Chapter 10
The Results of Training
Six Days Later
Naruto sat in the middle of a clearing, his hands clasped together in a hand seal. A small collection of leaves swirled around him as his chakra flowed unseen across his body, his long, red tail, longer and thicker than normal, thrashed around behind him, as though it were trying to break free. Slowly, he opened two blood-red eyes. Fast as lightning, his hands shifted into a different seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!" The clearing was enveloped by thick smoke as innumerable copies of the blonde poofed into existence, each baring their fangs in the same feral grin.
"HuhuHuhuHahahHaHAHHAHAHA!!!" The whole forest was filled with maniacal laughter as each and every Naruto cried out to the night sky. The moon hung full, and ominous overhead.
"Fight"
"Kill"
"Party!!"
"Mina-san, Lets ROCK!!"
There was a terrific battle cry, and in an instant the sounds of combat filled the air. Each clone bore variations of the same stance; knees and arms bent, with muscles tensed to allow any limb to lash out without warning, knuckles half clenched, giving him the option of to either punch, or strike with his claws, head lowered slightly so that it might snap forward and deliver a neck-crushing bite, driven by powerful jaw muscles, and razor sharp teeth. It was a stance only an Inuzuka could mimic, however they tended towards the Shikyaku no Jutsu when it came to fighting.
As one Naruto tore through another, howls of laughter and joy could be heard. There were scarcely a second between each clones demise, and Naruto (all of them) was loving it. He'd stumbled across this form of training a couple days ago, when, during an experiment, he got into an argument with one of his clones. Push came to shove, and someone got bitten, from that point on things got a bit hazy, but by the end he had felt worn out, tired, and like he'd beaten back an army. When he realized that's exactly what he'd done, it was instantly promoted to his favorite form of training. Under the light of the full moon, when his power was at its greatest, he estimated he would be able to maintain this level of combat for as long as three hours. The absolute best part, however, was that, as he was an instinctively inventive person, he was prone to making up strategies on the fly, as were his clones. And when everything was over, he retained the memories of each and every strategy, concept, and idea that occurred to him. In a little under a week, he had made a revolutionary (to him) breakthrough; he realized that, depending on what part of the body you struck, you could make it move in different ways; strike the stomach, they double over, strike the ribs, they move this way, strike the neck they go that way. After a bit of experimentation, he'd managed to incorporate this into his Taijutsu, allowing him to force his opponent into making their own opening , allowing every hit that connects to lead into two or three that were nigh unblock able. He had dubbed his new form Uzuken, after the way he would often end up causing his opponents to turn around completely during a flurry of strikes.
Naruto drove a clawed hand through the chests of two of his Bunshin, before spinning around and kicking a Bunshin that was sneaking up on him in the jaw. He sidestepped, and swung his legs around, sweeping a nearby Bunshin's feet out from under him before grabbing a shoulder roughly, and bringing his jaws down on the hapless clones neck. He scowled as the flesh gave way to air. That was the only problem with the Bunshin they lacked blood! How could he kill himself properly if there was no blood? Naruto paused as the statement ran through his mind.
'Does this count as suicide? Genocide? Masochism?' He was brought out of his musings as a clawed hand drove itself into his stomach.
"Son of a bitch!" He swore, before toppling over.
'Poof'
The Naruto grinned as the other burst, before dropping low and leaping onto the back of the last remaining Naruto…and smacked face first into a tree.
"Thun oth a 'poof'" The original Naruto chuckled as he dropped down from the tree, when there had been four Kage Bunshin left he'd replaced himself with a regular Bunshin and hid in the trees. He always felt it prudent to trick himself wherever possible, if you couldn't trust your self he found it made him all the more alert during his little 'sparring sessions'.
/Missed one/
Naruto spun around, his mind racing, only to be met with empty air, and the sound of Kori's laughter.
/Alert hunter? Stupid Mugen/ His companion chuckled, leaping up onto the branch to join him.
/Stupid Kori, good hunt?/
/Very, eat well tonight. You?/
/Nah, filled up on god-food/
/Little human shop? You're to generous/
/Must try it some time/
/Wear human three skins? No thanks/ Naruto chuckled, before bringing his hand up to his headband. He had been surprised to learn just how good of a substitute the hitai-ate was for a leaf, it provided a perfect focus point for his more complex techniques; changing into his fox form being amongst them.
Junjou Mugen scratched his ear before letting off a playful bark.
/Great Moon tonight, Kurui Tsuku wake up soon/
/Great One? Send my regards/
/Will do/ Mugen yipped once, before leaping off through the forest. True, he could dive into his mind just about anywhere, but he always found it easiest in the den, something about being surrounded by your own scent he supposed.
XXXXXXXXXXX
The sound of water splashing could be heard as he made his way through the figurative sewers. A black nose sniffed the air; a fingered hand scratched his cheek. It was somewhat disorientating to be in the place; in his mindscape he existed in both fox, and human form simultaneously. If he tried to focus on any one part of his body, it gave him a serious headache, like trying to speak in two different languages simultaneously. So he found it best to ignore his ethereal state of being, and just focus all his attention of what he was doing, rather than what was doing it.
"Welcome, Junjou Mugen. Have you succeeded in your task?" Tsuku greeted the boy, already in his human form.
"Hai, Kurui Tsuku. I have obtained a kiss from ten humans, of alternating gender." Naruto said stiffly, as though giving a mission report. In truth, he'd been hoping for another exposure to the fox's chaotic chakra, and was a bit disappointed.
"Good, only a kiss?" Tsuku asked, raising an eyebrow, His tone suggesting something more.
"Well…I got a grope out of two of them, and one was in the process of removing her pants when I, that is, she fell unconscious." Naruto elaborated, rubbing the back of his head grinning as he reverted back to his regular, informal mode of speech.
"Tch, lightweight. Was the drink good?" The robe-clad redhead demanded, his arms crossed as though judging the boy's words.
"Alright at this one place…most of the other bars in town sell this weak stuff that tastes like a pig swilled rotten rice, then barfed into a cup" The blonde boy replied, scrunching his face up for emphasis.
"Ha! The truly wise have good taste, they say. Did you experience much difficulty?" The fox lord chuckled in amusement.
"Well, there was this one guy…He might as well have been blind for all the reaction I got. I was just about to give up when he asked me a riddle. Y'know, the one about the people going to market? Well, I said one, and he got all smiley and cheerful, and the like. I just went with it and we were exchanging riddles and all that, then I got a great idea, and asked him 'What can be given, taken, stolen and returned, but never taken back?'" The fox-boy presented his anecdote complete with waving arms and complicated gestures.
"I think I cans see where this went…"
"Right, so when he couldn't get it, I just chugged the last of my drink, grabbed him by the collar, pulled him over and landed a kiss right there! By the time he realized what happened I'd already left. I think he was kinda shy to tell you the truth, fast drinker though-ttebayo!" He ended the story by pounding his fist into his open palm for emphasis. Apparently, the man had been a really fast drinker.
"Kukuku, strike when unguarded eh? An excellent ruse, you have done well, Junjou Mugen" The red-haired demon said appraisingly. Naruto, in turn, beamed up at the being like a boy who'd been given a giant cookie.
"Ano-sa, ano-sa, will there be another assignment Tsuku-sama?" He asked excitedly, eager to please.
"Iie, I had originally planned one additional task, but you performed better than I had expected. I feel that there is little left for me to show you in the ways of the flesh. Now, tell me about what else has happened to you" Truth be told, the demon was actually privy to all the boys memories by merely wishing for it, a side effect of the assimilation process built into the Ikou no Gu he was sealed with, just like all the others. While Naruto slept, memories from the Kitsune's past lives filtered into the boy's head, for him to experience as though his own. Of course, the boy didn't spend all that much time going through the fox's reminiscences. Actually viewing only about an hours worth of different events per week. It was an amount mutually decided by the two as to prevent the boy's mind becoming to similar to Tsuku's. In the meantime, Tsuku found he preferred listening to the boy's version of events first, before experiencing them directly. It helped him to see things from the boy's perspective, uninfluenced by his own experiences.
"Well, Ino and Sakura had this big fight over a kunai Sasuke left in the academy training grounds, sometimes I think its unhealthy to obsess over someone like that"
"And your obsession with spirals is much better?" The fox countered, a smug grin on his face. A short while after coming into contact with the fox, the boy had had what could perhaps be described as an epiphany. He'd decided that, instead of letting his life be ruled by spirals; spirals representing both the leaf village itself, and the seal that adorned his stomach, he was going to rule spirals himself. Apparently it had been stewing in the boy's mind ever since he'd decided to become Hokage, or rather, when Tsuku had asked him to actually look for the true motive behind his decision. The rather blunt conclusion that he'd come to was that, one way or another; he always had, and always will, end up taking orders from someone, and that the only way to escape that was to be the one giving the orders. From there things had spiraled out of control, so to speak. It started with sewing the red spirals onto his jumpsuit, having stolen them from some spare jounin vests he'd found in storage. It then progressed to other things, he virtually never touched a kunai, preferring shuriken for everything. When someone pointed out that you couldn't use a shuriken in hand to hand combat he'd gone and found himself an even larger shuriken; the Fuuma Shuriken, and had trained himself extensively in its use. He'd even started tracing spirals with his finger when he daydreamed.
"Hey, hey! My…'hobby', is no-where near that bad!" The young boy shouted at the taller redhead.
"Did I say that out-loud? Keh, one should not be able to hear others think"
"We're in my head, and your brain's leaking memories into mine, you expect me to not get some sort of side effects? By the way, what the HELL were you thinking with that blue haired chick?" Tsuku paused for a moment as he tried to discern which 'blue-haired chick' the boy was referring to.
"Oh, her! All I wanted was a room for the night, when she said additional services were offered for a minimal fee I assumed she meant food and a bath, not THAT"
"Yeah, well, I think I may have a fear of tortoises now" The blonde's eyes darted to the side as though he expected the dreaded reptile to materialize at the sound of its name. The elder-fox just laughed. It was amusing to say the least watching the boy's reactions to his various exploits. At one point he'd even ran in terror from every goat-like sound he heard. Fortunately, that only lasted a week as the one with the pineapple soon replaced it.
"Yeah we'll, anyhow, oh yeah! I graduated-ttebayo!"
"You did? I thought you'd never leave that dreadful place. You'd expect being taught how to kill would be a bit more exiting. Tch, humans seem to find a way to make anything boring. Was the examination difficult?"
"Difficult? Hah! All I had to do was make three Bunshin, three! I don't think anyone didn't graduate"
"If an entire class successfully graduates, shouldn't there be more ninja around?"
"Err…maybe they just let all the sucky ones die in a mission. Then again, they're really big on 'helping out your fellow Leaf-Nin' so that can't be right."
"It would be a waste of resources to allow any shinobi to die, a failure can always be retrained, but a corpse is a lost-cause."
"I guess they just send back the people who don't do good on missions then, shouldn't be too much of a problem, Dattebayo!"
"That would make sense. What else has occurred? Surely your life hasn't gotten boring"
"Well, Mizuki-Teme tricked me into stealing a really dangerous scroll for him" Naruto flinched as he saw disapproval flash across the fox-man's face.
"Ah, ah, I learned a really cool technique in the process. It's called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, its like Bunshin no Jutsu but it makes real clones! Solid! Alive! Can do stuff, like think!" he gibbered, trying to cover up his obvious shortcomings. His efforts did not go wasted, as he saw a grin spread across his mentor's face.
"True clones, you say? I'm sure you've found…all sorts of uses for them"
"Yeah, they're great, they can…." His voice trailed off as he realized the implications of the question. "No, wait, its not like that! I only use them for training and investigation and-"
"I assure you, Junjou Mugen, I will not judge you on what you do in your spare time. I would prefer it, however, if you would actually find a real mate, instead of just trying to do everything yourself. "
"Wah? Mate? Why does everyone keep saying that? I got plenty of time to find a mate! After all, when did you claim your first mate?"
"When I was sixty-seven Great-Moons old, and even that was leaving things a bit late"
"B-but, that's so young! Isn't that rushing things?"
"Vixen are fleeting, and quick to move on once the kits have been raised. Even if you mate for life you can't predict how long that life might last. If you want something, grab hold of it and never let go, and it is far easier to keep something in your grasp than it is to pry it from another's fingers"
"So…what your saying is…that it's important I decide on a mate quickly so I get who I want, before someone else claims them and I have to either settle for second best or steal them away from someone they don't want to leave"
"Exactly, life is fleeting. You said it yourself, did you not; beauty lies in motion. You must move quickly lest the whole world pass you by."
"I get what you're saying I guess…"
"I want you to at least evaluate and decide upon some potential mates. You do not have to take any action, I just want you to give it some serious thought."
"Eh? 'sigh' Hai, Tsuku-sama"
"Now then, was there anything else?"
"Well, I met this kid called Konohamaru, he's the Old Man's grandson, anyhow, he saw me use Oiroke no Jutsu on Ojii-san, and wanted me to teach it to him"
"Tch, if he's as young as you make out, I doubt he would be capable of doing so"
"That's what I said, but he just kept on bugging me, so figured what's the harm in trying. Inari-sama help me, the Gaki actually learned it"
"He did? Too what degree?"
"Well, he got the basic image down. He still needs to work on the jiggle factor, and his proportions are a little off, but other than that he's got the technique pinned down"
"I see…what a delightful incident. Have you instructed him on its implementation?"
"I gave him the gist of it, and told him to come find me for more tips if he needed them. Oh yeah, you know that technique I told you about, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"
"Yes?"
"Well I got this great idea, basically I combined it with Oiroke no Jutsu, it worked better than I could have hoped. I call it Harem no Jutsu"
"A logical step, but a commendable one nonetheless. It adds to the surrealism, and dramatically increases the shock factor, causing the victim to lose their grasp on reality far more easily."
"Right! That's what I said!"
"You have certainly had a productive week, perhaps you deserve some sort of reward…" Naruto's eyes widened with hope and greed, as Tsuku resumed his Great Fox form, unleashing the full torrent of his power. A slight trickle of drool dribbled down from the boys chin.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A red fox darted out of the forest, and into the sleeping city. It was not even a blur as it sped across the rooftops unseen, and unheard. It paused and sniffed the wind before grinning and darting off. It seemed to pass right through a window as it leapt inside a darkened room. Still grinning, it silently approached the sleeping occupant and flicked its tail with glee.
/Sweet dreams/
the fox seemed to evaporate into the air, and vanished. A few moments later, the sleeping figure creased its brow in slight discomfort.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mina-everyone
Uzuken-swirl fist
Ikou no Gu-Tool of Power
Oiroke-sexy
Gaki-brat
Teme-bastard/bitch
Fuuma Shuriken-wind demon shuriken (its the big metal one that unfolds, as seen in Zabuza arc)
A/N: This is a lot more talking than I expected…I suppose I tried to demonstrate the different aspects of Naruto's life the co-exist within him.
I've been told I'm just dropping things out of no-where, so I'm trying to make my hints a bit more obvious, without being too obvious. It's kinda hard to hint towards someone's sexuality when the last time you saw them was before they hit puberty, or had experienced the events that factored into it. I Really hope I don't rush the NaruHina, oh well, hope for the best.
In case you hadn't worked it out yet, Kyuubi sleeps except for on the nights of the full moon, or 'great moon' as kitsune call it (something I just made up, would be worded as Otsuki probably). It is also when Naruto's demonic powers are most effective.