I am really proud of this chapter, I love a self-starter.
I think what separates the brothers is Naruto is influenced by Ashura to be more Loving and forgiving to a fault like Hashirama was... but Kagami is more human, colder and less forgiving... he also does not have that inherit energy that makes talk no jutsu work... he is more of a real person, a real ninja etc.
"Kagami Uzumaki, reporting for duty, Lord Hokage." Kagami hated the words, he hated the Hokage for allowing him and Naruto a life time of misery for the sake of the Leaf, but he knew better than to be disrespectful to the Hokage.
The Old man smiled at him. "Ahh, Kagami, how are you, my boy?"
"I am well, Lord Hokage. Ready for my first D rank, or training with a team."
The man sighed. "There will not be any open teams until next week I am afraid. Team Nine's Neji Hyuuga will have clan training for all of next week until then you can train on your own. I hear you have borrowed some books from the library."
Sighing, he nodded. " I did... are you sure I cannot do any D ranks? Literally anything, I need the money, Lord Hokage."
The man bit his lips for a moment. "Well... technically there are no rules against it, there is even a precedent... I suppose I will allow it. However, so we do not impede on your training and combat ability... I will allow you to do two a week, starting today. How do you feel about capturing a cat?'
Groaning internally, he nodded. "I can do that. Treat it like a tracking and retrieval exercise."
The Hokage's sudden smirk was disarming, leaving him just a little bit afraid and very much annoyed. "Something like that."
"""
Hiruzen looked at Kagami, and thought about Naruto. Though they were supposed to be identical, they were not entirely so. Kagami was thicker, stronger from actually eating his vegetables and better food than Naruto as well as training as hard as he did. The boy looked like a blonde version of Rock Lee, Guy's student. Powerful muscles rippled behind his tighter fighting Ninja clothes. The boy had an air of professionalism that Naruto, he stood calm and proud and straight.
It was times like these, looking at the boy, that he thought his idea of the boy being a career chunin silly... and yet, the boy clearly held none of his father's genius. Minato graduated by ten, had the highest scores in the village, excelled in all areas. By twelve Minato was easily jonin level! No... the boy would never reach his father's heights, that was clear.
'Of course, I cannot forget that the boy has some talent and drive, he mastered the tree climbing in one night and even started on water walking... perhaps I am selling him short?'
Sighing, he offered the boy a smile. "Here is your mission scroll, please be careful with the cat and do mind yourself."
"I will, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen had to mask his slight discomfort, it was strange seeing what was essentially Naruto treat him so... coldly, so professionally. He would never get used to that, much preferring the ball of sunshine and the comfort he brought to the world.
'Of course, it is exactly that stoic personality that worries me... the boy, I cannot read him... I cannot read how he has been affected by the villages' mistreatment and that is why he is in the reserves. He may be a flight risk and I cannot risk empowering him too much if he is...'
"""
'Stupid cat, that hurts.' Kagami groaned as he walked to the Aburame compound. He had caught the cat after about two hours, the damn thing was slippery and it clawed him good, he was glad he healed fast ( thanks to the Kyuubi he was now learning). He had held back the urge to kill the damn thing with his fists! He was a professional though, so he refrained.
After that adventure, gaining a rather nice sum of money, he use a transformation and bought a practice katana and a real katana from a second hand shop as well as some weights ( The conditioning book mentioned it was a good idea). Both were in decent condition and neither were majorly pretty or important. He stopped by the library for a book on maintaining his weapons, and took care of both before practicing with his blade for a good hour, thankful for his massive stamina. After that he did some circuit training with the replacement, trained with the Body flciker and more taijutsu training. He had already been up since five in the morning, doing some heavy conditioning straight from the book he bought.
Satisfied with his training and having bathed in a local river so he didn't stink terribly, he decided to try and spar with Shino since he really wanted to interact more with the kind boy as a thank you for the day before.
Reaching the compound, he saw two Aburame guards at the gates. One male, one female, and both looked almost identical to Shino what with their trenchcoats and goggles. The female stepped forward. "What do you need in our compound?"
The boy bowed softly. "I am here to see Shino Aburame, he agreed to spar with me... can you get him or direct me to him?"
The nodded and a beetle escaped from the female guard. "I sent a messenger, give it a few moments and he should be out or he will send a message."
Oddly not detecting any hate, or receiving any glares, he stood and waited. After a few moments, Shino appeared. "I see you came... follow me."
Nodding, he hurried past the guards, bowing to them once more. "I was worried you would have forgotten."
"I would not do that to you, why? Because you would never do that to me." They moved inwards, past several large ornate buildings, each decorated with beautiful but distant symbols. "What did you do today? Why do I ask? Because I am interested in seeing how the reserves acts when compared to my team."
"I caught a cat after begging for a mission, then I trained by myself for six hours. I made some real progress today, I mastered the Water and Tree walking exercises and I got started learning Shifting Leaf Taijutsu and An unnamed but generic kenjutsu style I found."
Shino nodded. "My beetles require advanced chakra control. as do the Hyuuga clan, so Hinata and I knew the water walking and tree climbing exercise but Kiba needs to know so she got him started on it today. It is good you are forging your own style, why? Because you are in a class of clan heirs, to matter and to be noticed you need to show greater initiative since there is always a need for clan ninja."
Sighing he nodded. "I get that... it sucks, but it is the truth... and to be honest, I want to go into ANBU, I am hoping that I can show enough skill that they notice me, You have to be Thirteen to get in, I am twelve now but after the chunin exams I turn thirteen so that should be enough time to show off my powers. I think in the five months til my birthday, I will be easily Chunin level and showcase enough talent to be noticed."
"I wish you luck, my friend." They were silent after that, reaching the training grounds about five minutes later. It was a clearing with a small pond, ringed by trees. Without being told Kagami moved to the distant left side of the field and fell into a low stance. Shino nodded. "I will not use my beetles, neither of us will rise jutsu. Taijutsu and weapons only. Once you get enough skill with your sword and other things we will add onto our fights, that way we have a more even fight."
"Seems fair... now, prepare to get your ass kicked."
Shino actually smirked for a moment and the battle was joined. With his greater speed, Kagami reached Shino first, slamming a fist first that Shino caught with a grimace. Pulling back he forced Shino to stumble just slightly forward, lashing out with a knee that forced Shino to bend over but he wasn't done yet. With great speed, he threw his head up, smacking Kagami's forehead hard. This went on for a few minutes until Kagami won, having pinned the Aburame boy after knocking him to the ground, sticking his foot against his throat.
"You are good,.. and strong, I have new bruises that will last a while."
"Hehe..." he helped Shino to stand. "Thank you for... well, not treating me like garbage."
Shino nodded. "You have given me no reason to dislike you, so I will not dislike you. We are allies, it is imperative that we work together. Be it as comrades or friends. Would you like to spar once more, a tad more gently this time?"
Kagami would win once more, but it was a bit harder, Shino may have specialized with the use of his beetles but he was by no means a slouch in taijutsu.
"Shino." Both boys jumped, just as they finished their battle, turning to see a man that looked identical to Shino though he had a broader, tanner face. "It is time for dinner,.. is your friend staying?"
Kagami went to say something but Shino nodded. "Yes, Father, he is." And like that, Kagami gained his first real friend outside of Naruto... and it felt pretty great, even if it was very, very new. "Kagami, this is my father Shibi."
Bowing softly, Kagami offered a smile. "It is an honor to meet you, sir. "
"And you, Kagami. Shino tells me that you took the second spot in the academy. Impressive."
"Thank you."
"What are you working on now?"
"Kenjutsu and a few other things. I am aiming to enter ANBU." He cursed himself, it was not like him to give away things but the whole freind thing was sort of disarming.
Shibi nodded. "I can help with that, you need recommendations to enter ANBU. If you continue to impress me as much as you did with today's spars, i might offer my recommendation to have you enter ANBU."
Cautious, Kagami nodded. "I was impressive?"
"Yes, your taijutsu is easily Chunin level, I would say that you are likely already as strong as some chunin over all if even one or two of your talents are good enough. Of course the line between chunin and genin are not that great, it is really only when you are reaching for Jonin that the power scaling is far more noticeable."
"Really?"
"Why do you think it takes months sometimes to reach Chunin but always years to reach Jonin? It is a matter of skill and experience to reach JOnin, where as Chunin is mostly a mental game. Leadership and obedience all at once, as well as the ability to make smart choices."
Nodding, Kagami drank in the words. "I see, I wish I knew this before."
"I would say that you have at least a solid year of combat training before you reach Special Jonin status in just taijutsu, if that is your focus. You certainly have the speed and strength for it, and definitely the stamina. I should not be too shocked, I heard from Iruka that Sasuke Uchiha is already pushing Mid chunin overall and Jonin level with his throwing skills.
Shino says that both Hinata and Kiba are around the same level in just their taijutsu alone but that is understandable given their clan training. That you have reached that level on your own is remarkable. It is a shame that the Hokage placed you in the reserves. I will tell you that many have argued against this, but he has stuck to his choice." Frowning, the boy struggled to maintain his chakra... only for to be startled out of his thoughts by Shibi's hand on his shoulder. "I know of your status, Shino does as well. The boy figured it out years ago thanks to our chakra sucking beetles. He had to be warned to not fight you in case he was infected by Kyuubi's toxic chakra. No one in my clan hates you or Naruto."
Nodding, Kagami offered a smile but hid a thought. 'If you do not hate me, than why never help Naruto or I? Not hating is good enough, evil only wins when good people do nothing and that is what you and the village did!' "That I appreciate, Shibi."
"You are always allowed to visit Shino. I think you will do him well."
"I hope that I can do so, being in the reserves, I sort of need someone to spar with otherwise teaching myself will mean nothing."
Shino approached. "If you are willing, I will spar with you twice a week and once during the weekend. Saturdays, Thursdays and Tuesdays. I need time to recover from your strength."
"That would be more than welcome... thank you, Shino. So... what are we having for Dinner, I am starved!"
He would never hold hate towards Shino for his clan's inaction, but he sure as hell would hold it against the rest of them... he was not uber forgiving like Naruto, desperate for the village's love. He was more selfish, and he felt no shame in that. Not now, not ever!
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a lot of fun, I am really enjoying this story.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.