Note: Several of you have asked about Naruto defeating Jiriaya in a fight. I said that in a straight fight Jiriaya didn't know who would win. He was trying to appease Naruto with that. Jiriaya would win hands down if they fought for real. Yet that rarely happens. They more frequently engage in wars of words which sometimes escalate to little brawls with dirty moves and the such. This type of fight always turns in Naruto's favor for one reason only. He has a special move that he has so far only used on Jiriaya. What could make a Sennin so afraid of his own student you ask. What move could he possibly use against a ninja as good as Jiriaya? I'll leave you to think on that. Another thing that seems to be popping up is the thought that Naruto and Jiriaya's relationship is much like that of Ranma and Genma's from Ranma ½. Well you're right. I had that in mind when I started writing the two's interactions. After all they have been on a training journey for many years. We'll just leave out the fiances and cursed springs.
I don't own it, why do I keep saying it?
Later that night Naruto lay in his new bed unable to sleep despite his exhausted state. He could hear the snores of his sensei coming through the thin walls from the next room over. They didn't bother him, he had learned to tune them out after years of practice.
It was his mind that refused to allow the peace of sleep to fall upon him. The events of the day were replaying themselves over and over despite his attempts to block them. His arrival, meeting with the Hokage and the whirlwind tour of his new residence and town, and the meeting of his team and their subsequent training. All continued in a never ending wheel of images and feelings.
After an hour or so of this and no sign of sleep in sight Naruto slipped out of bed, re-donned his cloths, grabbed a cape out of his backpack, and hopped out his window onto the roof.
The moon was a white crescent in the cloudless sky, illuminating the roof tops and avenues of Konoha. A few lights were still on here and there but for the most part the town was asleep. A light wind ruffled his hair as he sat down and took a deep breath of the cool night air.
Naruto instantly began to feel better. This was where he belonged, out in the elements. He had spent so much time in the forests and deserts of the land that he had never really gotten used to city life. Jiriaya would set up camp in a town for anywhere from one night to several months but for the most part they were on the road training. As such real beds were both thought of as a luxury and a curse to Naruto. They sounded nice when you weren't in them but when you finally got one your body was to used to the hard ground to enjoy it. So Naruto had developed a habit of sleeping on patios, porches, roofs, floors, or even in his little pup tent that he carried with him instead of attempting sleep in a bed.
His mind began to ease into a more regular, less clutter filled, pattern as he watched the stars and moon wheel above him. Another benefit to sleeping under the stars was that it offered the perfect place for thought and reflection. His thoughts wandered to his new life and the burden he carried.
Jiriaya had given the boy the scroll that explained his background months ago. Naruto had read it once then given it back and walked off to train alone. The boy didn't return for a couple days but when he did had a deep talk with Jiriaya about what the scroll had said.
—Flashback—
"So I'm a demon...is that it?" Naruto asked when he found Jiriaya again.
The old man quickly stashed away his books and notes he'd been working on. "No not at all. You're exactly the opposite Naruto, you're the savior of a village. You're the last hope and dream of a great man."
Naruto's mouth twitched. The subject of Naruto's father had only surfaced once when a six year old Naruto had asked if Jiriaya was his father. Jiriaya had laughed then gotten serious. "No boy, but I knew your father. Some day you will know about him...but not today."
"But I have a demon inside me. What difference does it make? Like that scroll said no one will accept me, no one will acknowledge my existence. So why am I alive then? Why did they keep me alive?" Naruto looked confused and sad. Jiriaya had never seen the boy like this before. He was always so full of energy and life but now...now he looked dead, like a lifeless shell of a person.
Jiriaya sighed. He had been expecting this. He ruffled the boy's hair and patted his shoulder. "Because without you the Nine Tails would be free to wreak havoc again. As long as you're alive he can't do that. Your father, the Fourth Hokage, entrusted this mission to the only person he thought could do the job properly. His blood runs through your veins. He was a strong man but he knew his son would surpass him one day. As you grow and get stronger the Nine Tails will get weaker as your body begins to absorb his chakra. Eventually he will cease to be. That is why you live Naruto. You live to save Konoha from destruction.
A spark of hope brought light back to the boy's sky blue eyes. The Fourth, his father, had trusted him that much? He had given him the responsibility to protect Konoha.
"But the Leaf won't accept me." He said, this time with more feeling in his voice. "They hate me for the demon I carry. How can I grow strong and gain respect if they hate me?"
Jiriaya smiled. "That's part of the reason you were put in my care boy. To get you away from those feelings. By now the village will have forgotten you. The Hokage will have seen to that. All they will see is a boy out to prove himself. They won't know your secret and as long as you work hard and stay low it'll stay that way."
— End Flashback—
Naruto grinned at the night. He had a mission. He had to become strong. He had to become Hokage!
He stood and punched the air with his fists, his cape fluttering around him. "I will gain your respect" he shouted. The wind picked up his words and spread them over the sleeping village. "I will become HOKAGE!"
In the room below Jiriaya opened his eyes and smiled. *He's on his way my friend* he thought. *he's got your determination. Lets hope he has the strength to stay on the path.*
The old white haired man rolled over and went back to sleep.
****
The alarm clock jarred Naruto out of sleep. An arm reached up, not from the bed but from the floor, and smacked the clock. A spiky blond head poked out of a pile of sheets on the floor and looked around groggily. A groan escaped his lips as he saw that he only had a few minutes to get ready before he had to leave. It didn't help that he had only gotten to bed a few hours before.
With zombie like slowness Naruto clawed his way to standing and stumbled to the bathroom. He washed up and came out slightly less tired looking then he had. He dug around in his pack for a new pair of cloths and tossed them on. (Note: It really bugs me how they always wear the same cloths. But I'll stick with it unless I say otherwise)
With an apple in his mouth and two more in his back pouch he opened the door. A surprised Sakura had just raised her hand to knock on the door when it opened. Both looked shocked that the other was there. Naruto was the first to recover. "Good morning." he grumbled around the apple.
Sakura lowered her hand and tried to smile. She had decided to try her hardest not to let her new teammate get under her skin. They needed to come together and she was going to try her best to make it happen. *He's just tired that's all. He probably didn't get enough sleep last night* she thought. "I thought I'd walk with you this morning. Do you mind?"
Naruto stepped out of the door and closed it. "Fine."
The two teammates trudged through the early morning light in silence. The few people who were out and about stared at the odd new boy. They whispered to each other as the two passed. Sakura glared at them but Naruto appeared to remain unaware as he munched on his apple.
They had just passed through the city gates when Sakura saw a familiar group of people walking in the opposite direction. Team Eight was coming back from an all night mission of some kind and looked like tired. Sakura tried to remember the team members names. Kiba she knew well enough because of his loud voice and brash nature. His dog Akamaru was asleep on his head. The tall black haired boy was an easy one to remember. Shino had actually been one of Sakura's early crushes before she found out that he had absolutely no interest in girls. He had been more interested in bugs then anything else. The third genin member of Team Eight, the quiet purple haired girl, looked the most tired of the group. *What is her name?* Sakura wondered. *It started with an H didn't it?* The name of the tall female Jounin accompanying them also slipped her mind.
Kiba spotted Sakura at about the same time she saw him. He perked up and waved, a cocky grin on his face. His dog also woke and barked a greeting to her. Sakura waved half heartedly back. She hated dealing with Kiba.
"Yo Sakura-chan. What's up?" Kiba said as the two groups came together.
"Not much, just going out to train." Sakura answered. She really didn't like talking to the loud mouth boy.
Kiba sized up the blond boy that was accompanying Sakura. "Who's this guy? New teammate?" he asked her.
Naruto gave Kiba a similar stare but chose to stay silent for the time being.
Kiba, slightly peeved that his stare was having no effect on the new genin, chose to push a little farther. "Doesn't look like much. Good luck getting into the Chuunin exam with him."
That touched a button. "I'd be more worried about your team flea brain then someone else's." Naruto commented dryly. He dearly wanted to drop kick this guy over the wall but refrained from doing so. *I'll get him some other time during the exam. Loud mouth won't be acting so tough when I grind his face into the dust.*
The dog ninja was a bit surprised to find the boy dishing insults right back out at him. He spit on the ground and laughed. "Ha. You talk big but can you fight big?" Kiba asked, taking a step forward.
Naruto mirrored Kiba's move, bringing the two within easy striking distance of each other. "Look who's talkin loud mouth. You couldn't hit me if I gave you the chance."
Before Kiba could throw back another insult or worse, throw his fist, a quiet voice spoke up. "Kiba-kun. Please don't fight." The purple haired girl stepped forward and pulled at Kiba's jacket lightly. Naruto and Kiba turned to look at her. She released his jacket and interlaced her fingers while blushing profusely.
*Another girl. What a weird personality* Naruto thought to himself. *She'll never make a good ninja if she acts like that.* He caught sight of her eyes and was startled to see they were a creamy white in color. *Whoa...really weird.*
Kiba smiled at his teammate and crossed his arms behind his head in a stretch. "You're right Hinata. Why bother with a dimwit like him. Come on, lets go." Akamaru barked his agreement. Kiba returned to walking. "See you around Sakura-chan. Bye baka boy."
Naruto gave Kiba's retreating back an evil grin that promised trouble. "I'll bring a wok next time so I can stir fry that dog of yours after I beat you" he said casually.
Kiba turned with murder in his eyes and charged back at Naruto only to be stopped by one of Shino's outstretched arms. "Damn you! No one insults Akamaru like that and gets away with it! Come here, I'm gonna rip your arms off and beat you with them!"
But Naruto had already started walking away. He waved a hand back over his shoulder. "Nah, I'll save your beating till next time dog breath." Sakura jogged after him to catch up and the two continued on their way.
Yuuhi Kurenai, Team Eight's Jounin leader, watched the whole scene unfold without batting an eyelash. *So this is the boy Kakashi was talking about. Uzumaki Naruto. Interesting guy. I wonder how he'd fare against Kiba in a real fight.*
Kurenai felt something touch her hand. Hinata was looking up at her questioningly. "Um Sensei. Who's that boy?" She asked.
Kurenai smiled at her little purple haired student then looked again at the now distant backs of the two Team Seven genin. "His name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
Hinata turned her white eyes back to the blond haired boy. She let the name roll around on her tongue. "Naruto-kun." She said softly.
I don't own it, why do I keep saying it?
Later that night Naruto lay in his new bed unable to sleep despite his exhausted state. He could hear the snores of his sensei coming through the thin walls from the next room over. They didn't bother him, he had learned to tune them out after years of practice.
It was his mind that refused to allow the peace of sleep to fall upon him. The events of the day were replaying themselves over and over despite his attempts to block them. His arrival, meeting with the Hokage and the whirlwind tour of his new residence and town, and the meeting of his team and their subsequent training. All continued in a never ending wheel of images and feelings.
After an hour or so of this and no sign of sleep in sight Naruto slipped out of bed, re-donned his cloths, grabbed a cape out of his backpack, and hopped out his window onto the roof.
The moon was a white crescent in the cloudless sky, illuminating the roof tops and avenues of Konoha. A few lights were still on here and there but for the most part the town was asleep. A light wind ruffled his hair as he sat down and took a deep breath of the cool night air.
Naruto instantly began to feel better. This was where he belonged, out in the elements. He had spent so much time in the forests and deserts of the land that he had never really gotten used to city life. Jiriaya would set up camp in a town for anywhere from one night to several months but for the most part they were on the road training. As such real beds were both thought of as a luxury and a curse to Naruto. They sounded nice when you weren't in them but when you finally got one your body was to used to the hard ground to enjoy it. So Naruto had developed a habit of sleeping on patios, porches, roofs, floors, or even in his little pup tent that he carried with him instead of attempting sleep in a bed.
His mind began to ease into a more regular, less clutter filled, pattern as he watched the stars and moon wheel above him. Another benefit to sleeping under the stars was that it offered the perfect place for thought and reflection. His thoughts wandered to his new life and the burden he carried.
Jiriaya had given the boy the scroll that explained his background months ago. Naruto had read it once then given it back and walked off to train alone. The boy didn't return for a couple days but when he did had a deep talk with Jiriaya about what the scroll had said.
—Flashback—
"So I'm a demon...is that it?" Naruto asked when he found Jiriaya again.
The old man quickly stashed away his books and notes he'd been working on. "No not at all. You're exactly the opposite Naruto, you're the savior of a village. You're the last hope and dream of a great man."
Naruto's mouth twitched. The subject of Naruto's father had only surfaced once when a six year old Naruto had asked if Jiriaya was his father. Jiriaya had laughed then gotten serious. "No boy, but I knew your father. Some day you will know about him...but not today."
"But I have a demon inside me. What difference does it make? Like that scroll said no one will accept me, no one will acknowledge my existence. So why am I alive then? Why did they keep me alive?" Naruto looked confused and sad. Jiriaya had never seen the boy like this before. He was always so full of energy and life but now...now he looked dead, like a lifeless shell of a person.
Jiriaya sighed. He had been expecting this. He ruffled the boy's hair and patted his shoulder. "Because without you the Nine Tails would be free to wreak havoc again. As long as you're alive he can't do that. Your father, the Fourth Hokage, entrusted this mission to the only person he thought could do the job properly. His blood runs through your veins. He was a strong man but he knew his son would surpass him one day. As you grow and get stronger the Nine Tails will get weaker as your body begins to absorb his chakra. Eventually he will cease to be. That is why you live Naruto. You live to save Konoha from destruction.
A spark of hope brought light back to the boy's sky blue eyes. The Fourth, his father, had trusted him that much? He had given him the responsibility to protect Konoha.
"But the Leaf won't accept me." He said, this time with more feeling in his voice. "They hate me for the demon I carry. How can I grow strong and gain respect if they hate me?"
Jiriaya smiled. "That's part of the reason you were put in my care boy. To get you away from those feelings. By now the village will have forgotten you. The Hokage will have seen to that. All they will see is a boy out to prove himself. They won't know your secret and as long as you work hard and stay low it'll stay that way."
— End Flashback—
Naruto grinned at the night. He had a mission. He had to become strong. He had to become Hokage!
He stood and punched the air with his fists, his cape fluttering around him. "I will gain your respect" he shouted. The wind picked up his words and spread them over the sleeping village. "I will become HOKAGE!"
In the room below Jiriaya opened his eyes and smiled. *He's on his way my friend* he thought. *he's got your determination. Lets hope he has the strength to stay on the path.*
The old white haired man rolled over and went back to sleep.
****
The alarm clock jarred Naruto out of sleep. An arm reached up, not from the bed but from the floor, and smacked the clock. A spiky blond head poked out of a pile of sheets on the floor and looked around groggily. A groan escaped his lips as he saw that he only had a few minutes to get ready before he had to leave. It didn't help that he had only gotten to bed a few hours before.
With zombie like slowness Naruto clawed his way to standing and stumbled to the bathroom. He washed up and came out slightly less tired looking then he had. He dug around in his pack for a new pair of cloths and tossed them on. (Note: It really bugs me how they always wear the same cloths. But I'll stick with it unless I say otherwise)
With an apple in his mouth and two more in his back pouch he opened the door. A surprised Sakura had just raised her hand to knock on the door when it opened. Both looked shocked that the other was there. Naruto was the first to recover. "Good morning." he grumbled around the apple.
Sakura lowered her hand and tried to smile. She had decided to try her hardest not to let her new teammate get under her skin. They needed to come together and she was going to try her best to make it happen. *He's just tired that's all. He probably didn't get enough sleep last night* she thought. "I thought I'd walk with you this morning. Do you mind?"
Naruto stepped out of the door and closed it. "Fine."
The two teammates trudged through the early morning light in silence. The few people who were out and about stared at the odd new boy. They whispered to each other as the two passed. Sakura glared at them but Naruto appeared to remain unaware as he munched on his apple.
They had just passed through the city gates when Sakura saw a familiar group of people walking in the opposite direction. Team Eight was coming back from an all night mission of some kind and looked like tired. Sakura tried to remember the team members names. Kiba she knew well enough because of his loud voice and brash nature. His dog Akamaru was asleep on his head. The tall black haired boy was an easy one to remember. Shino had actually been one of Sakura's early crushes before she found out that he had absolutely no interest in girls. He had been more interested in bugs then anything else. The third genin member of Team Eight, the quiet purple haired girl, looked the most tired of the group. *What is her name?* Sakura wondered. *It started with an H didn't it?* The name of the tall female Jounin accompanying them also slipped her mind.
Kiba spotted Sakura at about the same time she saw him. He perked up and waved, a cocky grin on his face. His dog also woke and barked a greeting to her. Sakura waved half heartedly back. She hated dealing with Kiba.
"Yo Sakura-chan. What's up?" Kiba said as the two groups came together.
"Not much, just going out to train." Sakura answered. She really didn't like talking to the loud mouth boy.
Kiba sized up the blond boy that was accompanying Sakura. "Who's this guy? New teammate?" he asked her.
Naruto gave Kiba a similar stare but chose to stay silent for the time being.
Kiba, slightly peeved that his stare was having no effect on the new genin, chose to push a little farther. "Doesn't look like much. Good luck getting into the Chuunin exam with him."
That touched a button. "I'd be more worried about your team flea brain then someone else's." Naruto commented dryly. He dearly wanted to drop kick this guy over the wall but refrained from doing so. *I'll get him some other time during the exam. Loud mouth won't be acting so tough when I grind his face into the dust.*
The dog ninja was a bit surprised to find the boy dishing insults right back out at him. He spit on the ground and laughed. "Ha. You talk big but can you fight big?" Kiba asked, taking a step forward.
Naruto mirrored Kiba's move, bringing the two within easy striking distance of each other. "Look who's talkin loud mouth. You couldn't hit me if I gave you the chance."
Before Kiba could throw back another insult or worse, throw his fist, a quiet voice spoke up. "Kiba-kun. Please don't fight." The purple haired girl stepped forward and pulled at Kiba's jacket lightly. Naruto and Kiba turned to look at her. She released his jacket and interlaced her fingers while blushing profusely.
*Another girl. What a weird personality* Naruto thought to himself. *She'll never make a good ninja if she acts like that.* He caught sight of her eyes and was startled to see they were a creamy white in color. *Whoa...really weird.*
Kiba smiled at his teammate and crossed his arms behind his head in a stretch. "You're right Hinata. Why bother with a dimwit like him. Come on, lets go." Akamaru barked his agreement. Kiba returned to walking. "See you around Sakura-chan. Bye baka boy."
Naruto gave Kiba's retreating back an evil grin that promised trouble. "I'll bring a wok next time so I can stir fry that dog of yours after I beat you" he said casually.
Kiba turned with murder in his eyes and charged back at Naruto only to be stopped by one of Shino's outstretched arms. "Damn you! No one insults Akamaru like that and gets away with it! Come here, I'm gonna rip your arms off and beat you with them!"
But Naruto had already started walking away. He waved a hand back over his shoulder. "Nah, I'll save your beating till next time dog breath." Sakura jogged after him to catch up and the two continued on their way.
Yuuhi Kurenai, Team Eight's Jounin leader, watched the whole scene unfold without batting an eyelash. *So this is the boy Kakashi was talking about. Uzumaki Naruto. Interesting guy. I wonder how he'd fare against Kiba in a real fight.*
Kurenai felt something touch her hand. Hinata was looking up at her questioningly. "Um Sensei. Who's that boy?" She asked.
Kurenai smiled at her little purple haired student then looked again at the now distant backs of the two Team Seven genin. "His name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."
Hinata turned her white eyes back to the blond haired boy. She let the name roll around on her tongue. "Naruto-kun." She said softly.