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Chapter edited due to some overlooking - 08.07.2021
A cold and wet sensation made itself known, followed by the gradual return of consciousness, and blinking a couple of times, Naruto opened his eyes before taking in the foggy surroundings, the wetness in the air defeating the drowsiness in the eyes.
Ugh! Winters; the only good thing comes out of them is no daily bathing. Now fully awake, he tried to look through the fog, face scrunching on seeing the greenery and the absence of the usual four walls of his bedroom.
What am I… Thoughts halted, the barest of irritation registering in his knuckles, Naruto brought his hands up to eye level, the reddish hue on the threshold of the fingers objecting to the wet sensation of fog. So, does winter slightly affect my healing?
At the same time, the memories of the last night resurfaced, the orange-clad boy slowly stood up, turning and looking at the almost imperceptible indentations on the log. Hmmm… I fell asleep after training, I guess.
Flexing his fingers a bit, the disguised blonde began walking out of the clearing, pace a tad bit high. It's been a year since I joined the academy, and still, my taijutsu is lacking in almost every area.
Hours forming into days forming into weeks and months, he had committed to the training. Forgetting his meals, sleeping in the training grounds, yet, there were mistakes that still happened, combinations that refused to work, speed that was still a dream.
He had power; fighting with Kenta and the group made sure of that, subpar instincts too, but the finesse, the smoothness - like clan heirs - was not there.
All in all, without a proper taijutsu teacher, who could at least correct his flaws, he was far behind his classmates. If only he had a personal caretaker-cum-trainer like Mito… Ebuzu was his name, I guess… or something like that.
Sighing a bit, the Uzumaki walked out of the clearing, taking in the slight change in the fog density due to residential areas. Considering the thickness of fog, I still have an hour to get ready for the academy.
A yawn escaping his mouth, the seven year old stretched a bit before resuming his trek towards his apartment.
A frown paving its way on his face, Naruto slowed down his pace to walk, seeing the almost empty academy grounds - usually brimming with students walking towards the academy building.
Only Mizuki was standing at the gate like a guard.
I ain't late; sure of that. Then why… Pausing his musings, the Uzumaki halted reaching the white-haired chunin who was already looking at him, face serious, crossed arms adding to the effect.
"Yo! sensei," Naruto paused for a bit, looking around deliberately. "Where is… " Only to halt when the chunin raised his hand before crouching to his level.
"The academy is closed for a week, Naruto-kun."
Face scrunching and eyes narrowed into slits, the orange clad brought his arms upward before crossing them behind the head. "Why?" Repairs? But Iruka sensei would have mentioned. Also, why is Mizuki like that? All serious and a bit gloomy.
The elder man heaved his chest, chunin vest slowly rising and falling. "Do you recall Uchiha Itachi?"
The disguised blonde tilted his head a bit before nodding. "Sasuke's brother." What does this have to do with him?
"Last night, he… killed his entire clan." Well, most of it, but no need to tell the demon.
Eyes flew open while a gasp escaped his mouth, shock and disbelief covered his entire visage, and this time Naruto couldn't care about his goofy act. Idiot or not, this… this was… how could this happen?!
Those Uchiha guys seemed really strong, everyone stayed out of their way, people even bowed to them!
For a single… he took a breath… a single guy killed all of them! Just how strong was this Uchiha Itachi?!
Old man Hokage's face flashed in his mind, and Naruto couldn't help but gulp. Definitely, in the league of jiji. Yeah, Sasuke's brother was…
"Be serious towards your studies! Sasuke-kun's elder brother graduated at the age of seven, and now at twelve, he is doing well as a chunin."
Iruka sensei's words resurfacing, the Uzumaki almost took a step back as the gravity of the situation asserted itself.
Uchiha Itachi should be thirteen now and singlehandedly… killed all the grown ups - also shinobis…
"I will kill you, demon!"
He and Haru had struggled against that drunkard, only managing to kill him accidentally.
And, the guilt afterwards… if not for Haru, he wasn't even sure where he would have been now. Even now, sometimes, the guilt resurfaced leading to sleepless nights.
But this guy, even after killing so many people, had enough of a mind to escape the village!
This was the level of shinobis he would have to deal with, after the academy?! Suddenly, the prospect of becoming a shinobi started seeming bleak.
How could he - a no-named, clanless nobody without proper teaching - even think of standing against these… these… monsters?!
Just six years from now, could he see himself as strong as this Itachi?
No…
Despite the repressed and gloomy aura enveloping the village, Mizuki couldn't help but derive the bits of pleasure seeing the Kyuubi in shock.
A myriad of emotions were visible on the demon's face. Obviously it had realized that another Uchiha could reach the potential of Madara, and control it.
A shame, the said Uchiha was now an enemy of the village. But he was sure that Kyuubi and Uchiha Itachi would definitely cross paths one day.
But, alas, every good thing was always short lived. He needed to send the Kyuubi back, the hokage must be keeping an eye on the academy.
With great disgust, Mizuki willed himself to place his hands on the demon's shoulders. "Now off you go and try to stay inside your apartment."
Hiruzen took a puff from his cigar, watching as Mizuki sent his grandson figure while comforting the latter. This Mizuki is a good shinobi and definitely deserves some appreciation.
Gazing at the retreating figure of the orange clad boy for some seconds, the Hokage looked towards the village, the denser, than usual, fog underlining the gloomy aura of the village.
"Things have changed, Hokage-sama, especially after Minato-kun became hokage. Certain elements are not happy with his progress, and I fear your authority will not be enough."
Sarutobi shifted his vision towards the portrait of his successor. Day by day, Kushina's words are becoming true.
For Danzo to go behind his - the Hokage's! - back and order for the complete extermination of one of the prominent clans of Konoha, was a glaring application of the Uzumaki woman's words.
The worst was that he couldn't even do anything against the war hawk, at least not for some years. Direct confrontation, now, would only lead to a civil war - something the village couldn't afford.
Still, it was astonishing, to say the least, that someone impulsive like Kushina could show such farsightedness.
Truly, death could result in a magnanimous shift in one's paradigm. Musing, Hiruzen began taking drags from his cigar, the weight of the unfortunate happening on his every breath.
Some moments passed in silence.
Then, he sighed. Damn you Danzo! You ruined my best chance of having a successor.
Brringg~
Not even looking at the alarm clock, Naruto simply pushed the button, the sound dying down.
Immediately, he sighed, the brief respite from the alarm sound ending, as the thoughts again flooded his mind. It's been two days, and I still can't stop thinking about the massacre.
A thirteen year old boy managed to kill hundreds of people in just one night; It was unbelievable!
Then there were children too! Was this what becoming a shinobi entailed? Killing defenseless and weak just because one could?
He took a breath. Considering this, he was damn lucky that he survived in a village full of haters.
But for how long?
This whole massacre might give an idiot some confidence boost to get rid of the demon child. After all, if a thirteen year old could do the deed and escape, why not a grown up?
Again, he took a breath. This might not happen for some months, a year or even two, but there were chances - very high.
And, what would he do? What would he be able to do? He was untrained, weak, a nobody, a… a… fodder!
"Fodder like you an' me are easily forgotten… "
Every single word of that weird man was coming true. There was nothing he could do to change…
"Grow strong, only then you'll see the change… "
The Uzumaki blinked - the next words of the man suddenly resurfacing in his mind - and as if jerked, sat up on his bed, mouth parting and eyes widening at the epiphany.
The next moment, he found his thoughts shifting, his life so far began to flash before his eyes. The disguised blonde couldn't help the resulting thoughts.
Since when was he anything more than a fodder?
As far as he could remember, people had tried to crush him, belittle him and even kill him, but he had struggled and survived through all odds.
Even now, he was doing that.
Moreover, this incident, though huge, didn't directly affect him in any way. And, even if some idiot got inspired from this and tried to vent anger on him, the only chance he would have for his survival if he were strong enough.
Definitely, sitting here and doing nothing wasn't gonna work.
Idiot. Lamenting himself before nodding, the former blonde got off from his bed before walking to the window and parting the curtains.
Two days in darkness can surely make you miss the daylight. Thankfully, there's no fog today. Determination began to raise its head, the seven year old walked out of the bedroom.
Looking in the mirror, checking his disguise, Naruto exited the bathroom and walked into the lobby.
Alright, let's begin. Releasing a breath, the Uzumaki began deciding the course of action. He wasn't sure if training in the forests above the hokage mountain would be allowed just two days after the incident.
And, taijutsu was a no go in the apartment.
Glancing around at the barely holding paint, he wasn't even sure of the damage a single hit would cause. Well, ninjutsu then shurikenjutsu it is.
Nodding to himself while forming the required hand seals, savoring the bit of delight resulting from his decent speed of hand movements, Naruto muttered. "Henge no jutsu!"
The customary puff of smoke appeared for a bit, before the former blonde stepped out, taking in his appearance from within the almost black pane of the window.
A familiar white-haired wrinkly face with funny clothes stared back at him. Inspecting the prominent wrinkles, slightly hollowed eyes, loosened cheeks among other details, he again nodded in satisfaction.
Then, his hand lifted and found purchase on the short beard, and a frown immediately marred his face.
"Henge is an e-rank genjutsu - one of the simplest yet effective - which casts only an illusion granting you a different appearance. Let me demonstrate," Iruka slowly formed the hand seals before muttering. "Henge no jutsu!"
A cloud of smoke emerged for a bit before parting, and out came a familiar pink-haired girl, a smile on her face. "Ohayo! I am Haruno Sakura."
Every eye turned towards the Sakura sitting on the front desk, her mouth parted and eyes wide. Astonished murmurs began filling the class, every student began comparing the two girls.
"Silence."
Any other time, Iruka's voice coming out of Sakura's mouth would have been hilarious, but this time the surprise and awe dwarfed every other emotion, so the class immediately obliged.
"Now, as I said," Iruka began, again in a feminine voice. "This is just an illusion and not an actual transformation, meaning I may appear as a four feet girl but, in actuality, I am six feet. Let me show," He added, seeing the confusion on the children's faces.
"Sasuke-kun, come here."
The duck ass obliged and stood before the man-turned-girl. "Now simply touch me anywhere above my… err… Sakura's head."
The Uchiha nodded before obliging, dark eyebrows immediately lifting up.
"Voice your observations, Sasuke-kun."
"I can actually touch and feel your chunin vest."
"Alright, now hit me at the same place."
Once again, Sasuke followed, smoke immediately concealed the girl, before parting to reveal his punch caught in Iruka's fist.
"To sum it up, chakra manifested taking the form of Sakura while concealing my actual features. With a touch, one can determine the usage of Henge, and with a casual hit, the jutsu is dispelled."
"That's why it is advisable to assume a henge of similar features as the jutsu wielder. On missions, genins are advised to take henge of kids while a sensei assumes that of a grown up."
"It's a stupid jutsu if anyone can discover it with a touch and hit"
Iruka smirked. "Tell me Kiba-kun, on a mission, will you actually try and hit everyone to know of henge? Touch is already out of the question assuming the henge has similar height and shape."
The Inuzuka parted his mouth for a bit before closing it quickly, a pout on his face.
"Exactly. Regarding the voice, the habits, they come with a lot of practice."
Going by Iruka's words, his hand should just pass through the illusion and not actually grasp the beard. This was totally different and weird.
Naruto sighed in frustration. What did he do to deserve all this? Even a basic jutsu was out of his reach, and worst, he couldn't even talk about it.
People already hated him, revealing about his weird transformation would only add to their hatred. There were already tales about demons and shape-shifting, and people called him one.
Shaking his head, he tried to stop the chain of negative thoughts. It would only ruin his mood further. For next some moments, he waited as his feelings cooled off.
"Alright, next jutsu," Breaking the silence and forming hand seals, he concentrated on the sole chair in the room, and muttered. "Kawarimi no jutsu!"
His vision slightly blurred for a bit and the next moment, he found himself standing in the position of a chair.
Satisfaction and slight joy invaded his earlier thoughts, and the Uzumaki welcomed the new feelings. At least, there was a jutsu he could do properly just like others in the class.
A smile appeared on his face, recalling the day of learning Kawarami in the class.
Reaching his desk, Iruka raised an eyebrow seeing a wooden kunai on it, before he picked it up and turned towards the class. "What is this doing here?"
"Sensei," Ino loudly voiced. "It's Kiba's; he was trying to perform a Kawarami with it."
Immediately, the chunin looked at the Inuzuka, slight disbelief on his face. "Why were you using a kunai, Kiba?"
"Eh… Hana - my sister - told me to practice with a kunai, and that one day I'll be able to substitute like Yondaime."
Eye twitching, Iruka took a breath. "Kiba-kun~, what Yondaime used was teleportation, meaning, in the blink of an eye, he could appear in Iwa and back in Konoha. Surely, you can't do that with this kunai. Also, kunai was just for help; he actually used a written fuinjutsu formula - we'll learn about fuinjutsu later."
"Coming back, you can't substitute with a kunai. To substitute, you need an object of decent mass and size which can help in jutsu."
"Theoretically, chakra extends and grasps onto the object, and on completion of seals, pulls the object as well as the caster towards each other. Imagine chakra is a rope and someone is holding it in the middle and then throws you both towards each other."
"Of course, chakra enhances your speed very much, thus making the execution possible in an instant… Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"What if we can't find such an object?"
Iruka nodded, a smile on his face. "Good question. On missions, a shinobi doesn't have time to look for such an object; at that time, log helps."
The chunin raised his hand, palm towards the students, before with a flick, a finger-sized scroll appeared in his hand. Ignoring the mutters of the children, he grasped the scroll in his finger and thumb.
"This is a ready to use and throw scroll specially designed for substitution. Just channel some chakra into it, and a log appears while the scroll is destroyed."
"And with some training, you can also cast a basic genjutsu to conceal the customary smoke with your own image, while the real you escapes. In fact, almost every trained shinobi does that."
A small laugh escaped the seven year old's mouth, recalling his own attempt. The chair had just gone out of the window into the academy grounds, while Kiba had collided with the chair.
And that lazy ass Shikamaru, his chair had just dropped half way. Shaking his head, humor covering his visage, Naruto began forming the next seals.
With every seal, he formed, dread and hopelessness replaced the joy on his face. Closing his eyes, he uttered. "Bunshin no jutsu!"
He opened his eyes, praying for some miracle, before looking around and nearly dropped to his knees. Two malformed… things… were lying on the ground.
Damn it! Why can't I perform even a single bunshin right? Six months had passed, but he couldn't just get the jutsu right, reason unknown.
Groaning a bit, he dispelled the two pale imitations. After standing there for some moments, doing nothing, he withdrew some wooden kunais from the kunai holster.
Damn you Mizuki! Due to you, I have to spend money on these working kunais and shurikens while everyone else gets it from school. Thankfully, Haruno Sakura - always the overachiever - had asked for a shop where she could buy them.
Stop it, Naruto. More work, less complaining. Gazing towards the crudely drawn target rings, the Uzumaki shifted his grip on the kunai and threw it.
Focus. Musing to himself, as the wooden object struck the third ring, he again threw kunais in succession. One by one, the next three kunais struck the second ring at the same place.
Heaving a sigh of satisfaction, he threw the last one which also struck the same place before falling, and with that, fell a big piece of paint, erasing half of the target rings, revealing a yellowish white surface.
"Great," Grumbling, Naruto walked towards the newly revealed old paint. How much does the painting even cost? I need to…
Thoughts halted, his eyes squinted on seeing a weird circular pattern on the newly revealed white portion. It was made of symbols, in black, which were awry.
What is this? He raised his hand, on instinct, before touching the center, and his eyes widened. Chakra began seeping from his fingers, and he was sure, into the strange pattern.
Urge rose to pull his hand back but curiosity overwhelmed every other thought. He didn't know why, but he was really intrigued by this strange occurrence.
Second by second, minutes formed, as Naruto watched the small clock hung on the wall. Thirty seconds! Wow, that's a lot of chakra and…
Chakra percolation stopped, and he just had a moment to withdraw his hand, before a puff of smoke covered the wall, and out came, a book and a pouch which fell onto the floor.
Eyebrows lifting, the former blonde crouched, hand rising and began hovering above the objects.
Should he go for it… shaking his head of any qualms, he just grasped both the things, walked and then sat at the chabudai table.
Alternating between both the objects for a moment, he grasped the brown pouch before emptying it onto the table.
Thuck! Thuck! Tink!
Are these… With no less excitement, he picked the shurikens, the weight and feel confirming the metal constitution of the five objects.
Rotating the shuriken for a bit, he placed them aside before grabbing the slightly worn off book.
The cover was light brown and over that, the letter 'M' was written. Definitely a girl's. No boy has such neat handwriting. Well, let's open it.
He turned the cover, and blinked. This was not a book; there was writing in it, clearly by the same person who had written that 'M'.
Still deciding to take a look, he began reading.
Today, I began on fuinjutsu, and I am really excited to learn about it. Undoubtedly, it is the strongest and most versatile branch of shinobi arts.
That was a bold claim. Nevertheless, his interest was piqued.
Nidaime Hokage was able to teleport hundreds of miles in some seconds using fuinjutsu.
Did Yondaime also use the same technique? Iruka sensei said he was able to teleport to Iwa instantly. If it was, then this fuinjutsu was really something.
Simple storage scrolls can seal objects the size of Hokage tower into them, and sensei even says a seal master can totally nullify any jutsu with his seals.
Whoa!
Also, sensei said that fuinjutsu is something that can effectively replace any of the four pillars of shinobi ideology.
Genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu and iryojutsu; all of them? His excitement began to bubble. Now, he really wanted to try his hand on fuinjutsu.
Determined, he turned the page only to find it empty. Even the adjacent one was empty. That's… He paused, seeing the reflection of letters from within the second page.
Whoever this girl was, she wasn't a regular writer, and most likely, did it for passing time. Shrugging, he turned the page and resumed the reading.
Also, even the hand seals we use today were originally in written/drawn form as fuinjutsu.
Wait, what?
The Uzumaki inhaled sharply as the implications set in. How many times he had thought of any alternate way of performing bunshin because, clearly, there could be something wrong in the way he was using hand seals.
If he would be able to use these written seals, definitely, the jutsus would come out right. After all, writing seals was way more accurate than placing your hands in different ways.
Totally invested, he looked at the next page. The girl definitely liked to waste pages.
Today, I began calligraphy. Sensei says for fuinjutsu to work, every stroke, every kanji should be crisp and clean.
Hopefully, there would be something on this calligraphy thing in the diary.
I have also started visiting the shinobi library, and it saddens me greatly seeing the plight of the fuinjutsu section there. Only a single shelf - admittedly, containing a good number of books - but they are in totally poor condition.
Still, there is a decent amount of information for a beginner, and thankfully, I have sensei to teach me later.
Library, huh? Hmmm… Well, he had his unique henge to exploit.
Placing the thoughts aside for the moment, he resumed the reading after turning the page.
Thank Kami! Finally! Today, I managed to persuade sensei to give me the scroll of KAGE BUNSHIN!
Naruto's mind came to a screeching halt. What the hell was a Kage… no, no! There was a Kage bunshin! He didn't know what it was, but it could be his way out of the dreadful bunshin jutsu!
This was something he needed to learn! Definitely! With overflowing fervor, he immediately jumped into the reading again.
This is the ultimate jutsu! Not only are the clones solid and can talk but also able to transfer the memories to the original on dispelling. Just imagine all that learning and in no time!
The seven year old was practically drooling at this time. Endless possibilities began invading his mind. He wouldn't even need a sensei to learn!
But trust sensei to make everything a game. He sealed the jutsu into a dependent matrix. Only if I'll be able to channel at least ten minutes worth of chakra into his specifically crafted seal, the seal will open.
Sadly, I nearly exhaust myself after channeling chakra for just a minute. But one day! And till that day, I will continue to channel chakra into the seal. For safety, I have pasted it on the last page of this diary.
A gasp escaping his mouth, the disguised blonde quickly ruffled the papers to the very last one, a grin emerging on seeing an intricate seal on the page.
Hopefully, it'll still be there.
Gulping a bit, he touched the very center of the seal and began channeling chakra. Not even a second later, there was a puff of smoke.
He blinked. That was fast. He was prepared for at least thirty seconds of chakra drainage.
At the same time, his heart fluttering and breathing a bit high, he plucked the scroll that emerged from the air.
Unfurling it, his eyes immediately began rummaging the content, intentions firm to learn from this unexpected finding.
Placing the scroll aside, the Uzumaki glanced at the clock. Half hour; that was fast. Good.
Taking a breath, he crossed his fingers. This is a different seal: just a plus with index fingers. He shrugged. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
He felt chakra drain - the barest - and surprise appeared on his face at the unprecedented sensation. Then, there was a puff of smoke.
Naruto held his breath, but only a moment later, smoke disappeared. The seven year old's eyes widened and eyebrows nearly touched his hairline, seeing a perfectly alive copy of him.
It worked!
He clenched his left fist, a wild grin blooming on his face, and…
"Yo, boss!"
Boss?! Oh, he could definitely get used to it. Trying but failing to control his grin, he also gave a two finger salute. "I can do bunshin, Yatta!"
The Uzumaki began rubbing his hands in glee…
"Don't forget boss, you still have to perform academy bunshin to pass."
Halting in his celebration, Naruto tilted his head, slight confusion apparent on his face, but a moment later, realisation dawned on his visage.
"This bunshin is mandatory for graduation, even for clan heirs. This is to give a fair chance to all of you as, in their elements, clan heirs hold clear advantage. Like an Aburame can more easily form a Kikaichu bunshin."
His mood dimmed, recalling Iruka sensei's words, but the overall excitement still prevailed. "So, tell me about yourself."
"Well, I am… you."
The seven year old sweat dropped.
The clone shrugged. "I have your memories and all that."
"O… kay," What else should… A bulb went on in his head. "Let's test that memory transfer… no, wait! For that you'll need to dispel. Uh… let's go with jutsus first."
"Sure," The clone, not waiting, formed the hand seals. "Henge no jutsu!"
Naruto deadpanned, seeing a blonde old girl with smoke covering her chest and area below the waist. "Not this one."
"Why?" The voice was too sweet for his ears.
"You know very well how I created this jutsu… "
"Yeah, yeah, you decided to try a girl, and saw this girl on a poster. But since her chest and lower area were blackened, you decided to be creative."
Well, his clones were only similar in appearance; attitude was different, to say the least. Shaking his head, he voiced. "Kawarimi, now."
A moment later, a chair occupied the clone's place, and next moment, the clone was back in his place. "Bunshin?" The clone asked sweetly.
Naruto nodded. Well, there was nothing to lose in trying.
"Bunshin no jutsu."
The Uzumaki almost slumped, seeing the same result. Two pale copies again appeared on the floor. There goes my only chance. Sighing heavily, he muttered. "What about Taijutsu?"
The clone looked towards the roof for a moment. "I don't know. Let's try."
Shrugging, Naruto walked forward. "Ready?" Getting a nod, he lobbed a punch to his doppleganger's gut.
The clone immediately dispelled, and the disguised blonde cringed, receiving the memories. Whoa! It's like I have lived every moment!
A laugh escaped his throat, the implications settling themselves in his mind. He was surely going to exploit this jutsu!
Once again, he crossed his fingers. Another clone popped up out of thin air. "You know what to do."
The clone nodded and formed hand seals. "Henge no jutsu."
The Uzumaki inspected the henge for a bit. "Alright, that'll work. It is fitting. This guy set us on this path, and we have become stronger due to him."
"He's also a chunin."
"Yeah," The original nodded. "Now you go to the library and make sure to get as much as you can on the fuinjutsu section. Meanwhile, I am going to visit Haru-san."
The clone simply gave a two finger salute before jumping out of the window. Naruto also followed through the door.
Opening the door, the Uzumaki walked inside, taking in the small tavern. "Yo! Haru-san."
The elder man, from behind the counter and already looking at the seven year old, nodded. "Naruto-kun. You're early."
The disguised blonde shrugged, approaching the counter and taking a seat. "Academy is off, I didn't have anything to do."
"Oh," Haru said, checking through some receipts. Must be due to the massacre.
"I thought even your shop would be closed."
The tavern owner halted in his actions, eyes slightly widening, before he slowly looked up towards the curious child. "What… do you mean?"
"The massacre, ya know. Since the academy is closed, I thought other places would also be."
The hell?! Who told a seven year old of such a brutal happening? How… of course. Someone would have tried to scare him. Haru sighed. Poor gaki. "Are you okay? Learning about the whole massacre thing, I mean."
The Uzumaki looked at the counter. "It was… I was scared; even now, I am, but then I realised that only getting stronger will help me. So, I am not thinking about it anymore."
Then, Naruto gazed at the older man. "What about you? What do you think about it?"
"I really don't know. That's some serious shinobi stuff," Haru smiled a bit. Better if he doesn't learn about the rumours that Itachi snapped or did the deed for testing his strength.
"Anyway," The elder man decided to shift the conversation. "You wanna help?"
"Sure," Naruto nodded.
"Well, then come here," Haru motioned the kid towards his side. "I want you to write down the prices of these bottles."
"Okay," The seven year old hopped off the seat before walking to the other side, slight confusion appearing on his visage. "But why?" This was something he had never been asked to do till today.
The elder brunette sighed a bit. "The alcohol and even some ingredients for food items come from Nami no kuni. But since the last few months, the deliveries are getting delayed and even the prices are rising."
"So, some other shop owners and I are going to travel to Nami no Kuni to see for ourselves what is the cause."
Naruto's eyes immediately widened. Haru was going to Nami no kuni; wherever this was, but certainly, it was outside the village.
As far as he could remember, going outside the village had been his dream. How the other people lived, would they behave differently to him, how was the land different; he had been yearning to see that.
He took a breath. This could be his chance… no, this was his chance, and he would be a fool to deny it. Excitement began running through his veins, and he immediately voiced. "Can I come too?"
Haru stopped, once again, in checking the receipts, and looked incredulously at the child. "What?!"
"I want to join you. I have never been outside… "
"No," The elder brunette shook his head. "Absolutely no."
"But why?"
The tavern owner placed the papers aside before looking intently at the almost whining child. "First, you are a seven year old, and I ain't your guardian who is hokage and asking him is inviting trouble for both of us. Second-"
"I can make my own decisions."
Haru snorted. "Yeah, and I can beat Hokage. Now stop interrupting me. As I was saying, the Hokage keeps a close eye on the orphans," Especially you. "He would know you are missing-"
"No, he won't."
The elder man almost glared at the interruption, but decided to humour the child. "Oh, and why?"
Naruto immediately crossed his fingers. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" A single clone immediately popped up beside him, giving a two finger salute to the elder brunette.
Kage bunshin? Where have I heard about them? Trying to rack his brains but failing to find anything, he directed a confused gaze at the disguised blonde. "How will a clone help you in this?"
"I am not an ordinary clone… "
Haru's mouth parted, surprise and shock covered his face. Clones were not supposed to talk! What the hell?!
"... Exactly. I can talk, and I am a solid clone. Here," The clone extended his hand which the elder man grasped, a bit hesitant.
Gazing at the hand in no less awe, Haru realised why the kid was so confident. Nobody could tell the difference. The clone could stay in the village while the original could travel.
Still… "Alright, I understand where you are coming from, but this is a clone and, most likely, will dispel in some hours. What will you do then?"
The Uzumaki's face scrunched for a bit. "When will you leave? And, for how long?"
"Hmmm… " Haru glanced at the wall calendar for some moments. "In… uh, five days, and for how long… hmmm… make it five days more, yeah," Looking back, he nodded.
"Then, lemme test it. I will tell you for how many days this clone can survive. Alright?"
"No, still not enough."
Naruto groaned. "What now?"
"The clone can cover your presence, sure, but certainly, you can't be seen out of the village as Naruto. There can't be two of you at different places. And before you ask, Konoha shinobis have a wide reach."
"Also, we can't just be seen taking a kid with us. There will be a lot of checking at the gate. And, don't even think about using henge, the village guards will easily recognise that."
The seven year old smirked. "Wanna bet?"
Haru's eyes narrowed. What was the kid playing at? "What… " He paused, seeing the gaki already forming hand seals.
"Henge no jutsu!"
The customary smoke disappearing, the elder man raised an eyebrow, taking in his own perfect imitation. Then, his gaze landed on the sole addition. "What's with the hat? Something to-"
His words halted in his throat when Naruto actually took off his hat! The hell?! Hat was a part of an illusion; the hand should have just passed through it, but the kid was actually grabbing it… like an original hat! "... How?!"
"I really don't know," Naruto shrugged. "My henge is just different," Pausing, he looked for any sort of negative reaction on the elder man's face but only shock and surprise were there.
Meanwhile, Haru was busy with his musings. Can it be due to Kyuubi?... There are chances… eh, never mind. Overall, it's a useful development. "That's really interesting. Anyway, I admit that covers your disguise, but if Hokage-"
"I'll take the full blame," The Uzumaki replied calmly.
The older man closed his mouth, the words silencing his qualms. In the last one and a half years, since he had come to know the child, the seven year old had always stayed true to his words, never wavering a bit.
"I can also look after your work with my clones, while we'll be visiting Nami."
Not again. But try as much as he wanted to, the tavern owner couldn't just look beyond the lucrative offer.
The gaki was sharp and had picked up most of the tricks of working, not that there was much to learn. The business was subpar at best, and the thought of loss during the trip was already in his mind.
He would be a fool for denying such an offer, and the kid was already willing to take the blame. Sighing heavily, he uttered. "You know what, let's do it." I hope I don't regret it.
A grin bloomed on the face of Naruto, and he fist pumped twice. "Yatta! Thank you, Haru-san!"
"Alright, alright. Now back to work, and tomorrow, we'll forge your documents. Let's just hope your clones managed to stay… err, alive."
The Uzumaki gave a thumbs up before diving into the work fervently.
So, before you flame me :)
Henge - So, officially it is mentioned that Henge is an e-rank illusion implying it's not an actual transformation.
Also it is inherent that Naruto's henge is different from others, like turning into fuma shuriken, using his chakra to turn into Kyuubi with Gamabunta or turning into rocks during Pein fight.
And as far as my memory goes, any other characters (except Tsunade and a couple others) didn't show such Henge. Even Tsunade's was different.
I researched a bit but the actual usage was unclear, so, I tried my own hand and modified henge as such because I wanted to show Naruto's henge differently for the sake of my story.
Also, it makes sense to me if henge is used in such a manner.
Substitution - Now substitution is an original technique from Japan's feudal era. Ninjas used a pre-prepared mannequin to distract and hide using the sleight of hand.
From the Naruto series, two references can be made for substitution. First is actual replacement like they showed in the beginning in the classroom.
Again, it's not clear how this is used because it clearly isn't teleportation. So, I took the liberty to use chakra in a similar manner as to the principle of chakra strings. Chakra grasps and pulls while the caster runs using chakra.
Secondly, the log substitution. Now, either the log magically appears anywhere to replace places, or the shinobi actually carry it with them; more and more I thought, the latter assumption appeared to be more sound.
So, I used the whole 'log in scroll' idea based on the same principle as real ninjas when they used to carry mannequins with them.
Any questions, pm me.
Next chapter, Naruto goes to Nami. Basically, this is the arc that inspired me to write this story. In Failing twilight, Naruto goes to Nami.
After Nami, the rest of the story will be totally original with no inspiration whatsoever.
Also, I think you can easily guess who is the 'M' with beautiful handwriting and the owner of the diary.
PLEASE REVIEW.