Chapter 4: Training start!
Naruto jumped out of bed, placing his hand on his chest. As soon as his eyes got used to the darkness, he also started to hear the incessant noises of someone who apparently had nothing better to do with his life and decided to break the door of his apartment. He grumbled to the door, and a bright glow almost blinded him. He blinked a few times, and realized that the said glow came from a smile.
"Good morning, Kurama-kun!" Said the bastard in green spandex. Wait, what?
"…Lee. What? Or better" Yawn "Why…?"
"Well, you remember that yesterday Gai-sensei told us to reunite in the noon?" Naruto blinked a few times. With the sleepiest face possible, he pointed to the open corridor, where it was possible to see that not even the sun had woken up yet. Lee blinked a few times, confused. Naruto sighed, flanked his body and extended his arm, pointing to a clock on a coffee table in the room.
"He said at noon. Care to explain why you are here at fucking five in the morning?"
"It is at this time that I begin my morning training. I thought you would like to join me today." He finished with a bright smile and a 'nice guy' pose. Naruto did what any normal person would do, and closed the door, going back to sleep.
"See you in a couple hours, Lee" He said loud enough for Lee to hear behind the door, while yawning and returning to his comfy bed.
"I'm sorry to bother you; it's just that when you said you wanted to become strong, I thought you might be interested in morning training." Truth be told, Lee just wanted some company. And he knows that Naruto can be a good sparring partner. He just need some push. " Being a Hokage is something that few achieve after all, and hard work never hurts." He smiled, just a last hit, and he can feel that Naruto would give in. "Well, see you later then. While you sleep, I will try harder and become stronger. Sweet dreams, Kurama-kun. " Lee smiled.
Inside the apartment, Naruto was lying down, trying his hardest to ignore his teammate, but with each sentence said it became impossible. When Lee said goodbye, silent seconds passed, until Naruto snorted and sat on the bed. He stared angrily at the door.
"I know you are still there." In fact, he can 'see' Lee smirking. "Just give me five minutes and I'll be ready." Five minutes later, Naruto opened his door, and was met by a smiling Lee. "You know, I never thought you were the manipulator type."
"It's for your own good, Kurama-kun."
"Yeah, yeah" Yawns "So, what are we going to do?"
"How about a hundred loops around the village, and then about two hundred squats, two hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups and two hundred jumping jacks?" Naruto's eyes widened so much that it was even possible to see them behind the mask.
"You're joking, right?" Lee just stared at him.
"Too hard for you?" Lee asked innocently, but for Naruto, it sounded like a challenge.
"I will show you! The training starts now!" And Naruto started to jog.
"Yosh! What a youthful partner! Let us be the best, Kurama-san!" It wasn't long before Lee caught up with him. "Let us test our flames of youth! If we are unable to make a hundred laps around the village, then we will do four hundred squats. If we are unable to do four hundred squats, then we will do six hundred push-ups. If we can't do six hundred push-ups, we'll do eight hundred sit-ups. And if we can't do eight hundred sit-ups, then we'll do a thousand jumping jacks! "Lee screamed with a burning fire in his eyes, while Naruto stared at him astonished.
'Now he can't be serious about that, can he…?'
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He felt that just such training was no longer enough. All the members of the secondary family could teach him were basic jutsu and taijutsu from his bloodline. But none of the most powerful techniques were known to members of the secondary family, and honestly, even clan advisers knew he was a genius. But even though he is the best Hyuga that has ever stepped on earth, he knew that his destiny was to have his potential stunted because of a stupid law, and a damned seal. He abandoned his fighting pose with a frustrated sigh, but before he deactivated his Byakugan, he recognized a person receiving training at the same time as him. Even though it is forbidden, he decided to go there. Perhaps if they killed him, he would soon be free at last.
"You are still pathetic, Hinata." He heard Hiashi's harsh tone. Looking further, he could see the girl in question doubled in the floor, gasping heavily for air.
"So-sorry… To-tou-sama…" Hinata struggled to be on her foot, stumbling on her own feet. Neji let out an amused smile, and turned to leave the place. It's not that her suffering amused him, but the thought that he is, without a doubt, the strongest of the next generation of Hyugas amuses him to no end. He almost laughs imagining the proud faces of those egocentric bastards of the council fall into the ground when assuming that someone from the branch family is the hope and honor to the clan. Oh the irony can be delightful at times. Glancing at the clock, he realized that it was almost noon, so he has to go to his team meeting.
On the other hand, Hiashi glared at the boy's retreating figure. He narrowed his eyes.
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In the training grounds number nine, two boys were lying down, breathing heavily. They had managed to complete the two hundred sessions of exercise, and decided to repeat the dose. Naruto no longer felt his limbs when he forced himself to complete the new and last two hundred jumping jacks. Looking to the side, he saw that Lee was in the same situation.
"I don't feel my limbs…" Naruto whined.
"I always believed in us, Kurama-kun. Even when you were struggling on the last ten jumping jacks."
"Oh shut up! You weren't doing any better."
"But I completed first than you. I must ask, what took you so long?"
"I never trained so hard, this was my first time!" Lee blinked a few times.
"Well then I must congratulate you Kurama-san! Say, do you want to repeat the session later?" Lee asked with fire in his eyes. Naruto looked dumbfounded.
'Please, someone tell me that this time he is joking…'
"…He is joking."
'Thank you, inner me'
"You're welcome."
Then, both boys heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Shortly after, Neji appeared, narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing them both. Without even greeting them, Neji leaned against a tree.
"Good day, Neji-kun." All Lee received was a look of indifference as a reply. Neji then turned to Naruto, who was struggling to stand.
"Do I want to know?" He asked the masked boy.
"No" He crackled his spine "It's nothing"
"Sure" And he returned to his stoic pose. After a while in silence, a loud scream startled then.
"HELLO MY YOUTHFUL TEAM!" Gai appeared in a puff of smoke, doing his habitual pose.
"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee pumped up. Neji and Naruto sighed. Gai looked two of his students.
"Oh my, what happened?"
"Morning exercise" Replied Naruto/shouted Lee.
"That's… VERY YOUTHFUL OF YOU BOTH! THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH BURNS HIS FLAMES INSIDE YOUR SOULS!" He screamed, tears cascading from his eyes.
"THANK YOU, GAI-SENSEI!" Neji and Naruto sweat dropped.
"So... what are we doing here?" Neji asked. Gai and Lee stopped admiring the sun setting over the horizon and turned their attention to the other two members of the team.
"Was that a genjutsu…?" Naruto asked no one in particular.
"Oh, right! We are going to lunch together, and then your training will start after we take the team's picture!" The boys nodded. "All right, where do you boys want to go eat?"
"Anywhere" Was Neji's reply.
"Same" Naruto responded.
"I think we can let Kurama-kun decide. After all, today he started to take his training seriously." Naruto slowly turned to his direction.
"Why does everything you say seem to belittle me?"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Kurama-kun." Lee innocently replied, and Naruto could see true confusion in his big, round eyes. He sighed.
"Sometimes I hate you."
"That's a lie, Kurama-kun. After all, yesterday you started to cry when you realized that Gai-sensei told us this team is also our family". Gai smiled, and Neji smirked. Naruto on the other hand, was blushing furiously. Thank God for his masks.
"I can hate my family too!" Without anyone notice, Neji's smirk died instantly. "And we agreed to not talk about it anymore!"
"But it was funny when-"
"NOT TALKING ABOUT IT!"
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Shikamaru sighed, his head still under the table. He directed his tired gaze to the window, watching some birds in the sky. He always wanted to be a cloud, but lately that desire has been intensifying tenfold.
"I wonder why… But it's too troublesome to wonder…"
"Huh? You said something, Shikamaru?" Asked Chouji at his side, eating like usual. Or so it seemed, since his pace was very much slower than ever. That, and the fact that the two boys were friends since they can remember, made Shikamaru smirk.
"You're feeling weird, too?" Chouji looked down.
"Yeah… It's just that… I miss him…" Shikamaru sighed, and looked around. The class was dead silent. Shikamaru sighed. Normally, he would appreciate all the silence present in the classroom, as it is ten times easier to take a nap when everything is calm. But, as problematic as it was, even the lazy number one liked to have a little noise and fun from time to time. But when a certain troublesome blonde suddenly disappeared, he took those two things with him.
"It's too troublesome… But I miss him too…"
"But I don't think we're the only ones…" Chouji said, and Shikamaru took a glance at the classroom. He could see that his friend was right, although he can count on his fingers how many people were included. Hinata was a clear example, since she seemed to adopt a worried expression full time in her face, and occasionally glanced over the seat that Naruto previously sat. And another one was, surprisingly, Kiba. The dog boy tried to come out with some jokes and games, but nothing too flashy, like the pranks Naruto used to do. And so, his mood always damped after his intends, like now as he seemed bored like hell. And then, the others. Sasuke was still brooding in his corner with his habitual pose, hands covering his mouth and elbows on the desk. How can someone could maintain that exact same posture, all class, every day, was beyond Shikamaru's comprehension. Then, Sakura and Ino, who were still fawning over the Uchiha, but they didn't count. The entire class could evaporate and they still wouldn't care, since Sasuke was still there. And last, Shino. But Shikamaru could never read that guy…
"I just hope that he is okay, doing whatever he is doing." Shikamaru said. Chouji nodded approvingly, and the lazy boy glanced one more time to the window.
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"Ugh!" Naruto groaned as he was flung to the ground for what felt like the thousandth time this afternoon. Gai just looked at him struggling to get up, and undid his Strong Fist instance.
"Come on Kurama-kun!" Lee cheered loudly. Neji just observed, with his crossed arms.
"You are doing it wrong, Kurama. Maybe the Strong Fist isn't for you."
"Then, how can I improve on my taijutsu?"
"Relax, I think I have just the stance for you. It's called Nebaiken."
"That sound interesting…"
"Yes, it is. You see, Nebaiken is the art of the Sticking Fist. It is a grappling style. When you grab your opponent's limb, you can break them delivering punches, kicks, even headbutts, using your momentum to disable your opponent, keeping them closer to you, opening his defenses." Both Naruto and Lee's eyes were sparking.
"That sounds amazing!" They both exclaimed in unison.
"I like the fires of youth in you guys. But it's not so simple to master that instance. You have to do a lot of chakra control exercises, because you will use your chakra to stick onto things."
"Got it!" Naruto said animatedly.
"Well then. Now for your first training…" Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared in front of them.
"Maito Gai-san, the Hokage summons you for a urgent mission"
"Understood." Gai replyed. "Sorry guys, I have to go. But I want you three to train your instances against each other, and when I'll come back, we will officially start our missions as a team, and we will celebrate!"
"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted.
"All right, see you!" And after this, he Shunshined away.
"I have to learn that jutsu…" Naruto muttered out loud. Neji silently agreeing with him.
"YOSH! Let us train train our fires of youth, and make Gai-sensei proud!"
"Hold on a little, Lee. I don't know anything about… What was the name again?"
"Nefruken!"
"Nebaiken." Neji corrected.
"Yes, that! I don't know anything about it."
"Well, me neither. So, what are we gonna do?"
"Well, I think we can ask some other Jounin for guidance."
"Good idea, Kurama-kun. But who?"
"I don't know. Maybe the Hokage knows it?" Neji furrowed his eyebrows.
"You think the Hokage will have time to teach us?"
"Yeah… On second thought, how about Iruka-sensei?"
"Who?"
"You know, the scarred chunin instructor of the academy"
"Ah, but isn't class time now?"
"Oh yeah, I guess you are right."
"Oh for God's sake, stop this stupid debate already. My ears bleed from hearing so much stupid ideas at once." Neji roared.
"So, genius, do you have any other idea?"
"In fact, I do. Did you guys ever heard of a place called library?" Neji spat with venon, and silence fell on the clearing. Naruto and Lee exchanged a look, and both were crestfallen, with a depression aura surrounding then. A drop fell of Neji's head.
"Damn, he truly had a better idea…" Muttered Naruto, still crestfallen.
"Please, lead the way…" Lee said equally depressed. Neji rolled his eyes.
"No." Both looked at him. "I have no interest in participate in this antics."
"But Gai-sensei told us to help each other."
"I don't need help. As for you two, you could just give up already. No matter how hard you both try, your destiny is written. And it says that both of you are failures." And with that, he took off, missing the finger Naruto pointed at him.
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The Hokage was stamping some papers, nothing unusual, except that he was currently in autopilot. His mind wandering back to the letter he received from his student.
'It seems that he is coming back the next year. That's good.' He thought with a smile. Suddenly, his door was opened abruptly. And as soon as he saw who was the man that barged in his office, his smile droped.
"Hiruzen!" Said the man, with a hint of rage in his voice.
"What I can do for you, Danzo?"
"It reached at my ears that the demon is gone. What happened?" Hiruzen sighed. He knew that erasing the existence of Naruto wouldn't be easy, and Danzo is the living proof of the consequences, as well as the tip of the troubles that soon arise.
"Naruto is on a mission."
"What mission?"
"It doesn't concern you."
"You gave a mission to a boy, knowing that he didn't even is a genin?" Hiruzen took a long drag of his pipe. He already could see the monster paperwork coming.
"Again, that's none of your concern."
"As a member of the council-"
"Yes. Council. This means that you can advise, but the final word is mine." Danzo frowned, his rage building, but he managed to control himself.
"It seems the power has gone to your head. Very well, you do as you please, without even asking our opinions. But don't cry later when you were dethroned." He started to leave, when Hiruzen stood up.
"Are you threatening me?" Hiruzen asked, his voice tone telling he was not playing.
"Of course not. You said I can advise, and that's my advice to you. When the elders hear that our Hokage sent our most powerful weapon on some sort of unregistered mission outside the village, I don't think that you will hold your hat any longer." And with that, he took his leave. Hiruzen sighed, that old bastard was right. But he too knows very well the two elders, and can say that they'll do nothing against his post as Hokage. At least, that's what he hope.
Sometime later, in a place with little to no illumination, Danzo stood in front of a chair. Sitting, he clapped his hands, and two ANBU appeared.
"Your orders, Danzo-sama"
"Search for Naruto Uzumaki. I know that he is somewhere in this village."
"Yes sir!" And with that, they vanished.
'Hiruzen, you really think that you can fool me?'
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"Ah, here it is Kurama-kun!" Said Lee, holding a scroll. Naruto lifted his head that was currently resting on a pile of old scrolls.
"You sure this time?"
"Yeah, take a look." He said, giving it to Naruto, who opened.
Hmmmm. This means that I have to train my chakra control by sticking things into my body, then sticking to things, and ultimately sticking to things while sticking things in my body. I will also need an sparring partner."
"I'll be glad to be yur sparring partner!" Lee said with thumbs up, and Naruto smiled.
"Thank you Lee."
"No problem. That's what friends do, right?" Lee replied, and Naruto went mute. For the first time in his life, someone called him friend. Sure, he remembers that when he was little, he hanged out with Shikamaru and Chouji, but they never called him that.
"Look at that!" Lee's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "It's some chakra exercises".
"Tree walking, water walking, cutting a leaf, change the river's flow…"
"Well it looks complicated. Why not we just start with tree walking?"
"Thank you Lee, for all your help. But I think that I will do it alone from here on."
"Why?"
"Well, these things aren't necessary for you to begin with, and I don't want to interrupt your training." Lee looked down, and Naruto suddenly felt guilty.
"Oh, okay…" And an awkward silence fell between then, that don't help Naruto ease his feeling of guilty. So, he decided to change topics.
"So… Why the green spandex?" Naruto asked, already leaving with the other boy.
"I want to copy Gai-sensei. I want to be like him, because he is my role model." Lee said with proud in his voice.
"Oh really? I didn't know that you looked up at him so much."
"Of course I do." Lee gave a sad smile. "Since you told us your secret, I will tell you something. Neji already knows this since we were on the same class, that's why he doesn't look up to me."
"What is it?" Naruto asked, feeling a little nervous. Whatever it is, it must be something big since the always joyful boy looked so glum.
"I can't use chakra." Lee said looking down. Naruto took a minute to process, and waited to see if that was some kind of joke.
"… Seriously…?"
"Yes. And because of it, nobody believed in me. So I trained day after day, to prove that I can be a ninja with only taijutsu. But even so, nobody believed in me. I graduated because the Hokage said I could since my grades weren't so poor if not related to ninjutsu or genjutsu. But still, nobody believed in me. Untill yesterday, when Gai-sensei, after dismissing us, found me training and said that I can be a great ninja with only taijutsu. He is the first person to encourage me, and believed in me. That's why I admire him so much." Naruto was at a loss of words. He could relate very well with the story. In fact, if it wasn't for Iruka and the old Hokage, he would still be humiliated at the Academy, and despised for the teachers that didn't even bother to teach him. And so, he stopped.
"Lee." He called. When Lee turned to see him, Naruto wasn't wearing any of his masks. "I believe in you. So, come to my house tomorrow morning, and let's train together." Then Naruto gave him his brilliant and sincere smile. Lee's eyes teared up, and he hugged the blonde boy.
"Thank you Naruto-kun." Lee chooses to use his real name at this moment. Naruto returned the hug, while the other boy cried in his shoulder.
From some distance, Neji looked the entire scene. He turned and left.
'What difference trust and friendship would make if your destiny is already decided?' He couldn't help but feel a little lonely after his thought.
To be continued…
Sorry for the late, guys. I focused on other fics, and forgot what would happen in this chapter.
I hope you guys liked it. See ya!