Chapter 10 – Shock Value

Naruto's clones sped through the trees at high speed; there were only six of them, but for this particular mission more weren't really needed. The other twelve were spread out further back, keeping an eye out for trouble. A small battalion of clones was after all already present at the Fourth's old base, and Gaara had plenty of people to keep an eye on him. It would be some days yet before any of the clones there got particularly nutty.

Even though they weren't the original, the clones couldn't help but feel some of the same anxiety that their creator did. In particular, one of the clones at the head of the pack wondered whether or not the order to inform Gaara about Akatsuki's goals was really as clever as it had seemed when he made it. He kept thinking back to the meeting with the Hokage in particular. The leader of Konoha had certainly reacted to the use of Kurama's chakra, to his admitting that he had been training its use, but that had been all. No serious repercussions, at all. After his interaction with the Kazekage had been such a success, he's already begun to worry, and begun to plan what he would do if his plans took a nosedive. In his experience every rousing success was only a good way to get overconfident, and utterly mess up the next task he set for himself. Having both Suna and his return to Konoha go as smoothly as this, barring Tobi's appearance? He felt like the Shinigami was hovering over him, scythe ready to cut his throat.

Granted, he had taken advantage of what he knew of the Third, and invoking the Fourth's memory was definitely a good way to remind the old man that he owed quite a bit to his predecessor, and vicariously to his son. It was a nasty trick to pull, but honestly Naruto didn't feel too guilty; originally the Third had never even told him about his father, he had to find out on his own. Perhaps it had been the realization that the Fourth had intended the use of the fox's chakra that had stayed the Hokage's hand. He knew for certain that both Kakashi and Konohamaru would've been a lot harsher in the same situation, when the whole village was at stake.

Still, the Hokage probably wouldn't figure out the truth. Nobody but Kurama knew, and Naruto didn't think anyone could figure out much purely by following him around. If anyone could pull that off, it would be the Perverted Sage. Jiraiya would be around him a lot, and would figure out that something was off soon enough, if he hadn't already. Whether or not the man concluded that he was 'off' because of the fox and a bit of an accelerated maturation or whether or not he would suspect treachery, that was anyone's guess. Naruto didn't have much of a choice; if he wanted to get better, both in his ninja skills in general and Fūinjutsu in particular, he's need a proper teacher.

He would need those skills, if he kept moving forward like this. If he ever came across the masked bastard, he's need access to his Rasengan, to Sage Mode, perhaps even to Kurama's chakra cloak. Anything to surprise the bastard and get out of there in a hurry. Showing any of those now, to anyone, would be a huge red flag that would land him in Ibiki's hands, and he knew that even he would crack eventually. Even worse would be showing incongruous skills like that to someone who specialized in time-space Ninjutsu; he might just jump to the right conclusions.

The clone blinked as he suddenly felt a hand close around his arm, and he stopped in an instant, raising a curious eyebrow as the other motioned to keep silent. The second clone took a step forward, speaking softly, almost inaudibly. "Do you smell it?"

"Smell it?" The first clone repeated. He sniffed carefully, diverting chakra to his senses, an extremely useful skill to have when you're trying to sneak around, and something he had picked up from Kakashi. Unfortunately, it was also extremely dangerous, since chakra build up in delicate organs could seriously damage them when it was too concentrated. He had never been terribly good at limiting himself, and clone would just pop from overdoing it. A sharp odour suddenly came into focus, and the clone took in a sharp breath. "Sweet. Wait, is that blood?"

"Yes." The second clone frowned. "We've probably not been detected yet, but that won't last long if there's anyone still there. Could just be dealing with a corpse, but we shouldn't take that chance, not when we're close to the underground base."

The first shivered. "You don't suppose Gaara broke out of there? You know what he's like right now..."

"Who could he kill out here, exactly?" the second muttered, shaking his head. "All he has for company is more of us clones. No, either it's a coincidence, which would be pretty huge, or someone's followed us here. Either the first time, from Suna, or now."

"They can't get in, at least," the first clone answered, tapping his pocket. "You need the proper blood and chakra to enter through the sealed entrance, and Boss is nowhere near here. Unless these people intend to dig up the whole thing and take all the Sealing traps off one by one, traps set by the Fourth, they're not getting in."

"Someone has to go out there and check who it is."

"I'll go check things out," the first clone said easily, drawing a kunai. "One of you, get ready with some firepower. Rasengan will do. Here." He drew the little vial with Naruto's blood. "Keep this safe. We won't be getting in without that."

The second clone took it, slipping it into the pocket of a clone next to him, who looked on in surprise. He looked seriously behind himself for a moment to the other clones, then focused on the one that would be leaving. "Try not to get yourself popped."

"Don't you have any proper food around here?" The Toad Sage wrinkled his nose as he looked at the stacked packs of ramen in Naruto's fridge, shaking his head at the spoiled milk that was stashed near the bottom. "You have some money from missions, don't you? Why don't you get good meals?"

"I spent it all on sealing supplies," Naruto admitted airily as he glanced over. "Honestly, I've got several full meals stashed away in storage scrolls for when I get hungry. The fridge is just stuffed with emergency rations."

"Emergency rations? It's all ramen!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"So?" The Genin looked up as he put his scroll down, dropping his brush in a cup of water to get the ink out. "They're for emergencies, as the name implies. You know, like a mid-night craving, or when you need to take something with you on the road. Ramen is not good enough for something like that? Iruka-sensei has mentioned plenty of times that I could get fat from eating it, so there must be something in it." He smiled widely. "Besides, it's ramen! Who doesn't love it?"

"Your father wasn't the greatest fan, for one," Jiraiya muttered.

"Well, nobody's perfect."

Jiraiya sighed. "I suppose you got this food thing from your mother." He looked over and Naruto was surprised by the warmth of the man's gaze. The first time around he remembered he ha been yelling and cussing out the Toad Sage too much to really notice how much he cared; he hadn't figured that out until their long journey together. The Toad Sage sat back, smiling. "You know, you're not as I expected."

"Oh?"

"The stories I heard reminded me of your mother: Brash, boastful, loud. She was a firebrand, you know. There's some of that in you, but it goes out the window when you step out the door, doesn't it?" He glanced over the scrolls piled on Naruto's desk. "I suppose I'd never considered that you'd take after the other half. It's a pretty high target to aim for, you know, to be like the Fourth Hokage."

"I know," Naruto muttered. "Still, where would I be if I just went with whatever the villagers say and aim low? They think I can't even be a shinobi, and I know they're wrong about that. I'll show them, and someday they'll realize just how wrong they were, when I am Hokage."

"There was someone else with that goal, once upon a time," Jiraiya said softly. "What I don't really get is why you hid most of your strength, these last few years? If you wanted the villagers to know that you could be a good shinobi, why not just come out and show them?"

"You haven't been in the village for a while, have you?" Naruto replied dryly. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I failed the exams twice before I figured out such a simple move as the Bunshin. Most of my skills aren't fancy Ninjutsu that the villagers would actually care for, and the majority don't even know how hard Fūinjutsu can be. What would I show them?"

"You were practicing Sealing at ten, but you sucked at simple Bunshin?" Jiraiya shook his head. "You're an odd one, aren't you?"

"There's a Genin that's a year ahead of me that specializes entirely in Taijutsu," Naruto pointed out. "I am just good at other stuff than what the academy goes on about. I don't think it's that weird, really." He glanced over his table, picking up one of the scrolls. "Speaking of the good stuff - could you look this seal over for me? I think I got it right, but you'd be the best judge."

Jiraiya unrolled the paper with a frown, revealing an intricately painted seal. His breath caught.

"Yeah, that one should look familiar," Naruto said immediately. "I found a few scrolls with your name on them, and copied most of what was in there. Pretty nice seal, though I think you spent way too much time figuring out how to look through walls in the rest of the scrolls. I suppose I can guess why that was on your wish list, though."

"I made this when I was a Chūnin," Jiraiya muttered, ignoring Naruto entirely. He ran his hand over the seal and removed it when he felt it heat up under his hand. He raised an eyebrow. "You were trying to impress me with this one, weren't you? It's nicely done."

"Impress you with that one?" Naruto scoffed. "I copied that from your scrolls. Anyone with a steady hand and half a clue about Fūinjutsu could probably make it, if they spent some time on it. It wouldn't really be a demonstration of Sealing skill, would it? No..." He snatched another scroll from the far end of the table, making sure it was the right one before tossing it to his new teacher. "This is the one I made to impress you."

Jiraiya caught it easily. "Let's see if you didn't bungle this up too badly, then." His eyes roved over the convoluted ink shapes with the practiced ease of a master. He took a few minutes while muttering under his breath and Naruto wiggled on his chair in nervous anticipation. His sealing had never actually been judged by a proper Seal master, let alone Jiraiya. The one he had passed along wasn't his most complex seal, but it was definitely one of his most original.

"What do you think?" Naruto asked at last, when Jiraiya didn't show any signs of speaking up.

"You made this one from scratch, didn't you? Well, from the base up, anyway." The Toad Sage nodded. "These spirals… They're not the most effective, but they're more stable than my alternatives. I imagine you don't care about wasting a bit of chakra with your reserves. Yeah, that works. A personal touch." Jiraiya put the scroll down. "What made you think of this? About storing a Kage Bunshin away without destroying its chakra configuration?"

A hundred thoughts ran through Naruto's head; most of the true reasons he probably couldn't admit to. The summoning contract he had used with the toads was one inspiration; the seal on his stomach was another, particularly the parts that he definitely wasn't supposed to understand right now, where his parents appeared to him one last time. His Kage Bunshin was of course a third inspiration, and vital to the seal's function. He had started thinking this one up a few months before heading back in time, and still hadn't had time to finish it.

"Just the Shadow Clone technique, really. It's not a working seal yet right now," Naruto admitted after a while. "The clones only last a week before the chakra goes chaotic and burns up. I'm pretty sure that though it's unconscious inside the seal, the clone still sticks around like usual, and at some point it just pops from its chakra getting naturally too erratic."

Jiraiya nodded. "I noticed a few mistakes in here that reduce the lifespan of the storage by at least half, so you'll need to apply some of the things used in regular storage seals. I'll help you figure them out later. You'll probably need a stability seal or two to support it, too." His eyes returned to the seal. "I'd never really considered storing a Bunshin, though I suppose if other chakra constructs can be kept, it could be done. There's potential here. Even for the short term, this could be helpful: Imagine storing away dozens of Kage Bunshin for emergencies. You could have a small army without expending chakra, allowing you to get away with your full strength. Alternatively, it would be a great boon to have clones of strategic thinkers along, so they can lend advice even when they're not nearby."

Naruto nodded, imagining a shop that sold nothing but Nara-in-a-can, since that family was well known for its tacticians. A grin stretched across his face at the thought of a small army of bored-looking Shikamaru clones that just wanted to play shōgi with each other. "So, it's a good idea?"

"It'll probably take you years to make this a fully functional seal array that anyone could use, but I think it can be done." Jiraiya glanced at Naruto with a knowing smile. "You're already doing fancy stuff like your old man, eh? At least you won't be embarrassing me!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, glowering.

Jiraiya sighed, dropping the scroll and getting up. He stretched exaggeratedly as he walked out to the balcony, looking over the village. "I'm curious, what do you expect from this training arrangement? Do you know what it'll be like to be my apprentice?"

All too well. "Not really."

Jiraiya nodded. "I could take it slow, give you time to master each seal individually. I'm sure that I could show you lots of seals that I've learned over the years, and we could go through all my books. You'd probably be on my level in about ten years, and know enough to take my place around here."

"Ten years? I don't have that kind of time!" Naruto blurted, and then caught himself. "I'll be old when we're done with that!"

Jiraiya chuckled, and then sent him a warning glance. "Did you just imply that I'm old?"

"Venerable?"

"Better," Jiraiya said. "I figured you'd be impatient, so we'll not be taking the slow route of learning, then. With that Uzumaki blood in your veins, could I expect anything else? No matter, I've met impatient upstarts before, I can deal with you." He reached into his pocket. "Here, read this." He threw a little blue book, and Naruto snatched it from the air just before it would've struck his nose.

"This is Icha Icha."

Jiraiya smirked. "Open it."

"I'm not going to read your porno books when you're supposed to be training me!" Naruto exclaimed. "Come on!"

"It's not - Well, it is Icha Icha, that's true," Jiraiya admitted. "It's also an assignment. There are three seals in that book, all of them meant to keep you from reading the contents. I want you to break those seals, and then… tell me who sleeps with Salomé in the end!"

Naruto resolved to ignore the man's crude remarks. "But making seals collapse isn't that hard. It's just that usually you're not in a position to do it. That seems a bit simple…" he said after a moment, finally flipping the cover of the book open. He blinked when he found his hand empty. The cover was closed again. Had he closed it himself, or had it moved on its own? He hadn't seen either. One moment it was open, the next it was closed. "Hey, what was that? Genjutsu?"

Jiraiya smiled knowingly. "Figure out how to break the three seals before week's end. If you can manage it, we'll go to the next step. If not, well, draw an impressive seal for me and maybe I'll give you some hints."

Naruto sighed. "The learning via doing thing again, I should've known." He thought back to the Sage's way of teaching the Rasengan. No matter, he had broken fancy seals before, even some of the Toad Sage's. "Okay. I'll try it."

"Good. You should be able to figure it out using what you know. It's sometimes easier than it looks, so try to start by thinking simple and then complex, not the other way around." Jiraiya looked one last time at the fridge and sighed. "I'm going to find a nice restaurant. Don't blow yourself up, now."

"...Do you think I'm stupid?"

Jiraiya ruffled a hand through Naruto's hair, smiling. "I probably shouldn't answer that."

"Who is it? Akatsuki?" The second clone hissed as the first landed next to him in a crouch, grim expression on his face.

The first sighed, dropping his Henge. "Doesn't have the fancy painted nails or the cloudy bathrobe. Probably a rogue ninja, if you ask me. It's some creepy-looking guy with a huge scythe. He was drawing shapes in the dirt, if you can believe it."

"A scythe? What, does he think he's the Shinigami?" The second shook his head tiredly. "Just give me Zabuza any day. Big-ass swords are way cooler."

The first shrugged. "Whoever this is, he's sitting directly on top of the entrance to the underground base, which means trouble. Either he's found Gaara, tracked him from Suna probably, or he's someone who happened to know where the base was but doesn't have a way in."

"Scythe…" The second paused as something occurred to him. He had been told about this, a long time ago... "Wait, this scythe, did it have three blades?"

"…Yes," the first answered. Both clones widened their eyes simultaneously when the implication sank in.

"Ah, crap. He's the guy who killed Asuma-sensei."

"Do you remember Shikamaru talking about that guy? He mentioned something about a ritual, I think. Man, it's been over a decade… I should have paid more attention."

"This was the guy from the blood cult, wasn't it?" the second said. "The one that was wiped out after the last war?" the second clone sat down, frowning. "So, Akatsuki's already aware of this place? Can they sense the Ichibi's chakra, maybe? I didn't think they were looking already."

The first frowned. "Perhaps, and this might sound crazy, he's not in Akatsuki at all. I mean, we only even heard about him a few years from now, and we know that there was recruiting going on in that time. It's pretty likely that he was hired somewhere in the next few years, when Nagato gets active in Rain."

"That doesn't explain why he's sitting on the base," the second retorted. "Without changing the guard inside, clones will start popping and Gaara will get free. You know as well as I do that he'll find a way out, somehow. If this guy's waiting at the door…"

"We should just kill him now," the first hissed in response. "Kill the guy and think about the rest later. We can bury him and whoever he killed easily enough, and then inform Gaara that these bastards are a lot closer than even Boss thought. Listen, I've just used up a ton of chakra on that surveillance mission, just to keep unnoticed, and I only have an hour or two left. I'll go pop and let the Boss know what's going on here."

The second sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Leave it to me to do the dirty work. You're a real piece of work, aren't you?"

"I am you, dummy. Stop insulting yourself," the clone said as he vanished.

"Damn it!"

Naruto made his way to the hospital in quick hops across the rooftops, Jiraiya's book hidden deep within a pocket, since he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if Kakashi ever saw him with it. Today Sasuke would be getting out of the hospital, and perhaps he would finally get some idea of what happened to the Uchiha while he was out of town. If it had been Tobi – why was Sasuke still alive, and in possession of his own eyes? He doubted the man would just come by to have a chat.

Sitting in front of the hospital on one of the low benches was Sakura, staring at the doors of the hospital as if trying to summon Sasuke with sheer willpower. It figured that she wasn't over her crush yet since it had taken ages back in the old time. Naruto realized that if he was successful in keeping Sasuke around, it might never vanish at all. He would have to tolerate that, he supposed. Naruto flipped onto the bench next to her, and she glanced at him in consternation.

"Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be in there?" Naruto wondered.

Sakura sighed. "Sensei said that Sasuke didn't want anyone to help him out, that he would resent seeming weak," she explained, and it looked like she had some trouble actually saying it. "He told me to wait here."

Naruto blinked. "Kakashi told you not to go in? Huh."

Sakura sighed. "He's a slave driver, you'll find out. He had me doing Taijutsu exercises for hours and he can't stop reading that book of his while doing it, making filthy jokes all the time! Just wait till he gets to training you, too!"

So – Kakashi was actually training Sakura, then. Naruto couldn't help but be a little surprised, since he remembered all too well that the Wave Mission had been where the first proper lessons were given the last time around, and even then it was just chakra control. Yes, he had steered Sakura towards Kakashi in the hopes that he would notice her potential at using chakra in her punches, but this was quicker than he had anticipated. "Taijutsu, huh?"

"Right – hand to hand fighting." Sakura stretched, wincing. "I'm famished. I could eat a whole cow right now."

"Don't have that, but do you want some pork?" Naruto asked, reaching into his pocket. "We could share some?"

Sakura looked tempted for a moment. "N-No, that's okay."

"Sakura." Naruto frowned; he had almost forgotten this. "You're not still dieting, are you?" She looked away, and that was answer enough. Naruto sighed, shoving chakra into the seal until a plate full of delicious meat popped into being, already nice and hot. "Come on."

"Naruto!" Her stomach growled, and Sakura grimaced as he picked up a bit of meat, nibbling on it. "That's mean!"

"You don't need a diet, Sakura," Naruto pointed out as he picked another piece of meat and savoured the taste. "You're already thin, and you need to build up muscles with something, especially if you're doing Taijutsu. You're probably tired because your body can't find the resources to keep going, not because you were overworked."

Sakura looked unconvinced.

"Come on, I'm sure that most kunoichi don't diet. I'm pretty sure that Kurenai-sensei doesn't, you know. Train a little more, and you can just turn the fat into more muscle." He winced as he pulled out his trump card. "I'm sure Sasuke cares more about strength than skinniness anyway."

Sakura, after a long moment of uncertainty, carefully picked a bit of pork from Naruto's plate. The smallest piece, true, but it was a beginning. Naruto smiled as he picked a little more for himself, wondering how he was going to convince Sakura to pursue medical jutsu, a field she had excelled at in the future, now that the Taijutsu was covered. Perhaps he could go fetch Granny Tsunade when things were a little calmer?

"So – is there anything that I could help with? In your training, I mean?" Naruto asked after a while, wondering when Sasuke would finally make an appearance. "I mean, I still need to train my Taijutsu too – I'm pretty crappy at it, honestly."

"I'll ask sensei about it, but don't you have your own things to do?" Sakura asked. "Seals and such?"

"Right – I'll have to make sure I have time for other stuff, though. I have to put some hours in for making my seals, somewhere, and I can't shove it all on my clones either. Imagine if one of them made a mistake and I end up blowing myself up?"

"That doesn't really…" Sakura paused. With a yell of 'Sasuke!' she jumped up from the bench, and it took Naruto a moment of failing to connect the sudden yell with his question before he realized what had happened. Indeed, hobbling out of the hospital was Uchiha Sasuke, leaning on a short crutch. Kakashi walked right beside him, and for a brief moment Naruto and he made eye contact. Naruto received a subtle nod and he slowly approached, hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Sakura asked breathlessly, and though Naruto couldn't follow most of the rest of what she said, it was probably the same thing. Naruto stopped in front of his teammates.

"Naruto."

"Sasuke," Naruto replied, nodding. "Still up for that match you promised, when your leg's back in action?"

"It's healed," Sasuke said immediately, glancing down in annoyance at his crutch. "The leg muscles are a bit stiff. They need stimulation before I can use them properly again, like walking, or running."

"Or fighting," Naruto finished for him, smiling. "Want to do that now?"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I should have guessed this would happen… There won't be any brawls in front of the hospital," he said. "Injured people need to be able to pass by here."

"But sensei – Sasuke's going to be the injured one after we're done," Naruto whined, pointing. "Come on, he's limping! We would need to carry him in on a stretcher! It wouldn't even be a fair fight!"

Sakura nervously glanced at Sasuke, but the Uchiha just looked on in mild amusement, twirling a kunai around his finger. Naruto noticed that too, smiling cheerfully.

"You think you can defeat me?" Sasuke asked dryly. "You think that you – the dead-last – could take me in a Taijutsu match, or even Ninjutsu? You can't use your fancy seals then, you know."

"Eh, you don't have the Sharingan, so we're both deficient in some way." Naruto winked as Sasuke's expression froze, his mouth a thin line. "Oh, did I hit a nerve there, Sasuke?"

"Don't make fun of me, idiot!"

"Catch me if you can, Uchiha cripple!"

Sakura and Kakashi sighed as the two boys bickered. It was only moments later that kunai clashed, with Naruto facing off against Sasuke with two Shadow Clones already by his side, holding their own kunai at the ready.

"You really can't do this somewhere else?" Kakashi asked, shaking his head. "I know you're both good for Genin, you really don't have to show it every five minutes. There is such a thing as restraint, you know. I figured you'd have learned that with all the D-Ranks you've been doing."

"When are we getting a C-Rank anyway?" Sakura wondered. "Haven't we done enough missions yet?"

Kakashi smiled. "Actually, I've been waiting for a good one to come by. Unfortunately a few high-profile criminals were spotted near Konoha, so most missions like that have been bumped up to B-Rank since we don't want Genin to run into them. We'll have a proper C-Rank soon enough."

"Ah, we can do a B-Rank, can't we?" Naruto said loudly. "What's a rogue ninja going to do against the most badass Genin team of Konoha?"

"I think you'll have to train a little harder before you reach that level, Naruto," Kakashi said, smiling. "Perhaps you should meet the real strongest Genin team sometime?" He frowned. "I'm pretty sure that the one that would count as strongest is… Oh, right. I almost forgot who their sensei is…"

"Oh, you're talking about Team Gai?" Naruto observed. "Well – I don't know if I would call them the most badass… just the most violent." He shivered. "Seriously though, Lee's a beast when he gets going, and Tenten is crazy. And there's also Neji, who is like Sasuke in a way, except even more stuck-up!"

"I didn't know you met them before, Naruto," Kakashi said mildly. "Gai must've been bragging again…"

"Actually, I was in a class with them before," Naruto said sheepishly, glancing at his teammates. "You know I did the last year of the Academy three times, right? I didn't really hang out with anyone, but I was paired up with Lee once for Taijutsu. The guy's crazy powerful!"

"I've spoken to Tenten before," Sakura said. "She's nice, but kind of creepy with those knives of hers." She looked uneasy, then. "I think she actually uses seals, like you, Naruto."

"Storage Seals," Naruto scoffed immediately. "I did those years ago."

"Hn. The Hyūga." Sasuke sniffed derisively.

"Descriptive as always," Naruto deadpanned. "Anyway, now you distracted me, sensei. I was saying how we were definitely ready for a better mission! Sasuke and I can do a sparring match if you want, show you what we can really do!"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm beginning to rethink the wisdom of becoming a sensei. If I was half as annoying as you are now, I can't imagine how my own sensei survived."

Naruto stuck out his tongue to Kakashi as he kept his eyes on Sasuke, involuntarily searching for cues to his attacks that wouldn't be there – not yet. He had fought Sasuke enough times to know how he thought, but most of the techniques he would have used in future years he would probably never figure out this time around. The Sharingan would be used again, that was a matter of time. Orochimaru's jutsu? Not if he could help prevent the mess at the Chūnin Exams. The Mangekyō? Well, he would like to avoid that cesspit of melancholy entirely, given how every Uchiha had ended up after the Fourth Shinobi World War. Perhaps it was a good idea to get something worked out with Itachi sooner instead of later.

The Sharingan was the immediately relevant skill. Sasuke would have already unlocked it if the Wave C-Rank had happened as before. Right now he was weaker than the first time around, and that wasn't what he intended at all. It was naïve to believe that the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan wouldn't activate; whatever happened a few days ago could have already done it, though he suspected that Sasuke would have shown those eyes off if that were the case.

There was something he could do here, that could help solidify Sasuke's loyalty to the village a little more – or at least to himself. Helping out Sasuke would definitely earn him some recognition, even if he didn't agree with the other boy's wishes, or his intention to kill Itachi. Perhaps it was too early to think of fixing his revenge-based mentality, but he could at least make Sasuke stronger through his teammates. Perhaps then Sasuke would stop seeing him as a dead-last all the time, too.

He straightened, slipping his kunai back in its holster. Sasuke seemed a bit confused by the sudden change, but did the same. Doing anything like he planned right here would be incredibly foolish. He would need to find somewhere peaceful and quiet, so he could make all hell break loose without startling the entire village. He could think of an excuse for what he planned easily enough, but some people would see through it. With that, he decided on a place; with Kakashi nearby, he was certain it would be empty before he even arrived. "Come on, Sasuke. I'm taking you to the Jōnin training grounds."

Kakashi was the first to react, his eye immediately focused on his shortest Genin student. "What do you want there, Naruto? Do you even know where those fields are?"

"I've been using the remote training grounds for a while now," Naruto said easily, and Kakashi seemed to grasp the implication immediately. "There's something I want to try. Call it training, if you will. I want to see if I can use one of my special skills, and I can't do that here." He looked at Kakashi steadily. "If all works out – we'll be there tonight to get a proper mission."

Kakashi hesitated, and then nodded. Naruto knew that the man would stick close to them all the way, curious as he doubtlessly was – but what he was planning was nothing Kakashi didn't already know about.

"If you want to fight, we can just do it here." Sasuke noted in a bored tone. "It sounds like it's a long way to go for nothing."

Naruto looked seriously at Sasuke. "Remember when I visited the hospital? I did mean it, you know."

Sasuke blinked, and then sighed wearily. "Fine."

"What is going on with you two, lately?" Sakura asked in confusion. "Don't you hate each other? Naruto, you couldn't stop complaining about Sasuke-kun in the Academy!"

"Well, of course I couldn't," Naruto said, annoyed. "He's a stuck-up prick who thinks he's better than anyone else in the class, and he could show that off all the time without the villagers saying a single word!" He breathed. "But he's a teammate, now."

"I am better than anyone else in the class," Sasuke muttered.

"Shut up."

"Well, looks like we're having another Taijutsu lesson, Sakura." Kakashi said, smiling. "The boys need to work out their aggression, I guess. Don't worry. Naruto can take a hit."

"Why didn't you mention Sasuke getting hit?" Naruto asked, and then frowned. "Oh, sensei! That's not nice!"

"Just the facts, Naruto." He smiled, though it was hard to tell through his mask. "Fine, then." His gaze was suddenly sharp. "Don't kill him, Naruto."

"No promises."

"Hidan. That was his name." The clone sighed – he wasn't sure if it was worse that he was talking to himself, or that he was doing so because he missed having another self to speak to. Trying to ignore the insanity angle, he raised a hand. Two clones were almost immediately beside him, falling in line behind the team leader who was elected purely based on the fact that he was a little more annoyed than the others. He turned to the next clone over. "This guy's shtick is his big-ass scythe and his special immortality skill. Think Kyūbi in overdrive – instead of healing really quickly, he just doesn't really notice the wounds at all."

"Another Kakuzu, then?"

"Without the masks or hearts business," the first clone agreed, taking over from the one that had popped before. "It's immortality of some fashion. Luckily he needs blood to do anything too nasty, and we're only clones. Maybe we can lure him away from the base or something."

"So – if he's immortal, how did Shikamaru kill him?" one of the others inquired. "Did he ever tell?"

"He mentioned rocks."

"That's his one weakness? Rocks?" The first clone wondered. "That seems unlikely."

"Let's just put a Rasengan through his head," another clone countered immediately. "Nothing stands up from that, if you get a good hit in."

"Right – but we aren't with that many," the first muttered. "Rasengan is one option. Maybe someone can throw some rocks at him, just in case?"

"That still sounds really stupid."

"Yes – well, I'm not seeing you come up with anything clever, idiot."

"Why do you keep insulting yourself like this?"

The first clone sighed as he ran a hand across his face. "Let's have one of us fetch the clones from the base, so we have a little backup. The rest can serve as distractions with giant whirling chakra spheres of death."

"Yes, clone commander!"

"Clone commander? When did I….? Never mind." He sighed. "You – upside down me – stay out of that guy's way and make your way to the base. The rest of us will try and draw him off."

"Right." The clone in question saluted, dropping from his inverted position on a tree branch and lading lightly. He tapped his breast pocket that contained the little vial that they had brought along and smiled. "I already have all I need."

"Good. Now, let's try not to rush this guy, alright? We all have a bit of the Boss's common sense, after all. Everyone, use a Henge, change into one of the gate guards or something. Don't want this guy blabbing about us to anyone. If he does end up talking, well, let him do it. Boss will want to know everything that's going on."

"Right." About thirty voices said at once from everywhere; only about a third of the clones were actually visible. They all raised their hands into a single seal, and the thirty-odd orange Genin changed into the same number of Chūnin, though with more orange in their uniform than there really was supposed to be. The curious glances that the various clones sent each other confirmed it – they had all had the exact same idea.

"We really are the same person. So, nobody do anything stupid, as it reflects badly on all of us."

"Does preaching count? Because you're doing it!"

"What did I just say?"

Sasuke stopped at the Jōnin training grounds with an annoyed expression, gazing around the nondescript field with distaste. It was out of the way, sure, about the furthest you could go without actually leaving Konoha entirely, but honestly didn't look much different from any other training field.

"Okay, now can you tell me what we're doing here?" Sasuke stretched his leg, wincing slightly as a sharp pain made its way through the muscle. Yes, it was healed, but the stiffness was definitely something he could do without. "At least my leg gets a good workout from this."

"What happened to that leg, anyway?" Naruto asked. "Kakashi-sensei won't tell me what happened. Did someone break into your home and attack you or something?"

Sasuke looked away. "Didn't we already discuss this when you broke into the hospital?"

"You didn't say anything then, either!"

"Then stop asking. It wasn't something you need to know about, and it's been handled." He sighed. "I'd like to forget it altogether."

Naruto frowned darkly. "At least tell me that someone's taking care of whoever put you in that bed?"

"Why do you care?"

Naruto didn't answer immediately, sitting down against a tree on the side of the field and sighing. "You're an aggravating person, Sasuke. Now, give me a few minutes, will you? Need to concentrate. If I mess this up, I might become seriously crazy, so don't mess with my focus."

Sasuke looked at his teammate in confusion, and Naruto just smiled reassuringly before he closed his eyes for meditation. The field was silent for a few minutes, and Sasuke stuck around, gazing at his teammate as he twitched and moved slightly on occasion, definitely not what one was supposed to do during meditation. It took a little while longer before Naruto suddenly flipped upright from his prone position, a kunai gleaming in his hand.

"So, Sasuke," Naruto smirked. "I'm ready."

Sasuke blinked. "…For our fight?"

"In a way," Naruto said slowly, drawing three kunai and arraying them without looking between his knuckles, like three lethal claws. "Trust me," he said after a moment, a brief smile appearing before his expression turned serious, and his eyes gleamed. "You're going to die."

"What…?" Sasuke barely had a moment to prepare before Naruto slashed out, his kunai nicking his shoulder before he even had time to deflect. The attack was incredibly fast, and a second immediately followed, leaving three parallel stripes across Sasuke's hand just as he tried to parry the blow. He cried, tripping backwards. "What the hell, Naruto?"

"Fight back," Naruto growled. "It's no fun when you just die like the rest."

Sasuke got back up with his own kunai out. "Have you gone completely insane, dead-last?"

The blows rained down at such speed that Sasuke needed both his hands just to keep them from coming. Naruto wasn't terribly fast, but he was viciously tricky with his slashes, like he already knew exactly where the blocks would be, where he had put his blade to counter. Jumping back from the raging blond, Sasuke raised his hands. Before he could make the signs for a fire technique, Naruto was upon him again, taking advantage of the momentary weakness, cutting a long gash through his vest that just missed the skin.

Sasuke went for a vicious counterattack, enjoying the sudden savageness of Naruto's attacks. The boy always had a lot of energy to spend, but he usually kept it in. Perhaps he had simply gone too long without a serious challenge? Sasuke smiled, slipping into the Uchiha Taijutsu style that he had been taught for years. He could make this work.

Naruto snarled like a wild animal. An uneasy feeling of dread formed in the pit of Sasuke's stomach as he stared at the boy who was looking more and more like a beast every moment; like a vicious cat. The look in his eyes wasn't one of friendly competition, not even of rivalry. All he saw was bloody rage, murderous instincts brought to the front. Then the feeling intensified, and his kunai trembled in his hands. There was a palpable feeling of despair in the air.

Killing Intent.

"Naruto, that's enough," Sasuke said warily, and his voice wavered. "We don't have to get this serious. It's just training."

Naruto stalked forward menacingly, his kunai dropping to the ground as he brought up his hand, tipped now with viciously pointed fingernails. "Training, huh? Tell me, Uchiha, what will you be worth when I rip out your eyes?"

Sasuke stepped back in alarm. "What's gotten into you?" He hated how his voice faltered. Naruto looked like he was serious, and he had taken him to one of the most distant training grounds. Was he actually planning to- No, that was crazy. Naruto wouldn't just kill someone. Would he?

Naruto didn't answer in words. The Killing Intent in the air suddenly skyrocketed, and Sasuke couldn't take a breath. The feeling was like the deepest fear he had ever felt, like he could roll up in a ball and never uncurl again. It felt like something massive and inhuman looked down on him with hungry eyes, ready to devour everything in its path. For a brief moment he felt again like he'd done that day when Itachi had left, when his family had been murdered. He felt like death was upon him, like he would never breathe again. Tears prickled in his eyes as he tried desperately to move. Naruto stood out sharply, like he was etched into the sky. His teeth were sharp and vicious, the marks on his cheeks like scars ripped into his skin, his eyes like a snake's, filled with such indescribable loathing that he couldn't believe it.

Then the world collapsed, the storm ended. The terror was suddenly gone, Sasuke's breath returned to him, and he lay gasping on the ground, staring into the blue sky. Very slowly he sat up, to find that Naruto was right there, sitting four feet away with his legs folded and a tired smile on his face. "So, it worked. I figured it would."

"What the hell was that?"

"Fear," Naruto said immediately, shrugging. "Tell me, Sasuke. Was it the worst fear you ever felt, caused by that dose of Killing Intent? I think it must have been. For a moment you had such intense hate turned on you that you couldn't deal with it. You didn't run, but only because you couldn't."

"What the –"

"Think of it as a genjutsu," Naruto explained. "It caused intense fear, even the conviction that you were going to die, if only for a brief moment. It's something that's almost impossible to replicate outside actual combat conditions, since knowing ahead of time that someone's going to do something like this ruins the effect. That's why I didn't tell you. The fact that you didn't know if I was serious is the only reason that you actually believed it." Naruto sighed. "Tell me, how many other shinobi are near us right now?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke blinked slowly, as something suddenly stuck out to him about what he was seeing. The world was sharper, more defined, and he could see vague blotches. The answer was easy. "Two."

Naruto smiled. "How do you know that?"

"I can… see…" His eyes widened. "I can see them."

The Sharingan! He had activated the Sharingan at last. For a moment he wanted to laugh in victory, celebrate this accomplishment; then the reality crashed down. All it meant was that he was a step closer to killing Itachi, who had removed everyone who would have cared about this occasion. There was nobody to share this with.

"Come on, I'll treat you to ramen to get you back on your feet, and then we'll go see if anyone's willing to let you test-drive the copy ability," Naruto said easily, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Maybe we can convince Kakashi-sensei to Shunshin us to Ichiraku's, actually, since I don't feel like walking back. Or maybe Pervert Sage could take us on a toad, who knows?"

Well, maybe not quite nobody. Slowly he put up his hand, and he was pulled to his feet by the deceptively strong Naruto with ease.

"…Thank you."

"No problem, teammate," Naruto replied seriously. "So, will you tell me what happened last week, now?"

Sasuke smirked. "No."

Author's Note: It took a long time since WaS and tWfE were updated a bunch of times before this one. :)