Chapter Twelve
When the bell finally rang for the end of the class day, Naruto was out the door so fast he might as well have used a Body Flicker. He burst out of the doors to the building and into the sunshine with a deep breath. Today was the day.
"Naruto?" Naruto looked up at the sound of his name to find a man looking down at him with an amused smirk. The guy looked like Shikamaru, but with some scars across his face that had Naruto open-mouthed.
"Hey, I remember you from Cousin Ken's test-thingy! Those scars are awesome! I wish I could get scars like that, but I heal too fast! Are you related to Shikamaru Nara?"
"I should hope so," the man said, "he's my son." He held his hand out. "Shikaku Nara." Naruto looked at the hand for a moment, almost dumbfounded that someone was willing to shake his hand, and grabbed it with both of his own to shake with as much vigor as he could.
"Making friends, kiddo?" Ken asked as he walked up.
"I sure hope so," Naruto grinned, mimicking Shikaku.
"Making a new friend, dear?" Yoshino asked, approaching with Shikamaru in tow. She glanced at Ken with a faint smirk, having heard his jest to the boy.
"I'm too old to be making new friends," Shikaku replied.
"It's too much work, anyway," Shikamaru deadpanned.
"Oh, that's bull-" Naruto cut himself off with a fake cough under Ken's narrowed eyes. "It's bull," he amended with a tight smile. As well as combat training and chakra control, Ken had been doing his best to improve Naruto's abysmal manners. Wasn't the kid's fault; he'd been raised practically alone. He smirked at the proof that he was making headway in that area.
"Well done," Yoshino commended. "You'll make an excellent father some day."
Ken scoffed and rubbed the back of his neck. "On that note, let's collect the other guests and get moving. We're burning daylight as it is."
'Other guests?' Naruto wondered.
Other guests!
Before they'd begun the trip back to their rental house, Ken had collected a number of Naruto's classmates, each with one or two of their parents. A decent crowd had followed them back to the house and into the back yard.
As they entered, Naruto was stunned at the orange streamers that were hung among the trees bordering the yard, the high torches just within the treeline, and the table of snacks and cake laying ready for consumption. A huge stone obstacle course had been erected, and the makings of other games sat to the side in preparation. He looked up to Ken, who was watching him for any reaction. Ken grunted as Naruto slammed into him with a fearsome hug.
"Thanks, Cousin Ken," Naruto whispered.
"You're welcome, kiddo," Ken whispered back with a watery smile.
"If you two want a moment alone, we can all go," a large man who was probably an Akimichi suggested wryly.
"Wait, no! It's a party!" Naruto cheered. "Let's have fun!"
With that, the kids scattered to the activities that Tomoko had recommended to him. Ken had used Earth Release and lumber he'd gotten from a salvage yard to build an obstacle course for the ninja kids. It was basically a large-scale jungle gym, but it seemed to appeal to the kids. Later, there would be a treasure hunt framed as a ninja mission, a faux-kunai marksmanship contest, and he was ready to create a massive checkers board for the kids to act as the pieces.
"Not bad for a first timer," the large, rotund, redheaded man complimented. Judging by the markings on his cheeks, coupled with his size, there was no way he couldn't be an Akimichi.
"Thanks," Ken replied. "And you are?"
"Choza Akimichi," the man offered, along with a hand to shake. Ken shook it and nodded. "Have you been making friends in the village?" Choza asked.
Ken barked a laugh. "One of my teammates tried to force that and it … didn't end well," Ken said. "I'd like to, but starting up a career in a new village is hard enough. Throw in a rambunctious, hyperactive kid into the mix and I don't have much time to peruse potential friendships."
"Well, I'd say this right here is a perfect opportunity," Choza chuckled, gesturing widely at the parents of the party guests all gathered in groups to talk and pass the time. Ken blinked as he realized the truth of Choza's words. And then the familiar sense of dread began to pool in his belly, his hands getting clammy and his heart rate quickening. But before he could begin to spiral, Choza clapped a meaty hand on his shoulder, startling him from his thoughts. "Why don't I introduce you to some people?" he offered, gently steering Ken toward one particular group.
The group was composed of the Nara and Akimichi women that Ken's clones had encountered the day before, the latter presumably Choza's wife. There was also a tall blond man and a brunette woman with her hair tied in a bun. Ken took a deep breath and focused on the fact that he had already technically met two of these people, and overall they only counted five.
"Well, if it isn't our gracious host," the Akimichi matron said with a wide smile.
"Ken, I believe you have met my wife, Lady Etsuko," Choza said, gesturing at her, "as well as Lady Yoshino Nara." The Nara mother nodded. "And these two," he gestured at the strangers, "are Lord Inoichi and Lady Natsumi Yamanaka." The Yamanaka couple nodded and gave a small wave, respectively.
"Enough with the 'lord and lady' business," Yoshino scolded lightly, crossing her arms. "We're all friends here."
"Just making sure the boy knows who he's dealing with," Choza chuckled, raising his hands in mock-surrender.
"I actually don't know what I'm dealing with here," Ken noted.
"All of us," Inoichi said, gesturing to them, "are the heads of our respective clans." Inoichi grinned mischievously. "Including, I believe, you yourself," he noted.
Ken took a step back in surprise as that realization hit him like a bucket of cold water. "I, uh, I suppose I am," he replied. After all this time, he hadn't realized that reestablishing the Uzumai clan made him a clan head by default? That … was not an encouraging notion.
"But enough of that foolishness," Yoshino repeated. "This is a child's party, for heaven's sake! None of those blasted village politics here."
"Who's trashing village politics?" Up to the group strode a fierce-looking woman with spiky dark hair and two fang-shaped markings on her cheeks. "Whoever it is, I want in on it," the woman cackled.
"Tsume," Etsuko greeted warmly, "as demure as ever, I see."
"Not on your life," the Tsume woman said, crossing her arms. She glanced at Ken and her expression turned to a wolfish grin. "And you must be the new meat."
"In regards to parenting?" Ken asked rhetorically. "Yes I am." He flexed his fingers, some of the joints popping. "But in regards to ninja life? Not on your life."
Tsume cackled at the echoed words. "Oh, I like this kid," she said. "If you ever need a ninja hound for a job, look me up. Tsume Inuzuka at the shinobi kennels." With that, she nodded to the group and returned to her previous group composed of Aoba (who had arrived unexpectedly), Teuchi, Ayame, and Iruka.
Maybe it was the Tsume woman's blatant rejection of pretense or maybe it was the general friendliness of all of these new faces, but Ken found himself slowly relaxing. He listened closely as the group caught up and was touched when they asked him gentle questions about himself, his time in Konoha so far, and his new rearing of Naruto and the boy's progress. Nothing too deep, but none too shallow either.
After some time, Ken called for the kids to gather Naruto to open his gifts, which he assured them would be followed by cake and games. He was happy to see the kids gathered around … a feeling that was replaced by awe as each of them revealed bags and packages for Naruto that they placed on a table that held a few parcels.
Naruto blinked a few times at the small collection of presents before swallowing thickly, clearly resisting the urge to cry. "T-thanks, everyone. I don't … I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything!" a boy that could only be Tsume's son shouted brazenly. "Just open 'em up!"
Naruto laughed and grabbed one at random. He peeled open the wrapping paper to reveal a pair of brown leather fingerless gloves, the knuckles reinforced with metal studs. "They're training gloves," Tsume pointed out. "So you can hit trees or dummies as hard as you like without hurting your hands."
Naruto grinned and pulled the gloves on, securing them with velcro strips around the wrists. "So cool!" he shouted.
In short order, Naruto unwrapped a ramen cookbook from the Akimichis, a collection of flower seeds from the Yamanakas, some jars of fresh honey from the Aburames and their family hives, a shogi set from the Naras with Yoshino mentioning the game may help Naruto learn patience and strategy, a historical joke book from Iruka in the hopes that the jokes would help Naruto remember history, a book of riddles from Aoba, and an Ichiraku gift card from Teuchi and Ayame. With each gift, Naruto loudly thanked the giver, actually crying at the gift certificate.
The pattern was broken by little Hinata being escorted by her caretaker, whom Ken would learn to be named Ko, to offer Naruto a simple jar, her cheeks adorably pink. "H-Hello, Naruto," she said wistfully.
"Hi!" Naruto replied. "Um, uh, it's 'Hina,' right?"
"H-Hinata," she gently corrected. She presented the jar to him. "I-It's some of my clan's h-healing ointment. In case of training a-accidents."
Ken didn't miss the looks between the guests at this gift. Clearly it was something special. "What do you say, Naruto?" Ken prodded.
"Thank you so much, Hinata!" Naruto grinned, causing the girl's pink cheeks to turn full-on crimson. Without warning, the boy swept her up in a full-body hug. The hug lasted a full three seconds, but apparently that was enough for her to get dizzy from the blood rushing to her face. Ken chuckled at the thought that little Hinata's cheeks might actually set on fire.
"I suppose that just leaves my gifts," Ken said, drawing Naruto's attention. He offered two packages, one smaller and boxy, the other large and fluffy-looking. Naruto took the bigger one and tore open the plain brown paper to reveal a number of shirts and a few jackets, all in dark colors or burnt orange, and each with the Uzumaki swirl on the front and back. "I thought it was time for you to proclaim your clan with pride," Ken smiled.
Naruto chuckled and quickly shed his orange shirt to replace it with a burnt orange shirt with a navy swirl on the chest. "Thanks, Cuz," he said before taking the other gift. He removed more plain brown paper to reveal a set of training ninja tools containing a number of wooden kunai and a collection of wooden throwing stars.
"Whoa," Naruto gasped.
"Figured when we reach weapons training soon enough, you'll want something to work with alone," he chuckled, privately thanking Tomoko — who had yet to arrive — for suggesting it.
Naruto crashed into Ken and babbled his thanks, to which the older Uzumaki just hugged him tighter. After a few minutes, the pair broke apart. "Well, if that concludes the gift-giving," Ken said, "I believe everyone's on something of a time crunch, so let's-"
"Not quite concluded, I'm afraid," a stately voice, gravelly with age and familiar to everyone there, called out. Through the gate entered Lord Hiruzen, Tomoko, and a large man with long white hair that Ken did not recognize. "We have yet to offer our congratulations."
"Hi Gramps!" Naruto shouted, waving almost frantically. "And other people, too!"
"Hello Naruto," Hiruzen said with a warm smile, removing his hat to reveal his short, spiky grey hair. "I'm glad we made it in time." With that he removed a small piece of brown paper from his robe's pocket. "Now, refresh my memory, Iruka. Have the students learned to focus their chakra yet?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Iruka replied quizzically.
"Wonderful," he replied with a smile and removed a square of light brown paper from his robes. "Naruto, this is only a small part of your gift. This is a piece of chakra induction paper used to determine which of the five nature transformations will be easiest for you to use. Try and focus your chakra into it."
Naruto took the paper and shrugged before screwing his face up in concentration. After a few seconds, the paper cleanly split in half. "Whoops. Sorry, Gramps, but I think I broke your paper." Many in the crowd chuckled at Naruto's words.
"No, you did not, Naruto," Hiruzen said wryly. "The paper worked perfectly. You see, it reacts differently to each element." He removed another piece of induction paper, one that bursts into flames. "For those with an affinity for Fire, it burns to ash. From Water, the paper grows damp. Earth causes the paper to crumble to dust, while Lightning makes it wrinkle. And Wind makes it slice in two," he pointed at the papers in Naruto's hand, "just like that."
Naruto stared at the paper in his hand. "Wow." He looked at Ken. "What does your paper do, Cuz?"
"I have an Earth affinity, so it crumbles into dirt," Ken answered.
"Now then," Hiruzen interrupted gently, "the paper was only part of it. It was a way to inform what your real gift would be." With that, he removed a scroll from his robe and handed it to Naruto, who broke a seal with the character for "wind" holding it closed and unfurled it. Naruto's eyes scrunched in confusion before growing with revelation.
"Is this … a ninja technique?"
"That it is," Hiruzen confirmed, "a simple Wind Release technique called the 'Gale Palm'. Of course, you won't be able to learn it until after you master Wind transformation, but I thought you might like a demonstration of what you will be working towards." Hiruzen stepped away and wove a single hand seal, causing semi-opaque wisps of wind to gather around his hands before he clapped his palms together and thrust them forward to send a powerful gust of wind hurtling before him to rattle the trees and kick up a cloud of dust that was then blown away.
"Whoa, cool!" Naruto shouted, echoed by all of the children in the crowd.
"Well, there's no way I can compete with that," Tomoko quipped lightly, pulling a round parcel from a messenger bag at her side and handing it to Naruto. "But maybe you'll like this."
Naruto gently took the gift before fixing her with a quizzical look. "Uh, not to be rude or whatever, but … who are you?"
Tomoko gasped dramatically, placing one hand against her chest and the back of the other to her forehead. "Oh, Ken! How could you not tell your only family about your strongest, hottest, most awesomest companion?! I am shocked beyond all recompense! You monster!"
Ken facepalmed with a growling sigh while everyone else chuckled, Iruka even clapping slowly at the over-the-top performance. Naruto, though, paled at Tomoko's response. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! Hey, wait a minute!" He turned to face Ken with an accusing finger pointing at his cousin. "How could you hurt this nice lady's feelings, Cousin Ken?! Aren't you the one always saying to treat women with respect and all that stuff?!" He pointed backward at Tomoko without breaking his gaze from Ken. "Apologize right now!"
Ken's expression was utterly deadpan as he looked from his little cousin to his currently least-favorite teammate. "Naruto, this is one of my teammates, Tomoko Sarutobi." In retrospect, he had been rather tight-lipped about his team as well as the missions; maybe that was a mistake. He grumbled a bit under his breath before exhaling. "Tomoko, I apologize for not telling my cousin about you and your …" he grit his teeth, "... awesomeness."
Tomoko giggled. "Aw, that's okay. Water under the bridge." She ruffled Naruto's spikes. "I guess I'll just have to come by and tell little Naruto about my greatness myself to make sure it happens." She looked at his untouched present and crossed her arms. "So, kid, are you gonna open that or just hold it forever?"
Naruto shrugged and tore the paper off to reveal a stuffed plush fox, which made him turn red in the cheeks. Tomoko knelt and placed her hands over his. "Just to remind you that not all foxes are bad. They're clever and tricky, but some like to use their tricks to help others." She smiled gently. "Just like I know you will use your tricks to help the village one day."
Naruto blinked, his expression neutral, before grinning widely. "You know it, pretty lady! I'm gonna serve this village better than anyone else when I earn that hat!" He pointed at Lord Hiruzen to illustrate his point. "And then everyone will see I'm more than the Fox; I'll protect the village with everything I've got!"
"Well, if you're anything like your cousin," Tomoko said, "you really have a shot at it." She knelt by Naruto's ear and whispered, "I've got something else for you too. Something I wanna keep secret from Red. I'll give it to you before I leave."
Naruto grinned, glancing back at Ken. "Y'know, I'm glad Cousin Ken has an awesome and understanding girlfriend like you!"
"WHAT?!" Ken shouted, his face rapidly reddening to match his hair. "Where did that come from?!"
Naruto cackled, along with the crowd. "Gotcha! As if you could land a girlfriend as awesome as her!"
"Yeah, Red," Tomoko giggled, her arms loosely crossed. "As if."
Before Ken could say something he would no doubt regret, the white-haired man stepped forward. "As much as I like seeing any guy get knocked down a peg by a kid and a lovely lady, I think I'm the last in line here." He handed Naruto a book with a very long title.
"'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'?" Naruto read.
"That was a favorite of your father's," the man said, quietly enough that no one else could hear.
Naruto gasped and clutched the book to his chest, tears welling in his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Jiraiya the Toad Sage," the man, Jiraiya, replied. Ken's eyes widened in recognition of the famed Sannin. "I was the one who taught your father. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that if your parents were alive, they would be proud of you."
'Bad with kids my foot,' Hiruzen thought idly.
"Well, how about some cake and ninja games?" Tomoko said loudly, drawing cheers from the child attendees. The festival would be starting soon and everyone would want to go, but there was no way they'd miss the best parts of a birthday party.
And when the party had wound down and everyone was heading home, Tomoko knelt before Naruto, carefully out of Ken's line of sight, and passed him a small bottle with a wry grin. Naruto glanced at it and at his older cousin before pocketing it.
Hours later, Ken felt a pleasant mix of contentment and exhaustion as he, Naruto, and Tomoko trudged toward the rental house and Sarutobi compound from the main body of the festival grounds. Even after cake, the three had stuffed themselves with fried foods and played a few rigged games before settling to watch the fireworks. And through it all, Tomoko had stayed with them, laughing at Naruto's antics and losing it with glee when the kid roped Ken into them in turn.
As they reached the house, Tomoko stifled a yawn and ruffled Naruto's spikes. "See ya later, Kit. I hope you had a good birthday."
"I had the absolute best birthday in the history of birthdays!" Naruto replied, his volume muffled by both general exhaustion and multiple sugar crashes. It seemed even his young Uzumaki stamina had a limit. "Thanks, Tomoko, for sticking with us." He grinned in Ken's direction. "I know Cousin Ken enjoyed it."
"Hush, kid," Ken griped good-naturedly. "Get inside, brush your teeth, and hit the hay. We've got chakra training tomorrow." Naruto groaned at the prospect before heading inside.
"He's a sweet boy," Tomoko noted, a statement of fact delivered with genuine warmth.
"That he is," Ken agreed. "And thanks, by the way. Y'know, for coming with us. I appreciate it."
"Anytime, Ken," she said with a smile before turning and heading toward the Sarutobi compound. "Don't forget. We've got our first local C-rank tomorrow, too. So rest up!" she called with a wave.
Ken huffed a laugh and prepared to enter the house before a light cough caught his attention. Years of paranoia came flooding back and he had his black-bladed, seal-scribed wakizashi out in an instant, swinging at the subject without thought. It was only as his blade was within inches of the victim that he realized he'd probably overreacted.
As it turned out, he was wrong in a sense. He'd under-reacted to the threat of a Sannin.
Lord Jiraiya ducked and swept Ken's legs out from under him in a single elegant movement before lunging and grabbing Ken by the face to force his head to the ground. Ken was stunned when he realized, a few seconds after, that the back of his head had barely touched the dirt in front of the wooden porch.
"Not bad, Ginge. A few more years and you might pose a credible threat."
Jiraiya let Ken up and hauled him to his feet. "If you don't mind, I think it's time we had a talk about the boy." Jiraiya's easy grin faded into a contemplative look. "I have a few suggestions on his training."
Two hours later saw Ken on the couch in the rental house's living room looking down at the sheets of parchment strewn across the coffee table, trying to familiarize himself with their contents. Lord Jiraiya sat across from him, his expression neutral as he waited for the young Uzumaki to finish processing.
In his opinion, these past hours had been quite fruitful. He'd asked about how Naruto had been trained so far and Ken's further plans, which the redhead had admitted he was largely making up as he went along. Knowing that, and based on his own experiences training Minato — as well as another true Uzumaki even earlier — the two had devised a far more detailed training regime and long-term plan.
During this time, Jiraiya had also explained his connection to Minato and Kushina, and further revealed the fact that Naruto was his godson. When Ken had coldly asked why he had never looked after the boy, Jiraiya had offered the same reasons he always gave to Lord Sarutobi. Reasons that Ken had begrudgingly accepted.
"Well, I think I've done all I can here," Jiraiya said with a chuckle, rising from the seat he'd occupied all night and turned for the door with a wave. "It was a genuine pleasure, Ginge. I'm sure I'll see you around."
"I respectfully disagree," Ken said, also rising to escort the Toad Sage out. "I think if you stuck around one more morning and actually met your godson as his godfather, he would be absolutely thrilled."
Jiraiya chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, no. I don't think he's ready for that quite yet." Jiraiya cast his gaze back at Naruto's door. "Maybe in a few years, though." He looked to Ken. "You've taken on quite a responsibility." Without warning, Jiraiya's expression became colder than ice, the look in his eyes belying the power and experience of one of the Leaf Village's greatest shinobi. "Do not mess it up," he warned.
Ken fought to keep a straight face, only a bead of sweat rolling past his eye betraying him. "I'll do everything in my power to protect and guide him, Lord Jiraiya. You have my word as an Uzumaki."
Jiraiya grinned. "Well, that actually makes me feel better." Jiraiya's expression twisted as if he'd bitten into a lemon. "A little warning on that front. One of the old coots with quite a bit of pull in the village is named Danzo Shimura." Ken arched an eyebrow at the familiar name; the name of the man who had been so wary of him. "Normally I'd let you figure it out on your own, but Naruto is at stake here. So know this: Danzo is a ruthless and vicious warhawk who will stop at nothing in the goal of Leaf supremacy. He's Master Sarutobi's oldest and most tenacious rival, and he's had his sights on the Hokage hat since the Third's appointment." Jiraiya leaned closer. "Don't let your guard down around him or his forces." Ken clenched his fists and nodded.
"Good night and good luck, Ken Uzumaki." With that, Jiraiya finally took his leave. After a few minutes, Ken plopped back on the couch and organized the records of Naruto's training plan, his thoughts whirling.
This task seemed to grow more and more daunting as time passed.
That's about a week, right? Welcome back to "Spirals"!
*Lady Etsuko Akimichi and Natsumi Yamanaka - the latter also based on her anime-only appearance - are my original names for them. "Etsuko" means "pleased child," which I picked as a nod to my take that she's a doting and loving mother; "Natsumi" can mean "vegetables/greens" or "to pick/pluck" as in a flower - both fitting for a woman who runs a flower shop.
*I picked the Gale Palm for Naruto's gift months ago, long before I knew it would become one of canon!Boruto's trademark skills. I picked it because Nagato used it in a flashback, honestly, and I wanted Uzumaki continuity. Heck, maybe if they ever meet, Nagato will have a flashback to his training because of it.
Hope this chapter was up to par! May your muse never waver!