Chapter 13: Training Begins
We arrived to a clear, spring day. The place was surrounded by trees and it was extremely quiet except for the chirping of the birds.
"Where are we?" I asked Shadow.
"We're outside the walls of Konoha." he said as he continued walking.
"What's Konoha?"
"It's a village in the Land of Fire…also known as the Hidden in the Leaf village…"
"You seem to be very knowledgeable about this place." I complimented.
"Of course, I've been raised here since I was little."
"By who?"
"If you're referring to one, then I don't have one. I have many…the ones who raised me were the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Hokages. Currently, I'm now under the supervision of the Eighth Hokage."
"What happened to the Sixth?"
"I'd rather not talk about it…"
'He stole my phrases!' "Then…what's a Hokage?"
"A Hokage is the leader of the village…they are honored for their services to the village. Also, they are the strongest shinobis of this village. There are other types of titles for these leaders, but here, we call them Hokages. Understand?"
"I guess…" I mumbled.
We walked a little further along the way, but I still couldn't find the outskirts of the village. I stared at Shadow, who was right in front of me, in question. 'Does he know where he's going?' Of course, he does…the villages is just to our right… 'How'd you know?' I can sense their chakra…and there's a mass of them there… 'Chakra?'
"Shadow…what's chakra?" I asked.
"Chakra is the essential to even the most basic jutsu. It's a mixture of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from training and experience. Once they mix, it can be channeled through the chakra circulatory system to any of the 361 chakra points in the body. These chakra points are also called tenketsu."
I stood at my spot and stared at him in confusion.
"I must be boring you…since of course, you never concentrate in your studies. So I'll make it simpler for you. Chakra is your energy source…your power. Use it too much will result to your death. Use it too little and you wouldn't be able to perform any type of jutsu." explained Shadow in a kind of bored manner.
"You know…you could have just said that instead of that dictionary term…" I mumbled after I understood a little of what he was explaining.
"Don't worry. Your sensei will explain more to you about it. He was as dumb as you when he was your age." Shadow continued.
"And who may he be?"
"The Eighth Hokage."
'The Eighth Hokage? He's going to train me!' "Who…who's the Eighth Hokage?" I stuttered.
"Uzumaki Naruto…why?"
The Nine-tailed Fox…so, he's our trainer… 'Nine-tailed Fox…what's that?' It's a tailed beast that possesses monstrous powers. They were said to be extremely destructive…though they were sealed away into hosts. 'Hosts?' Humans…like that Uzumaki Naruto. Though the Nine-tailed Fox is heard to be the strongest of the tailed beast because of its limitless amount of chakra… 'Is that so?'
"How are you related to the Eighth Hokage?" I asked.
"Naruto? Hm…I was his teammate of Team 7…I was his father's disciple…and oh yeah…he's my brother."
"Wait…he's your brother?"
"So…" Shadow said as he turned to face me.
"Fang…he said that you don't have a family…does that mean that Naruto is your adopted brother too?"
"And if he is…"
"Then…what happened to your family?"
Shadow glowered at me and I noticed that he was revealing his fangs at me with menace. Before I knew it, he charged at me and grabbed me by the shirt. He lifted me off my feet and pulled me to meet him at eye level. 'I never knew he was this tall!' Compared to him, I was a midget at a height of 5'2" while he was a height of 6'5".
"What about my family?" he snarled with malice.
"Nothing…I was just wondering…that's all. I promise!" I stuttered.
He released his grip on me, which caused me to land on the ground hard, and continued to walk ahead.
Don't anger him… 'I know that now!' And never refer his family to him… 'You think I'm stupid enough to do that again!'
"Geez…you don't have to be so touchy…" I coughed.
I got up and ran after him. We finally stopped in the middle of a field and before us stood a man with blonde hair and an orange cloak.
It's him… 'Who?' The Nine-tailed Fox…
I looked at the man ahead of us, whose back was still turned to us.
"We're here…sorry if we're late, Eighth Hokage…" said Shadow.
"Hahaha…there's no need for formality, brother." said the Hokage, who then turned to face us.
I noticed that he had bright, blue eyes and whiskers on his cheeks, which I thought was pretty strange. 'Are they his birthmarks?'
"Welcome to the training grounds, newcomer. I'm the Eighth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, but you can call me Naruto if you wish…" said Naruto.
"And you told me not to be formal…" grumble Shadow.
"Well, I'm Ulrich Stern." I introduced.
"I've heard a lot about you from my brother, Leo. He said that you're much of a weakling." smirked Naruto.
"Oh well…yeah I guess."
"Can we start with the training? I'm not in the mood for talks and formal conversations here…" Shadow growled.
"Alright! Let the training begin!" shouted Naruto in joy.
"Wait! I just got here!" I protested.
"The sooner we start your training, the stronger you'll become. So quit your complaining and ready yourself." said Shadow as he took off his shirt and training weights.
I looked at the guy in astonishment because of the weights on his body. 'They're bound to be over a ton!'
"Ready, kid?" asked Shadow with a cocky grin on his face.
"What? I'm going to fight you?" I asked while backing at least 5 feet away from him.
"No…you're not." Shadow replied while putting his fighting gloves on.
"You'll be fighting the both of us." continued Naruto, who had already taken his cloak off to reveal an orange jumpsuit with black streaks.
I stared at the both of them in surprise. 'I'm going to die!' Stop complaining! And get ready! If you're not careful, you might end up with your body broken into pieces! 'I'm definitely going to die.'
"Alright, kid! Ready or not, here it comes!" shouted Shadow, who lunged himself at me with full force.
I managed to dodge his punch, which connected to the ground, but it wasn't the end. The ground shook and a diameter of 10 feet of ground began to crumble from his punch. I fell to my feet as I stared at his strength. 'This is…unbelieveable.'
"Ulrich." I looked at Shadow in bewilderment. "You say that you want to become stronger, don't you?" I shook my head in agreement. "Then…from today on to your last day of your two years, your training will put you to the excruciating point of your limitation. Are you ready for that?" 'Am I ready? If I am…can I survive these guys' training?'
I got back onto my feet and positioned myself to a fighting stance. 'I have to…for my friends! For Yumi!' For Yumi…
I could feel Fang's strength surging within me, which helped build my confidence.
Shadow and Naruto grinned. "Let's go!"
Naruto lunged at me first. "Sorry, kid. But I'm not going to hold back!"
Shadow followed right behind him. "Get ready for this!"
I stood in my spot, readying myself for a counter. 'I can do this…we can do this!' Yes we CAN!
"Aaaa…Take this!" I shouted as I threw a counter against Naruto.
And my training begins…day one…