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"Sakura-chan!" - Regular Speech
'Baka!' - Thoughts
:Shannaro!: - Inner Sakura
[Quest Announcement] - Gamer Ability/Notification
Chapter 11: The Root of the Problem
The Next Day, Early Morning
Hidden Root Base
Shimura Danzō walked down the corridor of his base, the cane he held in one hand thumping against the white stone floor as he did so. The crippled old man had calmed down since his outburst the previous day and had since rethought his plan.
He would need to delay Sarutobi Asuma's move into the Amekage Apartments, so the little 'accident' section of his hastily formed plan was unchanged. The part that needed alteration was his ill-conceived attempt to snatch the Jinchūriki from Training Ground 13. Sarutobi was many things; soft on foreigners, soft on the domestic front, sentimental and weak about a great deal of things, but one thing he was not was stupid.
Doubtless he had ANBU watching not only The Weapon's home, but The Weapon himself. If the old monkey caught wind of his Ne Operatives lurking around the Jinchūriki that he was coddling, Danzō would be up to his armpits in ANBU before he could say 'knife' three times fast.
So then, the obvious thing to do would be to use Nuke-Nin (Missing Ninja) to test the brat first. That had been his first thought, but he had shot it down. Let foreign scum into Konoha? It was bad enough during the Chunin Exams, but honourless scum like Missing Ninja, inside his home? No.
So then, he would manufacture some missing ninja. Fortunately, Ne had a large store of foreign ninja apparel and weaponry that they had 'acquired' in the many years it had been active, both officially and unofficially.
Just to be certain, he was having the squad he had chosen modified with the Ninpō: Karada no Chōkoku (Ninja Art: Body Sculpting) technique, so their faces, at the very least, would look vastly different. That, combined with the different clothing, weapons and hitai-ate that he was going to provide them, would mask the origins of his men.
The operation had several possible objectives. The first would, obviously, be to kidnap the Jinchūriki and flee from Konoha, depositing The Weapon in one of the hidden tunnels outside Konoha that led to the main base of Ne.
If that proved impossible, then a true evaluation of the Jinchūriki's fighting abilities would be their goal. In a fight for his life (or so he would believe), the boy would go all out in a panic. That wouldn't prove hard to handle, considering all of the team he was sending to capture the boy were all at least High-Chunin level and the boy was, chakra aside, only a High-Genin at absolute best.
A side objective would be forcing the boy's ANBU watchdogs to break cover, which would give his men a chance to discover clues as to their identities AND cause a break in the boy's faith in the old monkey at finding out he was constantly under the aegis of the ANBU.
Win-Win-Win, as far as Danzō was concerned.
At length, he entered the medical lab where the team was undergoing their body modifications. The four ninja were being attended to by several Ne Med-nin. None were on the level of Tsunade of the Sannin, but many hands make light work regardless.
"Operative #34, report." Danzō commanded.
"Agents #543, 647, 753 and 412 will be fully modified by midday, Danzō-sama." the head Med-nin replied in a monotone.
'Agents' were the low-ranking field ninja of Ne, while 'Operatives' were the senior wing. Very similar to the Chunin/Jonin divide.
"And how long until they are back to full usability?" Danzō demanded.
"It is estimated at being between six and seven hours post-surgery." #34 replied.
Danzō nodded. "Very well. Inform me immediately upon the recovery of these four. I will give them their instructions personally."
"Hai, Danzō-sama."
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Later
Sakura's Home
Haruno Sakura grunted in mild pain as her father easily threw her over his shoulder and onto the ground of the small training area that he had in the basement of their house. She hadn't known it was here until her father had decided to improve her Taijutsu. What had made it worse was Naruto was doing exactly the same when she visited him. Her body had never ached more than in the last month or so.
"Mind in the game, Sakura-chan." Kizashi scolded her.
"Sorry, Otou-san." she apologized, "It's just that between you and Naruto training me five days a week, I'm a bit tired."
"You'll get used to it." her father informed her briskly, "As long as you don't overdo it, you should notice that your endurance will increase gradually. Up you get now."
"Fine." Sakura moaned as she staggered to her feet, "By the way, Naruto recommended that I get a better outfit for when I graduate."
"Sensible." was all Kizashi would say.
"Otou-san, what exactly is wrong with my outfit?" Sakura gestured at her battle dress.
"Nothing's wrong, per-se." Kizashi corrected, "It's merely that it's too bright and not armoured. In a C-Rank mission, you would be all but defenseless and have to rely on the Kawarimi no Jutsu, natural speed and agility and pure luck to avoid enemy attacks. Not to mention it would be hard to blend in with the red colour."
"But these are the colours of the Haruno Clan!" Sakura protested.
"You should wear a clan patch on your clothes to declare your clan affiliation, but you should choose a more subdued colour scheme for combat missions." her father advised her, "Preferably with some armour covering your vital locations, if not your limbs as well."
The pinkette winced at the thought of having her arms or legs targeted by enemy ninja and resolved to get armguards and leg-guards.
"Your mother said that Naruto-san was wearing new clothes." Kizashi mused, "Do you happen to know where he got them?"
"He said from a place called Higurashi's." Sakura replied, "Chōji said it was a high-end place."
"They make the best damn ninja gear in Konoha is more like it." the pink-haired man snorted, "The stuff for genin is very reasonably priced given how high quality it is. We'll go there a couple of days before your graduation and buy you a combat outfit. You can wear your usual outfit for D-Ranks. Now, how are you coming along with that jutsu Naruto-san gave you?"
Sakura beamed. "It's such an easy jutsu to use! I don't get why Naruto can't use it himself."
Demonstrating, she walked over to a sparing post and smashed her fist into it, leaving a sizable dent that was shockingly out of proportion to what her skinny arms should have been capable of.
"…you do realise that most people wait until they're Chunin before they learn that jutsu?" her father deadpanned.
"Eh?!" Sakura looked shocked.
"The chakra control requirement to use this technique usually takes quite a lot of time to perfect." he noted blandly, "Yet to you, it's easy. Little cherry blossom of mine, I think I should invest in a genjutsu scroll of mine for you."
"Otou-san, please don't call me that if we're in public!" his daughter whined.
Later
With Naruto
The blond boy looked at the screen in front of him as he sat down at his table.
[Level Requirements]
Some weapons, armour and other items have minimum requirements before you can use them in combat. This might be as simple as a minimum level to reach before they can be used, while others can vary between various stat requirements, completed quests or a certain monster needs to be slain or even a mixture of all of the above.
While training with weapons, all requirements are ignored.
"What a fricking pain." Naruto grumbled. He was only Level 12; Tsubaki and Sumire required level 15 in order to wield them. There went his big plan to cut a swath through Sub-Area 3 of Training Ground 13.
There again, it's only three levels, so maybe he could power level somehow?
Shaking his head, the Uzumaki decided to leave it be for the moment. Everything was prepared for when Asuma moved in. The utility companies had -reluctantly- acknowledged the soon-to-be increase in power and water his place was about to have and his clones, after some trial and error, had turned on the electricity and water for Asuma's chosen apartment. Right now, the taps were all on, allowing any buildup of contaminants and rust to be vomited out and removed from the pipes.
His clones (thank kami for Shadow Clones) had also been busy dusting and cleaning the entire apartment until it looked spotless. If nothing else, it would look good when Asuma arrived. All that was left to clean were the sinks and the bath/shower once they stopped vomiting up rust and dirt.
"Calligraphy practice then." he shrugged and made some more Kage Bunshin. After getting his calligraphy stuff out, he joined his clones in working at it. What with all of the physical training he'd been doing in the last month, calligraphy had kinda fallen to the wayside, but he was still only a little away from gaining the tenth level in his [Calligraphy] skill, the requisite level needed to learn [Basic Fūinjutsu].
After an hour of effort, he dispelled his clones and accumulated all of the experience they had built up. The result was gratifying.
[Calligraphy] has levelled up! LV9-LV10!
"Finally!" Naruto cheered. He hurriedly reached inside his inventory and drew out the scroll he had been carrying around for over a month.
[You have acquired the 'Basic Fūinjutsu' Scroll]
Do you wish to learn it?
Y/N
"Bet your ass I do!" Naruto muttered and stabbed the 'Y' button with one finger. Much to his relief, the scroll dissolves into blue light and is absorbed into him as usual.
[Basic Fūinjutsu] (Passive/Active) [LV1, 00.00]
Fūinjutsu is the art of writing out formulae aimed towards a specific end. It is said that so long as you have the correct formula and enough chakra to activate it, there is nothing that you cannot do. Be warned however, as one wrong stroke can cause explosions of a life threatening nature. You are not able to experiment with only [Basic Fūinjutsu].
Members of the Uzumaki Clan have a natural flair with and understanding of Fūinjutsu and receive a +5 bonus to all attempts at the art.
Basic Fūinjutsu allows you to create basic storage scrolls. At higher levels, you can create storage scrolls that can hold more in them. Then you unlock basic Exploding Tags.
- Allows the creation of [Type-1 Konohagakure-style Storage Scrolls].
- Requires 100 CP in order to empower each scroll.
- 25% chance of failure (Includes bonus of Uzumaki Bonus).
- Practicing Fūinjutsu also gives bonus EXP to [Calligraphy].
Beneath all that were the step-by-step instructions on how to create a storage scroll. Naruto was a bit put out that it would only hold a single kunai or shuriken, but it was a place to start, if nothing else.
"OK you guys!" Naruto declared, "We are gonna practice Fūinjutsu like crazy! These practice scrolls are all very fine and dandy, but not for combat!"
"Boss, we're almost out of ink." one clone stated.
"Yeah, and we only have about twenty blank scrolls." another added.
"Grrr…fine." the Uzumaki growled, "You turn into Iruka-sensei and go get us more ink. You go to Higurashi's and buy as many blank scrolls as you can!"
"On it boss!" the clones chorus and leave the apartment at a run.
"Meanwhile, you guys start practicing on this storage scroll." Naruto continued, creating and then dispelling another Shadow Clone so its knowledge was spread throughout the pre-existing clones, "Then go outside to the roof -away from the flowers! - and activate them."
As the other clones started grabbing scrolls, Naruto mused that having Shadow Clones was something of a lifesaver. This way, he could test the scrolls without having to risk getting blown up in person.
A Short While Later
With Iruka
The scarred chunin was taking a stroll over to see his favourite student when he heard the explosion.
It clearly came from Naruto's apartment building, so Iruka immediately used a Shunshin to teleport to his destination immediately. Landing on the roof in a puff of smoke, he was shocked to see the burnt and tattered remains of a scroll lying on the floor.
"OK." a familiar voice said, much to the chunin's relief, "That last part on the secondary array was not right. How many of you numbskulls did it the same as him? Only one of you? Good. Let's try that again, shall we?"
"Naruto?" Iruka called out cautiously. The blond hair of his student poked out the door, followed by his blue eyes.
"Iruka-sensei? How'd you get on my roof?" the blond boy asked in puzzlement.
"Well when I heard a loud bang coming from here, I used the Shunshin no Jutsu to come here as fast as I could." Iruka explained, "Now, judging by the techno-babble you just spouted and the remnants of the scroll out here, you've started working on Fūinjutsu, right?"
"Yeah, just those wimpy type-1 scrolls." Naruto replied with a small pout, "I mean, what's the point of having a sealing array that only seals a single kunai or shuriken?"
"It has to do with standardisation." Iruka explained, "All ordinary kunai and shuriken have a standard weight and size. This makes them very easy to acquire and use as test items. Besides, never underestimate the usefulness of an extra weapon, no matter how humble, in a pinch."
Naruto nodded at that, somewhat appeased by his explanation.
Iruka spent the next hour correcting the various mistakes that the clones had made in the various test scrolls that they had made. Some, he informed them, were very basic mistakes made by rookie seal masters. Others were just as a result of bad penmanship, which he was determined to correct.
Privately, Iruka was very impressed with the speed with which Naruto had learned and practiced his calligraphy. Only one month after he had started, he was at the bare minimum level of penmanship needed to use the most basic of Fūinjutsu. While that would be expected of a high clan such as the Uchiha or Hyūga, for someone deprived of such upbringing to accomplish it almost entirely on his own was quite the feat.
"OK, this one looks like it'll work." Iruka said after carefully examining the latest of Naruto's creations. He wasn't an expert in Fūinjutsu by any means, but he was modestly skilled in the art, making explosive tags for the few missions that he took in addition to his teaching job. Certainly, he was skilled enough to spot a major or minor error in a simple storage scroll.
Once more, a 'volunteer' Shadow Clone strode out onto the roof to activate the storage scroll. This time, thank kami, it didn't blow up.
"That's the first test passed." Iruka said with an approving nod.
"What're the other tests?" Naruto asked.
"You have to seal and unseal a kunai a couple of times to see if it works properly." the chunin explained, "Then you can say that it works."
Nodding, the blond boy opened his leg holster, pulled out a kunai by the ring and tossed it to his test-clone. The clone reluctantly placed the weapon on top of the scroll and pressed one finger to the array. In a puff of chakra smoke, the dagger-like weapon vanished and the kanji for kunai (苦無) appeared in the centre of the scroll.
"Next." the clone muttered as he pulsed chakra into the array again, unsealing the kunai in another puff of smoke. After repeating the experiment a couple more times for good measure, the frazzled clone dispels and Naruto went over and scooped up the scroll before proffering it to Iruka.
"Err…Iruka-sensei, you can have this if you want." he mumbled bashfully.
Iruka was actually touched by this. It was Naruto's first successful piece of Fūinjutsu and he was giving it to his teacher.
"Thanks you Naruto." he said with a smile as he rolled the small scroll up and pocketed it, "I'll make good use of it. If you want me to help you out with any other Fūinjutsu, just let me know."
"Sure!" Naruto beamed.
Naruto POV
After talking for a while longer, Iruka took his leave and Naruto dispelled the clones, prompting a rush of memories and a deluge of screens popping up.
"Jeez, you'd think they'd only come one at a time." he grumbled good naturedly, "Lessee here…"
The first couple were notices that his [Calligraphy] skill had gained bonus EXP from his attempts at Fūinjutsu. About a hundred point overall, which wasn't anything to sneeze at.
Next was the notice regarding the failure of the first storage scroll, which sucked.
The second-to-last set was very interesting. Apparently, similar to when the chunin Kitamura helped him with his Shurikenjutsu, having Iruka do one-on-one tutoring had given him an EXP bonus on top of the bonus he received for being a member of the Uzumaki Clan. He was already close to Level 2 in [Fūinjutsu].
The last was very interesting.
[Hidden Quest Unlocked!]
By starting down the path of using Fūinjutsu, you have become eligible for the hidden quest [Honouring Your Ancestors]!
Honouring Your Ancestors: You come from a distinguished line of Fūinjutsu users. Honour their memory by becoming a Sealing Master Adept in four years or less!
Quest Goal: Master [Basic Fūinjutsu], [Intermediate Fūinjutsu], [Advanced Fūinjutsu], [Master-Grade Fūinjutsu] and their Uzumaki equivalents in the next four years.
Quest Reward: Title: [Uzumaki Sealmaster], 100000 EXP, Map of Uzushiogakure.
Quest Failure: Death
Accept?
Y/N
"Yet another chance for me to die if I fail." Naruto grumbled as he jabbed the 'Y' button, "Meh."
After that, the blond boy reheated some katsudon that he'd had for dinner the previous night and used the last of his rice in the rice cooker for lunch. He would have to go shopping again soon, which would mean transforming into someone else so he wasn't gouged.
He sighed and looked out his money. He would have to buy a week's worth so that meant…damn. That's a lot of Ryo. He could afford it, but it wouldn't be cheap. Even without the shopkeepers gouging him with prices, food prices in Konoha had skyrocketed thanks to Kusagakure engaging in a small war with Takigakure, according to Iruka-sensei.
"Time to see what Tenten-chan thinks of those bokken I got from Training Area 13." he muttered as he headed down to the dojo. After carefully counting them out, he had thirty wooden swords, all in perfect condition, not counting that strange golden bokken.
Leaving out six bokken for himself, Naruto sealed the rest into the one storage scroll that he owned and headed out to Higurashi's in order to see if they would buy the practice weapons from him.
After walking through Konoha (and earning yet another level in [Detect Bloodthirst]), Naruto entered the weapons shop proper, only to be tackle-hugged by an enthusiastic brunette.
"Naruto! Thank you!" Tenten crowed gleefully, "Now I can get my sword!"
"Ten-chan…let him breathe." her mother said absently from behind the counter as she sharpened a Tachi.
Tenten squeaked and let go of Naruto, who was once again blue in the face from the Weapons Mistress' enthusiastic glomp.
"You're…welcome, Tenten-san." he wheezed once he had breath back in his lungs as the genin kunoichi fussed over him apologetically.
"So what can we do for you this time, Naruto-kun?" Kanae asked as she carefully placed the sword she was sharpening on the counter, "You were in here just a few hours ago for blank scrolls."
"For Fūinjutsu?" Tenten asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Just made my first Type-1 storage scroll earlier on today with Iruka-sensei's help." the blond boy replied, "But I'm not here about that. I found some things in Training Ground 13 that I need to sell. The food prices are going up thanks to that war in Kusa."
Kanae made a face. "I know, but hopefully that won't go on for much longer. What do you have to offer us?"
Naruto took out the scroll, placed it on the counter and unsealed the swords. "These."
The Higurashi Matriarch picked up the nearest bokken and examined it with a critical eye, even going so far as to give it an experimental practice swing. Replacing it on the counter, she asked carefully, "And you say you found these in Training Ground 13?"
"Yep."
"Hmm…how does ten-thousand Ryo per blade sound to you?" she asked.
Naruto grinned. "Sold."
Tenten carried the swords to the section that was made up entirely of practice weapons as her mother counted out two-hundred and forty thousand Ryo and handed it over to Naruto, who tucked it into Gama-chan.
You gain 240, 000 Ryo!
"I suppose that explains where that shipment went missing, at least." Kanae sighed.
"Sorry?" Naruto asked.
"A couple of months back, half of one of our shipments of wooden practice weapons went missing." Tenten explained as she came back, "There were bokken, practice spears, nagamaki, naginata, all sorts in the shipment. Cost us a fair bit of Ryo to replace."
"Oh. I've found ten or so practice spears too." Naruto said, "I'll bring them tomorrow. I guess since they were yours to begin with I should give you your money back."
"No." Kanae denied adamantly, "Consider the money we pay you as a finder's fee. The shipment was insured and we got paid for it. Bandit attack, of all the bad luck."
"What worries me is the fact that they turned up in TG 13 in the first place." Tenten put in, "That would imply there's a hole in the defences that non-chakra users can exploit in there."
"I'll have a look next time I'm in there." Naruto shrugged, "I'm planning on moving into Sub-Area 3 tomorrow. The first Sub-Area had chakra mutated squirrels and the second had chakra mutated moles, so I'm curious to see what this next are has in store for me."
"I see." Kanae nodded before turning to her daughter, "Ten-chan, what are you up to tomorrow?"
Tenten blinked at the apparent non sequitur, but replied, "Nothing, I think. Gai-sensei is off on a solo mission, Neji is off training with his clan and Lee is following some kind of ridiculous training schedule that Gai-sensei left behind for him to follow."
"Why don't you go with Naruto-kun on his training mission tomorrow?" Kanae suggested, "From everything you've said, Naruto-kun, you're more of a close range fighter, right? It would be an idea to see how a ranged fighter like Tenten operates. She's very, very good at Shurikenjutsu."
"Okaa-san!" the brunette flushed in embarrassment at her mother's effusive praise.
"Uh…sure." Naruto nodded, "If Tenten wants to come with me tomorrow, I'm fine with that. It'll be nice to work with an active duty shinobi."
"Sure." Tenten nodded shyly.
"OK then. Meet at my place at midday then." the Uzumaki said with a grin, "Looking forward to working with ya."
After a few more moments of conversation, Naruto headed back to his apartment and Tenten busied herself with polishing more of the swords, leaving Kanae to retreat to the back room and inform her husband of the plans for tomorrow.
"…what are you plotting, oh wife of mine?" Tatsuhiko suspiciously as he hammered the chakra metal before him into the right shape, "This has all the hallmarks of one of your little plots."
"I'm setting Ten-chan up with Naruto-kun." Kanae stated blandly, "If nothing else, they'll become better friends. At best, she might finally get over that Neji boy."
Both adult Higurashi scowled at the mention of one Hyūga Neji. Tenten had been crushing on the boy since the third year of the Academy and had been teamed up with him as she had been Top Kunoichi and he had been Rookie of the Year, with Rock Lee thrown in as the Dobe.
Neji had been breaking her heart ever since, constantly rebuffing any advances she made and generally treating her like an almost-competent lackey, albeit not a very smart one. Let's just say that Tatsuhiko and Kanae were not fond of the boy and leave it at that.
"Naruto-kun is a nice boy, but he is almost a year younger that Ten-chan." Tatsuhiko protested gruffly.
"And I'm five years younger than you." Kanae reminded him gently, "The only other difference between us and them is that Ten-chan is a ninja and Naruto-kun isn't one…yet."
Tatsuhiko, entering protective daddy mode for the first time, did not want his steel-eyed princess (as he called her in the recesses of his mind) to be taken away by a boy quite so soon. Granted, Naruto was a nice enough boy, who knew fine well how strong Tenten was from the couple of times she had almost choked him to death and seemed to respect her, rather than look down on her like more than a few civilian boys did…
..but still! His little girl!
Kanae sighed at seeing the conflict in his eyes. "Anata, she may fall for him, then again she may not. I think that, at the very least, they have the foundations of a solid friendship. Let's just see where it goes, shall we?"
"Yes dear." the blacksmith sighed.
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The Next Day
Amekage Apartments
When Tenten knocked on Naruto's door, she was surprised at the sight of his clones at work, churning out numerous storage scrolls.
"What the heck are those?" she asked him with wide eyes.
"Shadow Clones." Naruto replied, "It's a Kinjutsu that I can use only because I have bucket loads of chakra. Ordinarily, it can only be used by Jonin level ninja, at least."
"Why haven't you graduated if you can use those?" the Weapon's Mistress asked in bewilderment.
"I only learned the technique a month and a half ago." Naruto explained, "It was a special dispensation, I think Iruka-sensei called it, from Jiji, because I can't do the ordinary Bunshin no Jutsu to save my life."
"Seriously? You can't use the Bunshin?" Tenten was taken aback by that before shrugging, "Meh. No one uses that jutsu once they graduate from the Academy anyway. I haven't, not even on the C-Rank missions I've been on."
"Knew it." Naruto muttered.
"So why are they copying stuff out?" she continued.
"Mass production of Type-1 storage scrolls." the Uzumaki replied with a shrug, "Practice makes perfect, after all."
"But they're only clones." Tenten pointed out.
"Yeah, but when they dispel, I get the accumulated experience of their existence." the blond boy pointed out in return, "It's an ability unique to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu that makes learning ninjutsu, Fūinjutsu and book learning a snap."
Higurashi Tenten wasn't a jealous person by nature, but the revelations regarding the usefulness of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu did spark a slight amount of the emotion in her, but she brushed it away with some effort and turned her mind to the question of why he could do this. If he couldn't use the Bunshin, then being able to use a more powerful version must mean that…no, surely not…?
"You have too much chakra and too poor a control on it to use the Bunshin." she said flatly, "While a lack of control doesn't hinder you with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. I'm right, aren't I?"
Naruto nodded sourly. "My inheritance as an Uzumaki means that E-Rank jutsu like the Bunshin are hard or impossible for me to use. I'm actually perfectly good at the Henge no Jutsu and the Kawarimi no Jutsu, but the Bunshin uses too little chakra for me to use it."
"That sucks." Tenten had to wince at that.
"Meh. I'm graduating this time for sure though, so it's all good." Naruto grinned, "Let me grab my kunai pack and we can go."
As the boy dashed into his bedroom to fetch the aforementioned pack of weapons, Tenten had a peek at one of the completed and activated storage scrolls. It was a bit rough, but was otherwise it was very good.
"Nice job." she nodded to the clones, who all blushed.
"Just wait until we get up to regular storage scrolls!" one declared.
"I'd be interested in seeing that." the Weapons Mistress said with a nod.
"Sorry for the wait!" Naruto said as he hurried back into the room, "Right, let's go."
With that, he gestured at the dozen Shadow Clones and they dispelled in twos and threes.
"If I dispel them all at once, I get a headache." Naruto answered the question in Tenten's eyes, "Two or three at a time with a few seconds in between dispersals is fine though."
The older girl nodded, but her mind was working fast. The Shadow Clone Jutsu looked like a very powerful technique, with several drawbacks that justly earned it the title of 'Kinjutsu' in her book.
'Why would Hokage-sama allow Naruto to learn such a dangerous jutsu when he isn't even a genin yet?' she wondered, 'Why not one of the Elemental Clones instead?'
With Naruto
"{Observe}!" Naruto whispered as he looked at Tenten as the two walked down the street, making her profile come up.
Name: Higurashi Tenten
Class: Weapons Mistress
Level: 22| Next Level: 56.32
Title: Genin (+15% EXP to Level 25)
Age: 14
HP: 3650/3650
CP: 2600/2600 [2600/3650]
STR: 41
STA: 42
DEX: 52
INT: 25
WIS: 25
LUK: 15
Special Status: Hawkeye (Passive) (+25% EXP to Shurikenjutsu, +20% chance to hit while using Shurikenjutsu), Unknown Ninja Heritage (?) (?), Intermediate Weapons Combat Mastery (Passive) (+25% EXP to any weapons styles learned).
Perks: - Will of Steel
- True Kunoichi
- Natural Talent (Weapons Mastery)
Flaws: - Hot-tempered
- Controlled Fangirl (Senju Tsunade)
- Partially-Sealed Chakra Pool
Higurashi Tenten is the Top Kunoichi of her Academy class, a prodigy in the use of any and all weapons that she can lift with her hands, with a special flair for Shurikenjutsu. Despite this, she is a fair, friendly person, with a slight dislike for fangirls, despite having similar leanings towards Senju Tsunade of the Legendary Three Ninja.
Naruto was very, very impressed by Tenten's stats. Her DEX stat in particular was off the charts! How the hell did she get it so high only a year out of the Academy?!
He considered two anomalous points on her profile; the [Unknown Ninja Heritage] Special Status and the [Partially-Sealed Chakra Pool] Flaw. The former was fairly straightforward in that she was descended from a ninja clan of some description, probably one of the clans all but wiped out during the Day of the Kyūbi twelve years ago.
[Partially-Sealed Chakra Pool] was another thing though. From what his basic knowledge of Fūinjutsu told him, sealing someone's chakra, even slightly, was a difficult task to accomplish for even someone of Jiraya of the Sannin's skill without causing unfortunate side effects.
As Tenten didn't show any of those side effects -unstable personality, inability to use chakra and muscular spasms- she had obviously been correctly sealed. Why she had been sealed was a good question, though. Sealing someone's chakra, even partially, was rarely done for any reason other than punishment, so the question was, who had sealed her chakra and why did they do it?
[Quest Alert!]
Born of Steel (1): Your friend Higurashi Tenten is an orphan who has had her chakra partially sealed for some reason. Investigate her origins in order to discover why it has been done.
Quest Reward: +1500 EXP, +2000 Ryo, Tanken, +2 STR.
Quest Failure: +300 EXP.
Accept?
Y/N
'Why's there a 'one' next to the quest name?' Naruto wondered.
[Chain Quests]
A chain quest is when the completion of one quest automatically leads to the creation of one related to it. Basic chain quests can have as few as two parts to them, but the more complex ones can reach up to fifteen in a row.
Understanding this, Naruto paused uncertainly. He was curious about why Tenten had had some of her chakra sealed, but he felt that prying into her past without permission would be distinctly rude. She was a genin with more than adequate chakra reserves, so obviously the seal wasn't interfering in her ninja career to any degree. Did he have a right to interfere in her life to that degree?
'Surely just looking into it can't hurt?' he reasoned as he pushed the 'Y' button.
"We're here!" Tenten declared, startling Naruto, who looked up in surprise. They were indeed standing right in front of Training Ground 13.
"That went by fast." Naruto observed.
"You were really lost in thought as we walked." Tenten noted, "Something up?"
"Nah." Naruto shook his head, "It's nothing. So how do you wanna do this? Actually, have you ever fought any chakra mutations before?"
"Nope." the brunette shook her head once, "Gai-sensei says that fighting those who are mutated is 'unyouthful', if you can believe it."
The blond Academy student looked at her blankly as if to say, 'seriously?'
"OK then." he said after his mind rebooted, "In which case, we'll start off in Sub-Area 1 to get you accustomed to fighting chakra mutations. They are a bit different to humans."
"No duh!" Tenten deadpanned before grinning, "Lead on then."
"Hold up." Naruto picked a stone up from the ground, "Doton: Gansetsukon no Jutsu!"
As the stone transformed into a long staff, Tenten jumped slightly and stared.
"Whoa! Didn't know you could turn rocks into weapons!" she said a bit jealously.
"Eh, basic Doton jutsu." Naruto shrugged.
"So is earth your primary affinity?" the brunette asked interestedly.
"Nope; I have a Wind affinity primarily, with a sub affinity for earth." Naruto replied, "What about you?"
"I…don't know." Tenten admitted sheepishly, "My team focuses on the physical side of things, taijutsu, weapons styles and Shurikenjutsu, to the exclusion of all else. The only real ninjutsu I know are the Academy Three."
"That's…!" Naruto was struck dumb by the stupidity of that training style, before he remembered something, "Your team has that Rock Lee guy, right? The one who can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu? Maybe that's why your teacher isn't training you in it, to make things fairer on him."
"True…that, and the Hyūga Prodigy, Neji, is on my team too." Tenten nodded glumly, "He disdains anything that isn't the Jūken Taijutsu Style of the Hyūga Clan. So I'd be the only one learning anything."
"That's still unfair to you." the Uzumaki frowned before shrugging, "Meh. If I find any jutsu scrolls in here, have a look at them and see if they interest you. Heck, I'll even teach you the couple of wind and earth techniques that I know."
This earned him another hug from the brunette.
Inside Sub-Area 1...
"Holy crap!" Tenten gawped at the three [Rabid Red Squirrels] as they snarled at her and Naruto, "Those things are huge!"
"Yep and they're about to charge." Naruto said grimly, "So get ready! Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu!"
As twenty Rock Clones clawed their way out of the ground, Tenten gawped for another moment before shaking herself out of her stupefaction and drawing a kunai in each hand.
"Any hints for weak spots?" she asked.
"Once they leap, they're vulnerable, but they can still twist in midair, so jump in, slash and retreat." Naruto advised as he spun his staff in a familiar way, "Here they come!"
While the chakra mutated squirrels were fast and agile, for an experienced kunoichi like Tenten, who sparred against taijutsu monsters like Rock Lee and Hyūga Neji on a regular basis, they may as well have been moving in slow motion.
Counter-charging the mutations, the Weapons Mistress deftly sliced the throat of the first squirrel before throwing her off-hand kunai into the forehead of the next one. She then leapt up over the last one and buried her weapon up to the hilt into the base of its skull.
'Holy crap! She took them down without even breaking a sweat!' Naruto thought in stunned awe. He hadn't been able to on-shot the damn things until just recently, and that was with careful aim with his staff. Tenten had managed it with two kunai!
"Yikes…" Naruto whispered.
"These things weren't so tough." the brunette said with a grin as she retrieved her blades.
"Considering they're the weakest mutations in the whole area and you're an experienced genin, that isn't a surprise." Naruto noted, "I call those ones [Rabid Red Squirrels]. They have bigger cousins I call [Gnashing Grey Squirrels] and they're a lot tougher."
"Oh? Then let's get to finding them." Tenten said as she wiped her weapons clean of blood.
Nodding, Naruto led her through the trees, surreptitiously closing the window detailing how much EXP had been divided between him and Tenten. Evidently, even an ad-hoc party like this still allowed for splitting experience between party members.
"So how many jutsu have you found in here anyway?" Tenten asked as the two kept their eyes out for any [Gnashing Grey Squirrels].
"Eh…five." Naruto replied, "Doton: Gansetsukon, a scroll on basic Fūinjutsu, Fūton: Kaiten Shuriken, Doton: Dangan and Ninpō: Karada Kyōdo Kyōka."
"What's the last one?" the Weapons Mistress asked curiously.
"A very-much lesser version of Senju Tsunade's chakra enhanced strength." Naruto replied.
"Seriously?!" Tenten squealed, "Can I borrow it? Please?"
"Sorry, I gave that jutsu scroll to a classmate of mine as a present." the blond boy said apologetically, "If we find another one here, it's your though. My chakra control is way too spotty to use the blasted technique."
This earned him a grin and a nod from the brunette.
With Tenten's superior strength, it only took them half an hour to clear Sub-Area 1 and move on to Sub-Area 2. Here, Tenten had a great deal of trouble against the mutated moles, as the Dangan they fired off were immune to her thrown weapons.
She switched to close combat and unsealed a sansetsukon (three-section staff), leaping around the boulders to smash the [Slavering Star Moles] over the head so quickly they had no time to hit her with their claws.
The kunoichi clearly knew how to strike the chakra mutations for best effect, crushing their skulls with every blow she dealt out. Naruto made a mental note for the umpteenth time to not get on her bad side!
"You are a very scary girl, you know that Tenten?" he said after the last mole fell to her.
"Why thank you!" the brunette beamed at him, as if she hadn't had such a nice complement in ages.
Naruto made another note to himself that strong kunoichi were slightly weird.
As they made their way to the entrance of the next area, Naruto compared his style with Tenten's and found it wanting. She moved quickly and precisely through her enemies, dealing with them with minimum expenditure of effort and maximum amount of damage.
"Hey Tenten, what taijutsu style do you use?" he asked curiously.
"Hmm…? Oh, I don't really use a taijutsu style." The brunette replied, "I almost always have at least a kunai out, preferably more than one. When I do fight barehanded, I guess I use a modified version of the Hakage Style that my dad calls the 'Sōkō-ken' or Armed Fist Style. Mostly because I wear these."
The kunoichi unsealed a set of armoured gloves and showed them to him. The back of the hand and fingers were lined with a layer of interlocking plates of shaped steel. The knuckle guards had small spikes jutting up to increase the damage of her punches further.
"Yikes, remind me to get some armour for my arms for when I spar with you." Naruto joked.
Tenten grinned smugly. "Got that right."
Just before they reached the door…
Bloodlust Detected! Above and to both sides!
Naruto reacted immediately, tackling Tenten to the ground as a pair of kunai and a senbon whistled through the place she had been standing only seconds before.
"What the-?!" the kunoichi snarled as she rolled to her feet.
"Someone's attacking us!" Naruto said just before he had to duck as another kunai whistled through the air again.
"These are live weapons!" the brunette cursed as she drew her own from her rear holster, "Who are they?!"
"Not got a clue." He replied, "I aim to find out though! All clones bombard the tree line!"
As numerous Gansetsukon pelt the trees like rain, Tenten had to ask, "Um…why are they throwing their staves?"
"They can be used as either close combat weapons or as ranged weapons." The blond explained hurriedly, "Ah-HA! Got one of the bastards!"
Indeed, one of the assailants fell from a tree with a Gansetsukon impaled through his leg. He wore blue combat trousers with white splotches dotted over it, a slate-grey shinobi vest and a hitai-ate with four diagonal lines in a square formation engraved on it, with a single horizontal line bisecting it.
"Kirigakure Nuke-nin!" Naruto shouted in warning.
"That's right, brat." The fallen man said in a monotone as he nonchalantly tugged the stone stave out of his leg, "We were going to sell you and the girl, but for wounding me, we'll make you watch as we ruin her BEFORE we sell her."
The man was soon joined by three other Missing Ninja, all from Kirigakure. One made a lewd gesture at Tenten with his hips.
The blond orphan ground his teeth together in anger. He glanced at Tenten…and recoiled as anger seemed to emanate from her like a tangible, physical force. Her expression was almost demonic and the blond boy was very, very grateful that she was on his side.
Without saying a word, she pulled out two scrolls from her specially made side pouches, slammed them down onto the ground and then rapidly ran through five handsigns –Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare and Snake- before crossing her arms.
"Ninpō… (Ninja Art…)" she growled, "…Sōshōryū! (Twin Rising Dragons!)"
An explosion of smoke concealed her before a pair of long streams of smoke rose up. Naruto blinked as they actually looked like dragons! They stretched up, reaching high into the heavens…and Tenten was rising up rapidly to match them!
"Ruin me? Sell me and Naruto?!" she hissed, "We'll see about that!"
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Next Chapter: Watch Out For the Rain of Steel
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