Youkou Shukuen: Crimson Destiny

Disclaimer: Naruto is a product of Masashi Kishimoto, so I don't own him.
Legend: "": quote, "italic": thought, italic: Japanese word, (): translation/explication, underline: techniques (check the end for invented techniques).

Chapter 4: The departure

Three weeks have passed since Naruto had received Jiraiya's last visit. His one-month training session was going smoothly. He was now able to catch Kyuubi with ease and his accuracy training allowed him to hit up to 20 targets sequentially with various projectile combinations. These improvements were due to his increased spatial awareness and increased agility. He senses were so good that he could now sense an incoming danger and neutralize it with deadly accuracy. Learning the shaolin kempo style and the constant physical training had the additional side effect of making him faster. He even became stealthier but only when it required.

Mentally, he and Kyuubi had also realized a positive side effect from their 13 years merger: telepathy. They could now read each other's mind, a great advantage for silent communication and one that would keep Kyuubi's identity undercover. Naruto also began to feel some negative side effects from the severance such as sudden impulse of anger and rage especially in moments of failure. Apparently Kyuubi Naruto was not the cause of this problem, but rather Naruto's own mind. All the years of bashing from the villagers had made him a very closed person, who rarely ever released his frustration and after learning he was Kyuubi's carrier he closed that door even further in fear what he might due. What he did not know was that Kyuubi was the one who kept that anger balanced and now that he was not in him, Naruto was having a hard time to hide his anger. He was also a lot more fatigued then before, he did no longer have the infinite stamina, he still had more then anyone in Konoha and possibly the world but he now realized that the jutsus hinted by Kyuubi might drain him seriously. For what it is worth he does not plan to rely on those chakra draining jutsus much, and the best part is that Kyuubi Naruto transformation does not drain his chakra, which he can now transform instantly without the feel of insecurity or danger. He also no longer has the ferocious glance unless he needed it, as he could easily retract his fangs and claws to make him look more normal. The eyes would however keep its crimson color while he is Kyuubi Naruto.

In terms of new jutsus, he has mastered all the ones given by Jiraiya apart katon gamayu endan (fire element toad oil blast). This was mainly due to fact that jutsu require a large field to be practiced and that it had the potential to engulf the whole forest within its blaze. Thus Naruto could only practice it at the edge of the falls and only at the early hours of dawn, because he did not wish to scare the villagers who might visit the waterfalls during the day. Not to mention that seeing him on top of a giant toad and gushing such a large stream of fire would certainly put their fears on the edge and he already had enough enemies to deal with, he really did not need a whole village on his tail.

Since he was learning fast Kyuubi also started to teach him his own jutsus, which began with the kitsune kuchiyose (fox summoning). He explained that in order for Naruto to learn fox jutsus he must be accepted the wielder of the jutsus. Most of the elemental jutsus that he could use without any assistance belonged to six summoning foxes each specialists of an element and each having personalities of their own. Naruto's lesson started with the first fox, Kaen (Blaze) of Fire. He was the easiest one to tame, as he shared similar personalities as Naruto that is prankish, hot-tempered and sociable. He would not have the same luck with the others, mainly Kachuu (Vortex) of Water, who was the total opposite. From Kaen, Naruto was learning three jutsus, which he could use without having to summon his fiery friend. The katon kitsune kaenhoushaki (fire element fox flamethrower) was a jutsu that resembled the katon karyuu endan (fire element fire dragon blast), but this one was stronger and flexible, as it had the ability to confuse the enemy with its twists and turns. The katon kitsune shikon (fire element fox fangs) summoned a minimum of four fire foxes that would launch a wolf pack attack that ended with powerful blazing bites from their fangs, an was impossible to miss unless it was countered by a strong water jutsu or an instant escape jutsu. This was mainly because the fire foxes acted like real ones with their own individual mindset and the ability to track the target and dodge their counters. If the first two were long ranged the last one was close ranged. The katon kitsune tsume (fire element fox claws), allowed Naruto to turn his claws in his Kyuubi Naruto mode into a fiery one. With it Naruto can unleash devastating slashes, turning him into a deadly weapon in taijutsu. Of course the best part of these jutsus was the advantages it had over the Uchiha bloodline which Naruto needed, as they could not be copied by the sharingan, unless either Itachi or Sasuke signed the fox contract which only he had access too.

His daily training exercises were also greatly changed. He now had replaced his morning tag-game into an all out no holds bar brawl against multiple shadow clones. The only thing they were not allowed to do was to not use fire jutsus in dense forest, as he did not wish to create forest fires. He did this to allow him to experience real time simulation of situations he may face and to test his battle tactics and jutsus. His accuracy training now had traps installed to make the exercise more challenging and to simulate the effects of retaliations. He was also training while wearing weights to future improve his physique, which he had borrowed from Rock Lee.

Socially, Naruto was keeping his promises; he did his weekly visits to the hospitals to see his injured comrades. It was a time during which the boys would gather up to enjoy board games and talk about their everyday experiences. He was also eating free dinner at the ramen shop with Iruka on Sundays and does a few D-rank missions on Saturdays. It was an easy task for him and even Tsunade knew he could perform better, such as C-rank missions but since he used to only work on one day and team 7 was disassembled it was impossible. He was training the other five days.

The relation with Sakura was not going well; in fact it was going pretty bad. Since Sasuke's desertion she has been paying too much attention on Naruto and he was not appreciating it, as he felt that she was constantly trying to put a leech around his neck. Not to mention the eerie feeling that he was backstabbing someone else's girlfriend, in this case his former best friend Uchiha Sasuke. He also did not wish to return to the past, as far he was concerned he no longer had any interest in her So he used to constantly try to avoid her and if that was not possible find a way to get into arguments with her to make her dislike him. Their quarrels were usually the gossip of the other genins girls thanks to Ino. He was also their target, as it happens they had selected him as their next poster boy now that the Uchiha was no longer around and that certainly did not fit well him. He did not like to be considered as the cheap replacement for the Uchiha. He had no interest in the girls for the moment and especially not when it came to Konoha girls. His other problem was his stalker Hyuuga Hinata, who now was showing in his radar constantly when he was in Konoha. He did not like to be followed and certainly not stalked; he tried to confront her to stop stalking him but every attempt he tried ended up with her fainting even before he could talk. So now used to use alternate routes to avoid her that included walking on top of the houses if that required. It was situations like these where he wished Kyuubi would teach him the kitsune kaimin (fox pleasant sleep). That way he could put to sleep the people who annoyed him but the fox refused claiming that he was not ready.

His relationship with Kakashi had resolved. The problem was that at first both felt uneasy speaking to each other since the Sasuke incident. Naruto felt he was the one responsible for the event while Kakashi felt guilty for not paying enough attention to the boy and not taking Sasuke's problems seriously leading to the break up of team 7. Their first encounter after the event was accidental, when Kakashi happen to be eating at the ramen shop and Naruto came at the shop to eat with Iruka. After breaking their silence, mainly due to Iruka's effort, the two resumed their old relationship and this time Kakashi did his best to spend some of his free time with the boy. He would be the only one man enough to enter his former student's dungeon during his training, who had put plenty of danger signs at the entrance of the training field as proposed by Tsunade to avoid unwelcome visits. Kakashi was surprised to see that he shared some similar views as his former student and was now somewhat jealous of Jiraiya for stealing Naruto, but then again it was he who generously to give up Naruto to train Sasuke. Now, the boy was going off for two years and he would no longer have that pleasure either. He wanted to be remembered and was searching for the perfect present for the boy and after being with him for a few days he just found the perfect ones, he would wait for the departure days to handed to him however, as he also needed to find similar things for Sakura. It was part of his new promise to not under look or favor any of his students anymore.

Meanwhile, Sakura was also having her own social breakdowns. Loosing Sasuke was one thing, now she was going to loose Naruto for about three years made her even more sad and lonely. Her sudden increased attention for him was not appreciated by the boy who would always tried to avoid her. When they did met up they usually end up into arguments, she figured soon enough that he was doing this on purpose, possibly because he did not like being pitied. So she used to brood and whine a lot in her break times which usually ended up with Ino who was getting fed up from her best friends situation. In an attempt to get back the old Sakura by putting an end to team 7's problems with Shikamaru's help. She needed him as an arbitrator and to cross into Naruto's training ground, he was after all the man with 200 IQ so if anyone could figure out the traps set up by someone like Naruto it would be him. Besides if there was someone else, she certainly did not know him or her enough for such favors.

After entering the field, they were surprised to not encounter any traps as the signs outside warned about. As they pursued their route they heard the sounds of metal clashing up front and decided to hide in the nearby bushes to investigate. Soon enough they spotted Naruto followed by three of his shadow clones. He was fighting them all alone in an intense high-speed duel with kunais and shuriken flying everywhere. He was fast, they could hardly see him as he was there countering the assaults of his clones, with several jutsu combinations and shaolin kempo taijutsu with deadly precision. He first destroyed two of the clones by throwing two kunais within an instant movement and without any hesitation. The third clone appeared behind him ready to stab when with a quick movement he impaled through it with a kunai attached to a string coming from under his right sleeve. He then retracted it and threw the same object at the tree in the opposite direction destroying another shadow clone, who was hiding near the tree. After which he again retracted his harpoon like weapon.

Just as thing seemed to have calmed down, a sudden barrage of shuriken from four other shadow clones are thrown towards him which he avoids with shunshin (body flicker), appears behind them, makes a fast set of seals and burns them to ground with katon kaga dan (fire element fire fang projectile) coming from the ground. He then turns quickly on the opposite direction makes another set of seals at even faster rate and unleashes a katon karyuu endan directly at the shadow clone who threw him a large number of kunais with kunai kage bunshin (kunai shadow clone), killing him instantly while melting the projectiles at its path while he easily blocks the remaining kunais with fast paced movements and a kunai, after which he lands on the ground near where Sakura and the others are located, who were simply dazed at the level he was fighting.

"Hmm, that makes 8 shadow clones, I wonder where the last two are hiding. Yo Youkou how is securing of our guests going, we do not want them to get involved in simulations now do we, even though they have been of the danger lurking here", said Naruto with a grin to Kyuubi who suddenly appeared behind Shikamaru, Sakura and Ino.

Realizing that the fox was behind them, the group panicked, as it jumped on them. Ino being the farthest escaped him, and ran towards Naruto screaming only to get caught in of the traps ending up upside down with a rope tightly holding her left ankle.

"This is why you should never panic in battle, little Ino…" said a smiling Naruto to her as he threw a kunai to cut the rope, just then one of the remaining clones popped out of the ground to attack her and divert Naruto's attention, who suddenly appeared behind him and destroyed it with a rasengan (spiral sphere) stopping just in front of Ino who fainted out of fear after the close encounter. "And this is why you people should never come here, unless you can face the danger", he added making a quick 180 turn and throw his harpoon like weapon on the ground, finishing the last shadow clone behind Shikamaru and Sakura as Kyuubi forced them to duck.

"Do not get scared of my fox, he was not going to eat you, he just jumped on you to cover you three from that last one's shuriken kage bunshin (shuriken shadow clone), assault. He just wanted to say hello and save your butt as we both guessed you three were too slow to avoid that clone's assault if he managed to proceed with his plan", as he saw them panicking again by Kyuubi's smile as he got off them and walked towards Naruto to be patted.

"Man, I play my role so well I should get an Oscar for this act", thought Kyuubi with his usual evil smirk.

"Yeah you should, but I am surprised that forth one did not react. I wonder what she is up too?" thought back Naruto.

"Hmm, I was certain she was here to watch over the pink haired girl, especially after she followed them here but I guess Tsunade sent her ANBU to spy on your progress after all. Too bad she wont find anything unusual here, your training with Kaen is at night for today", replied back Kyuubi.

Shikamaru and Sakura finally began to calm them self enough to breath normally, it was a traumatic experience, while Ino was still passed out, as Naruto carried her to them.

"Sorry, I guess seeing the rasengan so close from an upside down position must have been really scary. She should regain her senses soon enough. So now that you guys have seen the real danger that lurked here, mind telling me why you three fools are here?" added Naruto, as he laid her near them.

"Holy Shit! What was all that about, you preparing for a war or something? Geeze man, you must be seriously lost your mind to put yourself in such risk", yelled out Shikamaru.

"Naruto you dumbass, how can you put yourself in such risks, you want to get killed or what?" added Sakura looking at the shredded cloths of her former teammate who just looked like he had survived a Shinobi War.

"You two must been sleeping too much recently. We are at a War, a Cold War maybe since we cannot seem to locate that damn Snakes hideout but it's still a war you know? So yes, I am training for it. I have not lost mind nor am I a dumbass and I was not the one who was getting nearly killed here. So stop changing the topic and answer my damn question, I got work to do", replied an angry Naruto.

"We came here to fix team 7's internal problems. So mind telling us what is wrong with you and why you become so cold to your teammate here", asked Shikamaru pointing towards Ino at first then at Sakura.

"I see. You might not know this, because Miss Pinky (Sakura) here refuses to believe it, so let me up-to-date you. Team 7 has been disband three weeks ago, it does not exist anymore, well maybe in the future another team will refill it, but till then there is no longer team 7. So Miss Pinky and me are no longer teammates, you may call us former teammates if you wish. There is nothing wrong with me, I am just preparing myself for the future and it's my choice what I wish to train in, unless you are my father or my mother or my sensei you or she has no say in it", replied Naruto in a firm tone.

"You start this every time Naruto, would you stop acting as if you do not give a damn about me? You claim you have not changed but if that is the case then we are you distancing yourself from us. You are about to leave in about a week and you still have not told the others about it. It's as if you no longer trust us, I want my old Naruto back not the moron in front of me", yelled an angry Sakura.

"Man, you really have changed, the Naruto I knew would never talk like that especially not about Sakura. You were so into her that you pummeled Gaara to save her. What's this about you leaving us?" asked Shikamaru.

"Would you stop butting in my personal business? It is my decision when or not to reveal such confidential information. First of all, there never was a "Your Naruto"; it was an illusion of your mind. I was told to act like a moron after the Wave mission to save you egocentric boyfriend, if you took a liking to that I am sorry, but you got the wrong guy. So please, spare me of your pity consolation speeches. I said I was going to make up for messing up and making Lover Boy he was not as important as he thought he was. I got more important things to do and promises to fulfill then to be your lamenting cushion", replied an angrier Naruto.

"Woh boy calm yourself! You are going to scare them if you act like that. Take a deep breath you do not need to be so hard on them", said Kyuubi trying to calm the blond haired kid.

"… I mean nothing to you? So is this is what you are saying, that we meant nothing to you, team 7 meant nothing to you?" said Sakura bursting into tears while Shikamaru could only shake his head.

"That is not what I said. I said that I only consider you as a friend; I am not your comforting pillow. Team 7, is and was the past. It is time to move on, we all accepted this fate when we broke the team, trying to lament about it would not help. I still consider that bastard as a friend, but he has lost his previous position, so do not make it even worst. I do not like to be used as his replacement and I do not like to be pitied. That is why I try to ignore you, because you put me in that position, you along with all the other dumb girls in that damn village. I am not a Lover Boy and I refuse to be it to comfort anyone who wishes for me to play that role, go ask someone who wants it. I am a cursed warrior, who has been given a task to be fulfilled by his creators that is to protect what they loved, that is this village, from the oppression that hunts it. So spare me your sorrow I do not need them", replied Naruto as he walked away from them.

"Wait, if I treat you normally, will you stop being so cold. I want our friendship no matter what happens. So how about a deal, I do not bother you with my emotions and you act like that illusion you claimed to have put on me?" pleaded Sakura.

"I cannot promise anything, I shall do my best, but I cannot guarantee for that same illusion. I think I have caused enough trouble by doing it already. It's not that I do not trust any of you, but rather I do not wish to put anyone in danger. Some secrets should be kept locked, I do not wish to scare anyone, nor do I wish to get them burned by revealing too much. So I will tell you this for your own security, do not reveal my departure to anyone else then the people I am about to mention. There are forces out there might try to take advantages of you guys just to get to me, it is for this reason I must leave now. I shall be back when I am ready to carry out the promises", added Naruto as came close to them.

"Okay, I did not understand anything of what you just said. Especially the cursed warrior thing, I am guessing its some sort of encrypted codes you just threw at us to decipher, but it is a troublesome job and I am not in the mood for games. So speak up on what message you want me to carry on", said an annoyed Shikamaru.

"Good that means I have accomplished my goal. Reveal it to only Neji, Lee and Chouji. Ino and Kiba are too loud to keep secrets and I do not know either Ten Ten or Shino enough and especially avoid that fainting stalker Hinata. I do not want to have creepy feelings of being stalked when I leave. Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei know already and there is no need to tip none of the other jounins or chuunins. I am leaving in a week, on a Sunday for approximately two and half years with my sensei, Jiraiya. We will be traveling around the world, so we wont be much in communication with Konoha", Naruto whispered so that only the three of them could hear it.

"I guess your training finally helped figure that out huh? I feel sorry that you think of her in that way though. I mean she does have a crush on you", said Sakura silently.

"Well though luck for her, I am not interested in her or any other girls of this village. Not to mention I hate aristocratic people and her father is the worst of the bunch. They think they own you just because they happen to have a bloodline. Stalking once or twice a month is acceptable but not every freaking day. On top of that those freaky eyes of theirs can see through cloths. They are the worst kind to be a stalker", said Naruto as he pleaded his case.

"You sure know how to insult people. The Hyuuga would have a field day with you with such comments. I am having a hard time understanding how you manage to stand Neji then. Anyway, I had some question I needed answered from you. It's about Sasuke. Do not give me that look Sakura, I think I have a right to know after I nearly sacrificed the lives of five of my friends for him. I want to know why Orochimaru wanted him and why he betrayed us?" asked Shikamaru ignoring Sakura's opposition.

"The Hyuuga can kiss my ass, they are the ones at fault since last I recalled I did not ask them to have their fainting princess stalk me. As for Neji, he is not like him. I can answer your questions but you have to promise that this does not leave outside us three", added Naruto

"If that is the case then you must also tell me why you think we have plenty of time to rescue him", added Sakura who agreed with Shikamaru in Naruto's term.

"Okay, just remember your promises. Orochimaru wants him as his next carrier. That snake has developed an immortality jutsu that allows him to transfer his soul into another body and live off it. The good news is that he can only do this once every three years and the best part is that thanks to our involvement Orochimaru was forced to choose another body. Sasuke is training under him now. He chose Sasuke because he has the sharingan which is hugely soughed by that snake as his goal is to learn all the jutsus in the world. Now why does Sasuke join him, well first it's because he received the curse seal from him which somewhat controls his mind. It is also because he believes that Orochimaru can help him achieve a life long goal, a vengeance he believes he must carry and which he consider even higher then his duty to Konoha. I will not go into any more details. As of now, he is potentially dangerous to any Konoha shinobi, we do not know how much the seal affects his thinking which is why the Hokage did not order the death warrant against him", added silently Naruto.

"So his motive was personal gain… I cannot believe he would betray us like that, but then again if what I understand you two are betting that it is entirely Orochimaru's doing via that curse seal. Well that gives you some hope. Anyway, I think you are right about not revealing this to anyone else, I feel bad for you though Naruto, you took the heat for a lie and a mission that was doomed even before it started. There is only much we can do when the person you are sent to rescue refuses it" , said Shikamaru quietly, while Sakura was lost in her own sorrow.

"It was part of the mission dude. Someone had to take the fall, better be me then one of you guys. I am just glad I lost none of you in it, I would have never forgave myself if that were to happen. Also you are wrong, I was a bit to blame, if I was not fooling around in the beginning then this might have never happened. I guess I really am cursed for life, even when I do not show off I make someone miserable. Anyway, let's not talk about these things anymore, Ino is waking up", responded Naruto with his usual comforting wink, while preventing Shikamaru and Sakura to reply his last comment at the same time.

Ino found herself surrounded by three, she was suspicious of what happened during the thirty minutes she passed out and even scolded Naruto for scaring the living hell out of her, but she was happy that her mission was complete. Shikamaru moved into different subjects to diffuse the attention even more.

"You know I was wondering this training field you created on your own is very exquisite. Any chance of allowing the rest of the boys train us in it? It would certainly make people like Neji, Lee and Kiba very happy and not to mention allow us to catch up to you a bit", said Shikamaru.

"In your dreams Lazy man, besides there is way too many hidden traps here. I might leave you guys this section of the field if you guys really want it. Just do not cross behind the bushes, where my accuracy training field is located, as I wish to avoid accidental deaths. Before you say that there are no deadly traps here, know that this field follows advanced trapping strategies. The entrance has hidden detection traps, which all four of you broke while entering that is how I knew you guys were here. This section, the fight simulation field has basic holding traps like the one Ino encountered. That section has ones that can physically harm you, not to mention that since I practice projectile throwing there, it alone should tell you to avoid it", replied Naruto.

"I see, so that is why we did not feel any on our way here. I guess it's logical, when it comes to preventing friendly trespassers your first priority is not to get themselves killed. Wait a damn minute there is only three of us who came here, what do you mean by all four of us? Do you mean you fox? Speaking of which where is that pet of yours?" asked a confused Ino who suddenly realized with Sakura and Shikamaru that Kyuubi was missing.

"Oh he is just playing hide and seek with our last guest. Although it seems that she is not taking my warning seriously so I better end that game now… got her, and on the nick of time too", yelled Naruto as he suddenly hurled his haapuun (harpoon) at the bushes of leading to the accuracy field.

"What was that for you dumbass, stop scaring us like that! Why the hell are you hiding such dangerous weapon under your sleeve anyway, you can seriously hurt yourself placing it there… ANBU?" yelled Sakura, as she recognized the costume was the boy was retracting his weapon while dragging a trapped ANBU with it.

Naruto pulled her half-way of their distance as the group reached near her after following Naruto's lead. It was indeed an ANBU, a female, of about 20 plus years old. She on the other hand was not appreciating the attention as she was trying desperately to cut trough the string that was binding her.

"Hiya Miss, sorry to interrupt you from your work of spying on us, but you were heading for one of those traps I was just warning about. I was wondering why such an important person as yourself was honoring us with a visit, but I must say I am confused. I was told that ANBU members were the best at stealth and well you are really bad when it comes to it. I am also confused upon you mission, at first I thought you were just keeping an eye on Miss Pinky here on behalf of Obaasan (Old women/Tsunade) but then again you were not reacting much to all the dangers faced earlier. Oh do not try to cut it is covered with my chakra so it wont tear. Don't struggle I am taking it off for you", said a smiling Naruto, as he united her from his weapon.

Aya was indeed sent by Tsunade to watch over Sakura, for whom the Hokage was worried. She did follow them but when she saw the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki she stalled. His sudden display of his abilities scared her. Like most villagers she believed that he was an idiot that had no future, something that she took comfort in as she always hated him. Ever since her parents were killed 13 years ago in the hand of the demon fox. Ever since then she had been afraid of foxes and always hated Naruto. If she could he would have even volunteered to assassinate him but since she could not thanks to Sandaime, she simply took pride in knowing that he was an idiot and that she was far superior to him. Now she felt the table had turned and she was frightened of the prospect, but she was not going to let him walk out on top of her. So when Kyuubi approached her with his usual cute seductive act, she held her breath and pushed him away.

"Keep that ugly fox away from me! How dare you attempt to assault a fellow shinobi? You think you can brag simply because I played along your game? I should have you court-martialed! If I had not miscalculated your fox and his tracking ability you would have never detected me. Not to mention using a useless weapon on your attempt, you missed me even after I revealed my position." yelled Aya with a hard voice.

"Did she just call me an ugly fox? What a rough girl… I guess I know now why they let her in, anyone would mistake her for a squad leader. I think my seduction method is loosing its touch", added the sorrowed Kyuubi, as he approched near Ino and repeated his last performance earning free patting from her part.

"I think you must have hit your head along the way. I did not attack you, I just saved you from my own trap. I also am not bragging. It is not my fault that you are bad when it comes to stealth. My fox was being playful by the way, he was hiding near you for the last 10 minutes, which means you also suck in sensing. Maybe you should take your own advice and stop bragging and answer the question you were asked kindly", replied an annoyed Naruto.

"Naruto, I think she meant you using that weapon of yours to catch her. It did really look like you were going for the kill…" added Sakura.

"You mean my haapuun? You guys do realize that it is easier to impale someone then to tie them up with one, right? Let me give an insight on it. It has a reach of 50 meters via wire, which thanks to Kakashi-sensei I got the best one available. It is attached to the best kunai I have in my possession. The wire and the kunai is hidden in this launcher under my right forearm to protect myself. The throw and retraction of the kunai along with its accuracy is controlled with my chakra. This means not only can I use it to kill someone but also grab just like I grabbed her. According to Kakashi-sensei it is the best long-ranged weapon a shinobi can wield", detailed Naruto to Sakura while showing his weapon.

"I was right, you really are dumb. Only a dumbass would reveal his secrets like that. Information on you were right, you are too hot-tempered to be a shinobi. I maybe a bit bad in stealth but at least I am not a fool who easily reveals his secrets. Not to mention your whole speech about traps are nothing but bluffs", countered Aya seeing that she was loosing the verbal battle.

"Secrets? This is no secrets, this weapon has been in service for the last 100 years. Besides, what really matters is the user's stamina and skills, which I know I excel at and I can bet you its much better then yours. So stop making the story long answer my first questions. I do not have time to chat all day. Finally, you were wrong about there not being any traps and here is the proof", grunted back Naruto, as he took out a shuriken from his holster and threw it close to the location where he captured the ANBU, which trigged a trap that bombed the location with a large quantity of wooden sharp edged projectiles.

"Okay, that was a nice display of your crazy training habit. I will be sure to remember to never go around that area again", added Shikamaru

"You should have expected something like that Shikamaru. Naruto is known for turning simple exercise into radical ones. Frankly I was expecting another volley. I guess he was still trying to be soft at first", laughed Sakura.

"… I was told to not disturb your training until it was absolutely necessary. I am to follow Haruno Sakura for the day. I was told to not be visible on her radar…" , quietly answered Aya, who finally signaled that she has lost this battle.

"Well, if that is the case, I apologies for ruining your mission. I guess you did fulfill your mission since these guys had no clue you were here. I am surely none of them will say anything about this mishap. I would recommend that you train on your spying and detecting skills before coming here. I plan to join the squad on of these days, do not want to be known as the guy who accidentally killed a fellow ANBU, even before joining it. Now that all is cleared can you all please leave. I still got a jutsu to master, before the old man (Jiraiya) gets here", pleaded Naruto who just pulled a 180 on Aya totally taking her by surprise.

Shikamaru, Sakura and Ino wanted to ask more questions but Naruto simply pushed them away along with the annoyed Aya and proceeded to the accuracy field to resume his training session.

Naruto's finals days were hectic. He had to joggle between training with Kaen, seeing the others, preparing himself for the trip and sudden sneak ups in the training field during his training from Aya, who was determined to prove her pride that she was better then a mere genin. Since their last encounter, she had doubled her effort, spending her free times annoying him. She simply could not accept the truth, certainly not after being pitied by him. Besides even if she was not having any success of passing under his radars, at least she was pissing him off, which she took great comfort in.

As the day approached Jiraiya returned the day before. He was surprised to see his student all prepped up for their voyage. It would not be his first of the day, as he realized that the boy had indeed learned the jutsus he had given while keeping his words to contribute socially. He was really excited, as it meant that his work would be much simpler then he expected. After all, it meant Naruto could learn new jutsus by training on his own and all he had to do is give a demonstration. The sad part was that deep inside Naruto was not pleased, Aya's frequent visits allowed him to learn only one of Kaen's jutsus the katon kitsune kaenhoushaki, ironically she would never know of this small victory. He was however, excited of the places and new experiences he may gain along the way.

The next day, after saying their goodbyes the teacher and his pupil along with his pet were met along the route by Kakashi who was rushing to reach Konoha to give Naruto the present he had reserved him. His present were two jutsus, water jutsus that held a significant value to the boy, as they reminded him of Zabuza and Haku. They were of course suiton suiryuu dan (water element water dragon projectile) and suiton daibakufu (water element grand waterfall). Kakashi had also two genjutsus that he had prepared for Sakura. It was part of his new plan to be equal to all his students, even though now they were his ex-students. As Naruto left, he remembered the past and the future that awaited him.

End of chapter 4

Finally, it took me 13 pages to end this chapter, guess none will complain for a long chapter. Sorry for those who think I need to put more paragraphs but it seems that the sites editors has a different margin between paragraphs then MS Word, I will try to make as many paragraphs I can. Hope you all enjoy it. Oh yes, as you can see I started to add new characters. They will be exploited in details in the upcoming chapters. Next chapter, it's the return after the two year time skip!

New Characters

Aya: One of the ANBU who will be future teammate of Naruto. She hates him, as he is the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi, who has killed her family 13 years ago. She is hard soldier, very serious for her age (20 when Naruto returns) and has a lot of pride. Her weakness is that she tends to be bad when it comes to stealth, which Naruto always brings up to get her angry. They have a fierce rivalry between them, not in competiton but rather piss off contests. So tension is always in the air when both find themselves near each other.

Kaen: The legendary fire fox of the group of 6. He has four tails, has fiery red fur and is of medium size like the other 6. Personality wise, he is prankish, hot tempered very social and serious when it is needed. He likes to have fun at free time.

Kachuu: The legendary water fox of the group of 6. He has five tails, has a crystal blue fur and is of medium size like the other 6. Personality wise, he is serious, cold as ice, very unsociable and distasteful of humans.

New Techniques & weapons

Kitsune kuchiyose / Fox summoning: B ranked summoning jutsu that allows the user to summon the legendary 6 foxes.

Katon kitsune kaenhoushaki / Fire element fox flamethrower: B ranked powerful fire jutsu, which is stronger then katon karyuu endan and has the additional ability to be flexible enough to be manipulated by the user and attack in various patterns. Only a user who has fox contract can use it.

Katon kitsune shikon / Fire element fox fangs: A ranked fire jutsu where a minimum of four fire foxes that would launch a wolf pack attack that ended with powerful blazing bites from their fangs. The foxes would attack together but would have an individual mindset to counter retaliations making it nearly impossible to avoid. Only a user who has fox contract can use it.

Katon kitsune tsume / Fire element fox claws: A ranked jutsu that turns the user claws into its fiery version that can leave devastating burns via its slashes, a very deadly ability for a taijutsu user. Only a user who has fox contract can use it.

Haapuun / Harpoon: A shinobi weapon made for long range combat. It has three parts, a sharp kunai tied to 50m steel strings attached to a launcher which contains both items, installed under the forearm (in Naruto's case his right forearm). It acts similarly to the one used by Scorpion in Mortal Kombat, the only difference being that in Narutoverse it launches and retracts via chakra manipulation through the string. He will later modify the weapon that he will call Amenonuhoko.