7. Evolution

Forest On Wave

Naruto smirked as he looked at his partners who had proud smiles/smirks on their own faces as they looked back at him. Standing in front of him were three middle level Pokemon who were still enjoying the feeling of power that came from the evolution process. Naruto's smirk turned into a proud smile as he remembered what happened earlier.

Flashback: Scene: Forest Clearing Two Hours After Leaving Tazuna's Bridge

Naruto had decided that it would be more time efficient to simply create another training area a short distance away from the bridge. So once he and his partners were at a safe distance away from everything else, he had his partners let loose cutting down trees as he transformed into a Scyther as well as making three clones to aid in cutting down trees leaving some trunks at various heights to add variety into the area that would soon become a training ground.

The three Pokemon meanwhile worked as a team on the ground as they slipped into a procedure that they have done multiple times when Team 7 was given a mission to clear out a part of the forest near the Village to build off of. Bulbasaur would launch multiple barrages of razor leafs at tree trunks thinning them down to just a foot in thickness before Charmander would let loose with a flamethrower that would further weaken the tree. Once enough of the trunk was burned away, Squirtle would douse the flames before attacking the tree with a skull bash sending the tree crashing down away from where their trainer was.

Once the tree was down, Bulbasaur would trim off the branches and cut the tree into segments that Squirtle would roll out of the way using its water gun while Charmander occasionally burned the roots of the stump enough for Bulbasaur to pull out as well once Squirtle had extinguished the fire.

With Naruto, he did something similar slicing through the tree with his transformed arms sending the tree crashing to the floor before he began cutting the tree into segments. As he did this, a clone transformed into Scyther's evolved form, Scizor, would then use its claws to cut off the branches before another couple of clones transformed into Machamps would then haul the segments over to where the Pokemon were depositing their own segments.

Now an area that once held proud trees was an area riddled with stumps that were at various heights that had their tops flattened to the point where someone could easily stand on them without too much trouble.

Naruto glanced over the training area one more time before glancing over at the tree segments that were off to the side and frowned. It seemed like a waste to let all that wood just rot off to the side. Coming to a decision, Naruto created a group of twenty clones who instantly went to the logs and began preparing them for transport to the village where Naruto was sure the villagers could find some use for them.

Once that was out of the way, Naruto turned to his partners and said "Alright guys, lets get started. Free for all, no limitations. We don't stop until all three of you have evolved."

The Pokemon nodded before as one the four separated and began moving throughout the stumps attacking each other in a dangerous game of war whenever they ran into each other.

As Naruto moved through the maze of stumps, he heard the sound of steam being made as Squirtle and Charmander engaged each other before he suddenly had to dodge out of the way of a bunch of leaves that landed where he had been. Naruto looked around the stump that he was crouched behind before he had to quickly duck back as a smirking Bulbasaur let loose another barrage at him from his position on top of a tree stump.

'If that's how you want to play it, then lets try this.' Naruto thought before he made a hand sign and disappeared in a cloud of smoke that made Bulbasaur stiffen in anticipation for whatever the blond transformed into.

He was unprepared though when a Ryhorn burst out of the smoke and around the stump before it rammed into the stump Bulbasaur had been standing on sending the Grass type flying. Before he could get too far though, Bulbasaur sent out his vines and wrapped them around the still running rhino Pokemon's legs causing it to trip as the green Pokemon pulled on its vines intending to tackle the Pokemon while it was down.

Right when it did though, the Rhyhorn burst into smoke causing Bulbasaur to widen it's eyes before a shadow appeared over him. Bulbasaur jumped out of the way barely avoiding the Hitmonlee's foot that slammed into the ground before it was covered in smoke and a Hitmontop came out spinning. The fighting type quickly bared down on the grass type who just as quickly launched its vines at a stump and pulled itself up just in time to dodge the transformed blond as it shot forward and bounced off a stump as it continued on its way.

Bulbasaur quickly decided that he wanted to fight something that wouldn't be constantly changing on him and shot his vines toward one of the larger stumps that were in range and quickly drew himself towards it to find one of his fellow Pokemon to fight against.

Bad Idea. As soon, as he was close enough to the stump, Squirtle tackled his friend from behind another and the two began rolling around on the ground as they tried to come out on top.

Charmander meanwhile was looking around another stump as he tried to get a drop on one of the others. His match against Squirtle had ended in a stalemate when the two had been covered in the steam from their two attacks meeting allowing the turtle Pokemon to slip away undetected.

Charmander then saw a spinning top come bouncing along the tree stumps towards him. Deciding to try his luck against his trainer, Charmander's tail began glowing as he waited. As soon as the Hitmontop was close enough, Charmander swung his tail hoping to trip the spinning Pokemon. The Hitmontop instead jumped over the Iron Tail attack and transformed while it was still in the air causing Charmander to jump away from the blond who had landed behind him.

Charmander turned to face the blond and opened his mouth shooting out a smokescreen. As he was covered in the thick smoke, Naruto lightly cursed under his breath before a glowing tail suddenly appeared right in front of him and slammed into the blond shooting him out of the cloud to land painfully against the stump. Naruto barely had time to groan out in pain before he had to dodge the flamethrower that came out of the smokescreen.

As the smokescreen dissipated, Charmander looked around trying to find his trainer. A large smoke cloud appeared on top of a stump behind him drawing his attention as it dispersed revealing a grinning Charizard causing Charmander's eyes to widen.

The transformed blond gave off a roar before opening his wings and rushed toward the fire type who quickly made his tail glow and spun to slam it into the flying lizard who pivoted with its own tail glowing blue from the chakra running through it. The two tails slammed into each other pushing the two combatants away with uneven forces.

Charmander slid on the ground before stopping as Naruto flew threw the air backwards before hitting a stump. As the transformed blond slumped down, he dropped the transformation with a pained grunt. His attention was drawn back to his partner though when he saw the fire type began glowing.

Charmander's form then began to shift into a larger one with the head angling back into some kind of horn. As the glow died down revealing Charmander's evolved form, Dex's muffled voice sounded from Naruto's vest pocket as its sensors picked up the evolution.

"Charmeleon: Flame type Pokemon. In the rocky mountains where Charmeleon live, their fiery tails shine at night like stars."

Naruto smirked and said "Booyah baby!"

The newly evolved Charmeleon opened his eyes and studied his form for a moment before he glanced up at Naruto when he shifted into a standing position.

"Nice job pal." Naruto said with a smile before his face took on a worried expression as the fire type suddenly grinned evilly at his trainer before he opened his mouth that began glowing.

Naruto's eyes widened as he jumped away just as Charmeleon launched a Fire Blast at the shape shifter.

"Holy Shit!" Naruto shouted out as the five pronged attack blasted straight through the maze before detonating against a tree. Turning back to his partner he said "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Charmeleon gave a proud smirk before turning his head in a seemingly random direction and motioned Naruto to follow him as he took off through the maze.

As he followed his partner, Naruto frowned and thought 'Why is he acting more like Squirtle? Did evolution really change more than his form and power levels? I sure hope not.'

The two made their way through the maze until they found an interesting sight. Squirtle and Bulbasaur were for some reason having a strength contest with Squirtle pushing against Bulbasaur's vines.

Naruto rose an eyebrow and said "Uh, guys, what are you doing?"

The two looked up at the blond before their eyes traveled to Charmeleon and widened.

Naruto smirked and said "You guys just going to stand there or are you going to try to evolve? Charmeleon obviously had enough experience when he fought me."

The two looked at each other for a moment before nodding to each other. Taking a few steps away from each other, they closed their eyes and concentrated for about a minute before both began glowing. Then as one their forms began shifting.

Both grew in size as pointed appendages that Naruto could only assume were ears appeared on Squirtle's form as its tail became bigger. Bulbasaur's bulb seemed to grow taller before partially opening before fern shaped leafs grew out under it.

The glowing died down revealing the two Pokemon's new forms before Dex once again spoke.

"Ivysaur: Seed type Pokemon. When the bud on its back starts swelling, a sweet aroma wafts to indicate the flower's coming bloom."

"Warturtle: Turtle type Pokemon. It is said to live 10,000 years. Its furry tail is a popular as a symbol of longevity."

Naruto's eyebrow rose at his Water type's description before shrugging and smiled at the two as they studied their new forms. Charmeleon then stepped forward and took his place by his friends as Naruto smirked at them and said "Good job guys."

All three smirked/smiled at him before their eyes widened as thirty clones appeared behind Naruto and he grinned evilly before saying "Ready for round two?"

Scene Change: Tazuna's House

Naruto strolled into the house with a wide grin on his face as he entered the kitchen.

"You seem happy." Kakashi said causing Naruto's grin to grow.

"Naruto, where are your partners?" Tsunami asked worried.

"You mean these partners?" Naruto asked as three beams of light escaped from the Pokeballs on his belt and formed into his partners in front of him.

"So that's their evolved forms." Kakashi mused as he studied the three Pokemon in front of him.

Naruto nodded and said "Yeah, and believe me, they're even stronger now than before. Now that they're at their middle levels, their attacks really pack a wallop now."

"Doesn't matter." Inari mumbled at his spot at the table.

Everyone focused on Inari as he glared at Naruto and said "Why do you even bother? You're just going to die any way when you go against Gato!"

Naruto cocked his head as he studied the boy in front of him and said "Yeah well it's better in my opinion to go down fighting than just roll over and wait to die."

Inari growled and said "Listen to you! You make me sick, coming her and talking about fighting like your some kind of hero when heroes don't exist! What gives you the right to come here not knowing anything and saying crap like that?"

Ivysaur and Warturtle narrowed their eyes slightly before shaking their heads.

Naruto merely rose an eyebrow and said "What right do we have? I didn't know that we needed a right to help people." Turning to Sakura, he said "Hey Sakura, did you know we needed a right to come here and help these people?"

Sakura merely shook her head before Inari shouted out "Stop talking crap! You have no idea what pain is! You probably don't want for anything in your village. I bet when you go home you'll go back to your parents and forget about this place so why don't you just leave now!"

"Inari!" Tsunami said before vines suddenly wrapped around the boy and jerked him over to Ivysaur who was glaring at him causing the boy's eyes to widen at the intensity of the glare.

"Ivysaur, let him go. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Naruto said gently.

Once Ivysaur had let him go, Naruto said "Inari, you don't realize how lucky you are. You still have your mother and grandfather. Me, I was born alone, an orphan the day I was born. I don't have a hug from a parent to look for when I get home. The only ones who share my home with me are my partners and I didn't even have them until a little over a month ago. Instead of moping around throwing yourself a pity party and telling everyone they're going to die, you should be trying to figure out what you can do to make everything better like your grandfather is. Otherwise you'll never become anything more than a pathetic shadow of what you could have been. Think about it."

Naruto then grabbed his plate and headed upstairs with his partners following him. As soon as the door upstairs closed Inari stood up and took off out of the house.

Tsunami began to get up but Kakashi beat her to it and said "I'll talk to him."

Kakashi found Inari sitting on the dock looking out over the water. Sitting down beside him, Kakashi looked out over the water as well as he said "Don't feel too bad about what Naruto said. He's had a pretty rough life himself. Being an orphan since birth is really only the tip of the iceberg for him. But he doesn't let it get to him. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him cry. He must have one day just got tired of crying and decided to do the best that he could with his situation and work to improve it. Your grandfather is doing the same with the bridge he is building. And someday you'll have to choose what you'll do as well. I just hope you choose right."

Kakashi stood up and headed back into the house as Inari pulled his knees up to his chest and thought 'Daddy, what would you do?'

Scene Change: Tazuna's Bridge

The next day, the beginning of the bridge was once again covered by smoke as clones appeared and then transformed.

Tazuna grinned from where he was standing beside Naruto and said "At this rate the bridge will be finished in a week! I can't tell you how glad I am for your help on this kid."

Naruto smiled and said "Don't mention it. I would actually make more clones but I'm afraid there wouldn't be anything for them to do if I did."

"True." Tazuna said before he noticed that some of the clones had transformed into Wingulls as they took to the sky.

Looking to Naruto, he saw the blond shrug as he said "Better safe than sorry. They'll let us know if anyone comes so that way the other clones don't have to keep an eye out while they work like they did yesterday."

Tazuna nodded and Naruto and his partners began walking back to the training ground they had made. When they got there, they found the sight of a boy holding a basket frowning as he looked around the man made clearing.

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked startling the boy as he turned to look at him before his eyes were drawn to his partners.

The boy shook himself a moment later and said "No, it's just that I come this way sometimes when I look for herbs. I was not expecting to see all these trees gone. Who ever did the cutting though could use some more practice in being consistent."

Naruto chuckled and said "Not really, we cut them that way on purpose. It makes training more interesting when you have more than just a plain field to work with during a fight."

"I see." The boy said as he looked around at the clearing again. "I take it you're a ninja then? I don't think anyone else would train to be able to fight at varying heights like this."

Naruto rose an eyebrow at the observation but said "I am. Oh my name's Naruto by the way. These are my partners, Ivysaur, Charmeleon, and Warturtle."

The Pokemon each nodded to the boy when their trainer introduced them and the boy returned the nods before saying "Haku, nice to meet you."

Naruto nodded before he said "You said you were going to collect herbs right? You want some help?"

Haku smiled and said "Thanks, I would like that."

Haku led the four into a small clearing and showed Naruto what he needed.

As he picked one of the plants, Naruto said "So what are these for any way?"

Haku paused for a moment before saying "It's for a very precious person of mine who was injured recently."

'Ah." Naruto said as he picked one last herb before walking over and putting his load in the basket followed by his partners.

"Thank you, this should be plenty." Haku said.

"Glad we could help. See you around Haku." Naruto said before he began walking back to his training field with his partners falling into step on either side of him.

"Naruto." Haku said causing Naruto and his partners to stop and turn back around.

"Yes?" Naruto asked.

Haku studied the blond for a moment before asking "Do you have anyone precious to you?"

Naruto cocked his head in confusion and said "Anyone precious to me?"

Haku smiled and said "Someone who you would do anything for to keep that person safe."

Naruto smiled as well as he looked down at his partners and knelt down to rub Warturtle and Chameleon's heads who leaned into the contact.

Looking back up at the other boy he said "Well for starters there's my partners here. And then there's Iruka-sensei and the Old Man."

Haku smiled again and said "Then you must be truly strong."

Naruto rose an eyebrow and said "What do you mean by that?"

"I believe that it only when you have someone precious to you are you truly strong."

Naruto smiled again and said "A good philosophy to have. See you around Haku."

Naruto turned around and began walking again while calling over his shoulder "Tell Zabuza to get well soon. I still haven't found anyone I can fight with that has a sword and I'm looking forward to finally fighting one."

Haku's eyes widened as the blond disappeared into the forest. 'He knew?'