Come Full Circle
by: knuckz
Summary: Ninjas use taijutsu to beat their opponents down, genjutsu to disillusion them, ninjutsu to destroy them or heal them, and weaponry for quick kills. Some specialize in specific areas, and exceed in that talent, while others keep a general base in all aspects. As such, there are general ninja's and nin-, tai-, and genjutsu masters respectively. This was before Uzumaki Naruto became a ninja. For the first time, there will be a fuuinjutsu specialist.
"blah" – talking
'blah' – thinking
MegaB had previously beta'd this chapter. I changed some stuff, of course, but kudos to him. Go read his 'Konoha: Naruto's Playground'; an amazing story it is. And the sequel should be excellent as well, 'Konoha: At His Fingertips'.
Chapter 05 – Seal Princess Technique - Commencing
Kakashi couldn't help but laugh, even as his eye flew back to his novel.
"Well, you certainly seem to be an interesting person to have as a sensei." he told her. Aoi grinned at his comment.
"Think he'll like it?" she asked him, spinning around once as if showing off her clothes. Kakashi didn't give her a reply, but there was still an aura of hilarity around him.
"So why did you give Naruto to me? Not that I mind, of course. But I'm curious nonetheless. I mean, your sensei pretty much acknowledged the boy as his own legacy, and even trusted the future of Konoha with him." Aoi asked.
'You have no idea how close to the truth you really are, Aoi.' Kakashi thought. It should have been blatantly obvious, yet nobody seemed to have realized that Naruto wasn't just some boy that the Yondaime had chosen; Naruto was his son. After all, the Yondaime could only really rely on someone of his own flesh and blood to hold back perhaps the greatest non-human force to ever plague the world.
Or perhaps people just didn't want to accept the truth.
It could have been said that Namikaze Minato was a rather cocky ninja that thought much of his own skills. It was true, but the Yondaime had the right to be proud. After all, his power was often compared to that of the Sage of the Six Paths. If he hadn't left this world so unfortunately, Kakashi was sure that the Yondaime would have eventually surpassed even the creator of ninjutsu.
The Yondaime Hokage certainly did have a legendary legacy, and Naruto would be another proof of it; Kakashi could feel it in his bones. Naruto would surpass the Yondaime.
"Well, it depends on if he passes or not." Kakashi replied nonchalantly, "How did your meeting with him go?"
Aoi grinned at the memory.
"Well… to tell you the truth, it was a rush. I practically rode him the whole time!" Aoi said. Kakashi looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"…Rode him? What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked, his voice strangely subdued.
"As in, I was riding him like a pony for the entire time. Well, there was this brief moment where he was on top, but that went by pretty quickly. I like being on top, and let me tell you, it sure was a bouncy ride!" Aoi grinned at him, thinking back to the race that Naruto had with Akane. He had won just barely.
Kakashi stared at her blankly for a moment. Then suddenly clenched his fist in front of him.
'Naruto, you've made me so proud!' he thought, tears falling theatrically from his only visible eye, 'Bagging such a hot woman!'
Aoi chuckled at his reaction.
"So I'm guessing your team is waiting for you?" Aoi asked him.
It was still morning, probably around 8:00 AM if Kakashi had judged the position of the sun correctly. His own team had been waiting for him since 5:00 AM as he had instructed, so he'd probably go meet them in about an hour. They'd be angry, that was for sure, but after waiting for him for three hours yesterday, they should have done enough research to know he'd be late again.
Then again, if they disobeyed him and met up with him after the time he had appointed, his shadow clone would dispel and he would purposefully get there before they did. And of course, they'd suffer the consequences. It definitely wasn't fair, but that's why it was fun. Jounin were allowed to play their mind games after all.
"Well… I'll probably meet up with them in an hour." Kakashi replied. Aoi snorted in amusement.
"It's been a long time, Kakashi." Aoi said, smiling sincerely at him.
"Hmm…" was Kakashi's only reply. Kakashi definitely did know her. It was back when he had just acquired his Sharingan. His sensei and he were given a rescue mission for a genin team that had been caught between a rock and a hard place. Or rather, Stone ninjas and a hard place. It was an unusual mission for two jounin-level ninja to receive, especially one of such legendary skill as the to-be Yondaime Hokage, but there had been a Main-house Hyuuga member on the team, and village politics required that she (or at the very least her body) be brought back safe and sound, lest the enemy acquire the Byakugan. That particular Hyuuga was Aoi.
Of course, it was never that simple. The mission hadn't gone as expected, and the result was the Yondaime having to rescue Aoi from a gruesome fate of rape, dissection, and eventually death. Her teammates however, didn't return. The actual story was much more complicated than that or so he heard, but as he and the Yondaime had been separated during the course of the mission, he didn't know it.
Kakashi cleared his head of these thoughts; they weren't his to dwell upon.
"And what about the rest of your team?" Kakashi asked. Aoi waved him off.
"I've known the other two for ages. Well, Hikari obviously since she's family, but Akane is her best friend, so she's a regular at the compound." Aoi explained.
"Then… it seems as if Naruto is the odd one out." Kakashi surmised, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Aoi frowned, though it was in partial agreement.
"Well… as far as I know, Hikari and Akane aren't discriminated against him despite the negative light Naruto's been portrayed in." Aoi said, her tone slightly signifying disapproval, "But I don't think they associated with him during their years in the Academy, so there is still a gap between them."
"They get along and are friendly with each other, but they aren't really friends yet. I think that, subconsciously, they're just trying to get along because they know that they'll have to work together, and they don't have any previous animosity between them, so that helps. Of course, they wouldn't really become good friends in just a day, so it's probably as good as it gets." Aoi said. Kakashi's eye had travelled back to his orange book during her explanation, so she couldn't be too sure if he had actually listened or not, but he probably heard.
"And in terms of skill?"
"Hikari is already a decent kunoichi; she has excellent chakra control but that's to be expected of most Hyuuga. I've been secretly watching her develop her own taijutsu-style using Jyuuken so she doesn't know that I know, but she's sort of made a bastardized fighting style based on mine." Aoi explained, not even caring that she was giving away her genin's fighting-style to a person that Hikari didn't even know.
"Akane however; she just plain sucks. Her chakra control is slightly less than average in ratio to her reserves, and her taijutsu is by the book, but she's slow and weak. Even in terms of running she's way too slow. Her moves are easy to read, and she panics even in spars. Even her mindset is all wrong; she's too outgoing and trusting. She's definitely not ready; just fodder at the moment. But, she has a lot of determination. With a little, well… a lot of help, she could go far, considering she's an Uchiha. But not yet. If Naruto weren't dead-last, she'd have been it for sure."
Aoi frowned, this time with angry undertones.
"I really worry about her, despite her being from an 'enemy' clan." Aoi said, simulating quotation marks with her fingers, "She tries to hide it, but I know that her clan resents her and scolds her for not living up to their damn standards. Hell, they've even done it publicly! Sadly enough, my clan can be the same."
Akane did, however, have a lot of pride. But even that could be, and had been, broken. Aoi could count on one hand the number of times that she had held Akane to sleep through the painful, tear-filled nights, trying to help her cope with the rejection of her own family. And Aoi could certainly sympathize with the girl; she knew the feeling. But that was something too personal; Kakashi had, in his own way, asked her for a basic run-down of Naruto's possible team, but Aoi could never betray Akane's trust like that.
"And of Naruto?" Kakashi asked, not wanting to go deeper into the miseries of the Uchiha.
"From what I've seen so far, I'm honestly a bit disappointed." Aoi said, closing her eyes and smiling as if in resignation, "I knew that he was labelled the dead-last, but I took it with a grain of salt. But, when I observed him later… his hands have no calluses, and his frame is wiry, as if he doesn't have much physical conditioning. And his chakra control is extremely poor, but that's to be expected, since he has a lot of chakra. He seems as determined as Akane, but I don't think he's ready either."
"As much as I want this team to pass, it doesn't look like it'll work." Aoi finished off. Kakashi hummed in response.
"Well, you won't know until you test them. They may surprise you yet. It's best not to write them off early." Kakashi advised her. She obviously had the wrong idea about Naruto.
"Yeah, what about you, one-eye? Going to fail your team again?" Aoi said, poking fun at him.
"Actually, I think that this team will pass." Kakashi rebuked, not looking up from his book, "Uchiha Shinji is the key. Uchiha Sasuke is willing to work with him, and he'll be willing to work with Haruno Sakura. She's, unfortunately, a fan-girl, but that might work in their favour. She probably dreams about the fact that Sasuke needed her for something, no matter how trivial."
Aoi pouted at his quick explanation.
"No fair, I have to go on and on about my team, and you conclude yours in like ten seconds!" she complained. Kakashi chuckled, though Aoi wasn't sure whether it was at her comment or at something he read in his Icha Icha.
"Well, I guess I should probably leave a little bit earlier than expected. My team's probably irritated enough already." Kakashi said in his usual bored tone, "Though I'll probably take my time and walk there. Don't want to sprain anything, now do I?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I should probably head over to field nine. I didn't book it or anything, so I'll have to kick off any stragglers that are there." Aoi said, "But, honestly, Kakashi, show a little enthusiasm! You always sound so bored!"
"Hmm… hey, next time you have 'fun' with Naruto, do you mind video-taping?" Kakashi asked, suddenly enthusiastic, "Actually, why don't you forget about that midget and the two of us can have some fun together?"
When Kakashi erupted in smoke after Aoi struck him with her Jyuuken, she wasn't too surprised that the Kakashi that she had been talking to for so long had been a Kage Bunshin.
Elite jounin like Kakashi were tricky like that.
"Yuugao-neechan."
Yuugao looked over at Naruto, who was stretching out in preparation for his upcoming battle. She had been surprised to learn that Naruto had not gone to Kakashi, who was sure to get him. Naruto had barely ever been in class so he became the dead-last by default, but Yuugao didn't scold him for it, mainly because of his training. There was also the fact that she had heard through the grapevine that Kakashi would get Uchiha Sasuke, who was most likely going to be the rookie of the year; so the dead-last would also be on his team. Meaning Naruto.
With Kakashi actively participating in Naruto's training, Naruto would go much farther.
When Kakashi had told her that he had traded Naruto for someone else, she had been furious. And after hearing Kakashi's explanation, her fury died into awe, at both the thought that Kakashi had invested into Naruto's future and also at the implications of what it would mean.
Naruto was on Aoi's team because of the Jyuuken.
Jyuuken had always been the prominent taijutsu style of the Hyuuga clan, mostly because it was created by them, and it was suited for their doujutsu, the Byakugan. The purpose of the Jyuuken, unlike other taijutsu styles, was to enter solidified chakra into the body of the opponent in order to cause internal damage, but more importantly, to be able to close the tenketsu, the points in the body which emitted chakra. Of course, only the Byakugan could view the tenketsu of a living being; for a non-Hyuuga ninja to close the tenketsu with Jyuuken required luck.
A ninja that relied on only luck to carry them through their battles would perish quickly.
Kakashi's idea was simplistic yet deadly in nature. Naruto needed to learn two main things. The idea behind tree-climbing, and Jyuuken.
The seals that Naruto could make using Fuuin-hime were all sustained in the air. They could only be made through his hands, and when he made hand-seals. Or in other words, during the ninjutsu/genjutsu process. Most fuuinjutsu seals required a solid surface to be tied down to, so the only ones that Naruto could really use at the moment were the supplementary seals for elemental-type ninjutsu, and of course, the Chakra Control Seal, which was a requirement for Fuuin-hime.
However, if Naruto could use the basis for the tree-climbing technique, and combine it with the Jyuuken, then his skill and threat could jump to a whole other level.
The tree-climbing training technique was one taught to all genin, and it was one of the most basic and useful of chakra control techniques. Using their chakra as a sort of glue, a ninja could stick themselves to vertical planes and ceilings. Usually, most ninja and kunoichi would accumulate the chakra to the soles of their feet, but Kakashi wanted Naruto learn to do it with his hands.
Combined with the longer-lasting effects of the Jyuuken, Naruto would effectively be able to etch seals from his Fuuin-hime technique into solid surfaces with just a touch; including other human beings. If he were to create a trigger-activated seal that could, say, corrode the blood-cells freshly pumped from the heart, he could literally kill anyone he wished with a simple touch. For example, an 'accidental' brush with the target of an assassination mission, and a simple tiger seal later for the Jutsu Kai, then "mission over" and nobody would be any wiser. A simple touch at the side of a mountain and a correctly timed Jutsu Kai? The Explosion Seal would cause an avalanche that could bury an entire league of enemy ninja.
Yuugao had laughed at the irony.
After he learned this technique, Naruto could essentially be considered as one of the most deadly ninja in the entire shinobi world! One of the most deadly ninja in the entire shinobi world, and he was only a genin that was considered to be the dead-last of his generation!
When he learned this skill, then the Seal Princess Technique would truly be a force to be reckoned with in and of itself.
"Yes, what is it?" Yuugao asked. She had to stop the smile that was threatening to form on her face; she was just so giddy at the thought of her little brother becoming that successful! However, the giddiness slipped away as she regarded the sad, solemn expression on Naruto's face.
"I was just thinking… is it worth it? Becoming a ninja?" Naruto asked, deadly serious. Yuugao couldn't hold back her shock.
'Wha-'
"Naruto, what are you talking about!" Yuugao immediately questioned him, her surprise twisting her tone to sound outraged.
"I'm really happy that I'm getting the chance to become a ninja, I am!" Naruto said, covering his tracks, "But, I've just… when I got home from meeting my sensei, I just started having second thoughts."
Yuugao felt anger bubble up inside her. Was his sensei another one of those people that judged him for containing the Kyuubi?
A lot of people still despised the boy. There were very few delusional people that thought Naruto to be the demon fox itself, but those people were always stupid to begin with, so nobody really took them seriously. However, Yuugao had been surprised to notice that many people in Konoha held neutrality against Naruto for containing the strongest of the bijuu. This would have to do, since she couldn't exactly convince someone to like him. But in the end, nobody seemed to like him.
He acted as if it didn't, but Yuugao could tell that it affected Naruto more than he let on. And it always confused him as to why they disliked him so.
Naruto still didn't know that he was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.
"Is your sensei-"
"No." Naruto interrupted firmly; ebbing away Yuugao's anger immediately, "Aoi-sensei has nothing to do with it. In fact, her goal in life is to christen my Hokage robes."
Yuugao decided that Naruto was joking with that last statement.
"What about becoming Hokage? Only a shinobi can become Hokage; the council would never let a civilian have such a position! Naruto, what is bringing this on!" Yuugao asked him, feeling extremely anguished, and rightly so.
Naruto had always been a determined person, even when he was a child. The only place that his determination had faltered had been in learning to trust others; but his time at the Academy had showed him that he could make bonds worth having with other people. But, to hear him talking about… just giving up…
"I never got a chance to tell you, what with everyone being so happy last night." Naruto started. Last night, Yuugao had gathered Ayame, Teuchi, and Kakashi and threw a party in honour of Naruto. It had been the wrong time to reveal it… it would ruin the happy mood that everyone had.
"Naoto-san was killed in the chuunin exams." Naruto told her, deciding to be blunt. Yuugao's eyes widened slightly, but that was the only sign of her surprise.
"He sacrificed his life to save Kaori's." he continued, but Yuugao interrupted.
"Are you… afraid to lose your life?" Yuugao asked him softly. She didn't think any less of him for it; every ninja feared for their lives at one point or another.
"That's not the specific reason, no. It's just that, one day, I'll be the person that tried to kill a Kaori, while another Naoto will die by my hands for her." Naruto said, "I'll be ending the life of someone else who has teammates and comrades and friends and loved ones."
And Yuugao came to a startlingly horrifying realization.
She had been so consumed with the idea that Naruto would become one of the best ninja to have ever lived that she hadn't even thought of the implications of what it would mean to him. He would be ending lives; lives that other people cherished. It didn't matter if they were the enemy; it didn't even matter if it was one of the most despicable people in the world.
How would Naruto feel, if he could kill with just a touch? If he lost control of Fuuin-hime, and couldn't even touch someone anymore without it resulting in death?
But that was what a ninja did. Kill.
"Naruto; we kill them, so that they don't kill us. That is the harsh reality." Yuugao said, "Greed, pride, gluttony, lust, hatred, revenge; they exist in everyone. Some ninja fight for it. Some fight against it. Be glad that you are in Konoha; we fight against them. We are considered to be the 'good guys'."
"But, for enough money, even Konoha can become the bad guy." Naruto stated.
"Yes. But you can't escape it, even if you choose not to become a ninja. You will encounter it in your life; everybody will." Yuugao said, "However, it is how you handle it that counts. Will you run away, or will you face it head on?"
Naruto lowered his head in thought for a moment. Then he met her eyes.
"Yuugao-neechan. When I become Hokage, I'll change everything. Not only for Konoha, but for everyone." Naruto said, eyes blazing in determination. And it still awed Yuugao every time she saw it.
The embodiment of the will of fire that was Uzumaki Naruto.
"Then, how about I give you a gift that might be of help to you on your way?" Yuugao stated, smiling at him. Naruto straightened at the thought of a gift.
"What is it!" he asked, excited. Yuugao leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead, above his left eye.
"You'll have that forever." she said. Her kiss denoted that he carried with him her love.
Naruto just stared at her blankly.
"No really, what is it?" he asked. A vein bulged in Yuugao's temple, signifying annoyance.
"Ahaha, I was joking!" Naruto said in panic, waving his hands about in a placating manner, before relaxing his features, "Thank you, Yuugao-neechan."
Yuugao hugged him in response. Naruto ignored the fact that his face was buried in her bust; this wasn't the moment to be thinking about something as foolish as that.
"I'm going to miss him." Naruto said, his voice muffled because of their embrace. He wasn't crying. He had yet to cry about Naoto's death.
"I know." was all Yuugao could say. The two siblings-in-all-but-blood held each other for a time that felt longer to both than it probably was.
"I've got to go." Naruto said suddenly, breaking away, "It's almost time for my fight."
Yuugao nodded in acceptance as she watched him scurry about gathering his things and putting on his sandals. With a wave and a grin, the golden-haired boy left the house. Yuugao's gaze lingered on the doorway where the boy had just been.
She loved him so much; more than she would a lover, more than she would a brother, more than she would a son. The title of 'brother' was as close as language could get to what she felt for him. And even then, she felt it was nowhere near close enough. She loved him as much as it was humanly possible without wanting to bed him.
'Do your best, love of my life.'
Naruto gaped at her.
"So, do you like what you see, Naruto-sama?" Aoi said, thrusting her hips from side to side.
Aoi was dressed in the exact same clothes that he was wearing. Her vest and shorts were almost the exact same shade of orange that his were, and she had exchanged her black spandex body-suit for a blue one, completing the look.
"I couldn't find it anywhere, so I was up all night making it!" Aoi told him. Hikari sighed in resignation, while Akane was oddly quiet.
Naruto looked at Aoi with a face that just said 'what, seriously?' There was a moment of silence where Aoi just grinned maniacally, before she spoke up.
"Okay, now onto the training ground! Let's go!" Aoi shouted, pumping her fist in the air with great exuberance. As they were about to leave, Naruto noticed that Akane looked a bit down. So he reached over and clapped a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with surprise.
"Don't worry. We'll be fine." Naruto said, smiling at her. On the side, Hikari smiled softly at Naruto's action, and if they could have seen Aoi's face, they'd notice that she had a sad smile on her face. Aoi took off, leaving them behind.
Akane's face morphed into a softly smiling one.
"Yeah…" was all she said, though there wasn't any doubt left in her. With that, all three teammates, with Naruto in the lead, sprinted after their (hopefully) to-be sensei.
The four shinobi ran thorough the forested training grounds, leaping from branch to branch, dodging between the leaves until they reached an area that was clear of trees.
"WE'RE HERE!" Aoi yelled out, suddenly stopping in her tracks at the sight of four other people in the clearing. Behind her Naruto skidded to a halt behind her, and behind him Hikari stopped right before she collided with him. Unfortunately, Akane did not have as much traction with the ground, and so she crashed into Hikari. And like dominoes, Hikari only went forward into Naruto, who ended up ramming into Aoi. The resulting effect was the entire team going down in a mess of tangled arms and legs.
A man in green stared at them. No… he stared at them with such overpowering strength and might, that even the ever-burning flames of hell itself might recoil in awe!
His name was Maito Gai.
As the four split apart, dizzy from their fall, three other people came up behind the green man. One of them was perhaps his much-younger twin, for he looked and dressed the same as him. With the flames of youth burning in his eyes was Rock Lee.
Another boy, with eyes of white and long brown hair that hung over his beige vest, looked down at the fallen shinobi with a blank expression giving nothing away. He was Hyuuga Neji.
The last member of their team was a female in a traditional pink dress; her hair was done up in two buns and her large brown eyes gazed at the four. Tenten looked at them in bemusement.
Aoi was the first to act. She broke apart from the three genin-hopeful genin and stood up, smiling mischievously at them.
"Ara… was that your plan? You'd team up and seduce me into victory? My, my, how… forward of you." Aoi said, before turning to the man whose youth was brightly burning even now, "Okay, clear out Gai. I need the field."
The mushroom-headed Gai clone frowned at Aoi's command.
"Gai-sensei, do you know her? She seems rather rude and un-youthful." the boy said with a slight look of disdain on his face. Naruto looked at him, recognizing the boy.
'Rock Lee…' he looked over at the only Hyuuga male currently present, 'This is your rival?'
He was one of Naruto's only friends during his time at the Academy, along with Naoto. From what Naruto remembered, his friend was excellent at taijutsu; Naruto didn't understand why he had a rivalry with his teammate.
Neji, noticing Naruto's gaze, looked back at him, not reacting at all. His face remained as impassive as ever. But soon enough, they averted their eyes back to the conversation. Tenten frowned slightly at their altercation, but said nothing.
Aoi grinned at the proclaimed genius of hard work.
"Now, now, I don't worry too much about being un-youthful at the moment." she started, slinking her arm around Naruto's shoulder, "Naruto-sama is youthful enough for the both of us!"
Naruto had a feeling where this was going, and he knew it wouldn't end well. And judging by the expression on Hikari's face, she did as well. Akane remained as blissfully ignorant as she always did.
"And besides, Naruto-sama can give me some of his 'youth' whenever he wants to fuck me silly!" Aoi said huskily, accompanying it with a saucy wink. Tenten and Neji looked at her with flabbergasted and annoyed looks respectively.
"Gai-sensei!" Lee proclaimed, "She... such an un-youthful comment!"
"Lee, it is okay. You must remember that not everyone will carry the fires of youth as you do! But keep burning brightly, so that everyone may feel your youthfulness!" Gai said, shooting Aoi an annoyed glance. She just closed her eyes, tilted her head to the side, and waved merrily at him, smiling as if she had no clue what she had just done.
"Come my students; let us depart so that even our successors may drink from the fountain of youth!" Gai beckoned to his students, obviously knowing of the new Team Nine. Hikari looked at Neji who looked back at her coldly. Hikari's brow furrowed as Neji's eyes flickered to Akane, but he spun and jumped away before anything could be said. Tenten, surprised at his abrupt leave jumped after him, and eventually Gai and Lee followed their team, leaving only the to-be teammates.
"Now, it's time for us to start. I'll explain your goal." Aoi said, pulling out a small rectangular keychain with a phrase on it (which was too small for Naruto to read at his distance), "This is one of my most precious items. It'll be your job to retrieve it."
"Remember, your top priority is to show me that you can handle being a genin while working together as a team. Getting this keychain is your secondary objective." Aoi said. She pulled on her orange shorts that were a replica of Naruto's and to the exasperation of everyone else there, tucked the keychain inside, most likely in an inside pocket. Then she grinned.
"I'll give you some advice: don't think that it'll be easy to get into my pants… I mean shorts… I mean…" Aoi said, before pouting, "Aww man! I had that planned out so nicely too. Darn!"
Naruto, Hikari, and Akane glanced at each other, nodding. Aoi looked at them in mild wonderment.
'Do they already have something planned?' Aoi thought to herself, 'Well, they can at least get together and plan something, but how well will they be organized in the field?'
"Well, get ready… and GO!"
Akane and Hikari rushed forward, pulling kunai from their pouches simultaneously. The bulge around Hikari's eyes indicated that she was taking this seriously, though Aoi had no such bulge. Aoi regarded their charge calmly, not reacting at all, not even activating her Byakugan.
Naruto stayed behind with his hands in a ready position for the Kage Bunshin, though he did no jutsu noticeably. Aoi was a bit surprised that he might know the Shadow Clone Technique, but considered the idea that he was just bluffing because he had not formed any clones yet.
'So they must have met up beforehand and made up a plan.' Aoi said, as Hikari and Akane converged in on her. She got into a position which would allow her to intercept both of their attacks based on their speed. Hikari would gain on her first, being the superior fighter, while Akane would end up being close-up support and Hikari's defence.
Aoi knew.
But as Aoi awaited the first attack, Hikari suddenly threw her kunai at Aoi's chest. Aoi was not surprised at this sudden change in attack, as she avoided Hikari's kunai by stepping away when Akane threw her kunai as well. Aoi sighed sadly, as she didn't need to move at all to dodge the poorly thrown weapon.
Akane's kunai pierced the ground behind Aoi, sticking up from the ground.
'She still needs a lot of work.' Aoi thought, as Hikari stopped her charge, most likely because Akane had messed up, 'Failing to properly execute a plan like that w-'
Hikari burst out of the marked ground right behind Aoi with multiple kunai ready for attack.
Aoi spun around in surprise, readying her hands for attacking and defending, when the first Hikari jumped forward and yanked her hands backwards. The kunai that had come out of the ground with the second Hikari suddenly jolted towards Aoi. She jerked her hands back and forth, and as if by magic, the kunai followed her movements, speeding and slicing at Aoi.
Aoi dove to the side, spinning wildly, avoiding all the kunai as they zipped through her legs and past her torso. But Hikari gave another jerk, and a kunai shot straight for Aoi's face. Aoi tilted her head to the side, and watched, wide-eyed as the flat of the single kunai rubbed her cheek as it shot by.
Akane flung another kunai, aimed right at where Aoi was set to land, as if marking the spot. And right before Aoi landed, another Akane burst out of the pierced ground, arms outstretched as if to capture her, but Aoi's braided hair suddenly shot out, wrapping around the new Akane's arms flinging her towards one of the Hikari's.
'This is almost like… Hiraishin!' Aoi thought frantically.
As the pair of girls collided, Aoi used the momentum gained from the throw to stick to a nearby tree, lest anymore people erupt from the ground.
Hikari and Akane burst into smoke, leaving the presumably real Hikari and Akane, both of whom glared at Aoi defiantly.
And Aoi definitely was surprised. She observed the three genin as they ran back to each other, once again forming a line.
Her shock ebbing away, Aoi jumped to the ground activating her Byakugan just in case. She looked around the area, underneath the ground but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. There were no tunnels beneath the ground, so they hadn't been digging around. Then exactly what had happened?
Aoi had no more time to ponder on it, as Hikari threw another kunai, this one aimed at Aoi's hips.
'That kunai is saturated with chakra!' Aoi thought, as she moved her hip to the side, letting the kunai embed itself into the tree behind her. Then with an explosion of bark, a clone of Hikari burst forward after Aoi. She didn't even turn around, as one of her braids suddenly struck the new Hikari in the chest, dispelling it. And like that, Aoi understood the trick.
'They're clever. They tried to trick me into believing that they were using a high-speed transportation technique, when these kunai were all just Kage Bunshin. Naruto stayed back to confuse me, while Hikari and Akane attacked with his Kage Bunshin. But now that I know, what will you do?' Aoi thought, feeling very pleased at the thought that they had put into this.
"I know what you're doing. It's a good use of Kage Bunshin, but now I have my Byakugan activated, and it won't work. Your trick is gone; what are you going to do?" Aoi asked, her voice lacking the usual cheerfulness that it usually contained.
"I guess it's my turn. Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto said, stepping forward. He formed a hand seal, and several clones fazed into existence. Aoi regarded him with surprise and close scrutiny.
'What in the world was that!' Aoi thought, thoroughly confused, 'His chakra was perfectly controlled; not a drop was wasted! And what was that symbol that formed?"
Aoi put her confusion to the side; she could find out later. It was time to focus at the moment.
"I'm sure you know the properties of the Byakugan, Naruto. Your clones can't confuse my eyes. Why bother?" Aoi said, but she did observe something weird. While his clones were all stable, there was just something odd about them; the flow of chakra for the technique was different than that of the usual Bunshin technique.
But she had no more time to think about it as the all the different Naruto's charged after her. Aoi regarded them, confident yet wary for any sort of trick. They were definitely regular, non-solid clones, but the boy must have had something up his sleeve if he just charged at her even while knowing that she could tell him apart from his clones.
But it didn't seem like Naruto had any plans, as a clone rushed at her, aiming a kick at her torso. Aoi ignored it, keeping focus on the real Naruto until…
'What the!'
Suddenly, the attacking clone became the real body, and the real body became the clone!
It was only due to her quick reflexes and experience that Aoi was able to grab the kick, but then she blinked as the Naruto's kick just went through her hand and another attacking clone suddenly became real.
'Damn it!'
Aoi bent over backwards, avoiding the roundhouse. She felt the force behind the kick as the wind hit her face in a pleasant breeze.
The first clone became the real Naruto once more as he grabbed her leg, and Aoi, finally making contact with the boy, swung her other leg to knock the boy away, using her arms to support herself on the ground. Just as her kick would have made contact, the boy fazed through, and Aoi used the moment of her kick to twirl around like a break-dancer, with her legs acting as helicopter blades, effectively blocking off any possible attacks. And she came to a conclusion.
'I can't fight him like this.'
So as she twirled around, Aoi used her arms to push off the ground and launched herself a good 15 feet into the air, spinning into an upright position that would effectively help her guard against any attacks.
Akane came down from above her hoping to attack Aoi while she was in the air and unable to move, but Aoi had already seen her. Aoi's braided hair whipped out and wrapped around Akane's torso, and threw her towards the incoming Naruto clones while launching herself higher up. Akane made a desperate grab for Aoi's orange shorts on her way down, but Aoi was already too far away.
Meanwhile, Hikari jumped through Naruto's clones, one of which suddenly became solid. Her hand landed in his, and he spun her around and launched her higher.
Hikari's hand reached out to Akane's, as they met in mid-air, and Akane threw her further up. Letting her hands dangle for a bit, Hikari suddenly jerked them both upwards with a grunt of exertion, and again, as if by magic, both Naruto and Akane came up beside her.
The three genin-hopefuls sailed upwards towards Aoi, who had reached the apex of her leap. Aoi had watched the whole thing, astonished at how well the three had worked together.
'Their abilities go together really well! This is… this is amazing!' Aoi thought as her descent started, 'I'd never have imagined this!'
On the way up, Naruto had formed more clones, but this time there were Kage Bunshin mixed along with his Kawarimi Bunshin. They'd need all the help they could get.
'This is it!' he thought, 'It has to be now, when she's most vulnerable!'
Naruto, Hikari, and Akane had planned this from the beginning. A shinobi was usually at their most vulnerable in the air, so that was the best advantage that they could have gotten. Their goal from the beginning had been to get Aoi airborne one way or another.
Naruto had met his future teammates a bit earlier in the morning to supply them with his shadow-clones-turned-kunai, whose main basis was to confuse Aoi. The Byakugan could not tell the difference between shadow clones and the original, so Naruto would purposely transform into copies of Hikari and Akane when dispelled from being kunai.
Akane would throw the kunai into the ground, and the clone would suddenly burst out of the ground, hopefully leading Aoi into the air. The kunai-turned-clone would then have even more kunai, which Hikari would control, sending them after Aoi, and hopefully, the non-stop assault would keep her off balance enough to take to the sky.
Hikari had been working on improving the regular Hyuuga taijutsu style by using chakra strings in conjunction with weapons. With it, she could control weapons at the same time as using her Jyuuken, making it a very deadly taijutsu style. Hikari had gotten the idea from Aoi, who could control her braids as if they were extra limbs. Aoi's style was still a step ahead of Hikari's, as Aoi could actually close tenketsu even with her braids, but Hikari did have an advantage over range.
If that didn't work, then Naruto would come in and overwhelm Aoi with his Kawarimi Bunshin fighting-style. This was their final resort, and if this did not work, then they would have to reconvene and plan something on the fly.
But it had worked, and they had to capitalize on it.
The two opposing sides came closer and closer, until simultaneously, Akane, Hikari, and Naruto (and his clones) attacked.
The next thing they knew, all of Naruto's clones had been destroyed, and all three of them were sent sailing to the ground with nary a clue of what had happened.
Three large thuds later and subsequent yelps of pain indicated the three genin hitting the ground with heavy force. Aoi on the other hand, landed lightly like a cat. She observed the three genin, who continued to lie down in pain.
'You've already passed guys.' But Aoi didn't say it out loud because she wanted to see what else they could do. This was fun; the ideas that they created, the overwhelming teamwork that they had shown, as well as Naruto's devastating fighting style.
Meanwhile, Naruto sat up with a groan.
'What the hell happened?' he thought, 'We were winning, and then she just reacted faster than any of us could see! How do we go against that!'
He was sure that they were going to win, and couldn't help but feel angry that his plan had backfired.
Naruto wasn't used to being wrong.
"Naruto!" Hikari called. Naruto's head turned towards the sound of her voice, eyes wide and body tense. She had collected Akane, and the two were now running towards him. Naruto flipped to a standing position quickly. They needed to regroup.
"We have to get away!" Hikari said. But suddenly, Aoi appeared between Hikari and Akane, and Naruto.
"Don't think I'm just going to let you guys recover. What kind of test would this be? I won't let you." Aoi said, smirking at them. Naruto responded in kind.
"I won't let you!" he shouted, and he formed a cross-shaped hand seal. All of the females regarded him with wide eyes as he formed a massive amount of chakra. Aoi, rather than stopping him, paid close attention to his hands.
'There again! There's some sort of… seal, and his chakra suddenly just calms down and there's not a drop wasted! How is he doing that?' Aoi thought. In the future, Aoi would often reflect that she should have worried about such things at a later time and focused on the technique he would use.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
It must have been close to a thousand clones that formed, as the clearing was suddenly filled with orange-vested Narutos. All of the clones surrounded her as the original met up with Hikari and Akane at the side. Aoi regarded them, as impossible as it sounded, without a worry in the world.
Akane, Hikari, and even Naruto looked dumbfounded by the sheer amount of clones that he had created, as they ran off to the side to meet up.
Then, all of the shadow clones converged in on the sole jounin, as if there were a giant tsunami of orange, threatening to crash down upon her. And she smirked.
Her stance shifted. She stretched her arms wide apart in the traditional Jyuuken stance. Her braids rose up one by one in a stance indicating that they were ready to strike; as if she was Medusa and they were her snakes.
Naruto's clones got even closer. Aoi's smirk widened.
"Hakke: Issen Seppun!"
Aoi tore through the clones, dispersing dozens upon dozens of clones in a mere matter of seconds. But the clones kept on coming, and they didn't seem to be stopping, yet neither did Aoi. Her hands were blurred in movement, and her hair moved in tandem, acting as several extra hands.
Naruto, Hikari, and Akane regarded her in shock, all thought of forming a new plan forgotten as Naruto's clones were eliminated at a rate that they didn't think was possible.
Aoi kept moving and moving, her hands and hair lashing out at blurring speeds, snapping back and forth, destroying clones before they even knew what had happened.
All three genin looked on in awe. They watched as Aoi decimated what seemed like half the clones in about thirty seconds. And she wasn't stopping.
And Naruto felt something that he hadn't felt for a long time.
Despair.
How could they go up against something like that? No matter what plan they pulled, no matter how many clones he made, Aoi could easily destroy them with just a single technique.
But if there was just one thing that Naruto had learned from his life, it was to not give up in the face of despair. He hadn't before, and he wouldn't now.
So he watched Aoi's movements. And he realized something.
"Hikari." Naruto said softly, "Right now, she's not defending herself. With so many attackers, she's focusing all of her concentration on attacking. If what you told me about the Byakugan is correct, then with all my clones surrounding her, she won't be focused on what we're doing at this distance."
Aoi continued to dance.
"She won't notice my chakra strings at this distance." Hikari murmured, "I don't know if I can do this, but…"
Hikari's eyes narrowed in concentration as she stretched out her fingers, extending a string of chakra. Naruto and Akane watched on in anxiety, even though they could not see chakra as the two Hyuuga could.
The single string extended and extended; Hikari could feel it wavering, but it continued to extend. She held onto it, her desire to pass Aoi's test still strong. But her chakra began to diminish, and pretty soon, the string would die out.
And Aoi continued to dance.
"Damn it! My chakra is running out." Hikari whispered, gritting her teeth. She couldn't let it die out! Her dreams, Akane's dreams, and Naruto's dreams depended on this. So she willed herself to hold on, to keep squeezing out chakra.
But it was no use.
'No! It's going to die…' Hikari thought. It was almost enough to put her to tears. Then she felt a hand take hers. Hikari looked to the person.
It was Akane.
Akane grinned at her teammate; the same grin that Hikari knew so well.
"Don't worry so much Hikari!" Akane said cheerfully, "You don't have to do everything alone, you know?"
Hikari smiled back at her, feeling better at once. Akane was her best friend, and could somehow always cheer her up no matter the circumstances. Then she sighed.
"Thanks, Akane, but you just broke my concentration." Hikari said, "It's gone."
Akane's grin went slack as she looked at Hikari with her mouth open. Naruto put his face into his palm.
"Oi oi, you guys!" Aoi called, having finished her dance. A single struggling Naruto was wrapped up in her hair, which was floating above her head.
"I've seen enough!" Aoi said, skipping over to them. The three genin watched her advance hopelessly, no doubt believing that they had failed. Aoi reached them fairly quickly.
Aoi looked at each of them, one at a time. The Naruto wrapped up in her hair had stopped struggling, obviously having given up escaping her grip.
"I've only got one thing to tell you three." Aoi said. The three crushed genin said nothing. She lowered the Naruto clone until they were at face level, and tenderly kissed him on the cheek. The clone suddenly erupted in smoke at the Jyuuken strike delivered through Aoi's lips, and the real Naruto blushed when the experience came back to him.
"You passed." Aoi said, her voice cutting through their silence. All three looked at her in shock, then at each other, not believing what they had heard.
There was a moment of disbelieving silence. Then…
"YES!" Akane screamed, as she jumped into Aoi's arms. Tears of joy were streaming down her face, and she hugged Aoi with all the strength she could muster, sobbing into her vest. Aoi just smiled serenely, and stroked her hair softly as she hugged the girl back. Hikari sank to the floor, and lay down on the grass, exhausted yet relieved.
Naruto fell back right beside her; the adrenaline had left him, and now he was exhausted. He and Hikari turned their heads to one another, and he felt a glimmering emotion flicker into life deep within his being. It was so small, like a flame with hardly any fuel or an electric lamp with dodgy wiring. Yet for all its fragility it was...
It was a connection worth having. It wasn't the same thing he felt with Yuugao or Ayame, but it was still something that made him feel good; there was nothing like fighting alongside someone that built bonds.
Akane let go of Aoi, and lay down as well, worming her way into the middle. Her hands reached out and grabbed both Hikari's and Naruto's. Naruto noticed that her hands were warm and slightly clammy, indicating that she had been worried, but he ignored it.
They had passed; they were teammates now, and, even better, they were friends. They were Team Nine, and despite not having retrieved the keychain from Aoi, they would strive to become the best they could be, both individually and as a team.
That was all that mattered.
"Kakashi."
"Team Seven passes."
Most of the surrounding ninja looked at him in surprise. He had never previously passed a team before, but it seemed that he had finally found a team that was worthy enough to meet his expectations.
The Hokage continued to wait for Kakashi's explanation.
"The trouble was that Uchiha Sasuke was unwilling to work with Haruno Sakura, who would only work with Sasuke. Uchiha Shinji brought them together, and the three showed adequate teamwork, though they did not manage to get any bells." Kakashi explained, not taking his eyes off of his book, much to the Hokage's annoyance.
"Kurenai."
"Hai. Team Eight passes. My test was one of tracking. Inuzuka Kiba was adamant about going about it alone at first, but Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata managed to convince him to work together. With their combined skills, they were able to find me." the red-eyed, dark-haired beauty explained diligently, though there was an almost unnoticeable frown on her face, most likely at the fact that Kakashi was reading his book, rather than address the Hokage as a shinobi should.
"Asuma."
"Passed. Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji were willing to work with each other from the beginning, and Yamanaka Ino just bossed them around. Together, they were able to complete the task that I assigned to them." Asuma said.
The Sandaime Hokage nodded in acceptance. So far, only these three teams had passed. Teams One to Six had failed, but the Hokage had already expected that. Only one team remained.
"Well, we are still waiting for-"
Aoi chose that moment to burst through the door. Some of the jounin tensed at her sudden appearance, but relaxed when they noticed who it was. The more experienced jounin, such as Kakashi and Gai hadn't reacted at all.
And everyone stared at her choice in clothing.
"You're late." the Hokage said disapprovingly. Aoi waved him off.
"Yeah, yeah, my bad, Hokage-sama! Let's hurry this up!" she said. This time, Kurenai openly showed her distaste at Aoi's blatant disrespect of the Hokage.
The Sandaime sighed.
"Aoi. Explain, please."
"Team Nine passes! Later!" Aoi spun around, eager to leave, but the Hokage shot her a warning look, which made her freeze on the spot like a child caught with her hands in the cookie jar.
"Fine, fine. Well, the test was to see if any of them could get into my pants. They were pretty eager, but they didn't manage to do it. They made a good effort though, so I passed them! Can I go now?" Aoi asked, pouting petulantly. Almost all the jounin looked at her in shock.
What kind of test had she administered?
"Go ahead." Kakashi said, not looking up from his book. Aoi saluted the S-rank ninja and took off abruptly. The Hokage shot Kakashi an annoyed look.
"And since when are you allowed to dismiss my shinobi, Kakashi?" the Hokage asked gruffly. Kakashi looked up in what seemed to be surprise.
"Huh? Oh, I was just talking to myself. Heh, sorry about that." Kakashi said, chuckling. Then he turned back to his book.
The Sandaime sighed in exasperation.
'I'm getting too old for this.'
Aoi jumped onto Naruto's shoulders once more.
"Heh, yeah, sorry about that." Aoi said. She had run into the Hokage's tower to take care of some quick business, or so she said.
"Hey, Aoi, what was on that keychain anyway?" Akane asked curiously. Aoi blinked for a second, then plunged her hand down the front of her shorts. She pulled out the keychain, and handed it over to the blushing Naruto, who couldn't help but think of where Aoi's hand had just been.
"It's one of my most precious items." Aoi stated.
Naruto looked it over. In bright orange writing, the keychain read, 'Naruto's Bitch'. Blushing, he gave it to Akane, who also blushed upon reading the words.
Aoi had been adamant about the team spending some time together. She had also been extremely intrigued by Naruto's Seal Princess Technique.
When Naruto had explained, Aoi had been noticeably impressed, even more so than Akane and Hikari had been when he had explained his abilities to them. Truthfully, the two girls had been more impressed by his usage of Kage Bunshin than the Seal Princess Technique, but they didn't really understand the implications of the fact that Naruto could form seals on the spot.
Also, when Naruto had explained it, Aoi had also understood what Kakashi wanted her to teach Naruto.
The Jyuuken.
She would still need to get more information, but she understood the basic concept of Kakashi's idea. And she understood what it could mean.
So as the team walked together, yammering about this and that, laughing together, Aoi looked down upon the golden-haired boy with a proud smile.
'Yondaime-sama… he'll become strong. I can feel it.'
"Hey!" a shout from Akane brought Aoi out of her thoughts. Naruto, Hikari, and Aoi looked at her with questioning glances.
"I've been thinking… we need a team name!" Akane said.
"Hoh… what do you have in mind?" Aoi asked from her perch. One of her braids absentmindedly flicked a villager on his head when he had muttered something about Naruto.
"I was thinking that we need something frightening. How about: The Fearsome Foursome!" Akane shouted, striking a pose and grinning innocently at her idea.
Hikari sighed at Akane's suggestion. And Hikari also knew that Akane had no idea how she had set Aoi up (once again) for one of her jokes. But that innocence was one of Akane's most endearing qualities, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.
Aoi's resulting outburst was not surprising.
"FOURSOME? OH YEAH, I LIKE THAT IDEA!"
Chapter 05 – Seal Princess Technique – Terminating
Author's Notes:
Original Jutsu:
Kawarimi Bunshin - Replacement Clone : This is a special Bunshin no Jutsu that was taught to Naruto by Gensei Moshanise, its creator. It looks just like the regular Bunshin, and even has the same hand seals, but it allows the user to use the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement Technique) with a Bunshin without a need for hand seals. Naruto's fighting style is based on this technique. The specifics behind it are unknown.
Users: Gensei Moshanise (deceased), Uzumaki Naruto, ?
Hakke: Issen Seppun - Eight Trigrams: One Thousand Kisses: This is Aoi's adaptation of the normal Main family technique, Hakke: Rokujuuyonshou (Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Strikes). Using her hair as extra limbs, Aoi can perform one thousand Jyuuken strikes in succession. It is designed for battles against multiple enemies, not single ones, and can therefore leave her vulnerable if used against a single enemy.
Users: Hyuuga Aoi
My author's notes have been pretty short and crisp, but here's something I saved from the original:
"In this story, the Kage Bunshin training method doesn't work with learning specific techniques. The thing with ninjutsu and genjutsu is that they require someone to mold chakra in a different way for each hand seal that the technique uses (for the purpose of this story). The Kage Bunshin method only works for when you're trying to learn a single way of molding chakra; you get the memory of that single method. If you have to learn how to mold your chakra for each individual seal at the same time, it would cause information to mix, which would just ruin the technique. Naruto used it to learn just the Chakra Control Seal, which is the only seal that Naruto can form by force and without chakra control. In canon, he was only focusing on adding wind element to the Rasengan. In the case of learning ninjutsu or genjutsu techniques, it would be easier to just learn it by himself through abstraction rather than use Kage Bunshin and trying to learn it seal by seal."
There you have it. Anyway, not much to go. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!
Signing off is,
knuckz
