Author's Notes: Italics are still thoughts, anything in side brackets [ ] are Naruto's flashbacks.
"Well," started Kakashi, "Since it seems like our teamwork has gone down the drain, we need to work to improve it." Reaching into his pouch, he produced a bell dangling from a thin cord which he then attached to his belt.
"Kakashi-sensei, we already know what the purpose of the bell exercise is for," remarked Sakura.
"That's why there's only one bell," the instructor replied with a smile, "I won't go easy like I did last time, so you guys will definitely have to work together to get the bell off of me." With this last statement complete, he pulled out his favorite book and started walking away.
While Sakura maintained a bewildered expression of confusion, Sasuke stared at his sensei a calm set of eyes, as if he expected this new exercise. Naruto, on the other hand, looked plainly like he did not care, and this whole exercise was a waste of his time. Still, an exercise was an exercise, and if he wanted to resume his own training, he would need to complete this one.
"Realistically, I think the only way to stand a chance would be if we all attacked him at once in a coordinated manner," Sasuke mused out loud.
Naruto snickered at that, "Don't you remember the Wave country?" he asked.
"Yea," replied Sasuke, irked at his partner's obvious contempt.
"Jounins, at that level, don't fight each other directly." At the Uchiha's quizzical look, Naruto continued as if lecturing, "Most prefer to remain hidden and use clones instead of themselves."
"Yea, but we haven't seen Kakashi-sensei do any jutsus yet," said Sakura.
"Heh, I doubt he even needs to do the seal, he's probably hiding in the bushes right now."
Casting a glance in his sensei's direction, Naruto saw him calmly leaning against one of the three wooden poles reading his book. "I'll show you what I mean," he added.
With his hands in his pockets, the blonde genin calmly strolled over to the area with the three poles. The gentle breeze that wafted over the training grounds definitely put meaning to the expression 'calm before the storm.' The memory of his genin exam flashed through his mind for a second – hanging upside down from a tree was definitely not something he wanted to experience again. "Damn, this is going to take a long time," he muttered to himself with a sigh.
From his peripheral vision, Kakashi could tell his student had stopped a short distance away from him. He could also tell that the boy had assumed a fighting stance, but he could not clearly see from his angle. "Looks like they're getting started," he thought to himself with a chuckle.
"So you've already noticed that it's a clone?" rumbled the demon deep within the bowels of Naruto's mind.
"Isn't it obvious?" was the response.
"I'm glad to see your training wasn't a waste," the demon replied softly.
As he was taught, Naruto positioned his feet slightly more than shoulder-length apart – left leg forward. Bringing up his arms, right hand pointing down, left palm pointed towards Kakashi, he slowly exhaled the remaining air in his lungs.
[ "This stance provides you with both offensive and defensive capabilities," the Nine-tails lectured, "Even weight distribution means you aren't restricted to either one. Downwards palm is for attack, and the upwards palm is for defense."
Meanwhile, Naruto precariously maintained his balance on two of his fingers high in a tree. He did not have to bother too much with maintaining his balance; both his fingers and his control were greatly improved. While the demon lectured, he calmly listened, taking in every detail. ]
"It's now or never," he thought to himself. Racing towards his own sensei, Naruto seized the initiative and launched his first attack. Using two fingers, he thrust them at Kakashi aiming for a pressure point on his side. As he had expected, though, the jounin was quick to sidestep.
In a fluid motion, Kakashi grabbed his student's hand and meant to smash it into the pole he was leaning on. "Fool," snickered Naruto to himself. With his other hand, Naruto stabbed his instructor's wrist, forcing him to let go. In a flash, he was inside his guard and had struck pressure points on either arm.
Sasuke observed from a distance, shocked as Naruto reached back and thrust his open palm forward, transforming his sensei into a puff of smoke.
"Geez, how did he see through that?" Sakura wondered outloud.
"Blind luck," was the jealous response. Clearly, Sasuke was still gripping with the fact that his teammate had long surpassed him. Ever since the Forest of Death, Naruto's strength and skill were drastically different.
"Damn, I still don't know where he's hiding," muttered the blonde genin.
"He's probably using genjutsu to hide in the bushes," growled Kyubi.
Upon the demon's advice, Naruto clasped his hands together and began concentrating on the chakra sources in the area. He could clearly feel his teammates a little ways off, and he thought he sensed something to his right, but that could not be it. It was too obvious for it to be his sensei. "He's sneaky," he thought to himself, "Setting up an extra illusion like that to throw me off."
"Did he already find me?" wondered Kakashi to himself. He could see Naruto unclasp his hands after his bout of extreme concentration. Through the leaves, he observed the genin take out a kunai and scan around his location. He did not like the way his exercise had started out. Even though it was still early, so far Naruto was the only one doing anything while Sasuke and Sakura stood around.
Suddenly, Naruto quickly whirled around towards his hiding spot and threw a kunai in his direction. "Just a kunai? Don't tell me that's all you got?"
"Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he heard Naruto shout and the single kunai turned into thirty, all heading straight at him.
"I won't be able to dodge them all; I need to get out of here."
Scrambling from his hiding place, Kakashi was barely in time as the kunais rained down into the bush he was hiding in. "With all the racket I'm making, they've probably spotted me now. I can't believe he saw through both my clone and my illusion."
"What the…is that Kakashi-sensei in the bushes over there?" asked Sakura in wonder.
"You're right," boggled her teammate, "I can't believe Naruto found him so fast.'
"Shouldn't we go and do something?"
Staring off into space, Sasuke paused for a moment, "Yea, follow me."
"Geez, what are those idiots doing?" grumbled the blonde genin as his teammates moved to intercept their instructor. "They're just going to get in my way."
"Well, you know they won't stand a chance," stated the demon.
"Yea, but their useless efforts are annoying."
"Good," the demon projected with a mental smile, "You know what to do."
[ "I don't understand why you keep telling me to give into my anger," Naruto announced, "Shinobis are supposed to keep their emotions in check; You of all people should know that."
"Only a fool would reject his emotions as a fuel for strength," Kyubi replied, "And there is much hate in you. I can sense it."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Boy, it is my fault that you are hated so. It is only right for me to rectify the situation as best I can."
"If I give in too much I might lose control and do something I might regret."
"Your body is a strong enough vessel now, there should be no fear of that. Besides, there is nothing that you would do to these people that you should regret. They are the ones that treat you lower than dirt." ]
Naruto watched in silence as Kakashi took care of his teammates. Although on one side, he knew he should go and join in, but the other side of him did not even want to lift a finger for these people. It was almost comical to watch the other genins try to attack their sensei, only to be blocked and pushed back. "They really don't stand a chance," he thought to himself, "And most likely, even I am still not strong enough."
"I wonder why Naruto hasn't joined in yet," pondered the jounin, "Maybe, he's going to ambush me…Nope, there he is now." To say that Naruto was hurrying would not have been accurate. He was not moving as fast as somebody whose teammates were being attacked, but it was not the same leisurely pace as before.
"Naruto, why aren't you attacking with your teammates?"
"Because," and then he paused, "They will only get in my way."
"Sheesh, that's totally not like him," Kakashi thought to himself, "He's changed in the past weeks." "You're completely missing the point of the exercise with that attitude," he said aloud.
"You and I both know teamwork doesn't matter in this setting."
"Pff, he's right too. The only way they'd get the bell is if I was unconscious, or unable to move."
"Teams are such a hassle," continued the genin, "I can work much better if I'm not concerned with such burdens."
Kakashi smirked at that last statement. "Big words coming from the Dead-last graduate of the Academy," he said with a slight snicker. "Odd, he's not reacting to that."
"Not yet," cautioned the demon, "Do not give in just yet." On the outside he was calm and collected, but on the inside, Naruto was about ready to burst. Who did he think he was, insulting him openly like that?
"Well, this banter is useless. If you're going to do something, then do it." "Hrm, he's not using that weird stance from before – he's going to use ninjutsu."
"Let's get wild then," retorted the genin with a smirk and launched his hands into a series of seals. "Katon: Ryuuken Endan no Jutsu!" With his hands cupped to his mouth, two giant streams of flames flew out and circled around the jounin. There was no time to dodge and the fire erupted onto Kakashi in a yellow-orange lightshow.
Naruto's smirk was quickly erased when a kunai was pressed to his neck.
"Not a bad technique for a genin, but not enough for me," said Kakashi nonchalantly, "If you were using teamwork, I wouldn't be pressing this kunai to your neck."
"Hehe, you seem so sure of yourself. Maybe you should use your Sharingan," replied Naruto as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Geez, his jutsu speed is as fast as mine. This could get dirty." Kakashi had no more time to think as he felt two fingers pressed hard against the small of his back. "Well, I'll admit you've gotten faster."
"From here, I have no less than twenty-one attack options open to me," stated Naruto in a taunting voice, "What are you going to do now, sensei?"
"Simple," was the reply. In another puff of smoke, the image of his instructor was replaced by that of a log. Although, that move was not surprising coming from the student of the Fourth Hokage. What surprised him, though, was hearing his voice on his right side: "Even without my Sharingan I was able to copy your skill…Katon: Ryuuken Endan no Jutsu!"
"Crap, I won't have time to dodge," muttered Naruto in frustration, "I'm going to have to counter it." There was no time to think; the twin flame spirals were closing fast. No time to decide what jutsu to perform. Instinct grabbed a hold of his reactions and his hands moved seemingly by themselves.
"The Bird seal?" wondered Kakashi, "He really has grown tremendously to be able to perform water types when there is no water around."
"Suiton: Suiheki Sou no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out just in time. Before the flames could close in on him, two small walls of water appeared on either side of him, successfully countering a skill that he himself created.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were following the battle while clutching their (minor) wounds. "I don't believe it," repeated Sakura yet again, "This is like watching two jounins go at it. The ninjutsu level is incredible."
"I can't believe he can do earth, water, and fire types," muttered Sasuke. "His improvement just isn't human." "Naruto, I have to admit that I am jealous of you. Just how far have you come?"
"Well, I'll admit that's pretty impressive of you," said Kakashi in his usual voice, "But this is getting tiresome so I won't go easy anymore."
"Is that so?" replied the blonde genin, "Well, I shouldn't either," he finished with a dark grin.
"He's been holding back too? Just what happened during that week he went missing?"
Author's Notes:
Katon: Ryuuken Endan no Jutsu should translate to something like "Fire type: Dragon Fist Blast."
Suiton: Suiheki Sou no Jutsu should be "Water type: Double Water Wall," I think. My syntax is probably wrong and I'm probably using the wrong word, but I don't know Japanese. So if you see a mistake, or have a better suggestion be sure to tell me so I can correct it.
I will answer a few questions that arised in the reviews I received. One was a concern that I would make Naruto too powerful. My reasoning behind this development is that he has a 1000 year old demon sealed inside of him (from my limited knowledge of Japanese folkore, apparently demon foxes receive their ninth tail after one thousand years). I figure, Naruto should be way more powerful than he is in the anime/manga.
Another question was why Naruto seemed so willing to kill the Cloud ninja. Well, he didn't really want to kill him at first, but he doesn't know just how powerful the Rasengan really is. The only reason it didn't kill Kabuto was because Kabuto had already started healing himself. So he didn't really expect to kill the Cloud ninja, but now he's killed, and it kind of changed him.
Concerning dialogue with other characters, well, I'm still finishing the establishment of the Naruto/Kyubi relationship (should take another chapter). Once that's done, there will be more dialogue with other characters, I promise. And yes, I will introduce the main conflict soon. If things go well (but they never do when you write a story), I will add in the "real" romance in two or three chapters.
And now, a little background on Naruto's new taijutsu style. As I not-so-subtly-hinted in previous chapters, it is somewhat related to the Hyuga style. Masashi Kishimoto based the Hyuga style on Pa Qua Chang (Chinese for Eight Trigram Palm). It's a complex martial art based on the principles of the Yin and Yang and open fist palm movements. The trigram contains eight elements, each balancing out each other.
Now, Naruto's stance (even weight distribution, palm up, and other palm down) I took from a specific Kung-fu style which I don't even know the name of. Basically, the reason I emphasized finger strength was because even in real life, you can deal powerful attacks with just two fingers (my karate sensei was fond of using me as an example for the class).