Hello, you might be wondering why this chapter was released so quickly- It's barely been a month since the last update, and a mere three days since I uploaded a chapter to my other story. Well, the reason (and I've explained this on my other story as well as on my profile) is that exams are just around the corner (I'm Australian and the school year starts in January and ends in December) and I've got to take a small break in order to study. So, I thought I'd release this one from my personal stockpile of extra chapters and make it to a nice round 10 chapters for this story before I take my little hiatus. I'm not sure, but I'll try to make up all the chapters I'm missing and get back to live updating at... maybe the New Year at an optimistic estimate? I'll do my best.
Naruto gasped and jerked forwards, hands flying to his neck, scrabbling for a suffocating wire that wasn't there. His fingers slipped around smooth skin for a few seconds before he realised that there was nothing there and he could breathe just fine.
He sat up, ran his hand through his hair, and sighed.
Ugh, he said to Juubi, What was that?
That was the moment of conception of Shimiho (Silverfish Strides). It's a technique that will complement your Jyuuken wonderfully. You saw how effective it was- it can be used as both an evasive manoeuvre as well as an offensive gap-closer. The flowing movements should also synergize with the Jyuuken as well, the demon replied.
Who… were those people?
The person whose eyes you saw through… he was a 'Water Runner'. This was all before the hidden villages were established, by the way. Back in the shinobi clan era. Water Runners don't exist anymore, they've become obsolete. But that was what he did for a living. He delivered messages from island to island in Water Country, running across the waves.
What was his name?
There was a silence.
You… said Juubi finally, hesitantly, …don't need to know. I won't tell you his name, I won't show you most of his life… because despite his pathetic death, his powerlessness- he was a terrible person. He did terrible things back then, terrible things. He wasn't a shinobi, but that made things all the more horrifying. To think a civilian would be capable of the crimes he committed… better he be remembered as a faceless Water Runner than as a person, Naruto.
Naruto swallowed. He had been a wartime leader of Konoha; he had seen his fair share of horrors and battlefield atrocities. For the Juubi to condemn this man for doing even worse than that… Naruto didn't even want to imagine what kind of deeds he had done.
So… he said, trying to change the subject, who were the other guys?
Ah. That… was the first generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. And their leader, the Matchless Blade, was to be the First Mizukage.
Whoa! Seven Swordsmen? Like Zabuza? They must be hella strong! But… I didn't see that awesome butcher-knife sword he had… or the spiky one that the shark guy had.
The present set of Seven Swords was inherited from the second generation. The first generation did not leave their blades behind as a legacy, after all. The legendary swordsmith Katogami forged six new blades and imbued them with special chakra, as a commission from the Second Mizukage. It was rumoured that he was given his own island as the price.
Oh, I see. Wait… 'six'? What happened to the last one?
It's complicated. Only one of the original Seven Swords was recovered, and this is what is now known as the Sewing Needle, the Nuibari. It used to be called Kuukan Shizuku, the Void Drops, but with the death of its wielder, the flying blades that gave it its name no longer moved. So the central baton, the long thin spire that used to be its central command centre, was sharpened, and turned into a blade of its own accord. Now, what happened to the other original six? Hmm… oh yeah…
Two swords were destroyed, broken with their owners… Two swords were lost, never to be found again. One sword was captured, but it was nothing more than a normal blade- rather low-quality at that. Useless. And the last? Well… its owner never died, and so it remains still in his grasp… right until the end of the world.
…what?
The Fisher of Souls never died, Naruto. Up until I destroyed our world, he remained in Water Country, doing his thing.
Naruto felt a phantom pain around his neck, where the Fisher of Souls had once garrotted the Water Runner. He shivered.
Anyway, said Juubi, this is all just ancient history, just nice trivia. What we really want to aim at, is to learn Shimiho. But as you know, it's a movement enhancer with roots in water walking. At the moment, your chakra control isn't good enough yet to walk on trees yet, let alone water. So that's your first job. Tree-walking!
You're not serious.
I'm very serious!
Naruto sighed. He looked at a nearby tree.
"I feel like this'll be a lot less fun than when I learnt it the first time," he muttered to no-one in particular.
Hey, lighten up, grinned Juubi, at least you already know how to do it; all the tips and tricks and stuff. All you need now is practice! Chakra control is always good!
Naruto placed a foot onto the tree morosely.
"Welp," he said, "here goes. Tree walking… revisited. Fun."
"You need help moving in? Apachai will help!"
Naruto looked up.
"No, it's alright," he said brightly, "Thanks anyway, Apachai."
He was standing in the Ryouzanpaku courtyard with a few boxes of his belongings getting ready to move in. Most of it was clothes and school paraphernalia; he didn't really have anything else.
Naruto looked around, and picked up one of the boxes.
"So… where am I staying?"
"Naruto-san will stay in the guest room! Follow Apachai!"
The bronzed giant picked up one of Naruto's boxes in each hand effortlessly and strode off towards the main living area.
"Ah!" muttered Naruto, hurriedly trotting along after him.
They entered the building, and Naruto could once again admire the functional, but still pleasant atmosphere that permeated the place. They walked past the kitchen, through the dining room, and into a large empty room that seemed to serve no purpose. There were no other doors and Apachai had stopped, so Naruto assumed this was where he was staying.
Naruto looked around, a little lost.
"Is this it?" he asked sceptically, wondering what he was going to do about the lack of a bed.
I mean, Juubi could always make one, but that would raise questions about where he got it from.
But Apachai soon put his fears to rest.
"No, silly!" he chortled, "Up there!"
He pointed skywards, and it was only then that Naruto noticed a second room situated above, like a large loft. However, there was no staircase leading up to it… merely a single frayed-looking rope that dangled precariously from a nail in the rafters.
Naruto withheld a sigh. It was a little strange, but he could probably get used to it.
"Alright, thanks Apachai," he said, walking towards the rope.
"Apachai will help take your things up!" said man cried, before leaping straight up and onto the second storey, landing inside the threshold of the room easily, "There used to be stairs, but Apachai broke them when arguing with Sakaki. Sorry."
Naruto felt a strangely amused smile crop up on his face as he heard the friendly man chatter on. He put his box down (there was no way he'd be able to climb the rope with that in his arms, and he hadn't quite gotten tree-walking down pat yet), and grabbed the rope, ready to ascend and see what his new home would be like.
Channelling chakra into his hands, he managed to scale the rope quite easily, and clambered a little awkwardly up into the room. Like everything else in the house, its interior was sparsely furnished, with a minimal amount of decoration. Apart from the bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers, there was little else.
Naruto walked into the centre and spun in a circle, arms outstretched. At least it wasn't too cramped. It was pleasant enough, he supposed, but all the same, he didn't think he'd be staying in the room for too much of his time anyway.
He flung open the window and poked his head out, noticing with pleasure that there was a leafy tree growing just outside. He could always use it as an escape route if things went awry or even just as a shortcut to the ground.
He heard a metallic clatter, and looked inside. Apachai had just re-entered, and had placed all of Naruto's boxes on the bed.
"Thanks, Apachai," he said.
"No problem!" grinned the dark-skinned man, "But what have you got in here? Feels heavy."
Naruto looked at the box and shrugged. He couldn't tell from a simple glance.
Apachai, perhaps seeing this as an invitation, forced his hand through the top and then yelped, withdrawing the appendage with haste.
There was a moderate cut on his hand that was bleeding profusely. The distinctive clink of metal was heard as two kunai dropped to the ground as Apachai brought his wound to his mouth and started licking it.
Naruto sprang over, and quickly opened another box. Seeing that it was full of clothes, he shoved it aside with a growl and opened the last one. He snatched out a roll of bandages and a jar of salve.
"Sit down on the bed, Apachai," he ordered.
"Huh?" asked the giant, but he did as he was told.
Naruto salved the long cut, and then bandaged it with clean, precise movements born from life-and-death battlefield knowledge.
"Sorry about that," he said, indicating the box and the fallen kunai, "That was where I kept my knives."
Apachai swung out with his injured hand in a practice swing.
"Naruto-san keeps nasty sharp things like Shigure…" he said reproachfully, "You don't need them if you can just punch people to death."
Naruto smiled.
"True," he agreed, humouring Apachai as he bent down and retrieved the two kunai, wiping off the blood with a small section of spare bandage.
Then, placing the knives back with the others, he looked out the window pensively.
"But knives have their own uses," he mused, "When you really, really, need to kill someone."
"Good morning, Naruto!"
Naruto cracked open an eye blearily.
"Huuugh…? Whoizzit?" he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Wake up! It's time to go to school!" chirped Miu.
Naruto rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head.
"Izzat it?" he said tiredly.
Miu looked at her watch worriedly.
"We're going to be late, y'know?" she said, shaking his shoulder.
"Mmmrgh… never bother'd me before…"
"But… you'll get in trouble from sensei!"
Naruto didn't even bother answering.
"Close the curtain, please," he muttered instead, "It's too bloody bright."
Miu looked a little crestfallen.
"Ah, but I thought we might be able to walk to school together," she said softly.
The corner of the pillow lifted slightly, and a deep blue eye peeked out.
"Well, if you're going to put it like that…" Naruto grumbled, "Alright, alright, I'll get up. I'll go to school on time… geez…"
Miu grinned happily and clapped her hands together in joy…
…only to stop suddenly as Naruto flung back the covers and sat up, stretching his body with a loud yawn. His back made a wonderful crack and Naruto rubbed at his eyes with balled fists before he snapped them open, completely alert.
He studied Miu's look of embarrassed horror, tilting his head in confusion.
"Something wrong?" he asked, standing up.
Miu made a sudden uncharacteristic squeak and backed away, face flaming.
"Haaah… I'll go and get breakfast ready while you get changed!" she said hastily, exiting the room and all but jumping from the landing to the ground floor.
Naruto looked down, saw that he was clad in nothing but his ramen-themed boxers. He shrugged. He must have been so tired after yesterday's night training that he must've forgotten to change into his pyjamas.
No matter.
Scratching his back idly, he moved over to his pile of clothes, absentmindedly picking out the school uniform from somewhere in the tangled mess.
He shook them free and laid them on the back of his chair.
Then, remembering, he clambered back over the bed, and reached over to pull a set of clothes from the floor. They were ripped in several places and the sleeves were covered with a disturbing amount of blood.
Naruto looked at them, before they vanished and a new, pristine set appeared in their place.
Thanks Juubi, he said.
No worries.
Juubi's power to create anything from yin and yang chakra, Banbutsu Souzou (Creation of All Things), was a godsend for just everyday life. As long as it had existed in its original capacity in the Elemental Nations before its destruction, Juubi retained a blueprint that could be recreated at will, in whatever number he pleased. It was particularly useful for supplying a limitless set of training uniforms, especially because Naruto had a propensity to destroy his clothing while training, and coincidentally was also too poor to keep paying for repairs.
It was all wonderfully convenient, because all that blood on the sleeves would be hard to explain away. But it was all for a good cause: he had finally reached the next level in his Jyuuken skill.
Naruto used his chakra to balance the pointed end of a pencil on the tip of his finger. He was still practising his tree-walking as preparation for learning Shimiho, but as he couldn't exactly do that while at school, he had to settle for a lesser chakra control exercise.
He glanced up at the front of the classroom and saw that the teacher had a map of Japan on the board and was pointing to various places on it. He looked back onto his desk, reading off the title of one of the textbooks.
Japanese History. Useless.
He placed another pencil tip onto his middle finger, balancing that one as well. Then, he slowly lifted his hand, careful not to disrupt the flow of chakra, and turned it upside down. The pencils continue to stick to his fingers, like a pair of sleeping bats. Naruto gave his wrist a little shake and was pleased to see that they still didn't fall.
I'm making progress, he thought happily.
A fist smashed into his face, spinning him around and knocking him to the ground. His lunchbox crashed from his fingers to the dirt and Naruto felt his vision blur.
From the edge of his consciousness, he heard a girl scream shrilly.
Shaking his head and recovering, he sprang up, dodging the kick that had been sent at his ribs.
Looking up, he glared at his assailant.
"What was that for? You ruined my lunch," he snapped angrily.
The shaven-head youth opposite him only mutely settled back into a combat stance.
"Look, you're not another one of those karate idiots, are you?" Naruto said.
He was ignored in favour of a punch.
Naruto dodged it easily. He had been taken unawares by the first strike because he had been trying to do chakra control exercises while eating lunch, but once he had taken stock of the situation, it was almost child's play to evade the telegraphed strikes of his opponent. This one was even weaker than the karate thug who had tried to fight him last time.
"Look," he said, "Can you just leave me alone? I don't want to hurt you."
The other boy lashed out with a kick.
Again, Naruto stepped aside, but this time he struck out with his own leg, sweeping aside the opponent's support and sending him crashing to the ground.
"I don't really want to use Jyuuken on you, especially because you're outmatched so badly. Hey, don't look at me like that, I'm only telling the truth. You know it, I know it. So I'll warn you this time, just run off. Or else I'll make you throw up like that other kid. You don't want to make yourself look silly, do you?" said Naruto conversationally.
The other boy only shouted a battle-cry and rushed forward again.
Naruto sighed.
Channelling a small portion of his killing intent into his gaze, he glared at the opponent, radiating waves of icy cold determination and will at him.
"Be still," he snarled, his Byakugan activating due to the force of his stare.
Almost against his will, the charging boy slowed and finally stopped, shivering with fear at the sudden bloodlust in the air.
Naruto strode forward to meet the frozen attacker, stepping slowly and deliberately, his hair actually standing on end from the force of his raging chakra. Stopping right in front of him, he raised a hand, ready to press a pressure point that would render the other boy unconscious.
But just before he did so, he paused. There was something about the boy's eyes… the emotions that clashed and fought in those brown orbs… they weren't at all what he expected.
Judging by the single-minded, almost suicidal way that the other boy had attacked him, Naruto had expected to see hatred, rage or even ambition is his enemy's eyes. But instead, what he found was desperation. Desperation… and fear.
Fear, not for himself, not of Naruto, but fear for someone else.
Naruto let his stifling presence drop, allowed his Byakugan to recede. He saw his attacker's shivering gradually stop- his body slumping as his muscles unconsciously released the tension they had been holding, spurred on by such a potent dose of predatory threat.
"I wonder… why exactly did you attack me?" he asked himself, "Maybe… it was something to do with you… the one hiding behind the wall."
This last part he delivered seemingly to thin air as no-one responded for a good two minutes. The boy who had attacked him earlier was still standing upright, perhaps still too shell-shocked and scared from Naruto's killing intent.
But Naruto didn't move. His instincts told him someone was there, and earlier, the brief moment where he had turned on his Byakugan had confirmed it. He just continued to stare, knowing that the other party would make a move first.
And they did.
"Alright, alright, you got me," smirked a blond haired boy as he strode around the corner.
A chain hung from a piercing in his ear and a large skull tattoo was inked on the back of his neck. Other than those two distinguishing features, he looked just like any other schoolboy delinquent.
"You?" scoffed Naruto, almost dismissively.
The other blond nodded, raising his shoulders in a shrug.
"Yeah."
"And what'd you do, exactly?" asked Naruto calmly.
He glanced over at the first boy who had attacked him. Said boy was still standing where Naruto had last seen him, shuddering occasionally. Satisfied that he wasn't about to be attacked again, Naruto moved forward to confront the potential new threat.
The delinquent leaned against a wall, looking up at the sky. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag, before exhaling a swirling trail of grey.
"Want a smoke?" he asked, abruptly, offering Naruto his packet.
Naruto wrinkled his sensitive nose at the acrid smell.
"No thanks," he said coldly.
"Mmm… your loss," replied the delinquent.
He continued smoking for a while longer before he plucked the cigarette from his lips.
"To answer your question," he said finally, "Why don't you join me?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me? I didn't ask anything like that…"
"Oh, be patient. I'm getting to that."
The delinquent waved his hand at the interruption, taking the opportunity to take another suck of his cigarette.
"Anyway," he continued, "You're a first year, aren't you? Well, this school actually has sort of a thriving gang culture of sorts… bad kids, like me, y'see. Delinquents."
The blond flicked the chain hanging from his ear with a dangerous smile.
Naruto, however, looked uninterested. He wasn't intimidated in the least, and was overall quite bored of the theatrics.
"And? Get to the point."
The delinquent's smile dropped faster than a 2-tonne stone weight over the edge of a sinking ship.
"I'm looking to expand my power base, idiot. You're quite strong, and don't seem to have much of a respect for authority. I heard you shot a cop, or something?"
"Or something."
"Good," the delinquent practically purred, "So… join me. I'll make you my right hand man, and together, we can rule over the dark side of the school."
Naruto turned around, heading back towards the main building.
"Sorry, not interested."
The delinquent looked shocked.
"What?" he croaked in disbelief.
"Not interested. I don't to be in any shitty gang."
"But you can have power! Money! Women!"
Naruto waved his hand in a 'shooing' motion.
"Go away," he muttered, "You ain't gonna recruit me, alright?"
The delinquent was silent for a second before he composed himself.
"You'll regret this, you know."
The voice that said these words were quiet, sinister.
"Mmm…" Naruto grunted in acknowledgement.
"I'll get my underlings to make your life a living hell. Your school life will be torture, mark my words. You'll never find a moment's peace again. I will crush you. Not even the teachers will save you. I'll find where you live, I'll find your family."
Naruto snorted but continued to walk away.
Behind him, the blond delinquent continued to rant at him.
"My underling over there- you see him? He used to be just like you… look where he is now. He didn't want to be part of my crew? My boys beat him so bad he had to go to hospital. He didn't want to come to school though, even after he was released. We couldn't have that, now, could we? We put a lot of effort into that beating, after all. So we beat his brother. That got you out of the house now, didn't it, Hiro-kun?"
The delinquent let out a cruel grin, directed at the boy who was still standing with his fists clenched, in the middle of the courtyard. He savoured the moment for a bit, before turning back to Naruto, who had stopped and had been, like him, looking at the defeated boy.
"That gotcha attention, didn't it? Yeah, that's right. You messed with the wrong guy, you pathetic worm. We don't play nice, do we? No, no… you'll be begging to join us by the time we're done. Lessee… who are your friends, hmm? Aren't you mighty friendly with that big-titted blonde first year, too? What was her name? Fuurin-"
Naruto heard Miu's name, and was suddenly overtaken by a white hot rage. He spun around and took a step towards the delinquent. His tree-walking chakra exercises, which he had been diligently practising for a while now kicked in almost subconsciously, and before he knew it, he was standing almost nose to nose with the other boy, having moved faster than he could ever remember.
The delinquent couldn't even finish his sentence before he realised he was staring into the merciless blue eyes of an enraged Naruto. He couldn't finish the words in his mouth- they died before the sounds could even begin to be formed.
How did he…? He thought in shock.
"You will not touch her," enunciated Naruto clearly, with deadly intent lacing each of his words.
But the delinquent, having clawed his way up the gang hierarchy on more than a little tenacity and obstinate stubbornness, shook his head, trying to rid himself of the disconcerting feeling that the blond first year gave him.
"Or what?" he said fearlessly, "Join us, and we won't touch her. Or else she'll have a few broken bones by the end of it… or maybe worse. She is quite the looker, after all."
He waggled his eyebrows lecherously, obviously trying to rile up Naruto, get under his skin, stir up a sense of helplessness and despair. It was a tactic that he had used many times, and he knew its effectiveness.
Naruto closed his eyes.
There was silence for a few brief seconds, like the calm before a storm, like the stillness in the eye of a hurricane.
"I'm going to go now," he said slowly and clearly, enunciating every syllable, "because the bell's about to go, and I don't want to be late for class-"
He opened his eyes again, and they were like two frozen chips of ice. The tell-tale veins of the Byakugan weren't present, but the sight of that steely, unyielding gaze was an intimidating sight in its own right.
"-and I don't want to get blood on my shirt." he continued, "If you're smart, you'll just leave me and Miu alone, and in return, I'll turn a blind eye to your antics. However… bother me again… and I'll leave you and your little gang of wannabe yakuza in pieces."
With that final growl, Naruto pulled out a kunai, stabbed it into his own palm, before pulling it out and then deliberately driving the bloodstained knife into the wall next to the delinquent's head.
"Now that ain't really a threat," he said, "It's a promise."
With that ominous parting remark, he spun on his heel and left, heading towards the main school building.
"Shouldn't you be in class?"
Naruto didn't even turn around. His Byakugan meant that he no longer needed to, but it was a long-engrained habit that was hard to break out of.
"What do you want Niijima?" he asked tiredly.
"Nothing- I was just curious. I thought you said the reason why you didn't bash that delinquent's brain in was because you didn't want to be late? But you didn't even go anyway, heh heh."
Naruto smiled wryly, and turned around to face Niijima properly.
"Yeah, well, shouldn't you be in class too?"
"Touché," Niijima shrugged, although he continued to stare at Naruto.
In the end, Naruto gave in and explained.
"Yeah, well, it's not like I was going to beat in that guy's face just after one meeting. I mean, what he did to the other boy was despicable, but that's just a power play. I'm not so nice as to personally go around and meddle in things that aren't my business. I'm not a saviour or anything. So… I'll let him fuck up, before I utterly crush him."
Niijima smirked and threw a bundle of papers at Naruto's feet.
"Here," he said.
Naruto looked down.
"What's this?"
"It's a comprehensive file on Kouji Oshiro. In case you need it later. Normally I'd charge you a favour for info like this, but consider this one free, from one friend to another."
Naruto bent down to pick up the paper.
"Thanks!" he said brightly, knowing the value of information.
He briefly flicked through the paper, whistling appreciatively when he saw the depth of research.
"This is really well done!" he complimented.
"Haha, thanks," said Niijima, "Anyway, if that's all, I'm going to go now. Things to do, y'know."
"Wait a second…" called out Naruto as a thought struck him, "If you saw all that, then you must have been watching from somewhere… but I didn't notice you at all…"
Niijima only laughed.
"Keheheheh! Alien tech, y'know."
Naruto paced the length of the rooftop once Niijima had left.
"Here to there should be enough," he muttered to himself.
He bent down into a sprinter's position, and then took off at a run at the opposite end. It was quite fast, but it was just that: a fast sprint. It wasn't at all what he wanted.
Oh, are you trying to recreate what happened earlier, with the delinquent? asked Juubi curiously.
Who, 'Kouji Oshiro'? replied Naruto, doing his best to put a name to the face.
That's the one.
Yeah, there was a really cool dash I did- didn't even feel like running.
Need help?
If you could give it, that'd be great.
Alright… well, what you did was actually really similar to Shimiho: you know, the Silverfish Strides which you're trying to learn. What the Water Runner originally did was adapt water-walking into a run. What you did was doing the same was tree-walking.
Oh I see. So that's how it is.
Aye. I guess what I've been showing you about the Water Runner and your constant chakra control practice just unconsciously mixed to dash forward. This one's probably not as versatile as Shimiho, but should be better as a straight gap-closer. Give it another try.
Naruto turned around, and, taking care to channel chakra to the ground, tried to run forward.
Unfortunately, his feet stuck to the ground, and all he managed to do was lose his balance and fall flat onto his face.
In his head, Juubi bellowed with laughter for a good minute before relenting and healing the blood nose and assorted scrapes.
Naruto twisted his lips and frowned.
"Huh," he said to himself, "This ain't gonna be easy, huh?"
He wiggled his toes and stopped all motion. He stood so still that he could've started drawing in nature chakra at any time, but didn't do so. What he was doing was focusing his entire being on his chakra flow, trying to get a hold on it, trying to understand its intricacies. His chakra wasn't quite as familiar to him as it used to be, and he still couldn't control it well at all, but his experience meant that the motions were practiced at least.
He stepped forward, and with his first chakra laden movement, knew that he had hit the nail on the head. He was moving in such a way that that seemed like he could move anywhere in a second as long as it lay on a linear path. His movements were sharp, his perception was slowed. All his nerves felt as if they were connected by the same electrical impulse, moving in concert to deliver him to his destination.
He reached the end of the roof in a single second.
However, the technique wasn't quite ready yet. For one, his eyes hadn't really adjusted to the ridiculous speed he was travelling at. He couldn't quite see what was happening fast enough to react to incoming stimuli well. Also, he couldn't quite seem to put the brakes on.
Naruto tumbled off the edge of the roof with a muted yell.
So… do I just move fast, or something? Or is it a teleport? How is that any different from Shunshin or Hiraishin?
Ugh… do I really have to explain it all? Alright, listen up. When you think 'moves fast', what do you immediately think of?
Uh… Hiraishin?
Yeah. But shinobi jutsu have two distinct types of movement categories. First of all, there's the teleportation spells; space-time jutsu.
Teleportation? There's more than just the Hiraishin?
Aye. Did you already forget your toads?
The toads? Summoning?
Aye, the traditional summoning, the Kuchiyose (Summoning Technique). One of the most basic space-time techniques that can move someone far distances almost instantly, or vice versa via Gyaku Kuchiyose (Reverse Summoning). This method is limited by chakra cost and the need for a contract between both the summoner and the summon. Also, in order to use Kuchiyose to teleport somewhere, the summon needs to have the summoner at that exact destination, which could prove troublesome. It is also quite slow and usually tends to leave a rather conspicuous cloud of smoke in its wake. Quite flashy, and not suited for combat except when bringing in reinforcements.
Oh… yeah, I guess that's true, but when you said movement jutsu, I was thinking about in combat, silly me. Yeah, of course you can use Kuchiyose to travel really far… but you need to have the toads or whoever on the other side already.
Okay, but the next one negates that weakness. When using Kamui (Authority of the Gods), the user sends his own body into a dimensional rift and exits where he pleases, as long as he knows the exact co-ordinates. Again, this is quite slow, but is almost unnoticeable, as well as having no limit on the amount of things able to be 'teleported' at once. It also has the benefit of allowing the user intangibility while entering and exiting the dimension as well.
Isn't that how you got me to the training area?
Aye. Kamui is held back by its slow speed and the fact that it's accessible by only a handful of people in the world: namely, those who possess the Mangekyou Sharingan. However, its versatility is top notch, as its range is unlimited, as long as the user knows the location.
It's a Sharingan ability?
Yes, it's what that fellow Tobi used to go untouchable and stuff.
Oh! Then what about the Hiraishin?
I was just getting to that. Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God), the renowned Konoha technique invented by the Second Hokage. Despite the Nidame's prowess with the technique, it was usually overshadowed by his prodigious skill with water jutsu, which was what he primarily used to wipe out enemies. Hiraishin was instead first brought to fame through the exploits of the Fourth Hokage, your father, Minato Namikaze. Minato was able to reverse engineer the technique from snippets of Tobirama's notes, a feat in itself, and then took the jutsu with him to the heights of infamy by almost single-handedly wiping out an army.
Yeah, it's the best!
Indeed, Hiraishin's instantaneous speed and unlimited range as well as being able to be used quickly many times in succession makes it the most battle-oriented of the teleportation jutsu, but it is limited in the need for a marker at the location in which to teleport to. However, users have developed techniques to mark with their palms, or even using a kunai when range is required. And then you made that Mayonaka no Uzumaki (Midnight Spiral) jutsu as a combination of the Rasengan and the Hiraishin. The teleportation function is basically the same, but it doesn't require a marker, but the effective range is restricted to sight distance.
Hmph, you don't have to explain to me my own jutsu.
Do you even know how 'your own jutsu' works? This is a very significant lesson, especially for later, because this explains the concepts of mobility that become very important as you learn more and more techniques.
… sorry?
Just pay attention. Anyway, that's it for the main teleportation techniques. But as I said, there were two classes of movement jutsu. The second class is 'accelerators'. The main one is Shunshin (Body Flicker), the commonly used shinobi jutsu widely utilised all over the continent by most chuunin rank and over ninja.
Shunshin? Isn't that a teleport, though?
You don't know how it works? No, it's not a teleportation despite seeming like one. It's a movement accelerator.
So… how does it work?
Shunshin basically uses chakra to mark a spot, and the user's body automatically moves itself there, as fast as possible.
Oh. So that's why you can't Shunshin through walls. I can't tell you how many times I've crashed into my apartment walls trying to Shunshin through from the bedroom to the kitchen.
Yes, and this is why Shunshin is not for combat purposes and is instead almost strictly used for movement for travelling or just for convenience's sake. The user cannot move or change destinations after the initial selection. It also has short range, is flashy and conspicuous, is rather slow in the scheme of things, it leaves the user helpless while it was resolving, and also leaves a noticeable chakra trail that means that any attempt at using it offensively is easily noticed and subsequently dealt with.
Oh wow, that's quite the list of weaknesses. So nobody ever managed to use it in combat?
Well, that's not exactly true. The sole person who managed to effectively use Shunshin in the heat of battle was Shisui of the Uchiha, whose Sharingan meant that he could react while using it, overcoming its main restriction of fixed targeting. Thus he could use the movement boost in a more versatile manner, usually killing his enemies before they could react.
Oh, I see. Wait, so how does this relate to anything again?
Ugh, you're hopeless. Okay, the technique you just derived from tree-walking and your experiences of the Water Runner, which you called Kireruho (Snap Step), and the jutsu you're ultimately working towards learning after getting water-walking down, Shimiho (Silverfish Strides), are both classified as accelerators rather than teleports.
As such, they have particular strengths and weaknesses that correspond to the accelerator class. I'll explain more as you learn more.
But Naruto was, unbeknownst to either of them, about to learn about these weaknesses with his body, the hard way.
Very, very soon.