I am drawing at least partially from Sora to Make Naruto's character and skills. I like the skill set of Sora and feel that they fit Naruto at least a little while still being unique.

I was going to have Naruto build himself up entirely on his own but I realized that if I wanted to keep the friendship thing Naruto is all about it would be cool and right to have his friends repay him by at least giving him tips and some advice.


"Alright Naruto, let us begin! Show me your youth!" Lee bellowed at Naruto, before falling into a runner's stance. "I want one full lap around the pond as fast you can, without your weights! Then I will see how far along you are in sheer speed and where you need to be."

Naruto gulped a little, speed had never been his strong suit. It was actually a big black mark on his skill set, and why he felt he was so powerful with Kyuubi's power. It made him very, very fast. Or it had... "Okay Lee." Naruto fell into a runner's stance, and turned towards the Lake.

"GO!" Lee called out and Naruto shot off as fast as he could, rushing around the lake with great speed... or so he tried. He could almost feel the eyes of Lee on him as he sprinted around the pond. The pond itself wasn't that big but still Naruto took almost a full four minutes to get to the other side, reaching Lee with only a mild huffing. Lee was frowning. " Four minutes... that should have taken you less then a minute...even when I first graduated it only took me forty five seconds. Now I can do it in five without my weights. Your speed is seriously behind... it is a good thing we have weights on you. From now on I want you to do twenty five laps around the pond every morning before you work out. Then wind sprints, twenty five in each direction across the lake. That should be a good starter and help with your chakra control too."

Naruto groaned, not bothering to hide the sound. "What else do we have to test?"

"Your strength, punch my hand as hard as you can." Lee held out his hand, waiting for Naruto.

"Okay, at least I know I'm kinda strong." Naruto reeled his fist back and let loose, slamming into Lee's palm as hard as he could. There wasn't any movement...

And yet Lee was actually smiling. "Your actually kind of strong, stronger then I was when I graduated by far. I think in six months you might be almost as strong as I am now." That lifted Naruto's spirits considerably. " I want one hundred kicks and punches against a tree, if you cannot do that then you must do one hundred pushups, then one hundred sit ups, then one hundred squats!"

Now he was pale. "That's a lot Lee, do you really think I can do all of that?"

"And more! Lady Tsunade said you have a minor healing factor that will make you get stronger faster, so we have to really challenge you if we want you to get strong. Your muscles have already atrophied without the Kyuubi to keep you in perfect shape."

Naruto's eyes bugged out. "You know about the Kyuubi and how did it keep me in shape?"

"Lady Tsuande told me so I would understand why it was so important to train you, but she had me sworn to secrecy so I will carry it to my grave. I swear on my youth!" Naruto cringed, the sound of Lee's yelling was pretty hard on his ears. "As for how it kept you in shape, she said it made you flat out regenerate not just heal so it was keeping you in shape despite your lack of a consistent training regimen."

That was another hit to his pride, Naruto had realized how many perks he had gotten from the Kyuubi. 'Regeneration from wounds, kept me in shape, massive chakra pool so I could make a million clones... what else did it do for me?' He really wondered if he would have gotten this far without the Fox to give him so much power, power that he had relied on to the point of exclusion. 'Was I ever anything without the Fox?'

"Now I want to asses your taijutsu! I have permission from Gai to teach you the basics of the Strong Fist so you can have a style fitting your personality. Your a more upfront fighter then most, like I am! It is most youthful!"

"Really!" Naruto was excited now, he had seen just how powerful the Strong Fist was first hand. It was an amazing style, capable of making Lee and Sasuke able to hurt and back even Gaara into a corner. "Yatta! I'm going to be the best Strong Fist user there is, Believe it!"

"One goal at a time Naruto." Lee's words stopped him, and he was shocked to see how serious Lee looked. "It is something Gai Sensei has taught me. Every big goal and dream has to be broken down into a lot of little goals. Master the basics of the Strong Fist and Get your body into decent shape, capable of handling the strain of this style."

"But how do I break that dream up?"

"Increase your speed and strength by slowly increase your weights and following your training regimen every day. Go through your Katas to master the form and actions needed to call yourself a true Strong Fist User. Be cosistant, precise and dedicated to daily, hourly training. That is the key to my success and Gai Sensei's success. We take our dream and make it into a series of smaller goals. For you I would say master the basics and get your speed to the point you can run a lap around the pond in one minute. Be able to do my work out program without hurting your hands and not going home very sore.

Oh and I forgot, you cannot only eat Ramen! You have to eat veggies and fruits and meat to get your body to the point it can handle the strain and damage that will happen to your muscles. You cannot afford to not have enough protein and vitamins and minerals if you want to become strong. I know you do not like veggies but there are ways to cook them in a way that they taste great. I found a few cookbooks in the library you can look at."

Naruto wanted to groan. " I have vegetables but... if it helps, I'll eat them."

"A youthful attitude, you will surely succeed with that Naruto! Now, come at me and I will asses your Taijutsu. I may be a strong fist user but I know the academy style as well!"

:::

By the time Neji walked onto the training field, Naruto was all but crawling away from a very enthusiastic but not impressed Lee. Sloppy, Slow and Weak, that was how the normally nice Genin described Naruto's taijutsu style. Or absence there of, it was painful to hear, to see Lee's disappointed face. However that didn't seem to deter the boy. Instead it motivated him to show Naruto proper stances, correcting him patiently. They had gone through both the academy and Strong Fist Styles and it became clear that Naruto was more attuned to a style like the Strong Fist then he was the Academy style. So they scrapped the academy Style and Lee swore to write for Naruto a series of scrolls to study from, with Gai's help, so he could master the basics stances and get a foundation growing by the month's end. He also would be giving Naruto a series of scrolls to workout with and brought him weights he bought with his own money...something Naruto almost cried about, though he hid it well.

It was oddly uplifting despite how sore he was, that someone was giving him this kind of proper attention. He couldn't remember the last time anyone gave it to him, actually tried to help him in any real way...

"Naruto... are you alright?" Neji leaned down, looking at a smoldering, miserable looking Naruto.

Said Uzumaki let out a loose groan. "I'll live, but Lee's insane... still, if I work this hard I might catch up after all."

"If you work as hard as Lee or I do, you will surpass either of us. That I am sure of... now, I do believe it is my turn to teach you. Lee, Gai Sensei wants you to report to our normal training field."

Lee nodded. "Right! I will be there soon, my youthful friend!" Turning on heel, Rock Lee shot away at super speeds, a cloud of dust kicking up from his movements.

Naruto groaned again. " How is he so crazy? I'm still out of it... ugh." Slowly, Naruto managed to pull himself up from the ground. "What are we going to work on?" |

Neji smiled and sat down. "We are going to start with a discussion on Chakra. Tell me what is Chakra and how does it work?"

Naruto just blinked at him for a moment. "Uh, it's the stuff that makes Ninja powers work."

"Sigh... yes, technically it is... but more specifically it is a mixture of Physical and Spiritual energy in the body being molded together for power... think of it like Ramen broth."

"What?"

The genius actually smirked a little. " Someone told me your very fond of ramen, so I started to think of analogies that might work. Ramen broth is a mixture of herbs and species and water. Think of Physical chakra like water, it comes from the body. Some people like you have a lot of physical chakra because their bloodline is strong or because they work out a lot. Lee may have little chakra over all but the quality of his physical chakra is immense.

The spices and herbs that go into Ramen brother is spiritual chakra, it gives chakra it's feel and potency. It is formed from experience, knowledge and meditation. The more you know, the more spiritual energy you have. Some bloodlines have stronger spiritual chakra like the Nara. When you mix these two together you get jutsu, but the mixture has to be just right. Now tell me Naruto, what happens if you have too much water in your broth?"

Naruto frowned. " I guess it gets watery and weak... so if I have too much physical chakra my chakra is too weak for the jutsu?"

"And too dense, to heavy... what about too much herbs and spices?"

"It gets too salty and spicy I guess... but if it's chakra then you get chakra that isn't dense enough but it too smart?" Naruto frowned. "I am a still a little confused about spiritual chakra."

"Well, here's an example. Your lacking in spiritual energy, so much so you cannot safely divide your chakra to make clones anymore. Before you forced your Physical energy you gained from the Kyuubi to force the jutsu. Now, without that, you cannot make chakra that is balanced enough to safely make clones. Think of it like intent, spiritual energy is how badly you want something. It makes your energy specific, makes it go from just energy to a jutsu. From chakra to a shadow clone, or a fireball or what have you. Think of it this way. Spiritual chakra makes the shape of a jutsu, and physical energy colors it in. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I get it. Physical chakra is the body of the jutsu and spiritual energy is the brains if it. The why is happens!" Naruto felt smart for once, he actually understood the lesson. "That makes so much more sense then what they taught me in the academy."

Neji's smile was as uplifting as Lee's promises. "Now, let's start on some techniques to work on your chakra control. You already know the tree climbing and water walking Jutsu, don't you?" Naruto nodded. "Good, that helps a lot. I am going to teach you three extra exercises that you can work on. The first is the Leaf sticking exercise, a very simple exercises that works on precision. The next is the Water separation technique, that is used for medics and Hyuugas. The Last is the chakra pulse technique, which is the basics for Hyuuga jutsu, but is also the premise for super strength, genjutsu dispersion and a variety of other techniques." Reaching over, Neji grabbed a small leaf from the ground and put it on his palm. "The trick is to let a tiny flow of chakra stick to the leaf, too much and it blows off. Too little and it won't stick. I want you to start with one leaf and you'll know you've mastered it once you've got at least ten leaves on your arms. Then you can move onto small pebbles to make it harder since they weigh more. It is actually really a simple technique but it does well in getting consistent flow to other parts of your body and is wonderful for patience and focus. You try."

Naruto smile could have lit up the room. "I remembered Iruka teaching us this when I was learning the Rasengan. I can do this." To prove a point, Naruto put the leaf on his palm and easily turned it over, where the leaf stayed perfectly still. "See! I wonder how many leaves I can do..." Five leaves later and Naruto was still smiling at a very happy and surprised looking Neji.

"Huh, that implies that your chakra control is easily chunin level... which we wouldn't have noticed since your previous chakra pool was well above kage level. It was like having a small dike in a lake the size of the village, of course...well that's a good thing Naruto. I want you to get up to ten leaves then move onto rocks, all while mediating. I'll give you scrolls for the other jutsu and show you them before I leave."

"Why meditation?"

"Why not? It is the single best way to bolster your reserves. Ninja monks, who meditate frequently, almost never have reserves less then Jonin level. This, combined with the Leaf exercise will help not only with your chakra levels and control but also with calm, patience and focus. Something you dearly need, my friend."

Naruto slumped forward, sighing. "I know... Granny Tsunade said that too."

"Lady Tsunade... Naruto I know you are not a formal person but if you want to be taken seriously then you need to heed the rules and regulations of being a Ninja. It is fine to call her that on a personal level but during missions or around other Ninjas you need to be respectful." Neji's eyes were stern, but not cold. "Trust me, it will really help if you wish to be Hokage one. It shows that you can act as a diplomat and politician, something vital to being Hokage."

That seemed to hit Naruto hard. "I never thought of it like that."

"Cause nobody bothered to explain it to you, I suspect... now, let's finish our training. We only have three days that I can help you. I want you to be a Genin again so I might fight by your side my friend."

And that almost left Naruto in tears...

""

With shaking hands, Naruto walked down the halls of the Hospital. Neji was at his side, leading him down and towards their target. They had cut off training early so he could lead Naruto to his first day of therapy. It was a nerve wracking experience, he had no idea what to think about it. What would the man treat him like, would he be too messed up to become a Genin again? Would be be banned entirely... he had no idea.

Apparently his fear was obvious to Neji, who smiled at him. "I have seen a few psychologists Naruto, and started regularly seeing one after you defeated me. She has been helping me overcome some of my issues. Do not be worried, they are trained not to be judgmental but to actually help you."

That definitely helped Naruto, who let out a long breathe. "Okay, thanks Neji... I... I needed that."

"Not an issue, now just be honest and do not hold back. They cannot help you if you are hiding your feelings. And try to be respectful, they are still your superiors."

"I'll try."

"That's all I ask... here it is." Neji stopped and Naruto saw a small sliding door with a label to the side.

Mental Health Services

Head: Inoichi Yamanaka

Gulping a little, Naruto walked into the room and waved goodbye to Neji. " Thank you for taking me here."

"Not an issue. Have a good day Naruto, I will see you tomorrow." And with that, Neji walked away, leaving Naruto to walk into the office by himself. The office itself was nice, with a light purple paintjob on the walls and calming plants in each corner. A lady was sitting at a receptionist desk, looking at him with a warm smile.

"How may I help you today?"

Gulping again, Naruto walked forward. " Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm here to see Inoichi Yamanaka."

"Ahh, I just need you to fill out some paper work and we can get you in right away." She handed him a clipboard with some papers, and then handed him a pen. "Fill that out and sign at the bottom of each page."

'Not a terrible start, I guess...'


Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was so much fun to write, a real good training chapter!

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.