Unraveling secrets: the first step: shaping the protagonist

Ch 9- Bonding.

Guys, thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate it, I thought because I hadn't updated lately I have lost all the followers but thanks to you all it is not the case.

Well, I know I said I will not be able to update much, actually according to my time table for preparation for boards I have an hour of free time. I'm using that time to write this fanfic. I hope I can at least update once a week.

Disclaimer- Needless to say that I don't own Naruto.

Saga- Team 8 saga.

Arc- Team formation arc.


Naruto lifted his barrier fuinjutsu and dispelled his explosive tags. Shino recalled his bugs back, he was sweating a lot as he was continuously using a B-rank technique, and had used another B-rank technique for sealing Kurenai's Genjutsu. Hinata was fine, although she was taking out some healing salves for Naruto.

"Thanks Hinata" said Naruto and gratefully took the salve which she offered. Hinata was blushing, red tints formed around her cheeks as she handed out the salve to Naruto; she refused to make eye contact with the blond.

Naruto didn't really require it, Kurenai didn't hurt him badly, just some kicks and punches to non-vital areas. And yet Naruto was more or less sure that Kurenai wasn't using her real strength at all.

Kurenai got up and walked towards her team.

"Congratulations team, you are one of few teams who have passed the true graduation test" said Kurenai and patted Hinata's head affectionately.

"So who among you figured out the true meaning of this test?" asked Kurenai.

"That would be Shino sensei" said Naruto.

"Yes, I thought it was weird for genins to fight against an elite shinobi like you one on one, Naruto-san here had the most attack power among the team and yet he was not able to do anything against you because you are a very powerful shinobi, I tried to figure out ways to defeat you but I couldn't come up with a solid plan, then I remembered your words before the test and I understood the subtle hint you gave us..." murmured Shino.

"Yeah okay, we get it Shino" said Naruto.

"Yes well done Shino, Naruto you too did well against me, it looks like Jiraiya-sama taught you during the previous week, I'm very impressed by your versatility and unorthodox tactics, Hinata you too did well, I was forced to use the demonic illusion series against you. If you performed like this without doubting yourself I'm sure even Hiashi-sama will acknowledge you" said Kurenai praising her new students.

"Thank you very much" said Shino nodding.

"Thanks sensei" said Naruto.

"Y-yes sensei, I w-will try my hardest t-to live u-up to your e-expectations" said Hinata.

"Alright then, you are dismissed, meet me tomorrow here at 9:00 AM then" said Kurenai and shunshined away.

"Alright guys, anyone interested in having ramen?" asked Naruto.

"I should go to my cute little genins too" said Kakashi from the trees and disappeared.

With Kurenai:

She reappeared in front of Raido Namiashi's apartment. She knocked at the door, a few seconds later the door opened and Raido's face popped out.

"Well this is rare, why the world famous Genjutsu mistress has decided to bless me with her presence?" asked Raido with a cheeky grin.

"Jokes aside Raido-senpai, I had concluded team 8's test just a minute ago" said Kurenai.

"So how did he do?" asked Raido.

"They passed, he did great against me actually" said Kurenai.

"Impressive brat isn't he? Come inside Kurenai" said Raido and completely opened the door.

Kurenai stepped inside and followed Raido to the living room and sat on a chair.

"Tea or coffee, sorry but I don't have any drinks with me right now" said Raido.

"You don't have to prepare anything senpai, I'm not going to be here for long" said Kurenai.

"Itching to meet with Asuma I guess" said Raido.

"T-that's not true at all, why does everyone know about this, hell even Guy congratulated me earlier. We just hooked up a month ago" said Kurenai exasperated.

"Oh come on, it was surprising that you took so long to realize his feelings towards you, we have all known for past 7 years to say the least...I am making coffee by the way" said Raido and created a shadow clone to prepare coffee.

Kurenai watched the clone going towards the kitchen as Raido spoke again.

"Stop calling me senpai by the way, you outrank me remember" said Raido.

"Old habits do not die so easily" said Kurenai.

Raido chuckled.

"So let's go back on track senpai, about Naruto...I'm thinking about telling him everything regarding the village council and Danzo" said Kurenai.

Raido frowned.

"Are you sure about this Kurenai?" asked Raido.

"Think about it, sandaime wanted to protect him by classifying his status and look what we got in return, only because of Iruka Umino he is sane still now. He said that he hated nearly most of the villagers in town and wanted to resurrect the yondaime just to torture him" said Kurenai.

"That bad huh" said Raido sighing.

The shadow clone appeared behind them with the coffee prepared and placed it on the table. He then dispelled himself.

"I heard he had anger management issues, but looks like it had improved a lot after he came to know about himself" said Kurenai.

"Did you ask the Hokage for permission?" asked Raido.

"I did...he said he trusts me to take the correct decision, he looked saddened...I wonder why though" said Kurenai as she took a sip of coffee.

"After learning the truth Naruto confronted the Hokage, he said he doesn't hate lord Hokage for the decisions he made and is on good terms with Sandaime-sama...but his eyes looked distant, it lost most of the warmth it had for his grandfather figure, he tried to hide it but Sandaime-sama is a freaking lie detector, you know living through shinobi wars gave him a lot of wisdom" said Raido.

"I see...wait how do you the details senpai?" asked Kurenai.

"Yugao and Tenzo told me, they were there as his hidden bodyguards" said Raido.

"Well, the information helps to understand him a little more. But the reason I came here is to ask you for your training methods" said Kurenai.

"Okay but why though?" asked Raido.

"Well I think it would be better to know about his training beforehand, and then I can plan how to train him better. This is the first team I am about to lead after all" said Kurenai.

"Yup you definitely will make a good teacher Kurenai" said Raido.

"So...how did you train him, and tell me what you would do if you were train him for longer periods of time" asked Kurenai.

"Fine I guess, my job was to teach him self-defense as you know because of some circumstances. I decided I will teach him kenjutsu, because I'm proficient in it. I didn't expect him to have that much sense for it though, fuinjutsu was something I thought he might like it so I gave him a beginner's book, he later stole other books from shinobi library using copy fuinjutsu" said Raido.

"Wait…he sneaked in there and nobody caught him" said Kurenai astounded.

"I was getting to that… well of course lord Hokage knew but the librarian didn't notice any difference, after all the original document was still in the library, he just copied the information" said Raido.

"What else did he take?" asked Kurenai.

"A bingo book, some history books and fox style taijutsu beginner scroll" said Raido.

"Why would he…is this related to his heritage?" asked Kurenai.

Raido's eyes bulged open.

"H-how did you…?" started Raido.

"Relax senpai, he mentioned something like this in the introduction" said Kurenai.

"I see, so he is investigating" murmured Raido.

"…So you know his parents huh" said Kurenai.

Raido remained silent.

"Exactly how many secrets are being hidden from him, I mean just who is Naruto anyway?" asked Kurenai sounding a bit irritated.

"Kurenai, let's go back to his training regime. Trust me, this isn't the right time to reveal everything" said Raido.

"Okay, I'm not here for investigating anyway…so I understand that he learned stealth from you" said Kurenai.

"All I taught him about stealth was my mastered technique" said Raido.

"That camouflage jutsu, he managed to do this without learning about stealth at all" said Kurenai dubiously.

"Don't forget the fact he was the former prankster king of Konoha" said Raido chuckling.

"Oh right" said Kurenai remembering Naruto's former habits.

"I will list my observations now, he has 3 things he was born with" said Raido.

Kurenai listened intently.

"First is insane amount of chakra" said Raido.

"Yeah I know that is totally unfair, he is a total monster when it comes to raw chakra reserves" said Kurenai grumbling.

"He is also natural in kenjutsu" said Raido.

"And the third would be kyubi then" said Kurenai.

"Yup, but just these three makes him kind of a monster if you ask me" said Raido.

"I agree" said Kurenai nodding.

"Now because of his childhood he has the ability to control his body to its full potential" said Raido.

"The ability to fully tune 100 percent of his body, it gives him unbelievable reflexes…for a genin at least and his reaction speed is top notch too, I guess his power and speed is because of his lower body then" said Kurenai.

"As expected from you, you figure out things quickly" said Raido as he finished his cup of coffee.

"These are abilities he was forced to develop" said Kurenai sadly.

"Next is his nindo to never give up…that is the main reason he is still sane after all. The only weaknesses were his clumsiness and stupidity which I was able to fix very well if I say so myself" said Raido proudly.

'I wonder what methods you took senpai' thought Kurenai sweat dropping.

"I also taught him a nin-taijutsu which allows him to make his bones more flexible, and he learned fox taijutsu himself" said Raido.

"So that was what he used against me that time, I guess he is trying to create a unorthodox kenjutsu style for himself, that is why I was chosen as his sensei" said Kurenai.

"You got that right, by the way you are figuring out what is the most dangerous thing about him, aren't you?" asked Raido smirking.

"His investigation skills are top notch because he spent so much time learning about his clan, it improved his information gathering skills yet he doesn't know a single thing about spying, he knows so much about history but his other academic skills are nonexistent, you understand what I'm talking about right, his fighting style is similar don't you think" said Raido.

"Unorthodoxies, bizarre yet affective, I see… the ability to improvise. He is not analytical but he can think on the spot, his creativity is his weapon" said Kurenai.

"If the rookie of the year Sasuke uchiha is the textbook example of a prodigy then Naruto uzumaki is the most bizarre example of brilliance don't you think" said Raido with a smile on his face.

"If I take even one step wrong on tutoring him, then I might destroy his skills but if I do it correctly then…" said Kurenai thinking of the possibilities.

"His most definite weakness is chakra control…" said Raido but was cut off by Kurenai.

"That is something only experience will fix, besides I'm there to help him out with that. He reminds me of Jiraiya-sama, his case was the same wasn't it?" asked Kurenai.

"Well that is why he has taken him as an apprentice" said Raido.

"You taught him implementation skills using kunai and shuriken along with wires too; it caught me off guard at the last moment today" said Kurenai.

"Why not, I think every genin should know these things at least, from what I know the uchiha is a master of these skills isn't he?" said Raido shrugging.

"I'm thinking about teaching that to the rest of my students, I will be going then" said Kurenai and stood up.

"Are you going to the Aburame household now?" asked Raido.

"Why not, I need to ask for Shino's skill set too, I know everything about Hinata already" said Kurenai.

"Say hi to Asuma for me" said Raido.

"Not again" said Kurenai releasing an exasperated sigh.

Kurenai then disappeared in a rose shunshin.

With Naruto, Shino and Hinata:

"Damn she is really strong, oji-san another bowl please" said Naruto finishing his sixth bowl.

"Got it" said Teuchi.

"It is not healthy to eat so many bowls Naruto-san as it comprises of sodium…" started Shino.

"I know, I know don't worry I only eat thrice daily at normal times. I can cook you know" said Naruto.

"That's not n-normal N-Naruto-kun" muttered Hinata.

"Hmm you say something Hinata" said Naruto.

'Stay conscious, stay conscious, you can't be a burden again, I can't just fall conscious all the time' thought Hinata as fought a war against her desire to go to slumber.

"Hinata you are burning up, are you fine" said Naruto in concern.

"Y-yes N-Naruto-kun, don't w-worry about me" said Hinata finally winning against herself.

"If you say so" said Naruto as Ayame placed a beef ramen bowl in front of the counter.

"Ah thanks" said Naruto and started eating right away.

"But I must say that you have become pretty strong, I guess it's no shock that you were given a field promotion" said Shino.

"You are making me blush, stop it Shino" said Naruto scratching his head.

"Besides you are pretty good too Shino, you are pretty good analyst…way better than me. Same goes for you too Hinata" said Naruto.

"I'm not" said Hinata quietly.

"Huh, what are you talking about Hinata? We won thanks to your help" said Naruto.

"B-but all I did was fail against sensei, Naruto-kun actually managed to present fight to Kurenai-sensei, Shino-kun managed to form a plan against sensei but I couldn't do anything…" said Hinata quietly.

"So what?" asked Naruto nonchalantly.

"H-huh" said Hinata.

"If you think you are weak then just grow stronger…I'm not going to be humble enough and say I'm nothing special…I didn't train to death for that, I know I'm strong but I also know how it feels to be weak and helpless…I know it all too well, but so what? That is why we are genin now, that is why we are provided with a jonin-sensei, so if you think you are not strong enough then train to death like me and I guarantee that you will become super strong dattebayo" said Naruto flashing his signature grin with a thumbs-up to Hinata.

"N-Naruto-kun" said Hinata smiling; maybe she can grow stronger just like Naruto-kun too, maybe she can get her father to accept her. Maybe she won't be a burden anymore. As he listened to Naruto her heart expressed these feelings.

'Can I do it, a failure like me…can I become as great as Naruto-kun?' thought Hinata.

"If you really want to grow stronger then I will be there for you" said Naruto as if answering her questions.

"Hai" said Hinata quietly as she smiled a little.

"Now let's get back to ramen" said Naruto and engulfed the contents the bowl in one shot.

"Excuse me Naruto-san" said Shino nudging Naruto a little.

"Ya what's up?" asked Naruto.

"When did you start training, I'm sure you have been taught those techniques by someone" said Shino.

"I think just for a year only though...yup just a year" said Naruto.

Shino raised his eyebrows.

'Just a year…he was the last year's dead last…but just in a year he is on a different level' thought Shino.

'Just how much training did he do' thought Shino.

"So you learned shadow clones just in a year" said Shino.

"No I learned shadow clones just previous weeks" said Naruto.

If Shino wasn't Shino then he definitely would have fell over from his stool.

"I'm sorry you said that you learned the clones just previous week right" asked Shino just to be sure again.

"Ya, the explosive clones and the shuriken shadow clones were also given to me by ero-senin previous week" said Naruto ordering another bowl.

'No matter how much one hard worked there is no way that is possible, could it be that Naruto-san by any chance is a genius of some sort' thought Shino as he looked at Naruto devouring another bowl of ramen.

He remembered Naruto's entire fight with Kurenai. He wasn't using them randomly, he was executing everything masterfully; he had not only learned A-rank moves a week ago and he can already use them proficiently.

'I might have gotten myself one hell of a teammate' thought Shino as he sweated bit thinking about his new teammate.

With Danzo:

"I see so the jinchuuriki has passed" said Danzo.

"Yes Danzo-sama" said a pale skinned boy with black hair.

"Keep observing him…although try to be stealthier, you might be caught by Kurenai yuhi otherwise" said Danzo.

"Yes Danzo-sama" said the boy.

"You are dismissed Sai" said Danzo.

The boy named Sai disappeared in a shunshin.

"Yes, you have to grow stronger and stronger Naruto-kun. For the sake of Konoha you have to" said Danzo.

With Naruto:

"Then I will meet you guys tomorrow" said Naruto and waved at his new teammates.

"Y-yes goodbye Naruto-kun, Shino-kun" said Hinata while pressing her fingers together.

"Yes we shall meet tomorrow then" said Shino nodding towards Naruto.

Naruto then turned around and walked away, their homes were at a completely different direction from Naruto's.

After walking for 5 minutes he noticed team 1 coming from the opposite direction.

"Well if it is not the dead last" said Hosei.

"You do understand that I graduated due to a field promotion right, I and Kiba don't have to take the true graduation test" said Naruto.

"B-but that's unfair" whined Ami.

"We had to take down a traitor to just pass a genin exam, you are luckier than us" said Naruto.

"Che don't give me those shitty lies, there is a reason why three men cells are formed, don't fuck around with me uzumaki" said the boy with glasses.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, he smiled. That older boy caught on to his lie. Naruto himself didn't know that Kurenai lied to him about dropping him out of the system.

"Well if you understand that much then you will definitely pass" said Naruto.

"Did you take your test?" asked Suiku narrowing his eyes.

"We passed" said Naruto nodding.

"It seemed suspicious the way that fatass teach was talking" said Suiku.

Hosei looked between the two.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Hosei and looked towards Naruto again…only to find him gone!

"By the way Hosei, what did you say to me about being the dead last" said a voice from behind Hosei.

Hosei froze in shock and slowly turned his neck back.

"I'm not the same as I was before" said Naruto smirking.

Naruto then walked away from there.

Ami whistled.

"Now that was cool" said Ami.

"Hey w-what did just happen here?" asked Hosei in shock.

"You just soiled your pant that's what loser" said Suiku and started walking.

"H-hey" shouted Hosei in indignation.

"That was mean Suiku, apologize to him now" said Ami with her hands on her hips.

"Tch" said Suiku and ignored her.

"As always" said Ami and followed him.

"Hey what, wait for me" said Hosei and ran towards them.

"But how did he change that much, I mean before I could even blink he was behind me" said Hosei.

"It's not that surprising is it, can't you just sense the amount of chakra he has" said Suiku.

"Well not everyone is like you" said Ami to the boy who was two years older than her.

'Naruto uzumaki, the only left uzumaki in this village huh. Maybe I can find a clue about that fucking rat by staying in Konoha' thought Suiku.

Naruto went home and made some shadow clones, half of them went outside to practice water walking, the rest started making seals for fuinjutsu as he cooked himself his lunch.

Next day, 8:55 AM:

"Hey Shino" said Naruto as he walked over to them.

Shino nodded towards him.

"Where is Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"She is there making some salves" said Shino looking towards the direction of the river.

There was a small river in the middle of the forest area.

"I see" said Naruto yawning, still sleepy enough not to register what Shino said.

In a puff of smoke appeared Kurenai yuhi, their jonin instructor.

"So I see you are on time, where is…" said Kurenai.

"I-I'm here sensei, I was just preparing some h-healing salves" said Hinata.

"I see" said Kurenai.

"Wait a minute you made them, that's so cool" said Naruto.

"N-no not r-really, i-it's not t-that special" said Hinata.

"It actually is, having healing salves is reassuring when we have to take higher rank missions, in case we don't have a medic-nin with us" said Shino.

"Ahem, we can discuss that later too, but before that do you want to know about the other teams" said Kurenai.

"Yes of course, which other teams passed sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Let's see, surprisingly Kakashi passed team 7…" said Kurenai.

"That's great, so Kiba is a genin too" said Naruto in relief.

"Team 10 also passed, surprisingly team 1 and team 2 passed actually" said Kurenai.

"What do you mean surprisingly sensei?" asked Shino.

"Well we thought that only three teams including you guys will pass this year, we actually didn't expect any other teams to pass in reality" said Kurenai.

'That guy huh' thought Naruto.

"Alright now we will begin team exercise, all of you like yesterday come at me" said Kurenai.

15 minutes later though Kurenai frowned. Already a problem had surfaced between her team.

"Like I said Shino let me do it like yesterday, otherwise I can't go all out" said Naruto.

"I know that you are the most powerful here out of us but we are to implement teamwork here, we learned that yesterday, or are you saying me and Hinata are useless" said Shino.

"T-that's not h-how N-Naruto-kun does t-things…but N-Naruto-kun, Shino-kun is right" said Hinata so quietly that almost nobody heard her.

"I mean no that's not how…listen Shino I mean you are a great analyst but still, you are not thinking this through; you are saying that I shouldn't use stealth…" said Naruto complaining.

"Enough" said Kurenai and created a shadow clone.

"Naruto come with me" said the clone Kurenai and lead him to a forest.

"Come on sensei, it's not my fault…" said Naruto trying to complain.

"So tell me whose fault is it then" said Kurenai.

"Huh" said Naruto confused.

"Was there something wrong with Shino's plan?" asked Kurenai.

"No it was perfect but it's just…"

"It's just not your style is it, you like to surprise your opponents by unorthodox yet creative method, which is the foundation of your strength" said Kurenai.

"Ya that's it; I mean…" said Naruto.

"But that's not how Shino and Hinata fight…yet they are trying to adapt so that they can fight with you, so then why are you disregarding them" said Kurenai.

Naruto looked ashamed.

"I'm not, it's just…" trailed off Naruto trying to find a reason for his surprisingly uncooperative behavior.

"You are no longer alone Naruto" said Kurenai.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, he looked up and saw her sensei's expression soften.

"I know that you have been alone and have been fighting alone until now, but it's different now. You are not solo anymore Naruto, try to trust your teammates a bit more" said Kurenai.

A few seconds passed before Naruto brought his hands up and slapped himself on both of his cheeks.

"You're right, I'm sorry sensei" said Naruto, "I will try to work together, I promise".

"Well I will be there for you, so if you ever have a worry then you can always come for my advice" said Kurenai.

"You don't hate me then" said Naruto very quietly.

Kurenai frowned.

"Kyubi killed my father" said Kurenai.

Naruto's body stiffened and he clenched his fists.

"I saw the kyubi's power and its malice, I sensed it but I don't see anything like that from you Naruto, I'm not a fool guided by hatred" said Kurenai.

"Thank you" said Naruto and bowed.

Kurenai smile and ruffed his blond hair.

"Let's go, they are waiting" said Kurenai and the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto walked back towards the clearing where Shino, Hinata and real Kurenai were waiting.

Naruto glanced at Kurenai before bowing towards his team.

"I'm sorry Shino, Hinata. I was being selfish. I will first listen to your commands and not force my opinion on you guys" said Naruto.

"As long as the matter gets resolved then its fine Naruto-san, it will be very disappointing if our team ends for something as trivial as this" said Shino.

"Yup, our legends have not even started dattebayo" said Naruto grinning.

"Alright then come at me" said Kurenai.

10 minutes later:

"Damn it, you are too strong for us sensei" whined Naruto.

"That was not a bad plan Shino, you used Hinata's vision to keep my illusionary arts in check and let Naruto confront me and mixed Hinata in Naruto's flock using a transformation jutsu, while supporting them from behind" said Kurenai praising them.

"You should hold back a little Kurenai-sensei, we are just graduates" said Naruto.

"And let myself be hit by you guys, of course not" said Kurenai.

"A-ano sensei, h-how c-can I disrupt h-higher l-level G-Genjutsu?" asked Hinata.

Kurenai was a bit surprised.

"It's rare for you to be interested in something" said Kurenai.

"I-I mean I'm t-technically a-a hyuga c-clan member s-so I…I am s-sorry i-if I have offended you in s-some w-way, i-if you d-don't w-want to g-give away y-your secrets…" said Hinata as started bowing down in apology midway.

"C-calm down Hinata, there is no such secrets in dispelling Genjutsus; I'm just surprised that's all. You can always come to me if you want to improve yourself without feeling ashamed or afraid…I have told you that many times before" said Kurenai.

"Yes s-sensei" said Hinata.

"You need more chakra control…I was thinking about leaving that for tomorrow but if you want to know then I can teach you right now" said Kurenai.

"Thanks to Shino's intelligence your teamwork is very good…though far from perfect but passable" said Kurenai and walked over to a tree.

"You will get better with experience only, now then Naruto come over here and climb the tree" said Naruto.

"Oh okay" said Naruto and ran over next to Kurenai, then he proceeded to climb the tree using his legs defying gravity.

"Yes I remember you doing this yesterday, exactly how are you doing this?" asked Shino.

"Oh it's a chakra control exercise, you remember leaf sticking exercise or something like that…that was taught in the academy probably" said Naruto.

"Yes it was taught in the first year of the academy Naruto" said Kurenai.

'WHAT?' thought Naruto sweat dropping, 'How many classes did I skip?'

"Anyway just like that you have to channel chakra to soles of your legs and try sticking your legs on the tree" said Naruto.

"Shino, Hinata if you learn to use chakra better you can channel chakra to any part of your body and increase your strength, speed and reaction speed" said Kurenai.

'Yes, you can also increase your manhood and be a better man Shino…this is a special move I created' thought Naruto with a perverted grin on his face.

"Why are you smiling like an idiot there?" said Kurenai glaring.

"Oh…yeah what is it sensei?" asked Naruto quickly breaking out of his daze.

"You have clones practicing water walking near the waterfalls right?" asked Kurenai.

"Uh yes…from the last night" said Naruto nodding.

"Then lead my clone there, I will teach you something new" said Kurenai.

"Okay" said Naruto and created a clone.

Kurenai too created a clone and both vanished in a shunshin.

"So are you going to teach me a new jutsu?" asked Naruto sounding a bit excited.

"Not really, I will be teaching the clones to walk on water using their hands" said Kurenai.

"Really, another chakra control exercise" said Naruto sighing.

"You know the most how much you suck at controlling your chakra" said Kurenai.

"Hey, I'm way better now, I can perform water walking easily" said Naruto.

"But not good enough, if you want to learn elemental manipulation" said Kurenai.

"E-elemental manipulation…but that's for jonins right" said Naruto.

"Well you are already at low chunin level so after I teach you more 20 forms of advanced chakra control exercises…" said Kurenai.

"20 more, oh come on" said Naruto.

"Well normally it takes one at least 3 years to complete all 20 of them but…" said Kurenai but was interrupted by Naruto.

"I have clones" said Naruto.

"Exactly" said Kurenai.

Meanwhile a clone of Kurenai was watching over Shino and Hinata as they tried the tree walking exercise.

"Shino you are putting too much chakra, Hinata you are using to little"

"Naruto I have got something to tell you before they finish their exercise" said Kurenai. Her face suddenly turns serious as she looked at Naruto.

"What is it?" asked Naruto noticing the sudden change in attitude.

15 minutes later:

"I see so the elder named Danzo and Kizashi haruno huh…that explains Sakura's recent attitude towards me" said Naruto.

"I know this is hard but…I didn't want to hide it from you, you have to face it yourself" said Kurenai.

"Thanks sensei" said Naruto.

"Hmm" said Kurenai.

"For trusting me, for the first time someone considered my feelings before making their decisions" said Naruto.

"You won't be alone" said Kurenai.

"I know" said Naruto.

"Sensei" said a voice so quietly that Kurenai barely was able to hear it.

"Hey Hinata, what's up?" asked Naruto.

"Uh well…I-I f-finished the e-exercise" said Hinata.

"What? You finished it" shouted Naruto.

"Y-yes Naruto-kun" said Hinata.

"B-but i-it t-t-took me literally 9 months to complete it" whined Naruto.

"Well not everybody is as untalented in control as you" said Kurenai.

"But still…alright show us Hinata" said Naruto.

"O-okay N-Naruto-kun" said Hinata and ran back towards the tree and started climbing the tree using her legs very easily. She quickly managed to reach the top and then jumped down.

Naruto's jaw dropped in shock.

"How did you find your comfort zone that fast Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"W-well I used my b-byakugan to check my c-chakra and w-whenever I f-felt that m-my fluctuation of chakra in my s-soles w-were becoming u-uneven, I fixed it" said Hinata shyly.

"T-that's cheating…I mean she can literally see chakra" said Naruto complaining.

"Shut up, why you are complaining like a kid…I could say the same about your chakra reserves, you have more chakra than even the Hokage-sama" said Kurenai.

"Ugh, fine you win. But ya, I still have more chakra than all three of you combining, so take that" said Naruto.

"So what about Shino…" said Kurenai.

They all turned around to see Shino it to the middle of the tree before the bark exploded and Shino dropped down.

"Oh come on not you too" said Naruto.

"I am minutely able to control all my insects, so it is expected for me to have some experience in controlling chakra, besides I don't have nearly as much chakra as you so it is expected of me to not have as much difficulty as you…" said Shino.

"Ya I get it, stop muttering Shino" said Naruto sighing.

"Hinata help Shino out to find his comfort zone, just like you did with yourself" said Kurenai.

"Yes sensei" said Hinata and went over to Shino.

"By the way Naruto, how is your tactical knowledge, I'm not talking about your on the spot planning" said Kurenai.

"Pretty good, I know I acted as a idiot before but I have read several books on tactics thanks to scarface, so I can fight tactically too" said Naruto.

"Yes I saw that yesterday, from tomorrow I want a clone of yours to play shogi with me, and don't think of textbook planning all the time even if you can, I want you to play like yourself…using your creativity" said Kurenai.

"For inferential planning just like Shino right" said Naruto.

"You catch on quick, it will help you to adapt to teamwork, besides it will help you to develop your leadership skills which will be important when you will be jonin" said Kurenai.

Naruto was taken aback yet again; there were not many people who really believed in him.

"Y-you really believe I can" said Naruto.

"With all that talent you posses I don't see why not, and you have the drive too" said Kurenai.

It took Naruto all of his self control to not start crying down.

"Then why are we waiting, let's start playing now" said Naruto.

"Yeah I'd like to but we don't have the…" said Kurenai but before she could finish Naruto had already created a handful of kage bunshin.

"Alright guys transform" said Naruto and all of them transformed in a puff of smoke, when the smoke subsided there was a shogi board in between them and pieces were already arranged in order for both sides.

"…Okay that's a neat way for using kage bunshin" said Kurenai blinking a few times.

"Then let's start" said Naruto excitedly.

1 hour later:

"Alright let's wrap it up for now" said Kurenai.

Shino was still having some difficulties, but he was close, Hinata was trying to build up her reserves. Naruto was discussing more strategies with his sensei; it was nearing 11:00 AM so Kurenai decided to end it for now.

"Gather around" said Kurenai.

Naruto, Hinata and Shino gathered around beside her.

"Alright for today I will treat you to lunch" said Kurenai.

"Yosh let's go for ramen" said Naruto.

"No, I mean who has ramen every time they eat Naruto-san. Let us have some variety food" said Shino.

"Yes Shino is correct Naruto, I'm taking you for barbecue today" said Kurenai.

"Hey what is wrong with ramen?" asked Naruto outraged.

"…Everything" said Kurenai.

"But before that let me tell you what are the reasons our teams are paired up like this" said Kurenai.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Naruto.

"We didn't just randomly put in you guys in a team, there were reasons why we put you guys in groups" said Kurenai.

"So what is supposed to the roles of our teams' then sensei?" asked Shino.

"Hunter nin" said Kurenai.

All three of them looked surprised by the declaration, although it didn't show in Shino's face.

"B-but we a-are j-just genin s-sensei, w-we c-can't handle s-such dangerous jobs" said Hinata.

"Of course nobody's expecting you guys too…not for now anyways" said Kurenai chuckling.

"Well we simply lack the experience or skills to do so anyways…but if it is for the village then I will be glad to do kill if necessary" said.

Naruto has killed before and he knows that they are far from heroes…they are killers, murderers, assassins who clean out the dirt, they are tools…which of course he didn't completely agree to.

"Yes we know that we must kill if needed, although I can't say that I will be happy to do so but it is not a fate I can change because this is something I decided to choose for myself…the path of a shinobi is not a easy one" said Shino.

Hinata looked unsettled though, she was fidgeting and was pressing her fingers together in nervousness, and she found the ground more interesting than her teammates suddenly.

"Relax Hinata, this is something you will need to do when you make chunin, and even then if you are not experienced enough you will not be allowed to take recovery mission" said Kurenai.

"H-hai sensei" said Kurenai.

"By the way what about the other teams sensei? There are still 4 teams which passed beside us" said Naruto.

"Well team 10 is to mainly handle the logistical department, you know the strategic area, team guy which passed the previous year and team 7 is assault teams which are to be the frontlines during war times, team 1 and team 2 is there for support" said Kurenai.

"I see, so we are the only tracking team" said Naruto.

"Yes and not only that, Shino is a long range fighter, Hinata has the Byakugan to disable her opponents and you Naruto is the main assault of the team, you can provide enough cover for the team to escape if something happens and you will have Hinata's support from both short and long range" said Kurenai.

"A-ano s-sensei" said Hinata meekly.

"Yes dear" said Kurenai turning towards her.

"I don't have any l-long r-range moves t-to u-use" pointed out Hinata.

Kurenai smiled.

"Well I have something special planned out for you" said Kurenai.

"Huh" said Hinata confused.

"Let's go and have breakfast then" said Kurenai.

In the Hokage's office:

The sandaime was watching Naruto and team 8 with a smile in his old face.

'Looks like they will be just fine' thought Hiruzen.

"Do you think it will be wise for Naruto to know about everything happening around him?" asked Jiraiya.

"Ever heard of the door Jiraiya?" asked Hiruzen but answered immediately, "I can't say, but with you guys around he would probably be fine".

"So you trust him to be mature enough" said Jiraiya.

"Yes, although I still can't tell him about his parents" said Hiruzen.

"I know, that also means that I can't be beside him as his family right" said Jiraiya sadly.

"I'm sure he will be chunin by the end of this year" said Hiruzen.

"Well he is already at chunin level if you ask me" said Jiraiya.

"I knew he was going to be a good shinobi but he evolved very quickly, I still remember his loud voice as he proclaimed his dream while running from my ANBU" said Hiruzen smiling.

"Well I heard he had quite a reputation" said Jiraiya, "he reminds of Kushina you know".

"He even inherited her verbal tick" said Sarutobi chuckling a little.

"He reminds me of you so much Jiraiya" said Hiruzen.

"Does he really?" asked Jiraiya.

"I trained you; I know your skills the best. Do you really doubt me?" said lord Hokage.

"Well if you say so" said Jiraiya shrugging.

Hiruzen looked up at the ceiling as he remembered the old peaceful days.

Flashback start

Let us go back to the good old days when young Hiruzen led his own team 7. It comprised of the genius Orochimaru, the monster Tsunade and the dead last Jiraiya.

"Shuriken shadow clone jutsu" said Orochimaru and launched a shuriken which suddenly multiplied by an impressive amount in mid air as it struck the targets with pinpoint accuracy.

"Oh, you have already mastered my signature jutsu, as impressive as always" said Hiruzen happily praising the prodigy.

"Che what's so special about him anyway, even I can do it" said Jiraiya as he walked forward.

"Oh so you have mastered my jutsu too Jiraiya" said Hiruzen as he watched Jiraiya making the necessary hand seals for the jutsu.

"Take this, Shuriken shadow clone jutsu" said Jiraiya and dropped a smoke bomb. Suddenly many shurikens were launched in succession but they completely missed their mark as one headed towards Orochimaru, some towards Tsunade and the rest headed towards Hiruzen.

Hiruzen quickly dodged them as did Tsunade but Orochimaru substituted himself with Jiraiya as it hit Jiraiya's backside.

"AHHH" shouted Jiraiya and stood up almost as fast as lightning as anime tears rolled down his face in pain.

"It's splitting, it's splitting, oh no"

"Idiot" said Tsunade.

"All he did was launch shurikens in successions with ridiculously bad accuracy" said Hiruzen sighing.

The next day Jiraiya was seen practicing tree climbing even late at night. He was battered and bruised but he still went on.

Jiraiya tried many different arts while he kept improving his technical skills and chakra control, but he didn't manage to even present a challenge to Orochimaru.

'He is getting stronger day by day' thought Hiruzen as he watched Orochimaru spar with Jiraiya again.

"Hey Tsunade, will you help me out with my chakra control" said Jiraiya.

"Why should I?" asked Tsunade.

"In return I will teach you to properly grow your 'assets' bigger by fondl…" before he could complete Tsunade punched him to the ground.

"You pervert" said Tsunade and started walking away.

"W-wait hime, I was just joking" said Jiraiya.

With Tsunade's reluctant help, his chakra control skyrocketed. Although he was nowhere near Orochimaru's level he was steadily improving.

Then Jiraiya discovered fuinjutsu and used his creative and new thinking to quickly master it. One month later finally Jiraiya managed to hit Orochimaru once, although he was defeated afterwards.

He spent all of his time to create new fuinjutsu and master the art of chakra control. He later managed to injure Orochimaru in his 50th spar by using his newly devised move, by turning his hair into weapons he managed to injure Orochimaru enough to land some hits on him but was still defeated afterwards.

'He is surely improving but he knows that by following normal methods he can't defeat Orochimaru. So he is thinking out of the box and considering options us shinobi never even think of doing. He is becoming more and more unorthodox as days passes. He is slowly but definitely starting to match Orochimaru's intelligence and brilliance by using creativity and fuinjutsu' thought Hiruzen.

Then Jiraiya managed to get the summoning contract for the toads and learned the frog kumite from them leveling up his taijutsu by an exponential amount. He also mastered chakra control and elemental manipulation over fire by now, the old toad gave him many jutsus on fire, he also learned cooperation ninjutsu and used his creativity to create many variants of it.

In the finals of chunin exams finally…finally surprising everyone he the dead last managed to defeat the prodigy Orochimaru. It was a tough battle and Orochimaru was still a bit above his skill level but he outsmarted the genius with his unorthodox techniques.

Flashback End

"And now just as I have surpassed the nidaime Hokage, you have surpassed me a long time ago, Minato surpassed you and…well Kakashi is still young but he will definitely surpass his sensei in a few years" said Hiruzen.

"And Naruto will surpass you, unlike me his raw talents are way greater than you" said Hiruzen.

"And he is a true shinobi, shinobi who endures his pain and uses them to get stronger. He will overcome his one and only weakness and become even stronger" said Jiraiya.

"This generation will Jiraiya, I didn't expect even team 2 to pass but that's fine…the rookie 18 will surpass the previous generation…they have to especially Naruto, young Sasuke, Young Shikamaru and young Neji must lead this generation of hope…if what Suiku and Ami said are true then Akatsuki is not the only organization we must be worried about" said Hiruzen.

"Academy city huh" said Jiraiya frowning.

"Yes although it is destroyed, if not for young Suiku then we wouldn't have a slightest clue about the state of land of iron now, the ringleaders are still out there, land of Iron comprises of 50% of the world's area" said Hiruzen frowning.

"The capital of the Uzushiogakure is also there, though uninhabited now that the survivors are taking control of the samurai country…" said Jiraiya as he trailed off.

"Yes we need Naruto-kun to become stronger…we need him to achieve his full potential as soon as possible, chakra control shouldn't be a problem for him. Make sure that he becomes a legend Jiraiya. He will need every support he can get" said Hiruzen.

"Aren't you rushing it a bit?" asked Jiraiya.

"We have Itachi in Akatsuki, but we didn't even know of the existence of a group until 4 years and that is all due to sheer luck, I can't wait around anymore, I think the fact Danzo is becoming active has something to do with this…" said Hiruzen.

With Naruto, Hinata and Shino:

"I knew this will happen" said Naruto so quietly so that no one heard him.

The moment he entered the BBQ shop all the occupants froze in either shock or fear, some even looked angry. He knew he would be kicked out of the store, and then his new teammates will start questioning him.

"Welcome" said one of the waitresses and welcomed them. Naruto's heart nearly jumped out of his body as he looked up making an utmost honest expression of shock.

"Alright let's take the last table then" said Kurenai and lead them towards last table. Naruto's body was moving on his own as he made his way towards the table along with his teammates. The other customers were still in shock but for some reason they didn't chide at him.

The reason became clearer as a man walked passed them. He was a tall, plump man with long, spiky red hair and purple markings on his cheeks. He was wearing a samurai outfit which entailed a black suit completed with armor that has the kanji for 'food' on it. He also wears a rope belt, hand-guards, and a hachimaki tied around his head.

He was Choza Akimichi.

Before passing he touched Naruto's shoulder.

"This is my restaurant, nobody will dare approach a shinobi of leaf here so don't worry and fill up your stomach" said Choza and walked away.

Kurenai smiled as Naruto blinked in shock. This was however noted by both the silent people in team 8.

After 30 minutes:

"Alright, Shino continue tree climbing, Hinata build your reserves. Both of you do this for one hour. Naruto you are with me for learning more about the fox style taijutsu, after this Shino and Naruto will discuss strategies to get more accustomed to teamwork; Hinata will practice taijutsu and then after the class is over I will give you both weights to increase your speed, I will continue to increase the weight every week so you will have enough time to get accustomed to it. This will be summed up in 2-2:30 hrs, and then today's practice will end. So let's go" said Kurenai.

Shino by the end of the session reached the top of the tree, Naruto and Shino's teamwork will take time but it will gradually improve.

Hinata however was as always doubting herself and because of Naruto's presence she was more nervous than usual.

"Alright these have 5 pounds weight attached to it, I am giving you weights for both hands and legs" said Kurenai giving both Shino and Hinata weights.

"Hinata you will need to increase your speed to match Naruto's level by the end of the month…Shino I will have you focus on evasion more than attacking. Naruto I know you must be frustrated for not learning anything new but as I have stated before you are already at low chunin level so before you can move on to the next level, you have to master at least 3 exercises of chakra control and learn using your A-rank techniques better. It has only been a week since you learned them and you are using them creatively but you can use them in many other ways so that you can at least understand the pros and cons of your techniques…beside you will be improving both of your taijutsu styles during the month, shogi is something I want all of you to play at least once before the training begins in the morning against me. After you are done with water surfing with hands I will make you do it with your fingers…" said Kurenai.

Naruto groaned as Kurenai chuckled.

"And for the rest I will teach you water walking, after this week more or less everyone of you will start to feel the differences of having and not having control" said Kurenai.

"That's all, you are dismissed" said Kurenai.

"Thank you sensei" said all three of them and went separate ways except for Shino.

"Is there anything I can do for you Shino?" asked Kurenai.

"Naruto-san is a prodigy isn't he?" asked Shino.

"He is of some sort" said Kurenai.

"And the academy teachers didn't notice that" said Shino.

"Well not everyone has that much chakra and…" said Kurenai but was interrupted by Shino.

"That is not something I can believe sensei, because they are technically chunin and Iruka-sensei is a sensor. Although I can understand that Iruka sensei was only our history teacher and thus was not able to spend much time with us but Mizuki sensei and the principal are very skilled shinobi themselves. And even if they were not able to know about his uncanny kenjutsu skills, there were supplementary classes held by jonins hired to teach the civilian or orphan students. If they were able to figure out Hosei's ability to extend his sixth sense then there is not a reason why Naruto-san's ability was not figured out by the elite instructors…but he was not present when it was conducted" said Shino.

Kurenai remained silent.

"But I remembered that Naruto-san was often ignored during class, he was intentionally berated for doing the right things and although I did notice I didn't care about that very much…I'm ashamed to say but I didn't think very highly of Naruto-san back then…even today the way the people in the town behaved towards Naruto-san was very weird, as if they wished he was never born. Naruto-san is an extremely determined ninja who was able to complete three year's worth of basic training in one year" said Shino.

"What are you implying Shino?" asked Kurenai.

"Was Naruto-san's training sabotaged in academy?" asked Shino bluntly.

"There are some things you shouldn't know Shino, not for now at least" said Kurenai.

"Is it related to the reason why Naruto-san hates the yondaime Hokage?" asked Shino trying to be pushy.

"Go home" said Kurenai sighing and disappeared in shunshin.

"He is my teammate sensei, I cannot leave him alone" said Shino with a surprising amount of determination.

Kurenai reappeared in the Hokage's office. Kakashi, Aoba, Torifu, Asuma, Guy, Jiraiya, Kego, Raido, Ko and lastly the Hokage himself was present in the room.

"So now let's hear the report, shall we?" asked the Hokage narrowing his eyes.


Jutsu list:

1) Shuriken shadow clone jutsu (Shuriken kage bunshin no jutsu) - The user creates up to a thousand shadow clones from one shuriken, striking down the enemy. This is a technique that combines ninja tools with ninjutsu. Compared to normal shadow clones, clones of material objects are said to be on a far higher level. There is no need for preparations beforehand, like stocking up on shuriken, or kunai, yet since the shadow clones are real and not illusions, all the shadow blades that fly around are equally lethal. Because the clones form in just an instant, completely evading them is next to impossible. This technique can also be used on Fuma shuriken, increasing its lethality.

Ninjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, A-rank, Offensive, Short to mid range.

Hand seals needed- Ox- Dog- Dragon- Rat- Dog- Boar- Snake- Tiger.


So it's done. I suck at characterization so please tell me how it was done guys, the next chapter will give Naruto, Hinata and Shino some new techniques. And I finally introduced the last member of the former Ino-Shika-Cho.

Now I know that I have put a lot emphasis on Naruto being a genius because technically canon Naruto was a hyperactive knucklehead so despite having lots of talent he wasn't able to use much of it, at least in part 1. But in my story he had been trained by a very strict teacher unlike Kakashi's laidback but very moral teachings, so of course he will be a genius.

I mean who completes shadow clone jutsu in one night, learns summoning jutsu as a genin and defeats a bijuu, summons 2000 clones and yet be fine to summon a boss summon, learn rasengan in a week, complete wind element in some days and completed the rasenshuriken as a teen? I'm not mention sage mode but remember that just in around 3 days of 4th shinobi world war he created new moves on the fly and literally transformed in a god.

If that is not an example of prodigy then I don't know what is. Geniuses of hard work are guys like Lee and Guy.

Who knows who this Suiku character is?

Alright please review and bye guys.