Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: Naruto does NOT belong to me.
Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga and/or anime are completely original.
Naruto is copy right 1999 Misashi Kishimoto, Sayuri Marihasha, story, and original characters are copyright 2012 Salma Martinez, all rights reserved.
Reviews are welcomed. Thank you.
The Truth and a Lesson on….Climbing?
The waves rolled towards land slowly and the seagulls flew above her waiting to be thrown another piece of bread. Sayuri sat on the dock, feet dangling, occasionally getting sprayed on by the salt water as it hit the pole. This place is beautiful….Her brown tinted eyes warmed as she threw into the air the last piece of bread she had in hand.
"Aren't you going to go check on Kakashi?" Sayuri turned to look at Sasuke who stood behind her, hands in pockets the wind making his hair flow to the right lightly.
That wasn't a question, it was a command. She thought as another wave came in.
"What are you starring at?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"Nothing!" She blurted out and scrambled to her feet before running in to the house a faint blush dusting her cheeks.
XXX
Sayuri entered the house closing the door behind her; just then a scream erupted from Kakashi's room.
"What?" Sayuri asked rushing into the room only to see Sakura and Naruto on the floor, Sakura of course scolding the blonde while Kakashi slowly sat up holding his head.
"Oh! Kakashi sensei…" Sayuri made her way to him and placed a hand on his back. "Are you okay?" Just then Sasuke walked in right behind Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter.
"…The shinobi hunters who manage corpse disposal are supposed to destroy the bodies of those they kill at once, right on the spot." Sayuri blinked at him before sitting back.
"So what?" Sakura asked slightly confused.
"Don't you get it? How did the kid in the mask dispose of Zabuza's corpse?"
"How should I know? He took the body with him."
''That's right. Even though all he really to take back as proof that he killed him was the head. There's also the mystery of the weapons the hunter used to dispatch his pray."
"…Senbon…" Sayuri said after a couple of seconds, shocking Sasuke.
"…No way…"
"Yes…way!" Both Naruto and Sakura were officially lost.
"What nonsense are you mumbling about…?" Tazuna asked getting worried.
"What he's trying to say is that Zabuza is very much alive." Sayuri answered, crossing her arms.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Naruto turned to Sayuri
"But Kakashi sensei, you checked to be sure that Zabuza was dead!" Sakura exclaimed. Both ninja were in denial.
"I made sure if it. But a deathlike trance could have created a really convincing illusion of the real thing."
"W-what do you mean, sensei?" Sakura asked eyebrows furrowed.
"Senbon are deadly…" Sayuri said as she took one out and held it between her fingers. "But only if they hit a vital spot. Most of the time, they're used to immobilize the enemy or to inflict pain to speed up the interrogation process. Hunter ninja from any village would have to have extensive knowledge over the human physiology…" she threw the thin piece of metal so that it missed Naruto by a couple of centimeters, and hit the wall. "That means that they would know how to, in a way, create death. They could make the body believe it is dead for a couple of minutes, long enough for you to escape."
"On the other hand things may be just the way they seem, but we would still have to consider the possibilities that Zabuza is still alive." Kakashi piped in.
"Aren't you just over thinking things? Shinobi hunters are supposed to hunt rogue ninja, right?" Tazuna said looking as if all of it was a big lie.
"Usually…but ignoring something this fishy is the first step to being caught completely unprepared, and preparation is a shinobi's most important skill…Oh well, whether Zabuza is dead or alive there still may be more ninja who would come up against us." He looked at Naruto who looked like he was shivering out of excitement. Interesting…he actually seems thrilled with the possibility that Zabuza survived.
"Sensei, you said that 'preparation is a shinobi's most important skill' but right now you can't even move. So what do we do now?" Kakashi began to laugh at Sakura's question; the four genin looked at their sensei confused.
"I'm going to increase your training schedule." Both Sakura and Sayuri twitched at this bit of information.
"Training?" both said appalled.
"That's right."
"But sensei what will a little extra training matter now with what we're up against? Our opponent is a ninja so powerful that even with your sharingan he almost defeated you!" Sakura retorted. What are you trying to do get us all killed? Inner Sakura exclaimed.
"And when I was captured…think about it, who was it that rescued me?"
"Um…us?" Sayuri said pointing at herself.
"That's right. You're all maturing quickly…especially you Naruto, you've grown the most." Naruto smiled feeling pretty proud of himself. "Either way, the skills I teach now will be a temporary thing to keep you busy until I recover enough to take over…"
"But how can we just train without knowing when he might come after us again?" Naruto asked.
"It won't be for some time…It takes a while for the body to fully recover after being put through a death like simulation…it may take up to about two weeks tops, considering who we're up against." Sayuri said rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Two weeks isn't enough time to teach us something that will help us put up a good fight against Zabuza and that hunter kid he's got with him.
"So we train while we wait…that'll be fun." Naruto smiled at Sayuri who glanced over to the door.
"It won't be fun for you." said the kid standing by the entrance.
"Inari! Where have you been?" Tazuna exclaimed opening his arms for the boy who ran up to him.
"Grandpa!"
"Inari greet our guests properly. They're ninja from the leaf village, they brought grandfather to us." Tsunami scolded the young boy who looked them over.
"But momma, they're all going to die." He pointed.
They all blinked before Naruto looked ready to pounce on him. "Listen you little twerp-"
Sayuri sighed and discretely walked out of the room. I wonder what Saito is doing right now…She leaned on one of the posts that held up the dock Probably burning the food…or the house…. She smiled at the thought of him cooking.
"Hey, Kakashi said that we have to go train."
With a sigh she pushed herself up straight and walked towards the front of the house and away from Sasuke.
XXX
"So it's been decided, your training begins today."
"YE—OW!" Naruto turned to Sayuri who was looking away. "Who pinched me?" Both Sakura and Sasuke glanced at Sayuri whose hands were behind her.
"Naruto pay attention." Kakashi sighed as he eyed Sayuri. "Let's discuss the basis of all shinobi powers, chakra."
"Um…right….I think I've heard of that before…" Naruto mumbled.
"You…think…?" Sayuri asked her eyebrows furrowed.
He laughed nervously and rubbed his head "What are those again?" Sayuri's eyebrow twitched, Kakashi let his head fall with a sigh, Sasuke stared, and Sakura did the only thing that came to mind after hearing such a thing.
"And you call yourself a ninja! Did you sleep through every class you ever took?" Naruto just laughed nervously again and Sayuri gasped.
"Let's just say I got some really high quality nap time." At this Sayuri covered her mouth trying hard not to laugh, while Sasuke looked at her like she was a species from another planet.
"All right, Sayuri this is no laughing matter." The small girl nodded hands still over her mouth. "Sorry sensei."
Kakashi sighed. "Sakura!."
"All right Naruto listen up, I'll try to keep this simple, so try to find some storage space in that shiny smooth brain of yours." Sakura took out a scroll and began her lecture. All the while Naruto tilted his head, Sasuke crossed his arms and closed his eyes, and Sayuri glanced over to Naruto wondering how on earth he graduated from the academy.
"That's correct! It seems that Iruka thought his students well." Kakashi said rubbing his chin after Sakura's lecture.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever! I don't do well with long lectures, but if you can just show me my body can learn it!" Naruto said turning to Kakashi.
"Wow Naruto, you have no appreciation." Sayuri sighed placing her hands on her yet to develop hips. "Sakura just explained something that takes at least two classes to learn and you don't even say thanks?"
"Well…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.
"Naruto's right. We already employ the ninja arts and techniques…" Sasuke intervened.
"Wrong! None of you has full mastery of your chakra!"
"Huh? We…we don't?" Sayuri asked flat out confused.
"Sayuri, you may use some medical techniques and ninjutsu but you have yet to completely control your chakra. For example…that fight with Zabuza, you were obviously running low after you intervened when he went after Sasuke. Had you had complete mastery of your chakra you would have lasted longer…and probably not have been this injured." He nodded towards the girl, her team mates fully noticing that she was sporting bandages on most of her body. "As Sakura said, manipulation of the chakra refers to summoning physical and mental energies and combining them within your own body. Depending on which technique you use the amount of energy you need to absorb will vary."
Sayuri looked down clenching her hands at her sides. Saito told me the something similar…
"So…uh…what do we do?" Naruto asked.
"You learn to control your body through the harshest training…Go out on a limb and learn from the experience!"
"How do we do that?" Sakura asked. By now all of team seven had a worried look on their faces.
"We climb trees!" Sayuri blinked at him twice before wondering if his fight with Zabuza did more than just physically drain him.
"What kind of training is that?" Sakura asked hands on her hips.
"Just let me finish." Kakashi said shifting on his crutches a bit. "This isn't normal tree climbing. You're going to climb without using your hands." Sasuke gave him an alarmed look, Naruto looked excited, Sakura looked pissed, and Sayuri…
"So what then? Do we climb with our feet?" she exclaimed running a hand through her very short hair.
"Exactly!" Members of team seven were flabbergasted.
Is that even possible? Sayuri thought back to her training with Saito, all the drills he made her do expanding her chakra and releasing it, healing wounds, performing jutsu, BALANCING BOOKS! If that helps with chakra control then this…she watched her sensei make a single hand seal. This might actually work. She watched her teacher slowly make his way to the tree behind him and walk up to the branch like it was nothing out of the ordinary.
"WHOA!" she exclaimed looking up at him as he dangled upside down from a tree branch.
"Do you understand now?" He asked. "Gather your chakra to the bottom of your feet and climb up the tree."
"Wait a minute how is learning how to climb a tree going to make us stronger?" Sakura asked confused.
"Here's the thing…listen closely…" his four students became quiet. "The purpose of this training is: first, to teach you how to control your chakra…to bring out the proper amount to the proper area. As I said before, this is the most important aspect when using jutsu. This can be difficult even for a skilled ninja. The amount of chakra needed to climb a tree is small but it must be exact, and it is said that the bottom of the foot is the most difficult area to gather chakra. Basically if you can master tree climbing than you can master any jutsu…theoretically."
Theoretically…? Sayuri quirked an eyebrow then glanced at Naruto as he trembled. Is he…excited? She turned to look at the three then to her sensei.
"The second point is for you to develop the stamina needed to control chakra properly. Depending on your jutsu, controlling your chakra properly can be difficult…as we saw with Sayuri." The young girl blushed and looked away crossing her arms.
How long is he going to hold that over my head? I mean really! I didn't KNOW for crying out loud! She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the green grass. How was I supposed to have chakra control when I was too busy worrying about keeping Sasuke and Naruto alive? A kunai landing a couple of centimeters in front of her snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Use those kunai to mark how high you get up the tree. Then use that mark as your goal and try to surpass it." He watched at his students bent down to gather the sharp object. "You won't be good enough to just walk up the tree at first, so get some momentum and try running up the tree. Got it?"
"This training is nothing for me! I can do it before breakfast! Because I'm the most improved!" Naruto spouted.
"Yeah and the shortest!" Sayuri taunted as she twirled the kunai in her hand.
Naruto growled and Sayuri glared. "All right you two break it up. Choose a tree and start climbing." The two glared at each other for a second longer then turned with grunt.
The four genin made a single hand sign. "All right here I go!" Naruto shouted and all ran off. Unfortunately the blonde took two steps before he fell on his head. Sasuke was at a good pace until he made an unexpected foot print on his tree.
I can't believe this is actually hard. Sasuke thought as he looked at his tree. Too much chakra and the wood cracks. Too little and you don't stick at all…like Naruto. He looked over at his team mate who was currently rolling on the ground holding his head.
Well that seems about right. Thought Kakashi as he watched his two male students.
"Aaaa!" Sayuri yelped. Just before she hit the ground she managed to land on her hands. The boys looked up at her three.
"Whoa!" Naruto gasped Sasuke stared.
"Hey this is fun!" All turned to Sakura who was sitting on a tree branch sticking out her tongue.
"It looks like the best at controlling their chakra are the females of the team…although Sakura has a better grasp at it than Sayuri." Sayuri blinked up at Sakura amazed still in a hand stand, besides her Sasuke dropped his head.
"WOW SAKURA! You're great!" Naruto shouted. Although I'm a little upset that I couldn't even go up the tree.
Sakura dropped her head. I wanted Sasuke to be impressed! Why does this happen to me?
"Sakura seems to be the closest to becoming Hokage don't you think?" Kakashi said innocently getting Naruto's attention. "She may be the strongest konoichi in the village." Sayuri let her feet fall behind her into a back bend as she glared at Sakura. "As for the Uchiha clan…well they're not so great after all." Sasuke glared at Kakashi.
"Shut up sensei!" Sasuke will get mad at me! Sakura pointed at him angrily.
Of course Sasuke, Naruto, and Sayuri have greater amounts of chakra than Sakura. If this goes well then they can become great assets.
Sayuri stood up then picked up her kunai she took a look at her mark. I'm ahead of both of them…she turned to Sakura's tree. But it's not good enough! She though determinately.
XXX
"OW!" Naruto yelped falling on his head once again.
"Damn it!" Sayuri mumbled as she slipped off the tree, quickly she scratched the tree with her kunai and back flipped landing on her feet. Sasuke was panting and Sakura was sprawled out beneath her three. Naruto swiftly got up and began to complain after a few seconds he turned around and headed over to Sakura.
Sayuri trailed him with her eyes until he kneeled down in front of the pink haired ninja. Whatever… she rolled her eyes and stared up at her tree, two birds flying out of it. Ok again!
Ok so there will be several scene changes in the next chapter. Be sure to leave your comments! Again anything works really =) Tell me what you want to see more of or what you like and don't like of the story. Please I need reviews, they motivate me! =D Thank you all for reading! Please review.