So to start off, I thought I'd lay out what this story is. It's mostly a power fic. All my story-juices get squeezed out in planning for my other fic, but all my "man, that sound like a cool idea/awesome moment" juices will be squeezed out in this one. It'll have a plot, yeah, but its a power-fic first and foremost. Second, this will try to take a realistic approach to combat. Third, this fic will feature Naruto combat more akin to how it felt at the beginning of the show: lots of tricks, deceptions, skill, and lethality, if I get the tone right, of course. And finally, this fic will feature a Hyoton using Naruto.
With that said, I don't own Naruto. Enjoy!
"You've been out here a while now"
Naruto sat under the tree, staring at the graves in front of him. Even buried halfway in the ground as a headstone, Zabuza's sword came up to about his standing height. Kakashi-sensei had inscribed it with a kunai in far more graceful writing than Naruto thought possible. Then again, he was a ninja. It read "Zabuza Momochi - Fell as a True Shinobi". Any who read it might think the man fell in a mission, or against some skilled foe. The reality was a more fitting end for the man, Naruto thought. Kakashi told him about the blade's regenerative properties when introduced to blood. If anyone stole the blade and used it, which was very likely in the ninja world, the inscription would likely disappear. Still, Naruto thought it a good gesture.
"They've had me thinking for a while now" Naruto replied. Kakashi, leaning on the other side of the tree, his book open and a hand in his pocket, raised his gaze over his shoulder.
"Anything your sensei should be concerned about?" Kakashi said.
Naruto shrugged. Kakashi walked around the tree, kneeling beside him, laying a reverent hand on the freshly-packed mound of dirt.
"This is your first time dealing with a death, even if it was an enemy's rather than an ally's." Kakashi said. Naruto was quiet for a moment.
"Yeah... Haku... the hunter-nin that jumped in front of your jutsu? I met him... before. When I was asleep after doing the tree climbing exercise."
"He didn't kill you." Kakashi said.
"No. Didn't know who he was at the time. He could've too. Even when he woke me up."
"You made friends with him."
"Yeah... a little bit. I guess you could say that... I didn't know who he was. Would have probably attacked him, and gotten myself killed if I did... but he didn't bring it up, just talked to me about protecting what's important. Even if it means..." He gestured to the grave in front of him. "That." Naruto was silent, a mournful expression on his face that he wished would go away.
"Seeing both of them die like that..." Naruto said.
"Dealing with death for the first time, it's always hard. Sometimes a shinobi's first encounter with it is a friend, sometimes it's a foe. You had the unique fate to have both."
"What was your first?" Naruto asked, and then winced, "Sorry, that's probably personal, isn't it?"
"I'm your sensei. It's my job to help with these things." Kakashi said with a smile. "My first was an Iwa ninja. Didn't know his name, just an enemy. Caught him with a kunai to the back of the head. I remember being surprised when he fell down. Training dummies never fell, and that's all I'd ever thrown at." Naruto nodded.
"I remember in the academy... they tell you to be prepared when you first see death. But... it's one of those things you can't really prepare for, is it?" Naruto asked. Kakashi shook his head.
"It hit's everyone." Kakashi said. They sat together for a bit, Naruto watching Zabuza's grave, Kakashi doing the same. It was one of the few times Naruto had seen him idle and not have his book out.
"Are you worried about how it's affecting you?" Kakashi asked? Naruto nodded. "Don't be. I'd be scared if it wasn't. It's good that it's affecting you, no matter what other ninja may say. In the moment, when you're in the midst of life and death, that's the time to block it out. But this is the time to let yourself feel what you feel."
"A-a shinobi must never show th-their tears." Naruto said, almost as a question. Kakashi could hear his voice breaking.
"I'll turn away." Kakashi said, not a drop of mockery in his voice. Nothing but understanding. Naruto's face scrunched up as he nodded, his eyes already watering, and as Kakashi turned, he heard his student let out a string of choked sobs. Kakashi let him get it all out, listening to his student weep. They sat together for a while, Naruto just crying, Kakashi just being there for him. Eventually, he wiped his eyes, sniffing.
"I-is it harder than this? When you're t-the one... doing it?"
"I don't know by experience" Kakashi said, turning back, and resting a hand on Naruto shoulder. "My first encounter with death was also my first kill. But I've heard from others that it helps prepare for your first a lot." Naruto nodded.
"He never had that help." Naruto pointed to Haku's grave. "He hated killing"
"That's why he never went for the kill? With you and Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded.
"I... I just got really lucky. Him being my first enemy... didn't I? If it was anyone else..?"
"...I think so, Naruto".
"Kakashi-sensei... I... I need a lot of help..." Naruto said. Kakashi could hear the desperation in his voice. The disillusionment with his own abilities. "On the bridge... me and Sasuke couldn't touch him. Not once. I was pinned down and I couldn't move, and Sasuke... even when he got his Sharingan, he could hardly defend me and himself at the same time. If he hadn't seen you about to kill Zabuza, and disengaged..."
"You've seen people who are stronger than you before. But this is the first time you've seen, wasn't it?"
"Yeah... the villagers, when they raided Gato's hideout? They found Haku's belongings." Naruto opened the backpack slumped next to him by the tree, and removed three scrolls, flashing them up at his sensei. "They gave them to me as a gift... He had at least a dozen. I've only glanced at them, but... the amount he knew more than me... the number of ways he could have killed me that all went over my head, that I didn't even think about defending..."
"I'm glad you're learning this lesson now, Naruto". Kakashi said "Don't think that's a knock on your bull-headedness either. Nobody learns this until they experience it. And given how dangerous our profession is, not a lot of ninja get the chance to realize the reality of how lethal, how dangerous being a shinobi is until their last moments. In fact, you're the first on team seven to have learned it"
"Sasuke?"
"He knows grief. He knows his life getting flipped on it's head in a single day. But... he only saw the aftermath of Itachi's work. Not the process. And because of that, I could even say he knows helplessness, but not desperation. He gets stronger to avenge. Not to survive."
"I need to get better" Naruto said. "I've been thinking about it for the last week now, ya know? ...If I wanna survive in a world like this... can you help me?" Naruto asked.
"Of course, Naruto", and Naruto could hear a difference in his voice now. Every time Naruto screamed for a cool new jutsu, every time he demanded to be taught something that would make him Hokage, Naruto could hear patience in his sensei's voice. Now, all he heard was understanding, acknowledgement. He wasn't a kid in Kakashi's eye's. He was a fellow shinobi trying to survive, just like him.
"Let me start with a basic rundown of your skills, a realistic one, not bravado". Naruto nodded. "Physically, you're okay for where you're at in your career, but not great. Your speed and strength are both low to mid genin. Your accuracy is similar. Skill wise, you need a lot of refinement. Your hand to hand combat is academy level. You make up for it with Kage Bunshin, but imagine how good they would be if your hand to hand was at the level of Sasuke.
Your chakra control is also high academy level, but only because of the tree walking exercise. Before that, it was much worse. That's the area that needs the most refinement. I don't know your skills in dispelling Genjutsu, as I've never put you in one, but I take it you don't know any?" Naruto nodded, "Right, so that needs work as well.
I don't want you thinking that you don't have strengths though, Naruto. You have a great asset in terms of chakra. Your pool is bigger than a lot of Jonin I know. The problem is you cant take advantage of that. As it stands, your shadow clones run you out of chakra at about the same rate that a genin with regular reserves would using D and C rank techniques. I'm not saying don't use them, but I am saying if you had those D and C ranked techniques, your ability to spam them instead would make you a monster for anyone in your age range."
"And to get those D and C ranked techniques down..." Naruto said
"You need chakra control" Kakashi finished. "Far, far more than you have now. Its why the first thing I've taught you is tree walking, other than the teamwork drills I've had you guys doing so you can be somewhat effective in the field. But back on your Kage Bunshin, its your primary weapon, but because your skills are lacking in all the other areas, its not nearly as effective as it could be.
Your greater strengths come in two forms. The first is deception and surprise. You took my lesson of 'underneath the underneath' very well, Naruto. The Henge-feint with the windmill shuriken you used against Zabuza was something I would use in a battle if I thought of it. That's a great skill. Too many ninja rely on straightforward fighting. Those are the ones that get taken down by people like you. You even showed it in the bell test, when you used the charging clones as a diversion to sneak up on me.
That brings me to the second strength, your stealth. You snuck up on me in the bell test. My surprise then wasn't feigned. I'll admit I wasn't taking you seriously, and if I had, I'd likely have seen you coming. But that doesn't detract from your feat. That being said, I've only seen you employ stealth that one time, so I'll ask, do you think your stealth is good?" Naruto took a moment to realize that the urge to shout in the affirmative that he'd would have felt a week ago was missing. Instead, he seriously thought about his answer.
"Yeah. I'd say its probably better than a lot of others in my age. When I was pranking, I got a lot of experience running and hiding from Chunin. They always caught me at first, when I was six or seven, but it got a lot easier as time went on."
"Did you wear your orange then?"
"Got the jacket when I was ten. Before that, I wore a white t-shirt most of the time. So it's been about two years of pranking with this on."
"Both are noticeable colors, especially at night. I'd recommend switching to a darker color when we get home. You'd find stealth would come even easier."
"Right... I've always wanted to stand out.. I guess that's the opposite of what a ninja should strive for." Kakashi nodded. "Do you think we could come up with a training regiment?"
"Of course. Now that we've identified your needs, we can build them in a way that compliments your strengths."
"You talked about C and D ranked techniques... Do you think you could teach me one, sensei? I'm not asking for something powerful or flashy like I always ask for, I want... something smart. Something that fits my skills. Something I can master and build on" Kakashi smiled at him. He didn't tell his student how long he'd been waiting to hear that.
"Tell you what, Naruto. You prove to me your serious by doing those boring chakra control exercises, and I'll teach you a jutsu. How about that?" Naruto nodded.
"Most of my training is probably gonna be going towards that right now, anyway. Thanks, Kakashi sensei" Kakashi ruffled his hair.
"Of course. Since I can't teach you one yet, though, allow me to teach you something that will make you a better shinobi than any jutsu" Naruto lifted his head. "What we're gonna do is analysis of your fight with Haku. Everyone grows under the experience of a real fight, but you can maximize that even more. I have every encounter, every fight I've been a part of logged and scrolled at home, with my own commentary on what went right and wrong, and the commentary of some of my peers, so I can have more than one set of eyes on the situation. I saw the beginning of your fight, but not all, so let's go through the details, shall we?"
And Naruto did, recounting how he'd rushed in to help Sasuke, how they'd both been taken apart by Haku, how Sasuke took charge and was the only one to make progress on getting Haku's timing, and tagging him with a fireball jutsu, how Naruto got blitzed and paralyzed, how Sasuke was just barely able to hold off the senbon needles and defend him at the same time, and how, just as Sasuke looked to be running out of chakra, Haku canceled the jutsu, and took Kakashi's lightning blade in place of Zabuza.
"Alright. And that's all the details you remember?" Naruto nodded. "Okay. Let's go chronologically." Naruto took out a spare scroll, and some ink and a brush, waiting for his sensei's breakdown. "First, your strategic thinking needs a lot of work. At the beginning of the fight, I noticed that you'd made an entrance when you finally got to the bridge. This takes away a surprise element you could have used. When the enemy doesn't know where you are, that's an advantage, and giving that away without getting something in return is the same as tossing your kunai pouch away at the start of a fight. There's no reason, and you just take away a potential tool you could have used.
Same thing when you ran inside the ice mirrors. You corralled yourself and allowed the enemy to trap you. That gave away your potential mobility, and the ability to attack from multiple angles alongside Sasuke. It only gave the advantage to the enemy. When you got in the mirrors, your immediate focus should shift to getting out, not attacking the enemy. You were fighting on his ground, with his advantages."
"We tried later" Naruto said "After we realized that fighting wasn't an option. Sasuke tried a lot of things, and I followed his orders, but it didn't work. What could I have done differently?" Naruto asked. Kakashi smiled.
"Let me hear your ideas. This is part of the analyzing process, after all." Naruto thought for a moment.
"When I tried to get out, I just tried to run with no plan. I could have used Kage Bunshin, and had them all run in different directions... maybe even had some Henge as Sasuke so he could try and get out too, or..." Naruto stopped, then face palmed. "I could have just substituted with something outside the mirrors".
"Don't knock yourself too much on that one" Kakashi said. "Part of what makes Haku's Ice Mirrors possible is Zabuza's Hidden Mist technique. Your surroundings were obscured, so without a clear line of sight on a substitutable object, the ability to substitute becomes impossible, but your first points were a good plan."
"So, in the moment, how do I think strategically like that?"
"It comes with practice, lots of it, but the basics of strategy are to take in account your advantages, and your disadvantages, then come up with a plan. Let's take your battle, for example. What were your advantages and disadvantages at the start?"
"Well... when I first got there, like you said, I had the element of surprise. Sneaking up on Zabuza was probably not an option, but Haku might have been manageable. I also..." Naruto took a moment to swallow his pride "Had a stronger teammate to fight along side with. One with more destructive jutsu. I could have tried to sneak up on Haku with a clone, and maybe get him in a hold so Sasuke could finish him with the fireball. Or try to wait for a moment of vulnerability when he was fighting Sasuke."
"It's a good plan. Sasuke was the most likely to take Haku down. Supplementing him should be your focus" Naruto nodded. He didn't like hearing it, but this wasn't about pride. This was about what let you live in a situation. Whether he had his feelings hurt wasn't even part of the equation with something that important.
"Yeah. Haku was faster, stronger, and had the bigger repertoire than me. Sasuke was a closer match. The only way we could win in a two on one is if I had supplemented him as best I could."
"Good. Admitting that already shows your head is where it should be, Naruto. Confidence builds a ninja, but pride slays him. I want you to continue going through each part of the fight yourself, reflecting, thinking what you could have done better. Write it down and bring it to me when you're done. You could do the same with Mizuki as well." Kakashi stood. "When we get back to the village, I have some scrolls that could help you. I'll swing by your place. Study them, and Haku's scrolls. They'll help you quite a bit."
Naruto nodded. Already, his head was filled with a desire to get better, to master himself. He wanted to strategize more. He wanted to practice tree climbing more. He wanted to get better. No, he needed to. He couldn't afford to let down his village, his teammates...
Or himself.
The bell rang above Naruto's head as he walked into the equipment shop. Shelves and shelves of equipment, tools, pouches, vests, clothes, apparel, and all kinds of things met him. Before, Naruto would have wanted to buy them all, like a kid in a candy shop. Now, he felt a bit lost, not knowing exactly what he needed, what the small differences of this kunai pouch versus that kunai pouch meant on the battlefield.
After getting back from the Wave, Team Seven had reported to the Hokage, and subsequently had their mission bumped from a C-ranked to an A-ranked. When Naruto saw two more zeros on his paycheck than he would have gotten with a C-Ranked, he knew he wanted to drop by. He set aside a third of it for this month's rent and groceries, but that still meant quite a bit left for him.
He needed to expand his options in a fight. Like Kakashi-sensei had told him, he only had Kage Bunshin, which were, individually, about as dangerous as academy students. If he met someone significantly faster, or with no qualms about fighting multiple foes, or who could use widespread jutsu to dispel them, or a multitude of others who could easily counter his Kage Bunshin, then he was out of luck. Adding on more things he could do, better choices he could make in a fight, would only help him.
Question was, what exactly should he add?
"Better start with what I know I need" Naruto thought. New clothes, and some restocking on kunai and shuriken. Naruto grabbed a hand basket, and walked passed the first isle. Since the Academy went all year around, and graduation occurred at the same time as enrollment, that meant new students, students starting a new semester, and fresh Genin that could now buy things normally restricted without a ninja I.D. all flooded stores at the same time. This led to what many Chunin and Jonin lovingly dubbed "the Academy rush", where all the equipment in stores was replaced with inventory targeted more towards children.
The first isle held the remnants of the Academy rush from last month. Clear, plastic packs emblazoned with "cool" and "deadly" cartoons of ninja dotted the isle. Phrases like "Includes two Fuma Shuriken!" and "Mystery Scroll Inside!" were blasted across their covers. Outfits more designed for how deadly they looked than how practical they were joined these packs to make what looked like a toy isle with a dash of lethality mixed in. Naruto winced at the fact that packs like this were where he'd gotten his own Fuma Shuriken, which he ended up losing to Zabuza.
The upside to academy rush however, came in the aftermath. As most older ninja avoided the Academy rush like the plague, that led to a kind of "post rush" about a month after, where they all came back in to replenish. That meant more quality equipment, and the option of buying singles instead of packs. And sure enough, in the next isle were clothes, all practical, all colored black, dark blue, and dark green, a pair of Chunin idly browsing the selection.
Naruto didn't need anything fancy. He saw some specialized articles, such as one titled "swordsman's shirt" on its tag, with one long sleeve and one short sleeve. He didn't know the function of these, and though part of him thought "cool" the other part of him countered "practical". Instead, he picked out three pairs of black cargo pants, three long sleeved black T-shirts, and three sleeveless black T-shirts. He didn't want to go all out and buy a new wardrobe, especially since he'd be growing more soon.
Naruto nearly passed the next isle, before going back. In here were apparel accessories, things like bandages, pouches, and the like. Naruto glanced up and down the isles. What here would he need?
"Analyze." Naruto told himself "What could each thing add to your arsenal?". Naruto started simple. Three rolls of bandages. He'd seen other ninja wrap the end of their pant legs with them to prevent snagging and shore up their ankles for kicks. A third roll would be good for medical purposes. He spotted a few pairs of sunglasses. They claimed they were flash resistant on their tags. He left these alone, flash tags were rarer than things like explosive tags.
A sleeveless mesh undershirt caught his eye. Did he need this? He didn't have much defense against ranged attacks, and Haku's senbon were still lingering in his mind. He decided one couldn't hurt. They weren't awfully expensive after all, just the price of about three T-shirts. He noticed the head-wear next. Bandannas, hoods, and head wrappings were all lined on the wall. Naruto hummed at these. If he was going for muted colors now, his hair was a problem, especially if it contrasted with his gear.
He decided to leave them for now, and if he still had money left over, he'd revisit them. There were also fresh headband plates, the words "request bands at counter" on a small sign beside them. His had actually been dented from when Zabuza stomped on it when he had Kakashi-sensei in the water prison. While he could get it undented by an armorer (and he intended to do exactly that for his dented one), he actually wanted a new one as well that he could wear on mission. The one Iruka gave to him was special, and he didn't want to chance it getting damaged like it already had.
He wandered into the next isle, where a hanging sign read "concealables". Scrolls upon scrolls of sealed shuriken, kunai, and the like were stocked here. Naruto picked up a twenty count of shuriken, and a forty count of kunai to replenish what he'd lost in the wave. He hadn't actually even used forty kunai, just eleven, but Naruto had done some thinking.
A kunai beat a punch in almost every scenario. Why hit someone a million times if you could hit them once or twice, and they were done? Added to that, kunai were thin enough that seals could be woven around them. Kunai work was on the list of things he'd put on his training regiment, for those reasons. The old him that imagined himself dragging out fights with graceful taijutsu for the sake of glory wouldn't cut it. He'd finish things as quick as possible.
He paused at the senbon. Could he use these? The wave certainly left their impression on him for how they were used. Naruto took a moment to think. These weren't as heavy as regular throwing weapons, which meant their effectiveness wasn't great unless you had pinpoint accuracy that could target eyes, ears, nerve clusters, and the like. He passed on them. As much as he might want to use them, he needed to make effective use of his training time when he could, and the learning curve for these was too steep.
The next isle read "unconcealables". The title was a slight misnomer, anything could be concealed in a scroll, but it rather referred to when you wanted your weapons unsealed and on person, since taking something out of a scroll often gave your opponent an extra second. All of these could still go in a scroll, however, as long as you weren't planning to need them immediately. And as the isle's title implied, here were the bigger weapons, katanas, staffs, fuma shuriken, and the like. Naruto considered a collapsible fuma shuriken. It had certainly helped in the fight against Zabuza. He picked up two, and set them in the basket.
The next isle caught his eye. Toxins and antidotes. He definitely wanted one of these, but the problem was that he knew nothing about poisons or venoms. Words like "Bucain Cardiotoxin", "Brown Recluse Necrosis" and "Bivalve Mollusk Paralytic" went right over his head. He glanced up and down the shelves, before spotting a Jonin at the end of the isle. He felt a tinge of embarrassment, but if it was his pride or his life, he'd pick his life every day.
"Excuse me?" Naruto approached. The older man glanced up. He had a standard flak jacket, and a small scar through his goatee where hair didn't grow. The man looked at Naruto, then his orange clothes, then his basket. Naruto hoped the items he was getting demonstrated his seriousness. The man smiled.
"What's up kid?" he said, voice deep, but friendly.
"I... don't know much about toxins, but I've been needing to pick some up. Could you help me?" The man placed the bottle he was holding back on the shelf.
"Sure thing. What's your specialization?" The question caught Naruto off guard, but since he'd been thinking about his abilities for the past week and a half now, the answer came to him quicker, and likely more accurately to the truth than it would have beforehand.
"Um... stealth and deception, but I'm gonna be moving into close to mid range ninjutsu specialist here soon. I hope to kinda combine the two". The man nodded. Apparently this was a good answer.
"I like it" He said. "If your just getting started on poisons, then don't worry too much about getting into specific effects. I'd really only recommend a lethal and a paralyzer. It'll cover most of the stuff you wanna do on missions. You'll also need two type of each, a domestic grown and a foreign grown."
"Why's that?"
"Ninja that try to develop resistances to poison do so with domestic flora and fauna first. That means poisons and venoms domestic to Hi no Kuni don't work as well in Hi no Kuni. So you tend to want to use domestic poisons when abroad, and foreign poisons when in country"
"That makes sense" Naruto said, and then started a bit as he, thankfully, caught the four-hundred milliliter bottle the man had just tossed to him.
"That's a Batrachotoxin. It's a neuro-cardiotoxin harvested from golden dart frogs here in fire country" The man seemed to catch Naruto's blank stare at the words. "Those are fancy words for a poison that stops your muscles and heart. Get it in their bloodstream, and they got about a minute, even less the closer you get to their heart or a major artery." He also picked out a small vial next to the bottles of frog poison, and handed it to Naruto.
"Always carry an antidote as well. Keep it in a seal if you need, but you never know when you might nick someone you don't want to, yourself included." He plucked another bottle from a shelf and handed it to Naruto, who gently placed it in his basket "Here's a good foreign lethal. That's an asphyxiat from the monitor lizards in Suna. Means it stops your breathing. Suna's poisons are the cheapest of the imports on market right now, cause of our alliance with them. They also have some of the best toxins in the world, which is a bonus".
The man picked up two more non-lethal neurotoxins Naruto could use for paralyzing, and a single vial of antidote for each. Although, he made sure to stress that any poison was lethal given the right dosage. These simply wouldn't be lethal with a standard coating on a weapon. As the man slipped around the isle and told him to wait, Naruto held up one of the bottles, swishing it's contents around in the light. He thought they'd be purple or green. Almost all the poisons and venoms here were just clear, some rare ones a clearish-yellow. The man came back around with a few pouches of some kind.
"What's your preferred throwing weapon?" He asked. Naruto blinked.
"Um... what's the best one for using poisons? I'm kinda fresh, so I can start to train in any of them".
"Senbon, by far." Naruto nodded. Though he didn't want to pick them up originally, he supposed the damage dealing wasn't much a factor if you were using poison, and given how hard they were to see, and how light they were, they probably were the best delivery method for any toxin.
"Then I guess senbon." The man knelt down by Naruto, and fastened some kind of cloth carrier with six small holes on the top around his right thigh.
"Oh, guess I shouldn't presume. You right handed?" Naruto nodded. "Alright. This is a wet sheath. It'll keep your Senbon coated and ready to use." The man pulled a senbon from a pouch, and stuck it in one of the small holes at the top. "They go in here..." He removed it, and then loosed the covering on the side of the pouch, revealing six small cloth tubes fastened to small plastic bulbs at the bottom, "and you fill the poisons in here. They can hold about four or five coating's worth each. Make sure to wash out the carriers if you put something else in them". Naruto nodded, unfastening the pouch and putting it his basket.
"Thanks a bunch. I really needed the help" The man smiled.
"No worries kid. Best of luck."
Naruto ended up picking out a few more items, namely being a forty count of senbon to pair with his poisons, black sandals since his current navy ones wouldn't match his new outfits, a flat knife that he could keep in the bandages around his ankles, a pack of explosive notes, and a small sealing scroll to keep travelling gear and combat equipment that he didn't want encumbering his person. He made a mental note to seal his fuma shuriken and antidotes close to the top, if he needed them immediately. Finally, he picked out two small slips of paper that apparently told you your elemental affinity. Though he needed to work on chakra control first, it wouldn't hurt to know at all.
By the time he was at the cash register, he remembered the head-wear in the clothing isle, but decided it was too much of a hassle to go back and pick up, especially since there were three others behind him already waiting.
"I.D. please?" the cashier said. Naruto plucked it from his wallet, sliding it across counter. She picked it up and examined it, before sliding it back to him "Quite the selection of items you choose! Did you miss our sales a couple weeks ago? We still have some bundles you might save money on, if your interested?"
"I'm good, thanks" Naruto said, helping take out each item as the woman punched their prices into her calculator.
"Would you like to keep the blue from your other headband..." she said as she lifted up the new forehead protector, "or do you want a different color?"
"Might as well fit the theme and say black" Naruto replied.
"Could you remove your headband?" She asked politely. Naruto complied as she wrapped a length of black cloth around his forehead, cut it with a pair of scissors, and set it on the counter. She flipped over the protector to it's blank side, and took out a brush.
"What's your I.D. number?"
"012607" Naruto counted off, as she brushed them in, set the cloth on top the headband, took out a small handheld puncher, and punched the cloth in at each corner, each punch giving a nice "Chink". She handed it to Naruto, who tied it around his head, and slipped Iruka's headband in his pocket.
"Your total is gonna be sixty-thousand two hundred and five ryo." That was about three fourths of his remaining money, which he forked over. The woman sealed the items in a small travel scroll, save one of the papers that Naruto elected to carry, and handed it to him.
"Thank you for your business!"
"Thank you." Naruto said. He slipped the scroll in his pocket, eager to change when he got home, and stepped outside, leaning against the wall as he looked at the square piece of paper in his hand. He smiled. The guide in the store told him that the effect would vary given his elemental nature. He hoped for fire. That was most likely, given where he lived. It would give him some long range jutsu to add to his repertoire, and hopefully add some punch to what his clones could do.
He made a single hand seal, focusing his chakra as he closed his eyes, and waited, slowly drawing his chakra up to the paper, which moved like molasses through his coils. When the finally made it, he opened his eyes, and looked. The paper split in half, and then both sides went soggy. He had two! Wind and water! That was apparently really good! Few people, other than Jonin, had more than one unless they practiced a lot at-
Naruto's breath drew in.
The two soggy pieces in his hand slowly went rigid, as the water droplets on them started to sheen over. Frost coated them both as a twirl of cold fog, like breath on a cold day, twirled up at him. His mind flashed to the bridge, to Haku, to the deadly Kekkei Genkai that she employed against them, and that apparently ran through Naruto's veins as well. It appeared that he also, somehow, carried the curse of the Yuki clan.
It appeared he had the Hyoton bloodline.