Chapter 3

"Hmmm" Naruto groaned. Today was the day he would start his Fuinjutsu training, he would also start some of his mindscape training with Kurama. Naruto slowly got out of bed, Bones cracking all the way.

He then walked to his living room. He sat down on the couch and cracked open 'Fuinjutsu level 1'. A few pages later Naruto was slowly understanding the basics of Fuinjutsu. One of the pages explained what Fuinjutsu really was.

It read, 'Fuinjutsu is a branch of the ninja arts that seals objects, chakra, and life forms with another variety of things' it went on to explain everything else that caused the sealing. Including chakra, sealing capability and what type of object or life form you could seal. After reading about 25% of the book Naruto decided to take a break. but it was only to get some supplies.

He decided to wear his regular t- shirt and orange jacket with a scarf to cover his face. He walked outside his apartment and looked up only to see an unfamiliar face. "Hello Naruto" said the Unknow'd voice. Naruto backed up slowly, only to fall to the ground after. "Hello ssir ccan iii help yyou?" Naruto said nervously. He slowly looked up at the man who was wearing a dog mask with shinobi gear on.

"Unfortunately, no but I do need to know where you are going if I am to escort you." Naruto looked at the man with confusion written all over his face. 'Escort?' he thought. "Oh, I see, I am Dog the Anbu dedicated to your protection Naruto" said the now dubbed Anbu 'Dog'. Naruto dusted off his jacket and smiled. "Can you do that thing?" Dog tilted his head slightly to the right "What thing?" he asked.

"You know the thing where you jump to places, almost like you are teleporting" Naruto said excitedly "Do you mean the Bodyflicker?" Dog asked, "Oh that what it is called, cool, can you do it?" Dog nodded his head a grabbed Naruto's shoulder, "Where do you want to go?" Naruto calmed down slightly and responded "The weapons shop" after that Dog jumped away with Naruto.

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They landed Infront of the Weapons shop and walked inside "Hello" Dog said as he greeted the shop owner. "What can I do for you today?" The shop owner asked. Naruto walked in front of Dog and mumbled, "Can I have 10 storage scrolls and 20 kunai?" The shop owner nodded his head and walked to the back to get Naruto's order.

"How will you pay for this Naruto?" Naruto turned around with a bit of a frown "I will have to use my monthly allowance to pay for it" Dog's face under his mask frowned, 'I apologize Minato-Sensei, that I cannot take care of your son' Dog thought as Naruto continued. "Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to eat for a while, but that's okay I've been through worse" Naruto was aware of what exactly he was saying. While it was true, he really did not want to go hungry for the next 19 days.

"How about I pay for it Naruto? as a gift" Naruto smiled. Though he did not like manipulating people, but desperate times call for more intense measures. "ok" Naruto said as the shop owner returned "Here are your weapons kid. I suppose you will be paying for them Anbu?"

"Yes, I will" Dog said as he handed him the money. Naruto walked up and took the supplies then, walked away with Dog. "Nice doin' business with Ya!" yelled the shop owner as Dog and Naruto Bodyflickerd away. 'That kid looked familiar. I wonder'

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They landed back at the apartment complex only to see an Anbu kneeling "Captain you have been summoned by lord Hokage" Dog turned to Naruto and gave him a quick wave and Bodyflickerd away to the Hokages office. "Well guess I should go and see Kurama" Naruto said as he walked inside his apartment.

He sat down on his couch and went into a lotus position, trying to find a way into his mindscape. After a few minutes of nothing Naruto tried something new. He tried breathing and calming himself. Which unsurprisingly worked, he was then forced into his stench less sewer of a mindscape.

"Hello Kurama, are you ready for our session?" Kurama's eyes flashed open as he stood up "Y-yeah just um... sit down and breath for 5 minutes" Naruto thought about it for a second only to shrug his shoulders and sit down.

5 minutes passed as Naruto's eyes fluttered open "Now what?" Naruto asked calmly "I should be asking you the same question, but anyway tell me about that Anbu guy"

Naruto's facial expression was confused "Did you not hear the conversations we had? Doesn't you living inside me mean we have the same senses?" Kurama thought for a second then remembered something the old sage told him. "Yes and no but eventually yes, I will gain the ability to hear your 'Conversations' " Naruto understood and decided to tell him about the Anbu that was chosen for his protection.

"The Anbu's code name was Dog; He is supposed to protect me from shinobi and villagers when I go out to run errands, He did do so when I went to go get the kunai and scrolls for my Fuinjutsu" Kurama chuckled "Naruto you know what they call people who walk around with kids that aren't theirs right?" Naruto gave him a perplexed look reminding Kurama of who he was talking to.

" Forget that anyway, you know you need chakra to use Fuinjutsu right?"

Naruto's sweat dropped. He felt so Idiotic, 'Oh my stupidity' he thought.

"Well, the kunai will be good for protection... I guess" Naruto said trying to change the topic at hand. "Your right but what about those scrolls Naruto? Will you just throw them out or let them collect dust for 1.5 years?" Kurama asked trying to see Naruto's thought process.

Naruto thought for a moment and considered the two options, "It would be a waste of money to throw them out, but there could also be a chance that there will be more advanced versions in the future. Both options have their ups and downs but in reality, I'd rather not spend more money, so option one is the best choice."

Kurama was in udder shock. That type of analysis was not something a 5-year-old should be able to come up with in such a short amount of time. 'Maybe he is more ready than I thought'.

"Well, Naruto it seems you are smarter than you let on. I guess I will have to intensify your training." Naruto gave him a fake smile while he liked the process of thinking, being fiercely trained by a tailed beast did not sound fun.

"Okay, but is there anything else for me to do in the meantime?" Kurama shook his head "No, not for now. When you leave your mindscape, you will be a bit fatigued. So come back and visit me in about a week, ok?" Naruto nodded his head as he attempted to exit his mindscape.

"The way you get in is the same way you get out Naruto" The fox said, recognizing his dilemma.

After calming himself Naruto exited his mindscape. As he opened his eyes, he felt dizzy. This effect lasted for the next 10 minutes, but to Naruto if felt like hours. "I guess I could read more about Fuinjutsu" Naruto thought out loud as got up and walked to his row of scrolls. 'I really need a shelf' he thought.

Naruto picked up the scroll as he opened it for the 2nd time today. 'Man, I will never get tired of this'

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Dog POV

As Dog Bodyflickerd away and landed in the Hokage's office kneeling. '"Orders Hokage-sama!?" Dog yelled.

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"Hai, Hokage-sama consider it done" Dog said as he Bodyflickerd to the Anbu HQ.

Dog landed inside and walked to his team's locker room. "Crow, Frog, Rooster, Tomoe, we have a spy mission in the Hidden Waterfall. Gear up!" Dog said as he entered. "What are the Mission details?" Tomoe asked. "I will tell while we are adjacent of the border." They all then walked out of their locker room and out of the Anbu HQ.

They Bodyflickerd over the village walls and started tree hoping, "Will you tell us the Mission details now?" Frog asked. "The Hidden Waterfall and the Waterfall country have been excepting rouge Shinobi and immigrant children. We suspect they are trying to remilitarize. So, our job is to spy on their Military and estimate their numbers."

Tomoe sighed, "Are they trying to start the Fourth Shinobi world war? The five great nations haven't even recovered from the last one yet!" Rooster decided to speak up. "Unfortunately, the world doesn't work around the great nations clock, which also means that smaller Ninja Villages will attempt to Liberate land they lost from previous wars"

Everyone took a moment to take in what they just heard. The outcome of this mission could dictate the outcome of the Fourth Shinobi war if it ever takes place. "Alright everybody, we are coming up on the border. Activate your Chakra Suppression Seals!" They all did as said from their captain.

The Anbu squad halted to a stop on tree branches ten yards away from the riverbank showcasing the border between the Land of Fire and the Waterfall country. "Let's discuss everybody's roll in this mission, Rooster and Tomoe, you both will act as Waterfall Shinobi and enter the Hero Water tree to gain Information about its powers." the two nodded in response.

"Frog and Crow, you will pose as civilians. Learn what their leader and council have been telling them about this mobilization" These two also nodded. "I myself will be in the village's Kage office to read their reports and estimate their military numbers." They all understood their jobs.

"If and when you see a white flag on top of a building go there immediately!". After Dog's orders they all waited for the signal, "Disperse!" he yelled and they all Bodyflickerd away.

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Frog/Crow POV

"Frog!" Frog whipped his head around and responded. "Yes?" He said elegantly. "Once we cross the village walls Activate your Transformation Jutsu" He gave her a thumbs up and kept tree hoping.

After Ten minutes of tree hoping the village walls were in sight. "Transformation Jutsu!" They yelled in unison. Both did it a bit early after seeing a guard. They then landed on the ground, appearing as two young teens with jet black hair. Frog was in his own game, He had on a basic black shirt with the Waterfall shinobi Insignia on the back and sky-blue shorts with black shinobi sandals.

Crow was a bit different, she had on a red and white longed sleeved shirt with black pants and black shinobi sandals. Both of them then walked down a singular path leading into the village. "State your business!" yelled a Waterfall guard. "We are here to visit our cousins from the Waterfall village" Crow stated calmly "Give me your shinobi card" Frog's sweat dropped 'Fuck' he thought.

Crow looked at the guard dead in the eyes and went through hand seals 'Dog Bird Tiger Ram' "Realm of Darkness" she whispered. Unfortunately, the guard was locked in eye contact with crow as she casted her Genjutsu.

The guard fell to the ground almost like a limp dead body. Both Frog and Crow Bodyflickerd away into the village. They landed behind a building hyperventilating a little bit.

"That was way to close" frog said as he rested his head on the building. Paper ruffled behind his head, he turned around and looked. 'The Great Expansion?' he thought. "Hey Crow, Look at this". She whipped her head around and read the poster. 'What!'

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Tomoe/Rooster POV (2-hour skip)

"What!" Yelled Rooster and Tomoe. "SSSHHH" The librarian hushed from the other side of the room. Tomoe had just found the secret of the Hero Water tree. 'This water can give a his or her chakra level a boost by 15%. But its drawback is that if your body is not properly trained you may die in an instance' The book read.

"They could make an army of quarter blood Uzumaki's!" Rooster whispered. "You are right, but it can only be accessed every 50 years so, the next time they could do it is in 14 years. It also only has 25 gallons which can only feed about 2500 Shinobi." Tomoe said calmly.

"But still, that's not a very long time and a lot of troops, so maybe we should suggest to Hokage-sama that we start a partial mobilization" Tomoe thought on Rooster's statement. But he only got two possible events that could transpire.

1: The other surrounding Villages do nothing and dismiss it. Giving the Leaf's Anti-war stance.

Or event 2: Where the smaller villages do take notice and band together to attack the leaf out of fear for their own lands.

Neither scenario is likely to end in total peace, but maybe if the most powerful nation (Hidden leaf) was to have a No-war stance then maybe it could enforce that mindset.

"Alright I agree with you, BUT if we are to do this mobilization, we should keep it under the dirt we don't need to start the 4th great war" Rooster nodded her head in agreement. "We should probably get going it's been a few hours now" Rooster suggested "right let's go" Tomoe agreed.

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Dog POV

Dog huffed as he knocked out the Takikage. It was a bit of a scare to see him in the Kage's war room. Dog then walked over his unconscious body and shuffled through the files on his desk and read.

'Remilitarization goals' it said at the top of the paper.

'1: Make an army of Ten Thousand Shinobi

2: Make an alliance with the Land of Earth and the Stone village

3: Attack the Land of Fire

4: Turn on the Stone village and use the Hero Water while doing so'

'Well, this is concerning. I will go and put up the white flag' After he was done sealing the documents, he walked out of the office and Bodyflickerd on top of a random building and set up a white flag.

'There it is' thought both the other groups. They all Bodyflickerd on top of the designated building and kneeled Infront of Dog. "Mission complete captain!" They all said in unison. "Good, we have been here long enough" with that they Bodyflickerd out of the village.

The Anbu squad then started tree hoping. "Anything small to report?" Dog asked. "Yeah, those people are brainwashed. They think we are waiting for the right chance to invade them" Frog stated quickly. "Also, that Hero Water stuff that they have is very powerful" Rooster added in.

"For now, keep the rest of that Infromation to yourselves and then when we get back to the Hidden Leaf write a mission report to the Hokage. Understood?" "Yes captain!" they said together.

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Back at the Hidden leaf

"All of you go back to your lockers at Anbu HQ. I need to hand some documents to the Hokage" They all Bodyflickerd off as Dog walked into the Hokage Tower. When he reached the entrance to the Hokage's office he knocked. "Enter!" yelled Hiruzen.

Dog walked in. "I assume the Mission was a success?" Dog nodded as he handed him the documents. "The individual reports will come in next week, but these are just as important" Hiruzen eyes widened as looked at the documents. "You are dismissed Dog"

Dog walked out of the office and into the open. 'Time to go check on Naruto' He thought.

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Naruto's apartment 1 week later

The past week had gone surprisingly good for Naruto. He had already finished Fuinjutsu 1 and 2. (as far as studying was concerned) He had also learned that he could work on Taijutsu in his mindscape. Naruto saw his Anbu friend again a few days ago when he went to purchase food.

But the most important thing of all was that he was going to the academy in a year. He would get to finally make friends for the first time in his life. (No offence to Kurama)

Today was a free day for Naruto as per Kurama earlier that Morning.

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Flashback

"Yeah, just do what you want for today, Naruto, you deserve it"

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Naruto smiled fondly at the memory. But he had different plans for today. Naruto would finally go to the training grounds and ask his Anbu guard to teach him something. He got up off his couch and went to his mini coatrack and picked up his orange jacket and his scarf.

The temperature outside of his apartment had dropped significantly over the past week. It was to the point where he had to wear his scarf for health reasons not just to cover his face from the public.

Naruto walked outside just in time to feel a bit of a warm breeze.

"Hello Naruto," Dog said out of nowhere.

Naruto looked at him and sighed, "You really have to stop that. it freaks me out" Dog chuckled. "It makes me laugh why would I stop?" Naruto gave him 'the look' and Dog chuckled again. "Where do you want to go?" Naruto smiled, "The training grounds" He responded. Dog grabbed his shoulder and Bodyflickerd to training ground 7.

They both landed in the center of the training ground. Naruto turned to look at Dog and spoke, "Can you teach me something?" Dog looked at him and reminisced 'He is exactly like you' he thought. "Yes, I can I think you will get it easily too." Dog said as walked over to a pile of dirt 10 yards away.

"Naruto! I want you to face the opposite direction I am and then close your eyes tell me what you feel!" Dog projected. "Okay!" Naruto said. Naruto turned the opposite direction and closed his eyes. He started to feel a warm sensation of chakra, though he had no chakra Naruto was always able to feel it.

"It feels warm!" Naruto yelled to Dog. Dog smiled in response, "Now try to reach out almost like you are trying to pet a dog!" Dog laughed at his own pun. Naruto rolled his eyes as he reached out with his senses. Naruto felt a dormant chakra just waiting to be activated.

This signature was depressed and anxious. It was also only 107 yards away from their current location. Naruto swiftly got up and started running towards the location. Dog took notice of this and stayed behind Naruto from a distance. Naruto was going as fast as his tiny legs could get him.

After 5 minutes Naruto finally reached the location. He looked around for a few seconds before spotting a raven-haired boy. "Hello" Naruto said to the boy. "What's your name?" The boy lifted his head up from its previous position (in his hands) and said, "Sasuke" a bit nervously. "What's yours?" Sasuke asked "Naruto" he said with a smile.

"Is everything okay?" Naruto asked. "No not really, because every time I ask my older brother Itachi to train, he says no so I have no one to train with" Naruto put his hand on his chin a thought for a moment. "You could train with me; I don't really have anyone to train with either".

Sasuke's eyes fluttered up looking at Naruto with a gleaming smile. "Really?" Naruto nodded his head, "Yep, come on I'll show you my training grounds" Naruto said as he offered Sasuke his hand. Sasuke grabbed it and got up. He then started running with Naruto to training ground 7.

After 5 minutes they reached the training ground. "What is it that you train with?" Naruto asked trying to find something to do. "Usually, kunai and shuriken but I only have shuriken."

Naruto's face lit up. He hadn't trained with kunai or shuriken all that much, only because he was severely lacking in those products. "Well, if you go to your house to get the shuriken, I'll go to my apartment to get my kunai" Naruto suggested. "Yeah sure!" Sasuke said.

They both ran their separate ways.

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Sasuke POV

"MOM!" Mikoto turned around, "Yes Sasuke?" Sasuke ran into the kitchen. "Did you move my shuriken?" Sasuke gave her a perplexed look. "Yes, I did. They were in the middle of the floor, so I moved them to the backyard." Sasuke had a tint of red in his cheeks. "Sorry, Mom I'll do better!". Sasuke said as he started running for the back door.

Mikoto grabbed the back of Sasuke's collar and pulled him back, "So, where do you think you're going?" Sasuke turned his head in a very slow manner, "To hang out with my friend" he said nervously. "What's your friends name?" Mikoto asked quickly. "Naruto" Sasuke said.

Mikoto Instantly dropped Sasuke and smiled. "Go ahead Sasuke I just wanted to know" she said. Sasuke bolted to the backyard and back to the front door. "Bye MOM!" he yelled, as he ran back to the training ground. 'Oh, kushina I miss you'

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Naruto POV

Naruto busted through the front door of his apartment and yelled, "I'm home!" no one responded. His facial expression turned into a frown as he remembered that he lived with nobody. Naruto walked over to his room and looked under his bed. He looked for a moment before spotting his kunai.

He grabbed them and ran out of his room and into the living room, then out the front door. He waved at the air "Bye-" Naruto froze for a second. He then he ran out of the apartment. Naruto had a single tear forming in his right eye.

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Both Naruto and Sasuke ran on the training ground at the same exact time. "Hey Sasuke" Naruto said. Sasuke waved in response. "Do you have the shuriken?" Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, there in my pocket" He took them out of his pocket as he threw one at a tree log 10 feet away. He missed and hit the grass.

Naruto stuck out his hand "Can I try?". Sasuke handed him one, "Here" he said. Naruto pinched it between his two fingers he then threw it at the long and hit it right in the heart. "Yes!" Naruto celebrated.

"How did you do that?" Naruto looked at Sasuke and raised one eyebrow. "You are from the Uchiha clan, right?" Sasuke nodded "Do you have the Sharingan?" Sasuke shook his head, "No, not yet". Naruto wanted to explain it in a scientific way, but his vocabulary was not big enough for that.

"I guess it's just form and rotation" Naruto said simply. Sasuke nodded as he tried again, this time hitting the log in the crotch. Sasuke raised his fist in celebration. "Nice now let's keep trying..."

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2-hour skip

Both Naruto and Sasuke were on the ground, exhausted. "I beat you, Sasuke! you had 15/30 with the shuriken while I had 25/30." Sasuke groaned "Whatever at least I beat you in Kunai throwing right?" Naruto shook his head on the grass "Nope you lost in that too"

Sasuke groaned again, "I gonna go home Naruto I'm beat" Sasuke said as he slowly got up. "Okay, Seeya!" Naruto said as he laid his head back on the ground. Sasuke drifted off into the distance as Dog appeared. "Hey Naru-" Naruto socked him in the gut before he could finish. "I just told you to stop doing that" Naruto said calmly as Dog fell on his back. 'Just... like... Kushina'


Ok! Thats the end of that struggle. I know a lot of stuff happened in this chapter, but I have to prepare for the future cuz' it's gonna be good. And if you're wondering: Yes, I will be making drastic changes to the '4th Great Ninja War'. In my opinion, I think that Obito should have been smarter with his 'War plan'.

But anyway, that's all from me please review and I will see you next chapter. Adios!