DISCLAIMER!: WE DON'T OWN NARUTO!...It'd be cool if we did though…
Bulba Fett: What up my super sandwiches!? Been awhile hasn't it? Well, I AM BACK! And I'm bringing The Oracle back with me! But, first is this little number, so Jonin, what do we got in store for the people today?
Anonymous Jonin: ...I don't know what you want from me…. There's a chapter. I think it's pretty good. We had fun with it. You guys should go find Young Justice on Netflix, if you can, and check it out. Plz review and tell us nice things. You can also tell us bad things, but please be nice about it.
Bulba Fett: Yeah no flamers please, that would be rude.
TO THE CHAPTER!
. . . .
Chapter 7: Loss
. . . .
He scrambled for the scroll that was placed next to his cot and opened. He could hear Kurama chuckle in his mind as a similar thought came to both the demon and the child.
"This will be very useful…" Naruto said for the both of them as he read through the scroll.
"Useful indeed...this will work perfectly for you." Kurama chuckled as he thought of the possibilities the boy could have with this jutsu.
Naruto nodded. "I definitely need to learn this as soon as possible. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, you are my next goal!"
. . . .
"Kage Bunshin-" Naruto began to yell before he fell to his knees panting in exhaustion. The boy was again in his mindscape with Kurama. It was the same morning he had acquired the scroll for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Art of the Doppelganger), and he had been working at the jutsu for six hours within his mind.
Kurama sighed and looked at the boy with half hooded eyes. "Give it a rest Kit. It's amazing you were able to make anything at your age, let alone twenty clones." he grumbled to the boy, lazily trying to keep him from knocking himself out from exhaustion. Naruto looked up at the fox with a half hearted glare while he continued to breath hard.
"Twen-twenty clones is-is nothing….I-I can make mo-more, dattebayo!" he yelled between breaths and pumped a fist into the air. But that wasn't what caused Kurama's ear to twitch. Sure the brat had spunk, but something in that sentence caught the attention of the fox.
"What was that?" he asked in a low voice. Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the fox, finally getting his breathing under control. "What do you mean? All I said was I could do more than twenty clones." he said confusedly. Kurama shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "No, it was at the end...you said something...what was it." he asked in a curious tone as his ears bent back and he bent down to look at the boy.
Naruto blushed and scratched the side of his cheek nervously. "I-I don't know w-what you're talkin' about...dattebayo…" he grumbled as he adverted his eyes from the fox. After saying that Kurama's ears perked up and his eyes widened. "Was...was that a verbal tic?" he asked the boy, barely holding his snickers as he pointed at the boy with a shaky paw. Naruto's face exploded into red, though whether it was from anger or embarrassment, we will likely never know. "So-so what i-if it was!? Ya overgrown fox! Dattebayo!" he howled in embarrassment and anger at the fox, just before Kurama burst into laughter, holding his sides as he rolled on the ground.
"Oh Kami that's fucking hilarious! Oh man! This is rich! Fucking hilarious!" he cackled between fits of laughter which caused Naruto to growl loudly before the boy began to angrily trod off from the cage. Kurama rolled over to look at the boy and couldn't help but try and hold back his laughter. "Aww, come-come on b-brat! I-I didn't mean-mean it i-in a bad way!" he tried to hold back, he really did. But just the thought of the verbal tic being so much like 'hers' just made him lose it.
Naruto growled before he started to fade from the mindscape. "I'm leaving!" he yelled before he flipped the ancient demon the bird. Kurama mock pouted at the boy as he left he mindscape. "Aww, don't be like that! Come on I was just tryin' to have some fun!" he yelled after the boy as he left.
It wasn't until Naruto was completely out of the mindscape and turned the connection between him and the fox off did Kurama calm himself. He let out one final chuckle before laying back down and resting his muzzle on his front paws. "He can be so much like that damn man that I forgot he was almost a carbon copy of 'her'. Oh well, it's good to get a little laugh in while we can...I can feel the negativity in the compound, and I think the Kit is in for a rude awakening…" he thought to himself as he closed his eyes to return to his naps.
. . . .
Naruto grumbled as he opened his eyes and stretched his stiff arms and legs. "Stupid fox...stupid speech thing…" he grumbled and walked over to his sink to wash his face and hair. After cleaning up he watered Kakutasu-chan before sealing the Kage Bunshin scroll away in his dresser drawer.
He was looking in his mirror while adjusting his goggles on his head when he heard a knock on his shack wall. It was earlier than normal for Ko to show up, but he didn't mind. It just meant more time to spend with Ko and work in the gardens.
He walked over to the curtain door with a smile on his face expecting his friend and guide to be on the other side with breakfast in hand. But his smile faded when he saw who it was.
"T-Tora-jisan?" he said in mild confusion when he saw the elderly gardener standing there with a somber look on his face. He gave Naruto a sad smile before he sighed. "Hey there Naruto-kun. Can...can I come in for a moment? I have something I need to tell you." he said in a saddened tone.
. . . .
Naruto's sobs could be heard throughout the compound as members of the Branch Family gathered around his shack to see what the commotion was about. It wasn't until Mina shooed them away did she enter Naruto's shack to see the boy crying in Tora's arms. The old man rubbed the boy's back as he tried to calm him down. But, he didn't blame the child for acting like he was.
He had been through a hellish life before coming to the compound under the promise of family and safety, to only be treated as a slave and someone less than human. And for one of the few who treated him with kindness and like an actual person, to suddenly disappear from the boy's life. It showed just how cruel the world could be.
Tora looked up to Mina with a sad look on his face as she took Naruto into her arms. She rubbed his back and held him close to her. He held onto her like a lifeline as his sobs began to calm down. He just silently cried into the crook of her neck as she ran her fingers through his hair and whispered comforting words into his ears. She looked to Tora and nodded to him that he could take his leave and go about his duties.
He nodded to her and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder one last time before he left the shack. Outside of the shack, Tora saw Michiko and Mira, his fellow gardeners, waiting for him. They walked to the gardens in silence until Mira voiced her worries. "How is he Tora-san? I could hear his cries from the gardens." she asked in a concerned voice. She, along with several other mothers of the Branch Family, had quickly taken to the little blond boy and almost considered him her own. But to hear him like this and not be able to do anything about it broke her heart. Tora was already pushing the Elder's patience by telling Naruto what had happened, and the others couldn't just break their rule. They had family to look after while Tora's were already grown and could defend themselves.
Tora sighed as he sat down on a bench in the gardens. "He's taking it pretty rough. He liked Ko a lot...he's too young for this…" he sighed as he looked down at his hands. They were frail, wrinkled and calloused from years of work. Back in his day he was a Genin for the messenger unit in the first Great Shinobi war. He had seen things that no child should have seen. And when a mission went wrong, he watched both of his brothers die in front of him, all while being only three years older than Naruto.
He then grew up to be a Jounin in the second war. He fought in several of the more intense battles. He lost friends, family, and comrades alike. He even lost his entire unit to an Iwa ambush where he was left alone in a field of dead bodies, lying under the body of his commanding officer.
He had been to hell and back...and he knew Naruto was going to be on the early road to the same place.
His Shinobi days were long behind him, and he knew he couldn't protect Naruto like he wished. But dammit if he wasn't going to try!
Mira sat next to him and sighed sadly. "Ko was way to young to go like that...Do you know how Hiroki is taking it?" she asked the older man with a sad look. Tora sighed as he shook his head. "She's taking it just as bad. She hasn't left her house since she heard the news and she isn't letting anyone in either." he responded.
Michiko looked down and shook her head. "Why would something like this happen…"
. . . .
That night, Naruto wandered into the gardens in an aimless stride. He walked with his eyes downcast, not even caring about the amount of stealth he used to use while sneaking out. He continued walking until he came up on the old swing on the great tree. He slowly sat into the swing, straddling the wooden bench and holding onto the rope with both of his hands.
He always thought death wouldn't effect him. He had seen plenty of dead people in the alleyways of the redlight district and grew numb to seeing such things. He had never thought it would impact him in the slightest. He use to think about the people who would be missing those dead bodies. Their families that would never see them or hear from them again. And then he'd think about what would happen if he had been that body. That was when the sick thought came to him that no one would cry, save maybe the Hokage and the Ichiraku's. No one would care if he was gone, they'd just have one less thing to hate in the world.
Over time he began to just shake these thoughts off and would just continue on his way and not care about the lives of others. He could honestly say he couldn't care less who the person was in that alley.
He had just grown up like that.
But after gaining someone he could count on. Someone he could trust. And then losing them. He figured that he could finally relate to all those people that had lost someone they cared for in those alley's.
He didn't bother hiding his pain. He let it all out and finally decided that wearing a mask to hide it was too much to handle.
He didn't know how long he had sat there, but it felt like hours to him. He sat there with a blank expression on his face, the only emotion that could be seen was from the slow falling tears that were staining his cheeks. It wasn't for a few minutes later did he hear a sad sniffle. A quiet sob. And then the arms that wrapped him in a hug.
He blinked a few times, shocked by the sudden contact. He looked over to the person holding him, and it was Hinata. Her hair was a mess and it was painfully obvious she had been crying for a very long time. She buried her face into his chest and held onto him like a lifeline, quietly sobbing as she held him.
Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at her, holding onto him. Was she feeling like he was? Was she suffering like him? He slowly got off of the swing, the girl still holding onto him. He carefully brought her over to the tree and sat there with her.
And they stayed there until the sun rose, both of them falling asleep from emotional exhaustion as dawn broke on the horizon to bathe them in early morning golden light. .
. . . .
Two days passed before Ko's funeral was held. In that time the war between Konoha and Kumo escalated, resulting in several of the Branch Family shinobi being called to join the fighting. Among the groups that had left were Hizashi and his wife Mina, leaving both Naruto and their son Neji in Tora's capable hands.
The day of the funeral Naruto stood between Neji and Tora as they all watched the proceedings. A few Main Branch members showed up, more as a formality than an actual want to be their. Save for Hiashi and Hinata of course.
Hiroki never showed though.
. . . .
"Again!" Kurama called as Naruto ran through his hand signs. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called after he threw a single shuriken at the target ahead of him. The single shuriken quickly split into fifteen different bladed stars and all struck the target at the same time. Naruto cheered as he was finally able to get the jutsu off in time to get all of the blades to strike the same target.
It had been six months since Ko's funeral and Naruto decided to delve further into his training with Kurama, as well as starting his own private physical training. In the mornings he do as many pushups as he could without stopping (And for a six in a half year old, it was quite a lot), as well as doing as many sit ups as he could before he became exhausted. All after two hours in his mindscape training his ninjutsu, chakra control, and his personal taijutsu katas.
About a month after Inu gave Naruto the scroll for the Kage Bunshin, he returned and gave him the scrolls for two other jutsu. One was Doton: Dochu Eigyo no Jutsu (Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish) and the Shuriken/Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
With Dochu Eigyo, Naruto could make himself sink into the ground and move through the dirt as if he was swimming through water, reappearing through the ground, out of a tree, or even through walls at will. Even though the jutsu was extremely useful, it was only a C rank supplementary jutsu. The only drawback of the jutsu was that the longer you remain underground the more chakra the technique requires. But, with Naruto's abnormally large reserves, the jutsu was easy to keep up. The only hard part he had with it was just learning it and mastering it.
Out of all the jutsu he had learnt so far it was the most difficult, taking him a week while using the Mindscape and Kage Bunshin before he could completely submerge himself into the ground.
Currently, he was working on his mastery of the second jutsu the scroll had. Kurama smirked at him and nodded slowly. "Good job Kit, that's some actual improvement since yesterday." the fox said to the blond, making him smile from the complement. "But," he mused while sticking his snout into the air. "I won't really be impressed until you make one hundred copies." he snarked at the boy, making a set goal for him to achieve while at the same time mocking the kid a bit.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the fox before puffing out his chest with as much bravado he could muster. "Oh yeah! Just watch me! I'll make a hundred copies by the end of the week, Dattebayo!" he exclaimed while thumping his chest with his fist. Kurama snickered at the child's act of confidence and shook his head.
"Alright Kit, if you can make one hundred copies by the end of the week, I'll teach you something special." Kurama promised to the boy as he closed his eyes and laid down for one of his naps. Naruto beamed at the fox and started to bounce in place from excitement. "Really!? What is it!? What is it!? What is it!?" he cried as he bounced around making clones to further pester the beast.
Kurama growled in annoyance and shot the blond a dirty look. "SHUT IT!" he roared in annoyance, causing Naruto to fly back and the several clones he made to dispel. The blond landed on his back with a loud thud, and groaned as he sat up. "Geez, all ya had to do was say so, no need to yell, dattebayo…" he grumbled as he stood up from his prone position.
Kurama growled at the boy. "Leave now, that old man is getting close." he grumbled at turned to return to his nap. Naruto nodded to the fox before he faded out of the mindscape.
. . . .
Naruto opened his eyes and stretched out his arms and legs before getting up from his cot and walking over to his sink to wash his face. As he dried off his face he heard Tora knock on his door. Yes, door. Hiashi thought it would be rude to let his daughters savior freeze to death during the winter so he had a door installed for Naruto. The nights were still a little cold, but they were bearable with a little of Kurama's chakra running through him at night.
Naruto walked over to his door and opened it and smiled up at the elderly man. "Are you ready to go Naruto-kun?" he asked with a kind smile and held out a small box for Naruto to take. The blond smiled and nodded before he took the box and opened it to see what he was having for breakfast. Inside the box was two onigiri and a couple of rolled up scrambled eggs. A little on the light side, but hey, whatever to get him through the day.
After quickly downing the meal he followed Tora out of his shack and towards the Branch District of the Compound. Tora held the boy's hand as they walked through the street and came up on a medium sized house standing two stories tall. Tora walked onto the porch and knocked on the door. "Neji-kun! Are you ready!?" he called to the house as Naruto sat on the porch swing to wait for the final member of their little group. A few moments later the door unlocked and Neji walked out from the other side. "Sorry Tora-san, I was eating and had to hurry." he said quickly as he closed the door behind him and locked it. He turned back to the two and gave Naruto a curt nod in greeting. Naruto returned his nod silently as Tora sighed at the two. So far they had been in the same group for five months and the two didn't really say much to each other. Neji mainly because he seemed to have a little too much pride to speak to a Hyuuga without the Byakugan, and Naruto...he just didn't like arrogant pricks. So, they just seemed to tolerate each other so they could do their job.
That job being Hyuuga Hinata's personal body guards alongside Tora and another Branch Member named Hyuuga Hara.
After Naruto's display the night he defended Hinata from Risho, Hiashi offered Naruto the position as one of Hinata's new bodyguards. He, Neji and Tora would look after Hinata during the morning and afternoon while Hara would guard and attend Hinata in the evening and at night.
The merry band of Hyuuga misfits made their way to the Main Estate and were greeted by Hinata and Hara. Hara was a average height woman with a muscular build in her early thirties and wore the customary Jounin attire with her Konoha Hitai-ate covering her Caged Bird Seal. She had short cropped brown hair and a serious look to her, but if you got past her looks, she was a very kind and endearing woman.
Hara and Hinata smiled at the group as they walked up to them and Tora gave Hara a small bow. "Here to pick up for the day shift Hara-chan." he said to the woman with a kindly smile. Hara smirked at the old man and nodded. "Alright Tora-san, I'll leave the little Hime and her spitfire of a sister to you three." she said as she walked off with a wave and a quick goodbye to Hinata.
Tora laughed his hearty laugh and turned to Hinata. "Speaking of spitfires, Hinata-sama, where is Hanabi-sama?" he asked and Hinata perked up like she was caught day dreaming. "Uh-uh...Ha-Hanabi-chan i-is still sleep-sleeping." she stuttered as she gave a light blush and pushed her forefingers together. Tora chuckled and gave her shoulder a light squeeze before turning to Naruto and Neji. "Well, can I trust you two to watch over Hinata-sama while I go wake up the sleeping princess?" he asked with a sly smirk.
Neji nodded and Naruto gave him a rigid salute which made Tora chuckle as he walked off towards Hanabi's room with a wave. Naruto and Neji turned to Hinata. "Alright Hinata-sama, we have a little free time before your morning training begins, so would you like to go to the gardens again today?" Neji asked in a all business tone. Hinata nodded to her cousin in response. "Y-yes Neji-niisan. I wo-would like t-that very m-much." she stuttered with a shy smile. Neji nodded and turned to leave with Hinata. Naruto smiled at her and nodded his head towards the gardens and the Hyuuga Heiress quickly fell in step with the blond while Neji took the lead.
"H-How w-was your m-morning Naruto-kun?" she asked the blond next to her, who responded with a large smile and a thumbs up before waving his hand to her to ask how hers was. "Mi-mine was-was g-good." she said with a shy smile. Over the last few months both of the children learnt the hard way that even if Hiashi didn't mind if Naruto spoke to Hinata, or anyone in general, the Elders wouldn't let him go without punishment if they caught him. The first day he was with Hinata while on the job Elder Shima caught him holding a conversation about the color of the new tulips and Naruto was treated to a quick session of blinding pain from his seal while Hinata was verbally assaulted by the Elder for holding conversation with a 'filthy demon spawn'.
Ever since then the two decided to hold all of their verbal conversations at their secret meetings in the gardens at night and Naruto would speak with hand movements and facial expressions when in public.
The three made their way into the gardens and were greeted by Michiko and Mira. Naruto gave them a polite wave while Hinata bowed her head to them slightly. Neji ignored them and walked over the central tree and sat on one of the benches that were put around it while Naruto and Hinata helped water and take care of the flowers in the garden and talked to Mira and Michiko for a while.
After a few minutes the group heard a slight squeal which caused Naruto to bolt to his feet and turn towards the source. He smiled at the little girl who was being carried by Tora. The little girl had shoulder length brown hair and large pale eyes, and was currently sporting a large smile as she was reaching towards Naruto. "Naru! Naru!" she cheered and Tora chuckled and let her down so she could waddle her way over to him. "Alright Hanabi go on over." he chuckled as the little girl took off towards the blond.
Naruto smiled at the little Hyuuga and picked her up and held her above his head, earning a happy squeal from the girl. Hinata giggled at the blond and how her little sister laughed. She hadn't seen Hanabi laugh this much until she met Naruto. The little toddler was instantly taken with the blond boy and would always smile around him.
"Naru! Spin! Spin!" she begged with her arms in the air. Naruto laughed and picked her up again from under her arms and spun around with her in the air. She squealed in delight as he spun her around several times. Naruto sat her back down as Tora came over to the small group. "Alright everyone, it's time for Hinata-sama to start her morning training so come along." he said to the children earning a nod from the group as Naruto held Hanabi's hand and led her over to her sister and cousin so they could get to the training session.
. . . .
"Ha!" Hinata exclaimed as she thrust an open palm towards her instructor. The instructor easily brought down his left hand and struck her wrist with his index and middle finger, sending her strike off to his right and causing Hinata to lose her balance. While she was off balance the instructor brought his right hand up and gave a sharp strike with his index and middle finger to her forehead, causing her to lose her footing and fall back onto the ground.
Naruto winced as he watched her take the hit, knowing that it had to hurt to have someone poke you hard enough in the head to knock you over. Around them the Elders and Hiashi watched Hinata practice and they seemed less than impressed with her performance. Elder Hyouka stood up with a scowl on her face and marched over to Hinata's still sitting form.
"Stand up!" she chided to the girl, causing her to rush back up to her feet and look ahead of herself without looking away from her instructor. "Now, do it again!" she ordered and Hinata gave a hesitant nod. "H-Hai!" she called and charged her instructor with her left palm open with the fingers facing the ground. "Ha!" she exclaimed and thrust her palm forward, rotating her arm in the strike to add more power to the blow. However, like before the instructor easily intercepted her blow and sent her back to the ground.
Hyouka scowled and looked over at Naruto. "You, boy, come here!" she instructed and Naruto instantly rushed to his feet and stood before the Elder. Naruto tensed his muscles because if he guessed right, he was about to feel some pain.
Hyouka pulled her palm back and lowered her stance. "Observe!" she said to the Hyuuga Heiress. She channeled some chakra into her palm and gave a quick thrust towards Naruto's midsection. When the blow connected Naruto instantly felt the wind get knocked out of him as he was lifted off his feet and sent sliding across the dojo's wooden floor.
Hyouka gave a sadistic smirk before turning back to Hinata. "Now, do not waste your time with the added movement in turning you arm for extra strength. You are a Hyuuga! We fight with the Jyuuken style and only require the slightest touch to render our opponents defeated. Just channel chakra into your hands and deliver quick and accurate blows." she instructed before turning back to Naruto's now coughing form as he tried to collect himself from the ground.
Hinata could only nod as she looked at Naruto in horror, slight tears pricking her eyes. She hated when the Elder instructors used Naruto as an example or test dummy to show Hinata the proper way to use a technique. She wanted to protest, but every time she did so in the past it only turned out worse for Naruto.
The blond in question finally stood back up, a small trail of blood running out of his mouth and down his chin. He was still breathing hard, but bowed to Elder Hyouka and returned to his seat on the sidelines next to Neji. Neji scowled at the Elder but held his tongue. He might not of liked Naruto, but he knew cruelty when he saw it. They treated him little better than an animal half the time and the other half he was merely a training dummy for them. And what angered him the most was that Hiashi did nothing to stop them. The Clan Head just watched with an emotionless expression.
Naruto finally got his breathing under control and wiped the blood from his face and looked on with a stoic expression. He had learned to keep his emotions in check while around the Elders. He let his mind wander and opened a connection with Kurama. "Hey Kurama, why does this hurt more than usual?" he asked as he winced slightly in pain as he sat watching Hinata try, and fail, to land a blow on the instructor.
Kurama growled lightly before answering. "The bitch added chakra into the strike and hit your liver. I'm fixing the damage right now, but it'll hurt for another ten minutes or so…" he said to the boy as he channeled chakra through Naruto's system to fix his damaged liver. 'Honestly...if I wasn't fixing the brat, then they would have killed him already with the amount of abuse he gets...not to mention that damn seal. I still can't get my chakra close to it without having it react…' the fox thought as he focused on healing the boy.
Tora looked at Naruto with worry as Hanabi napped in his lap. He secretly activated his Byakugan to see what kind of damage Hyouka caused and nearly gasped in surprise. Red tendrils of chakra were snaking through the boy's body and healing a damaged liver. He lightly shook his head in wonder as he deactivated his Byakugan. And then a thought came to him. He looked over at Hiashi. "Excuse me, Hiashi-sama. My I ask you a question?" he asked his Clan Head who gave him a nod to continue.
"Neji-kun is beginning his training at the Academy in two months, correct?" he asked of his leader. Hiashi again nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "Well, Hiashi-sama. Who will guard over Hinata-sama when she goes to the Academy next year?" he asked Hiashi, whose eyes widened as he connected the dots.
He nodded and stocked his chin in thought. "Yes, that is a good question Tora-san...who do you suggest?" he asked his daughters elderly bodyguard. Tora thought for a brief moment before a smile came to his face. "Why not send Naruto-kun to the Academy with her?" he said.
Elder Shima and Hyouka looked at him like he was crazy and Naruto's eyes widened at the old man. "Absolutely not!" Shima cried out with a scowl. Tora raised his hands in a passive, yet defensive manner. "Now, now. Naruto-kun is already one of Hinata-sama's personal bodyguards, so why not let him learn and grow more so that he can do his job better?" he reasoned with the group of Elders.
Hiashi nodded in agreement. "I agree with this Tora-san. We'll send Naruto along with Hinata when she goes to the Academy." he said with a tone of finality in his voice. Shima and Hyouka looked at him like he had gone insane, but Kouen had a different idea.
"Alright Hiashi-sama." Kouen said before a smirk came to his face. "But, if we are to send Naruto to the Academy with Hinata-sama, then he will need to be trained...as to not make the Hyuuga lose face of course." he said with a sly smile. "In fact," he continued. "Why don't we start now? Hinata-sama, why don't you take a break so we can test Naruto's potential." he instructed Hinata with a false smile.
Hinata tentatively nodded and looked at Naruto with worry, but saw a glint in his eyes that confused her. She went over and sat next to her father as Kouen stood next to the instructor. He leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear. "Don't hold back on the demon brat, you got that?" he ordered in a hushed voice. The instructor nodded before turning towards Naruto.
Naruto got up from his sitting position, luckily for him, Kurama had just finished healing him and he was battle ready.
The instructor took up the Jyuuken stance and nodded to Naruto. "Come at me with everything you have Naruto-san. I will evaluate you according to what you can do to me." he told the boy, making him nod.
Naruto took a deep breath, calming his nerves and entered his own Taijutsu stance. He brought his hands up in front of him, his left further forward than his right, and were slightly curled and ready to react. He slid his left leg in front of him with a slight bend in his right, leaning his weight evenly on both legs. "Kit," Kurama said to the boy as he readied himself. "Yeah?" Naruto responded. "Watch yourself. I sense nothing but ill intentions from him and the Kouen bastard." he warned. Naruto mentally nodded to the fox as his eyes hardened and locked onto the instructor.
Kouen stood and looked to the both of them. "Hajime!" he called and Naruto blurred forward with a burst of speed, quickly jumping up and bringing his left leg up for an arching high kick to the man's temple. He quickly bent backwards to dodge the kick and as soon as it passed he pulled a palm back and thrust it at the descending boy.
Naruto landed in a handstand and channeled chakra into his hands before using his right leg to deflect the palm thrust from the instructor. He then used his left leg to swing him away from the man and regained his footing just before the man closed the gap between the two.
The man brought his right hand up and made a series of quick jabs towards the boy, who countered by maneuvering his body around the strikes and bringing up his left knee and slamming his left elbow onto the man's wrist and catching it with both his elbow and knee.
The instructor was surprised by the boy's strength as he felt a slight pop in his wrist on impact and quickly brought his other hand up and struck the boy's shoulder, releasing him from his grip. Naruto and the instructor stumbled backwards, the instructor holding his right wrist and Naruto holding his left shoulder.
The man looked at his slightly shaking hand and cursed. Using his Byakugan he confirmed that it was fractured from the boys crushing grab. He then looked at what kind of damage he did to the boy and nearly gasped. He could have sworn he closed the Tenketsu point in his shoulder, rendering his arm useless. But, with a quick burst of red chakra through his system the point was opened and the boy was ready to continue.
"What the hell is this kid!? I'm a Chunin dammit!" the instructor mentally cursed as he readied to charge the boy again. Naruto still had his determined look in his eye and was panting slightly. "Crap that hurt!" he mentally whined as he retook his stance. Kurama snorted at the whining blond. "Suck it up brat. You're fighting, of course it's gonna hurt when you get hit! Now, here he comes again. Go with combo number four!" Kurama coached the boy receiving a nod from the boy as he dodged the first strike from the man and dropped into a leg sweep. The man jumped over the boy and landed behind him. But as soon as he landed he felt a heavy kick connect with his thigh, causing his leg to buckle under him. He looked back and saw Naruto retracting his leg from a horse kick and readying for another kick. As soon as Naruto's leg was back from the first kick he lashed out with a second, straight towards the man's head.
The instructor rolled out of the way, still trying to gain his strength in his leg back from the heavy kick.
The Elders were watching in shock as the small child held his own against the Chunin. How in the world was this...this BOY fighting like this? It made no sense!
Hinata was watching in admiration as Naruto fought with her instructor. She knew that the Elders were trying to do something cruel again, but Naruto was completely handling himself against the man who trumped her in every aspect. A light blush dusted her cheeks as she watched the blond fight in awe. "Wow…" she breathed to herself.
Hiashi was also shocked, but not as much as everyone else. He had often observed Naruto while the boy worked in his shack, going through workouts and practicing Taijutsu Katas. But he didn't expect the boy to perform so well in actual combat against someone with more experience. Honestly, whatever Inu was teaching the boy, it was obviously working.
Naruto ducked under another palm strike and bent back onto his hands and performed a backwards cartwheel kick to the man's jaw, snapping his head back and staggering him for a second. Naruto regained his footing and dashed forward with his hands balled up into fists and his sides.
The man looked down in time to dodge the first punch to his face, but didn't notice the blow to his stomach from the boy's second fist. Naruto had performed a double strike with both fists, using his first strike as a distraction for the body shot. No matter who you are, if there is a fist heading for your face, you'll hardly notice anything else.
The man coughed and jumped back to gain distance from the boy so he could control his breathing. After coughing a few more times he glared at the boy, finally activating his Byakugan to fight with. "You little brat…" he growled to himself before charging in at the boy. He brought up his left hand and stuck with it, causing Naruto to duck away, but that was a mere faint as his right hand shot out and struck the boy's chest with a Jyuuken strike.
"Gah!" Naruto coughed in pain as he felt a sharp pain in the right side of his chest and staggered back. The instructor however, used this opening and continued his assault. He lashed out at the boy with fast, piercing blows and chakra enhanced hands. Naruto tried his best to dodge as many as possible, only using his knees and elbows to deflect the attacks, never taking them head on. But, the man's bigger size and sheer force started to overwhelm the boy, causing him to take more damage than he wanted.
After bring up his elbow to knock a strike to his chest off course, he missed the man's other hand heading to his throat. "Grawk!" Naruto coughed again in pain, but this time it was a choking cough as blood shot out from his mouth and he doubled over, holding his throat while coughing up more blood.
The man was about to strike Naruto's defenseless form before he was knocked away by Hiashi and Tora as they rushed to check on the boy. Hinata gasped and ran towards her friend. "Naruto-kun!" she yelled in worry.
Hiashi checked the choking boy over with his Byakugan and growled. "Get us a medic now!" he roared and several of the Branch Member servants that were in attendance rushed out in search of a medical nin.
Naruto continued to choke until he lost consciousness.
. . . .
Kurama growled loudly inside Naruto's mindscape. Naruto opened his eyes and looked up at the fox. "What happened!?" he asked as he remembered that he had taken a Jyuuken strike to the throat. Kurama was sitting in a meditative position and concentrating hard. "That damn meat sack bastard! He hit a Tenketsu in your throat, but he over charged the strike and ripped your vocal cords and esophagus up as well." Kurama roared in annoyance. "I can heal your throat and unlock the Tenketsu, but vocal cords are too complicated to reconstruct and these damn medics are disrupting my healing!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "W-What d-does that me-mean?" he asked in fear. Kurama growled yet again before he responded. "Well, it sure as hell will make talking a difficult task…"
. . . .
(A/N): To be continued…
Bulba Fett: And yet another cliffhanger. MUWAHAHAHAHA! I AM EVILS!
Anonymous Jonin: Sure, you're evil. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Nerd.
Bulba Fett: Whatever...Remember to REVIEW! And like always, we'll see ya next time!
