DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (BUT THE FRANCHISE DOES OWN MY HEART HAHA)

A Day Off In Konoha

- At The Seventh Training Grounds -

It was a fair day in Konoha and it was Saturday as well, people continued to mind their own business while some opted to relax and take it easy today. But not Naruto, he could be seen training with clones of himself at the Seventh Training Grounds. He was panting and so was his clones, they have been fighting for the past 5 hours essentially.

It was one against three, he was currently waiting for one of them to make a move. He held his breath because at any second one of them would engage. Naruto stared down copies of himself, a bead of sweat ran down his face.

Suddenly one of his clones made a move, Clone #1 rushed towards him with a cocked fist. The other two followed suit as well, Clone #1 jumped in the air and attempted to punch Naruto. He concentrated really hard to pull off the technique he has been practicing for a while, he simply sidestepped the first clone causing it to miss and stumble to the ground. Clone #2 went for a spinning kick instead, Naruto concentrated and added chakra to his palms to make it stick to his clone's legs. Clone #2's leg connected with his palm, it was a success! After so many failed attempts he was finally able to do it once, Naruto then quickly capitalized on this opportunity to grab his opponent's leg. He swung him around and then threw him at Clone #3 making both the second and third clone fall to the ground.

Clone #1 came back and was coming from behind him, Naruto ducked and performed a sweeping kick causing the clone to lose balance and fall on his butt. Clone #2 returned for more with a clenched fist, the clone quickly lunged at him. While he was in mid-air, Naruto countered with a back-kick. His foot landed on the clone's abdomen making it gasp, Naruto applied chakra once more but this time to his feet. Naruto thought he had failed but at the last moment, it connected once more, making this the second time he successfully pulled it off.

Using all his strength, Naruto jumped in the air to do a flip. Once he has spun around, he then slammed the clone to the ground. The force made the clone bounce, Naruto twirled and punched the clone towards Clone #3 once more. There he saw the second and third clones on top of one another, but the first one was missing. He looked to his left, right, back, and from above. Naruto then realized where the clone was going to be, but it was too late. The ground cracked underneath, Clone #1 launched from the ground and successfully landed an uppercut on Naruto's chin. Naruto was sent flying and once he wasn't airborne anymore, he began to slide across the dirt.

Naruto stood back up and dusted himself off, but suddenly his mouth tasted a bit rusty. He touched his lip and checked his finger, it had blood on it. Seems like the uppercut made him bite his lip involuntarily. Naruto was quite satisfied with his training despite having an aching body, he failed 28 times and succeeded twice making his streak 28 - 2. Which wasn't too shabby for someone who's also not that good at chakra control.

"That was more difficult than I thought" the original Naruto said

"Well yeah, Asuma-sensei told us that you have to practice it yourself to learn it" Clone #1 replied

"Yeah… But it seems that I'm starting to get a hang of it, though I still need to polish some stuff, though I do wonder…" Naruto retorted

"Hmmm?" Clone #2 stammered

"Have we… Well I, ever been taught to walk on trees and stuff"

"I don't think so… though if I remember correctly, this Nebaiken thing is closely related to that" Clone #2 said

"I see... I guess I'll ask Asuma-sensei to teach me then"

"That sounds good dattebayo!" Clone #3 interjected

"Thanks uhhh… Me's? or I…"

"I dunno… What makes you think that we know the answer?" Clone #1 argued

"Well, I am basically thanking myself really… I guess it's me's then…"

"Why not I?" Clone #2 asked

"I'm confused…" Clone #1 said

"Me too…/Same…" Clone #2 and Clone #3 said respectively

"You know what? Forget, good job to all of us then. There, problem solved"

"Sounds good enough" Clone #2 said to Naruto

Naruto then wrapped things up and dispelled them right after. It was almost lunchtime and Naruto was freaking starving, he got up at 6 in the morning and ended at around 11:30 before noon. He took the stuff he placed by a tree, those stuff were various books and scrolls he borrowed from the archives. Once he has gotten all of his stuff, he left the training grounds and decided to grab lunch.

- At Ichiraku Ramen -

Naruto was happily eating ramen, his favorite one as a matter of fact. He read the scrolls he borrowed in between bites, he also made sure not to spill any ramen on it to avoid damaging it.

"Whatcha reading there Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked

"Oh! I borrowed this awesome scroll from the archives Ayame-neechan, once I master this I will become stronger dattebayo!" Naruto grinned

"That's awesome to hear Naruto-kun, what's it about though if you don't mind asking"

"It's called Nebaiken: The Art of Grappling, the author's name is Mihara Kenchi. According to the scroll, Nebaiken means sticky fist"

"What makes it sticky then?"

"The core concept of this technique is to use chakra to make my body stick to my opponent's body. Kinda like tree-walking or water-walking, but I have yet to learn those, it is similar to those two because it used chakra to stick to surfaces and stuff. And the reason why I want my body to stick to my opponent's body is so that they can't escape while I beat them up"

"That sounds menacing Naruto I have to say, and how's your progress though?"

"Er… It's fine I guess if you consider failing 28 times and succeeding 2 times "fine" *sigh*" Naruto said

"Oh cheer up Naruto-kun, you gotta start somewhere right? That's the whole point of training if I'm not mistaken, I mean look at me! At first, I didn't know how to serve ramen properly, my dad would get mad at me for wasting ramen because of messing up. But with enough practice, I was finally getting the hang of it. And now I'm basically a pro when it comes to ramen" she said proudly.

"You're a hundred years too early to call yourself a pro, my dear daughter" Teuchi chuckled

"Whatever you say dad" Ayame replied which made Naruto laugh

"So you see Naruto? Just because you failed 28 times doesn't automatically mean that you suck at it, focus on the two times you were able to do it and strive to make it happen even more" Ayame replied whilst smiling

What she said put things into perspective for Naruto, he needed to be more patient with the learning process. And that it takes time to master things, Konoha's wasn't built in a day after all.

"You're right Ayame-neechan! Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it!" he said sincerely

"Oh it's nothing Naruto-kun, I'm just glad I could help you. How's being a Genin so far though?" she asked

"It's tiring that's for sure but rewarding, to say the least. At first, I was always expecting missions that were action-filled, but after my first battle. I kinda feel different y'know?"

"How so?"

"It's not that I'm afraid or anything, I think I realized I shouldn't be begging for conflict if that makes sense"

"That is wise Naruto-kun, good for you. Speaking of Genin, where's your girlfriend though?"

"Girlfriend? Do you mean Ino? She's not my girlfriend!"

"Since when did I say Ino was your girlfriend? You're the one who provided the name, looks like you do like her huh?" she teased

Naruto turned red not because the ramen was spicy but because he was flustered due to Ayame's teasing, "S-Seriously… S-She's not my girlfriend!" Naruto stuttered.

"Why not? Don't you think she's pretty?"

"She is pretty"

"See you like her, then she is your girlfriend. I think I'm gonna cry, our Naruto already has a girlfriend. They grow up so fast" Ayame pretended to cry.

"I SWEAR SHE'S NOT!" Naruto pleaded

Ayame laughed in response, "I'm just kidding Naruto, teasing you never gets old. But honestly, do you like her?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's it, do you like her?"

"Well yeah, she's my teammate"

"But what if she wasn't your teammate? Would you still like her?"

"I guess so, yeah. I mean even though we always bicker, I still think she's alright"

"I see… Anyway, just leave the bowl here when you're done. I'll be washing the dishes now" she said to which Naruto nodded.

Naruto quickly finished his ramen and left the bowl just as Ayame requested. He already paid for his meal so he decided to rest for a while and resume training after.

- At The Hokage's Office -

Hiruzen was at his desk, working on paperwork as usual despite it being a Saturday. The sheer amount of paperwork he has to do never fails to burn him out, he was getting too old for this type of thing. Hiruzen always wonders how the Yondaime manages to finish all his paperwork in a short amount of time. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door.

"Enter" said Hiruzen

The door opened to reveal a Chunin with a scroll in his hands, "Hokage-sama, we have received a letter from the Kazekage just now" he said to Hiruzen.

"I see, thank you for bringing it here Natori. What about the team we sent to patrol the border, have you and your team heard from them?" Hiruzen inquired.

"We have yet to receive anything from them but if we do I will be sure to inform you Hokage-sama"

"Very well, that would be all. You are dismissed" he said to Natori. He then bowed and left the office.

Hiruzen then opened the scroll that Natori left on his desk, it was about the Chunin Exams and other related matters. It was already that time of the month, as the Chunin Exams are usually held in the month of July. He has already discussed this with the Kazekage a couple of times in the past, said topic was about the location where the exams would be held.

Last year's exams were held at Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village), and it is only right for Hiruzen to host the exams this year. He began writing back on a new scroll to reply to the Kazekage's message,

Dear Kazekage-dono,

I wish this message finds you well, I would also like you to know that am pleased to hear from you. In terms of the venue for the upcoming Chunin Exams, I believe it is only fair to host the exams here in Konoha this year due to the fact that it was held in Suna previously. I shall be using the entire month of June to prepare for the exams, which range from the tests, proctors, as well as accommodations for those who will participate. With regards to the other villages we have invited, I am delighted to inform you that the following villages have accepted our invitation to join our joint Chunin Exams.

Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village)

Kusagakure (Hidden Grass Village)

Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village)

Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village)

Apparently, there is an up-and-coming village in Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields). Little is known about them for I have yet to talk to any officials in their village but that is a subject for a different time. That is all I have to say and we are looking forward to having your village here.

Respectfully,

Hiruzen Sarutobi (Hokage)

Hiruzen finished writing his response to the Kazekage's letter, he then set it aside for a moment and began to handle different matters. Hiruzen took another file from his pile of paperwork, he has been working for hours yet it seemed that he hasn't even made a dent yet. Hiruzen sighed as he took a puff from his pipe, he then opened the file to learn that it was a missing person report.

This caught his attention due to the fact that he has been receiving a rather large influx of missing cases of both civilians and shinobi. Something was up and Hiruzen could feel it, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet. Things like these don't happen for no reason at all, with years of experience he knew better that something was wrong. He needed to know more, to uncover the truth but alas his hands were tied. With the upcoming Chunin Exams and other responsibilities he has around the village, he just couldn't look into the matter himself.

He considered sending out a team to investigate it but unfortunately, he just can't. Manpower is stretched thin at the moment, multiple teams are out on missions while others are busy doing their own thing either teaching their students, managing different departments, and many more to mention. Hiruzen sighed once more, he has sighed many times up to the point where he already lost track.

"I really have to find a successor as soon as possible" he thought to himself. He was right, really does need to find someone to replace him. The burden of being the Hokage was getting to him, there's only so much he can do in his advanced age. Sure he was still the strongest ninja in their village, but the menial side of things was just too much for him. Hiruzen wished to retire and enjoy the time he has left in the world of the living. He knew more than anyone that he won't be here forever, Hiruzen did not fear death for it was inevitable. He has already accepted the fact that he too will die someday a very long time ago.

The Hokage began to muse about various events in his life, such as entering the academy, being taught by the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage, graduating, getting married, and many more. It then hit him, he remembered one of his students. One of the Sannin for that matter, he was basically killing two birds with one stone. Hiruzen then took another clean scroll from his desk and began writing another letter to said student.

Once he was satisfied with what he wrote, he closed the letter and placed it with the scroll he has written earlier. Someone then knocked on the door, Hiruzen told the person he/she could enter. The door opened to reveal a young woman who appears to be one of the people who assists the Hokage.

"Good afternoon Hokage-sama, I have brought you your lunch. And do you have anything you would like me to do?" she asked

"Good afternoon to you to Kimiko-chan, and thank you for bringing me food for I am starting to feel a tad bit peckish. And yes there is something I need help with, kindly bring these two letters to our aviary. I would like these scrolls to be prioritized for they are urgent" he said as he handed them to Kimiko.

She placed the tray on his desk and took the scrolls from him, "Will do Hokage-sama, I'll be back to retrieve your dishes once I send these to the aviary. I will also be bringing the copies of the paperwork that were uh… Burnt earlier this morning, please refrain from using fire jutsus on your paperwork Hokage-sama" Kimiko advised.

This made Hiruzen chuckle, earlier this morning he cast a fire jutsu to incinerate some of the paperwork just to get rid of it. Most probably it was due to some pent-up stress he had inside. He nodded and promised to avoid doing so moving forward, "I'll try my best Kimiko-chan, thank you for reminding me" he replied

"It's no big deal Hokage-sama, I'm glad I could be of assistance. Anyway, I best be going now Hokage-sama" she said as she left his office.

- Later That Night -

Naruto was at his apartment eating ramen for dinner, while he was eating dinner he continued to read the scroll about Nebaiken. He began to be fascinated by the fighting style, later he found out that the creator was similar to him when it comes to fighting.

Naruto never really liked the academy fighting style that much, he admitted that it was useful and handy but he felt that it wasn't really up his alley. Whenever he fought back at the academy during spars, he would instinctively resort to getting close and personal with his opponent. Which was akin to grappling, Naruto also read some of the author's notes in the scroll. He learned that Mihara Kenchi also had difficulties with holding down his opponents, and on one faithful day the idea of combining chakra control with his fighting style hit him. And thus "Nebaiken: The Art of Grappling" was born.

He then rolled the scroll back and set it aside, he placed it by the other scrolls and books he borrowed. As he was doing that, Naruto noticed one other book the archives lent him. "Fuinjutsu: The Art of Sealing - For Beginners" the title said, but that wasn't the thing he noticed. He saw that the book's cover had a spiral symbol on it, much like the one on the back of his clothes.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders thinking that it was just a coincidence, after all the spiral is also on the back of flak jackets both Chunin and Jounin wear. He flipped open the book to read the first page, it was partially torn at the bottom. The author's name was missing but the preface remained.

PREFACE

To the reader of this book, greetings! It is so nice to see someone pick up an interest in fuinjutsu, the art of sealing is rare after all. In this book, I will be teaching you the basics of sealing. Despite being labeled for beginners, I would like to establish that the learning process won't be easy. So if you don't get it right away, do not be discouraged for mastering even the basics of fuinjutsu takes time much like anything else. Think of it as a flower, in order for it to bloom to its fullest potential one must tend to it patiently. That is all I have to say to you dear reader, and I hope once you finished reading this book I was able to teach you a thing or two. Good luck in your education dear reader.

Naruto thought that the author was nice, he flipped to the next page containing the history of fuinjutsu, what fuinjutsu is, and much more information regarding the art. It seemed that Naruto was hooked on the book as he kept on reading throughout the night.

(A/N: And that's where Chapter 9 and if you haven't noticed this fic is sorta like those slow burn ones (correct me if I am using the term incorrectly). ALSO! I noticed I made a mistake in one of the chapters namely Chapter 3, I mentioned Valentine's Day which was a mistake as it messes up my dates. The first chapter should be around the last day of March, so please disregard the whole valentines thingy there (I will fix it). Also, I am contemplating whether or not you guys are interested in a chapter/s about the other teams. I do think they have potential which is why I am asking if you guys would be interested if I were to make a chapter about team7 or team8 heck even team Gai if I can. So please tell me haha, I might upload less for the upcoming days since I am going to be handling some college stuff so that I can transfer from one campus to another. So yeah, I plan on finishing the first part of this fic before my summer vacation ends. Other than that, that's all I have to say, cheers ^^)

(A/N#2: Removed a portion so that it makes sense haha)

(A/N#3: Removed Kirigakure in the letter because I did some research and apparently I misunderstood the wiki, Kiri and Konoha were in bad terms meaning they weren't in alliance or even have formation relations and stuff)