Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
ALL HAIL THE CREATOR- Kishimoto Masashi
Sorry I haven't updated in like three months, I've been busy getten stuff ready for college and doing stuff for the school. But here it is Part one of three
Genin of the Leaf
The four small teams all stood in single file groups together in front of the Hokage. She carefully looked them all over. A hidden Mist team, a hidden Grass team, a hidden Sand team, and a hidden Leaf team. "Congratulations, you have all passed the second test and are one step closer to becoming Chuunin. As is custom for all who are here I will explain what the Chuunin exam really is."
Most of the genin looked from side to side at one another. The only ones who didn't were Naruto, the white clad girl and her team mates.
Tsunade went on "These exams are a replacement for real wars that would kill many. In order to keep our armies strong the allies hold the chuunin exams. Not only do we help determine which shinobi are fit to take on roles of leadership, but we also fight and show the prestige of our villages. When you take the third exam, you will be fighting in one on one fights. When you are out there you are expected to fight your hardest and show what your village is capable of. Are there any questions so far? I do not want you to misunderstand the meaning of this exam."
The only person to raise their hand was the konoichi from the hidden Grass Team. "Why do the allied Nations need to fight at all? If they are pledged to one another doesn't that get rid of any reason to fight?"
Tsunade looked at the girl and smiled "We don't fight just to fight. This exam helps us solve many of our differences and problems and helps to boost the number of clients that each village receives." She took a break to see if there were any other people with questions. When none did she went on "Is there anyone who does not wish to continue. From this point on you may drop out and your other teammates can still go on." No one was going to quit now. "I would like each of you to pick up a tile from Yabose" at the name a female in the standard chuunin vest walked forward with a box "and tell use your number."
The first was Naruto "One, again." He said rolling his eyes. Then Hanabi "Six." And Jakon "seven".
Next the Sand nin drew their numbers. First was Yargon " nine", Mishimi "four", and Garik "Eleven"
The grass team drew there's next. The Konoichi was first "Eight", then the pale faced man "five", and the masked fighter "Ten".
The last team drew their numbers, first the white clad girl. It was the first time he had heard the girl speak, her voice was angelic for the brief second she spoke "twelve", then the man named Aaron "two", and the last man, Konho, "three."
The matches were decided. Naruto would have to fight two matched before he was in the finals. Jakon and Hanabi would have to fight three battles to make it to the finals. Naruto looked at the names of the contestants. Number twelve, Lyn Frodis. So that's her name. Naruto thought to himself. He had a memory stuck in the back of his head, as if he should know this girl or something about her, but nothing came.
Tsunade began to talk again after a few moments longer. "You will have thirty days to prepare yourself. In this time do whatever you must so you are at your best. In thirty days a tournament shall be held, with many leaders and possible clients watching. Go now and get ready, you must be ready or you will die. Dismissed!" she said the last part with a wave of her hand and turned and walked away.
Kakashi walked with the group as they headed towards the Hokage's Tower. Kakashi thought it would be best if they went to Tsunade first and after they were dismissed she was no were to be found.
Kakashi thought while they walked, wondering what the younger two had seen and what Naruto had done. 'Those kids were never supposed to know about the nine-tail, now they saw what happens when it comes out. How far did he go when he lost control? Hopefully they will know better that to tell anyone.'
When they arrived at the Hokage's Tower the group was greeted by Sakura. She was put off by how quiet they were and how wretched Naruto looked. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, what happened?" she said in a hushed voice.
"Sakura, we have to talk to the Hokage, is she back yet?" he said monotonously
"No, she was going to talk to the supervisors of the third exam at the arena after her speech. Why? What's wrong?' she said, unease coming into her voice.
Kakashi sighed and said quietly "Naruto lost control. Just tell her that will you, though it's likely she already felt it and knows." Then he turned to the three genin,. "You may go, but do not talk of this to anyone. Your parents will be informed and they will take the proper measures in your households and let you know what you must. Go home and sleep, you will still have to train for the third round."
They soon left, Kakashi off to the Hyuga and Orashi households, Jakon and Hanabi off to their homes, and Sakura and Naruto walked along a dusty road towards the Ramen shop. Naruto was quiet and had his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground.
'Why does he have to suffer like this?' Sakura thought. She wanted to ask what had happened, to yell at him, to hit him, something, 'Why did he have to go and lose control. I though he was starting to control it.' She thought to herself. Finally she resolved her internal conflict. With one quick motion Naruto was on the ground and Sakura was soon standing over him, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him up. She had one arm in the air, ready to hit him again if he said something stupid. "Why?" she yelled at him "I thought you were doing better? What would cause you to lose control like that?"
"Orochimaru," he said quietly and looked away from her.
"What?!" she said in confusion, "he's dead, we saw his body, Sasuke killed him."
Naruto looked at her now, tears filling his eyes as he talked, "No, Orochimaru took over Sasuke's body and escaped, that is what happened. What we saw was a shell of Orochimaru's last body."
Sakura let go of his shirt and she fell backwards, her hands at her mouth and tears beginning to fill her eye's as well. "No" she whispered, not able to believe it, "How?, How do you know this?" she said just loud enough for Naruto to hear her.
"During the exam, when the nine-tails began to come out," he said slowly, "we were attacked by a group of shinobi bounty hunters. One of them told me I had a bounty and was able to tell me were they got the bounty from. He said he got it from a man who claimed to be Orochimaru but looked nothing like him and had red eyes. Unless you can think of someone else with red eye's who would claim to be Orochimaru…" He began to sob again.
Sakura looked at Naruto, she thought of everything that had happened since they had been thrown in together. They had made friends and become friends themselves, they had had victories and losses, they had mourned at funerals of those they had lost to Orochimaru and Akatsuki, they had fought beside each other and fought with each other, they had spent almost three years apart, and still they were here and enduring more and more.
Finally she spoke, wiping the tears from her eyes and making a wobbly attempt to stand up, "Then we still have a job to do." She said as she took a few steps forward and helped Naruto to his feet. "We have to get rid of Sasuke's killer and bring his body home. We can't let Orochimaru's foul mind stay in his body, now can we?"
Naruto gave a sliver of a smile and wiped the tears away from his eyes too. "Yeah, I guess your right." he said.
They began to walk again side by side when Sakura started up a new conversation. "So what kind of man are you anyway? No man I know would be crying like that."
Korina walked into her son's room in their home. Kakashi had left a while ago to tell the Hyuga what she had been told. She looked in and he was not there, though there was a small note on the bed
Gone to Grandfathers house, I needed to talk with him- Jakon
She sighed and put her head into her hand. 'That's the last person he needs to be talking to.' She thought to herself, 'Jakon's own father doesn't know about Naruto and his grandfather will tell him too much.'
Jakon opened the sliding door and entered his grandfathers house, calling quietly to him. "Grandfather, are you home?"
The old man sat in front of a small shrine with the picture of a woman on it. "Yes Jakon, I'm here. Why are you bothering me? You should know better than to go anywhere after what happened the other day."
Jakon looked at the old man, his back still to Jakon, "You know?"
"Yes" he said with a sigh, and he picked up his walking stick and stood up. His blood red eye's always seemed to stare through him but he had gotten used to it, he had no idea how Naruto could have stood it. When he was standing again he loomed over Jakon, a figure of power. "I could feel it all the way over here as I sat praying for you." He went on, "I assume you know what Naruto is then?"
Jakon looked at him, a new perception of his grandfather now. He was no longer simply the old man who his mother called father and the people in the clan walked and talked softly around, he seemed more powerful, nearly sage like for some reason. 'Is this what Naruto thought when they first talked'.
"Well boy, do you or are you just moon struck?" he said hitting Jakon in the leg with his walking stick.
"Yes grandfather, I know what he is. He is a Jinchuuriki, right?" he said gravely.
Jakaron looked at his grandson with a smile creeping onto his face. "Yes, that is what he is, though I warn you that is a powerful word, a word that can kill. What do you think of him now? He is no longer the same person you knew, so who is he to you now that you know his darkest secret?"
Jakon thought about this for a moment 'He's not the same person anymore? Is that true? He had lied to me and Hanabi, to all the Leaf. But he did it to protect himself.' Then he remembered something Naruto had said in the testing area, 'He wasn't even supposed to know himself though. How can I not blame him for not telling us and at the same time I know I cannot blame him because he hates what he is, he said it himself when he talked to grandfather. Do I hate him or do I forgive him?' Jakon thought for a little while longer fighting within himself.
"Grandfather?" he said after he had come to a conclusion.
"Yes, have you been thinking on what I asked you?" said Jakaron slowly.
"Yes and I have a question for you before I answer." He said, and the old man gave a slight nod, "Do you hate him?"
Jakaron smiled "Far from it. What I have seen in my many long years in this life, is that Jinchuuriki are outcasts for no reasons and are often so hollow, emotionless, and sometimes violent, because people around them will not embrace them or forgive them for crimes they have not committed. But as far as I can see, what have they done to earn our wrath? They do not deserve hatred until they have done something to deserve it."
Jakon knew what he thought and would not change his mind "I don't think Naruto is some monster. The people of the leaf who put the demon inside of him to save themselves and now hate him have wronged him. He deserves much better."
"Well then, I'm glad you think that, since you really have no choice but to work with him." said a women's voice from the front door behind him. His mother walked up and put her hand firmly on her sons shoulder. "You shouldn't have left. If anyone who isn't supposed to know were to found out what you have learned the consequences would be grave."
"I know," he said and turned back to Jakaron, "Thank you grandfather, you have helped me greatly."
Jakaron turned and sat back down in front of the picture of the woman saying softly "All I did was ask you a couple of questions, you did the rest."
Jakon and his mother turned and left, when they got back to the house Korina told Jakon everything she thought he needed to know about Jinchuuriki, though his thoughts were on Naruto. He also decided to talk to his grandfather about this so he could get the whole truth.
Hanabi sat outside of the room were Kakashi and her father were talking. She sat there and thought on what had happened. He thoughts began to go deeper and deeper like they had many times before.
'What is he? He is a Demon, that is what he is! That's why he was sent away, to keep the Leaf safe. Then why did they bring him back? But Naruto has never seemed evil, he has become one of my first friends.' Deeper her thoughts went. 'And I thought he was weak. I was so wrong and now I have seen how strong he is. What else have I been wrong about? When we met I was cruel to him and Jakon, yet he was willing to except me. Was it because he was never excepted?' Deeper and deeper the thoughts go. 'There are others like him too. Who are they? What can they do? I'm nothing next to them and they are there running free! How can the Great Shinobi villages allow them to exist?' Deeper and deeper her thoughts spiraled down into the very pits of her soul. 'He has changed me.'
Hanabi never heard Kakashi leave and only came aware after her father put is hand on her shoulder. "Hanabi," he said calmly, his face hard as ice yet his white eyes as soft as snow, "we must talk about what happened."
"Yes father." She said quietly, almost meekly if that could be said of Hanabi. They walked back into the small room, lit by candles in each corner. Hanabi sat across from her father, both on their knees. Hiashi had his eyes closed for a while, thinking of what to tell his daughter.
Finally he opened his eyes and stared at her, looking at her eye's, just as white as his, and the slightly faded scar that ran don her face from her first real fight, and said "You know what Naruto Uzumaki is the holder of the Nine-Tailed Fox and that he can lose control over it at times. I assume that is what happened yesterday, am I right?"
She just nodded her head and he went on "He has, for a time, been able to control some of the nine-tails chakra safely. But in recent times, since he came back from his two and a half year training trip, it has become known to some of us that he is losing control and the seal that holds the demon inside of him at bay are weakening. I am not supposed to tell you all of this but I think it is necessary that you fully understand what is going on. This is not something you may talk about with people. The only ones of the Hyuga clan that know this are the elders and myself, all the rest who knew have died and the rest were too young to know."
He waited a few seconds to try and read his daughters face, too see how she was taking this. Her face had not changed since she entered and this worried him. "Hanabi, I would like you to know one more thing. I have much to thank him for and much to apologize to him for. He was made an outcast from society because of people like me who feared the Nine-Tailed Fox or saw him as the nine-tails reborn, and for that I must apologies. I must thank him too, for he has shown no malice towards us and has even helped the village many times. Above all of this he has helped me."
This last part caught Hanabi's attention "He has helped you father? How?" How did she not know of this?
Hiashi looked at his daughter, thinking of the family Naruto had helped to bring closer together. But he did not mention it to her, it was something that Naruto was unaware of himself. "That is something I must tell you another day dear. Now you know not to tell anyone about this and not to talk to anyone except Naruto or myself. That is all I needed to tell you. Please ask Hinata to come to me if you see her.
As she stood Hanabi told her father she would and left the room, heading for the front entrance. As she came to the front door Hanabi forgot what she had seen that day for a moment and thought about the third part of the exam that would come in thirty days. As she walked outside the manor she left sight of the house itself and just wandered.
She passed the ramen shop where Naruto sat talking with the young pink haired apprentice to the Hokage, Sakura. Not far away she saw Kakashi, the man who had trained Naruto and was a legend in himself. As she walked on she passed a small sake bar were Jiraiya and a old blond haired woman sat getting drunk. She climbed the Hokage's Mountain and looked out at the village from atop the forth Hokage's head. She soon saw that she was not alone. Over on the head of the fifth was Jakon. He had not seen her and she walked over to him.
"Hey" she said quietly as she got closer.
"Hey, what you doing up here?" he asked, watching her walk over and sit next to him.
"I should ask you the same thing. I'm here because I couldn't stay in the manor any longer. After I had been told what I needed to be told I left."
"Same here," he replied. He took a second then took a little leap of trust. "So what do you think of Naruto now, I mean since he is not the same person we knew anymore?" he said, trying to sound as wise as his grandfather had when they talked.
"I don't know," she said with almost no hesitation. "I used to think he was some kind of weakling or an idiot, which he is, but I seemed almost drawn to him. Its like he affects everyone he comes across. The people in the Wave country, you, me, my own family. They all seemed to think he changed them. And still I cannot think that he has done something wrong or is somehow wrong. Yet I cannot make myself hate him. He is so powerful, I could barely bear to look at him when he started to release that chakra, and it just felt wrong. How can someone who has something like that in them be human?" after a second she went on again, "Your right, he is not the same person we knew, he's a complete stranger."
Jakon lightly shook his head, "But he is the same person, he has something more to him we just found out, but he is the same person. He hasn't made a big change like you have."
She looked at him with her white eye's, "I have changed too? I hadn't noticed, but your right, I have changed. He has taken something from inside of me."
"No," said Jakon, "He gave you something. When I first talked to you, on the day we learned our teams, you were cold and uncaring. Now you have something more. You have emotions that I never saw before. You were a loner when we had our first fight, now we can fight together and win were neither of us could before. Naruto has given you something, something that makes me love you."
For a minute the air stood still with the impact of the words. His fiery red eyes stared into her's which were white as a the moon. Then she leaned in and kissed him. He kept staring as she got up and began to walk away.
She thought to herself as she walked, a single tear rolling down he face, 'He has taken something from inside of me, he has taken my shinobi's heart.'
In the morning Jakon woke up and dressed in a loose black shirt and shorts that he wore for training, the four pronged star of his clan on the back of the shirt. He thought briefly at what had happened last night as if it were a fleeting dream and he would forget it soon. He walked into the kitchen to find his mother sitting at the table, his grandfather standing behind her looking in his direction.
"Good," said the old man, clutching his walking stick in his right hand, "your up. I have just informed your mother that I will be taking over your training from this day forward." Jakon looked at his mother and saw that she may have been on the brink of crying, "I will be taking you for three weeks staring today. You will get three days every seven days to come back and spend it with your mother and your friends. Go and pack what you might need for a trip and come back out here in fifteen minutes, your mother and I still have something else to talk about."
Jakon left the room to find what he would need, but Korina turned to the old man as soon as she thought he was out of hearing and continued the fight that they had been having before Jakon came in.
"He is not ready for your method of training father!" she said to him in a hushed urgency, "Why do you insist on doing this?"
"Because Korina, I must make sure he is ready." He said his red eyes staring into hers.
"Preparing him for what?" she rebottled, "I can get him just as ready as you could for this exam, and I am less likely to get him killed. What could you possibly think is this important?"
"Because from this day forward he is to be my apprentice." He said with a silent fury, "Because when I die he will take my place as the clan head, not you." The woman's eye's went as wide as they could go, her mouth open with speechlessness, but Jakaron went on, "I will see to it that someone who is properly trained will take over this clan, not some woman who could not finish half the training I had put before her. You had your chance, I offered you the same training as I will give to Jakon. You said it would kill you, you said no one could finish it, but you should know that all of the men and women who have led this clan have finished this exact training. That is why I still live, to find someone to carry this clan on through all the hardships it must take."
The old man looked at her with great spite, a look that had been well know between daughter and father in the hidden Leaf. "You will know what is to come when son finishes his training. If he dies I will send you his body and all of my secrets and hopes with it. If he lives then he can tell you those secrets himself." The old man refused to say more until Jakon came out. "Well boy," he said with a small smile on his face, "give your mother a hug, it seems she is going to miss you, she almost looks ready to cry."
Korina gave her son a hug and gave a hate filled look at her father from over his shoulder. She told Jakon goodbye and to come home safely.
For three hours Jakon and Jakaron walked, leaving the Leaf and climbing a lush mountain outside the village. Eventually they reached a spot that was leveled off and cleared of bushes, a tree split down the middle was all that was there. Jakaron walked over to a ledge and called Jakon over as well. They looked out at the scenery until Jakon asked what they were going to do first.
Jakaron gave a little smile and said to the boy, "The world, it is said by some, was made with seven days of work and one day of rest. On this first day you shall created anew." He said as he lifted the butt of the walking stick and pressed it into the boys back, feeding his chakra into the staff. "Seal of the four pronged thunder."
Jakon felt as if the spot were he was being touched by the staff was being stabbed over and over again, a million little kunai in his flesh. He could not control his muscle, he felt as his arms and hands constricted and tightened, the muscles in his back were as tense as a board of iron, and soon his legs gave out completely. When his legs gave out the old man pressed downwards into the boys back and his once blood red eyes now shown as bright as Jakon's and Korina's. From beneath his black clothing a bright light shown from where his heart would be, a light in the shape of the four pronged star.
As the little star got brighter the more chakra that was fed into the staff. The jutsu would not let Jakon lose consciousness but he could feel as more and more energy poured into him. The staff that was being stabbed into Jakon's back began to overflow with energy, the crackling of thunder and a whip of lightning jut off from the staff and soon it was two then three and finally four prongs of lightning. Once the forth appeared Jakaron made one last and devastating push into Jakon's back and the four prongs disappeared in to his body.
It was there, at the edge of that cliff overlooking the Leaf village in all of its glory, that Jakon lost consciousness, and his training began.
When he woke up it was dark and cold out. He felt the heat of a fire to his back and when he opened he eyes he saw the dancing of shadows as the fire burned on. Slowly he began to sit up, feeling a burst of burning pain go through his back. The first time he collapsed back to the ground and the second he was able to sit up, ignoring the pain as best he could. Across from him sat his grandfather with his legs crosses, his blood red eyes glowing in the light of the fire and his walking stick across his lap.
The old man watched him as he had sat up and now spoke slowly, "Well, your alive. So how do you feel?"
'Well', thought Jakon, 'beside the fact that I was just attacked and knocked out by my grandfather, and that now my back feels ready to tear me open,' Then Jakon realized that, yes he was in pain, but he felt good, better than he had felt in a long time. "I feel… great."
The old man gave an evil grin and let out a bellowing laugh that echoed through the night, "HAA, You must be the first person to say that! Most are too stuck on the pain." He said this last part more seriously, "Not even your mother said that and she had enough spirit in her at that age to put Naruto Uzumaki to shame. I knew I was right to train you!"
"What?" he said understanding only some of what he meant. "My mother went through this too?"
The old man looked at him, examining how he moved, feeling for his chakra and how it was reacting. Then he said with his eyes full of excitement, "Yes your mother has gone through some of the training you have to go through. She was not able to finish it though, she gave up, her spirit broken. When I was undergoing this training," he said with a bit of remembrance, "I had no choice, I was made to finish the training and I was made better for it." Then, realizing he had strayed off topic a little, he became more serious, "But it is good that you have come around. I don't want to waste any of the daylight explaining this too you."
"What I have done is a blessing and a curse. I have given you the 'curse seal of thunder.'" Then he opened up the top of his robe and there where his heart would be was the four pronged star of the Orashi clan. Jakon looked at the seal closely, it was completely black and unmoved by time or age. Jakaron went on, "It will give you several advantages but it will also give me one. It was made as a seal of obedience when giving this training to others. Over time though the different masters of the clan had seen it prudent to do more with it and it is now the most powerful technique we own. Once that seal is put on the skin it will always be active. It's most useful aspect is the ability to store chakra, acting as a reservoir to use in dire situations. It draws chakra from three places, from your body, from others who feed it into you, and from nature around you."
The last part seemed to peak Jakon's interest, 'To draw chakra from the world around you, to have an indefinite supply of chakra, is it truly possible?'. "What do you mean," he said carefully, "'from nature'?"
Jakaron smiled at the boy, who had realized the potential for such a seal. "It means that you will always have chakra available to you in some form. But be warned: while in battle, the seal will not fill up fast enough to use indefinitely. The reason you feel so good right now," he carried on, "is because you feel the chakra enter the seal and your body. The seal will also act as a way to help you change the nature of your chakra. Something that was very useful, since our clan came from the Cloud Country. It gives a very useful ability to heal the wounds you receive, but it will fully drain your reservoir and even then it is so crude it could make some injuries worse. Lastly is my advantage, the seals purpose was to prevent students from running away or striking out at the master and to punish them as seen fit. With very little chakra into my own seal I can activate this and you will feel all the pain you had received when the seal was placed on you."
Jakon remembered being told of a similar seal used by the Hyuga clan. In fact, now that he thought of it, he had seen it once while watching Hanabi and her cousin Neji spar. She had not beaten him but she had knocked away his head protector, and there on his forehead lay the seal. This one did not seem as deadly as the one used by the Hyuga though. 'But why would the clan need a seal like this?' He thought to himself, what had he gotten himself into? "What kind of training is am I going to be doing that they would need such a seal?" he asked after a moment of silence.
Jakaron looked at the boy, proud by how intuitive he seemed compared to the others he had tried to give this training to. It was really common sense, but the others just marched on and took the training, thinking the seal would get them through it. "First I must see how strong you are," he said, "then I will teach you how to control the curse seal, after that will come learning to manipulate the nature of your chakra, and if you learn fast enough I will begin to teach you some of the jutsu that I have gathered over the years. It will not be easy and if I am to use the same methods I was put to, you will come to loath me." The man took one last look at Jakon and told him to rest, in the morning he would be tried.
The next morning Jakon woke up to the feel of electricity surging through his back. As he tossed and turned he felt it get stronger and stronger and then it was gone. As he carefully sat up the pain disappeared completely, as if it were just a memory and no more. His back still hurt from what had happened the day before but he struggled through it. He looked over and saw Jakaron looking at him, his walking stick pointed at Jakon, the cliff lay behind him and the sun rising some place off in the east. "We wake up at the break of dawn every day." He said. He planted the butt of the staff into the ground and told Jakon to find something to eat and in ten minutes be standing at the split tree or he would activate the seal again.
In ten minutes Jakon walked over to the tree, falling down in pain as he neared it. "I said ten minutes and your not standing at the tree." Said the old man, his stick pointed at Jakon again. "Stand up and we will begin." He ordered Jakon to remove his shirt and take a stance. Jakon complied, moving his back made it hurt even more but he did it anyways, and faced his grandfather in one of the poses his mother had taught him. "Good, good, Your mother never had a problem with the proper stances." Then he walked off, leaving ten yards between Jakon and himself and he removed his robes.
Instead of the wrinkled skin that Jakon had expected, his grandfather's body was covered in muscles and scars, at his heart lay the curse seal. He held the walking stick now as a weapon and he ordered Jakon, "ATTACK!"
But instead of moving, Jakon looked at him as if he were mad. A snarl passed over the mans face and he made the first move. In the blink of an eye the old man who had seemed so crippled and reliant on his walking stick, now struck him with the same stick. The blow landed across his face and turned his head to the left. The next hit was to his legs and he was knocked to the ground. The old man stood above Jakon now, the walking stick raised above him, ready to be forced down on to his chest.
Moving with all the speed he could must Jakon rolled out from under the stick and pushed himself up in to the air with his arms and leg so he could land on his feet. But Jakaron was there and struck him down again with the walking stick across his back. "Come on!" egged the old man, "Get on your feet and fight me! Do you need a little help?" he said, putting his foot under his stomach and kicking him into the air and punching Jakon away from him. The old man yelled once more, "Stand up and take a stance when your ready."
This time when Jakon got up he did not hesitate. He made a few hand signs and used one of the jutsu his mother had taught him, light clone jutsu. A bright light appeared to either side of him and two more Jakon's were standing beside him. All three ran forward and tried to attack the old man. None of the hits connected, in fact he seemed to be getting faster. Soon he stabbed with his walking stick and hit first one of the clones and then bringing the butt of the stick he took out the other. They went out with a bright explosion of light that happened when they were touched, but he paid no mind to them and proceeded to strike at Jakon with his free hand.
This one two appeared to be a clone and went up in light. Once the last was hit did Jakon come out. He had waited for the last clone and once it was struck he came out with his hands in a seal and using another jutsu his mother taught, White fist. Mid air his right hand began to glow with energy and he struck out.
Instead of dodging the attack Jakaron positioned himself so the glowing hand hit his curse seal. When it hit the jutsu disappeared and the light on his hand entered the seal. "I told you that others could feed the seal as well. They must have their chakra leave their body in some way, even through the light of your jutsu." Then he moved the walking stick between Jakon's legs and flipped him over and slammed him into the ground. "So your going to take me like a real opponent now?" he said as Jakon stood up, "Good, then I shall do the same." Placing the staff in the ground he made four seals and then ran forwards, a blur of light. In an instant he was behind Jakon, followed by streaks of lightning from the staff that all struck Jakon head on.
Feeling himself fall to the ground and ready to lose awareness he heard his grandfather, "Heal yourself Jakon. The seal on your back can heal those wounds, I filled your seal last night. Feel the energy in that seal and pull it out. Feel it's energy and spread it through your body. Do it or you will die right here and now."
Jakon was barely able to hear him, the words floating out in the nothingness the surrounded his mind right now. He could feel the thing on his back, it's power, the pain that had not gone away even when he had woken, he felt his mind reaching out for the power that laid there and finally ripping it out of the seal. He felt his body convulse and felt where he had been struck burn with a sensation beyond pain. He looked at his shoulder and saw the wound knitting itself together, painfully. When at last the pain stopped he sat up as best he could, the pain in his back seeming to never go away.
Jakaron walked over to his grand son, a smile on his face and his walking stick in his hand. "Very good!" he said "You are now one step closer to controlling the curse seal. These methods are hard, but more effective than the ways normal shinobi are taught." And with one movement that Jakon barely saw, his grandfather struck him in the back of the head and he fell into a deep sleep.
That night Jakaron sat thinking, a little fire between him and his grandson. He had just refilled the boys seal about halfway and was letting nature do the rest. 'In time,' he thought, 'The boy's seal could become larger than mine. He is so young yet I can see the potential that Korina never had. He watches what I do and listens to what I say, yet he must hate me before this training is over.' Then he gave a little laugh 'Perhaps he does after today. The boy knows he would have died today if not for the seal, he can feel it. In the morning we will go on and I will teach him how to fill the reservoir with his own chakra and how to truly use it in battle. I hope he can live through this training, I wont have another chance to teach any one else.'
In the morning Jakon woke to the same electric energy as the last morning and the stinging pain were the seal was placed was now accompanied by the aches from where he was struck by his grandfathers jutsu. He looked up at the old man 'What kind of training is this? He's not going to hold any blows, I know that much. What jutsu was it that he used on me? What else do I have to look for today?'
As Jakon stood up his grandfather looked at him and said "What have you learned so far?"
Jakon looked at the old man with a wondering look, "I have learned that this training is life or death and that you don't hold anything back. I also learned that you don't need that walking stick at all." He added with a bit of loathing for the stick.
The old man smiled at this and gave a chuckle, "Yes all true. This 'walking stick' is actually an old talisman called the 'Staff of Black Lightning', and has been passed from clan head to clan head. It was stolen from a now lost ninja village, the name itself even forgotten to time. It will only work for those who have lightning type chakra, and even then only after training to use it." Having lost track of what he was doing again he went on, "But what else have you learned?"
Jakon though about the day before, but he could come to no conclusion. "The seal," said Jakaron, "you can now use the seal in one of the most crude forms of healing. Since you can now tap into the power of the seal you must learn to control that power." He stood up and called for Jakon to follow him. They walked over to a side of the mountain where one could climb straight up. Then he pulled a seal out of his robe and placed it on the boys back, where he could reach it and said, "This will seal off your chakra and you must use your seals chakra to climb the cliff. The only time you may remove the seal is when you need to recharge your curse seal. To charge it back up just focus your chakra into the point on your back where the seal is. It is as simple at if you were to put chakra into your feet or hands." Then the old man jumped up, from rock to rock until he reached the top.
Jakon soon learned that he would need to use chakra to make the climb, because try as he might he could not grasp the rocks very well. The first time he had tried to use the seal it all came pouring out so fast he was only able to make it up five feet before he ran out and fell back down to the hard ground below. He removed the seal and found that it was a simple matter to fill the reservoir up again, but to control it took time and energy. He tried three more times with just as little luck as the first. After that he began to slowly get the hang of it. The rocks that he was trying to hang on to were sharp with age and erosion, cutting his hands if he misplaced them or weighted himself wrong. But the better he got while still failing the higher he fell from, until at last he fell from at least half way up, twice as high as his next best effort.
His fingers had been steady and he realized he did not need much chakra to help him move. But as he grabbed at another stone he ran out of chakra and plummeted thirty feet or more. He hit the ground and was out cold.
He woke on his own time, his grandfather still sitting at the top of the cliff. He sat up carefully, his whole body aching with a dull but steady pain that would not go away. He removed the chakra seal on his back once more and began to fill it up. He decided to use the seal as he had before, to heal his body of it's aches and pains. This time though it felt much different. He felt a soothing ripple go through his body from his seal, followed by a more violent one and more violent still. The aches and pains, cuts and bruises, all of them were being beaten down into submission.
'The seal was made on delicate balance.' he realized, 'For everything good it gives me it has something to negate it. It can heals me yet that healing will be painful and takes all of the chakra, It lets me store chakra but it is difficult to control.' Jakon didn't restore the chakra himself this time. He rested his weak body and hoped to try again in the morning.
At dawn Jakon was woken to the same shocking pain as always. When it stopped he looked at the cliff and saw Jakaron standing at the top with his staff pointed at Jakon. His body felt rested and the seal was half filled, though he still felt pain from his back. 'I need to find out how to control the seal.' He thought to himself. Instead of taking another try at climbing he stood at the bottom of the cliff and hung on to the wall with as little chakra as he could emit. He waited and tried to get his chakra as low as he could and when he was ready he charged up the curse seal and placed the chakra seal back on his back to try and climb once more.
He climbed as fast as he could, giving off as little chakra as possible, but from time to time he felt himself slip and sent out more than he needed. As he neared the top of the great cliff, at least fifty feet off the ground, he felt the reservoir getting low. He had not even know how he knew, the fact that he could feel how full it was came to him as a second nature, an after thought. He found a large rock were he would not need to use his chakra to hold on and he waited patiently. The reservoir filled at an agonizingly slow rate. When he felt it was full enough to make it the rest of the way he started again.
The last ten or so feet were the worst yet. As it got closer to the top it began to jut out ever so slightly at first and soon becoming a ledge. One hand at a time he climbed to the top, nearly losing his grip more than once, until he put his arm on the top of the cliff that had tortured him so.
His grandfather watched as he pulled himself up, his hands, arms, and legs bleeding, though his red eyes said that his spirit would never break. Jakaron thought to himself sadly 'Though that is why I am here, to break his spirit and make it stronger.' Jakon was on his hands and knees when Jakaron stood and walked over to him. He pulled the seal of his back and placed it in his robes. Looking down at the boys body he asked him, "Are you ready to give in yet?"
Jakon lifted his head through the pain and tiredness of his body and looked into the mans eye's, 'Never." He said, his eyes flashing briefly with hate. Jakaron raised the staff above his head and stabbed down, but the boy did not take the blow without a fight this time. Jakon rolled out from under the staff and grabbed it, using it to swing himself around at Jakaron's feet. He jumped the boys futile attempt and watched as the last bit of energy left his body.
Jakon woke early, three hours before dawn at least. Jakaron sat next him by a little fire. Jakon sat up and looked at his grandfather, the old mans eyes looking into the fire for some sign. When he finally looked at Jakon he asked the man, "Why does my back still hurt? It feels just like it did the first day."
A sliver of a smile came across his face and his shoulders moved as if he laughed. "You haven't realized it yet?" he said, "That pain is one of the banes of the curse seal. The pain will never go away, just like the seal itself. I assume you have figured out more about the seal itself?"
"Yes," said Jakon, a grimace across his face, "It is balanced in all things. I can hold chakra from myself, others and nature, it will help me manipulate my chakra's nature, and it will heal me of my wounds and aches, but I will always have this pain in my back, I have to learn to draw from the seal even after I have stored chakra, when I heal it will heal with as much pain as it took to cause the injuries, and of course you may let me remember the pain of the seals placement on my back."
"Very good!" said the older man a look that bordered on excitement in his eye's. "You have figured out the secrets of this seal very well, and it only took you two days to learn to draw from it usefully. You see," he explained, "by forcing you to draw as little as possible you were forced to learn to control how much chakra you released from the seal, it will make controlling it in battle much easier. Your mother took a whole week to control hers and she never realized what you have until she stopped the training. You have great potential and I think it is time you know why you are here."
Jakon listened carefully to what the man had to say now, holding on to each word as if it were the last he would ever hear. "You are to be my apprentice, to stay under my care until my death or your coming of age. That is, assuming you finish this training in one piece. I will be preparing you to become the next clan head. You have more potential than I ever had and you will have powerful connections within the village. You are the heir to the forsaken clan of the Leaf."
Jakon didn't know how to respond to this. 'I'm his heir? I'm going to guide the entire clan when I can barely guide myself?' he thought silently then with is voice soft, "Why me?"
Jakaron looked at his grandson with worry, 'I thought he would be more motivated by hearing this, but I am an old fool.' "You are the one because there is no one else close enough to age for me to train and you will have a closer connection to the village." he said, "For a person to become the head of the clan they must finish the training that has been given to every clan head for five-hundred years. I have waited a long time to find someone to pass my place on to. For one-hundred-sixty-three years I have lived and waited for someone like you to come and take my place, even expanding my own lifespan with massive amounts of chakra to find you."
Jakon was still in shock from hearing that he was to be the clan head, there was no way he could lead them all. Jakaron saw that his grandson looked sickly and told him to rest, in the morning he would have to start training in lightning manipulation. But he didn't go to sleep. He lay awake, waiting for dawns first light. When at last the first rays of light peaked over the horizon he got up and waited for his grandfather.
Jakaron looked at the boy and shrugged, then he pointed the staff at him as he did every morning and Jakon felt the feel of electricity going through his body. "I said you needed to be up by dawn, never, that by waking at dawn you wouldn't get your punishment. It is motivation boy, the sooner you finish this training the sooner you can avoid this fate." When Jakon stood back up again he asked his grandfather what they could possibly be doing today.
"We will be working on controlling your chakra's nature." he said, "Turning your chakra into light was used as an early form of nature manipulation in the Cloud Country. The Orashi family saw the use of such a jutsu and began to use it exclusively, perfecting it. But there are other ways to use lightning. Stand up boy, we are climbing t the top of the mountain for this part of your training."
They climbed up steep cliffs and rocky paths for most of the morning and as they got closer to the top a great storm seemed to come out of nowhere. The air was cold and wind blew around everywhere, in the sky clouds were everywhere. When they reached a point on the mountain Jakaron planted his staff and told Jakon to sit. "You have to do two things before you will have your chakra's natures at your disposal." He said over the raging wind, "First you must call down a bolt of lightning from the sky. This storm never disappears, and the conditions are right for lightning. I was told about it by the sanin, Jiraiya. Feel the air, it is rip with static energy, the ground and sky are urging to be connected together, and lightning is the way that happens. Feel the nature around you and use your chakra to connect the sky and ground. I will know when you succeed." he said with a small smile on his face. Then the old man went and sat by his staff.
Jakon felt nothing but the pain in his back and the aches from the past four days. He heard the wind holler in his ear an the air cold, ready to let down freezing rain and hail. 'Connect the ground and the sky!' he thought to himself, 'How, even with chakra, am I supposed to do that? Feel the air and nature around you…' Jakon sat down and began to do just that. If there was one thing he should know to day by now it would be to listen to his grandfathers words carefully.
An hour went by, two, three, a dozen? He felt the air, the ground, the seal on his back that was made by lightning. 'Yes' he thought, there was a tingle in the air he had not realized, 'There is a connection there, the feel of them, and my jutsu, they all feel the same in some way. But how?' At last Jakon got up and made the hand signs for his jutsu. The bright lights came out of his body, never stinging his eye's for a second, he felt them just as he had felt the air. Slowly an idea came to him.
Raising one arm into the air and lowering to touch his other to the ground, he pushed as much chakra out as he could. The tingle that he had found in the air became stronger and he felt for the seal as he had the day before, pulling out even more chakra to push out, wishing for this to work. Suddenly his wish came true in an all to powerful way. A bolt of lightning came from the sky, and struck him dead on.
As his muscles tightened and his body twitched, he saw Jakaron stand above him once more. A smile on his face, he said "You have passed the first of these trials, and learned the power of lightning as I had and my master before me." And then there was nothing more.
Jakon was not woken by the stinging lightning on the sixth day. This time he was greeted by the feel of his body falling and rolling down, over rocks and small shrubs, his back's aching seemed duller already, though it would never go away. Jakaron was walking up a small incline and following his rolling body. "Your awake, good. I have been carrying you for the past hours so we could get back to our training area. That lightning did the trick better that your seal ever would."
Jakon stood up and looked at the old man "You knew that was going to happen?" he said blandly.
"Oh, yes." Replied the man, a grin on his face, "You should have too, it was common sense! Well no use complaining now." He said while continuing there walk, "You have learned how to use your chakra's nature as a weapon while in ideal conditions. Now we will use it under normal conditions. Don't worry," he said looking at the boy, "Your not going to be struck by another bolt, though it may still hurt. You are going to create lightning through your body now. But this is for when we make it back to the camp site. I should congratulate you, few have made it this far in such a short time. Indeed your mother gave up after she had created lightning, she was afraid for her life. She should have know I would never let my own daughter die."
Jakon gave a laugh, "so I'm safe?"
Jakaron looked at the boy in confusion, "Oh, heavens no! You're my grandson, not my daughter! Your up for the picking as far as I can see."
When they got back to the camp site Jakon and Jakaron sat together by the split tree. Jakaron talked to Jakon about what this stage required while they ate a small meal. "You must create lightning from your body. From here on out you will have twenty-four hours to complete this trial that lay ahead of you. This training is made to be hard and fast on your body, if you cannot work fast enough then you will have failed this training. You will create lightning or you will doom this clan. Stand up!"
Once more the elderly man removed his robes, and held the staff. "Watch me closely, this is the most difficult part of the training. Feel inside your body," he said moving his hands in front of his body, cupping them together, "remember when the lightning struck you," he moved his arms out to his sides, twisting his body at the waist, "remember the pain and feel of the seal being placed on your back," moving his arms backwards, " and take it all and push it way from your body." he jut his arms ahead of him and out came two bolts of lightning, both splitting into innumerable branches.
"That's all I have to do." He said with sarcasm clear on his voice.
"Yes," said the old man, "The body movements are used to move the chakra from all over your body to your hands. But don't be fooled, after the first time it comes to most people naturally, but it is difficult for the inexperienced body to learn. Now start, and be ready." This last comment's meaning eluded Jakon for a while until he tried to manipulate his chakra.
At his first failed attempt, Jakaron smacked him across the face with his staff. Reeling from the force of the blow Jakon held his jaw and tried to yell at his grand father, but the man would not respond. He tried again and failed, this time to be hit across the back with the staff. Again he failed and again he was hit, harder, in places that it would hurt more. Across the back, the legs, the ribs. The only places that was not hit were his arms and hands, he would need them to finish the training.
Soon he was able to emit the light that he produced with his jutsu. He was amazed that he could produce the light that he normally required hand signs for with just willpower. But when he made the light alone he was struck even harder. The staff was no longer used, Jakaron's hands striking out savagely. Jakon was amazed that the hands seemed to hurt more than the staff.
Brighter and brighter the lights got, but never lightning. Soon Jakaron began to activate the seal when his grandson failed. For longer and longer periods, never enough to knock him out. The day came to a close and Jakon was ready to stop, weak and nearly out of chakra, when Jakaron called to him, "Use the seal now, I will keep it full. GO, you have ten hours remaining until you fail!" Jakon tried through the night, focusing his chakra, concentrating even though he was greeted by shocking pain for each failure. Eventually though a human mind must break.
He had failed for the last time and taken the last of his punishments from the old man. When his agonizing punishment ended and his seal was charged, he went through the arm movements once more, eventually falling to his hands and knees from exhaustion. The old man raised the staff to punish him again but as the pain crept back into Jakon's back his eye's went wide with anger. He pushed his body up and lunged at the old man, his arms before him and all the chakra he had in his body and seal pushed to his arms, and out came two of largest bolts of electricity he had seen. They struck his grandfather head on, two spears though his body.
As Jakon looked on his anger melted, and he saw before him the sight of his grandfather still upon the ground. As he crawled over to the man he saw were the bolts had struck and placed down his head to cry. As he sobbed he felt the old man move, first a little twitch, then his whole body moving, more. He saw as the two holes in the mans chest healed themselves as if they were sewing themselves shut.
Jakaron's eyes opened and he saw his grandsons eyes full of tears, and he smiled, "You have succeeded. I had my doubts at first if you would ever get to the point were you would try to kill me."
Jakon's eye's went wide with amazement, "You let yourself nearly die just to get a couple of bolts of lightning out of me?"
The old man stood using his staff, letting out a laugh at the boy, "'Nearly kill myself,'" he laughed, "that would have been very unlikely. This seal of mine would have healed almost anything short of death with the amount of chakra I have stored in it. No I was never in any danger, though you held out longer than I had imagined. The body knows how defend itself Jakon, and by trying to force something that takes months, even years, to complete you needed the body to take over. What you have done these past six days would be nothing short of a miracle under any other circumstances. The founders of the clan knew that the body and mind would learn under extreme conditions, faster that any other time."
The old man paused and watched the boys reaction, which was that of shock, "You received the seal on the first day and you were taken by such surprise and with such pain, that by surviving through the pain that you formed a connection to it, just as happened to everyone who has the mark. On the second day I tested your power, and then, once I had measured you, I gave you a wound that you could heal with your newfound seal. Learned of your abilities and you learned how to access the power in the seal. The third and forth days taught you how to control the powers of the seal, just as you learned to control your own chakra. On the fifth day you learned the basic's for controlling lightning and the true power of what you can hold at your fingertips. The sixth day was to force you to learn to do what would take months to learn, how to manipulate the chakra of your body. What better way to force this than through anger, when you body can do anything that the mind normally restricts. A boy who had never done so much as make fancy lights could summon bolts of lightning that could spear his grandfather or a young girl could split a tree that she had loved so much." He said this while pointing to the tree at his right."
Jakon was confused about this last part, "But we only came here five years ago, no one in our family could have done this."
"True, but we are not the only people to know this method of training. In fact we are only one who practice it among the great families if the ninja world." He shook his head, a smile on his face, "The one to do this was the Hokage, she told me herself. I was made to tell her what methods I used before I was allowed to teach you through them. She was taught here long ago. But I am losing track of my mind again. Come we have the seventh day to rest and I want to get to rest before heading back to Konoha. You will have your three days and then we will set off again for this mountain."
Jakon was almost sad to leave. This training had let him stay away from Hanabi and stopped him from over thinking what they now shared.