Thank you minna-san! Why is Naruto wearing a mask? Actually, I don't even know why I made him wear one. I figured that because he's so cute that girls (and boys) chase him during his travels. But oh well, I'll figure out a reason for him to wear the mask. Don't worry. I just thought it would cool. I'm widely open to suggestions if you guys have any.
Kakashi will come later, so you just wait. Iruka is the closes thing to a family Naruto has, so I gave him more importance. But don't worry. Many Kakashi goodies coming up.
Enjoy!
WHY NOT 9If possible, Naruto's appetite only got bigger. Instead of his normal eight bowl consumption, he somehow managed to down twelve. While he ate, Naruto told Iruka the number of places he had been. He had gone to every village and every country but he spent the most time in the Country of Earth. He met so many people and children and had a wide knowledge on healing techniques.
"The reason I stayed in the Earth country was because I had ran in to this man who was dying on the road."
"A man?"
"Yeah." He nodded, setting his cup of tea down. While they walked around town, eyes turned to look at the rather attractive stranger. Naruto had not reacted to how the girls suddenly blushed when they looked at him. He told Iruka that he got thousands of those reactions in the past two years while he was traveling so he was pretty much used to it. Iruka merely felt his pride swell even more at witnessing Naruto all grown up. "He was the last member of a clan that had died twenty years ago from a plague that hit the city. His clan was called Shin."
"Shin?"
"Yeah." He nodded again. "That man's name was Kato Shin. His clan was the one of the oldest in the Earth country. Kinda' like the Hyuugas here. They're clan composed of mostly hunter-nins until they were wiped out by that plague. They were really good with healing and he taught me a lot in that area."
"What was their clan's ability?" Iruka asked, curious.
Naruto fell silent. "I'm sorry Iruka-sensei." He said, and pulled his shirt down to reveal a small mark, about one inch in size that resembled a maple leaf in a rather abstract way. "If I even let one word out –" He sighed and took a sip from his tea. "I'll drop dead. This mark is protection to the Shin's techniques. My heart will immediately stop beating and there's no reversing it."
Iruka gaped. It was horrible. Whatever the Shin techniques were, it must be very dangerous or otherwise they wouldn't go through such extremes to protect it. "And why do you have that mark?"
"Kato-san was ill in a way he could never produce children. He was already weak since he had survived that plague years ago and it left him scarred. I met him, helped him and stuff because I found him in the side of the road and I thought he was dead." He drained his cup of tea and asked for another cup. "But he wasn't so I helped him out. He was thankful and then we kinda' became close from there I guess. I don't know how it happened but I suddenly found myself living in his big house." A sad look graced Naruto's face. "He said he wanted the Shin clan to serve the face of the earth one more time. I told him how I never knew my parents and I've lived alone my whole life. That was when he decided to make me his successor. It was logical. He couldn't have kids and here was an orphan right in front of him who helped him. He trained me then, teaching me everything from the Shin techniques to various jutsus of the earth type. One day, on the second year, I found him dead in his bed. He got a stroke sometime in the middle of the night and did not call for help. He left me a note and told me to use the Shin techniques for good purposes only."
Iruka suddenly realized how little he knew of Naruto's capabilities now. Sure, four years ago, Naruto may have been a little predictable but now? He could probably kill anyone and they wouldn't even know what hit them. The fact that he was also a Jounin just ensured how strong he had truly become. "You must have become very strong then."
"You can say that." He said, and looked at Iruka-sensei. "Iruka-sensei, I'm still the same old Naruto. I just happen to know a lot more jutsus lately." Iruka blinked. "And I've grown a bit taller and my hair is longer, but I'm pretty much the same."
Iruka smiled. "Yeah." He patted his back. Naruto still loved orange and wore an orange shirt while his pants and jacket were black. "You're still you."
*
Naruto went home and took a shower. He was tired from his trip and really couldn't be bothered to dress in to his sleeping clothes. He jumped in to his bed, naked and all, and pulled the covers up.
"Nothing like a good night's sleep."
TBC