AN: I'm back and ready to write! Let's see what happens here. For those of you who might be confused, Alex is back in Naruto's body after the previous chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Prototype.
"Speech"
Bijuu/Jinchuuriki/Elemental form
Thoughts
Inner being to outer being
Jutsu/Technique
Chapter 11: A bit of reform, stupidly stealthy, lonely fox, and missing metal
A few days later, Kakashi told the team that they would spend the day training rather than doing missions. The blond Jinchuuriki was more than slightly dubious as to the difficulty level of this so called training, but the cyclopean man refused to disclose any information
Naruto leaped across the rooftops of Konoha on the way to the usual meeting spot, using chakra to propel himself occasionally as he talked with the voice in his head. Over the past few days, he had learned a great deal from Alex. The Blacklight, having been through multiple versions of Naruto's world, had had many things that he felt he should teach the boy. Chakra control and stealth were an absolute must. Even when you have an advantage of strength over your opponent, it's always best to have other strategies. You never know when you might have to sneak in or out of a secure location, Alex told him.
Couldn't I just henge into a guard and infiltrate that way? Naruto argued.
Certainly, but there are so many things that could go wrong with that. If you could become invisible and sneak around unnoticed, it would be so much better; if you became a guard, you'd have to follow the their routine until they don't suspect you and even then, you'd have a hard time getting close to your target.
You make several good points, Naruto conceded, But you're forgetting one thing; the only thing close to invisibility I've got is hiding my chakra signature with biomass, and that only makes me invisible to people who I catch by surprise. He felt a slight smugness from his tenant as he said this. What, are you saying I can turn invisible?
Alex sent him the image of a check mark. With the level of instability your DNA has at the moment, you're certainly capable of it.
Naruto was thrilled. You mean I can finally use some of those Blacklight powers besides strength? Don't get me wrong, the strength is totally awesome, but it's great that I can do other things now. How do I do it? By this time he was nearing his original destination and stopped as Alex described the process of turning invisible.
Don't try it now, though, He told Naruto quickly, Your team will come looking for you if you don't show up and you can't use your Blacklight powers in front of them yet.
Hai, hai, Naruto said dismissively, I know.
Five minutes later, he reached Training Ground 7, where he was assailed by Sakura who, as usual, declared him to be late while Sasuke glared suspiciously at him. However, he merely tuned them out while he leaned against one of the three posts. It wasn't like he was any later than Kakashi-sensei, who was once again conspicuous by his absence. He felt Mido coiling lazily around his arm in his snake form. He pulled the snake out of his sleeve and looked at it, once more admiring the green, crossed-pupil eyes it had which were similar to Naruto's own when activated. He absently ran his fingertips over the strange mane behind the base of its reptilian head. Mido wriggled in his grip, seemingly unused to being held like this.
"What exactly is that thing, dobe?" Sasuke asked, "Ever since you got it, it's been changing shape; one minute it's a crow, then it's a cat, now it's a fucking snake! That is not normal. So what is it?"
Naruto rolled his eyes and beckoned his teammates closer. When the Uchiha, as well as his fangirl, leaned closer, he whispered, "That's a secret, teme. And ninjas don't give up secrets."
A tick mark twitched on Sakura's temple. She straightened up and tried to smack the blond baka's head, but he casually blocked her fist. "Save it for the training," He told her lightly, "You'll have to do better than that, right sensei?"
Sakura whipped around in panic to see...that nobody was there. "Na-ru-to!" She growled, turning back around to see that Naruto had disappeared. "Where'd he go now?" She groaned.
She stiffened as a hand clamped down on her shoulder and a voice whispered, "Boo!" In her ear. The pink-haired girl gave a shriek and jumped forward, banging her head on the training log. She slumped, holding her head and groaning slightly.
Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "That's the same thing you did with me. How do you keep disappearing like that? I had my eyes on you and still lost you, and you're wearing orange, for crying out loud." If I'd had my Sharingan, you wouldn't have gotten away, He thought angrily.
Sakura looked up, stunned at hearing her crush admitting that he'd missed something. "S-Sasuke-kun..."
"Mah, mah, what's all this?" asked a voice. All three of them looked around to see Kakashi standing before them, his nose buried in his little orange book. "I could've sworn I heard something..."
"You're late!" Sakura cried out on cue, pointing accusatorily at the silver-haired Jonin.
"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life," Kakashi said casually, stowing his book away.
"You ever thought of getting a roadmap?" Naruto muttered irritably.
"Hm?"
"Never mind," He sighed, "Let's just get on with the training, shall we?"
Kakashi shrugged lazily and pulled some leaves out of his pocket.
Who the hell would keep leaves in their pocket in the first place? Kina asked.
Kakashi would. He's always been a bit sloppy when it comes to keeping his pockets clean, Alex said amusedly.
"We're going to be working on chakra control today," Kakashi continued, holding the shriveled gray things up for his students to see, "You're going to try and get these to stick to a specific part of your body using chakra. It's a very old method used by the village."
Naruto raised his hand. "Oi, sensei," He said in a bored voice, "What if one of us completes it? What then?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Then move on to two. If you've done that go to three, and so on."
Yeah, but the thing is, I can cover myself in dozens leaves with this technique, I've gotten so good at it, Naruto thought angrily, This is a waste of time!
Just act interested, Alex said, Or demonstrate that you can do it. He might not show it, but he doesn't like to have his predictions proven wrong, and he's obviously decided that you're going to struggle with this. So show him up and watch for his reaction.
Alright, I will, thanks. Suddenly, a light bulb clicked on in Naruto's head. Wait, how do you know this about him?
Alex merely chuckled. Let's just say that I know this world's Kakashi from personal experience.
What's that mean? But Alex had turned off his end of the connection, leaving Naruto to stick his leaf to his arm, completely mystified. How would he know Kakashi-sensei? I thought he was sealed inside me for thirteen years.
Maybe it's from before that? Kina suggested. Although, he would have said so if he was around then, right?
Naruto thought about that, then deadpanned, now sticking two leaves on over his eyebrows. I wouldn't be so sure. You know as well as I do that he likes holding back information like that. He probably felt it wouldn't have mattered if he'd told us earlier or not.
You're right, Kina agreed, He'll probably have us find out what he did at a time when it makes a big impact. She gave an impression of rolling her eyes. He's such a tight-lipped bastard, though. I think he just does it to spite us sometimes.
Hey, I take offense to that remark! Interjected Alex, turning the connection back on, I prefer to not tell you things because it wouldn't really mean much to you in context. When you're able to understand the things my story entails, then I will tell you.
Yeah, that'll be the day, Naruto though sarcastically. Meanwhile, his exercise had progressed to the point where he was easily balancing five leaves at once; two on his elbows, two on his knees, and one on his forehead. All of this he did while standing casually, with no visible sign that he was maintaining concentration with his chakra. His training with Kage Bunshin, as well as Alex's instructions in tree climbing, had greatly improved his control to the point where a task such as this barely wasted any chakra; not that it mattered, with the sheer amount he had in his reserves, the small amount he did waste would not be missed.
Kakashi, meanwhile, was indeed quietly fuming at Naruto's progress in the exercise. From what he'd read in the boy's file, his chakra control was supposed to abysmal. But here, he was proving to have enough control to balance five leaves. No... Kakashi looked again, it was ten, now. Ten leaves plastered all over Naruto's body, with the boy seeming to smirk at him, as if to say, 'You're wrong.' I can't be wrong, Kakashi thought angrily, I'm a Jonin, I'm supposed to make accurate observations about this.
Naruto shivered slightly as a minute amount of KI drifted toward him. It was as if his sensei were directing a very cold breeze at him, but apart from that, it had very little effect. I guess you called it, Alex, he's starting to get pissed and I haven't even done anything wrong yet.
Told ya.
Will he do anything?
Alex thought for a moment, weighing the chances. Nah, He said finally, He may be an idiot who hates being proven wrong, but he's fair. After all, he can't fault you for doing exactly what he told you to do.
If you say so... Naruto thought dismally. Still, he did not add any more leaves to his exercise, just in case it angered his sensei further. Meanwhile, Sakura had, with her own above-average control, managed to get three leaves to stick to her arms. However, due to her low capacity, she was already panting after fifteen minutes from the drain on her chakra. (AN: I figure that fifteen minutes of sticking three leaves to you is about even with tree-walking up to a branch once.)
Sasuke, on the other hand, was having trouble making four leaves stay on. He'd get two, then when he tried to focus on the others, the first one or two would fall off. The look of frustration on his face was being used as a source of amusement by Naruto, until the heterochromic blond took pity on him. "You gotta keep your concentration on both at the same time," He told the young Uchiha, "If you switch attention between them like that, the concentration you just used is just gonna go to waste since you're not sending chakra to that spot anymore."
Sasuke stared at him for a moment, then attempted to do as his teammate had instructed.
Naruto nodded satisfactorily and turned around, suddenly finding himself face-to-face with Kakashi. "Naruto," The one-eyed man said, with an air of forced calm, "While your desire to help is admirable, perhaps you should leave the teaching to the actual teacher, ne?"
Naruto fought not to lose control at the threatening tone in the man's voice on the last syllable. He did not like being threatened.
Instead, he looked Kakashi in the eye and said evenly, "With all due respect, sensei, if you were going to help Sasuke, you should've said something sooner to help him." Then he stepped closer and hissed in his ear, "A teacher looks to see when a student is having difficulty, they do not become angry when a student is doing better than expected."
Kakashi flinched slightly, and then hung his head as he realized just how childishly he'd been acting around Naruto. What would Minato-sensei have said, if he'd seen the spiteful way he'd been treating his own student? "Sorry," He mumbled.
Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Apology readily accepted," He said, more than a little gratified, "Just...just remember not to get mad at a person's success, okay? You're supposed to be the most mature person here, for Log's sake."
"I know," Kakashi said sheepishly, "I've just never been a sensei before, so I don't know how to teach very well."
"A bit of advice?" Naruto asked. Kakashi nodded cautiously, and Naruto leaned in and whispered, "Less D-ranks. They're boring as shit, and don't really help with the training."
"I'll try," the Jonin muttered, "but we have to do a set amount of them, otherwise we can't start going on C-rank missions. It's a requirement, I'm afraid."
"Figures," the blond sighed.
"What are you two talking about?" Came a voice. Both sensei and student looked around to see Sakura staring at them. The leaves she had been practicing with lay around her as evidence to her lost concentration.
"Nothing," Kakashi said vaguely, glancing at Naruto with his lone eye, "Just straightening out a few issues, that's all."
Sakura looked perplexed, but apparently decided to take the words at face value.
Kakashi watched as his students did the exercise. "No, you don't have to do any more," He told Naruto as the boy began picking up more leaves, "You've already proved that you have mastered it."
Naruto tilted his head at his teacher for a moment, studying him with a blank expression. Then he shrugged and walked over to the logs, where he bowed to one of them before sitting down and leaning against it and pulling out a strangely familiar orange book and starting to read... Kakashi started and his hand, by reflex, flew to his kunai pouch, only to come up empty. He...he stole my Icha Icha! He thought in astonishment, how the hell did he do that? "Naruto!"
Naruto looked up. Already there was a slight blush on his face, but apart from that, he had not the slightest bit of apparent embarrassment in his expression. "Hai, sensei?"
"Give me my book back!"
Naruto smirked and looked back at the open pages. "Can't do that, Kaka-sensei. Ya have to focus on teaching, not reading, so I took this off your hands. I gotta hand it to you, though, you got some good taste." He grinned as he reached a particularly juicy part in the book while he said this.
Kakashi was once again fuming, though mostly from embarrassment as his other students looked at him suspiciously. "What does he mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, "What kind of book is it?"
"Um, it's...uh..." Kakashi began, wondering what to tell them.
"It's porn," Naruto told them bluntly, not even bothering to look up and acknowledge their shocked and horrified expressions. He just kept reading gleefully. "Damn good stuff, too."
Sakura whirled around to face Kakashi, "What the hell are you doing, reading such things in front of children?" She shrieked.
Kakashi opened his mouth to reply, then frowned. "Wait a minute; I'm the senior ninja here, I don't have to answer you."
Naruto chuckled as Mido changed into a cat and curled up next to him. "Sakura, I do believe you've been shot down."
"Shut up, you!" The pinkette yelled, poking a finger accusatorily in his direction. "You're just as bad for reading it, you pervert!"
"Oh, that is bullshit," The orange-wearing boy snapped back, "You'd be all for it if your precious Sasuke-kun read this, and you know it.
"Moving on," Sasuke said, a tick mark on his face, "Can we just get back to the training, sensei? I'd rather not waste the day listening to Sakura squawking about your addiction."
Kakashi's eye twitched. I get no respect, He thought.
Sakura mouthed soundlessly at both her crush's and Naruto's words. The problem was that Naruto had a fair point in this matter. Though in her opinion, she felt that Sasuke's comment was a bit unkind. "I do not squawk," She muttered mutinously.
Somehow, Naruto heard her, "Yeah, and your hair's not pink, either," He retorted sarcastically, standing up. "Hey, sensei, if I've got this exercise mastered so early, can I go? I mean, there's no reason for me to stick around watching, is there?"
Kakashi thought about it. "Sure, why not? Go ahead." It wasn't until the Jinchuuriki had left the training field that Kakashi remembered the emptiness in his kunai pouch. "Damn it!"
(Later)
Naruto, as he always did, wandered the streets wondering what to do with his suddenly free time. "Been a while since I went to Ichiraku's," He said to himself, brightening, "I guess it's an early lunch for me, then."
He crouched and, with some jets of chakra blasting from his feet as well as biomass to his legs, sprang up and over several buildings, taking an impromptu shortcut to his favorite ramen hut. Within minutes he was at the front of the place. He ducked under the short curtain and sat down on one of the stools. The bar was empty but for himself. "Oi, Oji-san, two Miso ramen please!"
The chef, Teuchi Ichiraku, turned in surprise at hearing the voice of his favorite customer. "Naruto! I thought you'd forgotten about us; we haven't seen you for weeks. Hey, Ayame, guess who's here!"
A kind faced, brown-haired girl wearing an apron came around from the kitchen while her father took her place preparing the ramen. "Naruto-kun, how are you? Looks like you managed to pass the test, ne?"
"Heh, sure did, Ayame-chan," Naruto said proudly, flicking the headband on his forehead, "I'm already on a team with a sensei and everything!"
"Really now?" Teuchi asked, placing two ramen bowls on the counter, "Here, two Miso ramen. Enjoy."
Naruto grinned as he picked up his chopsticks and broke them apart. "With pleasure; ittadakimasu!" He dug in with gusto, slurping the noodles with such speed that any bystander would have been stunned, but to the Ichirakus, who had seen it many times over the years, it was quite normal. Within seconds he'd finished both the bowls and sighed, satisfied. "Aah, that's good stuff. Hey, Oji-san, I'll have some more please!"
Teuchi chuckled. "Of course you will." He went around to the back to get more ramen.
"So, Naruto-kun, what's your team like? Who's your sensei?" Asked Ayame conversationally, leaning on the counter.
Naruto shrugged, grimacing. "Well, I could do a hell of a lot better for teammates. I got stuck with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura. Sasuke's alright, not as bad as he seemed at the academy, but he keeps spying on me. Sakura is..." He shrugged, "Sakura. My sensei is Kakashi Hatake. Dunno what to think about him. At first, he was being kinda immature and spiteful to me, but now he seems to be mellowing out a little, so we'll see about him."
"What happened with Sakura-san? I thought you were trying to get her on a date all the time."
"I wised up," He said flatly.
As he spoke, snake-Mido poked his head out of Naruto's sleeve, tasting the air with his tongue inquisitively before sliding out fully onto the counter top, where he transformed into a cat and began lapping at the ramen Teuchi had placed in front of Naruto.
"Since when did you have a cat, Naruto?" Ayame asked, while Naruto devoured his second helping of ramen.
"Mm, since the day my team got together," Naruto replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He neglected to tell the ramen girl that he'd made the creature out of an unknown energy during a jutsu, "He's only a cat at the moment, he's got the ability to change shape and normally rides under my clothes as a snake."
"Speaking of clothes," Teuchi said, peering around the wall that kept the kitchen from view, "I can't help but notice the ones you have now."
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I got these after my first mission. I just really wanted something with a hood and was big enough. That jumpsuit was a bit small."
"It looks good on you," Ayame said approvingly, "Makes you look older, somehow."
Naruto furrowed his brow. "That's the same thing Hinata-chan said."
Ayame leaned forward, a gleam in her eye. "Who's Hinata? And 'Hinata-chan,' at that."
Rather than becoming flustered by her words like he normally would, he merely shrugged. "She's a friend of mine. If my senses are right, she's spying on us around the corner." He broke out in a broad grin as he heard a squeak somewhere behind him. He turned around, raising a hand in greeting. "Come join us, Hinata-chan! You want some ramen?"
Ayame watched, slightly mystified, as a dark-haired, timid looking girl edged into view. "O-ohayo, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered, blushing at having been caught in her observing/spying/stalking. She sat gingerly on a stool next to her blond crush and said to Ayame quietly, "Um, I'll h-have some v-vegetable ramen, please."
"Sure. Hey dad, one order of vegetable ramen for Naruto's little girlfriend!" Ayame called, grinning.
Hinata gave an "Eep!" and hunched over, pulling the hood of her jacket over her head to hide her suddenly scarlet face, trying to look as small as possible.
Naruto pulled down his own hood and raised his eyebrows. "She's not my girlfriend. She's just a really good friend." And really, really cute, He added mentally, watching her sink deeper into her beige jacket.
Even through her embarrassment, Hinata could not help but feel disappointed at this response. I want to be, though, She lamented internally, why can't I tell him that?
Ayame merely smirked. But before she could question his honesty, her father came back with a bowl of vegetable ramen and two more bowls miso. "Here you are," He said kindly, setting a bowl in front of Hinata.
"Th-thank you," She murmured, glad to have something to distract her from the brown-haired girl's embarrassing words.
Naruto glanced at her, before pulling one of the bowls of Miso towards him. "So, Hinata-chan, what's up? What's your team been doing?"
Hinata looked up her own ramen and said, "M-mostly training, but we also d-did another m-mission; clearing a f-farmer's field of rocks."
"He had a field of rocks?" Naruto asked teasingly.
Hinata stammered an amendment. "N-no, it w-was an ordinary field, b-but..."
"Hinata-san," Teuchi said amusedly, "I think Naruto was joking."
Hinata bit her lip as Naruto burst out laughing. She berated herself for not recognizing his sarcasm, she really should have seen it coming, having been close to him for a while. He took what she said and deliberately misunderstood it just to see her reaction. "Gomen, Hina-chan," He chuckled, "It was just too good of a chance."
Her eyes widened. He called me Hina-chan! A pleased smile spread across her face at the affectionate nickname, which was noticed by both Naruto and the Ichirakus; although only the latter knew what it meant. Naruto merely thought it was Hinata's way of saying she wasn't offended by his making fun of her, for which he was secretly grateful. The thought that she might be mad at him was not one that sat well with him.
A while later, after some small-talk between Hinata and Ayame, though mostly Ayame, and a lot more bowls of ramen were consumed by Naruto, Hinata stood up, sighing. "Sorry, b-but my father w-will probably be expecting me at h-home," She apologized, "It's n-nice to have m-met you Ayame-san, Teuchi-san."
"Anytime, Hinata-chan. Any friend of Naruto's is welcome here," Teuchi said, smiling. Hinata bowed quickly and ran off.
"Well, she seemed nice," Ayame said, clearing away the stacks of empty bowls in front of Naruto.
"She certainly is," Teuchi agreed, watching the retreating girl, "I never thought I'd meet a Hyuuga who was so quiet and polite."
"Ironically, it's the other Hyuugas that made her like that," Growled Naruto, scowling at the thought, "They belittle and insult her just because she can't use Jyuuken properly, and it's not even her fault!"
The two ramen makers glanced surreptitiously at each other. Their customer glanced up from his contemplation of what he'd like to do to the Hyuuga clan and saw the look, interpreting it correctly. "Yeah, I suppose we are a lot alike in that regard. It's not her fault that her body is too flexible for Jyuuken...and it's not my fault for containing the Kyuubi." He fought not to grin as the two people in front of him reacted to this dropped bombshell.
"You-you know?" Teuchi asked, stunned.
"Yep," Naruto said nonchalantly, "I found out about it the night I graduated."
"Is that why you're friends? Because you have similar situations?"
Naruto thought about that for a moment. "Not exactly; there are other reasons. First of all, she's nothing like Sakura, or any other girl in my generation; she doesn't try to hit me except when we spar. Secondly, she doesn't laugh at me when I tell her my dream. Thirdly, on the day of my graduation test, she just looked at me and said, 'I believe in you.' What you've gotta understand is that nobody has ever told me that. Sure, you two, Iruka-sensei and Jiji have always encouraged me and expressed confidence, but to a have someone actually say that is one of the best things I've ever felt." Having finished, he pulled out some Ryo bills and slapped them on the counter to pay for all the ramen he'd eaten, as well as Hinata's ramen. Then he stood up and walked out of the ramen bar, a somber expression on his face.
Ayame looked guiltily at her father. "You know, he's right," She said quietly, "I don't think anyone has ever said that they believed in him, not even us. Whatever that girl does with him could only be an improvement, if what we've seen so far is her work."
Teuchi could only nod in agreement. "Something about that boy has definitely changed," He told his daughter, "He's not that hyperactive knucklehead that always shouted about how great he was anymore. Now, he's become more focused and thoughtful, but I've got no doubt that he's still an unpredictable ninja."
(Meanwhile)
Naruto once again wandered, lost in thought. Or rather, talking with his tenants; Kina was slightly off-put by the quiet demeanor he'd taken and was trying to get him back to his normal good-humored self.
You know, you forgot the fourth reason you're friends with Hinata-chan, Kina told him.
I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but what would that be? Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. He had a suspicion that he knew what she'd say.
Well, don't you remember what happened when you first met Hinata-chan and she fainted?
...Yeah...what about it?
You ended up getting suffocated by those big boobs of hers, Kina said, grinning as she felt Naruto roll his eyes.
From then on, there was no going back, Alex agreed in a mock-serious tone, speaking up for the first time.
True, but I couldn't have told them that. It would've ruined the impact of my impassioned speech and made it seem insincere. And I really did mean what I said.
We know, Alex told him, If Hinata was still here, she would've been thrilled to hear you say all those things. Really.
...If you say so. I'm going to go practice my invisibility now, Naruto said, changing the subject with the speed of a short attention span. He quickly found a deserted alleyway, where nobody would find him while he practiced, and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes, picturing the biomass stored in his body. Alex had told him to look for a pattern in the biomass, which he quickly discovered in its 'surface,' and then change that pattern in accordance to his will to become invisible. This was different from what he normally did, since he was not actually moving the biomass, but altering it.
It took him several tries to do it, but finally he tried ordering it to change while at the same time imagining himself turning invisible. Instantly he felt the pattern twist and change as the biomass obeyed his command. He opened his eyes and looked down at himself. Sure enough, his body had become translucent and only discernable at the edges, where light seemed to bend slightly. It was a bit like he was made out of very clear glass.
Don't worry about that, Alex said, you only look that way to yourself. To anyone else, you are completely invisible. If you combine that with your Chakra Cloaking, you'd be undetectable in any way. Alex mused for a moment and added, Apparently the Nidaime Tsuchikage, Mū, was able to do just that. They referred to him as the Invisible Man because of it.
Naruto stood there, looking down at his see-through hands. Hey Alex, when does the technique wear off?
Whenever you want it to. Unlike a jutsu, changes made with a Blacklight technique stay active until deactivated, so you don't have to focus on maintaining the pattern.
Huh. The more I learn, the more I like being a Blacklight, Naruto said appreciatively. He walked out into the streets, trailing behind random people, trying out his new invisibility for amusement, Well, except for the whole eating people thing.
It's not so bad. It used to be that I had to eat an entire person to gain their abilities; after a while, I learned how to obtain all that just by consuming a part of them, such as their hair. However, you will find it irresistible to consume a dead person.
Why's that? Naruto asked.
Because of our position in the Gormim, our hunger comes from both a need to replace damaged flesh, and a desire for power. If you ever meet a person who's powerful for whatever reason, be it through a bloodline or because they're a good swordsman, you will want to consume them in order to be able to use their skills. If you don't want to kill them, eating a part of them is enough to satisfy the power-hunger. If, on the other hand, that person ends up dying in a fight, you will be overcome by a desire to consume their entire corpse. Normally, any damage done to you in battle is automatically regenerated by redistributing the biomass in your body, but when you consume a whole person, their own biomass is added to your own and is used to speed up your healing.
Fascinating, Naruto said sincerely, though he sweatdropped. Sometimes Alex would go off on a huge tangent for the simplest questions. What I meant is that I don't want to eat them. As in, cutting into their dead flesh.
Oh... Alex sweatdropped himself, That's not how it happens. The body dissolves into biomass and is absorbed into your mark. When you finally get one, He added.
Right. When I get one. Naruto sighed, causing the person he was trailing behind to jump at the sound. Hey Alex, even with my invisibility, I need something to practice my stealth with.
What do you have in mind? Alex asked. Naruto told him. You got some serious balls, if you think you can do that. Not only that, but it would humiliate them if they found out about it. I say go for it.
Hai, sensei, Naruto said gleefully, setting off for his target destination.
Alex's head jerked back in surprise. He looked at Kina and said brightly, "He called me sensei! I've always wanted a student."
"Then who've you been teaching for the last few weeks?" the fox-girl muttered, deadpanning at her fellow tenant.
Alex didn't listen. Take that, Minato! He thought triumphantly, I can be a good teacher! And to your own son, no less.
(Hyuuga Clan compound)
Naruto stood next to the side wall of the compound, his invisible face set. This, he felt, would prove the might of his Chakra Cloaking; The Hyuugas, with their 'all-seeing Byakugan,' would be no match for his ability to be unseen. With a small jump, he grabbed the top of the wall and flipped himself over it. He landed with very little noise, the earlier stealth training with his clones had quickly taught him how to be quiet. While he was invisible and unnoticeable to chakra senses, these did not necessarily make him silent. He had to do that on his own. Then he remembered that he still had to activate his Cloaking first. He pressed the palms of his hands together (a concentration habit he'd picked up when he did Blacklight techniques) and focused, channeling his chakra to a point at his center before encasing it in biomass. Despite Alex's earlier assurances that his invisibility pattern would hold up, Naruto was still relieved when his Chakra Cloaking did not disrupted his transparency. However, to his annoyance, he discovered that his own chakra senses had been cut off by his technique. He stalked through the grounds of the compound, grinning as guards walked straight past him without even a glance. At one point, he pretended to pounce on an unsuspecting guard who had his back to him, trying not to giggle as he placed a 'kick me' note on the guards back instead. Finally, as he prowled the southern wall of the main building, he noticed an open window. Hel-lo, He thought, curiosity aroused. He grabbed the bottom frame of the window and, with a little effort, pulled himself through. He'd noted a long time ago that sealing up his chakra decreased his physical strength a bit, though this was easily worked around. Having made it through the window, he stood up and looked around. He was in a medium sized bedroom, decorated with lavender wallpaper. He walked over to a small desk next to the neatly made bed and saw several photos. The one that caught his eye was one that had been taken recently; it depicted four people. On the left was a grinning, slightly feral-looking boy with a gray, fur-lined coat with the hood pulled up. Perched on his head was a small white puppy that had its tongue out. Kiba and Akamaru. On the left was a tall, brown-haired boy with sunglasses and a pale green coat with a collar high enough to hide his mouth. Shino. In the middle, behind them, was a tall woman with messy-looking black hair and red eyes. She wore what looked like a short dress made of- he looked closer to be sure -bandages, with a single long, red sleeve. She seemed slightly stern but smiled at the camera. Kurenai Yuhi. Naruto's eyes drifted to the last person in the picture, situated at the front-middle, and recognized her immediately. Hinata. This is her team photo, He thought remotely, And I'm in her room.
He'd let his Cloaking technique drop when he'd entered the room, so it did not surprise him much to hear Kina say, You're in a girl's bedroom without the girl in sight. Something's wrong with this picture.
Ha ha, He thought sarcastically, going to lie down on the bed. As he did so, a large crow shot out of his invisible sleeve and alighted on the desktop. "Oops, sorry Mido," He chuckled. He'd forgotten that his pet had hidden inside his sleeve and was glad that it had remained unseen by passersby. It would have given a lot of people heart attacks to see a floating black snake without any means of flight. Settling into his seat on the bed, the back his head against the wall, he reversed the invisibility pattern and pulled out his pilfered copy of Icha Icha paradise. He quickly flipped to his place and resumed reading, giggling perversely as he did so. Oh yeah, sensei's not getting this back for a while, He thought.
At that moment, the door opened and a tired-looking Hinata slouched in, with Hanabi bouncing around her, chattering incessantly. He froze, pulling his legs close to him. He had not expected Hinata to be home so early. Fortunately, the two girls took no notice at all to his presence. "Hanabi, can you wait until later? I'm tired and I want to sleep." Naruto watched with a silent mix terror and hilarity as Hinata absentmindedly patted Mido on the head, not even realizing that the crow wasn't supposed to be there. Hanabi didn't respond to her older sister's request; she had seen Naruto crouched at the head of Hinata's bed, and her mouth was wide open in pure shock. Naruto could do nothing more than shakily raise a finger to his lips, to which she nodded dumbly. "Log, I'm hot," Hinata groaned, having still not noticed anything wrong. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. She unzipped her jacket and shrugged it off, prompting Naruto's eyes to widen as the girl's body was more or less revealed to him. Well, she wore a black shirt and a mesh undershirt, but they were tight enough that he could clearly see the distinct curve of her bust.
Damn, Kina said, impressed, I'd say they're about a low C. Not bad for a twelve-year-old.
Kunoichi tend to develop early due to the training they go through. Alex supplied. He too was impressed, but had enough self control not to show it.
Whoa, Naruto said, slightly dazed, I always guessed that Hinata was hiding something under that coat but...damn!
Hanabi had noticed the orange-clad boy's reaction and said pointedly, "Onee-chan, I don't think you should get undressed just yet."
"What're you t-talking about?" Hinata asked, reaching to pull her shirt off. However, Mido chose that moment to give a loud caw. She froze, her hands still at her sides. Even if her back was to him, Naruto could easily imagine the wide eyes that she was making at Hanabi. The younger Hyuuga giggled and pointed right at him. He scowled, mouthing 'thanks a lot,' but she just put her hands over her mouth in an effort to not just burst out laughing. Hinata turned very slowly until she saw him, with his legs pulled up close to him, but otherwise sitting comfortably on her bed. The Icha Icha book had long since vanished back into his pocket.
For a long minute, they stared at each other, Hinata's mouth working soundlessly, her face white. Finally, Naruto chose to break the awkward silence. "Yo," He said feebly, waving a little.
In reply, Hinata raised her hand and waved weakly back. Then her lavender eyes rolled up and she crumpled with a sigh. Both Naruto and Hanabi dived to catch her, but Naruto was somehow faster, which should have been impossible due to the position he had just been in. Still, he managed to catch the fainting girl and scooped her up in a fireman's carry. "Damn, I was hoping she wouldn't do that," He sighed, laying Hinata on the bed.
"No such luck," Hanabi replied, finding her voice at last, "She tends to do that a lot around you, from what I hear."
"Yeah, I know. But still, I'd hoped..."
The brown-haired girl frowned at him. "Be that as it may, how the hell did you get in here?"
Naruto grinned mischievously. "Now, now, Shorty. Every ninja's got his secrets." A tick mark appeared on Hanabi's temple, but before she could shout, Naruto raised his hand to stop her. "I have a couple of techniques that render me undetectable. I infiltrated this compound to test them. I got in here through an open window," He said, suddenly tired. He really wasn't in the mood to be shouted at.
A quiet moan from the bed made him glance over. Hinata stirred for a moment and sat up sluggishly, rubbing her eyes. "Wha' happen?" She mumbled blearily.
Naruto blushed a little at the sight of her face. Cute...
"You fainted, Nee-chan," Hanabi told her, "The Naruto guy snuck into your room."
Hinata blanched and crossed her arms over her chest, remembering that she'd taken her coat off. He-he saw me! She thought with a bit of dismay. The reason Hinata always wore her thick coat was not because she was cold; it was because of the insecurities she had about her own body. She always believed, irrationally, that Naruto might think she was ugly if he saw her. How she clung to this thought after being close friends with him for so long is anyone's guess, but there it was.
"Sorry to scare ya, Hina-chan," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head ruefully, "But you kinda got the drop on me, too."
Hinata relaxed, slightly calmed by the affectionate shortening of her name. So he didn't hate her body, then. Good. It suddenly dawned on her that they were in her room, were Naruto should not normally be. She straightened, her eyes widening in surprise. "Naruto-kun," She asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?"
Naruto grinned. "Stealth training!" He said cheerfully.
"What?" She asked, not sure she'd heard properly.
"Yeah! I can turn invisible now!" He said, pointing at the open window.
Hinata opened and closed her mouth silently, then groaned, kneading her temples. "W-why does that n-not surprise me?" She asked herself, "But why oh w-why did you have come sneak in here? If any of the guards h-had activated their Byakugan, you w-would've been c-caught!"
"She's right," Hanabi interjected, "Even if you can turn invisible, the Byakugan can see both chakra being used for a jutsu and your chakra pathways, so you'd have shown up clearly to them."
"No, I wouldn't," Naruto said simply, a small smile on his face.
"Yes, you would!" Hanabi shouted in frustration.
"No, I wouldn't, because one: it wasn't a jutsu and two: I can block my signature," Naruto said with an air of triumph, "How do ya like them apples?"
"Those, and I'm not m-much of an apple f-fan," Hinata said suddenly.
Naruto sputtered, caught a bit off balance.
Double fade, Alex said, laughing, She corrects your grammar, and gets you back for turning her words against her earlier.
"Touché, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, regaining his composure, Shut up, Alex. He crossed the room and picked up Mido, who turned into a cat. Tucking the feline under his arm, he strode back to the open window. "With this wounding of my pride, I take my leave. Until next time," He said in a mockingly formal tone. Hinata and Hanabi watched in astonishment as Naruto shimmered out of sight.
"Alright, so he can turn invisible," said Hanabi, impressed. She quickly activated her Byakugan, trying to see the blond's chakra pathways. For a moment she saw him, shining so brightly that she nearly turned the doujutsu off by reflex; she'd never seen such a huge amount of chakra in one person before! Then, to her surprise, the brilliant blue radiance of energy began to dim, shrinking down to a fist-sized point, before vanishing. She gasped. "N-nani?"
"He's g-gone, isn't he?" Hinata asked. Unlike her sister, Hinata already knew about Naruto's Chakra Cloaking technique, so it wasn't as surprising to her. "If N-Naruto-kun says he can do something, c-chances are he c-can."
"I'm still here, ya know," Whispered a voice behind her. Hinata stiffened, but before she could turn around, there was a sharp sting as someone slapped her ass. Naruto gave a cackle before leaping over the corner of the bed and, with a bound, was out the window.
Hinata stood rooted to the spot, a hand on her behind and her eyes wide. A single thought ran through her head: He touched me...He touched me there! Darkness closed in around her as the world tilted. She distantly heard Hanabi say exasperatedly, "Oh, come on, again?"
Naruto leaped over hedges and Hyuugas alike as he exited the compound. He had no idea why he'd done that to Hinata. He hoped she wouldn't be angry at him, but he couldn't help himself. Damn hormones, He thought, a little annoyed.
It's puberty, get over it, Alex said in a deadpan voice.
Besides, it's not like you didn't enjoy feeling up that round, plump ass, right Naruto-kun? Kina asked, grinning lecherously.
Ignore the vixen, Naruto, Alex told Naruto, who had blushed deeply, She just hasn't had a good fuck in...ever, really.
Kina bristled. Hey, my last two containers were both girls, and they never exactly had any interest in anyone other than their husbands...
By this time, Naruto had made it back to the outer wall of the compound and reversed his invisibility pattern. At these words, however, he nearly fell over in shock. With a twist, he thrust himself into the mindscape, appearing directly in front of Kina. "Explain," He said, the flat, angry tone in his voice overpowering as he towered over her.
The fox-girl gulped, slightly intimidated. It wasn't until now that she noticed just how tall Naruto had grown over the past few weeks. "W-well, you aren't the first person I've been sealed into," She babbled, "Before you I was sealed inside Kushina Uzumaki and before her, her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki."
Naruto stared down at her, his hood obscuring his face. "You...were sealed inside my mother," He said slowly, "You knew her...and you didn't tell me?"
"I didn't know her!" Kina said defensively, "She barely ever came to see, let alone speak to me, and she never let me see what her life was like! She was like a stranger to me...and that seal was horrible, so much worse than this one." Her ears and tail drooped as she said this, and her eyes filled with unshed tears at the memory.
Naruto's previous anger at her vanished as he looked at her. He was suddenly aware of how lonely Kina must have been, trapped twice in a cage without anyone to even visit her. Such a notion struck very close to home with him, after the childhood he himself had lived. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She stiffened at the gesture, and then, the sadness she had kept bottled up all those years, brought to the surface by her remembering, came pouring out; she buried her face in his chest and cried, tears streaming from her crimson eyes. Naruto squeezed her gently and rubbed her back, murmuring that she was alright, that she was not alone anymore. While Kina sobbed into his jacket, Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Alex, who was gazing at Kina with sympathy. "Loneliness," He began quietly, "Is a curse that always strikes the strongest. Even the Kyuubi cannot defeat it, because it is not something that strength alone can destroy. I told you a while ago that I was left alone in my old world, that's why I left with the Gormim; anything would have been better than to live through another day of that loneliness. I know how you feel, Kina," Kina had raised her tearstained face to stare at Alex, who continued, "But Naruto is right; you're not alone anymore, you've got us as friends."
Naruto nodded, still hugging her. "You may be one of the most powerful chakra demons in history," He said, "But you're also Kina, a girl with real feelings who needs company."
Nicely said, Alex thought approvingly, watching the weak smile that appeared on the redhead's face
"Thank you," Kina whispered, closing her eyes. She leaned against Naruto, basking in the warmth he gave off. "You two don't know how much that really means to me," She said, "Even I didn't know how much it would mean. I think I see why you wanted to be friends with Hinata, Naruto-kun, after she said she believed in you. It feels so nice to know that someone cares." She backed out of Naruto's grasp and bowed slightly to Alex. "Thank you Alex, for giving a human body and a heart. I feel things that I never did when I was the fox." Then she turned from the pleasantly surprised Alex to Naruto and bowed a bit lower. "And thank you Naruto, for forgiving me even after everything you went through in your life because of me."
Both Blacklights were, quite frankly, stunned at this behavior. Naruto broke the silence. "Any time, Kina-chan. That's what friends are for."
Kina nodded, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"None of that now," Alex said bracingly, "What happened to the flirtatious, perverted fox girl we know and Naruto loves?"
"Hey!" Naruto said indignantly.
Kina blinked at them for a moment in surprise, then her normal grin returned. "Aw come on, you know you like it, Na-ru-to-kun," she said in a tone that was more than a little seductive. She twined her arms around his torso while leaning forward slightly, giving him a very good view down her kimono top.
Alex smiled as he watched the two of them as Naruto tried to back away while, at the same time, not being able to tear his eyes away from the redheaded girl's cleavage. "And so things resume," He murmured, "As they should." Then he frowned. Now that the subject of Kushina had been mentioned, he would eventually have to tell them what he knew of her. It was only right: Naruto deserved to know what sort of person his mother had been, and Kina would want to know what her previous container had been like. He would have gladly told them at that moment, but something stopped him. It might have been his unwillingness to ruin the moment, but he could not fool himself. He would not speak up because that was how he'd grown up in the plague filled streets of New York: 'Secrecy is all.' He'd always had to keep the extent of his knowledge and abilities a secret from those around him, from the military when he infiltrated them, from Doc. Ragland, even from Dana. "I will tell them," He growled to himself, "I just need to find the right time." He looked up, as if seeing beyond the stone ceiling of the chamber. "What do I do, Storia?" He asked wearily, "You were always better at words than me."
(Scattered Foundations library)
A smile tugged at the corner of Storia's mouth. "You don't give yourself credit, Alex," He said, "You are as good with spoken words as I am with written ones. You'll figure it out. That's why you're the field commander and I sit in my tower and do the paperwork." He snorted at that last bit, thinking of the Hokage position. "Poor old sap. One moment you're the God of Shinobi, the next your slaving away to a corrupt council under a pile of papers." He stood up and walked away, finished with his chronicle for the time being. "Let's see where Blair's got to," he said, frowning as he set out across the abyss of the Centerplane.
The Souse girl, as it turns out, was having a bit of trouble. The next candidate on her Chunin Exam list, Len Ferro, was proving to be elusive. She was not worried about him being unwilling to come; on the contrary, unlike Carlos, she knew Len was more compliant and willing to adventure outside the Scattered Foundations. No, the problem was that she couldn't for the life of her remember where the Ferro compound was.
"Hello, Blair." Blair turned to see Storia walking toward her.
Her jaw dropped. "Whoa," She breathed, "So you can leave that library. I thought you were bound there or something. I mean, you sleep there for god's sake."
Storia's eye twitched. "Just because my bedroom is located in my library doesn't mean I'm incapable of leaving," He snapped. Seeing her look of skepticism, he sighed and held up a hand. "My living quarters aside, what problem are you having? Don't look at me like that, I know you're having difficulties; which compound are you looking for?"
Slightly impressed by how quick on the uptake her uncle was, Blair said, embarrassedly, "I need to find the Ferro compound."
That had him raising his eyebrows. "You want Lavernius?" Blair suppressed a wince. She knew that Len hated that name. "Well, finding the compound is pretty simple if you think about the relations of the families."
"Relations?"
Storia pushed his glasses up his nose. "Our families do not have blood ties. Instead, the closeness between each house, and thus the elemental demesnes, is determined by the relations of the elements."
Understanding dawned in the blue-haired girl and she nodded. "That's why the Souse compound is always close to the Ghiaccio compound," She said, "because of the relationship between water and ice!"
"Precisely," The Spellwright said, pleased by the comprehension he'd caused, "The Ferro and Binarius families are equally, if not more close. Metal and technology overlap in many places and, as such, the Ferros' compound is actually attached to the Binarius'."
Blair nodded, grinning. "Right, thanks uncle!" She turned and started running.
"Blair!"
She turned back to look at the gray man, who made an odd turning gesture. "It's underneath," he said, "The compound is located on the reverse side of the Binarius grounds."
Blair bit her lip and nodded again before running off.
I swear, if I didn't call them back, they'd still rush about without finding anything, Storia thought ruefully. He strode off in a different direction. I wonder what Morris is up to?
AN: And that's it for this chapter. To tell the truth, I can already see that some of the things in this one are a little rushed-looking, but I honestly can't do anything to change that. Also, I know that a lot of you guys are gonna be pissed that I turned around and made Kakashi good. Sorry, but that's the just way it turned out. I mean, he's a Jonin; he shouldn't be acting as childish as he did in the previous chapters and Naruto reminded him of that fact. There might be times when Kakashi thinks he knows something better than Naruto and tries to assert himself in the future or something like that. Who knows?
Anyway, summary time:
1. Naruto has been doing a lot of training under Alex, especially in the areas of chakra control and stealth. During the one month time-skip before wave arc, Alex will also start to teach him the basics of sealing, like storage seals. I've been keeping much of Naruto's actual training secret; this is due to Alex's desire to keep Naruto's abilities a secret
2. Naruto learns that he can turn invisible. Naruto may have super strength, but that doesn't mean he'll be an up-close fighter all the time. He'll be learning anything that would make him stronger, be it stealth, jutsu, or sensory.
3. I realized that Naruto hasn't been to Ichiraku's at all in my story yet, so I decided to do a little scene there. Sorry if it seems rushed.
4. Hinata may be friends with Naruto, but she still stalks the hell out of him. Old habits are hard to break, it seems. ^_^'
5. In case it wasn't made clear, Naruto's been learning to sense chakra. So far it's going well.
6. Naruto's method of turning invisible is my own invention. So is the idea of combining that with his Chakra Cloaking.
7. Breaking into the Hyuuga compound while invisible is going to be one of Naruto's pastimes for when he's bored. My sister pointed out that he could try to learn clan techniques by breaking into the library. I agree; the Kaiten would be easy to perform after his training in blasting chakra out of his tenketsu. Also for the Hakke: Kūshō, you don't need a Byakugan for that. And yes, breaking into Hinata's room will also be a recurring theme.
8. Naruto learns that Kushina was the previous Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. For those who will think that Naruto was not angry for long, that's the way he is. He does not become genuinely angry unless someone close to him (Hinata) is threatened. Otherwise, he's just kinda pissed. When Alex said that Naruto would end up the same as him in personality, that's the sort of thing he meant. Naruto will retain some things about himself (Like -ttebayo! If I can work it in) but he will pick up some things from my Alex.
9. Kina has been sealed inside a container since the time of the Shodaime Hokage. For most of that time she was a fox made of chakra, but if you were trapped in two different cages for many decades and hardly ever spoken to, especially when you know that there are people nearby, the loneliness would start to get to you. When Alex removed her from the cage and gave her a human body, she was also given more human feelings, which is mainly the reason why she cried when she remembered that time. This scene literally came out of nowhere when I wrote it. Don't worry, she'll be back to her normally perverted self later.
10. Alex knows Kushina. I don't mean that he knows about her from canon (Although he still does), I mean that he knows the one from this world personally. In time, I shall reveal Alex's prior involvement in this world at a later time.
11. Blair is looking for Len Ferro, a Gorem of metal. I was meaning to introduce him in this chapter, but chickened out and decided to leave when I did. I really want to upload this now.
12. What do you think of my idea? The Gormim are not related by blood, they're related elementally. For instance, Carlos and Len are pretty much brothers due to the relationship between metal and technology. Another example would be the wind Gormim, the Baro family, and the sound Gormim, the Dins. Sound would not be able to exist without air to travel through, so their relationship is something like father/son, or uncle/nephew.
Harem: Here is a list of people I'm not sure should be in the harem. Please tell me if you want one or more of them.
Ino (Lightning, Lampe)
Blair (Water, Souse)
Temari (Wind, Baro)
Yugito + Nibi (Unknown)
Huh. Shorter list than I thought...
Anyway, thanks to the advice of jdgar78, it has been decided that Anko will become a Blacklight. Great! Now I just have to introduce her and develop her character.
Here's to another completed chapter! Happy April Fools day, or Pesce D'Aprile! North South out. Be sure to leave a review and to hug the Fox-girl on the way out. She needs a hug.
Next time: 'Bout time we got a damn C-rank.
