Okay guys! I'm starting my almost final chapter of my story. Hope you like it!
Chapter 21: Preparations for the War
Naruto read through the novice level books and tossed them aside – he knew the books by heart. Moving on to the moderate books, he found some new jutsus and quickly mastered them. Finally, he thought coming to the most interesting part of the book: The Dancing Wind style. As he read through it, he found the pictures and explanations of the footwork, counterattacks, offensive as well as defensive maneuvers. Naruto's eyebrows raised – this was exactly his style, only with a little twist to it and some better adjustments. Perhaps he was a natural after all.
The Dancing Wind style was gentle and yet ferocious – it was nothing like the Gentle Fist, but had some vague similarities. The footwork was almost like a dance, graceful and sleek, but extremely efficient. One dodged the obstacles and trajectories with easy using his body weight to hasten himself, and when the time came, to counterattack. The whole style was based on the one hit kill idea – one was gracefully strong, and the footwork had to be so accurate, one inch off the target the kunai would hit your heart. But Naruto knew it was effective – it was a modification of his own style, after all, only, with much more details and a much better understanding. He soon mastered the intermediate books and moved on to the last two. They were the hardest. One book was devoted completely to genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu, and the other was to his clan's style. He decided to do the jutsu book first, as his clan style needed complete mastery of jutsus before one could perfect the style.
He learned four new jutsus, three new genjutsus, and five new attack sequences in the taijutsu area. All in all, it didn't help too much. Now, the fun would begin. He sent up his training area, put 'X's where his feet were supposed to hit, made a shadow clone, and began. I can't wait to try this out... Little did they know how much Naruto would change because of this style...
"Monroe! Monroe, wake up."
"My shift already? Aw, man..." Monroe got up and rubbed his eyes.
Jenna slapped him, and he was up instantly. "T attacked me while you were sleeping..." and she explained the whole scenario and her reasoning.
"I can't believe he would want to win this badly..." he replied.
Jenna nodded. "Neither can I..."
"Jenna! I never thought you want to win this badly... Unbelievable..." T said, his anger bubbling.
Jenna didn't answer. Instead, she appeared right behind T and threw three shuriken.
Damn it... What kind of a shadow jutsu is that? He dodged the shuriken and used the Katon jutsu. But Jenna teleported with her shadow jutsu again and this time, she made a head on attack. Using a taijutsu sequence, she caught T completely off guard. Jenna was never this fast! I can barely see her... Shit... This, is bad... He was forced to retreat by using body flicker; however, she simply appeared right in front of him. No matter how much he ran, she would always catch up. He was forced to fight her. But how the hell was he supposed to? He could barely follow her movements, she was so damn fast!
Jenna landed a blow at his stomach and he went flying back.
Perhaps I need to give his eyes some time to adjust...
He saw her running at him again, but this time, somehow, his eyes could follow. His eyes followed her every movement and dodged three shuriken and two jutsu. She came at him again but now his eyes could barely follow. She must be powering chakra to her feet... As she ran, his eyes began tracing her movements and soon they could follow again. She made a kick to his head, but he ducked and punched, only to have her run away again.
Good, his eyes are catching on...
This time Jenna came even faster – she was a complete blur.
But his eyes managed to follow – they were getting faster at adjusting to the speed, and pupil movement was getting less choppy. Suddenly, he could see perfectly; his eye sight was clear cut and he could see every detail. It's... Incredible...
Ah, finally awake, eh...
Jenna jumped at him and through a kunai.
So I see... T caught it and said, "Sensei, why are you here?"
"Are you an idiot or something?"
"Please, it is obvious."
Naruto's shadow clone unhenged. "How'd you know?"
"Yesterday, someone attacked me... I know for sure I have no enemies outside the village, and neither does my family... So, someone inside the leaf must have attacked me. No genin or chuunin would, and so I realized it must be jounin. I grew suspicious then. Didn't you say you were jounin, sensei? But I still didn't know for sure. Now, waking up, I find myself here. Next, 'Jenna' comes and attacks me with her kunai... Then I knew for sure."
"How?"
"Jenna hates kunais – her cousin was killed by one... She uses them only when she has to, but otherwise uses shuriken. And so I knew it wasn't Jenna – but the person transformed must have some relation to both Jenna and me, and I guessed it was the same person who attacked me previously. The only jounin that has such a relation would be the one conducting this test... You..."
Naruto patted T on the shoulder. "Awesome job."
T smiled.
"You're family are dead... Aren't they?"
T nodded.
"Yeah, I guessed from your eyes."
T wiped his eyes and realized he was on the verge of crying.
"Were they killed... in a massacre?"
T nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, they were... When I was old enough to understand, they people at the orphanage gave me this picture and said, 'Those were your parents... Be proud...'" He took out an old scrap of a photo and showed it to Naruto. "I've been proud.. Been proud all my life... But it doesn't bring them back..." He began crying.
I knew it... It was the picture of his mother and father... carrying him... And he had a T-shirt on – a T-shirt with a symbol he'll never forget... He was an Uchiha. It made perfect sense, and Naruto had hypothesized it as well. Why wouldn't his clan take him back? The answer was, they probably did... But once Itachi slaughtered them, who would take him... T was probably out at the time... And coming back, they, too, were gone... Naruto estimated T would have been just a few days old – which made the time gap of four or five years between he and T. Of course T wouldn't have been around the Uchiha compound at the time; he would be at the hospital! And that explained why only his parents were killed.
"I guessed as much..." Naruto sadly chuckled. "Top rank kid, not caring for anything... Only meaning one thing – no parents... I researched you, and found the results... Of course, I didn't know what clan you were in, but I guessed Uchiha..."
"Is that why you attacked me? To see if I could activate my sharingan?"
Naruto shook his head. "I knew you hadn't activated it the moment I first saw you... I attacked you to see if you really didn't care about anything. Which turned out to be wrong." Naruto smiled. "Come on. I only have about two or three months before I'm called out to war as well... If I'm not part of the first regiment... If I am, then about one month's time... I got what I wanted from you... I got what I wanted from Jenna... Now, it's time for Monroe. Let's go. I'm going to need your help." Naruto smiled mischievously.
"Say, sensei?"
"Yeah?"
"When are you going to be here in person and not as a shadow clone?"
I knew this would come... "As soon as I finish my chores; Hinata'll kill me if I don't. Now, are you going to help me or not?"
T nodded and smiled. "I'd love to." I'm starting to like this guy.
They crawled up to Jenna and Monroe. Naruto used FTG to 'capture' Jenna. He used a silencing jutsu to prevent any sound. There, he and T explained the plan. Jenna hugged T.
"Thank God..." she whispered.
"Hey, Jenna?" Monroe turned around.
Jenna wasn't there.
"Jenna?" he began panicking. Calm down... Deep breath... Okay... He began spinning his chakra and used a basic fire jutsu for light. Damn it... Not enough... He began spinning it faster and added a bit more fire to it to sustain it. Okay... And he began to walk the length of the forest, searching for Jenna.
"All right... Plan into action." Jenna said cheerfully.
"Let's go." Naruto led the way.
"T... I'm sorry I didn't trust you... I should have known you would never do such a thing... And I'm really sorry."
"I-I'm sorry, too... When sensei attacked me, he was henged into you... And I fell for it. From now on, no matter what, we trust each other."
"Totally!" She smiled.
Hallelujahs... Finally...
Shit... Where the hell is she? Unconsciously, he began spinning the tiny ball of chakra faster and faster as he began to panic. Suddenly, he realized he would have to defend himself against T. I need more light... I just have to last until day light – about... six hours... Okay... He began to consciously spin it faster and faster, so that the range of light would expand and he would be safe... Or so he hoped.
But fire and wind don't go together – not at those speeds. The fire soon poofed out, and now,Monroe began getting paranoid. He spun it so fast, the chakra was beginning to turn blue. He could imagine T's face, full of gore, his eyes filled with vengeance and bloodlust... It scared him beyond anything.
"Let's go quietly. I sense his chakra..." What the hell is he trying to do... The rasengan? Well, that would be an improvement...
Soon, his hands began to bleed, but Monroe ignored it: this was no time for silly jokes or worries... He promised himself that he would realize when it was time to be serious and when he could do pranks, as he was a ninja now, and if more missions were like this, he could not afford to be happy-go-lucky... For his team's sake. The orb began to glow blue soon, and it emitted its own light. He maintained it and began walking in the direction he thought was out of the forest. I'll go tell sensei about this, and then it'll be over... I'll be safe... He took a deep breath and kept going.
Looks like he's learned his lesson. "Okay guys, its off."
"What?" Jenna seemed disappointed.
"He's learned his lesson about pranks and when to do them. Let's go."
T smirked. He ran after Monroe.
In the most evil voice he could make, he said, "Monroe! Today, you die..." he revealed a kunai with blood on it. Jenna decided to play along as well.
Covered in 'blood' from waist down and having a kunai in her heart, she said, "Run, Monroe!" and collapsed on the floor.
Poor guy... They've probably scared the hell out of him... I should probably help... Oh well – tough for him.
Monroe ran for his life. T's eyebrows went up. "I didn't know he could run so fast..."
"Neither did I... He should have tried out for the track team in the academy."
"SENSEI! HELP!"
Naruto came in front of him. "Monroe, calm --"
"SENSEI! T IS TRYING TO KILL ME! HE ALREADY KILLED JENNA! HELP! YOU'VE GOT TO HELP!"
"Monroe, it was just a --"
"WHAT KIND OF A TEACHER ARE YOU? YOUR STUDENT DIED AND YOU DON'T EVEN CARE?"
"Monroe..." he gave up, placed a silencing jutsu on him, and carried him by the collar to Jenna and T. "It was a prank. Everyone's okay." and he released the jutsu. He took them all out of the forest and back to the training ground and explained his shadow clone tactic.
"So what was the whole point?"
"Jenna, it was to make you aware of the fact that you are a Perfect Elementalist... T, to awaken your sharingan, and Monroe, to teach you when to be serious; you have a lot of potential, but you need to know when to fool around and when to be serious. But more importantly, it was to build trust between you guys – you're a team now... We most likely will go to war by the time I'm done with your training... And if you guys don't trust each other, the entire thing falls apart... So, that's what I did."
Monroe got up and said, "I... am going home... and sleeping... Good night..." He went off, muttering, "Stupid prank... I'll show them... Scared the hell out of me... Jeez..."
They all laughed as he left.
"Well, I suggest you two do the same... From here on out, its gonna be you, me, and a buddy called training."
They walked off. Naruto's shadow clone poofed away.
All right... Now to start my training... And with that, Naruto began working on the intricate footwork and the upper body motions that went with it. It turned out it was actually much like a dance one he got it smoother and the fine points perfected, and it soon flowed easily into a series of movements. It came rather naturally, and as his body moved he seemed like a graceful yet deadly torpedo, spiraling throughout the training area, dodging, jabbing, and stabbing through the crowd of 'enemies.'
"Are the homes fully set up for the ninjas and everything unpacked?"
"Yes." the ninja answered.
"Very good." Tsunade said. "Now, the war planning begins... The enemy has about 8,000 – three thousand of which are fallen – correct?"
Itachi nodded. "There is an easier way though. The Akatsuki leader trusts no one... So, just in case the people controlling the fallen ones revolted, he made a back up crystal which controls every single fallen ninja. It is in the Akatsuki base."
"So who do you intend on sending there?" Tsunade asked.
"I suggest we members of the Akatsuki along with one or two other ninjas go there and destroy it... Meanwhile, you will fight ninjas; keep stalling until see the fallen ninjas drop dead – that would be the signal... Then, you can take on the rest. We have about 8,000 ninjas ourselves – 8,000 on 5,000. The odds seem pretty good. But, if they don't drop dead, or you can't last anymore, we'll have to do it the hard way."
"Killing every ninja out there and destroying all the crystals each ninja has." Gaara said.
Itachi nodded.
"But how will you come back?" the Raikage asked.
Itachi emotionlessly said, "We don't... If the Akatsuki leader is there, which there will be a good chance that he is, we won't make it out... We'll probably be able to destroy the crystal in any case, and that will make certain your victory. If the Aktasuki leader isn't there, then his two loyal guards will be there... One of them I'm stronger than... One of them I'm not... In any case, me, Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara can kill them. And that's all you need to worry about."
"And if he is there?"
"We'll all die, perhaps one of his guards, and the crystal may or may not be broken."
A sudden silence fell.
"So, who do you plan on taking with you?" Tsunade said.
"Not any of the medical ninja... That's for sure, nor the kages. We just need one person..."
"Who?" Tsunade said, gripping her cup tighter.
"Naruto."
The cup shattered. "No!"
"You don't have a choice. He's coming either way. He's the only one who has a chance against the Akatsuki leader, and so it will help if he's there. Plus, with him, the crystal will definitely be destroyed."
"Why Naruto?" she said getting even louder.
Itachi, however, retained his composure. "Because the Akatsuki leader is from the Main House of the Uzumakis."
Not a word was spoken.
After this digested into everyone's head, Tsunade breathed out ever so softly, "Wh-What?"
"Uzumaki Naruto is from the Branch House of the Uzumaki clan. His father originally left the clan and its Utopia paradise city because of its biased laws."
"How do you know?"
"Do you see any trace of an Uzumaki clan in Konoha?"
Silence.
"Arashi took his love and they had Naruto. Of course, they both died during the attack of the kyuubi, but that's an aside. The point is, the Main House, all of them, had the full powers of the Ryoushagan. However, only about 30 of the Branch House did... Arashi and his lover being two of them. Of course, then, Naruto would, too. And the Akatsuki leader does... So, Naruto is the only one who has a chance. That's why we need to go with him."
Tsunade collapsed on her chair, stared blankly at the table, and said, "My... God..."
Phaidra now came.
"Phaidra, about time."
"Itachi... how pleasant..."
"As nice a reunion as this is, we have more pressing matters." he blankly stated.
"Indeed." and she, too, sat.
"I suggest you tell them the truth..." Itachi said.
Phaidra cleared her throat. "I am Phaidra, as Jiraiya conveniently knows. I am from the Main House of the Uzumaki clan... When I was only a child, the Akatsuki leader began his revolt..." and so she explained his entire history of greatness, and, finally, his devastating move. "Well, my father was the head of the Main House, and so he knew ways to get out... He immediately through me out... As I went, I saw him come and murder my father... He, too, was in the Main House... He was, in fact... My brother..."
They stared, paralyzed.
"I'm sure Naruto has told you of the levels by now... I stared at him there... Level 25..." she shuddered.
Incredible... was the thought that ran through all of their minds.
Itachi shook his head. "He's improved since then... He set up Akatsuki, got scrolls, more and more jutsus, and he's improved."
"Is he a jinchuuriki?" Gaara asked.
Itachi shook his head. "He gave the bijuus to the others... He knew the truth – being a jinchuuriki shortens your life span... It does give you more powers, but what's the point when you can just copy them? He gave them to others and watched them fight... One by one he got their powers and recorded and mastered them... All he's missing is one... And he'll never get it, now..."
They all nodded.
And the planning continued...
Naruto soon was able to master this new style with weights, but he wasn't able to truly get it, as he had no one to practice it against. He smiled as he thought of the one person whom he would simply love to best – Kakashi, of course. Every student's dream is grow up, humble, mature, and respectful. Learning from the teacher was a privilege, not a right. Once the student mastered his lessons, his one true dream was to... KICK HIS SENSEI'S ASS! And that's exactly what Naruto intended to do...
"Let's go sensei!"
"All right... Let's see if your training paid off..." he said putting his book down.
Excitement gripped Naruto, but he forced himself to calm down; the style didn't work at all when one was excited or agitated. It needed a cool mind, which, in itself, was hard to do.
Naruto breathed deeply, exhaled, and entered his stance.
Kakashi didn't remove his sharingan. That's an odd stance... "So, taijutsu only?"
"You can use whatever you want. I'm going to only use taijutsu... After all, that's why I'm doing this exercise."
"Fine by me... But you're going to regret it." Kakashi went into his stance. No need for it... yet... And with that, they began.
Kakashi waited for Naruto; Naruto waited for Kakashi, mentally reviewing all the sequences – for this was the day he had trained for – the day he would kick his sensei's ass. Seeing this was going nowhere, Kakashi rushed at him. He kept going until he was three feet from Naruto and he began his punch. Stretching his arm, Naruto simply moved his head out of the way, waiting for an open point. But Kakashi didn't want to give him that chance; he now moved his knee into Naruto's stomach, but Naruto simply pulled himself to the left in a clean, gliding motion, by using his left leg and his right simply trailing on the floor; his hands were still in his pockets.
What the hell? Kakashi now fell to the floor, landed on his arm, and made a kick to Naruto's head upwards, but Naruto cleanly caught it with his hands, gently brought it down, and threw Kakshi back. What kind of style is this? Naruto was still smiling, arms in pockets again.
Holy smokes... It's working like hell... Naruto now decided to go on the offensive; running gracefully to Kakashi, Naruto jumped up, made a kick to his head, didn't finish it, turned his body, and reverted to a punch. But Naruto's blow didn't even finish – for he fell to the ground and made a swipe to Kakashi's feet to knock him off balance. Kakashi tried blocking these, but Naruto changed so many times he completely lost track. He fell to the ground but used body flicker to reappear from behind. Naruto simply ducked from the kunai, grabbed his arms so that he couldn't use them, and kicked Kakashi in the stomach.
Coughing, he got up. "All right, that's enough..."
Naruto was beaming.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you..."
"It's okay, sensei... I respect you far too much to – I KICKED YOUR ASS SO DAMN HARD! WHAT NOW?"
Kakashi sighed. "This was bound to happen one day... I'm glad it was before I turned fifty or my back would've really hurt..."
"HEY! WHY ARE YOU KICKING OLD GUYS' BUTTS?" Phaidra yelled from far away.
"Yes, and you, being an ancient demon couldn't possibly be old, could you?"
Naruto approached Hinata, bruised, broken leg, and bandage on his head. Hinata rushed towards him.
"What happened?"
"Ummm... Can I not say?"
"What happened?" Hinata said sternly.
"I called Phaidra old... And then challenged her to a taijutsu sparring session... and then called her ugly..." With anyone else, no sympathy would've been offered.
But, fortunately for Naruto, this was Hinata; she gave him a kiss and said, "That was completely your fault."
"How am I supposed to know she knew my style so damn well... Stupid..."
She made Naruto lie down...
"What are you always writing, Hinata?"
"I'll tell you when its done, Naruto-kun."
"Please?"
"No!"
"Be that way...sniffle..."
"Hey, sensei, how are we supposed to train if you're lying down?"
"Good point." he whispered.
"ENOUGH VISITING! NARUTO-KUN NEEDS HIS REST!" the tyrant Hinata appeared, making everyone's face turned pale.
"B-But, Hinata-san, w-we're his students --"
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GOD! YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASSES OUT!"
Damn it... I'm fine already... Ugh... Naruto suddenly got up.
"Naruto --"
Naruto embraced her in a deep and passionate kiss. When he let her go, she was panting for air and hugged him.
Meanwhile, Naruto signaled his students to run. Then, disappearing himself, he went to them. "Jeez, I thought Hinata would never let me go... Anyways, now, we can begin. Here's my plan for us. You, Monroe, you're going to be my heir – you'll know all of my secrets, my techniques, my philosophies, and the one pupil you have, you will pass those on, understand?"
Monroe was beaming. "Yes, sensei!"
"Hey, why does he get to be the --"
"Jenna, you will become the greatest Elementalist to walk the face of this planet – and the strongest kunoichi. Understood?"
She nodded, now pleased.
"As for you, T, you're going to the best Uchiha ever. My brother was an Uchiha himself, and so I know many of the techniques. You have to master all the techniques andmaster the sharingan. Any objections?"
Silence.
"Good, now, we need to get a lot done. So, we have three areas, jutsus, genjutsu, and taijutsu. You all will learn my style – as taijutsu is the only area we can do together, all right?"
They all nodded.
"Then, during ninjutsu, you'll all learn some basic ones, but after that you'll split up, learning your separate jutsus. I'll monitor your growth and make sure you're on track. After that, you'll continue the path to genjutsu, and finally, you'll all come back and work on the teamwork. We're going to the most kick ass team ever. Anyone object to kicking the enemies' asses?"
"ALL RIGHT!" they all cheered.
Naruto nodded...
As he trained them in the taijutsu style, he had Phaidra train him after he apologized in the style, as she was much better at it than he, and he improved drastically, as did his team.
They trained for one week like this, training, Naruto coaching, the children having individual attention, and Naruto monitoring their progress. At the end, he gathered them. "Guys, for the next to weeks, you're going to train for your lives. At the end of the month, we're all going to set off on a mission... Its higher than S Class," he said, to show them the severity. "Originally, only some Akatsuki members and I were going to go... But I say to hell. We're a team aren't we?"
"Yes..." they said quietly.
"I can't hear you!"
"YES!"
"Good, cuz guys, this is going to be one of your most serious missions. And that's why I want you to train... Because at the end, I have to face the strongest ninja in the world... And I'm not likely to come out alive. So, if I do fail, I'll tell you guys what to do... Me not living is not going to stop me from making you the next three Senin, if not the strongest ninjas in the world... So, Itachi sensei, meet T. T, Itachi sensei. He'll train you with the sharingan. Make use of it, I had to take unimaginable efforts to persuade him."
T frowned. "Will he do a good job?"
"He trained me, didn't he? Besides... This is personal for him, too... So I trust him."
T looked curious.
"T, his name's Uchiha Itachi."
"He's the one that --"
He took T next to him. Whispering, he said, "I know he did... But believe me, if he didn't have to, he wouldn't have... Trust him for now, and I'll explain it later... Okay?"
Silence.
"Promise me."
T nodded. "Okay."
"Good." he said louder and patted him away.
"Shikamaru, take Jenna to the Nara scrolls... Teach her everything you know, and everything the scrolls have."
"How troublesome..." but he accepted.
"Jenna, don't hold back, now. He's a genius – 220 IQ. Trust him, he'll do a good job. Okay?"
She cried.
"Jenna, we will see each other again... But only if you train. You promise?"
She nodded.
Naruto knew how she felt – exactly how he did about Iruka. "Monroe!"
Monroe stepped forward.
"Go to the scrolls at my house and take them. You're training with Jiraiya-sama."
"Isn't the the Ero --"
"Monroe..."
He gulped, realizing this was the 'serious moment'. "Right." he nodded.
"Good..." They have one week... After that, we're setting off to destroy that crystal... Meanwhile, I have to master this style as well.
Reaching his house, he found the book that Hinata was constantly writing in. Opening it, he read:
The greatest thing that ever happened to me – Naruto-kun.
It was filled with her emotions on what she thought of Naruto; it was her diary as well. Reading through the pages, he came to the back. There was only one page that wasn't finished. It began:
Naruto-kun's Hokage acceptance speech:
That's why she hasn't finished... Naruto chuckled. Taking a pen, he began writing in it. Once he was done, he went to Hinata, who was busily cooking. Her back was turned to him, but she knew he was there. Hugging her, he asked, "What's in that book of yours?" even though he already knew.
"I'm not telling Naruto-kun... Besides, just wait. I'm almost done, okay. Just need one more page..." she said, still cooking.
He nibbled her ear gently and kissed her cheek. "I love you..."
"I love you, too, but I need to cook!"
"Hinata..."
"Yes?" she asked exasperatedly."
"After this whole war crap is over, and I come back... Will... Will you marry me?" he popped the question. It was so random and unexpected, he didn't even have a ring. But that's what Hinata loved about him.
Silence. Hinata's mind froze... It was the question that she had been waiting for her entire life, but now that it came, she just couldn't... do anything! She dropped the the plate she was carrying. Finally, she whirled around and kissed Naruto as hard as she could. Once they broke away, she said, "Yes, YES, YES! I will!" and she hugged him as hard as she could.
"So, what's the occasion, Hinata-chan? You're shopping?" Sakura asked.
Hinata was red. "Um... Naruto-kun just proposed to me..."
"And?" Ino urged.
"So, is he good?" TenTen asked.
Hinata nodded.
Cheers and applause erupted.
"All right Hinata-chan! Yay!"
"So, have you done it, comrade?" Lee asked.
"Did you ask her yet?" Kiba questioned.
"Man, you're so lame... I'm getting tired..." Shikamaru commented.
"All right, I did! I asked her, happy?"
They all smiled. "And?" Simultaneously the question came.
"She said yes!"
Cheers erupted.
"Yo! Two more sakes! On me!" Lee said.
"Um, Lee... May be you shouldn't --"
Too late...
"Hey... Wazzu lookin' at?"
Naruto, Neiji, Shikamaru, and Kiba pinned him down, waiting for the drink to wear off.
Soon the news spread throughout all of Konoha, and the Naruto-kun Marry Me Please Club was dismantled. (They were asking for it anyways...)
Soon enough, he mastered this new style and it was time to go. He just had one last thing to do – test his team as to how much they had improved.
He took out one bells this time. "I''m going to do the exact same thing my sensei did to my team." he smiled widely.
Their smiles diminished a bit.
"Only, I'll make it a little easier. You all are against me. All you have to do is get this bell. Simple enough?"
They all nodded.
"Anything goes – taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu... Whatever you want. Remember, this is the last chance for training before we head out... Take this seriously."
There was no need to say it. They all nodded. Walking into the forest, they began. Naruto was allowed a three second head start.
"You're giving me a three second head start?"
"Yup! What's the matter sensei?" Jenna asked.
"You're loss." and Naruto was gone. He didn't activate the Ryoushagan just yet... He wanted their new levels to be a surprise.
"Have you found him yet?" Jenna whispered.
Bingo... You shouldn't let your enemy see you... Haven't I taught you that...
Jenna
Threat Level – 15
Jutsus: Elementalist Abilities; Dancing Wind Style Taijutsu; Shadow Fusion no Jutsu
Naruto's eyes widened at that last one. Isn't that the clan secret... Shit... Shikamaru taught her EVERYTHING... This could be bad... Now she just needs to improve... May be after the war I'll take her to the monastery... They'd all benefit from that...
"Bingo... One-third kilometer west." T replied.
T
Threat Level – 16
Jutsus: Hellish Doom no jutsu; Sacred Resurrection no jutsu; Mengekyuou Sharingan
Naruto gulped. Shit... Itachi! Damn you! Now what the hell am I going to do... Crap... Wait... Mengekyuou? Naruto knew that now it was only practice that was left. He would have to work hard to get his jutsu speed up... Then, he'd be one serious opponent.
"All right. My turn." Monroe smiled.
Ah, yes...
Monroe
Threat Level – 15
Jutsus: Rasengan; Summoning no jutsu; Flying Thunder God no jutsu
Damn it... I forgot... I let him go through the scrolls at home... This means... The only advantage I have over him is my experience and my bloodline limit... I should not have done this... I should have gotten at least a teammate...
Monroe appeared right behind his sensei and delivered a kick, but Naruto caught his foot and paralyzed him immediately; unfortunately, Monroe poofed away. Shit... Shadow clone... From behind, the real Monroe came and made a rasengan – not at Naruto, but the tree branch. The branch gave way and Naruto fell. Using body flicker, he got up again, only to find a trap waiting for him. T and Jenna both used their full chakra to engage the trap – Naruto was caught in a mini version of the Indignation, only it was fire instead of lightning. Coming from T's Katon jutsu, Naruto was trapped.
What the hell? "Hey... T... Why is Sensei smiling?"
"I don't know..."
"Well, this will stop him." Monroe ran up and made a rasengan at the Naruto, but Naruto poofed away; it, too, was a shadow clone. Now, Monroe was hit by the fire balls and fell down. Naruto came from behind using FTG and pinned all three of them down, but Jenna and T disappeared using the substitution jutsu. Monroe was out of the game... for now...
"Hey! There's Monroe."
"Yes... But its most likely a trap, and Monroe is the bait."
"So let's go through the back side."
T nodded.
Naruto simply walked up, carrying Monroe.
"So, you gonna get your teammate back or what?"
But they were shadow clones. The real Jenna and T came from behind. Naruto simply disappeared and landed blows on both of them, but it was worth it for T and Jenna. Because of the blow, he activated chakra traps which homed in on him. Naruto had to use his full ability to get away, but even then he was bruised. They came at him again, but this time, Naruto used genjutsu to stop them, only to be stopped by T's sharingan. Jenna came at him and caught him in a Kage Mane – it was all over for Naruto.
T used Katon to burn Naruto to a crisp... or rather, he wanted to burn Naruto to a crisp. True, Naruto couldn't move, but he didn't need to. Naruto simply gathered as much chakra as he could and just released it. It knocked away the fireball as well as the two genins. Naruto then immediately used a paralysis jutsu on the two of them as well.
"Not bad! Looks like you guys have got this teamwork thing down!"
"To a reasonable extent." T said.
Naruto nodded.
"Have the defense jutsus been activated yet?"
"Hai. The sand sheild, the lightning barrier, and the fire wall have all been activated."
"Good. Make sure the farmers produce twice as many crops – we're going to have to feed a lot."
"Hai."
"Has the armor and weapons been made ready?"
"Hai."
"Good. Get the medics ready. Naruto and the others will leave... and we're set... The war for our lives... has begun."
Okay, yeah, I know. It was a really long wait, and it wasn't even a long chapter. I know, and I'm sorry. Lately, I've come across a severe writer's block, and I can't seem to think or do anything... That's why I gave up on this story and did another one. But, going back, I re-read all the reviews I got and decided why give up, right? Well, the next chapter will be the last.
Chapter Preview: Naruto sets off – to the crystal, and beyond! Of course, the war begins... How does it end? You will never guess... evil laugh But you'll see that later.
Other junk: I've started my other story of course, True Freedom. It's NaruSaku; yes, I am a major Sakura basher, and I've decided to apologize to all the Sakura fans I insulted by writing a NaruSaku. I mean, come on, being born as Sakura is punishment enough, right? Let's go easy on her. J.K. :P But that's it for now. I've also decided to start another story, An ANBU'S Tale. It'll be rated M for gore and violence... Not so much for romance; it'll be fluff, but no lemon. Well, until next time.