Chapter Four: Training, into the Academy

(Previously...)

Shisui walked home after a few hours of conversing with the Clan Head, a relaxed smirk pulling at his lips. Our survival should be secured now. I will go talk to Itachi tomorrow, but for now I kinda want to go to sleep. He reached a hand up to rub under his left eye, wiping away a bit of pale-red stained tears. Using the Mangekyou abilities cost a toll... And I technically used it twelve times in order to get all of the Elders. I'm surprised Naori and Fugaku both didn't actually want to go through with the Coup D'etat.

Shisui turned down a street, and stepped up towards his house and entered the building. Yeah, sleep is sounding very welcoming right now. He walked upstairs to enter his room and lay down, and promptly did as he so planned to do. Sleep.

Shisui awoke in the morning to the sound of birds chirping, and sat up from his bed while yawning widely. Ahhh... Much better. He thought, reaching his hands up to rub his eyes. He favored the left a bit, wincing. I think the progression of my eyes is almost near its end with how strong I have grown them through use.

After completing that task, Shisui toweled dry and got dressed in his standard attire with the Uchiha Clan Crest on the back of his shirt. He pulled on his tanto's holster, sheathing the weapon at his back, and then walked downstairs to begin making breakfast for himself. After eating, he donned his ANBU mask and vanished from the building in a Shunshin to report to the Hokage.

Sarutobi puffed on the pipe in his mouth, reading a few reports from a mission that neared the borders of Tetsu no Kuni, his eyes scanning the contents. He didn't look up as a swirl of leaves appeared in his office, and finished reading the paragraph he was on before closing the scroll and looking up. "Ah, good morning Falcon." He inclined his head in greeting.

"Good morning Hokage-sama. I am here to file a report for your ears only." Shisui stated, Sharingan active as he scanned the room for signs of bugs.

Sarutobi nodded and began the process of hand seals, and then charged Chakra into a seal underneath his desk. "There. What is it you have to report Shisui-san?"

"One moment sir. I'd like to confirm the room is secure."

Sarutobi blinked, but remembered the bug incident from the previous day and inclined his head.

Shisui removed his mask and began to slowly scan the room, his eyes swirling as they activated his unique variation of the Mangekyou.

Interesting... That's what those eyes look like. Sarutobi thought, feeling impressed with the level of power his Shinobi possessed. And I believe with his level of genjutsu he has been reported to use, that he is the only one who could control the Nine-Tails should it break free from Naruto since the Forth passed, without leaving any way for anyone to learn the Hiraishin.

Shisui started turning around, before he frowned and noticed something on the doorframe. It glowed slightly with a palish blue, almost unnoticed tone. He raised his hand and put a finger to his lips so Sarutobi could see it, and walked towards the door with chakra shrouding his feet. And quickly ripped away a small paper seal and with a burst of fire chakra from his hand, eliminated the tag.

Sarutobi's eyes widened. "A listening seal?"

"Correct. I do not see anything else that is out of the ordinary, and I do not think whoever placed it can know what was said without retrieving the item." Shisui turned to the Hokage, his eyes deactivating.

"Your eyes have definitely impressed me Shisui-san."

Shisui smiled somewhat. "At a great cost Hokage-sama... At a great cost."

Sarutobi let a small frown pass his face, but inclined his head in acknowledgment. "I remember how you gained the Mangekyou from your report when it happened... But I believe..." He paused for a moment to repack some more tobacco into his pipe. "That you were here for another reason than to bring up the past."

Shisui nodded and walked forward to move a chair from the side of the room and sit across from the Hokage at his desk. "Yes, I have completed the mission and used Kotoamatsukami upon the twelve Elders of the Uchiha Clan. I gave them the command to protect Konoha, and to set aside their differences. I did tell them though, in person, that the village is more willing to work with the Uchiha."

"This is true however." Sarutobi said with a smile. "The civilians adore your Clan's work as the Police Force maintaining peace in our wonderful village. Even most of the other Shinobi have set aside their grievances with the Kyuubi attack."

"But..." Shisui started and trailed off.

"But, then Danzō would protest a sudden change. I'll start with ordering the former Uchiha Clan Compound to be restored."

Shisui smiled.

Itachi shook his head as he watched Naruto inhale the third bowl of food that was on his plate, sitting across from him at the table. "Naruto-kun, use your manners." Itachi chided gently.

"Sowwe Tachi-nii, jusve so goo."

Itachi laughed. "I understand, but even Shinobi have proper table manners when dining with others."

Naruto sighed and nodded, putting the bowl down after licking the chopsticks clean. "Okay..."

"Don't feel bad, how about a deal. Anywhere besides Ichiraku's, use proper manners. When it comes to your ramen, all bets are off."

Naruto blinked before grinning. "Does that mean we can have Ichiraku's tomorrow?"

Itachi couldn't help but pale a bit. Naruto, you're going to be the death of my wallet. "Perhaps." He picked at his food for a bit before looking back up at Naruto. "By the way, want to go visit Shisui later? I want to talk to him about setting up a training schedule for us to use before you enter the Academy. You're honestly picking up the Leaf exercise fairly fast, so we might be able to move on to more complex methods and get you started on a basic grasp of Taijutsu."

"Okay!" Was Naruto's enthusiastic response.

"What do you mean, you're not going through with it?" Demanded an ice cold voice that would send chills down the spine of Orochimaru. It was deep and reverberated uncontested power.

"W-we're not going through with it. We got new intel... The Village is going to work with us." Yoshiro cowered back from the person with the orange mask with a blazing Sharingan eye that burned with malice and malcontent.

"Pfft... Doubtful." The masked man picked up Yoshiro, grabbing him by the throat. "I've been feeding you the information you needed to convince the others the Coup was a necessary path you needed to take or face extinction. And you abandon it that easily." He started to squeeze his fist.

Yoshiro choked and scrabbled, trying to claw at the masked man's hand to make him release. But his grip was stronger than steel, and his face was turning blue.

With a quick snap, Yoshiro's eyes lost their light and he slumped in the man's grip.

"Hmm... This sets our plans back. Yes, indeed it does. Can I eat him?" Asked a plant-like being coming up from the ground.

The masked man grunted, and flicked his wrist to throw the dead body of Yoshiro at the plant. "Be my guest Zetsu."

Zetsu, the now identified plant being with a black and white half, grinned and began to devour the body quickly.

The masked man however turned to face Konohagakure from the overlook of Naka Shrine, before shaking his head. "We're done here Zetsu."

"Yes Madara-Tobi."

Tobi snorted, before his eye began to spin and a spinning vortex surrounded himself and Zetsu, and they vanished in a wormhole.

Itachi carried Naruto on his shoulders, wearing his ANBU attire and a blank faced mask. He walked with a calm stride towards the edge of the current Uchiha Quarter, near the South edge of the village. "Remember Naruto-kun, behave and be quiet if there are Uchiha around."

"Yes 'Tachi."

Itachi smiled under his mask, and wandered through the street while avoiding as much of the people walking the street as he could. He soon came up to Shisui's place, and tested the door lightly. Opening it, he stepped into the building. "Shisui?" He called out.

"Oh, Itachi!" He and Naruto heard from the kitchen, and soon Shisui's head popped around the corner. "I wasn't expecting anyone, otherwise I'd have made some more."

"It's fine." Itachi said. "We ate before coming this way."

Shisui smiled and nodded. "Alright, come in and make yourself at home in the living area. I'll bring my food and sit with you guys once it is ready."

Itachi nodded as well, and when Shisui vanished back into the kitchen secured the door shut and carried Naruto into the living space to set him down on a mat. He took one next to him.

"This place isn't bad." Naruto observed bluntly.

"Well not every place was like your old one." Itachi said with a smile.

Naruto couldn't find anything to say about that, so he nodded and tried to wait patiently, but he was squirming a bit.

"Still as energetic as ever." Shisui said as he entered the room, carrying a plate of steaming stir-fry and chicken dumplings. "So what's up Itachi, why visit so late?" He asked and then took a bite of a dumpling.

"We're here to see if you'd be willing to help me get a training schedule set up for Naruto-kun to follow, just in case I ever have missions to take." And maybe patch the figurative hole that is a ramen-beast.

Shisui blinked and nodded, chewing for a bit before swallowing his food. "Yeah, I could do that. But didn't you teach me Genjutsu?"

"Yeah, but that's only because I was better at it until you turned around and proved you were the best."

Shisui laughed and nodded. "True enough I guess. I do tend to train more of the ANBU than you do. Yeah, I'll write up a suitable schedule. But when do you plan to have Naruto enter the Academy? That'll set up the majority of what I plan out."

"I'm thinking when he is ten."

"So five years." Shisui confirmed.

"This is boring!" Naruto exclaimed.

Itachi and Shisui both looked at him and laughed.

"It may be boring, but it is necessary." Itachi ruffled Naruto's hair in his usual gesture, pacifying the blonde only somewhat.

"And we're talking about how to make you into one of the best Genin to ever graduate from the Academy for your generation." Shisui also pointed out helpfully.

Naruto growled, but huffed in response. "Well fine, but I want to be the best ever."

"That's the spirit!" Itachi said with a smirk.

(Three Years to Academy)

Naruto panted as he ran around the backyard, sweat beading down his forehead and cheek. "This is torture!" He shouted, his voice less high pitched and childish and with a slightly deeper timbre, but nowhere near the level of a kid going through puberty yet.

"And you're the one who wanted to do this." Shisui pointed out from where he sat eating an apple, reading a book. "Another fifty laps for your mouth."

"WHAAAT?!"

"One hundred now." Shisui took another bite of his apple.

Growling in frustration, Naruto started to run harder. Gaah... He's a slave driver, telling me to get up early and then dragging me out here in the cold morning. He continued to run however, knowing better than to try to wipe the smug smirk off of Shisui's face. He still couldn't get the memory of the illusion he was subjected to out of his mind. That guy can be scary when he wants to be.

…

Itachi blinked as he stepped through the back door and into the yard, watching Shisui finishing his book and Naruto panting on the ground in exhaustion. "So... You finally exhausted him?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah. Took ages though, the kid has way more stamina than I could imagine." Shisui said as he got up and faced Itachi with a grin. "I had to research how to apply resistance seals though, since Naruto complained about his exercises being too easy."

"Me and mah biiiiig mouth..." Naruto muttered from where he laid face down, looking with one eye as he tilted his head to glare at Shisui's back.

Itachi snickered. "Don't complain now, you're getting just as much work as you were when we started your training. Now remember, do not remove the Restriction Seal until you Graduate or are in a life and death situation."

"I AM IN A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION WITH A SLAVE DRIVER LIKE YOU!" Naruto bellowed.

"I can always increase the seal effects. Maybe fifty percent more?" He asked, as if towards Itachi.

Naruto paled instantly and shook his head quickly.

Itachi laughed some more. "Well... How is his Tree Climbing going?"

Shisui answered by pointing at a tree near the furthest back of the yard, where the forest started. All the trees there had bark blasted away, and even pieces of wood completely gone. "Still destroying everything he touches, but its getting better. He walked up about five feet on the most recent one before he flew into the lake."

Itachi snorted. "Well... It's improvement. And I'm sure he needs another bath after the run right?"

"You know I can hear your evil plans here right?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Yep!" Itachi and Shisui said as they faced Naruto, eyes closed and wearing near-identical smirks. This made Naruto sweatdrop.

"Anyways," Itachi turned to Shisui and passed him a clip of rolled ryo. "Thanks for watching him while I was gone."

"Don't sweat it." He ignored the sharp 'hey!' from Naruto. "It wasn't much of a problem, sure there is a bit of a stink." A growl now. "But he's just as fun to train as ever."

Itachi smirked. "See ya later, I'm going to start his Taijutsu lesson when you leave and he gets refreshed with lunch."

"Ya got it bud." Shisui grinned and turned to Naruto, giving him a two-fingered salute. "Cya."

Naruto rolled his eyes and slowly got up from where he was laying, panting still but with less harsh breathing. "Damn you..." He muttered.

Shisui looked back at Itachi. "Oh yeah, your dad stopped by and said he wanted to talk to you."

"Thanks, I'll go visit in a bit. You sure you didn't hit him with more than what you did?" He asked the last bit of his question in a low tone.

"Quite." Shisui responded in just as low of a tone. "See you later." And then he left with a quick stride.

"So, you're gonna make me experience hell too Niisan?" Naruto asked as he rolled his shoulders, and then tilted his head to either side.

"Maybe, but after lunch and you rest a bit. C'mon, I already brought it with me on my way back from the mission I was on." Itachi walked into the house, followed closely by Naruto. Who immediately rushed the table despite his exhaustion when he saw the large amount of packaged Ichiraku ramen bowls.

"I thought you were tired." Itachi said dryly as Naruto sat down and immediately started inhaling food.

"Ramen." Naruto said between a mouthful, as if that explains the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

Itachi shrugged and began eating his own food, just two bowls of ramen. I gotta admit, that the Ichiraku family sure knows how to cook their ramen.

After a while, and several dirty dishes, Naruto leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh. "That hit the spot... Is there more?"

"You're one for contradictions..." Itachi murmured, but shook his head. "No, that was all I could get for now. I'll do another mission tomorrow. Are you ready for Taijutsu?"

"Yeah yeah..." Naruto got up and stretched, before nodding. "Ready."

With that the duo left the building and went out into the back yard once again.

(One Year to Academy)

Naruto dodged a palm strike that would bloody his nose, and directed his movement further into Itachi's reach to plant his own palm into Itachi's side and with a quick burst of chakra sent the Uchiha spinning away.

"Not bad, but you're still using too much." Itachi stated as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, having replaced himself with a log. "But you're getting better with your form." He rushed Naruto, moving to chop at the blond with his hand positioned like a knife.

But Naruto saw it coming, and rolled backwards in order to avoid the strike. He quickly flipped back onto his feet, and grunted as he felt a fist connect with his face and flew backwards several yards.

"Risky, always keep your attention on your opponent." Itachi commanded, sinking into the Uchiha Taijutsu stance.

Naruto took his stance, after recovering from the recoil of being struck to flip around and stared at Itachi. He smirked however, and directed his gaze closer to Itachi's feet. "You are using it."

Itachi smirked as well, his Sharingan active and watching Naruto with great precision. "Kinda have to, you're strong and I would rather not get hit."

"Cheater." Naruto rushed forward, using his hands in a claw like formation as he almost bounded like an animal.

Itachi saw the result, and moved to leap over Naruto and prepare to send his palm downwards into his exposed back.

However he didn't even anticipate a retaliation, Naruto kicking with surprising speed and sudden movement that wasn't projected. Itachi grunted as he flew into the air, and Naruto turned around to jump up to chase after him. How? Was Itachi's question though, before he replaced himself with another log to watch as Naruto spun it around and flung it back into the ground and followed with a punch. That would hurt.

"Damn." Naruto grumbled, and looked around. He scanned the scenery, before suddenly ducking as Itachi appeared behind him and swiped at his head. Itachi didn't mind, smirking. Keeping up with me, even if I'm holding back... He followed with a quick kick, catching Naruto's legs and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Alright, that's enough for now." Itachi said, panting softly as Naruto got back up and looked mostly fine. "You can outlast me, but if I wanted to you wouldn't be able to."

"Geez I know, don't rub it in now."

Itachi laughed some. "I'm not. I think you're ready for the Academy Taijutsu wise, so lets move on to getting you acquainted with the Academy Jutsu you'll need to know."

"Saweet!"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You remember the hand seals Shisui taught you right?"

"Yes."

"All of them?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yes. He made me practice them all in a row... With increasing speed and would make me do ten laps if I messed up at all."

"Hmm... Well. Let's start with the Henge."

(The Academy Entrance Exam)

Naruto sat with a bunch of civilians in a classroom, looking around quietly as he counted at least 300 students in the classroom alone. Woah... There is a lot of kids entering. I even look a bit older than them. He shook his head and turned to the door as it opened and the instructor walked in.

An average height and build for a shinobi, the instructor had black hair in a ponytail with dark brown eyes. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose, the sleeves of his jacket under the Chunnin Vest he wore were rolled up slightly to expose his forearms.

"Alright class, my name is Iruka Umino and-" He was cut off by a chorus of greetings and questions. "Okay, thank you for welcoming me, but-" He glared as he was ignored by the students turning to talk to each other. A tic mark appeared on his forehead, before he started yelling. And for some reason his head grew astronomically and become almost demonic in appearance. "SETTLE DOWN AND SHUT UP!"

The room immediately stilled and stared at Iruka with a healthy dose of fear.

"Alright, welcome to the Entrance Exams. I'll be proctoring the test to see if you have what it takes to start here. Some of you look older than the others..." He looked around, noticing a couple kids who stood out.

The first was a boy wearing a fur lined jacket near the back, his eyes masked by some sunglasses but his face otherwise perfectly visible. He had high cheekbones, and an angular chin. His hair was a black and purple mix, almost impossible to tell where one color began and or the other ended. He was chewing something, possibly bubblegum. Iruka immediately could tell he was one of the few who didn't act up when he entered the room.

Another kid was a short redheaded girl with eyes just as red as her hair, with less standout for her face due to the stark coloration of hair and eyes. Her outfit was a green qipao that went to her thighs, and her legs were hidden by dark pants. She however was another of those who didn't act out, and she was staring at him intently waiting for him to speak again.

The last was a blond he recognized instantly, and couldn't help but scowl somewhat. Naruto Uzumaki sat at his assigned desk, looking like he was doodling in a notepad but he was watching Iruka with a curious and friendly expression. Iruka frowned somewhat, and his scowl lessened. These three... Interesting. He smiled and continued, with his silence only really lasting maybe a second or two at most. "So you might know more, and depending on how you place in this Exam the Academy will induct you into one of the other established classes. My assistant, Mizuki here." He gestured to another man who had accompanied him into the classroom while the students were distracted. "Will assign the papers. You have two hours to complete the exam, if you do not finish the points you would gain would be lost from what you fail to complete, impacting your chance of advanced placement should you deserve it."

A bit taller than Iruka, the man had long white hair that had a slight blue hint, and green eyes. He stopped glaring at Naruto and started walking through the aisles, placing papers on the desks.

After a short few minutes, Mizuki stopped in front of Naruto's desk and planted the last bundle of paper. And then walked to the front of the classroom to lean against the wall and close his eyes to relax.

"Alright, now that the tests are handed out. I'll begin the exam. Remember, two hours everyone." Iruka raised his arm, before lowering it with the reset of the minute on the clock. "Begin!"

Naruto picked up his pen, and frowned as he looked down at the test. None of these make sense... They are gibberish questions with no answers. He leaned back in his chair, looking intently thoughtful. Looking subtly to either side, his eyes almost widened when he saw the papers of the students next to him. Huh... I can read theirs. Did that Mizuki-sensei use a genjutsu to hide the actual test? Naruto then leaned forward over his test, and put his hands into the Ram seal. Kai. He thought, stopping his chakra and then pumping it with a quick intense pulse that wasn't felt by anyone.

However Iruka looked up from his desk where he sat down and blinked. Huh? That felt like a genjutsu release.

Of course. Naruto thought, smirking to himself and started answering the questions with quick strokes of the pen across the paper. The questions were easy, asking what a Shinobi was and other inane things like that. Along with basic aptitude inquiries to test whether or not the genin-hopefuls knew what Chakra was.

…

Iruka looked up as the first student walked up to his desk, test in hand. "Here, done." The sunglasses wearing boy said as he held out the papers to pass over. The chunnin blinked at this and looked at the clock, noticing that only ten minutes have passed.

Nodding, the scarred chunnin accepted the papers. "Great job, I hope your work is accurate."

The boy shrugged. "It should be. I learned this from my dad." He then turned and walked back to his seat to sit down.

Almost shortly afterwards Naruto came up and offered his bundle of papers. "I'm done too."

Iruka paused, regarding Naruto with a curious expression. "Umm... Alright. You did that fast."

Naruto just smiled, a bright expression that seemed to put Iruka at ease. "Of course, my teacher is awesome."

"Hmm... We'll see afterwards." Iruka couldn't help but smile back, and watched as Naruto wandered back to his seat. He put Naruto's test under the first boy's, and started reading.

Name, Ryouken Tatsujin. Sounds familiar... Iruka thought, and began the task of grading the papers.

Eventually more and more students began handing in their work, with the red-head being the tenth to do so. After receiving the last test, Iruka stood up. "Alright, all of you finished before the first hour so use the remaining hour to go use the bathroom or just talk. But keep the voice level respectable please while I start grading."

"Do you need help with that?" Mizuki started to ask, moving to sit down in a spare chair near the desk and reach for a stack of tests.

"Sure, here. Take these." Iruka said, passing a stack without looking. He didn't bother passing the ones he already managed to grade, Naruto and Ryouken's being among them since he wanted to talk to them both afterward.

Naruto shrugged and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes and beginning to meditate while the chatter of students around him was dully registered.

…

He sunk deep, further than before, and into the space where the orange chakra he could feel every day pervaded his senses. Almost figuratively stepping into a sewer, he looked around. "Huh... Interesting." Naruto whispered to himself. And started following the direction the chakra strongest. I wouldn't even call it chakra... This feels primal, powerful. What is this? He wondered.

…

The Kyuubi opened its eyes and stared down at Naruto, looking much taller than the last time he graced the cell. "So the container has returned."

Naruto frowned in thought, looking up at the imposing form of the massive orange furred fox with black eye markings, and menacing red sclera. "You... You're the Kyuubi no Yoko aren't you?" He asked.

The Kyuubi slowly blinked its eyes, the only outward sign of it being surprised. He doesn't remember a thing? That must mean something. "That is correct. I am the demon that attacked your precious village. And you're looking like a snack right now."

Naruto frowned in thought as he looked around. He looked slightly pale, but smiled a bit. "Looks like you can't get out anyways." He said, despite his voice wavering.

"But you still feel fear. All it would take is you weakening too much, and then I'll break out and eat you."

"Maybe, but until then you're still stuck in this cage."

"Don't patronize me mortal! I am the greatest of the Bijuu, the strongest and most feared! My very tails destroy mountains, my roar splits the heavens, and my ire has eradicated entire places of civilization." The Kyuubi than leveled a fierce glare upon the blond. "Now are you going to ask for my power to destroy the enemies that brought you here, or not?!"

Naruto stepped back quickly, his face worried. "I heard about the power you possessed, but why am I here? I only wanted to find out more about the strange chakra I could feel within myself."

The fox blinked once. Then twice. Then a third time. "You aren't in danger?" The Kyuubi asked in shock.

"Last I checked... No?" Naruto asked, unsure if that was the right answer.

"Odd... You only ever appeared before me in the past when your life was almost forfeit."

Naruto blinked himself, a confused expression on his face.

"I see you do not remember the times either. Not that I expect you to. You humans, so forgetful of everything of importance but yet so quick to try to form your own histories around what you think you know."

Naruto frowned in thought. "Dunno fuzzy. I think I'd remember the last time I was in danger... Right?"

"Perhaps if you weren't such a young pup. Specks upon the land."

"Keep that up and I'll show you what I do to my brother for laying out insults!"

The Kyuubi couldn't help but start another blinking session. "You couldn't hurt the One Tail, let alone come close to harming me."

"Oh just try me fuzzball!"

"Weak human!"

"Chicken stealer!"

"Pink-skinned ape."

"Ohhhh that's IT!" Naruto advanced towards the cage, swinging his right arm around as he held his shoulder with his left hand.

"You can't be seriously thinking you can do anything to me." The Kyuubi stated with a skeptical tone.

"I'll rip your fur off, cut your tail, and shove your tongue so far down your ass you'll be tasting shit for weeks!" Naruto growled as he advanced on the cage door, looking for a way in.

He stopped however when he heard a strange sound. A cackling, thunderous rumble that had the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He backed away as the sound grew louder, and then the Kyuubi no Yoko let out a barking sound as it flopped onto its side.

"GAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" It laughed, hysteria-tears flowing down its closed eyes. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's rich, ohhh you really shouldn't try. I'm not kidding when I say I could eat you."

Naruto blinked a bit, frowning. His eyebrow was twitching, and he had several tic marks on his face. "You bastard."

"Unlike you, I had a father."

Naruto inhaled sharply.

Did that go too far? The Kyuubi wondered, staring at the blond once again as a swirling mass of blue chakra formed around Naruto. Well my gift is going to use I see.

"I believe that is enough." A new voice pierced the veil and the two bickering turned to face the sunglasses wearing boy, except now his sunglasses were off and he was looking at them with eyes that had a swirling vortex of black in blue, surrounded by an outer iris of green.

"Huh?" Naruto asked eloquently.

"I think I agree." Kyuubi stated. "And just who are you?"

"A fellow container. I am called Ryouken." The boy nodded to the Kyuubi. "Forgive me, Kyuubi-sama. But I needed to interrupt before he caused a scene at the Academy."

The blond and fox blinked several times.

"Huh?" Naruto asked again.

"You are interrupting? Interesting..." The fox squinted its red eyes, before blinking. "You have a Meiangan?"

"I am honored that one as great as yourself knows about my Clan's Dojutsu." Ryouken bowed. "But my technique won't last very long. This needs to end... Soon." He pleaded.

The Kyuubi looked at Naruto before snorting. "Fine, leave and kick him out into his own awareness. I know your eyes are capable of that."

"Hey!"

Ryouken nodded before looking at Naruto. "Act normally, do not make a scene please. We can talk later about this, once there is less of a crowd."

"Uh... Ookay?"

Ryouken's eyes glowed brightly, and the next thing Naruto knew was he was back in his seat as he jerked up and looked around wildly.

Okay, what the hell? Naruto wondered in surprise. He looked back towards where Ryouken was still sitting, and noticed the boy looked slightly tired as he pushed his sunglasses further up his nose. What happened there? Was all he could wonder.

Iruka chose that moment to stand up. "Alright, I have the results in. A majority of you are only going to enter into the regular Academy Program. Would Naruto Uzumaki, Ryouken Tastujin, and Akane Koga step forward to my desk however."

The three called out stood up and moved forward to stand in front of the desk.

"Wait here." Iruka moved away from the desk, beckoning Mizuki to follow as they went to pass out the papers they have graded.

Once they were handed out, Iruka nodded. "Alright, follow Mizuki and he'll show you to your new classes. You three," He pointed at the others. "Come with me."

Naruto blinked, confused, and started to follow the scarred chunnin along with Ryouken and Akane.

They were led to a classroom, where a bunch of kids their age sat waiting.

"This is my normal class, and-" Iruka glared as a ball of paper hit him in the face, squishing as he realized it was a spitball. "SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN YOU IDIOTS!" He shouted, using the Oni-Headed Jutsu. "Ahem," He smiled at Naruto and the others. "Alright, this is my normal class and I left them for just long enough to do the quick Exam you undertook. Sit down and we'll start with the lesson on the history of the Village."

Naruto followed Ryouken as they went to lunch, having been dismissed by Iruka-sensei to go eat. "You said we'll talk, let's talk."

Ryouken sighed. "At least let me get my food first, then we find a spot. Deal?"

Naruto nodded. "Deal."

"Good." Ryouken then went into the cafeteria and grabbed a tray and as much food as the cooks allowed him to, along with Naruto doing the same thing, and then began to lead Naruto towards the Taijutsu yard and into the back where the climbing and obstacle course was. "Looks clear." He muttered, before sitting down on one of the tires that marked the start of the course.

"So..."

Ryouken let out a sigh. "You don't seem to know what a Bijuu is, so this won't make much sense. But we are both Jinchuriki."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"That seems to be your go to response..." Another sigh. "You hold the Kyuubi no Yoko, the strongest of the nine Bijuu. However, there was another. Long story short, mine fell from a meteor from space, broke out in my home, and my ancestor started sealing it away into people like me. We become Jinchuriki with this, we can access the stronger variant of Chakra they possess I like to call Youki. It is pure energy beyond what we are capable of as a people."

"O... Kay?"

Ryouken removed his glasses, revealing purple eyes with pupils that were diamond shaped. "As I said, it is a long story and I'll be happy to tell you it later. But right now we are at school, and I would rather no one else find out I am a Jinchuriki. I experienced a lot of pain for it back home."

Naruto blinked before nodding. "Okay, I can do that."

"Good, lets eat and then head back to class. I wonder what else I can learn about the history of the Village."

Iruka cleared his throat as Naruto and Ryouken were about to leave the classroom at the end of the day. "Could I speak with the both of you before you leave today?"

The blond and purp-haired kids both looked at each other before going up to Iruka's desk.

"Do I need to write them up?" Mizuki asked Iruka with curiosity.

"Not at all Mizuki, I just want to talk to them alone." Iruka informed Mizuki, who nodded and left the classroom after passing a glare he thought wouldn't be noticed towards Naruto, who definitely noticed.

"So, what's this about Iruka-sensei?" Naruto decided to ask once the door closed.

Iruka stared at them both before shaking his head. "Do you have any idea how stupidly messed up you two made my classes?"

Both kids ended up looking confused. Naruto with his head tilted and mouth slightly open, and Ryouken had stopped chewing his gum and lowered his sunglasses down his nose.

"Sorry?" Ryouken was the first to say.

"Look, I'm not mad. I'm more... Surprised than anything. You two..." Iruka shook his head. "You'd both give me trouble in the Taijutsu field, and I'm not that shabby as a Chunnin. Especially Naruto here," He gestured to said blond. "Who just took down the previously strongest fighter in my class like he was a toothpick needing flicked after being snapped in half on accident."

"Not sorry."

Iruka rolled his eyes. "And then there is you," He gestured to the Tatsujin. "A newbie from another village on some sort of exchange program. The match I set you up in, was over in just a couple seconds when you just punched Kiba Inuzaka out cold.

Ryouken shrugged.

"So now I cannot put you two against anyone besides each other, or maybe Sasuke if someone he can catch up in skill. Otherwise it will be just unfair to the others."

"We should understand sensei." Ryouken stated, bowing in respect. "I apologize for any extra inconvenience we caused you.

Iruka sighed, but nodded. "Originally I wanted to say that I was impressed with your Exam answers. Both of you scored perfectly on it."

Naruto grinned.

"That is all for now. I'll see you both tomorrow for the next set of classes."

"So... How'd it go?" Itachi asked as he saw Naruto enter the house, looking up from where he was polishing his kunai.

"Dude... Only three of us were put into the Advanced Classes. I saw Sasuke by the way." Naruto said as he dropped his backpack down on the hook and walked to sit down and groan in the chair. "Glared at me the whole time and then asked me what I did to deserve your attention."

Itachi chuckled. "Yeah well he can deal with it I think. Maybe you two will become rivals?"

"Too late, already happened." Naruto looked up at Itachi. "One of the lessons was a Taijutsu spar against the other students."

Itachi leaned forward after putting his kunai down. "Do tell."

Naruto grinned. "I kicked his ass so hard into the ground he couldn't find up from down."

(Flashback)

"Alright class," Iruka said as he heard the period bell ring. "Since you just got back from lunch we are going to burn off all that excess energy and start off some Taijutsu sparring. Let's see..." He pulled up a list and looked over it. "Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha. You two go first."

Sasuke's lip twitched as he moved into the ring, and watched as Naruto moved to stand before him. "I'll show you what happens to those who take my brother away from me."

"Are you all talk, and no action?" Naruto asked aloud, getting a surprised look from almost everyone in the class.

"Now hold on." Iruka said. "Lemme say the rules since Naruto doesn't know them. This is a Taijutsu only match, no Ninjutsu if you know any." He glanced at Sasuke. "And no Genjutsu if you know any."

"No problem there." Naruto said.

Sasuke grinned. "Got this in the bag."

"Alright... Begin!" Iruka shouted.

Sasuke rushed towards Naruto, ducking and moving to begin the attempt to uppercut and send the blond flying into the air and out of the ring hoping for an easy win.

However Naruto reacted faster, adjusting his body to the side and then spinning to plant his knee into Sasuke's gut and pushed him away.

The Uchiha grunted as he rolled backwards, frowning in surprise as he regarded Naruto with sudden caution.

"Not so boastful now huh?" Naruto asked with a smirk. He cracked his fingers, and then tilted his head to pop his neck. "Okay, lets dance." He then seemed to vanish, dust kicking up from his movement.

Sasuke barely had time to react and jump as Naruto's fist landed in the ground where he was kneeling, his eyes wide in shock. He moved down with gravity in an attempt to land a kick to the blond's back, who instead turned around and grabbed his foot with his other hand while his fist remained in contact with the ground. "Guh?"

Naruto then twirled his body and flung Sasuke into the ground, causing him to yell out in pain while the rest of the students pretty much watched in shock and fear. The only three who looked remotely unaffected were Iruka, Akane, and Ryouken. But Iruka was startled and wide mouthed.

Naruto rolled back to his feet, taking his stance with his left leg in front of the right, each at different angles for quicker foot movement. His hands were loose and unclenched, arms crossed in a defensive manner. "Can you do any better than that teme?"

Sasuke got up, before launching towards Naruto with a burst of speed while using a chakra enhanced jump. "Shut up you dobe!" He shouted as he attempted to land a kick on Naruto's face.

Naruto reacted, almost feeling as if it was slow motion. Itachi-nii is so much faster... He realized. Lifting his left hand, which was forward the most, he slid it along Sasuke's leg to redirect upwards as he ducked his head and leaned forth. With a fast sliding step, he moved into Sasuke who had a surprised look on his face while Naruto slammed his right palm into the duck-haired boy in a downward motion into the ground as the blond spun away with the same movement.

Sasuke let out a groan and didn't attempt to get up, his eyes closed and stars dancing over his head.

"I... Well... Very good Naruto." Iruka said after he recovered. "Seems like you know Taijutsu... Really well." He then muttered to himself. "Note to self... Don't pair him with anyone except Sasuke... Anyone else can't keep up..."

(End Flashback)

Itachi almost looked startled. "Why did you show that much?" He asked curiously.

"Couldn't help it. He moved so slow." Naruto shrugged. "When I fight you and Shisui-nii, I know you're both holding back against me. But you're still extremely fast and I can keep up with that. He... Can't." He shrugged again.

Itachi sighed. "Well... Guess you might cause Sasuke to train harder. I'll have to go over there now and offer him some help otherwise he'll complain so much." He muttered. But then smiled. "Anything else interesting happen today?"

"Nope, not really." Naruto said smoothly, before going upstairs. "I got some homework to do, so I'm gonna do that. Call me when dinner is ready please?"

"Sure thing Naruto-kun."

Naruto left the house after dinner, telling Itachi he was going for a walk, and wandered down the streets before finding what he was looking for. Approaching the door of the indescript looking house, he knocked several times.

After just a minute of waiting, the door opened and Ryouken stared down at Naruto from his slightly higher position due to the stairs of the entryway. "Oh, its you."

"I was wondering if you'd want to talk about what we talking about before?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah yeah, come in." Ryouken stepped aside, and watched as Naruto slid his shoes off and walked into the home. After closing the door, the purple-eye boy followed and sat down in a chair. "So... What did you learn about Bijuu?"

"Not much to be honest. Just that they were mindless chakra beasts that must be subdued at all cost due to the danger they pose."

"That's... Just a tiny fraction of truth. Anything else?"

"That apparently the strongest of them is within me... Somehow."

Ryouken nodded. And then leaned back in his chair while crossing his fingers. "Bijuu are ancient beings from what my Clan understands. They are the source of Chakra actually."

"Say what?"

"Do you want to learn, or interrupt me every fifteen seconds?"

"Okay okay, sheesh. I'll shut up."

Ryouken sighed, but seemed to smile slightly. "We still don't know their exact origins, but the theorists at Nazogakure have suggested that the Bijuu, since they are literally pillars and masses of pure condensed natural, physical, and metaphysical energy beyond the scope of our understanding that they were the source of actual Chakra. They are more tangible and believable than the supposed Sage of Six Paths, but they still don't count him out without proper proof." He paused to think. "Through samples Nazo has managed to acquire and test, it seems when put together the 'chakra' of all the Bijuu will mix and become one single entity almost before vanishing, with nothing to support it. This leads us to believe that the Bijuu were possibly fragments of the same being a long time ago, but again we have no proof of if that is the case, or simply that their combined might could work flawless together."

Naruto blinked and nodded as he listened.

"We have theories that suggest they are part of how the world originated, and that is the one thing we can all agree on. And that the chakra we use is a heavily diluted form of metaphysical energy we are able to use through combining our vitality with spiritual force. Now, the Bijuu you possess I have told you is recorded as the strongest. It is so strong, not even the Hachibi, the Eight Tailed Ox, could match it."

Naruto's eyes widened. The Kyuubi is that strong to be unchallenged by the Bijuu with just one less tail?

"Yeah, I see your thought. How can that be possible? We don't know. But from notes and observations... Even the combined might of the first eight Bijuu would not be enough to take down the Kyuubi. This is strange, because the first through eighth are capable of fighting each other to a standstill within the tail amount. One versus two, could go either way. Seven versus eight... Same. But not eight versus nine."

"Okay, so what about yours?"

Ryouken sighed, closing his eyes. "It is an Alien?" He started. "It isn't from this world, I can tell you that much. We don't know much about it. But it seems to be civil and amiable to me whenever we speak with each other. It is in the form of a wolf with eleven tails."

"Woah..."

"Yeah, it is a strange creature. But according to tests, its Youki density is similar to the Kyuubi. But we aren't sure what to call the wolf besides the Juichibi no Ookami. So yeah... That is what I meant when I told the Kyuubi I was also a container." Shrugging, Ryouken moved his shirt aside to reveal a glowing symbol over his heart with what looked like a spiral of magatama images surrounded by chains of script. "This is what holds the Juichibi within me, it is my seal. The Heavenly Titan's Constraints Seal."

"... I don't think I have something like that though."

"I believe you do, but it isn't visible unless you circulate your chakra through your body."

Naruto hummed. "Why is your Bijuu so... Nice compared to the asshole mine is?"

Ryouken shrugged. "Probably because I show mine respect. It is a being far older than the Warring States Era before the Five Great Villages were founded, so I treat it like the oldest person I know. He has taught me a lot as long as I ask him."

"Wait... Him?"

Ryouken chuckled a bit. "I don't believe they have genders similar to us... But the Juichibi has asked I refer to it as a him whenever I can."

"Huh... Wonder what fuzzballs wants me to refer to it as."

"Probably not much of anything with that attitude." Ryouken said with an eyeroll. "Give it respect, trust me. It'll make things easier in the long run."

"What do you mean?"

"If you respect it, it'll start respecting you, obviously."

"Oh."

Ryouken inclined his head. "It won't happen immediately though, it'll take time and patience."

Naruto let out a heavy sigh. "Everything seems to require that."

"If it happens instantly, it isn't worth it. Power you achieve then goes to your head. When power goes to your head..." He looked away, his eyes unfocused. "Those who lose themselves to their darkness become far worse than any demon."

Naruto frowned in thought before nodding. "I think I understand."

Ryouken nodded slightly, his eyes focusing slightly on something before he looked away quickly and back to the blond. "So... How long have you been wearing that Restriction Seal?"

"What? How?"

"You heard me." Ryouken smirked. "But I happen to be a Fuinjutsu student."

"Four years... Since I was six."

Ryouken's eyes widened slightly. "Four years?"

"Yeah, my teacher and friend Shisui-nii offered it to me once he learned it in order to help my training. I don't really notice it being on to be honest."

The other boy shook his head. "Incredible..."

"And he also told me not to take it off except under extreme duress."

Ryouken hummed. "Despite having my own tenant who might or might not rival your own, I don't think even I could manage to keep a Restriction Seal on for that long and not remove it after a while."

"Shisui-nii is thinking of increasing the power again with how easy I move whenever we spar..."

Again, Ryouken's eyes widened. Further. "They would do that to you?"

"Eh, I wanted it. I reap the hole I dug for myself when I started my training with him. He's quite literally a slave driver when it comes to teaching, but I don't think he'd force me to do anything he wouldn't do to be honest."

Shisui sneezed, frowning as he shook his head. "Who is talking about me?" He wondered while rubbing under his mask to soothe the itchy nose he had gained.

"Something wrong Falcon?" Asked another ANBU as they were jumping through the trees, heading towards their next mission.

"No."

Naruto sat in his room, eyes closed and legs crossed under him as he focused on the Ram Seal and sunk back within his chakra network, and entered the Mindscape.

This time, he attempted to appear before the fox again, and opened his eyes to stare at the grimace the Kyuubi gave him.

"You again, what do you want now?" Kurama asked with disdain.

Naruto held up his hand, palm out, before curling his fingers until just his index remained up. "One chance, Kyuubi. Give me a chance to earn your respect."

The Kyuubi blinked, for once surprised beyond what it felt it experienced in its very very long life. "You... Want to earn my respect?" It asked with an offbeat tone.

Naruto sighed, nodding. "Yes... I would. And I would hopefully like to be respected by you. So please, tell me something so we can start."

The Kyuubi stared down at Naruto before shaking its head. "You need to understand something first. There was only one man I respected, and you do not match up to him." Naruto's face fell slightly. "However... I will admit that you have intrigued me. I want something out of this however."

"Name it."

"See that Sealing Tag on the cage door? Rip a corner off."

"Huh? Why would I do that?" Naruto backed up, eyes wide with fright.

Kurama growled, but kept the tone low and to itself. "Brat, I'm giving you this option to start earning my respect. By removing a small portion of the Seal, it will allow me access to your senses."

Naruto frowned slightly, his backing away slowing and then stopping. "That's it?"

"Yes. I desire access to your senses so that I can see through your eyes, hear what you hear. It has been a long time since I last saw the world."

Naruto hummed quietly. "I... Think I understand." He realized. "You don't know how long you've been here without that do you?"

The Kyuubi raised its head, glaring down at Naruto.

"Hey hey hey, I'm not being mean." Naruto quickly said, shaking his hands trying to placate the beast. "Man you're scary. I'm going to do it."

The Kyuubi watched as Naruto stepped up to the gate, the Seal on it taking the appearance of a large tag with the Eight Trigrams Style, and an Uzumaki spiral in the center. And taking a corner, Naruto started to slowly rip away one of the corners.

Once his task was done, Naruto stepped back and away from the cage to look up at the Kyuubi, who had closed his eyes as its ears stood up firmly on top of its head.

"I can hear it... Birds in the distance... Footsteps of someone in a nearby room to you. I can even smell..." The Kyuubi deadpanned to look at Naruto. "You need to take a long bath."

"Uh... Sorry?"

"Skip using any scented soap too. Those fragrances will get you detected." Turning around, the Kyuubi curled up and laid down into a ball of, admissibly massive, fluff. It waved several tails towards Naruto. "You may leave. I will call you back when I have another task for you."

After returning to full awareness, Naruto did as the Kyuubi asked and walked to the bathroom in order to shower like he was told to. Okay, I do kinda smell bed. Naruto realized, and even looking around he realized that his vision felt... Sharper. More details were noticeable, and he could hear the sounds of Itachi in another room as he prepared for bed. Did removing that portion of the Seal do something else?

Naruto then washed himself clean, and went to use the facilities. Afterwhich, he went back to his room to lay down and fall asleep.

(The Next Day)

Naruto sat in the back of Iruka's classroom, one of the first students to arrive, and began doodling in his journal around the edges containing the notes he wrote down from the day before. Looking at the time, he realized that he had about maybe ten minutes before class actually started so he began to Meditate, focusing his mind and concentrating on feeling the flow of his chakra, circulating it throughout with careful modulation. Through this, he became more in-tune with his chakra flow. Which was steadily helping his control, his biggest issue in using techniques that required precision chakra amounts in order to work properly. He noticed the orange mass near his stomach wasn't as unsettling to him, and even felt to shift with his attention focusing on it as his chakra pervaded that location.

"It is rude to pry." The deep voice of the Kyuubi resonated within Naruto's mind.

Naruto was then taken out of his meditation when a pair of fingers tapped his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he turned to look at Ryouken who nodded. "Oh, morning Ryouken-san."

"Just call me by my name Naruto." Ryouken stated evenly.

"Uh, sure."

Ryouken nodded again. "The rest of the class is almost here. Focus on being ready for sensei now." He stated, before taking his seat at the spot next to Naruto's right just as the red-headed girl Akane sat down on the opposite side.

"Hello." The girl smiled, holding her hand out to both boys to shake. "I'm Akane, nice to meet you both."

Naruto didn't hesitate and shook her head. "Hello, I'm Naruto."

"Ryouken." The other boy just shook the hand without preamble.

"I hope we can all be friends." The redhead said with a smile and closed eyes.

They then looked over as the door and Mizuki and Iruka filed into the room.

"Good morning class." Iruka said. "Alright, everyone open your books and prepare to take notes. We'll be talking about the reign of the Second Hokage today."

Alright guys, this is the end of the Chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. You can either leave a Review, or just spam my inbox again with Faves/Follows, both seem to be incredibly effective at getting me inspired to write more.

This time, I'm responding to Reviews near the end of the Chapter to bloat the Story even less. Before I put this Note, I had hit 9500 words which is three times the length of the previous Chapter. Holy crap I was inspired lol.

Anarion87: It is a nice Chapter, at least that is what my Story Statistics are telling me. Hopefully you are willing to Review this one and tell me what exactly you felt was great about it.

Novrier: Again, your Reviews are succinct and supple. They provide the feedback I look for, as I state in our PM's between each other.

Unwanted Writer: I hope you found this one just as interesting as the last three, so enjoy.

That covers the Reviews I received. Peace my friends.
~Veloran-Darkfyre

Edit: Fixed some minor errors with punctuation and spacing my first several rounds of editing missed.