Chapter Fifty-Four
by Lionheart
I I I
Naruto pivoted lightly on the grass of the Kitsune compound, practicing the Hyuga Heavenly Spin technique.
He'd mastered the art of expelling chakra from every point on his body a very long time ago, just as another exercise for perfecting his lousy chakra control. Having seen Neji do this, and having heard the theory behind it, it had been a simple step to realize that it could help, as any chakra manipulation exercises at all improved his ability to command his massive reservoirs.
Command of those massive reserves had been a worthy goal for a long while, but now that he had a genuine copy of the Hyuga bloodline abilities, he had a use for that technique itself, the way it was intended to be used. He also had chakra reserves to be spending it profligately, using the 'perfect defense' more times, more often, and longer than any Hyuga who'd ever lived. Where they had to time things perfectly, so as to use the energy-wasting technique for only the briefest amounts of time, Naruto had no such limitations.
That made it easy to learn how to use, comparatively.
He also had opportunity to fully master the Gentle Fist, since the Kyubi had added those eyes to their bloodline. And, he had to admit that as a soft style with less emphasis on strength to do its damage, he would be more deadly at this style than any other he knew, so long as they stayed trapped in resets.
Having copied Neji's use of it was also a substantial advantage. He'd never be as fast as the Hyuga prodigy so long as his physical development was stalled, but that was no excuse not to fully master everything he could about this now, when, in spite of not matching Neji, it would be his best fighting style.
Of course, there was another reason for his Hyuga-centric training today.
Hinata had unintentionally killed herself performing medical experiments to implant the bloodline allowing Wood techniques.
While Naruto loved all of his wives, Hinata had a special place among them, as having believed in him and supported him so much longer than any of the rest - even before she'd had any clue about the resets going on.
The favors she'd done him, loving and believing in him, and in being his friend when no one else would, created a bond that nothing else came close to. He couldn't stand to lose her.
He could laugh about Sasuke getting nutted, or shrug about Sakura bleeding to death, yawn over most demises and cheer over the deaths of Konoha ninja so long as they were funny, but anything threatening to Hinata hit deep right in that protective area that triggered his most primal responses.
Nothing could be permitted to hurt her. Nothing at all.
But he couldn't deny her anything she wanted, either. And, having come so close to perfecting the medical implantation of that bloodline, she'd wanted to finish her work.
He had to agree on one aspect. Those Wood techniques made for a powerful addition to the clan's arsenal. They were rare enough few counters existed for them, powerful in their own right, versatile, and a great way to play with the minds of Sharingan donkeys, since they couldn't copy them. It also had more non-combat utility than any other ninja technique, except perhaps for the Shadow Clone.
So, while on the practical front, he had to agree to the completion of those experiments that could lead to Hinata gaining those abilities...
... he didn't want her hurt.
Of course, with Tsunade and Shizune there helping, actually the whole rest of the clan (including himself, Naruto wasn't about to be left out of this) there was a substantially reduced risk of errors. Their accumulated medical skills had already plugged several of the holes Hinata herself had overlooked. So it seemed a very reasonable risk.
Everything built upon the bloodline sharing medical techniques they, as a clan, were already well familiar with. That part was completely understood, in detail, by them - better, even, than Orochimaru, who'd started the work on this process.
It's just, the part they understood was only a piece of this. Bloodline sharing techniques wouldn't work to pass on abilities taken from anything but fresh tissue, and no living samples of a Wood technique user existed. The First Hokage was dead, and Tsunade did not possess an active bloodline from him. So the only tissue samples to work from were stuff that the regular, known bloodline transferal practices were useless on.
Orochimaru had struck out into new territory with his experiments, and he had never cared for the welfare of his test subjects. Those notes he'd left behind, while startlingly complete and accurate, had also stopped short of real success. The Snake Sannin had begun testing far before any competent medic would've counted the procedure safe to try.
Orochimaru was brilliant, clearly a genius, a mad one, but still a genius. He had developed some truly revolutionary ideas for the concept of stealing bloodlines out of dead tissue.
However, he'd never completed the work.
It was like trying to walk over three-quarters of a completed bridge. You still fell in the gorge before you could get across. It didn't get you all of the way to your destination.
The Snake Sannin considered an experiment a success when he could get one person in ten to survive the upgrade. At that point he was willing to stop calling it an experiment and make it a standard practice without any further refinement. But even by that measurement, his posthumous bloodline theft process had failed dramatically.
Tsunade was far and away a better medic than Orochimaru had ever been, and Shizune was not far behind. Between them, and the rest of the clan who'd been studying medicine under them, they had managed to fill in many of the holes in Orochimaru's theories and fix up the base of his design.
According to Tsunade, the hard part was what was left.
Even granted the specific body of knowledge Orochimaru had left behind in his research notes, Tsunade cooperating to provide living, if dormant, samples of the bloodline, and all of the work they had done to refine and improve the process...
... chance of survival was fairly dim indeed.
Even using Hinata, on whom the process had been done once before, and thus the person on whom they had the most copious research notes and material, the survival chance was only something like one in ten.
For Orochimaru that would be fine. He'd stick something like that into mass production. But for Naruto, where Hinata was concerned, it was so far into unacceptable that he'd barely restrained himself from forbidding them to proceed.
And he'd only just managed that because of Hinata's personal plea to him that he not. They'd obey him if he gave such an order, but no one would be happy to have come so close and not succeed in so potentially vital an area.
Darn it! Not even NARUTO would be happy to have come so close and not go the rest of the distance. But this was HINATA!
She'd die again, he knew it.
And, even though that was temporary, and despite the fact that they'd learn more about what NOT to do while doing it, and thus have a far better chance to make this work on everybody else, not to mention they only had to get the process to work once, then they'd ever after be able to repeat those steps exactly to grant the gifts to Hinata again...
Dang it! It HURT to see her die! No matter if it was temporary.
They boy threw himself into his practice of Hyuga techniques with redoubled fury, determined to distract himself, even if he was only a clone of Naruto.
The original had insisted that he lie on a medical table beside Hinata, with the work proceeding in parallel on him at the same time as her. Because, dang it! If she was going to die, he, sure as anything, didn't want to live through it!
All of Naruto's clones were having similar problems distracting themselves while the research process into gaining the Wood bloodline continued.
I I I
Naruto stepped out onto the grass under the forests of Konoha, turning this way and that, lifting one leg, and assuming various martial arts stances for Ebisu. It had been an age or so since he'd last seen the special jonin in his capacity of teacher, and the boy had long since more than fully mastered the last lesson he'd received from the closet pervert. So, he'd felt it time to see if the guy had any last tricks to impart.
So he'd faked a copy of the Hokage's encrypted note to the guy, this time complete with remarkably well forged security seals, so he could be getting this training while still undergoing the chunin exam.
Ebisu carefully adjusted his glasses, critical of the boy's form. "Very well, tell me what techniques you already know."
Naruto sighed, beginning again the litany. "My basic three are fully mastered, seal-less and almost traceless. My Essential Eight and Traveling Ten likewise. I know Shadow Clone, and two distraction techniques of my own devising, but you already know about those," the boy finished with a knowing grin.
Ebisu coughed and adjusted his glasses, attempting to master a slight blush. "Yes, well..."
Naruto shrugged and went on. "I've got basic affinities in all five elements, and can cut, crinkle, moisten, burn and powder leaves I hold in my hands, with a couple of combat jutsu from each element, as well as the standard three chakra control exercises mastered to the point where they don't teach me anything anymore."
It wasn't worth counting those exercises from Suna, as they were still in the act of learning those from Temari, and Ebisu wouldn't ask about them anyway.
The special jonin's jaw had dropped, but he mastered himself and adopted a stony expression.
"Show me," he commanded.
So Naruto did.
Ebisu began sweating, glancing back down at the Hokage's note from time to time during this demonstration. The note was clear, the encrypted message said to teach Naruto something, preferably a low-ranking jutsu, or something more basic if he needed it.
The teacher's impulses had been to show the boy the least advanced thing he could get away with while still following the Hokage's instructions. It wasn't in his mind to be terribly helpful to the demon brat, only to stay in the good graces of the Hokage, so he could retain the job of instructing his grandson.
Sweat droplets ran down the teacher's face in lines as Naruto showed him proficiency after proficiency.
No wonder the kid had been entered into the chunin tests! He'd have been a shoe-in for that rank for sure! Guiltily, the teacher began wondering which of the blond's teammates must have gotten their team thrown out. He'd felt sure up until this demonstration that if Team 7 failed it would've had to have been due to Naruto, but the village pariah had obviously been concealing hidden depths. His skills were extraordinary!
Not that Ebisu had believed his eyes before he'd tried every illusion negation technique he knew on the lad. But this was Naruto alright.
The demon container was coming to the end of an impressive sum of jutsu, more than Ebisu himself knew, really, and the special jonin was running out of excuses. The Hokage wanted the kid taught something, but what? Everything that could be considered 'low rank' the demon brat knew already, better than Ebisu himself, in most cases!
Then the teacher thought of something, and a smile spread out across his face as the boy came to the end of his already impressive arsenal, showing off a Gusty Barricade technique that successfully blocked several weapons thrown by the boy's clones.
"Very good, Naruto. I'm impressed," the teacher winced behind his facade at being forced to praise someone he'd always secretly despised. "I guess it is time for me to reveal the true secret behind D-ranked missions. Tell me, how many have you done?"
The boy looked at him warily, then shrugged. "Over twenty."
Ebisu was nodding, before holding out his hand. "Come. Let's go to the office and get one of each of the major varieties. After this, I'll have nothing more to teach you. Request a different instructor from the Hokage, if he wants to show you something again."
Ebisu smirked within himself. 'I have nothing more to teach you' could speak of willingness instead of ability. But frankly, he wasn't willing to part with any of his mid or high ranked techniques to the demon brat, and, as that note from the Hokage had specifically said 'low' he wasn't required to, either.
Doubtfully, the boy followed the special jonin along, until they were standing before a fence, open paint buckets beside them, and a mission to paint it.
The teacher had his arms crossed proudly, and he shouted, "Not that way!" as Naruto reached for a paintbrush. Adjusting his eyeglasses in a conceited manner, the special jonin explained, "There are two ways to do most any D-ranked mission. One builds your body, the other your chakra and elemental affinities. Since you already have your basic affinities mastered," and there was no way the special jonin was going to breathe a word over how impressed he was at that, "this ought to be easy for you. Observe!"
Ebisu formed a handseal, a basic one for water, and a glob of paint jumped out of the bucket and onto the fence in front of them, before beginning to spread itself out evenly, without using a paintbrush.
The special jonin was expecting his student to be awestruck, but in his desire got disappointed. Still, his professionalism didn't allow him to show it, so he rather arrogantly continued, "Although it has many impurities, fresh paint is still at the core of it a liquid, and all liquids behave as water. Learning control of water without using tools is an important step in becoming a successful shinobi, and so we give D-ranked missions to our genin so they have a chance to practice while getting paid doing a useful job to help the village."
Naruto was nodding, gradually coming to accept this. Forming the same handseal, he got his own glob of paint to jump out of a bucket and, after some initial difficulty, begin coating the fence.
Not wanting to waste his own time, Ebisu ordered the boy to leave some clones there to finish that mission, and took him out on a garbage clean up assignment they'd accepted at the same time.
"Now it's really the same thing here," The teaching specialist stood beside a large garbage receptacle, pointing out over a litter-strewn park. "Use Wind to blow refuse out of the bushes and trees into a pile, instead of gathering them with your hands. When you are really good, you can blow them directly into the container, like so!"
He formed a handseal having to do with air, and an empty bag of chips dislodged itself from some tree branches, fluttering and struggling toward the garbage receptacle. Ebisu was sweating, his body trembling, and his face screwed up in concentration, but the trash soon came to land, not in but beside of, the metal-mesh barrel he'd been aiming for.
Pretending not to notice his instructor's struggle or lack of success, Naruto formed his own handseal and began using directed breezes to collect refuse. It did not take him long, due to his extensive practice using other exercises, before he had the first few items land in the barrel instead of beside it.
Once more, Ebisu ordered him to leave some clones there to finish the mission, and took him off to empty a septic tank, explaining that the sludge within was a form of mud, and earth techniques were best practiced using mud, as it was considerably more mobile and responsive than dry dirt was.
There was also substantial motivation to get your control right, so as not to get any on yourself.
This time Ebisu stood back a far distance beyond easy splash range and asked Naruto to form an earth handseal he showed him, then begin to use chakra to clean the septic tank, manipulating the contents to do as he willed and empty the system that way.
Naruto obediently formed a few clones and began.
"We have low ranking missions associated with most forms of training," the teaching specialist explained as he immediately led the boy away, not waiting to get pranked with stuff out of the sewer line.
It turned out the practice mission for fire was something Naruto had never done officially, helping out at a local bakery. It turned out hiring a genin team for a day was a great deal less expensive than paying for a day's worth of good charcoal to run the ovens, and heating them with chakra so they were just the right temperature, neither too not nor too cold, and maintaining it there was hard work, but not so hard a genin team couldn't manage it so long as they had a budding fire affinity or two among the members.
Surprisingly, although he had an advantage on this with all of his work using chakra on forges doing metalworking, it turned out to be a different kind of exercise than he'd worked out for himself, so Naruto could still benefit from the experience.
After they'd left behind clones doing that, Ebisu taught him, "It is thanks to Lightning users that our towns have functional electrical systems. It took their sensitivity to their specialty to sense the flow of energy and connect things together to get us to where we could assemble anything usable."
So the next mission was doing electrical work on an old lady's house, trying to find the faults preventing parts of her house from having power, so they could fix them.
It turned out the place was far, far overdue for being rewired completely. But tracing everything, telling if it was live or capable of being live, and seeing where those faults were taught mid-level chakra control, especially in the lightning element, better than anything Naruto had done before.
Previously, he'd been forced to go from low level elemental affinity training, all of the way up to extremely high level, skipping out on all of the steps in between. So, while this wasn't entirely new, it still managed to teach the boy things on a level of detail he'd previously been unaware of.
It was like that for all of those D-ranked chakra exercises.
Leaving a few clones to play handyman and fix everything, Naruto allowed his teacher for the day to lead him away, presumably for another assignment.
"Baby sitting has all of the same elements as most bodyguard missions," Ebisu taught, leading him out to a park. "As does walking dogs and helping out the elderly. Recovering lost pets is excellent practice for later search and retrieval assignments, so if you look at them in those lights, those missions teach valuable, practical lessons on future shinobi life. Now, given that, what do you think could be learned by grocery shopping?"
"Intelligence gathering," Naruto shrugged, having come to that conclusion long ago shopping with Ino, even before she'd begun resetting with him. "You are given a set amount of money and time, any savings you make without a reduction in quality is money you get to keep. So finding the best buys is crucial. But you can't take too long looking or you fail the assignment."
"Yes," Ebisu agreed, slightly deflated, and impressed in spite of himself that the student knew the answer. "So, what would you say about gardening?"
"Survival practice," the child shrugged. "Learning how to recognize edible plants, telling them apart from weeds, could keep you alive in the wild if you ever have to forage for your own food. And there is no substitute to handling the actual plants for learning how to recognize them."
His teacher nodded. "Excellent, Naruto." He paused to stare up at the sky for a moment. "Package delivery is a typical ninja assignment even for jonin, it's just the stakes are higher out in the world. All these are the real ninja training assignments, preparing you for your future. Properly done, they teach more than just teamwork, but how to function on missions you should be taking every day as mature ninja. One of the most prized D-rank missions is helping out at a slaughterhouse, butchering animals. You do not get better acquainted with blood and carving flesh in any other way, not even in combat, than in killing and carving apart meat animals for sale. Those who have done it are far less liable to freeze in any combat scenario."
Ebisu adjusted his glasses, then folded his arms, staring off to the distance. "What most teachers ought to do, but forget to, is have their team only do each of the 'practice mission' assignments like baby sitting, dog walking, or package delivery, only once or twice to get the basics down before they split one genin off to be an 'opposition force' for testing the rest of their team. The 'bad' genin tries to prevent the two 'good' genin from completing their mission assignments, with their jonin on hand to stop anything from getting out of hand, and reward good thinking. They should also trade, every mission, which one of them is the opposing force, so each genin gets practice working both sides: offense and defense."
The teacher shrugged. "They use thrown fruit or water balloons instead of kunai, but a splat of jam is enough of a marker to say 'if this assignment had been real, your client would have been dead'. Of course, getting hit by a ripe fruit is enough to take an attacking ninja out of the action as well. So he has to be careful to either be stealthy, or take down the guards first."
The special jonin actually smiled down on Naruto. "Because, you see, as ninja we can be expected to try to attack targets who have bodyguards, prevent enemy extraction teams from capturing our agents, stop enemies gathering intelligence to use against us, or intercept valuable packages they are trying to deliver, as often as doing those things ourselves. So we have to practice both sides of each style of ninja assignment. A truly thorough instructor will have his team continue on in these mission training exercises until he has two 'bad' genin and only one 'good' one for each test, to teach them how to think out situations where they are on the defensive and outnumbered. It is a remarkably valuable teaching tool."
The blond boy's eyes widened, able to see for the first time what he meant. The real secret of those D-ranked missions was that the assignment was not the teaching tool, it was the opposition during it! It was the paintball of ninja, and taught everything they needed to know, without the dangers of actually doing it, instructive in a way that nothing else they'd done could match, so they'd be prepared for when it actually happened.
"So, why don't any of our jonin do it?" the boy quietly remarked, thinking he already knew about Kakashi. This sounded too much like a prank war, where a bucket of water falling on your head could simulate a deadly trap, and that guy wouldn't have wanted his precious Uchiha to look or feel bad losing to the village troublemaker, who'd done such things to jonin and ANBU. Whereas teaming the two boys up against Sakura would just have been sad, and not taught them anything, except, perhaps, overconfidence.
"Prestige, mostly." The instructor shrugged. "Genin graduate from D-ranked training assignments only when their teacher feels they are ready. Saying your team is ready faster than most is a status symbol, a hint they might be geniuses. Only since virtually everyone does it anymore, it's lost the glamor and respect it once had. Now it is expected. Actually, since the 'graduate my team fast' race has been a going tradition for so long in Konoha, most jonin instructors don't know how to take advantage of the D-ranked training tools anymore, since their own instructors passed them early, and they did not get to learn those lessons themselves, so do not pass them on to others."
When Naruto looked up, Ebisu had gone, having completed his message.
I I I
Kurenai was once an academy instructor. Having different areas of specialty and emphasis than Iruka, she still had loads to teach Naruto on basic ninja subjects. And, of course, the girls could also use a refresher.
They were just about to start when a pink haired head poked in.
"Alright, Sakura. You may join us." Kurenai allowed. "We are going over all your old academy lessons together to reinforce our fundamental skills and make sure to catch any material you may have missed learning. If you feel that's unnecessary, you may leave at any time, but kindly don't interrupt, as there are people here who really need this material."
"But what is Naruto doing here?" Sakura pointed. "These are kunoichi lessons, right?"
Kurenai treated herself to a small grin. "Naruto is a shapeshifter, and can make for a more convincing woman than you, dear. So these are important for him, probably more so than you, to whom a part comes naturally."
She waited a moment, as if expecting another interruption, and when that didn't happen, the jonin went on to begin the lesson. "As female ninja, we must not only be skilled in ninjutsu, but also possess a large amount of civilian knowledge and culture. If you cannot sneak into enemy territory and pass for a normal woman, then being a spy will be impossible. Today's lesson will be on flower arrangement. Now people, go off and pick some flowers."
I I I
Author's Notes:
No one else I've read of has described why they pay ninja to do chores, so I came up with my own theory for how this could be useful.
