I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
It was a cool clear night with the wind blowing gently and the moon on full display. Banging was heard on the doors to a temple scaring away the animals close to its vicinity. Inside the temple, strong winds were going on destroying everything and the monks inside of the temple could only keep their guard up. The shadow of a boy could be seen and if you looked closely his hand changed into that of a beast. The doors broke open to the temple and all you could see was a red blur jump out of the temple. Standing there was a creature with nine tails that looked similar to Naruto's cloak when he accessed the fourth tail.
Naruto quickly woke up and when he tried to sit up he noticed he had an extra weight on his chest. He looked down and saw his loving girlfriend, Ino sleeping on his chest with her hair all over the place. He noticed they were both naked and then he remembered what happened between them after he got out of the hospital. He gently moved her off of him and took a shower before putting some clothes on and walking out to his balcony.
"What was that about? Crazy." Naruto said, as he looked at his hand and then he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist
"What was what about?" Ino asked
"I had a dream about the nine tails chakra, but it wasn't me using the chakra. The chakra was unstable like it didn't have a median to go through or control it." Naruto said
"Well it's just a dream. The only person who can use the nine tails chakra is you." Ino said
"I know, but for some reason I think it was more than just a dream." Naruto said
"You worry too much. If you feel that strongly, just ask the nine tails." Ino said
"You're right. I'll ask him later." Naruto said and gave her a kiss
"Good. Now, I need to shower and quickly head home. I know Sakura will be here soon to get you and I need to meet up with my team. Did you shower yet?" Ino asked
"Yeah. I took one when I woke up an hour ago." Naruto said
"Really? I didn't hear the shower running like I usually would." Ino said
"That's because you were really sleeping. You were out cold." Naruto said
"It's not my fault. You were a total magician last night. Best night of my life." Ino said and gave him a kiss
"So were you." Naruto said and she giggled
"I had to step my game up. Anyway I really need to get washed up. I'll see you later, okay?" Ino asked
"Okay, but granny might send me out on a mission later." Naruto said
"If she does just send a messenger toad." Ino said
"I will." Naruto responded and slapped her on the ass when she turned to walk away
"Down boy." Ino said laughing and went back into his house
"NARUTO." A voice yelled from on the street
"Huh? Oh. What is it, Sakura?" Naruto asked
"Lady Tsunade wants to see us at the hospital! Hurry up and get ready! I'm coming up!" Sakura said
"I'll just meet you there!" Naruto said not wanting her to find out that Ino was here
"Why?!" Sakura asked
"I think my milk was spoiled again!" Naruto said
"Ugh! You need to do a better job checking expiration dates! Hurry up! I'll be in Kakashi-sensei's room!" Sakura said and walked away
"You know you'll have to tell her about us sooner or later, right?" Ino asked
"I know. I thought you were in the shower." Naruto said
"No. Something is missing from the shower." Ino said
"What's that?" Naruto asked
"You." Ino said and pulled him into the house
Hospital
"I thought we had a new team member, Sai, was it?" Kakashi asked
"We did." Sakura said
"Well, where is he?" Kakashi asked
"He's dead." Sakura said
"What happened?" Kakashi asked
"Naruto killed him on our last mission." Sakura said
"He was a root anbu black ops. Danzo hand picked him specifically. I guess Jiraiya was right when he said Naruto is about my level." Kakashi thought
"Why'd you kill him?" Kakashi asked
"He gave away top secret information to Orochimaru. I got the folder back and destroyed what Kabuto was working on, but I had a second mission to eliminate Sai if he showed any signs of betrayal and that was a huge sign." Naruto said
"I see." Kakashi said
"Kakashi-sensei, on our last mission we..."
"I know. Yamato told me all about the mission and Sasuke." Kakashi said cutting off Sakura
"We're running out of time to get him home. At this rate we could lose him for good. Naruto could bring him back, but he changed his mind on the whole trying to help Sasuke thing we agreed on." Sakura said
"He chose his path. We can't help somebody that doesn't want to be helped." Naruto said
"I know, but you saw the way he's grown. It isn't natural. He has to be using forbidden jutsu or drug enhancement. After all, they do have Kabuto with them. They're doing all of that to accelerate his growth and he might be stronger than you by now, Naruto." Sakura said
"I doubt it." Naruto said
"Well, if Naruto will be the one to fight him, then I guess you'll need to become even stronger than what he is now. We'll have to accelerate our growth as well." Kakashi said
"How could we do that?" Sakura asked
"I'm sure Naruto knows how. I've been talking to lady Tsunade about a specific training method for Naruto, but it's something only he can use. After this training is done, your power will surpass mine, Naruto." Kakashi said
"I can actually surpass you after this?" Naruto asked
"That's right. I'll be working with you one on one the entire time and we'll be training like you've never experienced before." Kakashi said
"What are we going to be working on?" Naruto asked
"We're going to create the ultimate ninjutsu, just for you. It's a brand new jutsu even more powerful than the rasengan, but in order to obtain that kind of power, we'll have to put in an enormous amount of training and intense effort. You can't get that strength in a couple of days, like the heroes in a novel and it won't be like learning a pre-existent jutsu. It'll be broken down and taught in stages." Kakashi said
"Good. I'm guessing we'll be using my current method only at a higher level." Naruto said
"That's right." Kakashi said and then the door opened
"How are you feeling today, Kakashi?" Asuma asked as he was with Shikamaru, Choji and Ino
"Asuma-sensei. You should really knock first ya know." Ino said
"What's up guys?" Choji asked eating some chips
"Look who's here. It's Naruto and Sakura. Naruto what happened to that guy who attacked us?" Shikamaru asked
"This happened." Naruto said and held up his lightning slicer
"I see." Shikamaru said
"Huh? What guy?" Ino asked
"Don't worry about it." Naruto said and Ino pouted
"Meanie." Ino said
"Why'd he do it anyway?" Choji asked
"He was ordered to attack me. It wasn't Tsunade, but somebody else he worked for. You two were just with me at the time." Naruto said
"I guess I can buy that." Choji said stuffing chips in his mouth
"Hey, Sakura. When did Naruto get so serious and smart?" Ino whispered keeping up their act
"I don't know. I guess over his training trip with lord Jiraiya." Sakura whispered
"Lady Tsunade told me what happened with Sasuke. Next time something like that happens, I'll be around to help just in case you need it. I'm pretty open now since I'm done with the chunin exams." Shikamaru whispered to Naruto
"Thanks. I doubt I'll need the help, but it's good to know you still have my back after all these years." Naruto said
"Why'd you bring the whole gang in here of all places? This isn't a rec room." Kakashi said to Asuma
"You have a point. Why don't you guys head over to the barbecue restaurant and team Kakashi, you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like to." Asuma said
"Barbecue! Woohoo!" Choji said
"I second that!" Ino said
"I'll make sure to sit next to Naruto." Ino thought sneaking a glance at him
"I need to talk to Kakashi alone about some business. In the meantime the barbecue is on me, okay?" Asuma asked
"What about the conversation we were just having about my training?" Naruto asked
"That's right. We'll get back to it later. We can't start anything while I'm still in the hospital. Just be patient, Naruto." Kakashi said and everyone left the room except Naruto
"Does this private conversation have anything to do with that specific group?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. You know about them?" Asuma asked
"How could I not know about them? They are after me." Naruto said
"What is it, Asuma?" Kakashi asked
"Word is things are really starting to heat up outside the village." Asuma said
"I figured." Kakashi said
"As long as their objective is the tailed beasts, we could be certain that they'll come here sooner or later since they want Naruto." Asuma said and then the door opened
"You guys don't need to leave me out of this. I'm just as concerned about the akatsuki as you are. Naruto, are you gonna be okay? What if those guys from the akatsuki attack. Even Gaara couldn't handle them." Shikamaru said
"Gaara could've easily handled the ones that attacked him. He was just concerned about the village's safety that he wasn't paying attention to the fight as much as he wanted to. As for me, I'll probably be the last jinchuriki they come after." Naruto said
"What makes you say that?" Asuma asked
"They went after Gaara first and he has the one tailed beast. They most likely need to go in order. They might be able to start now since they took a good amount of chakra from the one tailed beast. When they come after me, I'll probably have to fight the strongest member of the akatsuki." Naruto said
"That makes sense, but you aren't ready for that. Well, not yet at least." Kakashi said
"How much time do you think we have before they come looking for you?" Asuma asked
"We probably have a couple of months. I need to be way stronger than Kakashi before I have to fight the akatsuki member who's going to come after me." Naruto said
"Then I guess the training you need will be intense. I'm afraid after the training that I'm going to put you through, that you'll have to find a stronger shinobi to train you." Kakashi said
"I know. I'll ask Pervy-sage to send me something to work on. Plus I still need to work on my kekkei genkai as well." Naruto said
"I forgot about that." Kakashi said
"Alright then. Kakashi, I'll see you later." Asuma said and left with Shikamaru
"I'm guessing you're staying here until I'm better, am I correct?" Kakashi asked
"You bet I am." Naruto said, as he laid on the extra bed in the room and created a shadow clone that left
"Where's your clone going?" Kakashi asked
"Ichirakus." Naruto said
"Alright. Pick me up an extra large, will you?" Kakashi asked
"Sure." Naruto said and created another shadow clone then dispelled it.
Few days later
"You seem fine. You're clear to leave the hospital today." Tsunade said as she and Sakura gave Kakashi his check up
"By any chance. Is this because you want me to hurry up and get my baggage out of here?" Kakashi asked as they looked at Naruto sleeping on the other bed
"Well, yes. There's that too." Tsunade said
"He's been camped out here for days just so he could start training the minute you recover." Sakura said
"Actually I was kind of hoping I could take it best and recuperate at home before getting back into it. Since I've ran out of reading material anyway, I suppose I might as well start his training anyway." Kakashi said
"That's the spirit." Tsunade said and then looked at Naruto
"HEY YOU IDIOT. WAKE UP." Sakura yelled in Naruto's ear and then she was tackled to the ground with a kunai near her throat
"Huh? Oh it's just Sakura." Naruto said and got off of her
"At Least he keeps his guard up while sleeping." Kakashi thought
"So, granny. Is Kakashi healed yet?" Naruto asked
"Actually he is. He's agreed to start your training right away." Tsunade said
"Great!" Naruto said and grabbed Kakashi and vanished
"He'll never change." Tsunade said and left the room
Training ground
"Alright. Let's get to work. Time will not stand still for us. As I've told you at the hospital, the goal is to try to create the ultimate ninjutsu for you. One that is uniquely your own." Kakashi said
"I already have two unique jutsus. The lightning hammer and lightning slicer." Naruto said
"True, but those aren't ultimate jutsus. I mean a jutsu that can only be used by you and not learned by anyone else." Kakashi said
"Oh okay." Naruto said
"In order to do that you need to know two techniques which you already know how to do. Changing your chakra nature and changing its form." Kakashi said
"You mean like my lightning jutsus?" Naruto asked
"Exactly like that. Speaking of which, who taught you lightning and water manipulation?" Kakashi asked
"Granny Tsunade and Shizune. I used over 2000 shadow clones to get the steps down and do the jutsus." Naruto said
"That's good. Now today we're going to work on your wind chakra nature. It's a chakra nature that's perfect for battle. It can rip and sever almost anything in its path. Now, comes the hard part. Learning how to properly use and control your nature." Kakashi said
"I'm ready to give it a shot." Naruto said and Yamato showed up
"Yamato. I see you're still needed." Naruto said
"That's right. Kakashi said my special expertise would be of use. He asked me to still come and help with your training just in case." Yamato said
"So you use water and earth for your wood style, correct?" Naruto asked
"Yes. Using them separately is easy. Using them simultaneously is a different story." Yamato said
"This ability to activate two chakra natures at the same time in order to create a new nature is a kekkei genkai. You were able to do it subconsciously in your fight against master Jiraiya. Your wind chakra nature must be really strong if you can use it like that." Kakashi said
"Awesome." Naruto said
"While we're training your wind chakra, we'll be using your shadow clones the entire time. First step is to split a leaf in half with only your chakra." Kakashi said
"Alright. How many Shadow Clones do you want me to make?" Naruto asked
"Hmm. If there's one of you per leaf. I want you to make that many." Kakashi said and pointed to a small tree that had possibly thousands of leaves on it.
"You got it!" Naruto said
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
Naruto created more clones than Kakashi or Yamato could count and had each one of them grab a leaf. Naruto quickly found out how hard wind is when it comes to training the chakra nature and was struggling. He was working so hard that he started to sweat until he felt something. He lifted his hand and saw a small cut in the leaf. He created a clone and then dispelled it giving the information back to the other clones as well.
"He's already starting to tear some of the leaves. Maybe it won't take as long as I thought." Kakashi said
2 weeks later
Naruto was still trying to completely split the leaf in half and he was making much progress. He managed to cut halfway through the leaf, but he was a bit impatient. He talked to Asuma about his wind chakra nature and found out that he needed to split his chakra in two and grind them together. After he split the chakra, he had to build up the two chakra as if he was honing them. He learned that wind chakra would work better in close to mid-range battles.
After learning from Asuma, he finally managed to split the leaf in half like he wanted. It was a surprise to him when Asuma gave him one of his personal chakra blades. All he had to do was pay for a meal for Choji. He also learned that Asuma and Kurenai were expecting a baby soon, but Asuma told him to keep quiet about it. Imagine Asuma's face when he learned that almost everybody knew he was dating Kurenai.
Naruto during the past two weeks had to fight some grave robbers and also met a boy named Sora while he was out on a mission with team Asuma. He met Sora and they didn't get along at all. What was interesting though, was when Sora started to use some of the nine tails chakra and Naruto learned he was a pseudo-jinchuriki. Naruto defeated Sora rather easily because he was going on a rampage since the chakra didn't have a median to control it properly so Naruto was able to outsmart him. Naruto used a seal and drained Sora of all the nine tails chakra and absorbed it himself with Yamato keeping an eye on him as he did it. Right now, Naruto was ready for the next step in his training.
"Are you sure you're ready for this? You just got out of the hospital." Yamato said
"We all know I didn't need to be in the hospital. The whole thing was granny Tsunade being overprotective." Naruto said
"So you're good to go? Full speed ahead, right? That's what you'd like to think at least, but first let's go over basics." Kakashi said
"Seriously? The basics? Forget that. Let's skip to the part where I work on my new killer jutsu. You know. The super secret deluxe special Naruto Uzumaki rasengan or whatever it's called." Naruto said
"Oh boy." Kakashi said
"No matter how much maturing he's gotten, that idiotic kid side of him will always be there." Kakashi thought
"Before that, let's review the change in chakra nature, alright? Water, wind, fire, lighting and earth are the five chakra natures. In your case..."
"I know! I've got Wind, water and lighting chakra natures." Natuto said
"Okay. Just show us you remember what we've done so far." Kakashi said
Naruto grabbed a leaf and concentrated on splitting and honing his chakra. Kakashi and Yamato were both surprised that he didn't use any shadow clones like he usually did during training, but didn't speak on it. A few seconds later the leaf was split in half and Naruto just looked at them.
"Well, what do you think? Not bad, huh?" Naruto asked
"You did good. I honestly thought it would take you a lot longer to split the leaf yourself." Kakashi said
"So what's the next step?" Naruto asked
"The next step will be to cut that waterfall." Kakashi said
"Press your hands to the water and cut the flow by slamming it with wind chakra." Yamato said
"Cut the flow? It's a waterfall." Naruto said
"That means in order to be successful, you'll need a large amount of change in chakra nature." Yamato said
"If you're able to pull it off, it's something you'll always be able to use in battle." Kakashi said
"So after this I'll complete my third change in chakra nature?" Naruto asked
"Yup." Kakashi said
"Excellent. After this is over with and that jutsu is completed, I'll work on my ice kekkei genkai next." Naruto said
"I never would've thought Naruto would achieve change in chakra nature so quickly. He's already mastered water and lightning. He's about to master wind chakra and he's only been back for a little over 2 months." Kakashi thought
"Okay, break time is over. Let's get back to training." Naruto said and ran towards the waterfall as Yamato used his wood style to create a beam for Naruto to stand on while training
"That will be your training area." Kakashi said
"Got it." Naruto said and ran towards the waterfall
"Whoa. Not so fast." Kakashi said
"Huh? What? What is it?" Naruto asked
"You're going to need Yamato's chakra control at all times during this exercise. He's in your hands, Yamato." Kakashi said
"Right. I'm ready when you are, Naruto." Yamato replied as he sat on the ground
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
Naruto and his clones started to push their chakra into the waterfall and all they got was a simple splash. He remembered the words Asuma said to him and they all started to try again getting the same results. Seeing this would take a while, Kakashi pulled out his favorite book and began reading it. He did this for a few days straight and he refused to give up right now.
"Hey, maybe I need more shadow clones!" Naruto said
"What you need is to transform a massive amount of chakra into wind to cut that waterfall. Create too many clones and each ones chakra will be much weaker. Besides, that waterfall is barely wide enough for the ten of you." Kakashi said
"There's gotta be a trick to this. Are you going to teach me or do I have to stand up here forever?" Naruto asked
"You're not storing the chakra inside yourself. Take more time. Be more thorough." Kakashi said
"If it takes that long what good is it on the battlefield?" Naruto asked
"You're still in training, Naruto. Don't worry about the battlefield. Once you get used to it, it'll flow faster. Listen. The change in chakra nature takes years to perfect. Leaf cutting normally takes 6 months at least." Kakashi said
"With all of your shadow clones you've essentially mastered it in a few hours if we don't count you having to leave on that mission. You don't need to rush. You're progressing much faster than we expected." Yamato said
"Even Sasuke, when I taught him the Chidori took him quite a few days with the lightning change of chakra nature." Kakashi said
"Kakashi-sensei, we both know he copied the Chidori with his sharingan. That's how he's learned everything since he awakened it. All you did really was just brush up on his lightning manipulation skills." Naruto said
"Well, when you put it that way I guess you're right. Forget about him, you are doing it the right way so it'll take some time before you get it right." Kakashi said and then whispered something to Yamato.
"Very well." Yamato said going through hand signs and then Naruto's beam was extended as the waterfall grew wider.
"Wow. That was tough even for you, wasn't it?" Kakashi asked Yamato who was breathing heavy
"No. Not at all. It was nothing. I'm fine." Yamato said coughing
"That was tough." Kakashi thought
"Alright, Naruto. Now you've got nothing to gripe about." Kakashi said and Naruto created more shadow clones then got back to work
Night
"Look. Don't be so impatient. You're doing well here. At this point it's only a matter of time. Trust me." Kakashi said and Naruto jumped to his feet
"Well if it's only a matter of time, we should be training every chance we get, shouldn't we?" Naruto asked
"I know that you can take a licking, but..." Kakashi trailed off as they looked at Yamato who was sitting by the fire and looked exhausted
"I'm good to go. Whenever you're ready. Let's do it." Yamato said
"You can be really creepy sometimes. You're lucky I'm not the same idiot who would be scared of your face when it's like that." Naruto said
Next day
"Look at that. I guess he's doing alright. He might not need my food pills after all." Sakura said
"Don't be so sure." A voice said from behind her
"Ino? I didn't even see you. How long have you been there?" Sakura asked
"Before you got here. Your sensing skills need work since you couldn't see me." Ino said
"Shut up. It's not my fault you were basically invisible." Sakura said
"Anyway. Like I was saying. He's got his work cut out from him. From what I've observed so far, Naruto has to work hard and maintain focus on his shadow clones since they are pushing him nearly to his limit. It's really amazing. The degree of fatigue must be extraordinary compared to that of normal training." Ino said looking at Naruto train
"Yeah. You're right." Sakura said
"I wonder what drives him now. Before he left the village it was so he could bring Sasuke back, but now it's something else. Do you know what it is, Sakura?" Ino asked
"No. He's been really secretive with me lately. I mean we were always together and now he's either off training or he has something to do at night." Sakura said
"Yeah. He has me to do at night." Ino thought
"Want me to ask him? I mean we are close I guess." Ino said
"That reminds me. How did you two get so close in the first place?" Sakura asked
"He was training one day and I came across him trying to do the rasengan with one hand. Of course we argued, but as we talked I noticed he was a bit awkward." Ino said
"He's always been awkward back then." Sakura said
"No. What I mean is that it was like he didn't know how to speak to a girl or anybody for that matter. Even when I wasn't trying to rile him up everything came out defensive, like he was trying not to make a fool of himself. I pulled him to Ichirakus and after chatting a bit I found out he's never really had much interaction with other people because of his burden. Before he left we hung out and I taught him how to socialize a bit and we became close." Ino said
"But he talked to me all the time." Sakura said
"Have you ever noticed how awkward he sounded when talking to you? He said you and your team besides Shikamaru a bit were the only people he really talked to and with you it was more like he wanted some attention. You'd beat him up, but at the time any kind of attention was good attention to him." Ino said
"I should apologize to him then." Sakura said as she put down her basket of food pills
"He's fine. You don't need to apologize for it. I talked to him during our recent mission and he said looking back at how he was he deserved the beatings. He did say he actually let you beat him up because he was taught never to hit a female by the third hokage. Let's get out of here and get something to eat." Ino said
"I'm okay with that." Sakura said and they left
Training area
"Naruto! Concentrate on everything you've learned so far and then break off the shadow clone jutsu, alright? Time to tally up for the day." Kakashi said
"You got it." Naruto said and released all of his shadow clones
"How about it? Starting to sink in yet?" Kakashi asked
"Still not there yet. I'll just have to train until I get it right." Naruto said and nearly fainted, but Kakashi appeared by his side
"You can't keep pushing yourself this hard." Kakashi said and held up Sakura's basket
"What's that?" Naruto asked
"Sakura brought it for you. It's a basket of food pills and a note." Kakashi said and Naruto took the basket
"Eat some of these and train hard. They're my special food pills. Cha...Good ole Sakura. I bet her homemade food pills will help. This'll hit the spot." Naruto said as he put one in his mouth and instantly regretted it so he spit it out
"What did she put in these things? They're inedible. Okay. Let's dive back in." Naruto said
He created his shadow clones once again and began training on cutting the waterfall. He trained for a few more days and never paid attention to Ino and Sakura stopping by to watch him train. A few days go by and when Sakura returns, Naruto has made significant progress on the waterfall. She left the basket and left again like she usually does.
"Naruto! Why don't you take a little break." Kakashi said
"If I don't give it everything I've got then I'll never be ready for when they come after me." Naruto said
Night
"A shooting star." Naruto said and sat up unaware of Kakashi watching him from his sleeping bag
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
Naruto once again created his clones and got to work. He trained well into the morning and never stopped. He was breathing heavily and used the akatsuki as his motivation. Him and his shadow clones gave it one more shot, but this time they successfully managed to split the waterfall stopping its flow.
"I did it!" Naruto said
"This training method really is something. I can't believe he succeeded so quickly." Yamato said
"No. It's not just the training method spurring him forward. His driving force is the akatsuki. Well done! Now we can start developing your own signature jutsu." Kakashi said
"Yeah. Sure. You got it." Naruto said and passed out
"Naruto. You okay?" Kakashi asked as he appeared by his side
"I guess he overdid it a little." Kakashi thought
"Gotta get something to eat." Naruto said
"Naruto. You never cease to amaze me." Kakashi thought
Next day
"Uhhhhhhhh ramen. Ichiraku ramen." Naruto said
"Yeah. Yeah. I hear ya. Keep walking. We're almost there." Kakashi said as he was basically dragging Naruto
"Pork. Ramen." Naruto said
"See, Naruto. We're here. Hello?" Kakashi said
"WELCOME CUSTOMERS." Teuchi yelled
"Uh. Hi." Kakashi said and sat Naruto down
"Listen, old man. Extra large pork miso with extra pork. On the double." Naruto said
"We have a new menu. Take a look." Ayame said placing a menu in front of Naruto
"That's great, but I still want an extra large pork miso with meat. Noodles al dente." Naruto said
"Come on. You didn't even look at the menu." Ayame said
"Give it a looksie, Naruto. As of today we've made some pretty big changes to the line up." Teuchi said
"That's right. We serve dipping noodles." Ayame said
"Oh. Wow. I'm sticking with extra large pork miso with meat. Go ahead and throw in some..."
"Would you listen?! We don't serve ramen here any longer!" Ayame said
"Heh?" Naruto said
"Wait a second. So this is a dipping noodle shop now?" Kakashi asked
"See my daughter Ayame went to get some professional help as a noodle maker. She came home and said dad, the age of dipping noodles has arrived. We need to take Ichiraku in a new culinary direction. Yup. Now my girl has got all kinds of fancy business knowledge." Teuchi said
"The customers' likes and dislikes are constantly revolving. If Ichiraku doesn't change then we'll fall behind the time." Ayame said
"See." Teuchi said
"Wait. Naruto what are you eating?" Ayame asked noticing he had 6 bowls in front of him
"An extra large pork miso with extra meat. You were talking and I stopped paying attention so I made my own food." Naruto said
"WE SERVE DIPPING NOODLES." Ayame yelled and took his food
"WELL I WANT RAMEN." Naruto yelled and snatched it back
"DIPPING NOODLES."
"RAMEN."
"DIPPING NOODLES
"RAMEN."
"DIPPING NOODLES."
"DIPPING NOODLES."
"RAMEN."
"YES." Naruto yelled then grabbed his food and quickly ate it
"YOU TRICKED ME." Ayame yelled
"Damn right I did! Why's it so hard to sell both?! People still like ramen!" Naruto said
"Huh. I actually didn't think of that." Ayame said
"So much for your fancy business knowledge." Naruto mumbled, but Ayame heard him and then punched him through the roof in the direction of the hokage tower
"Well, Yamato. Shall we eat some dipping noodles?" Kakashi asked
"I believe we should." Yamato said
Hokage tower
"Finally. All the paperwork is done." Tsunade said
"You must be happy that Naruto told you the secret to defeating paperwork." Shizune said and then a crash came through the window
"What the? Naruto? What happened to you?" Tsunade asked
"Ayame punched me." Naruto said and passed out
"Ayame? I thought you only taught Sakura your chakra enhanced fighting style." Shizune said
"I did. He must've pissed Ayame off." Tsunade said
"Should I wake him up?" Shizune asked
"No. He's fine." Tsunade said as she watched Naruto stand up completely unharmed
"I need to know how him and Jiraiya do that." Tsunade thought
"Naruto, what did you do?" Shizune asked
"I made me some ramen at Ichirakus and Ayame got mad at me." Naruto said
"I thought they only served dipping noodles now." Shizune said
"They do. I've been going there so long that it only makes sense that I know how to make my precious ramen. She was mad that I made it and I asked why couldn't they just sell both. Then I may or may not have insulted her business knowledge." Naruto said
"Okay. How's your training going?" Tsunade asked
"It's going great. I finally completed the wind manipulation part and now we're going to start on my ultimate jutsu." Naruto said
"What about your kekkei genkai? Shouldn't you work on that now as well?" Tsunade asked
"I'll work on that after I get the ultimate jutsu created." Naruto said
"Good. Oh and Ino is no longer here if you wanted to spend time with her." Tsunade said
"I know. I felt her and others leaving the village. What happened?" Naruto asked
"The akatsuki attacked the fire temple and killed Chiriku. I sent out the Niju Shotai, twenty teams composed of four ninja each, to deal with and exterminate the Akatsuki members in our territory. Shikamaru left with Asuma, Izumo and Kotetsu, whereas Ino and Choji left with Raido and Aoba." Tsunade said
"I see." Naruto said
"Aren't you worried?" Tsunade asked
"Of course I am, but I know Ino can handle herself. She's as strong as a jonin. Not somebody like Kakashi, but she's a jonin level shinobi. She knows when to retreat and when not to." Naruto said
"Then why doesn't she try to become a jonin?" Tsunade asked
"Same reason Izumo and Kotetsu don't want to be a jonin. She's comfortable with where she is as a chunin." Naruto said
"How long have you two been together?" Tsunade asked
"You're dating Ino?" Shizune asked
"Yeah. We've been together since before I left. We started dating like right after the Sasuke retrieval mission. So about three years almost." Naruto said
"I'm sure she was very happy to see you when you came back." Tsunade said
"You have no idea. Anyway, have you heard from pervy sage since he left?" Naruto asked
"No. He sent a toad to tell me that he's going off the grid for now." Tsunade said
"Okay. I better go to the training grounds and wait for Kakashi and Yamato to get there." Naruto said and left in a swirl of water
"I should ask him how he does that." Shizune said and Tsunade shook her head
Training grounds
"Ok, Naruto. I have something I want to show you." Kakashi said
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"This is what I want to show you. It's very cool. Watch this." Kakashi said and started to gather chakra into his hand creating a rasengan
"You can use the rasengan too. It's not fair. The rasengan was supposed to be my own secret technique, but you're doing it better than I can. After all I've done, putting in all that time with pervy sage and his crazy ideas of training. Of course the copy ninja would have this jutsu." Naruto said and Kakashi sweatdropped at the last comment
"Well, that kind of hurt my feelings." Kakashi thought
"Listen. We're just getting to the main point here." Kakashi said
"Yeah and you can do it with one hand like it was nothing. I mean I'm close to getting it down, but you made me realize I have a long way to go." Naruto said
"Naruto, I didn't do the rasengan just because I wanted to show off. As I said the rasengan is an example of change in chakra form taken to an extreme. What we're shooting for is a jutsu that combines change in chakra form with change in chakra nature. For example, the chidori. This jutsu requires more than just changing my chakra to lightning. I have to change my chakra form as well so I can discharge it and set it's range and power level." Kakashi said
"If you can add a change in chakra form on top of a change in chakra nature, you'll exponentially increase your attack power." Yamato said m
"Shinobi that can achieve both of these things simultaneously are a rare breed indeed. Thanks to our exercises you've just mastered a change in your chakra nature to wind. You already have a change in chakra nature jutsu. As well as a change in chakra nature and form jutsu. That is why I think you'll get this jutsu down quickly." Kakashi said
"He already has a jutsu like that? Which one?" Yamato asked
"Show him Naruto." Kakashi said and Naruto formed his lightning hammer in about 2 seconds.
"What is that? I've never seen such a jutsu before." Yamato said
"Better yet, how did you manage to keep the lighting chakra condensed?" Kakashi asked
"The lighting chakra is surrounded by a layer of my regular chakra. If you were able to see inside of the jutsu, the lighting chakra is moving around rapidly, but you just can't tell." Naruto said
"That's brilliant." Kakashi thought
"I was never able to combine the rasengans change in chakra form with a change in chakra nature to lightning." Kakashi said
"Combining a change in chakra nature with a change in chakra form takes incredible skill. Or I should say it takes a great deal of natural skill and intuition. You apparently have both of those." Yamato said
"I'm not the only one who failed at it. Even my teacher, the one who invented this jutsu failed to do this as well." Kakashi said
"What?" Naruto asked
"That's right. Even the fourth hokage couldn't master it. The fourth hokage developed and honed the change in chakra form to the highest degree. The result being the rasengan. Just mastering the change in form has an A-rank level difficulty, but I can still manage to copy it. The problem comes however in the next step. From the moment he invented the rasengan, it was always his intention to eventually add his own change in nature to it." Kakashi said
"Wait. So are you telling me the rasengan is an incomplete jutsu?" Naruto asked
"It is true in a way." Yamato said
"The jutsu we're aiming for has an S-ranked level of difficulty and possibly beyond that. For all we know it might be unachievable. So, from here on there's nothing you can be taught. You have to discover it yourself. Now, do you understand why I'm telling you all of this, Naruto? It's because I truly believe that you are the only shinobi who can surpass the fourth hokage. Well, we'll rest for a little bit before we start again." Kakashi said and walked away from Naruto with Yamato following him
"You handled him perfectly. You are quite the sweet talker aren't you?" Yamato asked
"Nope. No, I believe he can do it." Kakashi said
Few hours later
"Alright! Now each team of two will form the rasengan and at the same time try incorporating the wind change in chakra nature into it. I know it's easy for me to say, but at this stage there's really nothing more I can tell you. This is something you'll have to master on your own, Naruto. Ready to give it a try?" Kakashi asked
The large group of Naruto immediately got to work and Yamato was close by ready for anything. They were all trying to add the change in chakra form to change in chakra shape, but it wasn't going so well. A few hours went by and they were still unsuccessful at combing the two. All of the clones were on the ground breathing heavy as they were all tired from trying to combine the change in chakra form and chakra nature.
"As we knew, the multi-shadow clone jutsu tires him out quickly." Kakashi said and then an explosion was heard
"Dammit! I can't be done! No way. It takes too much focus just to make the rasengan to begin with. Then to have to add a change in chakra nature to. It's like trying to look left and right at the same time. It's impossible." Naruto thought and then stood up
"What am I thinking? This is no time for whining or giving up. I know I can do this." Naruto said
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
The clones once again started to try the jutsu and the same results kept happening. The rasengan would just explode and Naruto would have to make more shadow clones. Time went by and Naruto tapped into the nine tails chakra and grew 3 tails immediately. Yamato quickly used his wood style to suppress the nine tails chakra and once he was done, Naruto was out cold.
"I don't think he can take it anymore. I don't know how many times I can suppress him. He can't keep this going." Yamato said
"He has to! This is the only way. Whether Naruto achieves his jutsu or not depends on you." Kakashi said
"Yes sir." Yamato said
Few days later
"If I only focus on the rasengan, I mess up the change in chakra nature. If I focus too much on that then my rasengan doesn't turn out right. This is harder than I thought. Kakashi-sensei has such high hopes for me, but this is just too hard." Naruto thought
"What should we do? You think we should stop the training?" Yamato asked
"Hmm. Well, if that's what he wants to do." Kakashi said as he looked at Naruto laying on the ground
"I don't have time to waste!" Naruto said as he stood up
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
Naruto created his clones once again and got to work. They were all trying to complete the steps once again and one of them started to use the nine tails chakra. Yamato quickly stopped it with his wood style and the clone dispelled.
"You okay? It's been 2 days since we started trying to add the wind change in chakra nature to the rasengan and you're using 200 shadow clones now. You just achieved what would take the average ninja 48 hundred hours to do. Guess that's still not enough for you, is it?" Kakashi asked
"This training is impossible. I can't wrap my head around the chakra control technique and it feels like 200 shadow clones is my limit. No way. I'm never going to be able to master it unless I figure a way around that part. It takes all my concentration to form the basic rasengan in the first place. Adding a change in nature to that, it's just too much. It feels like I need to do more chakra control training for this jutsu to work." Naruto said
"You're unusually negative. That's not like you. You don't sound like the Naruto Uzumaki I know." Kakashi said
"I don't know. I have no reason to think it's going to work this time." Naruto said
"You have to do it anyway." Kakashi said
"Yeah, well that's easy for you to say. Tell me this. Could you look to the left and to the right at the same time?" Naruto asked
"He's right. That is impossible." Yamato thought
"Oh, I see. If you're asking me, yeah I guess it's doable." Kakashi said and created a shadow clone
"See I'm looking to the right." Kakashi said
"I'm looking to the left." The shadow clone said
"I got it!" Naruto said
"What does he get?" Kakashi thought
Few hours later
Oh yeah. I think I'm getting the hang of this thing." Naruto said
He had 2 shadow clones helping him with the jutsu and you could hear a screeching noise coming from the rasengan as well as its color turned white.
"Oh I see. That's what your bright idea was. It took two of you to produce the original rasengan. One to control the chakra emission and one to control the chakra form. Well done." Kakashi said
"Thanks. I realized I was going to need a second set of hands if I was ever going to handle the change in chakra nature. If I can't look left and right at the same time all by myself, then I just created more shadow clones. They can look left and right for me and then I can divide up the responsibility." Naruto said
"So, my shadow clone earlier gave you a hint." Kakashi said
"Of course only Naruto has both the chakra and skill with shadow clones for a method like that to work. I couldn't accomplish that. I bet not even the fourth hokage could. But him." Kakashi thought
"Just what I expected from you, Naruto. You're full of surprises. I'm not sure how to say it, but I think I've started to take a liking to you kiddo." Kakashi said and Naruto lost control of the jutsu so it destroyed his clones
"What the hell dude! You can't just say stuff like out of the blue! The jutsu I worked on got messed up because you freaked me out." Naruto said
"I didn't mean it like that. There just aren't words that express how I feel." Kakashi said walking to Naruto
"A simple good job or I'm proud of you would've worked just fine." Naruto said backing away from Kakashi
"Oh for crying out loud. What are those two doing?" Yamato asked himself and Izumo landed in front of him
"I have a message." Izumo said and told Yamato the news
"Kakashi! We need to call off the training and return immediately." Yamato said
"What happened?" Kakashi asked
"Asuma Sarutobi, has been killed." Yamato said causing Naruto and Kakashi to go wide eyed
"Kurenai." Naruto thought and vanished
Kurenai apartment
"Kurenai come on. Open up!" Anko said knocking on the door
"She's not going to answer." Naruto said as he appeared
"We had plans to hang out. What's she doing?" Anko asked banging on the door
"You haven't heard the news, have you?" Naruto asked
"What news?" Anko asked
"Asuma was killed by an akatsuki member." Naruto said and Anko froze
"You're kidding." Anko said
"No, I'm not. Shikamaru was on that mission. I ran into him on my way here and he confirmed it. She's not going to answer the door. You have to just use the key hidden by her genjutsu since she has seals set up in her apartment that prevent the use of entering with the shunshin." Naruto said
"I can't believe he's dead. I know I made fun of him about how he'd die from smoking before he was killed in battle, but I never expected this. Wasn't Ino on that same mission?" Anko asked
"Yeah. I came here first before I went to find her." Naruto said
"Go to her. I'll handle Kurenai and I'll let her know you stopped by." Anko said
"Thanks." Naruto said and left as he found Ino's chakra signature
Naruto's apartment
Naruto went to his apartment and saw Ino sitting outside of his door. He walked over to her and once she heard footsteps she looked up then threw herself at him. Naruto took her into the apartment then laid down on the bed and held her until she cried herself to sleep. Naruto was also hurt by this because he knew Asuma longer than any of the rookie 9 class. He would talk to Asuma whenever he was with Anko and Kurenai. Asuma was pretty cool in his book. Asuma helped him with his wind chakra nature and gave him one of his trench knives. He sighed and gently moved Ino off of him then left the apartment.
Two days later/Nara compound
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked
"I know what you're planning to do." Naruto said
"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked
"Come on, Shikamaru. Don't play dumb. It doesn't fit you." Naruto said and Shikamaru chuckled
"Yeah. You're right. We're planning something, what's the problem?" Shikamaru asked
"There's no problem. Just make sure your plan is 100 percent doable and that you're doing this for the right reason." Naruto said
"What do you mean? Of course I'm doing this for the right reason. I'm going to avenge the death of Asuma-Sensei." Shikamaru said
"You sound like Sasuke right now." Naruto said
"I am nothing like him! He betrayed the village and nearly had us killed!" Shikamaru said
"He betrayed the village because he wants to avenge his clan after Itachi killed them. He also calls himself an avenger. You're starting to go down a dark path, Shikamaru." Naruto said
"Then what should I do?! Are you saying I shouldn't feel this way?!" Shikamaru said
Outside Shikamaru room
"Should we go in there?" Yoshino Nara asked
"No. I've already talked to Shikamaru. Maybe Naruto can set him straight." Shikaku said
Shikamaru room
"No. You have every right to feel this way, but don't go after him filled with rage and anger. You kill them then what? You'll go after another and another until you eventually quench your thirst to avenge Asuma. You need to sit down and think about if this is the way you want to go about things. If you go after the two akatsuki members responsible, go in for justice and don't feed in for your thirst to avenge Asuma." Naruto said
"I don't know, Naruto. Logically this is the only way to go about this." Shikamaru said
"Think about Kurenai. Do you think she'd want you to turn out like this? I'm sure Asuma told you the news before he died. We're here to protect the kings of the village. You can't do that if you give into your anger and rage. Take some time and think about it, Shikamaru. You're a good friend and I'd hate to see you follow the same path as Sasuke." Naruto said and left the room
Hallway
"That was some pretty wise words, Naruto." Shikaku said
"Thanks. Like I said I'd hate to see him turn out like Sasuke." Naruto said
"He's lucky to have a friend like you." Shikaku said
"Thank you for doing that." Yoshino said
"No problem. I'm sure my parents would've done the same thing if it was either of you in Shikamaru's place." Naruto said
"I'm sure they would. I think we can handle it from here." Shikaku said and Naruto left
Next night/Konoha gates
"Ready to head out?" Ino asked Shikamaru
"Let's go, Shikamaru." Choji said
"Alright." Shikamaru said
"Hold it! Are you going somewhere?" Tsunade asked
"Your mission directive still stands, right? I've just assembled a new team. We're going ahead with the mission." Shikamaru said
"Not without my approval you're not! Shikamaru, you'll be assigned to a group of my choosing and only when we have a solid plan of attack in place." Tsunade said
"Listen. Just send reinforcements after us. The three of us have already worked out our strategy." Shikamaru said
"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH. Asuma is dead. There's only three of you." Tsunade said
"That's not true. Asuma is still with us." Shikamaru said
"You're after vengeance then, are you?" Tsunade asked
"I was at first, but Naruto came to talk to me. If we would have left yesterday then I would've gotten us all killed or worse. Naruto told me I was starting to fall into the same path as Sasuke. Naruto made me sit down and rethink about the plan of attack and did not want vengeance anymore, but justice. We don't want to run away and just go on living without fulfilling our duty. We aren't going to live without meaning. That's why we're going." Shikamaru said
"Grow up you three. The shadow of death hangs over us all. Some deaths may be harder to accept than others, but unless you can get past that there will be no future!" Tsunade said
"Carrying this lighter around it's almost like Asuma is still close by. Like he's watching over us. I really feel that. Until I've closed the book on this thing, his life will stay with me." Shikamaru said
"Face reality. There's only three of you, okay? A full squad..."
"A full squad has four." Kakashi said making his presence known
"Kakashi-Sensei?" Ino said
"I'll take over as team 10's leader and go with them. Fair enough?" Kakashi asked
"Kakashi, what are you saying?" Tsunade asked
"It's no use they're just gonna go anyway. I figured you might as well send me along to keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't go overboard." Kakashi sad whispering that last part
"Alright. As you want." Tsunade said and they cheered
"But Kakashi. What about Naruto?" Shikamaru asked and Kakashi showed him his damaged hand
"He doesn't need me at the moment. Plus, he has another squad leader with him now." Kakashi said
"How close is he to completing his training?" Tsunade asked
"Very close. His determination is still something to be amazed by. What he's working on is basically impossible, but he's nearly finished." Kakashi said
"Good." Tsunade said
"Alright. Team Asuma. Let's go." Kakashi said
"Okay." The three of them said and they all vanished
Next day
"M'lady. Now that Kakashi-Sensei has joined team 10, I think team 7 is the best choice to go after them because we've worked so close with them in the past." Sakura said
"Very sharp, Sakura. Just as I expect." Tsunade said
"However, we have no way of knowing when Naruto will perfect this new jutsu of his. Perhaps we should send a different squad." Shizune said
"Sakura, tell Yamato to have Naruto wrap it up within the next 24 hours and that if he can't manage that then I'll have to send a different squad as back up." Tsunade said
"Right!" Sakura said and left the room
"Shizune. For a worst case scenario, review the roster. Put together a list of squads that would work well with team 10." Tsunade said
"Right away." Shizune said
"Well, here we go." Tsunade said
"M'lady. Why did you give Naruto only 24 hours? From what I've heard that jutsu is impossible to create. I think it's best we call off team 7 and send another squad right away." Shizune said
"I gave him 24 hours because he's nearly done already. I talked to Kakashi before they left and he said Naruto's nearly done with his jutsu. Keep those squads you put together on stand by though." Tsunade said
"Yes ma'am." Shizune said
Training ground
"Kakashi-Sensei and the others have gone after the akatsuki?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. They just left." Sakura said
"I see. What did lady Tsunade say about us?" Yamato asked
"She agrees that we'd be the best squad to supply back up. She also said in order for her to send us, Naruto has to master his new jutsu and quickly." Sakura said
"Master the new jutsu, huh?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. She said you have the next 24 hours to wrap it up, otherwise she'll go on and dispatch another squad." Sakura said
"Just 24 hours." Yamato said and started to think
"24 hours is more than enough time." Naruto said and created and army of shadow clones that immediately got to work
Next day
"Kakashi, I had planned to replace the heart I lost with yours, but I've changed my mind. After all I can find more hearts anytime I please. NOW DIE." Kakuzu yelled as his fire and wind mask fired a combination attack at Choji, Ino and Kakashi
Wind style: Rasengan
Water style: ripping torrent
Hurricane vortex jutsu
A combination of wind and water cancelled out Kakuzu's attack and created a huge fog cloud. Inside of the cloud stood none other than Sakura, Naruto and captain Yamato. Once the fog cleared everyone could see them clearly and figured Naruto must've just finished his jutsu since he was in bad shape.
"Sorry we're late, but better late than never." Naruto said
"Perfect timing." Kakashi said
Yeah. Let's hear it for the cavalry." Choji said
"Sakura, Naruto. You made it." Ino said
"I've never seen you look so disheveled, Kakashi." Yamato said
"It's been one of those days." Kakashi said
"The enemy must be powerful indeed." Yamato said
"Perfect. Another weirdo to deal with. This one's already bruised up a bit." Kakuzu said looking at Naruto
"Naruto. Are you sure you're okay?" Choji asked
"Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked
"He's dealing with the other enemy by himself a little further away." Choji said
"One of you head over there and help him." Kakashi said
"Sakura." Naruto said and Kakashi summoned Pakkun
"Right." Sakura said
"Rag-tag bunch of misfits. You people are nothing but potential heart replacements for me." Kakuzu said
"Alright, pal. This is my show now. You're going to need a lot more than a simple heart once I get done with you." Naruto said
"Naruto." Ino said and saw he was bruised up from his training
"Come on. We better get going." Pakkun said
"Naruto. We're counting on you, okay?" Sakura said then left with Pakkun and Kakashi saw Naruto's hand
"He's perfected it." Kakashi said
"No. It only works half the time." Yamato said
"I see." Kakashi said
"Although, just keep watching. He's come a long way." Yamato said
"I hope you know what you're doing Naruto." Ino thought
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
"Shadow clones, huh. So, you're the nine tails jinchuriki." Kakuzu said
"That's right and I'm the last jinchuriki you'll ever see." Naruto said
"Kakashi, get us up to speed on what we're dealing with here." Yamato said
"Both of our opponents are akatsuki members. Shikamaru splintered off with one of them. Leaving the rest of us to handle this guy. He's able to split into multiple entities. See those two masks? Not only can they detach, but each one has its own beating heart and can act autonomously. He originally started out with five hearts, but now he's down to three." Kakashi said
"So you've destroyed two of them already?" Yamato asked
"Yeah. We've killed him twice already, but he's not going down until we get the other three. Plus, he's a mid distance fighter, using several different changes is chakra nature." Kakashi said
"No wonder Kakashi has had his hands full." Yamato thought
"He's about to be down to zero hearts." Naruto said
"Big talk from such a little kid. I've been alive for a long time. I've fought against the first hokage Hashirama Senju himself. No matter what you do, it won't work. I'll be sure to take your heart after we extract the nine tails from you." Kakuzu said
"Enough talk." Naruto said
"NARUTO." Yamato said
"Yeah I know." Naruto said and his two clones ran at Kakuzu then were easily defeated
"Only shadow clones? You'll never win that way." Kakuzu said
"Based on his assault speed and battle style, I'll need three shadow clones for the diversion alone." Naruto thought
"I see. That's why he sent the shadow clone after Kakuzu. He's come a long since his genin days." Kakashi thought
Multi-shadow clone jutsu
"Hmm? Another trio of clones." Kakuzu said and everyone watched as Naruto and his clones started to create his jutsu
"What is that noise?" Ino asked
"Listen. That sound. It's so much chakra." Choji said
"Interesting. Now what?" Kakuzu said as Naruto finished his jutsu
"What is that jutsu? I can't let it hit me or I'll be finished." Kakuzu thought
Wind style: Rasenshuriken
"Okay here we go. Let's finish this." Naruto said and ran at Kakuzu with his clones
"I'm going with him!" Choji said
"No! Stay away from it! You'll just get caught too." Yamato said
Naruto and his clones ran a Kakuzu with his clone and they all ran in a zigzag motion. One jumped in the air with a kunai as the other two stayed on the ground. Kakuzu used his threads to kill the clone in the air and his masks used a fire and wind jutsu to destroy the other two clones. He left his back open and Naruto tried to hit him with his jutsu, but it disappeared and when Kakuzu saw this he tried to grab Naruto with his threads, but Naruto used a lightning shunshin to get away from him.
"When you said rasenshuriken I figured for sure that you'd throw it or something." Choji said
"I don't have the control over it yet to throw it at an opponent. I have to slam it into him as a close range attack." Naruto said
"The name is misleading. Rasenshuriken is meant to be a frontal attack. Thus the need for an accompanying diversion. In this case shadow clones." Yamato said
"The problem is this jutsu burns too quickly. It only lasts a few seconds." Kakashi said
"We'll never be able to hit him that quickly. He's way too fast." Choji said
"That's a bunch of bull. I could hit him quickly, but I'm just tired. I came here straight from training myself into the ground. The jutsu burns out so quickly because I haven't made it dense enough. That's why when I get the density down I'll be able to throw it and make it last for however long I want it to." Naruto said and stood up
"It appears the boy's jutsu is useless, so long as I keep my distance. So I just have to avoid close combat. Don't let myself get distracted by the clones and keep my eye on the original. Alright. That should be simple enough." Kakuzu thought
"Okay. Let me try this again. Now that I know what I'm doing wrong." Naruto said
"Come on, he's an akatsuki member. If you repeat the same move, he's just going to dodge it." Ino said
"Yeah. It won't work. He knows what to expect now. Let's work together." Choji said
"That's true. Right now we're five against one. There's no need for us to cross any shaky bridges." Kakashi said
"So. What now?" Kakuzu thought
"Kakashi-sensei. Do you remember what you told me during training? You said I'm the only shinobi who can surpass the fourth hokage and you meant what you said. Look, I know teamwork is important, but right now I need to cross this bridge and cross it alone no matter how dangerous of a bridge it turns out to be. If I can't work my way to the other side, I'll just be a kid forever. So please, please don't take away my chance to prove what I can do." Naruto said, as he pictured Minato walking ahead of him and the huge gap between them was the difference in their power
"What do you say, Yamato?" Kakashi asked
"Well, Kakashi. I must admit I am also intrigued to see how much Naruto has changed from his training." Yamato said
"Well there we are then." Kakashi said
"Go get him Naruto." Choji said
"You can do it." Ino said
"Naruto. Do it." Kakashi said
"Right." Naruto said and walked forward
"So. He's going to try again, is he? Well then I'd better shift to a long range attack style." Kakuzu thought and transformed again
"What the hell is that?" Ino asked
"That's not just a transformation. It's a huge amount of chakra." Yamato said
"He's preparing for Naruto's jutsu." Kakashi said
Shadow clone jutsu
Naruto created three clones and they made the Rasenshuriken again. All four of them ran at Kakuzu who ran and jumped in the air. He flew over the shadow clones and hit the Naruto in the back with his threads. He was surprised when he went up in smoke and then heard a screeching noise from behind him.
"I see. He hid himself in the crowd." Kakuzu said
"GOTCHA BITCH." Naruto yelled
Naruto slammed the Rasenshuriken into Kakuzu's back and he was sent flying away. Eventually the jutsu exploded and created a huge shockwave that nearly blew everyone away. The Rasenshuriken created countless microscopic wind-blades that started to severely damage Kakuzu and he could do nothing but face the pain. Eventually both of his masks were destroyed and the jutsu started to die down, but you could still see the tiny wind blades cutting up his body.
"The number of separate attacks were seemingly infinite. Not even my sharingan could follow them all." Kakashi thought and looked at Naruto
"What a magnificent jutsu." Kakashi said as the body of Kakuzu fell out of the sky and hit the ground with a thud
"Whoa." Choji said
"Awesome." Ino said and then everyone looked at Naruto who was on the ground with a tired smile on his face
"Naruto. You've finally surpassed me." Kakashi thought
"Hey. He's not moving. He's still down." Ino said
"Naruto!" Choji said and they both ran over to him
"Hold him steady Choji, okay? Just like that. Right now I can only give him emergency first aid. That was some jutsu Naruto. Who would've thought that the real you was hidden among the clones." Ino said and started to heal Naruto
"You know, you're not as dumb as you look. You're not in Shikamaru's league yet, but..." Choji trailed off
"Don't compare me to him." Naruto said
"I'm surprised you could pull off that jutsu three times in a row. You were only able to do it twice in training." Yamato said
"Such confidence and the wit to turn failure on its head and plan his next move. Naruto has become strong. Truly strong. Jutsu that were well beyond the fourth hokage are well within his command. I guess it's time to finally pass the torch." Kakashi thought looking at Naruto
"I should be able to do it more than that, but I've been training basically non-stop for almost a month now. Ino, in my pouch is a seal. Grab it and give it to me." Naruto said
"Okay." Ino said and did as told then watched Naruto place the seal on his bare chest
"Is that one of those medical seals that were recently approved?" Ino asked
"Yeah." Naruto said
"How did you get one? They were only kept in the hospital for now." Ino said
"Who do you think made them?" Naruto asked as he stood up
"Woah. Did you make the other seal as well?" Ino asked
"Yeah. Do you have one?" Naruto asked
"Yes. All kunoichi have them." Ino said
"That's good." Naruto replied and walked over to Kakuzu
"Defeated, by a pack of brats. Incredible." Kakuzu said as he laid on the ground motionless
"You did fight the first hokage. It's no wonder you see us as brats, but it cuts both ways. In my eyes you're just an old geezer who's time is over and so here you are, dying. Hugging the earth like a worm. One by one my generation will catch up to you and in the end we'll all surpass you." Naruto said and finished Kakuzu off with his lightning slicer, then sealed his body into a scroll
"Naruto! It's time to head out!" Yamato said
"Let's go." Naruto said and they all jumped away meeting up with Sakura and Shikamaru along the way
Hokage tower
"Well done everyone, but it's not time to celebrate just yet. Not when there are still more members of the akatsuki at large. Naruto, the injuries I read that you had before you arrived here." Tsunade said and Naruto cut her off
"I know." Naruto said
"Alright then. For the rest of you I order you to take a few days off. Give your minds and bodies a rest, got it? Dismissed, except Naruto." Tsunade said and everyone left
"What is it, granny?" Naruto asked
"I want to put that jutsu in the forbidden scroll." Tsunade said
"Forget it. That would mean I have to detail on how to make it and tell how to make the rasengan as well. I'm not doing it. Label it an S-rank kinjutu, but it's not going in the scroll." Naruto said
"I figured you'd say that. However, I don't want you using it until you can throw it like you said. Too much cell damage to your arm and you may never use that arm again." Tsunade said
"Okay." Naruto said
"Good. I'm liking this new mature version of you. I don't have to threaten you as much anymore. So, what's next for your training?" Tsunade asked
"Well, I have the jutsus my dad left for me, my kekkei genkai and I was hoping to make another rasengan." Naruto said
"You're not even completely finished with the rasenshuriken, but you want to make another one?" Tsunade said
"I want to use my lightning chakra nature this time." Naruto said
"Naruto, that won't work." Tsunade said
"Yeah. Kakashi already tried. That's why he created the Chidori." Shizune said
"It can work. I did it by accident during my wind manipulation training." Naruto said
"Explain." Tsunade said
"Well, I was angry for not being able to add my wind chakra nature and one of my clones messed up and added lightning chakra. The rasengan vanished and when I dropped my hands, a small indent was on the ground by my feet. I don't know what happened, but it had something to do with whatever my clone did. I want to try it out first to see if it's anything worth working on." Naruto said
"Fine. First I think it would be best if you worked on your chakra control first. You should be able to do a rasengan with one hand by now, but you're still lacking the chakra control to do it." Tsunade said
"I don't know any other chakra control exercises I can do. I've done them all and even combined them, but nothing works." Naruto said
"I've got one that should work for you. I want you to use the same training ground you've used for your Rasenshuriken training and try waterfall walking. Since the water is going downward in a fast and powerful motion you'll need more chakra to maintain balance and walk up the waterfall. This should help with your problem." Tsunade said
"Thanks granny." Naruto said
"One more thing." Tsunade said
"What's that?" Naruto asked
"Congratulations on surpassing Kakashi and becoming the third strongest shinobi in the village." Tsunade said
"Kakashi was that strong?" Naruto asked
"Yes. Not even the anbu commander or anbu captain was stronger than him." Tsunade said
"Wow." Naruto said
"Now come here. I need to put a cast on your arm. I can tell you have some cracks in your bones from over here and the seal doesn't fix that kind of injury." Tsunade said
"Oh yeah. You're right." Naruto said and Tsunade pulled out some medical supplies then after healing him as best as she could she put a cast on him
"Get out of here. Remember what I told you about that jutsu." Tsunade said
"What if I create some shadow clones to try and perfect it?" Naruto asked
"I'll allow it." Tsunade said
"Thanks granny!" Naruto said and left in a lightning bolt shunshin
"Now I see why you want to know how he does the water shunshin. It would make my appearances much more dramatic." Tsunade said and Shizune laughed
Later that night
"The examination isn't complete yet, but we've already found out something about this new jutsu of Naruto's. The damage this man sustained, didn't just come from a barrage of individual blows no matter how many there might have been." Tsunade said looking at the body of Kakuzu
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked
"As impossible as it may seem, his entire chakra network has been severed." Tsunade said
"His entire chakra network?" Yamato asked
"Yes, that's right. I know it's difficult to imagine, but it's true." Tsunade said
"I didn't know the wind style: rasenshuriken was so thorough." Kakashi said
"The effect on the body is more like a poison than a physical trauma. It's an incredibly precise attack doing it's damage on the cellular level. I believe it shapes the wind chakra into a blizzard of miniature swords and systematically attacks every cell in the body." Tsunade said
"That is some jutsu." Yamato said
"Poison indeed. It would be more accurate to speak in terms of concentration rather than a number of attacks." Kakashi said
"What of Naruto? He's the one who used the jutsu." Yamato said
"Well, there lies the problem. I've already told him to not use the jutsu unless he can throw it like it's meant to be. I'm allowing him to practice with shadow clones and that's it until I can see for myself that he's able to use it properly. He suffered minor cell damage in his arm and a few cracks in his arm. His medical seal healed the cell damage, but I healed his cracked bones and put a cast on him." Tsunade said
"It's that serious?" Yamato asked
"Yes. It was in Sakura's medical report for the mission. It wasn't as severe, but it was the same. I've already told him if he keeps using it the way he does that he'll lose the ability to use chakra." Tsunade said
Next day/Hokage tower
"Lady Tsunade, I'm finding it rather troubling that you're allowing Naruto to practice his new jutsu unsupervised. On top of that, you're allowing him to try and create another one." Shizune said
"I know, but he's grown up a lot and is no longer the loudmouth brat from 2 years ago. I can't treat him like a child, Shizune. He knows what he's doing." Tsunade said
"But he mustn't do that. He could lose the ability to use chakra and his days as a shinobi would be finished for good." Shizune said
"Well we can't let that happen, can we?" A familiar voice said from the window and they turned to see Jiraiya sitting there
"How's it going? Long time no see." Jiraiya said
"I thought you were off investigating the akatsuki." Tsunade said
"Yeah. Well, I've been a little worried about my protege. I figured I'd come and check on him. Fill me in will you. What's the story?" Jiraiya asked
Ichirakus
"Well now. Having a good time as usual I see." Jiraiya said, as he walked up to Naruto after he just left Ichirakus with Sakura and Kakashi then witnessed Konohamaru use the Sexy jutsu
"Thank goodness. Hey, pervy-sage." Naruto said
"Huh? Oh great. There's the other one that would fall for that." Sakura said
"Here I was worrying for nothing. You don't look that banged up, Naruto." Jiraiya said
"Are you kidding me? This is nothing." Naruto said and cringed in pain a bit
"Naruto, your bones haven't even healed yet." Sakura said and Jiraiya laughed
"Haven't changed a bit, have you?" Jiraiya said and nodded to Kakashi
"Master Jiraiya. I'm guessing you're here to check on Naruto." Kakashi said
"I am. Come with me Naruto." Jiraiya said and they both walked away
Park bench
"Tsunade already filled me in. You perfected the wind style: rasenshuriken. Nice job." Jiraiya said
"I haven't perfected it. It damages my arm as you already know and I can't throw it yet. I need to condense it some more and make sure it's stable enough to be thrown." Naruto said
"I know. Tsunade told me about your problem. I'll give you this. You created a jutsu that not even the fourth hokage could do. That's something impressive." Jiraiya said
"That's nice and all, but I can't use it until I get my chakra control to a higher level. Until then I'm having my shadow clones practice it until I get better." Naruto said
"I've got some time off for a bit. How about I train you? This time I'll train you the right way. Help you learn some jutsus, practice your chakra control, help with your taijutsu and see if I can help with your jutsus that your father left for you. What do you say? Are you up for it?" Jiraiya asked
"What about my arm?" Naruto asked
"We both know the nine tails should have it fixed by now." Jiraiya said and Naruto took off his cast
"Feels good as new. When do we start training?" Naruto asked
"Let's start right now." Jiraiya said and they vanished