I apologize for the long wait, I can only say that my muse is a bitch and writer's block sucks. For those that are bound to ask, Green Dragon chapter 4 is about 70 to 75% done, but it's going slow because the ideas simply aren't flowing. Sorry about that too 'n.n
As they followed their Jōnin sensei out of the academy, Ino couldn't help but lean towards Sakura's ear, "Do you think he's always like this?" She asked her friend, looking wide-eyed towards their sensei and his apprentice walking ahead of them. On their hands. Backwards.
Sakura could only shrug in response, "Your guess is as good as mine, Ino-chan." She turned towards the green-clad man, "Um, Gai-sensei? How far are we from the training ground?"
"Don't worry, my young student!" The pair in front jumped back to their feet and turned towards the four friends, signalling to the clearing they stood in, "We have arrived!"
They could see a small forest away from them, green smattered the blooming cherry blossoms, a swift breeze bringing their sweet aroma to them, birds were chirping, with the odd rabbit making its way out of the treeline and shooting back into the trees after noticing the group. A lazily flowing river to their right, its trickling giving the clearing a peaceful, calming aura. Four boulders were arranged in an arc near the small forest, a few paces away from a couple of stone pillars embedded to the ground, laying on their sides as if they had been knocked down.
"This place is beautiful!" Ino's voice was dripping with awe, her eyes sparkling while looking at their new training grounds.
"Yosh! I'm glad you like it!" Gai gave them all a Nice Guy™ pose, teeth glint included, before he and Lee made their way towards one of the felled pillars and sat down, signalling for the other four to do the same on the other one. Once they were comfortable, with Naruto quickly taking his scroll off his back and placing it on his lap, Gai grinned at them and started speaking once again.
"Okay, my cute little students! Now that we are here, we would like to know a little more about you four!" Seeing their confused faces, he elaborated, "Just simple things! Your names, hobbies, dreams, dislikes, that kind of thing!" He saw they were still a little dubious, "Tell you what! My apprentice and I will go first!" He gave them another grin and thumbs up, "I am Maito Guy, Konoha's Green Beast and Taijutsu specialist! In my free time I enjoy training and sparring with my Eternal Rival! I dislike cool and hip attitudes, and shameful smut books! And my dream is to train my students to be the best they can be and achieve their dreams!" As he said the last part, the four could have sworn they saw waves crashing against a cliff and a sunset in the background behind their new sensei, before he looked towards his apprentice, "Now you, Lee!"
"Yosh!" The older boy sprang up from his seat and smiled at the four, "I am Rock Lee! My hobby is training with Gai-sensei! I hate people who are unnecessarily cruel to their enemies, and my dream is to prove that anyone can surpass a genius with enough hard work and become a splendid ninja that only fights with Taijutsu!" At their surprised looks, he grinned sheepishly at them, "Ah, my chakra coils are too stiff for me to manipulate chakra externally with ease. The most I can do with it is dispel Genjutsu, and the Tree Walking and Water Walking exercises."
"And you still became a shinobi?" At Lee's nod, Naruto let out an impressed whistle and raised a fist at the boy, "Man, Lee-san, that takes guts, dattebayo!"
"Thank you!" The older boy's grin became more genuine as he met fists with the blond, "Your flames of youth shine brightly, um…" He trailed off, chuckling as he realized he still didn't know the boy's name.
Naruto could only join in his chuckling as the girls giggled behind him, and even Gai seemed to be holding back a laugh, "I guess I'll go next then," He stood up, a foxy grin making its way to his face, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto, in my free time I like practicing Fūinjutsu and hanging out with Hinata-chan, Ino-chan and Sakura-chan, I dislike arrogant pricks and anyone that hurts my loved ones, and," He turned to look directly at his new sensei, "I guess my dream aligns with yours, Gai-sensei, because I want to become a Shinobi that would make my parents and ancestors proud!"
Gai and Lee's eyes were sparkling as Naruto told them his dream, and the man couldn't help but spring up from his seat when Naruto was done, putting a hand on one of his student's shoulders, "Yosh! Naruto-kun, if that's what you want, I promise that I will do everything I can as your sensei to help your dream come true!"
"And as your senpai," Lee joined in, mirroring Gai, "I promise I will help you every step of the way! And if I can't do that, I will run a thousand laps around Konoha, on my hands, with a boulder tied to my back!"
Naruto couldn't hold back his bemused chuckles at Lee's incredible self-punishment, shaking his head as the three of them sat back down, "Thanks you two!"
"You're welcome, Naruto-kun!" Gai gave him a thumbs up before turning his attention to the three girls, "Now ladies, which one of you three will go next?"
After a quick exchange of looks and nods, Ino stood up with a grin, "I'm Yamanaka Ino, I like gardening, hanging out with these three and making new poisons," Gai raised his eyebrows at that, he didn't expect something like that from a Yamanaka, "I dislike liars and cheaters, and my dream is to create the first Shinobi Mental Health Program!" She said, throwing a v-sign at her new sensei and his apprentice.
"What a youthful dream, Ino-chan!" Gai gave her his signature Nice Gai™ pose, "I'm sure all of the Konoha Shinobi forces would be most thankful for that!"
'I think she already found her first two patients.' Sakura giggled to herself as she stood up, "I'll go next, sensei!" At his grinning nod, she started, "I'm Haruno Sakura, I like studying, learning new jutsu and hanging out with my friends, I dislike bullies and idiots, and my dream is to surpass Tsunade-sama of the Sannin!"
Gai's eyebrows disappeared under his bowlcut's bangs at Sakura's proclamation, "That's a very big goal you set for yourself, Sakura-chan!" A grin slowly rose on his face, "One I have no doubt you'll be able to achieve if you give it your all!" A shine went off on his teeth and the four newly-graduates could have sworn they heard the sound of waves crashing against a cliff, "Let your flames of youth roar as you reach towards your goal!"
As Sakura sat down with a confused giggle, Hinata stood up with a small smile, "I'm Hyūga Hinata, I like pressing flowers and sparring and hanging out with my friends and sister, I dislike power-hungry old men and traitors, and my dream is to see my clan united again."
Gai sprung up and grinned at his four new students, with Lee following his lead. He already knew when the Hokage assigned him this team he would be keeping them, no test needed, and their dreams just cemented that decision. An orphan boy that wanted to make his fallen parents proud, a clan heiress that wanted to help their Shinobi forces as a whole, a civilian-born girl that wanted to surpass one of the village's legendary Sannin and another clan heiress that wanted to see her clan stronger and stand as one.
'Thank you, Hokage-sama!' He thought to himself as he looked at the four, "Yosh! Now that we know each other, I need you to do something before I can start properly training you!" He gestured towards the boulders at the forest's edge, "I want you to unleash everything you safely can against these four rocks! What you can't, like taijutsu for example, I want you to show me before you start! That should give us a good idea of what you can do and where to start with your training!"
Hinata took the initiative this time, stepping forwards and performing a picture-perfect 32 Palms and a still relatively slow 64 Palms before walking towards the boulder and demonstrating the Jūken's strength by giving the huge stone a palm strike and leaving a pretty big crack on it.
Leaping back, she ran through four quick hand seals, "Suiton: Suisei Dangan!" She said before spitting out a small water projectile, impacting the crack she had left earlier, making it spread all over the boulder.
Gai was nodding at her display of Taijutsu and grinned at her last strike. "Simply marvelous Hinata-chan! I've sparred against some of your relatives in the past, and I think I can help you reach the speed you need on your 64 Palms. Your strength is also formidable for your age! I wasn't expecting you to know any elemental jutsu though!"
"That's our Hinata-chan for you, Gai-sensei! She doesn't look it, but she packs quite the punch!" " Naruto grinned hugely at his childhood friend, prompting a small blush from her.
"I'll say!" He heard Kurama's voice in his mind, "I can still feel that strike from your last spar with her!"
"Thank you Gai-sensei!" She gave the exuberant man a small smile and walked back towards her friends, receiving congratulatory hugs from all three of them.
"I'll go next then!" Ino said brightly as she stepped forward. She demonstrated a pretty advanced set of katas from the Academy's standard style before running through a set of hand seals, "Raiton: Raikyū!" Five lightning balls appeared around her and shot towards her own boulder, easily drilling into it until they disappeared. Then, once all five lightning spheres had dispelled, she took some senbon and a couple of vials filled with liquid from the pouch on her leg. Uncorking the vials and dipping the senbon on whatever was inside them, she proceeded to launch the weaponized needles into the holes her jutsu had opened in the boulder.
"Very good, Ino-chan!" Their boisterous sensei was still grinning, "You have a good mastery over the Academy's style, I can help you build upon it for a more specialized style, your marksmanship is higher than average too, and your Raikyū packed a good punch! I'll have to ask my Eternal Rival for some other Raiton jutsu to teach you!" He put a hand to his mouth with a thoughtful smile, "I have to ask though, what did you dip your senbon in?"
"Oh! That was a paralysis poison I made with daddy's help," The blonde grinned back, "It takes about a minute for it to fully paralyze someone, but the first injection puts the part it hits out of commission in a couple of seconds!"
"Yosh! What a useful tool!" As Ino made her way back to the rest of the team, he turned back to them, "Which one of you next, Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan?"
Naruto turned towards his pink-haired friend, "Want to go?"
She giggled, nodding her head, "May as well, don't want you making sensei's expectations too high."
She proceeded to demonstrate a higher level of mastery over the Academy's style than Ino, though where Ino focused on kicks, Sakura seemed to prefer punches and hand strikes. She finished her taijutsu demonstration by punching the ground with a small chakra burst on her fist, causing cracks to appear. Then, so as to not fall behind her friends, she ran through a quick set of hand seals while still crouching, putting her hands on the ground as she finished.
"Doton: Doryūheki!" A wall as tall as her rose from the ground beneath the boulder in almost an instant before disappearing, causing the boulder to shoot up about a meter before falling back to the ground, cracking the earth as it did so.
"Very creative usage of the Earth Wall technique, Sakura-chan!" Gai's grin was still fixed on his face, "Your take on the Academy's style is different from Ino-chan's, but you have basically mastered it so I will see about finding you a fist-based style as soon as we're done for the day!"
"Thank you sensei!" She grinned at the man, throwing a v-sign with her fingers before walking back to the group.
Naruto grinned at his friends, sensei and sensei's apprentice as he walked forwards, "Guess I'm up then!"
He started getting in position before he seemed to remember something, turning towards the older boy with them, "Lee-senpai, could you lend me a hand? My taijutsu stance requires me to be fighting to use it," He saw the confused frowns on his and his sensei's faces, "It's completely based on reaction, and I still haven't developed it into a style. For now it's basically a modified Jūken stance that Hyūga Hiashi-sama helped me create." He grinned sheepishly at the two green-clad shinobi.
Lee grinned as he listened to the younger boy's explanation, "Yosh! Let's do this Naruto-kun!" He jumped towards the blond, noticing out of the corner of his eye how his sensei focused and he could practically hear the gears turning inside his head, "Let us see your youthful style!"
With a nod and a grin, Naruto got into his stance, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as he did so. Left arm bent upwards at the elbow in front of him, right hand on his left bicep, legs close together.
While his students got into their stances and prepared for a quick spar, Gai took a second himself to study the younger one's stance, 'Tense legs to dodge at a moment's notice, his hands are placed in such a way he can block quickly from the front and both sides. Right side seems unprotected, but the tensed bicep shows otherwise,' He narrowed his eyes, but his grin widened, 'Yosh! What a youthful style Naruto-kun's creating! It could be very powerful once it's complete!'
Lee quickly took in his new friend's stance, looking for the best direction to attack from, and then he blitzed forward, a green blur across the clearing.
'Fast!' Naruto's eyes widened as he narrowly dodged Lee's punch, his feet snapping back into position without even thinking, his left hand moving forwards to push against the older boy's back.
Except he never made contact, Lee rolling across the ground before shooting forwards with a right punch that Naruto parried to the side using Lee's own strength in his favor, after which he reached out with his left hand for a strike, which Lee caught by the wrist in his own hand.
Locked like that, their fight moved from arms to legs, Lee lashing out with a kick that Naruto blocked with a chakra-reinforced knee before sending the attached foot forward, making Lee let go to open some space between them, giving both of them time to get back into their stances.
Naruto was breathing heavier than he expected and, noting that his opponent was barely even winded, bowed towards him, "Thanks for the help, senpai, but that's all I can show in taijutsu for now," He grinned at the older boy as he caught his breath, "I think I'll need to add some more blocks to it though, holy crap you're fast!"
"Thank you Naruto-kun!" Lee rose from his Gōken stance, standing straight up again, "With our youthful sensei's help, we will turn your stance into something truly wonderful!"
Naruto grinned even wider at his senpai's words as he caught his breath, "I'll hold you to that! I want the Uzudō to be my family's style once it's finished!"
"A most youthful name for your style, Naruto-kun!" Gai said as he walked towards them, the girls hot on his heels, "But why Way of the Vortex? I've only seen modified Jūken movements and some modified from the Uchiha's Bōjuken."
"That's where you come in sensei!" Naruto chuckled out, prompting one from the rest of the group, "I'm not done with my demonstration though, that was only the taijutsu bit!"
"Yosh!" Gai grinned and motioned towards the only unscathed boulder, "Show us what you can do Naruto-kun!"
With his signature foxy grin, Naruto walked towards the boulder, nine golden chains erupting from his lower back drawing gasps from Gai and Lee. Extending his arms in front of him, the nine chains plus one from each of his hands, shot towards it, some of them planting Seal arrays in it, the others outright piercing into the rock and lifting it with ease before smashing it against the ground until it split in half.
Once that was done, Naruto dispersed his chains and, touching a seal on one of the ends of the scroll on his back, took out a shuriken and threw it against the broken boulder, making a hand seal as the weapon flew.
"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
In a cloud of chakra smoke, one shuriken turned into ten, which then turned to fifty and then a hundred shuriken, all of them embedding themselves into either the cracked boulder or the ground.
Grinning at his accomplishment, Naruto ran through another set of hand seals, taking a deep breath on the last one.
"Fūton: Daitoppa!" He let out all the air he had breathed in in one big gust of wind that made the trees sway dangerously, some of the ground around them cracking from the roots trying to free themselves, and pushed the abused boulder halves away from him.
He turned back towards the group, chuckling at Lee and Gai's gobsmacked faces, "So, how was it sensei?"
"Naruto-kun, that was wonderful!" The green-clad taijutsu master shook his head and grinned athis new student, "Your taijutsu is already at a very good level if you could keep up with Lee, even if he was holding back because of his weights, and I will help you develop it until it becomes something truly youthful! I can't judge your accuracy in shurikenjutsu, but I don't think you need to aim when you can simply send too many projectiles to dodge!" That prompted laughter from the rest of his students, "Your Fūton jutsu is quite powerful already, too, though I don't think there are that many shinobi in Konoha that could help you with it, I will talk with the one I know of though, I don't doubt Asuma-san will help you with it!" His expression turned thoughtful after that, "But, those chains you manifested at the start, were those the fabled Uzumaki Adamantine Sealing Chains? The Kongō Fūsa?" Naruto nodded at the man, making his grin even wider.
Lee turned confused eyes towards Gai, "'Fabled', sensei?"
"Yosh! Before the Second Great Shinobi War, the Uzumaki clan was renowned for their undying loyalty and their abilities in the extremely difficult art of fūinjutsu. Among those abilities was a Kekkei Genkai called the Kongō Fūsa, which allowed them to not only attack, but also seal through them, much like skilled fūinjutsu practitioners can place a seal with just a touch, the Uzumaki could do the same through their Adamantine Sealing Chains. After the destruction of Uzushio, we only knew of one other user of this Kekkei Genkai, Red Death Uzumaki Kushina," He grinned at the name of one of the strongest kunoichi the village had seen, right along Senju Tsunade of the Sannin, "She was known for her Battle Fūinjutsu, taking out entire battalions by herself only using her chains, and that's before you take into account her kenjutsu abilities."
"It's not only sealing we can do with our chains, Gai-sensei," Naruto chuckled, getting the two's attention again, "I don't know if it's just me or if other Uzumaki could do it too, but I can cast some jutsu through them, too," He had his foxy grin up again, "After all, hand seals are still seals, aren't they?"
"Right you are, Naruto-kun!" Gai grinned once again before signalling for his four students and his apprentice to go back to their impromptu seats in the middle of the clearing again. Once they were sitting down, after the girls had given Naruto his congratulatory hugs, he gave them all a thumbs up and a grin, "When Hokage-sama told me who he was assigning on my team, I knew you were going to be good, but all of you took my expectations and ran way past them!" He got grins from the four new graduates and Lee was shaking from excitement on his seat beside him, "As your sensei, I will make you one promise here and now, I will do everything in my power to make you four into the best shinobi you can be," He looked each of them in the eye, "Sakura-chan, by the time I'm done training you, your punches will rival Tsunade-sama's without chakra boosting them! Ino-chan, if I have anything to say about it, you will be as feared as Anko-san or Ibiki-san! Hinata-chan, I can assure you that, by the end of your training, the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms will look slow compared to what you will be able to do! And Naruto-kun, I will make sure the Uzudō is as powerful an style as we can make it! This I swear as your Jōnin sensei and fellow shinobi of the Leaf!"
Lee couldn't hold back anymore, "Yosh! And I will be with all of you each step of the way!" He sprung up from his seat, "I will help you all spar and practice when Gai-sensei needs to focus on one of you exclusively for something, and teach you what I have learned during the extra year of training I have had!" He was getting so pumped he was out-Gai'ing Gai, "And if I can't do that, I will run ten thousand laps around Konoha with a boulder tied to each of my limbs!"
As strange and extreme as Lee was, the four friends couldn't deny his earnestness towards helping them was heartwarming.
"Well said, my youthful apprentice!" Gai was crying tears of joy at Lee's declaration, "Now you four, you are free for what's left of today to do as you please, but starting tomorrow we will meet here everyday at seven in the morning to start your training, and after that we will go to the Hokage Tower to get a mission!"
"Hai, Gai-sensei!" The four cried out with a grin.
"Then you're free to go about your day, my cute little students!"
TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY
"Ah, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi smiled and leant back on his chair as his favorite orphan made his way into his office, "How did you find your Jōnin sensei?"
"He's great!" Naruto grinned at his jiji, before turning a bit sheepish, "A bit… eccentric though."
The old monkey let out a deep laugh at that, "Understatement of the century, Naruto-kun," He said between chuckles, "Gai-kun has been as energetic as he is since shortly after he graduated from the Academy, but I can assure you, there are very few shinobi that can surpass him in physical power and skill, but there's something more important we should discuss right now," The Hokage paused for as he stood up and walked towards one of the shelves in the office, channeling chakra into an specific scroll with the kanji for 'fire' inscribed in red on it.
Before Naruto's wide-eyed gaze, a vault opened on the wall beside the shelf. It was filled with jutsu scrolls, documents, weapons, armors. And as if that wasn't enough, the walls were covered by hundreds of what he recognized as extremely powerful and complex storage sealing arrays.
Making his way inside, Hiruzen picked up a folder of documents with the red Uzumaki whirlpool on the cover and a charm from among the multitude of invaluable items. With that done, he walked out and the vault sealed itself once again, every trace of it even existing vanishing.
The wizened leader took his seat behind his desk again and slid the items towards Naruto, who slowly opened the folder. "Since you're now officially a Genin, Naruto-kun, and with that an adult in the eyes of the law, I think it's about time I gave you the rest of your heritage," He let out a small, satisfied sigh at the look of wonder on Naruto's face as he went through the documents and pictures, "The Uzumaki helped found Konoha and were close with the Senju, so when the village was built they were given a clan compound neighboring the Senju one," He got a soft look on his eyes, "The charm is the key for your parents' home in it."
Naruto slowly, almost reverently picked up charm in front of him. It was the red Uzumaki whirlpool with a yellow lightning bolt going through it. Pocketing them, he turned to look towards the Hokage, "Can I tell my team about this?"
Hiruzen chuckled, "Because of your bloodline, I see no reason to tell you not to, just make sure they don't know who your parents are yet," He smiled slyly at the blond, "If you were to make Chūnin, though…"
Naruto got a determined glint in his eye, making the old man inwardly grin, before standing up and bowing towards his grandfather figure, "Understood, jiji. I'll go see if I can get some help and move in today!"
And with that he shot out of the office, leaving a chuckling Hokage behind.
TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY
Naruto ran back towards his team's training grounds, grinning at seeing his new sensei and senpai training there, "Gai-sensei, Lee-senpai!" He called out to them.
The two green-clad shinobi halted their one-armed handstand pushups at the sound of the blond's voice, turning towards him.
Seeing as the boy approached them, Gai gave a push with his arm, somersaulting through the air and coming to a stand as his student stopped in front of him and his apprentice, "Naruto-kun? What brings you back here?"
Naruto exchanged a quick fist bump with Lee before turning towards his teacher, "I wanted to ask you two if you could help me with something?"
"Of course! What do you need help with, my youthful student?"
He showed them the folder, "Hokage-jiji decided to give me access to the Uzumaki compound since I'm legally an adult now. Do you think you could help me move in?"
Quickly reading through the file, Gai closed it and handed it back to Naruto before exchanging a glance with Lee, who was nodding eagerly at him, "Yosh! We will help you, Naruto-kun, lead the way!"
"Awesome!" He grinned at the two, before taking a slip of paper and a pen from his pocket, quickly scribbling something down and passed it to Lee, "That's my address, could you head there first? I want to go fetch the girls and see if they can help too, dattebayo!"
"Good idea, Naruto-kun!" Lee gave his new friend a thumbs up and turned towards his sensei, "Gai-sensei, we could make this a bonding activity with the team if they accept!"
"An astute point, my youthful apprentice!" Gai gave a nod towards Naruto, "Don't worry, Naruto-kun, we will go and wait at your current home!"
"Thanks a bunch, Gai-sensei, Lee-senpai!" Naruto gave them a grin and a bow before turning around and racing off, Gai and Lee following his example and starting towards the blond's place.
'Okay, the closest from here is… Hinata-chan's place!' Naruto thought as he ran towards the streets of Konoha, waving to the people, shinobi and civilians alike, who called out greetings to him. Since he started making seals and studying Fūinjutsu under Jiraiya, Naruto's standing inside the village had risen a lot. Now, instead of the funny looks and the few glares he would get as a child, he would get smiles, nods of respect and even some discounts from the store owners he had helped out with his seals in the past.
As he saw the gates of the Hyūga compound, he started to slow down from his sprint to a calm jog, coming to a stop in front of the guard on duty, "Good afternoon Hyūga-san," He bowed towards him.
"Uzumaki-san, it's always a pleasure," The guard returned his bow, the man's face as impassive as most Hyūga's were, "I'm guessing you're looking for Hinata-sama?" At the boy's nod, he gestured towards the dojo, "She and Hanabi-sama are sparring right now, go right ahead."
"Thank you, Hyūga-san, have a good day!" He nodded to the guard once again and made his way towards the head's dojo, knocking softly on the door.
"It's open!" His friend's soft voice called out from inside, getting a small smile from him as he slid open the door and made his way inside, getting a beaming smile from both girls inside, "Naruto-kun!"
"Hi Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan!" He walked over to his friend and gave her a hug, giving her little sister a head pat in greeting, prompting a small blush from the younger girl and a giggle from the bluenette, "Are you two busy?"
"We just finished training, actually," She giggled out as her sister pouted, "Why do you ask? Did you have something in mind?"
As he passed her the folder, Hinata sat down on the floor so Hanabi could look too as Naruto told them about his meeting with the Hokage, "So, I was hoping you could help me move and see my new place? You too, of course, Hanabi-chan!"
Hinata beamed up at him, "Oh, Naruto-kun, of course we'll help you!" She stood up and gave him another hug, tighter this time. She was so happy for her friend/crush, "Just give us a bit to shower and freshen up and we will see you at your apartment." Hanabi nodded from beside her, smiling up at him.
He gave them both his foxy grin, "Thanks you two, I will see you there. I still have to see if Sakura-chan and Ino-chan can help too!" He gave them both a hug this time, sneaking a quick kiss on the cheek for Hinata, and ran out of the dojo, giving them both a wave as he went.
Hanabi giggled as her sister got an atomic blush, a dopey smile on her face after Naruto's kiss, before grabbing her hand and dragging her along towards their house so they could go shower.
Back with Naruto, he waved at the Hyūga guard as he ran out of the compound towards the next house, 'Next up is Ino-chan's.'
Quickly reaching the Yamanaka flower shop, he slowed to a walk and made his way inside, the bell over the door chiming and catching Ino's attention, who was behind the counter, "Naruto-kun! What brings you here?" She vaulted over the table and rushed to give him a hug, which was happily returned.
Once again, Naruto passed forward the folder and explained, getting an excited squeal from his blonde friend and another crushing hug, "Of course I'll help you!"
"Awesome, dattebayo!" He picked her up and spun her around, getting delighted laughter from her before putting her down, "Wait for me at my place? I still have to go fetch Sakura-chan!"
After his friend nodded her ascent, he gave her another hug, slipped her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off, leaving her blushing and frozen to the spot.
From there, it was a 5 minute walk to the Harunos' home, so at Naruto's usual speed it took him under 30 seconds to reach his pink-haired friend's door and knock, Mebuki opening the door and smiling down at him.
"Oh, hello Naruto-kun!" She said, "My, you've grown since the last time I saw you, come in, come in!"
Naruto chuckled good-naturedly, "Thank you, Mebuki-basan!" She wasn't lying after all, last time they had seen each other, shortly before Naruto's last year at the Academy, he barely reached Mebuki's elbow. Not long after that, a month at most, Naruto had hit a minor yet noticeable growth spurt, and now stood at her shoulder! "Is Sakura-chan home?"
She gave a soft chuckle at that, "She's up in her bedroom, Naruto-kun, go right ahead."
He gave her a grin and walked up the stairs, coming to a stop before his friend's bedroom door. It was easy to tell, considering it was the only one with cherry blossom petals painted on it.
With a small smile, he knocked, getting an 'It's open' from inside.
Knowing Sakura's strength, and deciding that caution was the better part of valor, he made his way inside with his eyes closed, getting a giggle from his friend, who promptly got up and hugged him… only as a way of showing him she was decent, of course.
Returning her hug, Naruto opened his eyes and, once again, explained what he was doing and asked for her help. Similarly to Ino, he got an excited squeal from her and yet another hug. "As if I wouldn't help you!" Let's go tell my mom so we can get going!"
Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he stepped back from the hug and took the now-blushing girl's hand, pulling her towards the stairs and the first floor. After explaining the situation to Mebuki, they quickly made their way from Sakura's home towards Naruto's place, finding their friends and sensei waiting for them there.
After greetings were exchanged, with the girls exchanging cheek kisses (which surprisingly got a dusting of pink on their cheeks), Naruto led the way inside towards his apartment.
The girls normally didn't visit Naruto's place, the quartet often preferring to meet at a park or at Hinata's home if they were going to train, with Hanabi often tagging along if she had nothing to do, and this was the first time Gai and Lee had ever been to the young fūinjutsu practitioner's home, so all six of them took their chance to look around, even though this would probably be the only time they would visit this place.
It wasn't big, nor did it need to be since Naruto lived alone, but it was surprisingly cozy. There were a few shelves littered around the place, each filled with books and jutsu scrolls. Fūinjutsu, ninjutsu, some studies on the nature of chakra itself and even some history books, most of them centered around the Great Shinobi Wars, the Kage of the different villages and the Bijū.
"What a lovely home you had here, Naruto-kun!" Lee gave his friend a grin, getting one in return.
"Thanks senpai," He looked around his apartment, a small smile, neither happy nor sad, on his face, "I'm going to miss this place, but I can't say I don't want to see where my ancestors lived when they stayed here in Konoha."
With that, Naruto walked towards one of his shelves and took a bunch of scrolls from them, handing them to the rest and keeping some himself, "These are some of my personal storage scrolls. They are a lot harder and expensive to make, but they also can store about five times more than what I sell to the stores."
After that, the group started going room by room, storing away every last one of Naruto's possessions into the scrolls, making sure not to miss anything, not even a brush, and after about half an hour, they were done and ready to go.
TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY
It was eerie, the Uzumaki compound.
The place had been completely abandoned since that night twelve years ago, when its last residents, Minato and Kushina, were killed by one of their friends while under a mind control genjutsu.
And yet…
The buildings, although definitely old and a bit run down, still looked in good condition. The streets, although empty of people, didn't have overgrown plant life trying to take over them either.
The green areas still looked cared for. The streams of water in them still ran. Birds stil nested on the trees. Yet the whirlpool fountains weren't running. The channels running through the streets, all converging at the center of the compound into a gigantic rendition of the Uzumaki clan symbol, were dry. The clan's stores were closed, yet there were still products on display.
It was as if the Uzumaki had never left, and yet they weren't there. Like the whole clan had simply left one day and just... never returned.
"Can you imagine," Naruto said softly. Softer than any of them, including the girls, had ever heard him speak, "Can you imagine how this place would have been, back when my family were still alive?" He stood there, doing just that. Imagining the streets filled with his clansmen, children laughing and running everywhere, clerks calling out their merchandise, shinobi training or meditating in the parks, the fountains in their full glory and the Uzumaki whirlpool filled with water, his relatives, his family, sitting around, chatting, laughing, living.
He didn't even notice as tears started to flow freely from his eyes, the thoughts of a life that was not to be filling his mind. The girls wrapped their arms around him, his new friend and his sensei put their hands on his shoulders as they all just stood there, giving him time to calm his thoughts.
'I'm so sorry Naruto-kun,' He heard Kurama's voice.
'It was not your fault, Kurama-bachan,' He thought back to her, 'We both know my parents didn't blame you, and neither do I.' He felt her hugging him, even though she was still inside the seal, felt her head settle on top of his and could hear the beating of her heart against his ear- wait a minute, 'Could you please not marshmallow me?' He let out a watery chuckle as he heard her giggles inside his head.
As they heard his chuckle, Gai and Lee squeezed his shoulders and the girls took a step back. Naruto took a deep breath, getting his thoughts and tears under control and gave them all a smile and a nod before making one of his favorite hand seals, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With a cloud of chakra smoke, fifty clones appeared in front of him, "Okay you lot, go over everything in the compound and check how strong the seals are and if any need repairs or just turning back on!"
As one, the clones ran off, following his instructions as the original and his companions made their way towards Naruto's new home, and went wide-eyed once they found it.
It was a big house, easily on par with the Hyūga's head house, and you could see the Senju manor close behind it. The doors were made of solid wood, the red Uzumaki whirlpool inlaid right on the middle.
Seeing a small indent below the handle, Naruto placed the charm on it and pulsed some of his chakra, and jerked back when he felt as the house itself pulsed chakra back at him. It was warm, chaotic, yet inviting. It was just like he knew his family was.
As the doors opened for them, they walked into what they now realized was the Uzumaki head's manor. The first room they saw just as they entered was the foyer. Leaving their sandlas at the door, they felt the warm, soft red tatami under their feet, not even affected by the passage of time.
As they made their way further inside the house, Ino looked around and could help but remark, "Your family sure liked red!"
That got a chuckle from Naruto, "It was the clan's color," He nodded at her, before sheepishly running a hand through his hair, "Honestly, from what I know I'm a rarity among Uzumaki," He got some confused looks from Lee and the girls, but a chuckle from Gai, so he explained, "Uzumaki were usually recognized because of their straight, deep red hair."
The whole group couldn't contain their laughter at that, Naruto included.
After a while, the blond, both to expedite their work and make sure there was nothing of his parents' that could give away the secret, decided to make five more clones and send them ahead of the six of them.
Instead of going towards the upper floors, where some of his clones had rushed, Naruto managed to convince his friends and sensei to go into the backyard instead.
Small streams ran throughout the manor's patio, passing through pools that made them whirlpool before continuing on, the grass around them was soft, there were trees growing on the edges near a walled-off area and the stairs on the other side of the patio, leading into the Senju manor which sat immobile and eternal, strong as the trees Senju Hashirama was famous for, waiting for its rightful owner to come back home.
The ground was oddly warm but checking what was behind the walled-off area gave them the reason and had them all smiling. The Uzumaki-Senju manor, as they supposed was more fitting to call it since they shared the grounds, had a private onsen that seemed big enough for their whole class to sit in comfortably and then some. They definitely would be putting the place to good use after their training sessions.
"Sensei, what would you say to coming here once we're done every day?" Naruto asked as they made their way back inside.
Gai hummed thoughtfully, rolling the idea around in his head, "I don't see why not. It's close to the Hokage tower, so it wouldn't take long to come here after we've finished our daily missions, and the warm waters of the onsen would help with sore muscles after training," He turned towards his student with a grin and gave him a thumbs up, "What a youthful idea Naruto-kun! And thank you for opening the doors of your home to us!"
Once inside, they continued exploring the manor, with Naruto's clones having already dispelled, showing him where they hid everything that could reveal his parents' identities to his teammates.
They spent a couple of hours putting Naruto's furniture in place and making sure everything was perfect, slowly turning the empty manor into a home once more. Once they were done, Naruto and Ino made their way into the kitchen while the rest set the table.
"So, what should we make?" The boy asked as he pulled out a couple of cooking knives from the drawers.
Ino hummed thoughtfully, tapping her cheek with her index finger, "I could go for some miso soup…"
"Miso soup it is then!" Naruto grinned at her as he walked towards the pantry, calling out towards the dining room, "Any preference for the broth? We're having miso soup!"
"Why not kelp and sardines?" Gai's voice came back through the door, "It's balanced and filling that way!"
"I'm with sensei on that one, Naruto-kun!" Sakura chimed in.
"Got it!" Naruto chuckled as he took out the kelp and the sardines as Ino put a water-filled pot on the counter.
He handed her the kelp to put in and put the sardines on the counter while he went back to the pantry, taking out the miso paste, some carrots, a couple of onions and some potatoes, then went to the fridge and got out some clams.
Going back to Ino, he put the things down on the counter, put the sardines in the pot alongside the kelp, and got out a couple of knives so he and Ino could cut up the rest of the ingredients. They peeled the potatoes and cut them in cubes and cut the carrots and onions into shavings and opened the clams. They put their kelp and sardine broth on the stove and put the cut down ingredients and the open clams in.
As they set the broth to boil, Naruto went back to the pantry and took out an eggplant, a couple of eggs, some shiitake mushrooms and a couple of leeks. He cut the eggplant in six while Ino sliced the leeks, then cracked open the eggs and added everything to the boiling broth. With that done, they took out seven bowls and waited for their soup to finish boiling.
Once served, they put a spoonful of miso paste on each bowl and started taking them out. They set the bowls with the clams in front of Gai and Lee and the ones with most of the eggs in front of Sakura, Hinata and Hanabi, while their own bowls had most of the leeks.
"Itadakimasu!"
Gai and Lee's eyes went starry as they ate their first warm spoonful, "Naruto-kun, Ino-chan! This soup is excellent!" The older of the two said, taking another spoonful, "The vegetables are tender and the eggplant almost melts in your mouth!" He picked up his chopsticks and took out the clam from its shell, "And the clams got cooked to perfection!"
Hinata and Sakura giggled as their sensei and senpai kept showering their friends in praise, "Naruto-kun and Ino-chan are great cooks," Hinata said as they calmed down, making the two blush, renewing Sakura's giggling "I'm afraid I'm not that good at it though, I haven't had much chance to practice it." She said sheepishly, blushing a bit herself.
Sakura took a deep breath to try and calm down her own giggling, 'God, these three are adorable,' "I'm not bad myself, but compared to Ino-chan and Naruto-kun I'm not very skilled." She admitted, her giggling having mostly subsided.
"That will be something I will have to teach you two then!" Gai said in his usual bombastic manner, "Being able to cook while on the field is necessary for every ninja!"
Lee was nodding beside him, "Gai-sensei is right! Being able to cook a good meal out of the most simple ingredients helps keep the spirits up!"
"So, sensei," Ino said during a lull in the conversation, their bowls mostly empty by now, "What are we going to do tomorrow?"
"Good question Ino-chan!" The man grinned at them all, "Tomorrow we'll start getting you four into the best shape possible for your specialties! So Hinata-chan, for example, I'll give you some flexibility exercises that will help extend your reach! I'll also go over my library tonight and look for styles that fit each of you, or can help develop Naruto-kun's Uzudō!" He grinned wider, "After that, some light sparring to make sure the forms you're learning sink in, and then we'll go see if there are any missions available for us! We should be done by four most days!"
"Great!" Ino beamed, "How hard can it be?"
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"Why did I ask?!"
Ino was lying on the ground, spread-eagled and breathing huge gulps of air, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to make sure her soul didn't leave her body. She was aching in places she didn't know could ache and she was pretty sure she shouldn't be able to feel pain in her hair.
Looking around, Hinata and Sakura were in pretty much the same state as her, and she was suddenly thankful her face was as red as it was, so it could hide her blush as she caught Hinata's… developments jiggling under her kimono as she breathed.
She had to do a double take as her eyes raked over her fellow blond, "What the hell Naruto-kun?!"
The boy was standing, his hands on his knees and breathing slightly heavier, with some beads of sweat on his brow and his shirt sticking a bit to his body, but other than that he didn't look fazed by their sensei's hellish training at all. And he had the gall to grin foxily at her!
"I have more stamina in one finger than most people have in their whole lives, Ino-chan!" He told her as he stood upright again, his breath regained. He lifted the hem of his shirt to dry his brow, making his friends blush as he gave them a small show of his developed physique. And the seal on his stomach.
"Na-Naruto-kun?" Sakura stammered through her blush, "What is that?" She asked, pointing towards the ink markings on the boy's belly.
Naruto exchanged a glance with Gai, signalling towards Lee with his eyes, asking the man 'Can I trust him to keep it a secret?' with just that look. At his sensei's nod, Naruto released a sigh and nodded as well, signalling for the three girls to come closer as Gai waved for Lee to do the same.
Naruto called forth four chakra chains and sent them in cross around them as they sat down, putting down privacy seals on the ground so they couldn't be overheard. Once that was done and tested with Gai's help, the blond boy took a deep breath and said, "Does the word 'Jinchūriki' mean anything to any of you?"
The four not in the know looked at each other, a quick glance towards their sensei confirming he knew what Naruto was talking about. One after another, they shook their heads, the word being unfamiliar to all of them.
"Jinchūriki are basically jailer and host, both at the same time," He looked each of them in the eye, "Suna has one, Taki has one, Konoha has one, Kiri has one but used to have two, Iwa has two and Kumo has two," He touched his stomach, feeling Kurama's chakra rolling around, " And there can only be nine of them alive at the same time. Can you tell why?"
Sakura's gasp and widening of her eyes made him nod, signalling for her to speak. "They hold the bijū inside them, don't they?"
"Exactly," Naruto said, making a hand seal and channeling some of his chakra, "We serve as the containers for each of the bijū." A small cloud of chakra smoke caught all of their attention, even Gai's.
"And Konoha's jinchūriki holds the most powerful of them all," A high-pitched, female voice came from inside the cloud, revealing a small red-furred fox with long ears and nine tails sitting on Naruto's shoulder, "The Kyūbi no Kitsune."
There was a deep silence as they all looked wide-eyed at the small fox, until a squeal of 'KAWAII!' from all three of the girls obliterated it as they launched themselves towards her, cuddling the tiny bijū as if their lives depended on it.
Giggling, Kurama tickled the girls noses with her tails, "Girls, if you could let go of me so Naruto-kun and I can continue the explanation?" Her giggles turned into outright laughter at the disappointed groans from her host's friends.
Once the girls released her, and she got back to her seat on Naruto's shoulder, she proceeded to tell them what happened that night 12 years ago, both what she could remember clearly, and what she had pieced up over the years as she waited for Naruto to be able to make contact with her. By the time she was done, the three girls had tears running down their cheeks while Gai and Lee loudly sobbed about how 'youthful' she was and how 'unyouthful' the man that put her under the genjutsu had to be to attack a newborn.
Once they had calmed down, Kurama bid them goodbye and dismissed herself back to the seal. 'Well, that went well!'
Naruto chuckled inwardly, 'Yeah, couldn't have gone much better than that, honestly.' As he sensed Kurama going back to sleep, he turned towards the still-sniffling Lee, "Yo, Lee-senpai! You use weights on your legs, right?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun!" The boy got his emotions under control as his kouhai spoke to him, "Why do you ask?"
"Hand me your leg warmers and leave the weights out, I'm gonna make you something!" He tossed the older boy a kunai and a vial as he passed him the now empty leg warmers, "Fill about half of that with blood, please? It will make this even better!"
Once the boy passed him back the now-filled vial, Naruto took out a brush from his giant scroll and turned the leg warmers inside-out. That done, he dipped it into Lee's blood, making sure the coat was even, and then quickly started inscribing a set of seals onto the cloth and channeled a smidge of his chakra onto them to make sure they settled, repeating the same process with the other leg warmer. Once they were both ready, he turned them both back and passed them back to Lee, "Don't put the weights back on," He said, "Reinforce your legs with chakra now."
Lee exchanged a glance with Gai and shrugged, doing as asked. As his chakra flowed through his legs, he felt his leg warmers heat up for a second before they became slightly heavier than they had been with his weights on. "Naruto-kun, what did you do?"
The blond grinned at him, "I just gave you the most advanced version of my gravity-based weighted clothing seal," He gestured towards his senpai's legs as the boy stood up and started to bounce in place, "The seals basically detect how much you should be able to manage and goes slightly over that, so they are always at the perfect spot for training, and they detect intent, so if you want them to be as light as possible, you just have to think about that and the seals will do the rest."
"What a youthful training aid, Naruto-kun!" Gai gave him a thumbs up and a grin, "Would I be right in guessing these are the same kind of seals they sell at Higurashi's in their clothing?"
"Yup, same seals," Naruto nodded at him, "The ones I gave Lee haven't reached the market yet though, I'm still working on being able to inscribe them by touch."
"Thank you so much, Naruto-kun!" Lee almost shouted as got a feeling for his new weights, handing the metal ones back to Gai, "Your gift will help make my flames of youth burn brighter than ever!"
"Now, my cute little students!" Gai said as he pocketed the weights and Lee came to a stop beside him, "Let's go to the Hokage Tower and see what missions are available today!"
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"Ah, team nine," The old military leader of Konoha said from behind the desk, "I'm guessing you're here for your first mission?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Gai said, "What's available for today?"
"Well…" Hiruzen looked over some scrolls, "Ichika Hikaru needs some help with moving, the Inuzuka dogs need walking, Inuzuka Hana has requested some assistants for the veterinary," Through all this, he noted with amusement the growing disbelief on the new genin's faces, "And of course, Madam Shijimi's cat, Tora, has escaped once again."
Gai hummed, nodding, "Considering my team's abilities, I think we would help Hikaru-san the most!"
"Wait, Gai-sensei, you mean those missions are normal?" Sakura asked the man, her face still disbelieving.
"Ah, yes, Sakura-chan, they are! When a genin team is first starting out, they are given D-Rank missions, which are all similar to these, to help them adjust to the life of shinobi," He smiled kindly down at her, "I know they sound like chores, and more often than not they really are, but they also help you with your training and teamwork."
"Gai-kun is right," The Hokage nodded as he handed the taijutsu master the mission scroll, "Other than some of the missions the shinobi themselves post, like the current Inuzuka missions, D-Ranks are mostly helping around the village, so they should be simple, calm missions to help you get used to the protocol you will have to follow going forward, however, this doesn't mean you can't use them for training. Weeding a garden can be great for learning the kind of plants you could make use of in the field, for example."
"By your leave, Hokage-sama, we will go do our mission then!" Gai said, bowing towards the old man, "Let's go, my students! It shouldn't take us too long!"
"Hai sensei!"
Once they were outside, Naruto took off running towards his home, calling over his shoulder, "I'll go fetch my heavy-duty storage scrolls!"
"Wonderful idea, Naruto-kun!" Gai said as he sprinted towards him, handing him a slip of paper, "This is the address of Hikaru-san's current home, we will meet you there!"
"Got it sensei!"
Reaching his new home, Naruto made a beeline towards his work room and picked up twelve of his advanced storage scrolls, only making a stop by the kitchen to take out some bottles of water.
Reaching the address, he found his team waiting for him alongside a woman around Gai's age, with long brown hair and soft green eyes.
"Ah, Naruto-kun, that was fast!" Gai called towards his student as the boy approached them before turning back towards the woman, "Hikaru-san, if you would be so kind?"
"Of course, Gai-san," The woman smiled at them and led them into her home, where many boxes and furniture were waiting ready in the living room, "I moved everything here so you would have an easier time." She smiled at them once again.
"Don't worry, Hikaru-san, this will be quick!" Naruto grinned at her as he handed the scrolls to his team, and in under half an hour they had everything stored and ready for transport, much to her surprised delight.
From there, the woman led them towards her new house and showed them where she wanted everything, and they spent the next couple of hours putting the furniture in its place and the boxes in the right rooms.
Once that was done and they had reported the mission's success to the Hokage, they spent the rest of their day in the Uzumaki-Senju manor, making ample use of the private onsen and having dinner together once again, this time some delicious sushi made by their sensei.
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That became their routine for the next month and a half. Everyday, they would train until they dropped, lasting just a little bit longer every day, then they would go to the Hokage Tower and take a mission and once they were done they would close their day at the Uzumaki-Senju manor, relaxing in the onsen and having dinner together.
By the third week, they could last the whole training session on their feet. Hinata's Jūken had become so fast she was already starting training for the 128 Palms with her father. Sakura's punches had become strong enough to leave an imprint on the trees. Naruto's Uzudō was taking shape every day a little more, taking inspiration from every style they could get their hands on. Ino's poisons and marksmanship became more and more effective, to the point she could pin a falling leaf to a tree with a senbon from fifty meters away. Even Lee had started to improve faster now that he had other people to spar with, his attacks becoming faster, his leaps higher and his obnoxious shouts about youth louder.
Their missions, too, became easier with time. They could walk alongside the Inuzuka dogs now, helping someone move didn't take them over an hour nowadays, and garden weeding only left them with a bigger arsenal in Ino's hands.
The only mission they didn't take more than once was catching Tora, after an incident involving said cat, Mitarashi Anko, a gravity seal, a very small cage and some tar and feathers.
Naruto still owed Anko for that one.
But now, they were ready. After a month and a half of almost nonstop training, they were finally ready.
"Hokage-sama," Gai said as they made their way into the Hokage Tower, "I think my students and apprentice are ready for their first C-Rank mission, what do you say."
The Hokage hummed, nodding his head, "They have progressed an incredible amount in a very little time, haven't they? Very well, Gai, I agree," He made a small signal with his hand as he picked up one of the scrolls in front of him, "Precisely, I was looking for a team to take on a mission we received recently."
As he said this, an old man was shown into the room by Neko. He had grey hair and beard, and was taking a swing from a gourd of sake, "Are you seriously telling me these brats are supposed to protect me all the way back to Nami no Kuni?"
And that's a wrap! Also, if any of you guys find any errors, please point them out? No one beta-read this chapter, not even me 'n.n
If you want to chat, drop by PV's Discord server, The Singularity, here: Discord . gg / 3ZwnRbh (Just delete the spaces... you know how this goes)