Rants: I'd like to address the most asked question in the reviews: How come Naruto graduated with Lee's batch and be with Sasuke's class? Actually that's a question I've been asking myself about the manga/anime.
It was explicitly mentioned that Naruto failed the graduation exam 3 times so you'd expect him be with the batch ahead of Lee's when he first took the exam and subsequently, he should be only classmates with Sasuke and the others for one year, the time he failed the exam but was passed by Iruka following the Mizuki incident. If that's the case, I actually found it a bit odd that in the many flashbacks Naruto is shown to be classmates with the rookie nine since he was probably as young as Konohamaru is noting to the way he and the kids are drawn. Of course that is just my opinion. If it's flawed then I'm sorry but I am basing the story on that. Don't worry I'll give my own explaination to this dilema in the Sasuke chapter so do look forward to it, 'kay?
Oh and please excuse this little sidetrack. I really love the hokage's honored grandson so I'm sticking him in a bit. Hope you enjoy!
"Brother."
Itachi was sitting on the elevated floor before the door leading out of the Uchiha household. He had just finished putting on his sandals when he heard his little brother call him. He turned his head around glancing at the young boy who was standing a couple of steps away. "Father will personally train you from now on. Why don't you go bother him instead?"
"I didn't come to ask about the shuriken training." Sasuke said.
"Last night, why did you have to say such things in front of father?"
"That was what you always wanted, wasn't it?"
"Yes. But I wanted to earn father's acknowledgement in my own way. That's the reason why I trained myself hard all these years. I believed that if I become stronger than you then father will acknowledge and depend on me too. Doing something like that..." Sasuke yelled at his brother in a sudden outburst of emotion. "You just made all my efforts seem worthless!"
Itachi studied the look on his little brother's face. "Beginning today, Father will be depending on you to do your best for the clan. You are going to become the important connection for Uchiha. You have to meet his and the clan's high expectations. Thinking in that sense, your efforts has not been wasted."
An uncomfortable silence reigned between the two. During that time Sasuke debated with himself, considering his brother's word which he knew deep down was perfectly true and on the other side, his pride to stand up on his own and prove everyone his worth. It was when Itachi finally stood up, his back turned against his little brother, and reached to slide their front door open that the younger Uchiha spoke up. "Can you help me with my shuriken training, at least for today?" He said feeling his expression soften.
"My genin team is waiting for me. I don't have time to look after you." Itachi said walking out of the front door and was shortly out of sight.
Sasuke raised his hand to feel his forehead. 'He didn't even poke my forehead...' The young Uchiha continued to stare at the open doorway, his face falling into a sad frown.
Naruto ran into the woods early that morning wandering about until he reached the clearing Itachi mentioned last night was to be their designated meeting place. The vendo machine unscrupulously placed in an area where people don't usually wander to told him that he was standing at the right spot.
"You're late," was the greeting that first came Naruto's way.
The blonde glared angrily at the teenage jounin sitting on a fallen log with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not late! I'm early!" Naruto yelled.
Itachi merely grunted in response. He stood up and went to approach his new student.
"Ne, ne, Itachi-sensei! What cool stuff are you going to teach me?" Naruto began, sounding thoroughly excited about their first training day. As he spoke, the boy recalled several events from yesterday's genin test, most of which are quite painful. "Are you going to teach me that awesome fire breathing jutsu?!"
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Justu!!" Naruto remembered a large mass of flames coming forth from Itachi's mouth and engulfing all his clones. Each clone erupted into smoke as soon as the fire came into contact with them.
"Or maybe that weird water shield jutsu?!"
"Ninpou Suiton: Suijinheki." Two pillars of water rose from the nearby river and quickly snaked its way towards Itachi destroying any Naruto clone that got in its way. The water gathered around Itachi forming a protective dome that prevented every single shuriken from hurting him.
"Or?! Or?! Maybe that big wave jutsu that goes SPLASH!!"
The dome slowly rose to become a tall tower of water. "Suiton: Suishouha." Itachi announced from inside the water formation. The column then broke down sending massive amounts of water to flood the entire training field taking out all one thousand Naruto clones.
"So what's it going to be? Huh? Huh, Itachi-sensei?" Naruto asked brightly his blue eyes shining with anticipation.
"We will start with you running laps around the village." Itachi said.
"Running laps?" Naruto repeated, his voice losing enthusiasm. "But that sounds lame. Why don't we just start off with the neat stuff? I can handle them you know."
Itachi sighed and poked Naruto on the forehead, something that's slowly becoming a habit. Good thing Naruto ties his hite-ate on the supposed traditional spot that it didn't hurt at all. "Listen Naruto-kun, yesterday's test wasn't only to see whether a student qualifies as genin or not, it was also done so that the jounin senseis could see the way a prospective genin fights and analyze it for weaknesses that needed to be fixed as well as strengths that could be improved. Basically we do it to assess a genin's over-all potential."
"Hmm..." Naruto crossed his arms in silence appearing to be deep in thought. His sudden outburst shocked Itachi more than what he let pass his skin. The boy was running around, jumping and yelling energetically. "So I have a ton of potential right, right?! I knew it! I am incredible!"
"From yesterday's test, I can say that you have power and a lot of stamina. Your body can also endure heavy punishments." Itachi perfectly recalled Naruto fighting style thanks to his Sharingan eyes. He particularly credited Naruto for managing to last the entire half day of his torturous beating. "However, you don't have much speed and all you do was throw your arms and legs haphazardly. You don't have proper flow and execution. Simply put, your taijutsu sucks."
Naruto frowned and glared reproachfully at the young jounin for the unpleasant comment. "Hey! Hey! What was that supposed to mean?! Besides, I don't suck! I got that bell, didn't I?!"
"That body of yours is certainly one of your good points so that's what we are going to polish off first. This exercise is specifically made for that purpose. Ninjutsu and taijutsu training can wait until later." Itachi explained.
"Hmm..." Naruto muttered crossing his arms once again. He was clearly doubtful about the whole setup. Just how was he supposed to get any better from running laps anyway when he already have a strong body to begin with?
"I'll teach you an advance jutsu if you complete this training." Itachi followed noting the look on the boy's face. He didn't want to resort to bribery but doing so might actually motivate the kid. Thankfully enough, that proved to do job as Naruto's face brightened once more.
"Promise?" Naruto asked. When he saw his sensei nod, the foxy kid regained his enthusiasm and energetically raised his fist in the air. "Alright! I'll finish the laps quickly! Then I'll finally learn some really cool jutsus! Hehehe... This is going to be fun."
"Naruto-kun, look deeply into my eyes." Itachi commanded.
Naruto raised his head up and focused on Itachi's now blood red eyes. There was a sensation that swept throughout his entire body, something that he couldn't quite explain. Then without a word, Naruto suddenly fell face first on the ground. "Ouch! What the hell..." Naruto wanted to rub his sore chin but when he mentally ordered his hand to move he found the task very difficult to perform. "What's going on around here?! I can't move my arms!" Naruto tried to get up and also found that to be extremely difficult as well. It was like some invisible force was applying a huge amount of pressure all over his entire body. "What did you do to me, Itachi-sensei?!" The blonde screamed panicking.
"Tell me, how do you feel?" Itachi asked indifferently.
"I feel heavy." Naruto answered. He tried to stand up once more and fell flat on his face after he'd only managed to pull himself up on all fours.
"Good. That will be your first exercise."
"What kind of exercise is this?! I can barely move!" Naruto complained aloud. The fact that the heaviness affecting his entire body, including his mouth, failed to prevent the kid from being obnoxiously loud was really astonishing.
"Now go run five laps around the village." Itachi instructed.
"WHAT!!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.
"Get up. I want to finish this before the sun sets."
"I can do this! Hmmmmppphhhh!" Naruto sounded while dishing out all his efforts fighting the heaviness of his body. This time he managed get up until only his two feet were left in contact with the ground. That was when his knees buckled under the weight making the boy collapse once more. He tilted his head, looking up at the young man towering right next to him. "Ne Itachi-sensei, can you at least help me up?"
"No. You will wear that feeling every time from now on – when you eat, sleep, train, even when you're out on a mission. It will not disappear. That is something that you need to get your body accustomed to." Itachi flashed a cold, dead serious look on his student. "You're a ninja. Stand up on your own."
"Hmph! I can do this. You just watch." Naruto pouted. He pulled himself up for the last time and managed to get himself up on his feet. His legs wobbled from the weight it had to support but somehow his efforts managed to keep him upright. Next, Naruto tried moving his right leg. That was one grueling experience. Naruto was like a baby who was learning to walk for the first time in his life. He completed the first step and immediately repeated the process with his left leg for the next step.
All in all, their first training went on a very slow pace literally but it was as exhausting as hell. Naruto was taking about a minute or so just to make a single step forward. He also fell down from time to time and the effort of trying to get back up was very taxing. A flood of profanities and curses came out of the boy's mouth for most of the time; one being particularly loud was when his face almost fell right on top of dog shit. He had been cursing so loud that nearby parents covered their children's ears and shot glares at Naruto.
Itachi, who was right beside Naruto the entire time, deep down was feeling a bit embarrassed for his student's behavior although his face maintained the cold visage that told anyone who looked that he didn't give a damn about any of them.
"You only made it halfway around the village." Itachi said his voice was somewhat disappointed. Looking up, the sky was now colored with a dark orange hue after the sun had completely hidden itself down the horizon.
"I feel like tons of weights are pressing all over my body! How am I supposed to run around like this?" Naruto complained, raising his arm sharply and pointing straight at Itachi in a sudden burst of energy.
"If you haven't wasted energy complaining the whole day you should have had enough to make it through the village at least once." Itachi answered making Naruto gulp. "Anyway, today's training is over. Go home and rest. I expect to see you again at the woods at exactly the same time tomorrow morning." With that, Itachi turned his back at Naruto and walked down the path heading towards the part of the village that was occupied mostly by Uchihas.
Naruto proceeded to march towards his own apartment. Thankfully it wasn't far from the place where Itachi dismissed him so the commute only took him a little over an hour, something that would only have taken him less than five minutes if not for his current condition. Earlier that day, Naruto had plans on eating at the Ichiraku to celebrate his first training day but now he was feeling tired as hell that he crossed the idea off his mind. A good sleep was what he needed – urgently.
Naruto stepped inside his apartment and heard his stomach growl loudly in hunger. The boy looked to the left where the bed was. It looked really inviting. He was really tempted to prop over for an early doze but then his stomach growled the second time around demanding some much needed food. "Oh well, a cup ramen or two wouldn't hurt much," he thought aloud marching his way to the kitchen to prepare a quick dinner.
Naruto reached inside the cupboard for the instant ramen but when he tried to lift it, he felt that something was obviously wrong. "What the...?" Naruto reached for the styrofoam cup this time with both hands and pulled it off with all his remaining strength. The cup ramen slid off his hands and rolled along the floor like it the way normally does greatly confusing the blonde. Naruto walked over to pick it up but was again met with the same difficulty. "Dammit! Why does this thing feel so heavy?!" Indeed, to Naruto lifting the cup ramen felt like trying to lift a twenty kilogram solid steel cup. Too bad Naruto was not the type to give up that easily. Pulling out his remaining strength, he finally managed to drag the cup noodle all the way to the table.
"Whew! Alright, next is the hot water!" Naruto exclaimed wiping the sweat trickling down his face. He went back to the kitchen to pick up the thermos bottle and was surprised when he found it to be a lot of times heavier than the cup ramen. "Argh!! How am I supposed to make ramen like this?!" He yelled in frustration after almost losing grip of the thermos bottle. Just like the cup ramen, Naruto dragged the thermos bottle all the way to the table. On the task of filling the cup ramen with hot water, Naruto had to use all his effort in holding the container up so that the boiling water would flow down and balancing it so that the contents would not spill.
For someone whose stomach was constantly growling, a three minute wait seemed like an eternity. Naruto completely tore the lid off and marveled at the sight of the delicious ramen waiting for him to devour. "Itadakemasu!" He said aloud. However, when Naruto reached out for the chopsticks on the table he stopped when the chopsticks wouldn't even budge when he applied the force he usually does to move it. He had to triple the strength he had to use on his right hand to lift the chopsticks. Finally, when he went to fish out his ramen, the force being applied by the chopsticks upon clamping the soggy noodles was too much that the noodles would cut and fall back into the Styrofoam cup. "Dammit!! Why is this happening to me?!"
By the time Naruto got the hang of it the ramen had already cooled down. Naruto even found the noodles heavy when he dunked it in his mouth though it still taste the same and was as easy to chew as before, something that struck him as odd. 'This is a pain! Damn you Itachi-sensei, you bastard!' He thought placing several more strings of noodles in his mouth. Never did he realize that eating ramen could be so satisfying especially when done with a lot of effort.
After being totally worn out from dinner, Naruto walked straight towards his bed. He was so exhausted that he didn't even bother to take off his clothes and just collapsed right over the soft cushion. Naruto never felt it provide so much comfort before than it did now that he immediately drifted to dream world.
The strange training regimen continued for the rest of the week. Naruto was slowly getting used to the weird heaviness of everything around him. It was only after the fifth day that he successfully managed to complete a whole lap around the village. Now that it was starting rub into him, running around didn't prove to be as hard compared to how it was the first time he was subjected to this strange jutsu. Although it was still very much tiring.
That afternoon, Itachi and Naruto were both sitting under the shade of a large tree. Lunch break wasn't a very comfortable experience for both of them due to the hot summer sun hanging up on the cloudless sky that time. Also, all they had to eat was some cheap bento that they bought earlier from a stall the two of them happened to pass by along one of Naruto's laps. Naruto was actually miserable that they didn't get to buy ramen but with the rigorous training, his stomach would just accept anything.
"Naruto-kun." Itachi began catching the blonde's attention. "We will cut the training short for today."
"Why is that, Itachi-sensei?"
"Hokage-sama wanted you to report at the administration building this afternoon."
"Hokage-jiisan wants to see me?" Naruto asked curiously, pointing at himself for emphasis.
Itachi nodded. "Finish your business there quickly. Afterwards you can take the day off."
Naruto reported to the administration building immediately after lunch where he was lead inside a fairly large room which was mostly empty save for a couple of furniture. He was sitting on the chair at the middle of the room while behind the desk situated several steps from him sat the hokage.
"What do you want old man?" Naruto asked.
"I want you to fill these up." Sandaime pushed the several inches thick stack of paper lying over his desk slightly towards the boy's direction.
"What are those? Didn't I already finish up with the registration form?"
"They are for your insurance, tax, social security and so on. These may not be as confidential as the ninja registration form but they are just as important since you will need them for your obligations as well as to avail of the different social services as a citizen of the Hidden Leaf Village and of the Fire Country. Now that you're earning wages as a professional shinobi you are required by law to submit these," explained the Hokage. "Go on and fill them up"
"I don't understand any of that stuff." Naruto commented. "Anyway, I can't waste my time with those! I have to continue training!"
"Fill them up." Sandaime stated firmly.
"No way!" Naruto blatantly refused.
"Fill them up." The hokage said again.
Both man and boy stared intently at each other, neither one standing down. Naruto gritted his teeth at the old man's stubbornness and formed a hand seal. "Oiroke no Jutsu!" There was the usual puff of smoke when Naruto transformed into a beautiful, perfectly proportioned and totally naked babe. "Hokage-sama, please..." The girl purred.
Sandaime blinked twice at the beautiful sight that lay right before his eyes before a powerful jet of blood gushed out from his nostril. Naruto dispelled the jutsu scratching the back of his head as he watched the great hokage-sama twitching on the floor from severe blood lost.
The hokage recovered several minutes later though and was now wiping his nose blood free. "The Oiroke no Jutsu again? What a stupid jutsu..." The old man was left hanging in his speech because at that time both occupants felt a presence from right behind the door. Sure enough, the door slide open and little boy immediately barged inside the room.
"Old man! Fight me!" The seven year old boy called out running towards the hokage with a shuriken in hand.
Sandaime could only heave a sigh watching the kid's antics. 'Geez, this is the twentieth ambush today. Does it ever end?'
"The title of Godaime Hokage belongs to me, Konohamaru!" The boy said aloud. He was halfway towards the hokage when he tripped and fell face first against the floor. Right at that instance, a man with sunglasses came rushing into the room. "Dammit! Who set up a trap?!" Konohamaru asked to no one in particular, one hand clutching his painful face.
"Are you alright, young master?" The man, Ebisu, asked aloud sounding quite alarmed. "By the way, I don't see a trap anywhere."
'Who is this kid?' Naruto mentally asked himself, eyebrows twitching. He noticed the kid looked up and turned at his direction.
"Hey you!" Konohamaru marched and pointed accusingly at Naruto. "I know it! You did something, didn't you?!"
A large knot of nerve suddenly appeared on Naruto's forehead. He quickly got up and snatched a handful of the insolent brat's clothing with one swipe. "You just tripped on your own, you idiot!!" He yelled angrily threatening to hit the kid with his clenched fist.
"Naruto! Let go of him!" Ebisu yelled causing Naruto to dart his attention at him. "That's the great Sandaime Hokage-sama's grandson!"
"..." Naruto shifted his gaze from Ebisu to the hokage who silently watching the scene and back to the small brat before him.
'He stopped right after finding out that I'm the grandson of the hokage. Hmph! He's just the same as glasses-teacher and everyone else.' Konohamaru deduced. His conclusion made him switch into brat mode once more. "What's the matter?! Why don't you hit me?! You're no match for the grandson of the hokage!"
Those words set Naruto burning anew. He lifted his fist and planted it furiously into Konohamaru's skull. "Like I care about that, you moron!!"
"What?!" A greatly shocked Ebisu screamed.
The old man sighed and shook his head at the unruly sight. "Oh well..."
Naruto finally finished completing all those documents and had been dismissed by the hokage. Having nothing else to do for the rest of the day, Naruto decided to head back to woods and train some more. However, he had this terrible feeling that he was being followed since he left the administration building and whoever it was, was doing a terrible job at it.
Naruto suddenly came to a stop and turned slightly around. What he saw several paces away was a bundle of blanket probably done to look like a huge rock on the road or something. But the most striking feature Naruto noticed was the pair of small sandaled feet sticking below the so-called rock. "Hmm?" Naruto hummed, appearing to be deep in thought. Moments later, he merely shrugged it off and continued on his way.
Konohamaru threw the blanket away and resumed to following the older boy. A couple of minutes more and Naruto found it to be unbearably annoying that he made a swift turn around. "Stop following me! What the hell do you want?!"
Soft snickering was heard from along the tall wooden fences.
"Um, that's really obvious." Naruto said eyeing the camouflage blanket that was placed haphazardly so its lines were horizontal instead of the vertical ones of the fences. Furthermore, long spiky hair was standing out on top of it and the hands holding it are quite visible.
"Hehe... You saw through my disguise, impressive. So the humors I've heard about you are true." Konohamaru said finally showing himself. He approached Naruto and pointed demandingly at him. "Hey you! I'll let you be my boss! But in exchange, teach me that Oiroke no Jutsu you used to defeat grandpa with!"
"Dream on, kid." Naruto simply crossed his arms. He absolutely had no intention of teaching his most powerful jutsu to anyone, especially not to some random brat.
"Don't say that boss!" Konohamaru exclaimed.
Looking a bit confused, Naruto turned at the little kid pointing a finger at himself. "Boss?"
"Boss! Boss! Boss!" The hokage's grandson exclaimed repeatedly.
Hearing himself being called by something like that was quite flattering. How could he refuse the kid now? "Fine..." Naruto said scratching the back of his head assenting to the condition. "Listen, there are two things that you need to have in order to use a jutsu well."
"Chakra and hand seals, right?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. It's hard work and guts. I'll train you hard so prepare yourself."
Konohamaru nodded determinedly. "Yes boss!"
"Alright then, try using henge now. I need to see how good your ninjutsu is." Naruto explained.
"But what should I change into?" Konohamaru asked.
Naruto scouted around until he caught sight of a beautiful young woman buying apples from a nearby stall. "Okay, try changing into that woman."
"Henge!" A cloud of smoke quickly covered Konohamaru as soon as he executed the hand seal. "So? Do I look like her?" The kid asked. When the smoke faded, instead of someone sexy and beautiful what stood before Naruto was an obese and horribly deformed version of the girl Konohamaru was trying to change into.
"S-sure... The clothes look perfect..." was all that Naruto could say. Well aside from that, Konohamaru also got the hair color right which more than what he could praise the kid for. Suddenly, a strong foreboding feeling had fallen before him.
"What's so similar...?!"
Naruto turned around and saw the said woman standing behind him. There was no time for him to try and dodge the solid smack that came against his skull. With his body under the effect of Itachi's strange jutsu, Naruto felt the woman's fist was as heavy as a several kilogram solid steel ball that it literally flattened him against the ground.
"Listen young master, please do a cuter henge when you transform into me." The woman giggled, waved at Konohamaru before going on her way.
"She's scary..." Konohamaru commented once the woman was out of earshot. He was still trembling after witnessing the violent display.
"Why did I have to be hit...?" complained a beaten up Naruto.
Later, the duo was found standing outside the local bookstore. "Alright! We're going to conduct our research here!" Naruto said aloud.
"Roger boss!"
Naruto slowly slid the door open. Fortunately, the store keeping was deep asleep and was snoring loudly that sneaking inside the bookstore didn't come as a problem. Naruto lead Konohamaru directly to the adults section and immediately began browsing through the number of smut material. Both boys were sporting broad grins at the pictures of lewdly posed girls until Naruto heard a familiar voice from behind.
"I told you that there's no browsing in the store, Naruto!"
Whack! Naruto landed painfully on the road after being thrown out from the shop by the store manager. "It hurts..." He moaned pulling himself to a sitting position and rubbing his sore head.
"Boss! Are you okay?!" Konohamaru called worriedly quickly running next to Naruto.
"Oi Naruto, what are you doing here? Where's Itachi?" Both Naruto and Konohamaru looked up and saw a man wearing a Police Force uniform towering over them. "More importantly, why do you have a large black eye?"
"You! You're Itachi-sensei stupid looking sidekick!" Naruto exclaimed aloud.
"It's Shisui, dammit." Shisui hissed. He felt his irritation build up but he made the effort to keep it at bay. He doesn't want to end up killing the brat or Itachi will surely have his head. Looking sideways, Shisui glanced at the store's signboard which read: Pink Bookstore. "What are you doing in there anyway? Don't you know that this place sells porn and stuff like that?"
"I know that!" Naruto huffed. He stood back up and started dusting himself.
"Oh?" Shisui sounded intrigued. A mischievous started to spread across his face as he looked down at Naruto with an eyebrow raised. "So this means you're an e-ro-ga-ki." He said teasingly.
"SHUT UP!!!" Naruto screamed aloud his face flushing in anger. "I'm not a pervert! We're here on a research for the Oiroke no Jutsu!"
"Yeah! Yeah! How dare you call boss an Ero Gaki!"
"Boss?" Shisui turned at the small kid beside Naruto which he happened to overlook until now. "Oh, it's you young master. Very well, I'll help you guys on your research."
"Really?" Both boys exclaimed.
Shisui nodded smiling at the two. The jounin move closer and whispered something into the blonde's ear.
Naruto's face beamed at the sudden realization. "That's right! Why didn't I even think of that before?! Arigatou, Shisui-san!" He bowed in gratitude. "Let's go, Konohamaru!" Naruto called out and the two boys immediately made a dash right across town. Soon, both of them are standing in front of the famous bathhouse in the hot spring district of Konoha. "This is the place! Let's put our best into it!" He said turning at Konohamaru.
"Roger boss!"
"Henge!" Naruto and Konohamaru both shouted executing the jutsu at the same time. Naruto transformed into a cute girl with long blonde ponytails while Konohamaru became an overly fat and ugly woman. The two nodded at each other before making their way into the woman's bath. So far everything has been going very smoothly until...
"Naruto! You again?!"
The woman's bath erupted into something short of a riot. Slaps, kicks and punches coming from the mob of angry women were all directed at Naruto. After the last woman hit him squarely on the face with a broom, Naruto practically flew out of the roof and landed face first on the stone pathway outside the baths.
"Ouch... How come everyone suddenly became so strong...?" The blonde complained rubbing his aching back. "I feel like being repeatedly kicked by a hundred bulls or so..." Naruto stopped at the mention of the word 'bull' which seemed to have a connection with the sound of hoofs striking against the ground that he has been hearing for quite sometime now. Looking behind, Naruto discovered that he landed right in front of the shed were bulls are being kept and unfortunately for him these bulls seemed to have locked their eyes unto the red circular marking on the backside of his jacket.
"NOOO!!!" Naruto screamed running for his dear life as the bulls started to give chase. The villagers quickly ducked for cover as they streaked by the neighborhood while all the other bulls that they so happened to pass decided to joined the stampede meaning more trouble for Naruto. "Why the hell is this happening to me?!" Naruto screamed. 'Dammit! I feel so heavy I can barely keep up with this pace! If I don't think of something soon I'll die!'
Good thing his brain decided to work at exactly the right time it was needed. "I know! Kagebunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto said creating a sizeable number of clones. "Everyone! Go and try to lose the bulls!" The real Naruto instructed. The clones nodded and separated into three groups upon reaching the next fork on the road.
Naruto and his group of clones continued running until they took the next turn. Bad choice. "Dammit! A dead end!" The real Naruto said aloud with everyone coming to a halt.
"This way!" A clone suggested pointing at the alley to the left. Too bad they saw dust rising from the far end and sure enough one group of Naruto clones and their bull pursuers were stampeding their way towards them.
"No! This way!" Another clone said pointing this time to the right. Naruto was about to lead them in there until he heard some panicked shouting that was definitely his voice. Seconds later and the other group of shadow clones were seen coming out from the alley tailed closely by the herd of raging cattle.
Right now, Naruto was both sweating and trembling heavily. From each side his clones and their bulls are converging towards him and looking back the bulls that they were trying to lose was now fast gaining on them. "WAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Itachi could clearly see a cloud of dust rise at some part of the village from the open platform atop the administration building.
"Hey what's this? You're slacking off from teaching already."
Itachi did not care to turn towards the source of the voice. Shortly, Shisui came by and stood right next to him.
"I saw Naruto this afternoon. From the way he moved, it looked as if something was stuck up from underneath his ass." Shisui glanced sideways at Itachi. "I'm sure you used it on him, didn't you? The special sharingan genjutsu that you developed solely for training, that is."
"Yes." Itachi replied with a nod.
Shisui turned his eyes forward admiring the view of the village from up there. "Tell me, what level of the jutsu did you place on him?"
"The highest level."
"I see." Shisui nodded in understanding. "Right now both conscious and subconscious parts of Naruto's mind have been fooled into thinking that the gravity around him had become ten times greater than normal. Not only will his body feel ten times heavier so will everything around him – down to the very air he breathes."
"What the mind thinks, the body follows. That's the underlying principle of genjutsu. Naruto's body will be forced to react and develop with the effects of the imaginary excess in gravity. This is just like Gai-san's weight training, only a more modern and efficient way of doing it. However..." Shisui stared at Itachi with eyes that betrayed a little hint of disgust. "Subjecting his body under so much physical stress without prior conditioning, don't you think you're rushing things a little bit too much?"
"You will never reach new heights if you don't constantly push yourself to your limits," came Itachi's reply. He didn't even bother to cast a glance over his friend as he spoke. "Besides, Naruto-kun is coping up quite well. Actually his body is getting used to the sensation faster than I have expected. There is nothing to worry about."
Shisui dropped the hostility and turned his eyes back into the scenery before them. "I'll leave it at that. You're his sensei after all."
"What do you want from me? Surely you didn't come here to discuss about my pupil." Itachi said.
Shisui didn't say a word and simply pulled out a folder and handed it over the young jounin. Itachi took it and browsed through the contents. "I am no longer part of the Anbu. These shouldn't concern me anymore." He said closing the folder and handing the folder back to Shisui.
"Really? The last time I remember it was your idea to use that Mizuki traitor to ascertain Naruto's capacity."
"Well, it's okay. Your father's become quite interested in this that he asked hokage-sama to leave the handling of the case to the Police Force. More troublesome work if you ask me. Anyway, I'll keep you posted for more updat–"
'He moved.' Itachi thought midway through Shisui's speech as the presence he had been monitoring for quite some time had suddenly weakened. With a sudden burst of speed, Itachi practically disappeared before Shisui's normal eyes.
"Geez." Shisui muttered scratching the back of his head after being left alone in the observation deck. "That guy could be a real pain in the butt sometimes."
Naruto brought Konohamaru to his and Itachi-sensei's training spot where they practiced the Oiroke no Jutsu for the remainder of the day. Right now both boys were taking a break sitting on the fallen log drinking soda for refreshment.
"By the way, why are going after your grandpa so much?" Naruto asked. He noticed the look on Konohamaru's face suddenly saddened.
"Grandpa gave me the name Konohamaru. I'm named after the village. But even though it's a name that everyone should have heard many times, nobody ever calls me that. Whenever anyone looks at me or calls me, all they see is the grandson of the hokage. Nobody sees me as me. I hate that. That's why..." Konohamaru could only bang his own legs with his fist in mild indignation. "That's why I want the hokage title now!"
"Idiot." Naruto muttered turning his gaze straight on the bushes ahead. "Who's going to acknowledge a brat like you?"
"What?" Konohamaru exclaimed angrily.
"The hokage title isn't something that a brat like you can take. It's not that easy. Hokage, hokage... If you want that title so much then..."
"Then what?!"
Naruto sported a confident grin before facing Konohamaru. "Then kick my ass first!"
"I found you!"
Naruto and Konohamaru both turned towards the new voice's direction and found the elite tutor Ebisu standing atop a branch of a nearby tree. Unknown to any of them Itachi was watching everything clearly from his vantage on top another high branch several yards away. His presence perfectly masked and concealed.
"Young master, let's go home." Ebisu said after landing perfectly on the ground.
"No!" Konohamaru answered shaking his head. "I'm going to defeat grandpa and get the hokage title now! Don't bother me!"
"Hokage is a title you receive when you understand the principles of knowledge, morality, loyalty, camaraderie and mastering more than one thousand jutsus." Ebisu explained as he made his way towards the honored grandson.
Konohamaru gathered his resolve. "Henge!" There the usual smoke following the execution of the Henge no Jutsu but when it all cleared what was left was an astonishingly sexy and beautiful naked girl with grayish black hair. "Take that. Oiroke no Jutsu." The girl said.
The elite tutor's eyes bulged off their sockets, his mouth hanging wide at the sight that laid before him.
"Huh? It didn't work?" Konohamaru said reverting back to his true form.
"W-what a vulgar skill!" Ebisu screamed in outrage. "I am a gentleman! Such an indecent jutsu will never work against me!" The tokubetsu jounin grabbed Konohamaru's long scarf and started pulling the kid away. "Come, young master! You're only going to get dumber and dumber if you hang around him! I am your greatest short-cut to becoming hokage! Now let's go home!"
"No!" Konohamaru said resisting his tutor's pull as hard as he could.
"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"
Both Ebisu and Konohamaru turned and saw Naruto produce about a hundred clones of himself that covered most of the training field.
"Wow!" Konohamaru was deeply amazed at the display.
"This is silly." Ebisu said shifting his glasses. He didn't seem to be affected at all by the sheer number of clones that stood before him. "I am an elite teacher even if I don't look like one. I am different from Mizuki." He began to step forward taking on the Naruto's challenge and immediately lowered himself into a battle stance.
Hidden away from sight, Itachi narrowed his eyes in anticipation. This was one opportunity for him to observe his student's capabilities.
'Damn! I can barely punch! I can't fight with this heaviness over my body!' Naruto mentally cursed. He had no other choice but to use his trump card. 'I'll have to use that jutsu.' "Henge!" The shadow clones yelled all at once transforming into a hundred Oiroke no Jutsu babes ready to seduce their poor victim, something that neither Konohamaru, Ebisu nor Itachi had expected.
"Ebisu-sama!" The girls cooed seductively latching themselves all over the elite tutor. Ebisu could no longer withstand the torture that he collapse both due to mental stress, a rigid hard on, and severe loss of blood from the excessive nose bleeding.
"Take that! I call it the Harem no Jutsu!" Naruto said releasing the combined Oiroke and Kagebunshin jutsus.
Back in his hiding place, Itachi's face burned as red as an overripe tomato from the extreme embarrassment. At least there was no one around to see the slip from the cool and calculated visage that he always tried to maintain. "What an idiot," were all that he could mutter at that time.
"Dammit! I couldn't even defeat megane-kyoushi! I want a name that will make everyone acknowledge me, so why?" Konohamaru seethed in frustration.
"It's not that easy, idiot." Naruto said whacking the brat lightly on the head. "This is the hokage name you're talking about, the ninja that everyone in the village acknowledges."
"Eh?"
"With so many unpleasant things I was often lost. I finally found people that will acknowledge me but finding just that was already very difficult." Naruto recalled. "You need to prepare yourself."
"Prepare?"
"If you want to receive the name hokage which everyone looks up to..." Naruto smiled at Konohamaru. "There isn't a shortcut to become one."
"Bah! Stop lecturing like you're big and all!" Konohamaru said turning his head away from the older boy. "You're not my boss anymore!"
"From now on we're rivals!" The younger boy continued sporting a large grin and raising a thumbs up.
Naruto nodded. "Alright. I'll fight you one day for the hokage name. Be sure to look forward to it, Konohamaru."
Itachi watched as Naruto walked away from the training grounds leaving the hokage's honored grandson. 'You're wrong, Naruto-kun. Even for a dream as grand as hokage, there will always be shortcuts for some people and only a long and uneasy path for the others...' He shook his head lightly before silently leaping up disappearing from sight. '...because the world was never fair to begin with.'