Chapter 31 - Number Eight
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"When…" Sensei was staring at the three-pronged kunai like it was a lit explosion tag. "What-" He winced, took a breath, and tried again. "Who-"
Naruko felt a coldness set in. She hadn't reached him. She'd thought she'd finally understood, but Kakashi still wouldn't open up…
No.
That wasn't it. She'd reached him, but it was just... It was like he was testing out what he could and couldn't say. Like the man who covered his mouth with a mask literally couldn't speak.
"How are you still alive?" Kakashi finally asked.
Naruko narrowed her eyes. "I got this kunai at Ramen Ichiraku, from a masked kunoichi. She didn't give me her name, but I could tell…" That she'd been talking to somebody who hated her. That the masked-kunoichi would someday try to destroy Konoha. That if Teuchi hadn't been there, Naruko would probably be dead. But most importantly… "I could tell that she was a good person."
"NO!" Kakashi slammed his fist through his table. "Don't be an idiot Naruko! That is irrelevant, you're talking about the primary bearer of The C-"
Naruko waited. Kakashi's mouth moved under his mask, but nothing came out. It wasn't that Kakashi didn't want to let people in- he couldn't. If she wanted to be a part of his life, she'd have to force her way in.
"She told me I'd have to kill someday," Naruko chirped. "If I wanted to protect Konoha."
"No!" Kakashi gasped. "You can't listen to what she says!"
"She's the strongest shinobi in the world, isn't she?" Naruko asked, watching Sensei carefully. Kakashi's silence all but answered her question. "But nobody is invincible. We can beat her."
Kakashi shook his head violently.
Naruko grinned broadly. She had him. "Then we'll just have to save her won't we? We can save her Kakashi. We can save Sasuke. But I can't do it alone. I need you. You may not be able to talk, but you're not doing anyone any good moping in this apartment. If I leave the village with Jiraiya, you'll leave the apartment. We're going to change the world, Kakashi. Believe it!"
Naruko looked into his eyes. "My power is going to cause a war isn't it? Well I'm not gonna die for peace! I'm not gonna become Nobody, even if that's what everybody wants, because that would totally suck! I'm gonna make the world accept my existence, believe it! We're gonna make a world where they can be accepted, Kakashi! I'm gonna save Sasuke, and you're gonna save the kunoichi who gave me this kunai:
"Obi Uchiha."
Kakashi hesitated. Then slowly grasped his mask and... pulled it down.
Naruko's jaw dropped.
Sensei was…
...Sensei was totally gorgeous! Like, hotter than Haku, hot! Naruko wiped some drool off her chin.
Kakashi's gentle smile melted her heart. "Alright Naruko. Let's save them."
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Naruko still had time. She still had time. Jiraiya had told her to meet him at noon, and it was 11:50, and talking to Sensei had taken longer than she'd thought but everything was gonna be totally fine- it'd all work out, she was gonna be okay! If she took another detour she'd be late, but the Wise Sage was wise afterall, so he'd totally understand that she totally had no other choice- it was absolutely essential!
Naruko caught her breath, as she threw open the doors to the bookstore. There were a few people milling about, but not the mob she'd expected. It was almost as if… No, she couldn't be too late! She couldn't!
"Are there any left?" Naruko asked the clerk desperately.
"Maybe a few," the clerk said, covering his mouth as he yawned. "But it was pretty crazy. I've never seen so many people buy Jump. Was there something…"
Naruko was already racing to the shelf with copies of Jump. What a complete normalfag- didn't he realize that this week's issue of Jump was totally one-of-a-kind? Naruko let out a breath, on the empty wooden shelf was a single solitary magazine, softly shining in its holiness. It was shining? Of course it was… And Naruko's blue eyes were replaced by super hearts. She body-flickered to her precious, reached out, and smacked against a large hand.
Naruko sighed sadly. She'd been so close, but… She was a powerful shinobi… The other customer was just a civilian, and she hadn't gone completely crazy. She knew her responsibility.
"It's mine," Naruko shouted. She had a responsibility to herself, to get this edition of Jump. She was totally prepared to snatch the last copy by force. This was the issue of Jump that she, and the rest of the world, had been waiting for, for mont-
The other person was the Wise Sage. Thank the Sage of Six Paths.
"Thank you oh Wise Sage," Naruko said happily. "Great present. You know, this issue is special, it's the-"
"What are you talking about brat?" The Unwise Sage asked with a snort. "This is for me. As if I would give this issue of Jump to an uncultured girl like you! Besides, I've been looking forw-"
"But aren't you too old for Shounen Jump?" Naruko asked spitefully. "That was the last copy, you know? Shouldn't you be like, mature and stuff, and give it to me?"
"Pfft," the Unwise Sage said dismissively. He straightened, and his warty nose seemed to grow three sizes. "I am an au-ture! And as an au-ture, I must keep up with the current trends so I may know my audi-"
"You were supposed to meet me at noon!" Naruko pointed an accusatory finger at him. What kinda jerk just brushed off a scheduled time like that- and just for a stupid magazine, unforgivable! "What are you even doing here?"
"Hahahaha," the Unwise Sage held his belly and laughed obnoxiously. Then solemnly said, "This is Shounen Jump Naruko. You'll never be a gallant shinobi until you get your priorities straigh- Wait, why are you here? Shouldn't you be taking our training more seriously?"
Naruko harrumphed. The Unwise Sage was such a newb. Only uncultured swine could possibly ask such a silly question. "Yeah… But this is different. Obviously. This issue is speci-
"Besides," the Unwise Sage blathered obnoxiously. "This is the Jump debut of one of my favorite manga, previously only distributed at conventions: Kaiju Number Eight. There's no way I could let a normalfag like you, with no appreciation of true culture, have this priceless collector's item. It would be criminally irresponsible. Only a true connoisseur of the arts, such as mysel-"
"You've heard of Kaiju Number Eight?" Naruko asked the Wisest Sage, blinking. But… But Shounen Jump was supposed to be something that only she… Shinobi couldn't like obscure manga, or manga at all, it just wasn't the way things were done.
"Wait," Jiraiya said, his voice breaking, his dark eyes watering. "You've heard of Kaiju Number Eight?"
They both grinned.
"Don't you think the main character is cool?" Naruko asked. She really liked how he chased after his love interest, even though the heroine didn't seem to feel the same way. For some reason… It was just interesting for some reason, y'know?
"Absolutely," Jiraiya said eagerly, bobbing up and down on his toes. "You know, that was my favorite thing about it. I really felt like I could connect with him for some strange reason… Naruko… What did you think about Goku sending out Gohan to fight Cell? It just didn't feel right to me…"
"I didn't like it either," Naruko said, bubbling. And suddenly training with Jiraiya didn't just sound like a way to get stronger, it didn't even just feel like a way to form a connection with her godfather, it felt… It felt like it'd be fun. She'd finally… Finally…
"Okay, give it to me straight Jiraiya, when Goku went Super Saiyan for the first time- when you read that for the first time- that's gotta be one of the best moments of your life right?"
"Naruko please," Jiraiya said dismissively. "I've had a long full life. I'm a best-selling author, legendary shinobi, and most importantly a feared playboy. Is that even a question? Of course Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time is a top moment in my life. After that moment, I knew that Shounen Jump had changed forever, that manga itself would never be the same, I was reading a moment in storytelling history. Such moments, Naruko, are not to be…"
Jiraiya continued to lecture her on Shounen Jump, and Naruko couldn't keep the smile off her face.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Sorry for the short chapter. I'd thought it would be longer. Anyways, I wanted a true happy ending for Naruko and Jiraiya, where not only does Naruko get the dad she always wanted, not only does Jiraiya get the daughter he always wanted, but they also both like being around each other. This is the end of the first half of the story! Hope you liked it! You know what comes next. Hiraishin time! And now onto the reviews:
Yochan123 - I had a feeling that you might not like Kakashi. The next arc will focus on Naruko's relationship with Jiraiya, and should be a lot more positive. Hope you like it, and thanks for the review! You picked up the story at the right time, the next arc is gonna be about Naruko learning Hiraishin and it's gonna be a jutsu that she really struggles with.
Anyways, I decided to supplement this chapter with the original version of the second half of chapter four- which I rewrote with Sasuke being insecure. Here's a look at his original characterization.
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"I will name this bridge after a great hero, who exemplifies the bravery and courage that the new Wave Country will stand for. A hero who stood up to Gato's terrible villainy, and had the bravery to fight back," the bridge builder said proudly, at the bridge's unveiling. Wave citizens cheered wildly. "I am referring, of course, to myself. The pains, the tribulations I endured. I was scammed by Konoha, and given a lazy shinobi who was almost defeated by a swordsman weaker than a prepubescent girl, as well as three brats who abandoned me in my time of need. I bring to you The Great Tazuna Bridge!" He turned to Kakashi, and hissed, "This should have been a D-rank mission. I want my money back!"
Kakashi, nose still buried in erotica, gave the bridge builder the same look he gave Sasuke when he was about to answer a direct question obtusely. "No refunds."
The journey back to Konoha was more somber than it should have been. Sakura was acting moody and still refused to so much as look in Sasuke's general vicinity, Kakashi was wrapped up in his smut, and Naruko was still trying to be cheerful and upbeat, but with nobody in the mood for it had pathetically resorted to playing with her own shadow clones.
"Can I see it?" Sasuke finally asked, when he realized nobody else was going too. What was wrong with these idiots?
"Your sword?" Kakashi asked.
"No," Sasuke said, ignoring the jab. "The missing-nin handbook."
Kakashi handed it to him, and Sasuke flipped through its pages. There was Zabuza, and he was indeed a jounin. Apparently one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. So Kakashi wasn't a weakling, and could still be of use. Sasuke had suspected as much. But he hadn't been looking for information on Zabuza, he'd been looking for Haku. He flipped through more pages, past a snake-looking ninja, a blonde with mouths on his hands, and- he grimaced- Itachi. He had to pause, when he noticed a detail. Itachi and Orochimaru were the highest ranked missing nin from Konoha, both marked as kage level threats, but Orochimaru had the higher bounty. He trembled. A mistake, it must have been a mistake. Itachi had killed the entire Uchiha Clan, one of the two founding members of- He grinded his teeth. He would not be side-tracked by this, it did not matter. He flipped until he found that pretty face. Haku.
Not a large bounty, but what mattered was the threat level. Jounin level, the entry read, perhaps slightly above. He found Zabuza. The entry just said he was a jounin level ninja. So what Kakashi had said about Haku was a universally agreed upon truth. Naruko had taken down a more powerful ninja than Zabuza. And she'd done it with relative ease.
He stared at Kakashi. Still reading his erotica. He glanced at Sakura, running with her eyes on her feet. It didn't make any sense. Naruko had proven herself to be a prodigy, and by all appearances the rest of Team Seven didn't even care. She had proven herself to be the most naturally-gifted shinobi to grace Konoha since Itachi, and she wasn't receiving any of the adulation his older brother had received. Why? How were Naruko Uzumaki and Itachi Uchiha different?
Ahh… The Uchiha, of course. Itachi had been trained by the Uchiha and Naruko had been trained by Konoha. Her blessing should have been obvious. Such enormous chakra reserves could not be developed, could easily be detected, and had clear utility in battle. Konoha put no effort into evaluating and developing individual talent. Naruko had always been one of the easiest to defeat in spars. She had been weak, her technique was sloppy, and she had no concept of using chakra to enhance her speed and impact. It was impossible to develop physical strength without food, martial arts required a structured training regime, and nobody had even told Naruko she was pronouncing chakra wrong. Konoha's incompetence had impacted more than Naruko for that matter. Sakura had a quick mind and surprisingly good chakra control. None of her talent had been considered. She had been trained in the same manner as Sasuke. Konoha could not develop shinobi, only a clan could do that.
But there was one fault in his conclusion. Himself. Despite the fact that he had no clan to support him, he had been lauded as a prodigy, and was given a mentor who could help him master the sharingan. He had not seen the same neglect as Naruko and Sakura, true effort had been put forth by Konoha to develop him into a powerful shinobi. Why? What evaluation methods had been used to show that he was more valuable than Naruko, even with her beastly chakra reserves?
Uchiha.
He was the last Uchiha. He'd heard it again and again. But what if they only thought he was a prodigy because he was an Uchiha? What if they were judging him with the same flawed criterion they used to judge Naruko? And then a sickening thought appeared in his mind.
What if I'm just a normal shinobi?
No. It could not be the case. If it were, then it did not matter what he did. He could train as hard as he could, in the most efficient manner possible, for all his life, and it would be for naught. He would never pose a challenge to Itachi. No. He could not accept that. He would prove himself superior to Naruko, and then he would have confirmation of his talent, of his purpose.
She would be his rival.
The annoying blonde girl, Ino, was waiting for them by the entrance gate. For once she would be useful, he smirked, for she provided the perfect opportunity to test his hypothesis.
"Sakura didn't cop a feel on Sasuke's sweet ass when he was sleeping did she?" Ino asked, alarmingly. "And you'd better not have touched my Sasuke either Naruko!"
"Nooo Ino," Naruko cooed. Something about the look on her face made Sasuke feel sick. He would prepare traps to protect his- Kakashi subtly shook his head, and Sasuke let out a breath. Thank goodness. "And I totally took down a jounin level shinobi."
"You're full of shit Naruko," Kiba said, jogging to stand with the rest of the Konoha rookies. "There's no way you coulda' done that."
"It's true," Sasuke said. He held out Haku's entry in the bingo book. Ino gasped, taking a step back in surprise, and snatching the bingo book from his grasp. Finally, a normal reaction! Team Seven was simply strange, and Sasuke was a prodigy afterall.
"Oh! My! God!" Ino gasped. "That has got to be the most gorgeous man I have ever seen!"
"I know right?" Naruko said, laughing. She hopped onto a rock, gesticulating as she always did before saying something outlandish. "He was a truly strong shinobi! I knew I could not defeat him directly, so I resorted to my irresistible charm. I forgot to mention it earlier, but I definitely met the hotty in the woods before we fought, and he was totally in love with me. But since my one true love is Sasuke, I had to…"
"Can you believe that?" Sasuke asked, disgusted as a circle of kunoichi had huddled around Naruko. And now Sakura, of all people, was looking up at the liar in awe. Where was that admiration when she'd witness Naruko toss around a jounin like he was a little boy?
"No," Shikamaru said dismissively. "There's no way any shinobi could be romantically interested in Naruko." Kiba, Shino, and Chouji all nodded.
"She defeated a jounin by herself," Sasuke said. He recounted the fight as accurately as he could remember, emphasizing the universal agreement over Haku's power.
"So you're saying that Haku was weak right?" Kiba asked, scratching his head.
"No," Sasuke reiterated once again, growing weary of their idiocy. "What I'm saying is that Naruko is unreasonably strong."
"But Haku was taken down with shadow clones and a malformed chakra scalpel," Kiba said, chuckling condescendingly. He rubbed Sasuke's hair as if he was a puppy. The only reason the mutt remained standing was because Sasuke still needed more information. "Neither of those ninjutsu are even that difficult. Any shinobi could master them."
"Perhaps I was confused," Sasuke admitted, smirking. He raised his voice, so all the rookie shinobi would hear him. "During the mission, I defeated twenty-nine warriors, and while they were perhaps not shinobi, I at least secured the kills. Naruko meanwhile, let her target get away like a fool. She still has a long way to go, before she can ever catch up to me. Don't you agree?"
Ino nodded enthusiastically, while Kiba, Chouji, Shino, and Shikamaru grumbled about his arrogance. However they did not give any indication that they disagreed with his statement. He smirked. They were all fools who had been brainwashed by Konoha. He would never trust those who could not think for themselves.
Sakura was glaring daggers at him, but held her tongue. Kakashi had closed his erotica, and gave Sasuke an amused smile. Hinata had her head tilted in confusion. Going forward, those three would be the only shinobi whose opinion he would even consider.
"Sasuke," Naruko said timidly, pulling his shirt. Her voice was so open, so genuine, so honest, with just a trace of hurt. "I know that I'm not on your level. I could never have defeated Haku without you. But I'll keep training hard. I'll give it my all everyday. And someday you'll have to acknowledge me as a kunoichi worthy of your respect. Believe it!"
Sasuke couldn't help but smirk cruelly. "It will never happen. Believe that Naruko."
Naruko swallowed, her blue eyes watery. She sighed and squeezed her fists. She put on a big smile that was as fake as Konoha. "You'll see Sasuke."
See what? That Konoha was rotten and festered, and that its biggest victim was to stupid to realize it? He would never respect the blonde, because he did not respect idiots. But as he stared at Naruko, disappearing into Konoha with Sakura, he could not deny that his heart was pounding.
Deep down he knew the truth. Despite all his protests, despite the fact that he did not respect her, he could not deny that he felt an undeniable attraction to her…
Power.
