Strength of Fist and Heart
by Darklion74

A/N: I apologize for the delay in the making of this chapter, but I had a plan for the next few chapters which I had to scrap and redo the chapter from almost the beginning. I hope this chapter meets everyone's desires. I know it's not as long as many would like, but it is one of the longer chapters thus far.

Disclaimer in Chapter One.

Chapter Six
Lessons from the Toad Sannin

Uchiha Itachi, former ANBU Captain of the leaf, super-genius of the Uchiha Clan, slayer of the entire Uchiha Clan, pondered what he saw has he let his Sharingan go. Both Sannin who had been at relative odds with one another become reluctant allies. He sensed this could be rather troubling for what he and Kisame were assigned to do.

Kisame was twitching slightly, as the shark-man never liked to wait for fresh meat smiled lightly as Itachi's Sharingan receded. "So, what is it, Itachi? Who won?"

"Nobody one, but that kid may have taken out Gamabunta for a very long time. I couldn't even attempt to copy that jutsu that he used. I never knew he had a bloodline limit. No, it's not even that. From what it looked like, nobody with only human chakra could even attempt that jutsu."

Kisame blinked. "Damn! That's a big problem!"

Itachi nodded. "It could be a problem, yes, but we cannot strike now, not against two Sannin, nor against this unknown factor no matter how weakened they may be. This will bear watching to see how we can benefit from this. For now, let's withdraw."

In as quick as a blink both Akatsuki members vanished.

Jiraya sighed as he glanced at the young blonde in front of him, sleeping in his bed. Such an innocent face, such an innocent, period. Untainted except for a bit of the sarcasm given him by Tsunade, something he would have to change sometime. A boy needs to enjoy his childhood, whatever is left of it. Even he, the great Toad Sannin, enjoyed his childhood, as perilous as the life of a shinobi youth was. His battle began with the leaf, and hopefully he can have a normal life back within the leaf.

Jiraya had made his silent vow. These boys needed a somewhat normal life, as much as he determined what a normal life was. He had to pass down the legacy he gave to the fourth, and what the fourth gave to the promising Hakate Kakashi. A legacy of genius, a legacy of greatness, a legacy of skill...

A legacy of legendary supreme perversion! No set of worthy "T" nor "A" ever escaped his watchful sight! This was something he HAD to teach these boys if they were EVER to grow up and be MEN someday! Tsunade would be sorry she ever forced him to train her boys.

Tsunade watched the perverted nin with a hint of suspicion, fearing that he would eventually try to corrupt her innocent shinobi angels, and probably with very good reason. For now he couldn't teach either of them all that much as they both slept quietly in their beds. She looked after Haku, who was no longer in danger of dying, but was still extremely tired and needed his rest desperately. The poor boy had been through enough, especially with a crushing Rasengan to his solar plexus.

Hopefully Naruto could learn it. Haku had tremendous chakra control, but even with that, he may not have had enough raw chakra to do more than one rasengan during a battle and remain conscious. Naruto, though not having quite as much control as Haku, being a bit better than the average ninja due to his previous training and experience, had vast amounts of chakra, both natural and the reserves of the Kyuubi.

Perhaps the perverted sennin could teach Haku a few other techniques. He could assist Haku with summoning techniques. Who knows, maybe he could summon Gamabunta. She doubted that the frog would ever agree to help Naruto after the boy nearly killed the old beast. Perhaps there would be something else for Naruto to summon.

That however was a lower priority on her list. What was first was seeing her sons safe and sound. The second was making it to the next casino with enough money to last awhile. Still, she had to consider what was happening, especially with Orochimaru. That damned monster nearly ruined all of them, and though the boys started the fight through a mistake, an almost tragic error, it turned out for the best, and she would HOLD Jiraya to his word... for better or worse.

Shizune though pondered the young boys and Jiraya himself. Haku was a gentle loving boy, who didn't deserve the harsh life of a Shinobi. His skill though was undeniable and the boy was a certified genius with an Advanced Bloodline in Water Manipulation. Strong, dedicated, and perhaps one of the most brilliant fighters she had ever known. He took all of what she had to teach and even improved on some of the techniques at such a young age.

Naruto had already gone through so much suffering and heartache, as a little boy, and as a shinobi-in-training, he had learned more than most chuunin and jounin. And in addition, his potential strength was unfathomable, even well beyond that of his legendary father. He did not possess the raw intellect of his foster brother, and could be rather stubborn, even irritable at times, but he was exceptionally clever and innovative as well.

As she considered Jiraya, he was everything that Tsunade had pegged him as: very powerful, very intelligent and determined, as well as the biggest pervert she had ever met. She would need to watch the Toad Sannin as well. Those two boys were so impressionable.

The lessons began promptly in the morning, underneath tutelage of the Toad Sannin. Naruto was fully refreshed, and Haku, though somewhat tired, was also in good condition. Jiraya looked over at the dark haired child. 'Smart look in his eye, and a fair deal of chakra, but not enough for most of my... well, I can begin summoning jutsus with him. I'd do the same with Naruto, but I fear he permanently ruined any chance of summoning frogs, considering how badly he injured the frog boss. But he does... maybe... yes...'

"Very well scamps, let's get started. The first thing we'll be doing is testing the amount of chakra we have. We'll be working with this!"

Haku and Naruto watched eagerly until Jiraya took out a simple water balloon. The kids were a bit crestfallen, and very disappointed at the old grump of a man. Haku looked up at the Toad Sannin. "Jiraya-sensei, what exactly are we supposed to do with a water balloon?"

Haku's response was a water balloon in the face as Jiraya merely grabbed another. Naruto laughed at the misfortune of his soaking older brother until he found himself being soaked as well. "Now that I have your full attention I want to see how strong the pair of you are. Let's see if you can burst this balloon with only your chakra."

Haku blinked, thinking this might be a worthwhile exercise after all. Naruto still looked rather doubtful, as he took the balloon and looked at his sensei. Jiraya grinned. "Oh, want a demonstration, then here!"

Jiraya manipulated the chakra in his hand until the balloon literally burst into pieces, soaking the hapless pair once more. The pair of soaked kids blinked, thinking this might not be such a bad idea after all. Haku saw the spin in multiple directions immediately and attempted to do so himself. He tried to mimic the maneuver, but he just couldn't manipulate it enough in order to burst the balloon. The balloon stretched more and more, but then just had a bit of a leak then it emptied.

"I... I don't get it, Jiraya-sama, how did you..."

Naruto on the other hand, saw what Haku was trying to do. Mimicking him, Naruto easily performed the spinning chakra maneuver and the balloon exploded with a massive force, letting out sharp sprays of mist and wind.

"Ummm... oops. I think I overdid it."

Haku and Jiraya merely looked at Naruto with utter shock.

'How was Naruto-ototo able to do this? I have greater control than him, and I'm the smarter of us two. Don't tell me that he only needed to mimic me in order to do that step? Is he that strong?'

'The blonde is smarter than he looks. He may have mimicked his brother, but he noticed things quickly and is very observant, even though he seems a bit aloof at times. Guess I can proceed to teach him the Rasengan.'

"Haku-kun, what I'd like you to do is try to learn using this."

Haku was then given a scroll which had a number of written names upon it. One of them was clearly that of "Jiraya." But the surname surprised the boy and he went to ask about it but was stopped before he could ask. "What I'd like you to do is the following, cut your finger with your teeth and sign your name next to it. This is a summoning scroll. Naruto, I'll be with you in just a moment."

Haku nodded and cut his index finger with his teeth, then proceeded to sign the Frog Summoning Scroll with his finger. As he did so, Jiraya took the scroll and rolled it up, noticing that there was blood dripping from the page. Jiraya opened it only to find the name of "Momochi Haku" dripping off of the page and onto the ground. The blood would not stick!

Jiraya was absolutely puzzled. If Haku could not summon frogs, nor the Rasengan, he was at a loss at what the boy could do outside of his bloodline which was manipulation of water. The Toad Sannin was very poor when it came to water techniques, and really could not help the boy that way. He looked sadly in the boy's eyes, expecting to see a dejected look, but instead he met a hopeful one.

"I've never been good with wind manipulation. Jiraya-sensei, you go ahead and teach Rasengan to Naruto-kun. Before you go, sensei, could you do me a favor though and leave a couple dozen of those water balloons?"

Naruto blinked. 'Rasengan? The technique that nearly killed onii-san? Jiraya-sensei is teaching me that?'

Jiraya blinked, surprised that the boy was fine in knowing his own weaknesses, but was willing to try something else, though what it was escaped the Sannin. "Suit yourself, kid. I don't know what you had in mind, but be careful."

Haku nodded and took one of the water balloons, just juggling the water and swirling it within it slowly. He slowly added chakra as Naruto and Jiraya went off to train with the Rasengan. Jiraya and Naruto returned three hours later, as Naruto was exhausted but elated. Jiraya on the other hand was absolutely stunned.

'It took Yondaime three years to develop that technique, and his son picks it up in a little more than three hours. What the heck am I dealing with here?'

What Haku was doing seemed to surprised the pair, as Haku was concentrating on one of the balloons intently, but the balloon seemed to glow intensely, as the young dark-haired boy seemed to slam it into a tree, but before it burst into a mass of flying water, a near sphere shape was punched into the tree. Haku dropped to the ground, tired, but happy, as he addressed his brother and new teacher.

"Since I can't do the rasengan, I thought, maybe I could do something similar, based on it, but using water instead of wind. I haven't mastered it yet... but it's close. I just need to concentrate on it a bit more."

Jiraya's thoughts were a moray. "I underestimated both of these kids, boy did I EVER underestimate them. Tsunade and Shizune did a marvelous job in training them. Naruto may only have above average chakra control, but considering his case and that seal, it's a tremendous accomplishment, and his chakra level is tremendous, even without the Kyuubi's additional reserves. Haku's control is unparalleled, and his genius in turning the rasengan into a water based weapon, using his own advanced bloodline to assist him. His chakra level for such a young man is considerable, a far cry from Naruto's, but his cleverness uses all of his strengths despite his weaknesses."

He then decided the best thing to do was to let the boys train by themselves for a bit, to perfect their new techniques, while he had a few rounds of drinks, and round up a few women.

Naruto went into bed, he decided to drift away from any thoughts as he marveled at what he learned today: the very technique his father developed, the Rasengan. He was able to do it in one hand as well. Still, his thoughts turned on the battle yesterday, and how as a transformed monster, he was able to do such a deadly kinjutsu due to Kyuubi's knowledge. He found he couldn't sleep, and for some unknown reason, he decided to write down his thoughts on a scroll. As he painted the kana, his eyes seemed to take on a glazed look, as if it were possessed. The letters written took on a life of all their own, as the scroll seemed to gleam with great energies. As he went to sign his name, something stopped him.

"Not that way, boy. That place needs a signature in blood, not ink."

Naruto looked around, his eyes frantic to find the voice. Could it be... he decided to speak internally with the fox.

"Hey, furball! Was that you that just spoke to me? Fox? Why aren't you."

"You're not in a place he can reach you, kid. Not yet, anyways. He's trying to get in touch with you but won't by the time I get done with you."

Naruto suddenly remembered the tone of the growl that accompanied that voice. It was a growl that he had feared for a very long time, as the shadows grew until they were all around him. As he mentally began to try to hide, he remembered... he wasn't that defenseless little boy anymore, but a powerful shinobi, able to tear apart the beast that he feared, the one that bit him and attacked so long ago, the kageurufu.

"Show yourself, wolf. I know you're hiding somewhere."

"I lie in the shadows, boy, and where we are, the shadows are everywhere. Thus am I omnipresent, and and get at you from anywhere at anytime. Still, I didn't come for a meal, but I came for a deal."

"What do you mean, a deal?"

A dark chuckle and a growl emanated from the "As you saw earlier, Haku was unable to sign the Contract of Frog Summoning. He has another destiny in mind for him. You, on the other hand..."

It hit Naruto like a thunderbolt. "How can I be sure that I can trust you?"

"You survived my first encounter. Few ever do, and those that do are more than worthy of summoning me. Besides, you got it in good with Kyuubi, and those of my clan are among his strongest allies. You may refer to me as Kuro. Sign my scroll, boy, and gain the allegiance of myself and my clan! You could do much worse for yourself."

Naruto was doubtful, but then for some reason, decided to cut his finger with his teeth and sign his name in blood. After that was done, a brilliant line shown in. It was the sun.

Morning had come and Naruto finally woke up. He looked blearily as he thought that he had some strange dream. He then looked as his thumb had a dried cut on it. As he looked on his nightstand, he saw a scroll. He read the kana upon it and nearly fainted in shock. The kana was in his own writing! 'Shadow Wolf Clan Summoning Contract.'

The signature in blood was his own name, Uzumaki Naruto. He rolled up the scroll and went to see Shizune, there was a lot he had to talk about with his Aunt, as he knew his mother would still be asleep by now, and would not be waking up anytime soon. He made a knock on the door.

"Oi, Shizune-sensei?"

Shizune blinked and groaned, having barely gotten up herself, as her muffled voice carried through the door. "Can't this wait, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto, still a bit frantic replied almost tersely. "No, Aunt Shizune, it really can't! Please, I need to talk to you!"

The door opened to reveal a half awake Shizune, still suffering from the after effects of the concussion. "What is so import..."

She moment she saw the scroll in his hand and read the line, she ushered him in quickly. "Where did you get that scroll? What's wrong?"

Naruto, still shivering a bit opened the scroll to show her everything on it. "I... I don't know... but that wolf, the one you saved me from, it... it came to me last night in my dreams. At least... I... I think it did."

Shizune read the kana on the scroll and was stunned to find out that everything was in Naruto's sketchy writing, as well as the young boy's signature in the summoning contract. If she was the least bit sleepy, she was almost an insomniac by now. Naruto explained the dream, and what the wolf had offered.

"By Kami, this wolf actually agreed to serve you. And he got his entire clan to help you. I... I don't know how much to tell you, except on how to do a summoning jutsu. I know the motions, the seals, but I can't summon anything myself, little one."

"You mean it?"

Shizune smiled and ruffled the hair of the boy. "No sweat, kid. Never let it be said that Uzumaki Shizune ever..."

Naruto opened his eyes wide. "Uzumaki??"

Shizune covered her mouth, sensing that her brain was not quite as awake as it should have been. Naruto looked at his aunt, open-mouthed. "You're an Uzumaki, too?"

Shizune sighed and nodded, her short hair still disheveled by the motions of sleep, and sorely needing of a washing in a brook or a pool of warm water. "Yes, and I'm sorry I never told you earlier. But you and I are not all that closely related. I think Tsunade-hime may have a good chance of being a closer relation than I. Last I looked at the family chart, almost twenty years ago, your mother and I were seventh, maybe ninth cousins. Still, you've been my beloved little nephew for many years, so why should it be any different, now?"

Naruto merely beamed and impulsively gave a hug to Shizune. Shizune grinned and returned the embrace. "Well, you have training to do today, so get going."

Naruto released the hug with a huge smile on his face. "Hai!"

The remaining two years had passed quietly, as not only did Naruto master the Rasengan to an even higher degree, but also mastered summoning, as well as other medic-nin and strengthening techniques. Haku had developed a new technique as well, the Mizuken, a technique that could match the Rasengan and used his own advanced bloodline technique of water manipulation, and had his own summoning.

But this was hardly a day for celebration, for they were finally at the gates of Konoha. Naruto was eleven, and Haku had turned twelve. The guards at the village looked at the visas signed by the Sandaime hokage himself, and with a bit of shock, escorted the boys within the village, out of the sight of the three shinobi hidden in the trees.

Jiraya broke the silence. "Well, there they go. I'm sure they'll do fine, since they had me as a... Tsunade-san? Tears? I thought a shinobi wasn't supposed to cry after..."

A fist to the face later, Jiraya flew off into the sky, as Tsunade continued to weep silently.

Shizune, with a few tears in her own eyes, but a smile on her face turned to Tsunade. "They didn't want to go, but they have dreams of their own. Haku told you his, didn't he, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade nodded. "To protect those who need it most of all, and to stay close with his little brother. Naruto told you his though, yes? I never had the chance to hear it."

Shizune's tearful face went from sorrowful to proud, as proud as she ever was. "To become the Hokage..."

Tsunade gasped. She never suspected that from all that had happened, that Naruto would have EVER wanted that, until Shizune finished her comment.

"...and continue his father's noble example."

Jiraya, who had recently returned from his short and painful flight, heard Shizune's final comment. Tsunade was reduced to open sobbing, her sons had left for greater things. She was not normally a very emotional woman, but she had an exception for her adopted sons. The Toad Sannin, at the bottom of the tree, had a bit of a tear in his own eye. "Yondaime, you have a hell of a kid. Watch over him for us, okay?"

With that, none of them being ready to return to the Leaf themselves, the three shinobi left without a trace.

A/N: This was a difficult chapter to write, and I'm not entirely pleased at the execution, still the story must go on. Now, it seems that Kyuubi has looked at ALL of the reviews and has decided to answer the top five he felt were most interesting, and yes, there is yet another new jutsu introduced this chapter. And yes, Kyuubi is fine, he just had to undergo four different surgeries in order to save his miserable carcass. Kyuubi, please explain it.

"I feel the love in your statement, fleshbag. Though not demonstrated fully, the technique is only usable by Haku due to his advanced bloodline, that of the Mizuken (Water Sphere). It is simply put, a water-based version of the ever-popular Rasengan (Sprial Gun). Since Haku did not have the raw chakra, and has poor control over wind-based attacks to perform the Rasengan, he simply took the idea of the technique with what he had. Smart kid, eh?"

Nice, nice, and now, the five reviews Kyuubi will address this chapter. To those whom he does not directly respond to, thank you for your reviews anyway, both critical and supporting! Flames are not welcomed. If you're going to flame, Kyuubi will eat you.

"In that we agree, for if you flame him, you flame me, and that simply cannot go unpunished. First is an reviewing favorite, Blazer6. I never liked the kid and am happy to be a member of the Sasuke Hater's Club. Not sure if Darkis going to be kind or cruel to that brat yet. So we'll just need to stay tuned. Oh and I think we'll see other effects of Jiraya's 'training' next chapter. Heh heh heh."

Oh dear, I almost forgot about that. Be scared, be very, very scared.

"Another favorite, Lita of Jupiter is back. Actually, the kitty's name is Mr. Snuggles, but he should be known as Psycho Creature from the Deepest Bowels of Hell. Hopefully Dark can start to bring more of Shizune's character into the fic, as he did this chapter, but the stars are going to be Naruto and Haku for the most part. And I was wondering why I was having nightmares in the hospital, I was smelling CAT the whole time. Please, please, please, leave your kitties at home. I think dark isn't revealing all of what Jiraya taught this chapter, but he's going to reveal more in future chapters, at least, he BETTER."

The Author starts to go towards the door that leads to Mr. Snuggles.

"EASY, easy. A third reviewing favorite, Gelionlegends, notes on MY technique and learning it at different levels and stages. Dark I KNOW you have something planned for that."

Yeah, I do, in fact. Much I intentionally leave hidden to be discovered when the time comes.

"A new reviewer, SaLLy11 also responds on an earlier chapter. Tsunade IS a legend after all, so she would be rather well known. And it is possible that he could tell that there is some sort of resemblance, since Tsunade does notice within the manga, that there is a great deal of similarities between Naruto and her departed younger brother, both in attitude and in physical resemblance."

Good to see a new convert, I mean, I new reviewer.

"Riiiight. The last reviewer for this chapter is GeshronTyler and the guy makes a number of good points, some of which Dark put into practice in THIS chapter. Bad author! Stop using the reviewers ideas to write your fic! This is an excellent review, I must admit, however, I am dubious on Sakura. Well... come to think of it."

You have an idea on how to use the pink-haired one?

The demon fox whispers in the ear of the author. Pair her up with... EWWWW! No! Not Jiraya! BAD FOX! But... hmmm... possibilities otherwhise, though the leather outfit will have to go.

The fox whines.

Hey, live with it! Thanks for everyone's reviews this chapter, over 100 reviews in five chapters! Thanks for the continued interest! Please leave your reviews for this chapter too!