ACADEMY DAYS XV - AND FLY AWAY

Training Ground 3

[Leaf Hurricane]

Shoto delivers a high spinning kick that Naruto dodges easily enough. The boy spins a full rotation and stops in the position he started.

Naruto closes in the distance and gives a series of jabs that should be slow enough for Shoto to dodge or block.

"Lee taught ya that, huh?" He makes banter as they spar. "But it's nothing like his."

Shoto pants, trying his best to focus on blocking. "It's not. Trying to make it my own; a part of the Shorin-ryu."

Naruto grins. "I see. Then let's work on that, huh?" He progressively speeds up his strikes.

He doesn't really hit Shoto, but does something arguably worse- annoy him. A little shove on the shoulder, a flick on the ear, and even trying to find his ticklish spot. Turns out he's most ticklish just under the ribs. The short bursts of laughter make it increasingly more difficult to dodge.

Thankfully, he's soon saved when an ostrich rushes in and tries to kick Naruto but is once again dodged with great ease. Before fully separating from Shoto, Naruto delivers one final shove with his foot that sends the boy to the ground.

Now, for the ostrich. What it lacks in martial form, it more than makes up with its strength, each kick resounding with a powerful thud even if it only hits air.

'It's nowhere near as strong as Sakura but it's definitely got the potential.' Naruto muses as hops backward while chased by the giant bird. Oddly enough, this isn't as strange as other situations he's found himself in.

He quickly scans the field to see Kotori and Yokumaru getting back up to their feet; tired and dirty, but still in the fight. Good.

Yokumaru takes a more battle-ready stance and brings his hand together, discs of light blue crystalline shine forming into existence.

[Crystal Style: Crystal Shuriken]

The two formed shuriken fly toward Naruto. At first, it looks like they'll go wide and miss him entirely but as they get closer, they swerve and aim right for him.

'Did Tenten teach them that trick?' He makes an observation. 'No, changing the direction comes from the flick of the wrist; these ones were shot from the air. So he can control their direction? That's new.'

Naruto reaches into his pack and pulls out a three-pronged kunai. He channels chakra into it to increase its power and range, as taught to him by Asuma-sensei, and when the shuriken get close, he breaks them with relative ease.

'It's like Guren said. As he is right now, he has to pick between speed or durability.'

[Ninja Art: Crushing Impact]

Kotori sends her ostrich in for the attack as soon as the crystal shuriken are destroyed. Naruto bolts to the side as the claw comes crashing down on him. When the dust dies down, it reveals a sizable crater left behind in the ground. Naruto uses this opportunity to rush in and slash at the ostrich with his dad's kunai, leaving it as only a collection of floating feathers.

However, this doesn't deter Kotori. The feathers don't last long once a bird has been destroyed but they last long enough for one final trick.

[Feather Kunai]

The feathers that float around Naruto jerk mid-air and point directly at him. Once again, however, he dodges out of the way when they shoot at him and they disappear shortly after.

'That's a pretty dangerous part of Kotori's [Aviary]. If you get in too close to destroy her birds, they can still be used as a weapon. When she gets stronger and gains better control, it'll be a deadly combo.'

The kids all finally get their bearings and come together. They've been at this for well over two hours now and their exhaustion is showing. They've trained for longer but this is way more intense than any of the training they'd done until now. Naruto always pushed them to their limits but now he's pushing them beyond, forcing them to think quicker and smarter.

Despite the situation they're in, Yokumaru is grinning ear to ear. He seems more excited than ever.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Shoto cleans some dirt from his face.

"We're getting our butts kicked here." Kotori leans low to the ground, ready to pounce on a moment's notice.

Yokumaru giggles. "It's just… It's been a while since we trained, the four of us. It's nice."

The tiredness on Kotori and Shoto's faces gives way to a smile of their. "Yeah, suppose you're right."

Naruto loosens his stance and walks over to them with a smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. I know I've been real busy lately but it's slowing down now; we can get back to training."

Shoto shakes his head. "You don't need to apologize, shisho."

"Yeah." Yokumaru nods in agreement. "Besides, we've been training our own ways this whole time so you don't have to worry."

"I saw that." Naruto grins. "It's only been a few months but you've all grown even more as shinobi and I couldn't be more proud!" He kneels down in front of them and pulls them all into a big hug.

The kids grin and gladly return the hug.

"But you still got a lot to learn." Naruto's smile twists into a devilish sneer. "You let your enemy get close!" He tightens the clutch he has around the kids and abruptly stands up, immediately spinning as fast as he can when he does.

"I thought we were resting!" Kotori's voice comes out distorted from the highspeed rotation.

"I said no such thing!" He finally releases them and they all go flying in different directions.

They do manage to catch themselves mid-air and avoid crashing too hard. They roll around in the dirt for a bit but quickly recover. That is, quickly for them. For Naruto, they're slow so by the time Shoto looks up, Naruto is already in his face to continue their spar from earlier.

Naruto's strikes are fast and he keeps the little annoyances from before. This time, he also grabs Shoto's orange belt that keeps his gi in place and unties it. Naruto hops back and twirls the belt.

Shoto clenches his fist. "That's… important…"

"I think it is." Naruto looks it over. "Everyone who trains in your Shorin-ryu gets one, right? Different colours for different ranks?"

"Yes." The boy nods.

"But you know, Shoto, you really shouldn't carry into battle something you're not ready to lose. You never know how it might get ruined, and it makes for an easy target." Naruto sighs and walks back to Shoto.

He leans down and offers to help him put the belt back on, which Shoto accepts. The boy silently steps closer and Naruto ties it back into place. As he gives the belt one final tug to make sure it's locked in place, Shoto swings his fist and tries to catch his teacher on the nose but it misses.

"You didn't say we're resting." Shoto smiles smugly.

"You cheeky little…" Naruto chuckles.

In his kneeling position, Naruto slides back while blocking a flurry of punches and kicks and then has to defend from Kotori and Yokumaru who jump in at the same time. Of course, three 10-year-olds aren't going to make him sweat, no matter how better they've gotten.

And so their training resumes.

-x-

A dull golden light covers the village by the time they finish. The sun is calling it a day so they may as well, too. Naruto is sitting on the ground, visibly pleased with how the day went. The kids are leaning against the wooden posts and trying to remember how to breathe.

"That was… a lot." Yokumaru dabs his sweat with a towel he brought from home.

Shoto slumps to the ground. "Yeah. I think I'm gonna nap."

"Shoto?" Kotori grabs his shoulder with an over exaggerated crying face. "Shoto, don't leave us! Noooo-" She's stopped by Shoto abruptly grabbing her face.

"Too energetic." He grumbles and rolls over on his back. "Are we gonna train like this every day?"

Naruto laughs. "I'm surprised you're not used to it since you've been getting lessons from Lee."

"He mostly just gives me tips. He's really busy, too." Shoto rubs a few sore spots he got over the course of the day. Naruto was holding back but he still got a few good hits in.

"But no, it probably won't be this intense every time. Guess I got too excited to train with you guys again. But we are gonna train more than we did before. You're Academy students now and gonna become Genin in two years, so we gotta get you ready."

"Alright!" They try to give out an enthusiastic demeanor but it proves more difficult.

"Ah!" Naruto suddenly remembers. "Before it gets too late, I wanted to give you guys this." He reaches into his pouch and takes out three square pieces of paper.

The kids take them with a visible confusion.

"Thanks?" Yokumaru looks it over.

"Just what I always wanted." Shoto jokes.

Naruto laughs. "They're not gifts. I want you to channel your chakra into them. You'll see what happens."

Their perplexity only grows but still do as instructed. After all, it's their teacher; they can trust him. Right?

It takes a few seconds to focus their chakra but once they do, they can clearly feel some sort of connection to the paper. It's responding to their chakra but they have no idea how exactly or what it's doing. Much to their shock, Shoto's paper crumbles to dust, Yokumaru's- burns to ash, and Kotori's paper splits into two.

Naruto grins. "I figured as much."

"Um…" Yokumaru pokes at the dust gathered at his feet. "What happened?"

"This is called Chakra Induction Paper. It helps shinobi figure out what nature their chakra is! That way you can focus on training for cool new elemental ninjutsu."

"But, shisho, I already knew I can use Earth Style." Shoto scratches his head. "So was this needed?"

"You're right, you can use Earth Style, but that doesn't mean it's your affinity. This paper tells you which of the five natures you're best at and so would have the easiest time learning. You've been using Earth Style but it was possible you coulda been stronger with something else." He shrugs. "You're not, so it's all the same."

Yokumaru looks between his ash pile and Shoto's dust piles. "So what about me?"

"If you wanted to learn some Fire Style, you'd be better at it than Earth or Water. But with the three combined, you got your Crystal Style so you should just focus on that for now. I was more curious than anything." He gives a hearty laugh. "I don't think Guren wants to add any more to your plate."

"So what about mine?" Kotori twists the two pieces.

"You," Naruto takes out a piece of Chakra Paper between his fingers and it splits into two, just as Kotori's did, "Are good with Wind Style. Just like me." He grins. "What I'm thinking for you two," He points to Shoto and Kotori, "Is to have you start doing more ninjutsu. Shoto, you got your [Earth Style: Earth Spear] but something cool in your arsenal's always helpful. And you, Kotori, can start learning nature manipulation."

"My taijutsu is more than enough." Shoto clenches his fist in front of him. "I don't need anything else."

"Uh-huh, sure." Naruto looks at him very skeptically. "Try to hit me."

Naruto stands up and walks a bit away from the wooden posts. Shoto looks between him and his friend with bewilderment but stands up, as well, and walks forward, taking his signature stance when he's a respectable distance from his teacher.

Naruto stretches his legs, kneeling as low as he can, and with a single leap he jumps high into the air. When he reaches his peak, he summons a [Shadow Clone] to keep him afloat and continues to summon them when he begins descending. He keeps jumping back and forth like this for a while as Shoto just blankly stares upward.

"Come on, hit me." Naruto taunts.

Shoto scratches his head. "Yeah, okay, I get the idea."

The real Naruto falls to the ground, sticking a three point landing, while the Shadow Clones disappear.

"But isn't that where Kotori and Yokumaru come in? They can do long-range and I can stick close-range." Shoto asks.

The two kids nod. "Yeah, we can cover his back."

"And if you get taken out first?" Naruto asks. "It's good to have a specialty and I'm not asking you to give it up. You can keep being a taijutsu specialist and I know you'll be amazing at it." He plants his hand on the boy's head, ruffling his hair. "But having even one hidden tick up your sleeve can turn the tide."

"I understand." Shoto nods firmly. "I won't question your judgement again."

"So what new thing is Yokumaru gonna learn?" Kotori asks, now munching on some snacks she'd brought.

"He's already got his hands full." Naruto explains. "His Crystal Style and medical ninjutsu are both difficult to master so he'll be doing that while you two learn a few new tricks. But for now, let's call it a night."

"Yes, sensei." They say in unison and begin packing their bags.

All in all, they felt it a successful day of training.

Uzumaki clan compound training ground

While one Naruto was out training with the kids, another Naruto had a somewhat similar task.

This Clone in particular is at the clan's training ground and is surrounded by Awaji's four grandkids. It was their turn to spar with Naruto, with the other battle-ready Uzumaki taking their well deserved breaks by the trees. Awaji and Kyodo are going around, making sure they're feeling well.

It's a bit of a handicap as right now Naruto is sparring not just against the four grandkids but Naruto actually might just have the advantage as he actually has 8 years of active shinobi duty while they only have the knowledge. They've obviously been trained well, but Naruto's hands-on experience is definitely proving to be a big plus.

They try to use their numbers to overpower him and it definitely comes close, but Naruto's still one step ahead. Sen hops right over him, swinging his lightning-coated katana right at Naruto's neck. He's not going for the kill or anything but he knows that anything other than this won't get much of a reaction from Naruto. And besides, this is a Shadow Clone so no one would get hurt.

Naruto ducks in time to only lose the tips of his hair. He has to bolt backward to dodge a torrent of water, powerful enough to cut down a tree not far from where they are.

[Water Style: Water Trumpet]

He looks to the source of the water, where Esuka tries to move her Water Style to hit him, but she needs a better distraction it seems.

Before the water can die out, Saki takes advantage of it, seeing that it's not going to reach its target. She inhales deeply and spews a stream of fire, not at Naruto but at her younger sister's [Water Trumpet].

[Fire Style: Fire Bullet]

The resulting steam covers the entire area which gives them the cover they need. When the group gets too close for comfort, that's when Naruto finds a way to put some distance between. He gathers his yellow chakra around his palms, two spheres of violent chakra growing larger and larger.

[Twin Massive Rasengan]

He spins around as the [Rasengan] clear the steam and dig a crater into the ground, showing just how much of a bad idea it is to get close right now. When it dies down, he has a second to breathe before the attacks come again.

The eldest, Michi, leaps forward to try and shoulder barge him. Naruto pushes back and grabs onto his armour to try and throw him back. Before that can happen, however, Michi disappears and its place stands Esuke, the much younger and much shorter. Naruto grasps at air.

"Got you." Esuka smirks.

[String Light Formation]

A series of jutsu formulae sprawl from under her feet, forming into several circles , each larger than the previous, with straight lines of scribblings cutting said circles. Naruto freezes in places.

This is a jutsu he's actually familiar with and has been under the effects of. When Iruka tried to stop him back on Turtle Island, he managed to break free using Kurama's chakra. However, Esuka's usage of it is way stronger despite her young age and as per the rules of the spar, he can't use Kurama's cloak or Sage Mode.

He pushes himself as much as he can but before he can even see if he can break free, Michi, Sen, and Saki surround him and form hand signs of their own.

[Three Directions Seal]

A green glow emanates from all three of them as strings of light shoot out from their hands and at the other siblings. The light grows wider, forming walls around Naruto, eventually trapping him in a green triangle.

He feels the pressure increase several fold under the two fuinjutsu he's currently under. The three of them forming the triangular seal step closer to him, shrinking the seal and giving him much less room to breathe.

He groans in pain as the crushing sensation grows much more intense as they close the seal, and Esuka's seal seems to be gaining power, too. He's finding himself with less options. The one thing he can do right is now slowly and painfully twist his hand so it's not facing him. He might not be able to move but he doesn't need to for this one jutsu.

The yellow chakra gathers at his palm again, expanding rapidly.

[Massive Rasengan]

The triangular barrier shatters, sending the siblings flying back. Before the dust even settles, they each find themselves with a three-pronged kunai at their neck.

Awaji claps. "Excellent work."

The four Clones disappear as the original falls on his back in the middle of where they just were. "Oh man, that was heavy…"

Michi plops herself on the ground, crossing her legs. "We got so close, too."

Naruto laughs. "Yeah, you did! If it was anyone other than me, that really woulda hurt."

Sen crosses his arms in a huff. "Wow, so humble."

"It's true." Esuka nods. "Our seals prevent movement but his jutsu doesn't need any movement."

"Are there any seals that mess with someone's chakra?" Saki asks.

"There are." Their grandfather answers. "But they're much more difficult to learn."

Michi hits the ground with a closed fist. "If the people we're fighting are some vengeful faction of the Uzumaki, then we definitely need to learn that."

"Yeah." Sen clenches his fist. "If they're as strong as gramps said, we can't just sit on our asses."

"And we won't." Naruto gets up to his feet. "That's the whole point we're doing all this, right? The Uzumaki clan sealed the Great Beasts once before and we'll do it again." Naruto looks them all over with a stern gaze that they'd never seen from him before. "No doubts, no hesitation."

Awaji nods. "Well said. You needn't be hard on yourself, 've already made tremendous progress. And, Lord Naruto, allow me to thank you for agreeing to help." He bows to his clan leader.

"Ah, no, you don't have to." Naruto waves his hands in front of himself. "I dunno what I would've done without you and Karin helping with all the administrative stuff. This is the least I could do."

Awaji claps once to gather everyone's attention. "I thank you all for participating today, we'll continue again tomorrow. I'm exceptionally proud of how everyone has come."

The Uzumaki begin gathering their possessions with the day now over. They all give their farewells and they go their own separate ways, although they're not too separate seeing as they live relatively close to one another.

It's at this point that another Naruto approaches, with Kotori in tow. The Shadow Clone just arriving releases himself and the real Naruto sifts through his memories.

Now that he has all the necessary information, he calls out to his cousin. "Oh, Michi! Can I ask ya a favour?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Michi runs her fingers through her short hair, trying to get it back to its usual spiky appearance. Working up a sweat has a way of flattening your hair.

"You think you could lend me your skills with Earth Style?"

"Oh?" Michi flashes a grin and smacks her palm. "Who you need me to pound into the ground."

"Nothin' like that; it's about Shoto." Naruto explains.

"Sorry, man, I don't beat up kids."

Naruto rubs his forehead. "No, to teach him!"

"Ooooh." Michi finally realizes. "Well why didn't you just say so. Sure, I'll teach 'im."

"Thanks!" Naruto grins. "I'll call ya when we got a plan!"

With that, Naruto regroups with Kotori and the two head home. Kotori in particular has a certain skip to her step, most likely from the excitement of her new training and the new jutsu she's going to learn.

-x-

Uzumaki household

As they reach home, they're just in time to see Hinata returning with some heavy bags from shopping. Naruto speeds up his step and takes the bags off her.

"You coulda told me there was shopping to do."

"It's fine." Hinata smiles and places a hand on his chest. "I got home early from work and wanted to walk around the market."

Kotori takes a peek into the bags. "What're we eating today?"

"Well, I was thinking about some curry rice? How does that sound?"

"Delicious!" Kotori grins and runs head and opens the door for them.

They head straight for the kitchen to unpack their groceries and shelve them where needed, with Hinata setting aside what she needs for dinner.

"So how did your day go?" She asks as they put order in the kitchen.

"Great! The kids are really strong, y'know." Naruto grins. "Really surprised me with how good they got with their own training."

"I see." Hinata smiles warmly.

Kotori leans on the kitchen counter. "And now I'm gonna learn Wind Style! Apparently I'm good a good fit for it."

"Really now?" Hinata raises a brow. "What sparked this?"

"Figured they oughta know, y'know?" Naruto shrugs. "I learned about my chakra nature real late but a lotta people learn early on. Thought it'd do Kotori some good to learn it now."

"Yeah!" Kotori vehemently agrees. "Kashiwama and Yokumaru can already do all sortsa cool stuff."

Hinata giggles. "So your [Aviary] isn't enough?"

"But it's perfect right?" Kotori spins around in excitement. "With my Wind Style I might be able to help my birds. Maybe I can even learn to fly myself!" She lets her body slump, keeping her chin on the counter. "I wonder if Takai learned how. She said she wanted to fly, too."

Hinata leans down and kisses her daughter on the temple. "I'm sure you'll see each other soon. But in the meantime, you could write to her."

Kotori takes a moment to process the information before she looks up with a furrowed brow. "I can?"

"I don't see why not. I can ask Karui about sending a letter to the Hidden Cloud."

"Yes!" Kotori exclaims. "Maybe I can send a letter to Mutsu, too."

"Then how 'bout you write the letters tonight?" Naruto ruffles her hair. "And we can send when Karui gives the all clear."

"Will do!" She immediately darts upstairs to her room to begin writing.

She has to think about everything she wants to say. After all, it's been two years by this point and they've already been through so much; there's a lot to summarize.

Naruto laughs at her enthusiasm and goes to wrap his hands around his fiancee. "What about you?"

"Me?" She leans back and rests her head against his shoulder. "I'm happier than I've ever been."