Naruto woke up that morning on a not-so-comfy couch, his back aching from it. His eyes slowly opened to find Sensei right in front of him, poking him with a spatula. "Rise and shine, don't go sleeping in today, we got work to do. I'm making some breakfast right now, so get up and get changed." The old man proceeded to return to cooking, the pan sizzling. Naruto sat up and groaned, eventually going outside and freshening up by a stream he found. He came back inside and found the horrific concoction layed before him. It looked like a hardly cooked worm the size of the plate itself.
"Ya don't like sandworm kid, I know I cook it in my own style, but these things are delicious!" He proved it by biting into it and beginning to eat, Naruto following suite. It was absolutely delicious, despite its looks. The old man laughed as he ate, watching Naruto devour the whole plate in no time. "Hey, old man-" he started to say as a spoon was flung at him. "Call me Yamamoto Sensei, I don't need to be reminded I'm old." Naruto nodded and the two continued to eat until Yamamoto brought him outside.
"Alright kid, this training will be tough, and I won't reveal some of the worse parts that might have ya running for the hills, but we'll do some basics. Ya need to train more than just your scorch, because ya can't rely on just one thing. So imma have you run 10 laps around the ravine in the ground." Naruto nodded then eeked in surprise as the old man jumped up and sat on his shoulders, making Naruto's knees almost buckle. "And you'll do it while carrying me, I don't feel like going for a walk today."
Naruto was about to remark, but shut his mouth and sighed as he started to run. Occasionally, when he would slow down, Yamamoto Sensei would chuck a rock or branch at him to keep him moving.
"Good, ya see that heavy boulder down there." He pointed to the bottom of the ravine. "Ya job is to move it to the other side of the ravine. Watch out for any sand scorpions or sandworms, those things can bite hard." Naruto paled at the thought of another sand scorpion and went down cautiously. When he tried to push the boulder, it barely budged and Naruto sighed again. Screams of effort and training were heard from the ravine below, as Yamamoto watched from the top perched on a rock. At random times, he would fire down little suns to light up the darker parts for Naruto. At around noon, Naruto finished his task and ran back up the canyon wall to see Yamamoto.
"Congrats, kid, you're pretty strong already, make this a little easier. Alright, now come onto the edge of this cliff here and sit down." He motioned for a spot next to him. Naruto obeyed and both were staring off the edge of the cliff. "We're going to meditate right now." He looked over to see Naruto frowning, the kid was super antsy so he knew it wouldn't entice him. "Of course, normal meditation is good, but this is even better. I want to you channel your scorch release chakra around you, like a field of it. However, if it gets to hot and burns me, I'll raise the temperature of mine and burn ya back, alright." Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He began to imagine the familiar scorch chakra, the mixing of fire and wind, as it flowed through his chakra points like a gust of wind.
Naruto began to channel it in a field around him, the air shimmering slightly from the heat increase. He felt the chakra trying to expand and destroy, but he contained it. It felt like a constant battle for dominance, like trying to hold close a bursting dam of water. After two hours, he felt a rock hit his head, making him stop. Naruto yelped as he rubbed his head, "What was that for, ol-Yamamato Sensei!?" "Eh, because it was too hot to touch you and I managed to find a good rock for throwing at ya." He laughed as he walked inside. Naruto followed behind him quickly.
"Ya did pretty good for a brat your age, but your heat was so strong that I couldn't get my heat to burn ya. You need to control the temperature. Scorch is a mixing of fire and wind, so simply just add less fuel to the furnace and it will be better. Once ya get this down, I'll help ya learn how to do a jutsu." Naruto listened to the feedback and nodded, then got giddy at learning another scorch release jutsu. He already knew two, who knows how many he could make by the time he was an adult. Naruto ate dinner with a smile on his face, him already looking forward to the coming years.
After a month of training, Yamamoto began to see the improvement in Naruto and decided to unleash one of his most brutal training methods. "Alright kid, listen up. I got a new training exercise for ya. Though this one is the hardest one yet." Naruto walked over and sat down next to Yamamoto, the sun rising behind them. "Now kid, if ya don't want to do this one now, I understand, but I am suggesting it because I think ya ready. This exercise will train your body to be more durable and used to the effects of heat, meaning ya skin will be tougher than an elephant if ya do it right." Naruto nodded at this, curious on how you could achieve this. "I have a pot behind me here and you're going to jump inside. When inside, I will begin to boil the water. Your goal is to stay in here for longer and longer periods of time until it feels just like a warm bath. Got it?" Naruto began to pale, actually worried.
Yamamoto came next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Listen, Naruto, you can do this. I would never request you do something I didn't think you could pull off. Besides, I'll be right next to you if ya need anything. So don't worry." Naruto nodded and hardened his resolve as he walked inside the pot. He found a chair tied to the bottom and sat in it as the pot filled with water, courtesy of a small water jutsu. Then, the water began to heat up.
At first, it didn't feel that bad, actually pretty cozy. But after a minute, when bubbles started to rise, he felt like he was in literal hell. Naruto held his mouth shut to not scream from the pain, but he endured. His fists and feet were clenched as tight as they could, but the water only got hotter. After a few minutes of boiling, Naruto jumped out. Yamamoto quickly used a water jutsu to spray Naruto a bit, making the boy stop running around.
"Kid, calm down, you're alright. Good going there, you lasted 3 minutes at full temperature. Though by the end of the year we can make that indefinite. Good thing about this training is that you don't gotta do much of it for it to take effect. Only 20 or 30 more times and you should be smooth sailing.
Naruto looked up and nodded, a weak smile plaguing his face as he passed out into Yamamoto's arms. The old man picked him up and carried him back smiling. With the tremendous progress already, he knew that Naruto would be there in no time flat. He set Naruto down on the couch and went back to cooking some food for himself.
And so, training began to pick up. Naruto found out that his sensei, Yamamoto, had training that could kill jonin from intensity. He said that he learned it from his parents and that he was trained that way, but Naruto couldn't believe that it was possible. Heck, the old man said that the training would get harder and harder. Naruto was excited yet horrified whenever the training was kicked up. For endurance, he had to emit a constant stream of chakra behind him when he ran, which would use up chakra and physical stamina. He did this all with Yamamoto on top of him. For strength, Naruto had to walk up the canyon walls carrying the boulder from below. He had a chain tied around his waist and would walk up and down. He also had to lift the boulder at the bottom of the ravine up and down for arms. For speed, Yamamoto would send gusts of high pressure wind and make Naruto run at full speed to keep up with them. Of course, the winds were laced with scorch making it even harder. And for durability, he had to sit in the pot, but he mastered that exercise. And finally, Naruto learned the two jutsu.
Flashback
Naruto sat on top of the same stone he and Yamomoto Sensei used for meditating, but they weren't doing anything of the sort. Instead, Naruto was concentrating. "Good, Naruto. Now put you hands in the sun hand seal and mold the chakra above you." Naruto put his hands in a circle with two fingers spiked out, making a sun-like hand sign. Above Naruto, the air began to heat up and simmer, until a flaming sun formed above Naruto, lighting up the area. Naruto opened his eyes and looked in wonder at the sun. "Because of the pot training, this shouldn't hurt you at all, so you can touch it. You can control it's every movement with only a thought, as the chakra is still linked to you. This is scorch release: One Fiery Eye!" Yamomoto put his hands in a grand gesture around the ball, making it seem all the more important. Naruto began to move the ball around, swinging it around his arms like a yo-yo and making it do circles above him. Eventually, the ball flew at the tree and destroyed it, making its remains nothing but ash. Yamomoto began to cough, but excused himself and went to the bathroom. "Practice this for a bit, I'll be right back."
Inside the bathroom, Yamomoto removed his hand to reveal blood dripping from his mouth, his teeth stained in the liquid. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin looked pale. "Heh, I guess my body is giving out. Poor boy won't see me live past another week. It's alright, he carries my will and will do great things."
Flashback end
Naruto woke up from the couch, stretching his arms and groaning. That same couch never became more comfortable the more he slept on it. And he didn't smell breakfast either, maybe Yamamoto is somewhere else right now. Naruto walked into the kitchen, and saw no one. He checked in the bedroom to see Yamomoto sleeping. "A bit weird for him to be sleeping at this hour." Naruto walked up to his bed and shook him, but he didn't move. Naruto did it a bit harder, but no result. He turned the light on and saw a small stream of blood leaking from his mouth. Naruto panicked and shook him violently, but no movement. He tried to feel for a pulse, but he got nothing. Tears started to pour from his eyes as he kept shaking.
"Oi, Yamomoto Sensei, you're bleeding. Wake up! Please. Wake up!" His cries got louder as reality slowly set in. Naruto's knees gave out as the sadness enveloped him. He kept shaking Yamomoto, but it was getting weaker and weaker. Naruto's tears began to flow quickly, unable to contain it. Why did Yamomoto Sensei have to die? Sure he was old, but he wasn't that old. He was moving around fine a month ago, why? Damn it! Naruto slammed his head on the bed and banged his fist up and down, trying to deny reality, but he couldn't. It wasn't some cruel trick, Yamomoto Sensei had really died.
Flashback
Naruto was carrying the boulder, uneasily at that. It was a big boulder, weighing almost 1000 pounds, light for a boulder. Naruto's foot patterns were shaky as he tried to manage the humungous object on his back. Then, he lost footing and saw the boulder fall down. He looked up in horror, but then he felt an arm tug him away. The boulder fell down harmlessly, only cracking a bit. "Jeez kid, at least warn me before you decide to get yourself crushed. Don't want ya to be a paste on the ground, do we." Naruto chucked a bit and leaned on Yamamoto as he carried him up the mountain. "He-He, thanks old man!" Yamomoto playfully bonked his head with his fist, getting more laughs from Naruto and Yamomoto himself.
Flashback end
Naruto knew him since he was 10, now he was 14, the year he would have graduated. Life, however, threw him into a weird twist of events and he ended up here. Naruto now stood on a marked gravestone with shriveling flowers in his hands. He grave was opened up and revealed Yamomoto's body, lifeless. Tears leaked from Naruto, but he held it together. "You were a great sensei, but an even better dad. You are the man I want to be, and hope I can even get close to. Hopefully, I can see you when I pass on again. May your soul find piece, and may your body be burned by the very thing it used." Naruto used scorch release to burn the body, the ashes fluttering off into the wind. Naruto stopped crying and filled in the grave to trap the remaining ashes inside.
After the funeral, Naruto cleans the house and gathers his few belongings. Naruto now wore a black and tan jacket with black sweatpants and black boots, and a facemask to hide his mouth from the wind. His blonde hair was a bit shorter, but still swayed in the wind and his eyes were a hardened blue. Naruto put his items in a scroll and put it in his pocket and left. The only remains of the kind old man was the scraggy house he lived in. Now, Naruto set out to adventure more around the world and help more people, but his goal remained unwavered, to become the strongest Shinobi. And his adventure would now lead him to one of the most formidible nations alive, the Land of Earth.
...
Alright, that concludes this chapter. Let me know how it was, I am not used to writing emotional attachments and the sort. Leave me suggestions in the review because I love to hear them and have a good rest of your day.