Author's Notes:
Just going to give a little warning: the chapters might be coming a little slower nowadays due to MW3 being released tomorrow =)! I probably would be going to the midnight release at my GameStop, but I'd rather not freeze…Still, it's up in the air, I may risk it for the biscuit.
Also, people were getting a little bent out of shape due to the whole 'Snake Whore' thing, but it was just meant to be a joke, sort of like calling Sasuke a bastard of Jiraiya a pervert. No hard feelings. People are going to find something this chapter really annoying, I bet. Even though its just 'for show.'
The Hiraishin thing is weird, too. With 562 it seems others were able to do it, so I'm guessing Kakashi may actually know it, if Genma does at least, which is really weird, even if they need each other to do it. It sort of makes the Hiraishin lose some luster in my books; I was hoping only Minato and Naruto would ever know it (if he does learn it). With some bum like Genma knowing it… I confess myself disappointed.
IIII
Outnumbered
IIII
D-rank missions were almost always meant to be something easily handled by a genin squad that took place in the village; things like cleaning and organizing, gardening and landscaping and sometimes even shopping and cooking for the elderly along with many other mundane tasks suited for the average civilians, not ninja per say.
Naruto was easily starting to hate D-rank missions with a fierce passion like the many genin squads before his time.
They were boring, tedious, boring, time consuming, boring, mundane, didn't give him the chance to show off some of his skills and last but not least, boring.
Team Ten had been doing D-rank missions for a little over three weeks and he was starting to wonder if joining Shikamaru in herding deer was such a bad idea after all; the deer might at least put up a better fight then dogs they recently had to walk for Kiba's mother Tsume. Naruto wasn't positive but he was pretty sure the feral woman had been hiring them just so she could flirt with their sensei; he didn't voice this opinion cause the women downright terrified him.
It wasn't all bad though – mostly, yes, but not all bad – as he, Shikamaru, Ino and Asuma-sensei would normally go through some sparring and basic training to keep their skills sharp from eight in the morning, to, at the very latest, noon; chakra control wasn't exactly the type of training that ignited Naruto's fires of youth, but it was to be expected and his massive reserves were still a bit out of his grasp so the extra training was actually quite welcome. The money he was piling up due to the missions was also a welcome addition to the stipend he received every week.
After that it was whatever the old man had to offer them that he saw fitting.
Old bastard, Naruto thought.
Their first mission they had actually failed, as the old lady they were set to help completely refused to allow Naruto to touch her groceries. That had set off Asuma-sensei as he knew of Naruto's burden.
Though extremely embarrassed, Naruto had grinned widely as the jounin tore into the old lady about wasting their time as ninjas of the Leaf.
Ino and Shikamaru were obviously curios but he'd just played it off and said he'd swapped her bottled-water with vinegar once upon a time (it wasn't true but he had done it before to a vendor who spat in a cup and tried to charge him the same price for it as he did fresh water); Ino accepted it without second thought as – as much as he hated to admit it – she didn't really care, but Shikamaru was curious, he could tell from the look in the lazy bum's eyes.
Naruto yawned through his hand as he jogged towards training ground ten for their morning sessions; memories of the previous day floated around his head like a whispering halo that didn't want to leave him be.
"You'll probably need to tell them soon, Naruto. I know, I know," he said, seeing the look of pain flash across Naruto's face. "You don't want to lose what you have, but isn't it better to come right out with it? We are ninja, yes, but trust amongst comrades is the foundation of the Leaf. Would you rather have Shikamaru find out by accident, or when he gains the proper clearance? Did you ever think of the betrayal he may feel when it comes to the surface and you weren't the one to tell him, hmm?" Asuma asked sternly; the cigarette was gone and a look of seriousness was clear on his face.
Naruto swallowed. "Shika, Kiba and Chou are my best friends and as much they – us, for that matter – seem like slackers, they're smart. They can tell the difference between the jailer and the prisoner," he said bitterly. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. "It's –"
"I know, kid. You don't have to say it. If you told one, you'd have to tell 'em all and you don't wanna be the cause of a rift between anyone, let alone yourself." Naruto nodded solemnly. "I'm not saying tell them today, but do it before the Chuunin Exams in a few months; even if only our team and your closest friends." Asuma gave Naruto a smile that immediately had Naruto wary. "I also think you don't give Ino enough credit, Naruto."
Naruto reddened, spluttered and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
As his thoughts drifted towards the blond his stomach clenched unpleasantly like it usually did when around her. Sometimes his heart would flutter, especially when she had a compliment for him; it wasn't much and she probably saw nothing of it, but for someone like Naruto it was like receiving a gift for passing an exam. Other times he felt like little splinters were forming in his chest when she moaned about how close Sakura and Sasuke were getting, if they were to believe everything the pink-haired girl was saying, that is, which Naruto didn't but did nothing to make Ino believe that either; the more she thought Sasuke was madly in love with Sakura the better.
Naruto briefly thought about summoning Dokueki and the gang for some man to man advice about women. Surely there were some pointers they could give him, right?
Taking deep breaths Naruto shook his head as he came to a stop at training ground ten.
He wasn't alone.
A certain blond happened to be there as well; stretching.
Aww man…
Naruto let out an audible groan as the sole Yamanaka on Team Ten bent forwards and touched the tips of her purple-coated toe-nails with her slender fingers; she really was flexible and the thin, shiny coat of sweat that coated her body –
"Hey, Naruto," said Ino as she straightened herself out.
Oh yeah, I forgot she was a Sensor in the making…
"Hey, Ino," he mumbled as he too started stretching his limbs out. He was actually the most flexible member of Team Ten and regularly battled Ino in who was the more flexible ninja competitions; he didn't mind at all as the view was spectacular. "Lazy and Smoky aren't here yet I see."
"Nope," she said, stifling a giggle behind her hand, "although I wouldn't be surprised if Asuma-sensei appeared out of nowhere any moment now."
"Surprise can be a valuable and life-saving asset for a ninja," said Asuma as he appeared in a shower of smoke, wind and leaves.
"When are you going to teach us that, sensei?" Ino asked.
Asuma spared Naruto a small wink before chuckling and turning his attention back to Ino. "Why don't you ask Naruto? He's already mastered the shunshin."
Ino's narrowed eyes immediately turned on Naruto, her hand son her hips. "Well?"
"I mastered most of the basic techniques before we even graduated the academy, if you must know," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.
"Impressive," Asuma admitted, the slight widening of the eyes the only sign he was surprised by Naruto's words.
A yawn broke through the stunned silence. "Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "Let's get this over with; the sooner were done the sooner I can return to my cloud gazing."
"As you wish," said Asuma pleasantly. "Since you've all been working very hard I've decided to reward you all before we begin our missions for the day."
"Rewards?" Naruto prodded eagerly.
"Rewards," Asuma repeated, tossing away a cigarette and pulling out three slips of paper. "These are called Chakra Paper –"
"I've heard of those!" Naruto burst out. Dokueki had wanted to test his affinity but the few shops that actually sold them had said he didn't have the proper clearance, having not been that of genin status. There was no doubt in Naruto's mind had Sasuke tried he'd of got the papers for free and a few jutsu scrolls to go along with whatever affinity it turned out the bastard had.
"Good," Asuma rumbled. "These will test your elemental affinities. Working with your specific element takes years to fully master and I doubt we'll be working much on the subject till you're at least chuunin level, but it doesn't hurt to know what your element is now and I'll have a scroll for each of you after the test."
"Really?" Ino squealed.
Wincing at her tone, Asuma nodded. "Here," he said, handing them each a piece. "Channel a bit of chakra and wait for the results; if it turns to ash then that means your element is fire, lightning will crinkle the paper, water will soak it, earth will cause it to crumble and wind will split it in two."
Each genin took a piece and channeled their respective chakra.
Shikamaru's paper turned to ash while Ino's seemed to momentarily harden before crumbling which was all well and good; normal, one could say.
Uzumaki Naruto was not normal.
"Hey, sensei, check it out! It sliced in half and one of the halves is wet!"
"Why do I have a feeling this is going to be troublesome?" Shikamaru muttered to himself.
"Sensei," Ino whined, "how come Naruto has two affinities?"
"Well," Asuma explained, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "when a ninja uses a particular nature enough they develop a sort of…kinship, you could call it. It will never be as strong as said persons main affinity – which can be seen as only one piece of the paper is actually wet – but it will be easier for them to use then it would be one they haven't gained familiarity with, but they will also gain the weaknesses along with it."
"Weakness?" Naruto pouted.
Asuma sighed. "Looks like I have some explaining to do…"
"So essentially I can trump Naruto's wind with my fire while his water would likely put my fire out; Ino on the other hand takes care of that, however she loses to the lightning that Naruto – and you, sensei – would normally overcome with wind," Shikamaru repeated.
"Essentially," Asuma allowed, "but if you think you have the fight in the bag just because your personal affinity is greater than your opponents you're in for a nasty shock. There is more to it than the bare essentials," he lectured. "We are barely scratching the surface as it is and have yet to even begin discussing the nature of collaboration techniques."
"Alright already," Naruto snapped; he was practically trembling in anticipation at just hearing how badass his techniques were going to be. "Teach us some jutsus, sensei!"
"Very well, Naruto," said Asuma, digging in his flak-jacket and pulling out a small scroll. Without waiting to give an explanation he bite his thumb and dragged his blood-coated finger along the scroll; five puffs of smoke signaling whatever he was doing worked. Putting two of the scrolls back in his bag he handed each genin a scroll. "Work on this in your own time because right now we have missions to do!"
Groaning, Team Ten followed their sensei towards the Hokage tower.
None noticed when Naruto slowed his pace so that he was behind them and made a single seal, nor did they notice the half-dozen clones take the scroll and run off with it into the forest.
IIII
Naruto liked gardening. He supposed he picked up the habit hoping it would one day help Ino fall in love with him, as ridiculous as it actually sounded.
Over time his interest in gardening changed from a desire to be acknowledged by his favorite shop-keeper to an actual desire to simply garden. It was comforting, and even if he never had the chance to have a proper garden in his former apartment like he did with his new home, having plants to take care of was almost like having friends when he didn't actually have the latter to count on; having plants depend on him to feed and nurture them had given him a sense of fulfillment.
'Gardening' in the Forest of Death with Team Ten wasn't the same as caring for the few plants he used to have by his bedroom window.
For one, his plants weren't dangerous by any means nor were they very helpful in the shinobi fields like the plants they were currently harvesting for Konoha General. They also were actual plants, not fungi, herbs and everything else sprouting from the earth.
He also didn't have Ino scolding him.
"That's not right!" she snapped, slapping his hand away and deftly plucking a flower with a green stem and yellow top before tossing it into her cache. "You must pluck these using your thumb and fore-finger, Naruto," she scolded. He brushed away the 'praise' and moved on to another plant… "No! Use your kunai to cut that one off at the base of the stem so you don't get any excess grass in the bag!"
"Grr…"
"Leave him be, Ino," said Shikamaru from his spot atop a branch he was laying on; he had long since given up doing his share and started resting early.
The smell of smoke alerted them to Asuma's presence. "I should scold you, Shikamaru, but I just can't bring myself to take this too seriously myself," he admitted.
Grunting, Shikamaru nodded before closing his eyes.
"Glad to know half of Team Ten cares if we complete our – Naruto! Get back over here!"
"What?" he asked innocently from the branch adjacent to Shikamaru. Asuma nodded approvingly as he closed his eyes and lent against a large tree.
"You all suck," Ino muttered as she went back to gathering more items throughout the forest.
Naruto was about to respond when he suddenly shivered. Nobody noticed the movement nor the shit-eating grin he now sported as he leaned back in content
IIII
Naruto had been in the Forest of Death hundreds of times and was used the different animals and creatures that frequented it. Hell, he'd eaten his fair share of them!
As it was, he knew what to expect when he entered the forest and was always on guard as was Asuma-sensei and Shikamaru who had picked up on both their movements; he was smart like that and had several kunai readily available.
Ino was smart but she didn't happen to pick up on the little things as well as Shikamaru did. She thought they were just going into a forest to pick some herbs and such for the hospital. All she had on her person that was quickly useable was more likely than not a few kunai.
This was why when Naruto heard a scream he was already moving towards its location with a kunai ready.
The Forest of Death was the home to many monstrous creatures ranging from spiders the size of bears and bears the size of small houses; Naruto could only push himself harder and silently hope that Ino was merely freaked by a large than normal insect.
His hope was crushed when he noticed several tigers much too larger prowling around the Yamanaka; he was vaguely aware the their sensei was behind him, leaning calmly against a tree and Shikamaru was still trying to reach them in time.
Naruto wanted very badly to snap at his sensei but could not seem to take his eyes of his surrounded team member. He also couldn't help but feel a bit of pride enter him as he noticed the defiant look on Ino's face as she palmed two kunais and readied herself. The dread came back full-force when he thought of Ino's odds against six very large and very hungry tigers.
He wasted no time in flinging a kunai at the tiger closest to Ino and had to bite back a groan when the kunai was swatted away by one of the other tigers; it seemed he'd caught their attention as Ino quickly dashed out of their make-shift circle.
"What are we going to do?" she demanded of Naruto in a hurried whisper.
Naruto turned to glare at their sensei who smirked back and pulled a pack of cigarettes from one of his many pockets. "Shikamaru should be here any moment…now."
"Who'd of thought a D-rank mission could be so troublesome," he muttered as he caught his breath.
Ino snorted. "I repeat – what the fuck are we going to do!"
Naruto looked over his two team-mates as the tigers continued to eye them up and down. "Shika, how many of them can you hold?"
"Probably all of them for a short period of time," he concluded before sighing, "but my range isn't that good and they are too far apart for me to get the all in one go."
"How about you, Ino?" Naruto asked.
She bit her lip and shrugged. "The mind transfer would only work on one of them as will the only other technique I know."
Naruto nodded and got himself ready. "Alright," he said confidently. "Ino, I want you to make one of the tigers attack the others." At her surprised look he nodded seriously before turning to Shikamaru. "When they get close enough to each other I want you to grab as many of them as you can and hold on."
"Got it," he said without hesitation.
"What are you going to do, huh?" Ino demanded.
"I'm going to kill them all," he said seriously.
Ino swallowed a retort before shrugging and turning her attention back to the tigers. She knew which one of those furry bastards she was going to make turn on his buddies; the one that had made her get mud on her shirt!
Ino made a unique hand seal as she glared at the lead tiger, "Shinranshin no Jutsu!" She flinched a little as the technique took hold but it did its job; in short order the tiger was clawing wildly at the others and they were forced to converge upon him to put him down, leader or not.
They never saw Shikamaru's jutsu coming. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru trembled slightly but stood tall as the tigers froze without a second thought.
Naruto was not one to waste a golden opportunity and as much as he didn't enjoy killing, the tigers needed to die then and there. Not only as future threats but for the trouble they had caused his team and a precious person to him; the damn tigers had nearly eaten Ino!
He made the hand seal without hesitation, clasping hands together tightly and feeling the wind behind him. He knew the technique wasn't going to be as powerful as it would be for a master of the wind element like his sensei, but he hoped it'd put the tigers down cleanly and with as little pain as possible.
"Fuuton: Repuu Shou!"
The C-rank wind technique came screaming over Naruto's shoulders with the amount of force that would put many tornados to shame, tearing down trees and uplifting bits and pieces of everything in its path. Where Great Breakthrough separated and pushed, Gale Palm tore and shredded.
The poor tigers never stood a chance.
IIII
"Good work today," said Asuma-sensei as the group left the Forest of Death. Technically they had passed their mission due to the bag full of herbs Shikamaru had collected – both Ino's and Naruto's had been lost – but the one paying them hadn't been too happy.
"Good work?" Ino repeated snidely. "I was almost eaten on a D-rank mission!"
Asuma nodded. "True, but your team-mates came to your rescue and together the three of you were able to formulate an impressive plan and defeat your enemies." Ino shot their sense a filthy look but did look quite pleased with herself. "I was wondering," Asuma murmured, "how did you manage to learn the technique I'd given you only hours before?"
Naruto looked around nervously before swallowing. "I had help."
Asuma shook his head at him. "Secrets and lies are the ninja way but I thought you'd at least trust us enough to tell us how you learned a technique in one day's time," said Asuma sadly. "Sometimes, Naruto, it is better to just come out with the truth on the little things as the ideas that some people have running through their heads can wind up hurting you more than the actual truth will. Sometimes the truth really will set you free."
Naruto looked from Shikamaru's lazy but perceptive face to Ino's stern and expectant one. "When Mizuki attacked me," he didn't even bother stopping at Ino's gasp, "he'd apparently been doing it as a last resort before leaving the village."
"Why did he attack you?" Ino questioned.
Naruto swallowed. "That… that is for another time," he said slowly, "but the reason he was leaving the village is because he stole a forbidden scroll from the Hokage."
Asuma suddenly let out a rumbly chuckle. "Spoils of war, eh Naruto?"
Naruto grinned and shrugged. "Finders keepers."
"What's going on?" Ino demanded.
Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and snorted. "I thought you were the smart one in our group, Ino?" Said insulted blond shot the Nara a dangerous look. "Troublesome," he muttered. "Naruto obviously got his hands on the scroll that Mizuki stole and learned whatever techniques it had on it. Isn't that right, Naruto?"
"Pretty much," he admitted. "Most of the scroll was damaged but I learned a few cool jutsus! This is one of them – Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Ino and Shikamaru were both impressed when the doze clones appeared behind Naruto but it was their sensei that had gasped and paled.
"Naruto! What are you doing?" he exclaimed, horrified.
"Making a few shadow clones?"
"A few?" he growled.
"Yeah," Naruto shrugged. "I can make anywhere from one to a couple thousand.
"A thousand," Asuma mumbled weakly.
"Mhm. Apparently you-know-who is good for something cause I know I should be dead right now if I tried making these without his help. I always knew having a shit-load of chakra would come in handy one day."
"I think I'm the one missing something now," Shikamaru mumbled. "Why are these clones so special?"
Asuma-sensei didn't appear to be in the shape to answer so Naruto did. "These clones take a ridiculous amount of chakra and most jounin – even the Hokage – can't make as many as I can. They're special cause their actually solid and my chakra is spread evenly throughout them. Not only that but whatever they learn, I learn. They were made for spying and information gathering but with them I can basically have them do my training for me." He failed to mention that they'd also be doing his laundry and shopping soon but he'd had water clones doing that for him for years already.
Shikamaru whistled appreciatively. "Can we learn it?"
Asuma finally spoke up. "Maybe when your jounin," he said sternly. "Now, I believe I need to report to the Hokage; you are all free to return to your homes but meet me at the usual spot tomorrow. Dismissed!"
Team Ten spilt when their sensei had disappeared with some kind words and promises for some hard training come the next day.
As Naruto made his way home he knew he'd held the biggest secret of all to himself and it really didn't bother him all that much. The fox was a part of him and telling them something that personal was honestly out of the question at the moment. As much as he'd liked to know what size bra Ino wore he didn't expect her to tell him nor did he expect Shikamaru to tell them how big his penis was. It was all personal and they'd barely been team-mates for a month and even if he and Shika had been buddies for years he was still coming to terms what it meant to be a jinchuuriki himself.
Soon though, he thought. Yeah, soon. Like the next time were in a life-threatening situation, he thought, chuckling to himself.
He had no idea that situation was going to come much sooner rather than later.
IIII
Author's Notes:
Some might be a little peeved that Naruto has two affinities, but that isn't the case, not really anyway. I'm just using it as a way to show his 'growth.' He won't have the Ice Release like Haku since his affinities aren't a kekkei genkai, just a way of showing how he went from having no affinity to anything but wind to having a slight water affinity due to all his training with Dokueki (learning water techniques).
This is speculation, but I'm guessing Naruto's mother had an affinity to water as an Uzumaki, although Nagato is shown using a wind jutsu when younger (he had the Rinnegan, yet they chose wind) so maybe the Uzumaki held affinities to wind. She was from Uzushiogakure (Village Hidden among the Whirling Tides) in the Land of Whirlpools. It is also said – and shown – that Uzushiogakure looks very similar to Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist) whom hold affinities to water. Like I said, this is just speculation but I'm betting Naruto got his wind affinity from his father and if he worked on it, he'd have a water one from his mother.
Translation:
Fuuton: Repuu Shou – Wind Release: Gale Palm
