Her hand had markings from Naruto's not to gentle grip (Naruto's mindscape was surprisingly realistic in detail as well as physical experience department). He gently kissed Machiko's hand and moved it back to his chest. She didn't object or stopped stroking his hair. Empathy is a powerful thing.
"Thank you Chiko – chan," Naruto said softly.
"Is this why you never sleep?" She asked just as quietly.
"Partly. For me sleep is mostly a waste of time. I stopped sleeping before the Nightmares began," he laughed softly. "No matter how much I ascend, it's always the same. I thought I would be able to at least understand it now…"
"Maybe we-" Machiko started but our protagonist didn't let her finish.
"We will continue. This is something I'll have to deal with eventually. Might as well do it now."
"Can't your friend help you?" she asked hopefully.
He barely shook his head (it was still resting on Machiko's lap).
"He can't help me when it comes to my own mind. Well he can, but I must do it on my own. Your help is much appreciated, though."
Only then she realized how intimate their position was. In the heat of the moment she did what she had always done for her little sisters (other Biju) when one of them had troubles falling asleep. She was the eldest after all (not really. They just acted appropriately to their chakra levels, so Machiko was like a big sister/mother to them).
Sensing his tenant's embarrassment, Naruto slowly pulled himself into sitting position. And looked at her with a small, but sincere smile.
"Really, thank you."
Without any masks, without pretence or his usual playfulness, Naruto's smile was truly something mesmerizing. His eyes, usually sparkling in amusement, as if only he heard some funny joke, now shone with deep wisdom and understanding, appropriate for the being with his level of experience. Next to Naruto even her father would look like a lost child in front of the head monk.
There was a difference beyond the level of wisdom and understanding as well. For a few seconds Machiko couldn't put her finger on it, comparing the mental image of Hagoromo to Naruto. The object of her observation tilted his head to the side, somehow making a childish gesture look normal. And then it hit her.
"You look normal," she said in realization.
Naruto actually blinked a few times, trying to process the information.
"Pardon my french, but what the fuck?" Nobody have ever called him normal.
"Your face looks normal," she continued unperturbed by his words. "Father didn't live half your age and he have never achieved half your wisdom, yet he always looked so tired. Even after waking up he looked like he'll fall asleep at any moment. You… you look normal."
"Ah, I see," Naruto slowly nodded. "People who feel like they have lived enough do tend to look tired all the time. It's a part of a mortal's mindset, I believe."
"I see." She could see his point. Being almost two thousand years old herself, she could attest to that; she felt bored at times, but she never wore that tired look on her face. She now had no doubt that this man in front of her will achieve even greater heights.
"Your lap is really comfortable, by the way," Naruto said with a grin™.
And like that the magic was gone. Naruto was back to his ever smiling self and Machiko was left madly blushing. She's been doing a lot of that lately.
(And another flashback within the flashback end)
Naruto was diving deeper and deeper into himself. Soon he once again found himself before a giant YinYang symbol, nearly as tall as Naruto, bound by multiple white chains. He didn't do anything and simply waited. Then he suddenly made a sweeping motion. A trigger for his sudden movement was a slight jolt the YinYang symbol made. A few months ago he found out that when the symbol moves the chains weakened. Time after time he waiter for that jolt and swiped at the chains until one of the finally broke.
"One down, now for the hard part." He muttered to himself.
It wasn't the first time he broke the first chain, but he never before broke the second one before first one could reform.
"Damn it," he said as the first chain appeared again. "Calm down, take a deep breath, nothing can be done on a hot head."
While he was trying to calm himself down, his eyes never left the symbol. He kept on trying for hours. It was by far the longest he had been here. Then, after a more powerful jolt, It hit him. The symbol wasn't just twitching, it was trying to rotate! Moving closer Naruto instead of grabbing the chains (which really hurt by the way), he grabbed the symbol and tried to rotate it like a giant valve. At first nothing happened, but after another jolt came the first chain shattered like glass (it usually disappeared like mist), after a second, more powerful, jolt another chain broke. Excited by his success Naruto kept at it and after the symbol moved for the third time the last chain finally broke. The room suddenly exploded into black and white. After the light receded Naruto found himself into a boundless space that was separated in two. Right half was glowing golden with a white sun blazing in a distance. The left half was pitch black with a silver crescent hanging in the sky. In the middle the same round symbol was slowly rotating.
"I did it," said our tired hero with a smile and slowly drifted upwards to his mindscapes upper level. As he opened his eyes he saw that the dojo changed a little. The YinYang symbol transferred to the floor and had some additions to it. It now looked like a Hyuuga was standing in the middle of it and was performing his 64 palms jutsu. He didn't get much time to sightsee as Machiko quickly pounced at him.
"Congratulations! It took me nearly double the time to do it. I'm so proud of you!" she said hugging him.
"I had a great teacher," Naruto said with a smile. The fact that he had double her INS helped as well.
"How does it look now?" she asked smiling. He told her what happened.
"It's just like fathers…" she said amazed.
"From your reaction I take it yours look different," Naruto asked
"It does. When I broke my bounds, both symbols parted and dropped into a pond. They turned into fish and now they are swimming in circles. Now when I want to use normal chakra I guide the fish so they bump into each other."
"What will I need to do? Mine still look connected." He asked concern evident in his voice.
"If yours works like fathers, then you don't need to do anything. You might be able to use all seven styles at the same time. Look at your palms." She said. Naruto complied and found a black crescent on his left palm and a white circle on his right.
"You really are just like father," she said in a quiet voice. "You should be able to use Yin/Yang and elemental chakra at the same time. Try creating something," she suddenly exclaimed.
"'Banbutsu souzou'?" Naruto asked with a smile. After receiving her nod Naruto tried to create a chakra rod (the one pain uses).
Physical Skill unlocked: Yin chakra rod (by mastering Yin style you are now able to create chakra rods of different sizes. Can disrupt chakra flows. At lvl 1 – max length – 30cm, strength – iron, 100-150 phys. dmg.)
"You used only Yin chakra for that," Machiko informed him. "Now, when creating something, try to use both Yin and Yang. Make the same rod but out of wood." And he did as she suggested. The result greatly surprised Machiko. Naruto… not so mush.
Current skill 'Banbutsu Souzou' can be combined with lost skill 'Trace'. Do you wish to combine them?
'Yes.'
Skills combined.
Naruto's left hand burned with dark blue fire, while his right one emitted a white one with occasional golden sparks. He put his palms together and when he separated them a light blue cylindrical circuit connected them. The circuit pulsed with white light and when it receded, a wooden stick lay on Naruto's lap.
Combination skill unlocked: Banbutsu Souzou II (by combing Yin/Yang style with Trace you are now able to analyze composition of anything and everything and change it, as well as create anything out of nothing but chakra).
'And this is how I'll give Machiko her body'
{[You knew this would happen, didn't you?]'
'Of course. It's too perfect of a combination for you to pass up.'
[You know me too well,] you could hear a smile in his voice.
'For how long have we known each other again?' Naruto said with a smile. A chuckle was his answer.}
"That was different from my 'Banbutsu Souzou'," Machiko said looking at the stick.
"Think of it as an upgraded version." When Naruto received questioning gaze he continued his explanation. "In one of the worlds I previously visited I picked up a similar skill, and now when I tried to use 'Banbutsu Souzou' they combined,"
"You can do that?" asked wide eyed kitsune.
"Yep. With 'Trace' – a skill from another world, I could analyze composition and recreate anything I saw. Now I can also create anything I imagine."
"Ah, the 'Fate/' series. So those blue glowing lines were from 'Trace'?" she asked and received a confirming nod.
(Another flashback end)
Now we find our hero walking beside Yugao to meet the Hokage. Hiruzen came for a visit about once a month and played shogi with Naruto. But today Naruto was going to him, in order for Yugao to report her decision about his new accommodation.
"Yo, jiji." Naruto greeted his Hokage with a smile as Yugao opened the door. Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork with a smile of his own.
"Good morning Naruto–kun, Yugao. What brings you here?"
"Hokage–sama I'm here to inform you that I decided to adopt Naruto." Anbu captain reported.
"And I agreed," said Naruto before Hiruzen could ask.
"Splendid," Sarutobi clan head was genuinely happy. "Do you need anything?"
"No, everything is fine," said Yugao smiling.
"Actually I have a few questions," Naruto suddenly said.
Omake: curious kitsune.
A week after Naruto started training under Machiko. Story's protagonist was resting after another training session. It was the time when his teacher chose to satisfy her curiosity.
"I've been looking around in your GUI and I can't help but wander… You should have more perks, should you not?" she asked bringing up the status screen before them.
"True. Not all of them are displayed. Only the active ones," Naruto started his explanation. "You see… each world has a specific type of energy in it and all the perks are made to work with their specific type of energy. The status screen simply doesn't display the ones that give me no benefit. If it displayed all of them, the author would have to make a dedicated chapter just for them."
"What about the stuff like defense, damage, resistance and all that?" She took a liking to the games, especially the RPGs. Only thanks to some well placed mental insulations Naruto managed to keep his mind intact when she played 'Dark Souls'.
"For that there is an extended list. It has all the types of elemental dmg and res, my luck, dps, reputation, income… stuff like that. Most of them are at zero at the time, so… not really worth the time describing." Naruto waved his hand. "The perks that effect them are also displayed there. I have only one at the moment."
"What's that?"
"Actually it's yours," he said with a grin™. "With everyone, who lived through your 'attack' and have INS lower than 30 I will automatically have a negative reputation with."
"Ah, I see. And what about your skills? Do they work like your perks as well?"
"Oh, no. I can use all the skills I have learned. I might use some of them in the future, but I like to get through the world by playing by its rules, instead of breaking everything by using my OP as fuck abilities. It's always more fun to beat them at their own game," Naruto finished with a grin™.
Next time: Progression! Yay!
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Lvl: 3 (exp – 100/1000)
Age: 4 years (physical), 1045 years (mental), 2 years (spend in 'Naruto' world)
HP: 1000
CP: 3300
SP: 880
LF: 1600
VIT: 100
STR: 76
DEX: 31
INT: 330
WIS: 330
INS: 1002
SPD: 35
Perks:
Gamers' contract: you remember all your incarnations, perfect memory, RPGescue GUI in all worlds, granted mental time freeze,
Great one: INS cannot be lower than 1000, WIS cannot be lower than INT, change In form successful 100% of the time, +100% to effectiveness in all sensory abilities, granted ability to consume/enslave souls of lower life forms, ability to reach perfect control of all natures, all physical drawbacks are canceled,
Ashura's chakra: +10 VIT every lvl, +50% to team's morale, +50% to team's exp gain,
Uzumaki – dominant: +100 LF every lvl, +5 VIT every lvl, +5 STR every lvl, +5 INT every lvl, ability to reach absolute mastery in fuinjustu (max lvl 5), chains, +50% to effectiveness in all sensory abilities, red hair,
Namikaze – recessive: +5 SPD every lvl, +1 STR every lvl, +1 DEX every lvl,
Uchiha – recessive: +2 SPD every lvl, +1 STR every lvl, +1 DEX every lvl, Sharingan,
Preteen: LF is stable,
Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Yoko: +100 LF every lvl, +15 VIT every lvl, +15 STR every lvl, +100 INT every lvl, enhanced healing – in combat - 10 HP/s, out of combat – 100 HP/s, total immunity to all genjutsu below A – rank, ability to sense emotion,
Hanyou: got at lvl 3 - +5 VIT per lvl, +5 STR per lvl, +5 DEX per lvl, +5 SPD per lvl, enhanced healing – in combat - 40 HP/s, out of combat – 400 HP/s, 9 tails (they represent how much of Kyuubi's chakra is under your control), sense of smell x1000, night vision, enhanced sight – up to x10, enhanced hearing – up to x10, chance of successful transformation 10% (bonuses – chance of successful transformation 100%).