I don't own Naruto. Also thankyou very much for the reviews. I don't say much but it means a lot to me.
Chapter 4
"Start!", Iruka said as the kids in the ring shot off towards each other. Speed was the emphasis in shinobi tai-jutsu and the two students were excellent examples of the same. Naruto with his natural energy seemed to bound into battle with the excitement of a child with a toy.
In contrast to Naruto's almost sunny disposition for battle, his opponent had a determined stare that bordered on malicious. Sasuke had grown increasingly isolated in the three months since the Uchiha massacre despite Iruka's best efforts to talk to the boy. Since Sasuke wasn't acting out in any conventional ways, Iruka couldn't come up with reasons to talk to the boy. So despite Iruka's best intentions he had watched the boy grow into a sullen and silent figure.
Except when he fought. Sasuke fought with a ferocity that was indicative of a strong intent to hurt. He shot up to engage Naruto, clearly the faster of the two and immediately threw a particularly vicious right straight at Naruto's face. Naruto managed to step back just in time to narrowly miss the punch. Wasting no time and seeing his opponent on the back foot Sasuke pressed further in, this time with a punch aimed at Naruto's gut.
In a split second Naruto realized he had no hope of clearing the distance a second time. He tightened his core and prepared to take the hit.
The punch landed painfully, but the blow was absorbed by the muscles. He managed to not lose his breath. Thinking quick Naruto grabbed Sasuke's outstretched arm, digging his fingers into his classmates flesh. Sasuke seemed undeterred throwing his other hand at Naruto's face.
But the distance between them wasn't enough for a powerful strike, Sasuke had no space to lean into the punch. Sasuke had stepped too far in in his aggression, and Naruto intended to make full use of that. Putting his weight forward Naruto leaned on the boy. Then with as thrust he could generate with his legs, Naruto pushed both of them downward so that they toppled to the ground. Sasuke on the floor and Naruto straddling him.
'I have you now Sasuke', Naruto thought as he continued to hold the boys dominant arm with his left, and throwing a punch with his right. His fist stopped inches away from Sasuke's face as Iruka declared the fight over.
"Good job Naruto, that was a well-timed grapple. Sasuke, we've talked about how you need to be careful about leaving yourself open."
"Yes sensei", Sasuke replied. "Can I have another fight?" His face betrayed the frustration he was trying to mask.
"Not immediately, go and cool yourself down first", Iruka said sternly.
"Yes sensei."
Naruto meanwhile had returned to his friends.
"Naruto-kun, that was an excellent win!", Hinata exclaimed, looking rather pleased on his behalf.
"Yeah you dealt with him in no time at all", Kiba chimed in. "The arrogant bastard deserves to be pulled down a peg or two.", he said massaging his own bruise from a earlier spar against Sasuke.
"Thanks guys, but I guess I just got lucky. He's been getting so much faster lately. I can barely keep up."
"He's probably been training hard", Shikamaru commented lazily.
"Yeah, his punches have been harder recently", Chouji said. Many of the less proficient students used to detest sparring with the bulky boy. He used to move slowly, but his punches packed a wallop, and his sheer weight gave him a massive advantage in defense too. 'If Chouji is feeling it too, I'm not imagining things', Naruto thought.
"Sasuke-san's movements have improved. But you still beat him Naruto-kun, you should celebrate the win."
"Hinata-chan, it's my first win against him in weeks. Every time I try and close the gap between us he just shoots ahead by so much. Even now I just got lucky he made a mistake."
"Not lucky."
The students were startled by the sudden interruption. They looked behind to see the gentle figure of Iruka sensei towering over them.
"Fighting isn't just about power or speed. It's also about…", Iruka looked at them expectantly.
"Technique?", Naruto offered.
"Well yes, but not just technique", Iruka said. "It's about a proper frame of mind. A calm mind which can make the correct decision in a short time-frame always has an edge."
"So I have a better mind than Sasuke?", Naruto asked enthusiastically.
"Now now Naruto, he does beat you most of the time. Regardless it was your quick and calm thinking that won you the fight today."
"But sensei, I want to beat him more often. How is he improving so much faster?"
At that question Iruka glanced around surreptitiously. There were no other students around, and Sasuke himself was on the other side of the academy grounds practicing throwing shuriken. Turning back to the five he said in a lower register, "Perhaps you don't want to improve like that Naruto."
Before Naruto could interrupt Iruka continued, "Sasuke has been through great pain recently. You all know about what happened with his family. He has been pouring his efforts into training to deal with that."
"His sadness makes him stronger?" Naruto asked innocently. Hinata who was standing next to him poked the boy in the ribs. "Oh sorry, was that impolite?" Naruto asked wide-eyed. She simply nodded.
"Sasuke is growing stronger because he has a strong desire for power. He is driven by a cause", Iruka explained.
The kids digested this silently. Iruka sensed that they were a bit surprised he was being so candid with them. But the village was going to send these kids to war in 3 years, so he figured the least he could do was give them the clearest perspective possible.
"A drive is something we all have to find as shinobi. The answer to the question, 'What do I fight for?'. Sasuke is dealing with a lot of dark emotions right now, and unfortunately it seems that he has found his answer in that darkness."
"And that makes him stronger?"
"In a certain sense yes. Single minded focus is a potent drive. But it also has made him limited in other ways. You have noticed that he has been fighting more aggressively yes?"
Naruto subconsciously rubbed his belly, the sting of Sasuke's punch still evident.
"In his eagerness to attack he has lost sight of proper defense. He's fighting like his life doesn't matter. He is allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement."
"How do we help him sensei?", Hinata asked, her brow was furrowed with worry.
Iruka smiled gently at the kind girl. "That's not your responsibility Hinata, or any of you kids for that matter. It's my job as sensei. Just be more understanding of Sasuke, and if he allows you, try and be friends with him. He must be feeling very lonely now, whether he admits it or not."
Naruto looked to the far side of the ground at Sasuke with a melancholic stare. He knew all about loneliness.
Iruka cleared his throat. "What I want you all to do is find your own drive. Ask yourself, 'What do I fight for?' Think about it and discuss it. If all five of you can tell me yours I'll treat you to lunch!"
"Really! Sensei you're the best!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped for joy. Chouji's happiness was equally apparent.
Iruka smiled at his charges. He had grown rather attached to all the kids in his care over the past year. They were all kids with big hearts and he was sure the will of Fire would burn brightly in this next generation as well.
-Page Break-
"Man Chouji you're right, this is the best barbeque I have ever had", Naruto said stuffing his face with the meat.
Across him Chouji nodded vigorously with a hum of assent. After finishing the food he had in his he said, "You should join us more often. Shikamaru and I do this every week!"
"Every week, that's crazy. Can Hinata come over too next time?"
"Of course. It's sad that she had special clan training today. I wanted to invite both of you to our restraurant."
"Are you kids enjoying yourselves? How's the food?", a kindly voice asked.
Naruto looked at the kindly lady standing next to their booth. Chouji had introduced her as Kaori Akimichi, his mother and also the head chef at their restraurant. She was a tall and slender woman, but having tasted her food, Naruto had no trouble seeing how Chouji and his father ended up plump.
"The meat is amazing! I love eating here", Naruto exclaimed.
"Oh aren't you a dear. Come whenever you feel like eating barbeque then. Any friend of my Chouji is always welcome here."
"Really! Chouji your mom is the best!"
"Thankyou for the food as always Kaori-san", Shikamaru said politely.
"Of course Shikamaru. How've your parents been? Their deer birthing season has kept them busy."
"They're in good health and spirits. The newborns are quite a handful. They've been teaching me to grow a bond with them."
"Your family has deer Shikamaru?"
"We do. Several deer live in our family compounds."
"Oh and what kind of crazy jutsu do you use them for?"
To Naruto's surprise, the usually laid back Shikamaru gave a throaty chuckle. "We don't use them for any jutsu Naruto."
"You don't? Then why do you have deer?"
"To be completely honest I don't understand fully myself. My dad says it helps our clan members."
Chouji's mom decided to chime in, "Naruto, shinobi from the Nara clan tend to be very intelligent."
"I know! Shikamaru does well in exams even though he sleeps in class even more than I do!"
At this Chouji's mother giggled. Then she continued, "As shinobi who are involved in mostly intellectual work it used to have a distinct effect on their psychological state, as they were forced to suppress their emotions under even the most tense of situations and think. A few generations ago, the then Nara-clan head came up with a brilliant idea. The clan as a collective would care for a herd of deer. This way, even the most overworked, overthinking Nara shinobi, could return home to mingle with and take care of the beautiful animals. Deer are after all, very soothing. The tradition was successful in increasing the mental resilience of the clansmen"
Shikamaru nodded. "That is the explanation my dad gave. I suppose it's similar to how I like watching clouds to relax."
"You can only relax if you're tensed Shikamaru. You don't do anything all day, so you're not relaxing! Just being lazy."
"I'd argue against that, but I'm too lazy to."
Kaori Akimichi looked at the laughing boys and smiled. Her son had recently been telling her of all the new friends he had been making at academy, and she was happy his friend circle was finally extending to include people other than Shikamaru.
'I'll make Chouji his favorite dinner tonight as a reward for introducing me to one of his new friends' she mused as she returned to the restaurant's kitchen.
-Page Break-
Sasuke kicked the training dummy furiously. He had been pushing himself for so long now, but he was no closer to his goal. His goal was so unreachable. 'Itachi… that bastard. He was always the prodigy."
Suddenly he found himself flooded again with unwanted positive memories of his kindly older brother, who had made Sasuke feel like the luckiest younger brother in the world. Every memory Sasuke had of Itachi was a positive one. Itachi had always been who he had looked up to.
He let out a scream of frustration. Except for the memory of seeing Itachi on that bloody night, all he knew about his older brother was positive.
His knees gave way and he fell on the tatami mats of the training room. The Uchiha mansion was quiet, as it had been since that fateful night. Once the investigators had done their job the compound had been cleaned. And so Sasuke lived in it alone now, despite offers from several affluent families to come live with them.
The silence reminded him of Itachi's deeds. Sasuke knew Itachi deserved nothing but hate.
The singular memory of his parents death fueled that hate. And a single memory isn't always enough to drive powerful hate. So he felt riddled with guilt at his moments of weakness where his pathetic love for his brother surfaced.
Sasuke cried that night too. The tears of a child who couldn't properly hate the man who had killed his parents.
-Page Break-
Silver white hair was the last sight that the defector from Konoha witnessed. Even as he had run away from his assailant, he had known his fate was inevitable. He had always expected retribution for his betrayal to come, but he hadn't expected the Hokage to send this man. He had but moments of regret before he found a kunai impaled in the middle of his skull.
The click-clack sound of wooden shoes echoed through the caves that the villain had made his home. Slowly but surely they approached the table. A hand went through the papers, and ensured they were all there. Top secret details of a small but precise military strike Konoha was going to do in the coming month.
'This should never have left Konoha, but at least I managed to intercept it before its too late. Ah well, that old man better give me a raise for pulling off a crunch job like this.'
Having burned the remaining contents of the cave along with the nuke-nins body to a thin crisp the figure stepped out into the fresh air.
'I suppose I should get this to that old man as soon as possible. If I head west I could get there in a day. If I head north, it'll take 2 but I can rest at tavern en route.'
After deciding that his rest could wait he set off to the west.
'I wonder how Naruto's been. I haven't been to Konoha for over 5 years now, I'm sure he's grown into a lively young boy.' His thoughts turned morose with regret, 'I have been a failure of a god-father, haven't I? Sorry Minato. But I'm sure Naruto's gonna be strong just like you and Kushina. I'm sure of it.'
For a second he wondered if he was just convincing himself to feel a little better.
Regardless it didn't matter. He would know for sure soon. Jiraiya of the Sannin was returning to Konoha.
Chapter 4 End.