Chapter 5
Guardians
Sarutobi Hiruzen rubs at the bridge of his nose, then reaches into the top left drawer of his desk, retrieving a small sample of a dried medicinal herb for his pipe. Well, many people wouldn't call it medicinal, but at his age, stress is potentially fatal. In his case, it is medicinal. "Should have done something to that furry orange bastard's tongue before Minato sealed him. So how long have you known, then?"
Naruto leans back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "Hmm… three days now? It was the night Kakashi sensei taught me the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." He rolls his eyes. "Apparently, he saw chakra exhaustion as a good way to put me under and get my attention."
The old monkey lights his pipe with a quick application of fire chakra and takes a puff. "Sounds about right. That seal is a fine piece of work, the likes of which even my best student couldn't reproduce, but there's still notable flaws."
The blonde scratches his head. "Yeah, I tried studying it with a clone, but what little sealing knowledge I have so far isn't half as much as I'd need to understand even the smallest pieces of this seal. So what weaknesses do you know, then?"
"Well, let's see…" He blows out a ring a smoke, reshaping it into an Uzumaki clan spiral with pure chakra control. "Running out of your own chakra and still attempting to use more will draw from the fox's chakra as a backup source. Doing so might impair your judgement as his will seeps into your mind. Secondly, heightened states of emotion can draw upon it, namely rage, hate, potentially sorrow, or even fear. That's all a side effect of the seal's function to leak bits of its chakra into your system at a constant rate to help you acclimate to it."
"Hmmm…" Naruto pulls a notebook from his pocket and jots down a few things. "Ok… so what about not telling me for so long?" He gives the elderly leader a half-lidded, half-hearted glare.
Hiruzen falls silent for a few moments, then sighs and hangs his head. "I may be Hokage, but my power is not absolute. The fact of what you are makes you a prime target for our enemies, should news escape the village. If Iwa especially found out, you would have been dead within a few weeks. Besides that, I decided it would be best for you to grow up knowing you had a choice to become a ninja, rather than feeling it's your duty as a jinchuuriki. So, to maintain as much normalcy as possible, I forbade anyone to speak of your condition." He grumbles. "Sadly, news spread too quickly before I could make that decree, and many parents in the village were already privy to your status."
"Well, that explains a lot…" Naruto puts his book away and crosses his arms. "... goddamnit, Jiji. You really screwed the pooch on that one."
He groans and nods, burying his wrinkled face into rough, worn hands. "That I did, Naruto. It's quite possible one of the worst-kept secrets in the village. Outside it, news has yet to spread, but inside…
Naruto snorts. "I may as well wear a nametag saying 'Hello, I am the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, please stab me.'" He closes his eyes and lets it all sink in. "… Well… now that I'm in on that secret, I just have one last thing to ask you." The Hokage peeks up and props his chin on folded hands. "… Can I have express permission to test non-lethal versions of my traps on anyone who's treated me like shit or overcharged me for it?"
A sly grin stretches across the kage's sagging face. "I'll let the anbu know not to step in. Oh, and now that we're on to lighter topics…" He pulls a cross from his desk and tosses it. "That contains three things for you. The next volume on sealing, Yoko's ninken license, and the directions for applying the seal that identifies her as one."
Naruto looks through the scroll for a moment, then smiles and nods. "I'll get right on it, then. Thanks, Jiji!" He rushes out of the room and nearly jump down the entire flight of stairs, leaving Hiruzen behind seemingly alone.
"… You may have to speak to him sooner than you'd planned."
A sigh comes from behind him with no discernable source, until an old white-haired sage in a red vest fades into view. "Maybe. But, the real me's still two countries north in Gohangakure, weeding out that snake. He's got a couple leads to look into out east and likely to be there for a few months soon, probably until August." He chuckles a bit. "So hey, when the runt passes and gets a C rank, try and send him out that way."
Hiruzen nods. "I certainly will, if the chance arises. For now, I believe you're almost out of chakra. Best release yourself so you have enough left to get everything you just heard and said to the original."
"Yeah, I'm goin. Catch ya later, sensei." A quick pop and a puff of smoke alerts him to the disappearance of Jiraiya clone. For now, the old kage has much to think about.
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The following weekend was pure mayhem.
Ten different grocers discovered that their produce had been rigged with small explosives, splattering their halls and walls with various impromptu smoothies. Any attempts to disarm them was met with a new uniform that would match their latest fruity décor.
A few ninja tool and weapon stores would find their doors, walls, and displays all plastered with posters advertising a sale over at Higurashi Outfitters. Of course, the owners who discovered the posters immediately tried to remove them, but they were glued down rather securely. Upon attempting to use a kunai or other sharp tools to remove them, a foul-smelling gas and powder mixture would release from beneath each poster. All of those stores became too rancid for any customers to consider, and the offer of Higurashi's sale was too good to pass up. A certain bun-haired kunoichi was left wondering if she should track down this prankster and pay them for their patronage.
After Tenten had done just that and even thrown in a free set of basic tools and weapons, Naruto knew just where to take this cash. No, not Ichiraku's, as he had a much more entertaining meal in mind. A few bills in some guards' pockets, and the next day, some of Konoha's prisoners in the local station built into the cliffside north of the monument would find their meals to have an odd aftertaste, followed soon after by a constant itching in their throats and eventual diarrhea. It was such an odd coincidence that all of them happened to be former academy teachers.
And for his last trick, he decided to get a leg up on the worst group at the academy, as well as on a certain raven-haired prick's good side. The entire O.S.F.C. (Official Sasuke Fan Club) received letters informing them that a generous benefactor had discovered a 'secret training ground' that the Uchiha would be using the next day. It contained a small waterfall and stream through some relatively rocky terrain, perfect for training to handle odd-angled attacks and uneven terrain. In this case, he said the Uchiha would be testing his ability to maintain a fire jutsu against water and overpower it. Just the kind of hype that the fangirls would buy into.
When they arrived, they were treated to the sight of a shirtless Sasuke meditating beneath the waterfall. They all watched from afar for a few moments, and as soon as Naruto was certain they were all gathered, his clone changed its henge from a shirtless Sasuke to a speedo-wearing, oily, fat version of Elder Homura. This clone proceeded to dance for the girls with his tongue rolling out as they all took off screaming and gagging.
What none of the fangirls had realized was he had clones in the trees taking photos of every moment of their horrified expressions and desperate attempts to escape, which were handed off to Sasuke as payment. He cherished them for years.
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There were two particular girls out of the victims of that prank that began to wonder just how she had fallen for it. One of them was seated on a bench just outside her favorite dango shop. She always had quite the sweet tooth, but it's been ages since she's indulged, in her pursuit of a 'perfect body'. Right now, she just needed comfort food to help her think over her latest plight. Sakura knew that she had clearly been fooled by not one, but two henges, and a lie that if she'd stopped thinking about Sasuke for two seconds, she would have noticed immediately. What she received for her failure was humiliation and nightmares of that whole event for the week since. She knew well enough that it was Naruto's fault, as he was the only prankster with that sort of talent and devotion to the art in the entire village. But how had Naruto of all people been able to pull the wool over her eyes?
She already knew the answer. She was weak. She'd become weaker than him, less focused than him, and her prospects as kunoichi were dimming fast from her own perspective. She bit the last piece of dango off her stick, throwing it across the street and embedding the wooden skewer into the opposing fence.
"Not bad, kid." Sakura nearly jumps out of her introspective stupor as she raises her gaze to a woman seated just a few feet to her left. Her attire was… appalling, in her opinion. The trench coat was respectable enough, but the fact she had apparently nothing but a mesh shirt beneath it and not so much as a sports bra, let alone any bra, made it almost embarrassing to be seated by her. But, her headband stood out well enough to be certain of the woman's superiority. She bites a piece of dango off her own serving and proceeds to throw it into the fence as well, almost completing a leaf insignia made of dango sticks. For a moment, Sakura had to wonder just how she was able to eat enough dango to make that, but still keep her… admittedly impressive figure. "Somethin's got you pissed off. Good. Let that fire in your belly push you to improve."
Sakura pauses for a moment, but sighs and rubs at her left temple. "I don't even know where to start. I come from a civilian family. I can't get any clan training, and I barely even recognize my own strengths. I'm smart, but… my instincts are terrible, and I don't know a single jutsu outside the academy three."
The purple haired kunoichi leans back against the wood paneling on the store's front and crosses her arms behind her head. "Well, that's not giving me much to go off of, brat. Can't excel if you can't recognize your own skills, and just pointing out weaknesses makes you sound like a whiny bitch."
"Hey!"
"If you've got the drive to complain about that, try to change my mind."
Once again, Sakura is dumbstruck. She falls silent and takes a few moments to think over everything she remembers Iruka-sensei saying about her. "… Well, my chakra control is apparently the best in the class, and I'm a balanced water and earth chakra user, though I haven't trained in either…"
"Well, that's plenty to start with!" Anko grins and finishes her last bit of dango, finishing the center of the spiral on her makeshift Kanoha symbol with its stick. "You're lucky ya found me in a good mood, kid. I'm best friends with someone who's great with genjutsu, and she even happens to have a water affinity." She stands and stretches, nearly exposing her ample assets in the process, but somehow her coat manages to keep her legally decent. Turns out, that's actually part of a chakra control exercise she uses to keep her coat attached to her chest at all times. "She'll find you. Kind of impossible to miss that hair. Just keep an eye out for red eyes, and you won't miss her either." Anko walks off wither usual sadistic smile. "I'm sure we'll meet again, Pinky. Kick some ass out there, prove kunoichi can kick just as much ass as the best of the boys."
Sakura could only watch in shock as she left, but soon, her eyes narrowed and her will became steel. A fire was lit in her heart the boiled her water chakra. Her inner self was already on a verbal self-aggrandizing tirade of epic proportions.
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Ino on the other hand was already hard at work. Her nose was buried deep in a neuropsychology textbook she'd taken from her father's study, agonizingly memorizing every detail she could. Beside her was another scroll on lightning chakra application theories. She didn't hear her father enter, looking for the book and scroll she had taken without permission. She didn't hear him leave either, with a smile on his face as he considered the potential his daughter has just stumbled upon. For once, her impulsiveness paid off, and he couldn't bring himself to berate her for seeking to better herself, especially in such a surprising manner as this. For some time, he had been worried about her career as a kunoichi. Now, he felt he had little to fear at all, besides whatever monstrous jutsu she would develop.
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Shikamaru sat in a meditative state on his back porch, a leaf in his hand. Any civilians to see him would just consider it his usual laziness, but Shikaku and Yoshino Nara know better. Beside him were scrolls on both fire and water chakra theory, so neither of them could be certain which element he was attempting to influence the leaf with. Would it burn to ashes in his hand, or saturate with dew and drip? There was nothing thus far, but neither of them expected any progress very soon. Elemental composition training is always a taxing process.
What neither of them knew was that he was currently sitting on the evidence of his success, one burnt leaf and one wet leaf now stuck to his ass, while he used this opportunity to nap. Shikaku suspected it, but he loved the brilliance too much to spoil it.
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The other recognized genius of the class was finding himself a bit hard of breathing. He takes a moment to test his hands, flexing them and finding them to feel the muscles beneath in motion. With it, he felt his newest hive respond with a gentle buzzing. "Settle down. I know, you are not yet acclimated to your new diets. Rest assured, you will thrive with it." He clenches his fist and feels a current run through his arm. "As will I."
Off to Shino's left, Shibi Aburame takes notes of the chakra reactions his own kikaichu are reporting. "Fascinating. With a few hundred short-lived generations, maybe as little as a year, you may even produce an entire new subspecies…"
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The Hyuuga heiress was similarly exhausted. Small cuts and chakra burns littered her hands, and the rest of her body was lightly bruised and sore in many places, but she stood over her downed foe with a confidence she could only recall ever feeling in the moment Naruto praised her for their shared wind affinity. It was this reason that she chose to experiment with this element first, but it did not come easily. And yet, the fruits of her labor now kneel before her. A Hyuuga assigned by her father as her sparring partner for the day, holding a cut on his calf. He'd never seen this attack coming. It wasn't the Jyuken. Their clan's style was far more direct, but she had ducked under a strike towards her right shoulder, around his left, spun on her toes mid-fall, and swung a strike at his calf partially composed of wind chakra.
And her father had witnessed it all with his Byakugan. The veins in his face twitched as he took in the fine details, and although he did not smile, the faintest of twitches in his lips was enough for Hinata to see not only his surprise, but pride.
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Sasuke's eyes burned with an all too familiar pride and passion. If lightning was the element he'd been handed, then he would strike like lightning itself, while the iron is still hot. If he could excel so much with fire when it was his secondary element, then he would find his grasp on lightning by the time he graduated.
It was slow-going so far. His eyes and hands burned. When he had finally gotten an electrical charge through his leaf, lighting its veins, he had overcharged it and nearly blinded himself. When the spots had cleared, he burned through the entire pile of leaves he'd collected for his training in just over an hour. Once again, his skills as a ninjutsu prodigy were proven unabashedly true.
All that was left was to scour his clan's library for his first lightning jutsu.
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Chouza Akimichi was beaming at his son across the dinner table. His appetite had been worked to an all-time high, tearing through the meal with a ravenous fervor the likes of which he hadn't seen in years, but he couldn't blame the boy at all, especially with the results they achieved. Earth was a very natural element for their family, but he was taking to it quite early. Of course, the reason for that was partly due to an odd old convention of Kanoha. The high concentration of fire aligned shinobi in this village lead to efforts to delay elemental training until students were more mature, as it tended to result in frequent fires across town, until they removed it from the academy curriculum. Now, only those that passed the academy and were awarded their headbands were usually taught to wield their elements at such an age, unless their clans or a tutor or sorts aided them.
Of course, Chouji only received the best from Chouza. If his son had the drive to learn something, he would damn well teach him. The trench dug through their back yard was testament enough to the results, and his son's motivation.
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Naruto lays back in his bed, staring up at his tiled ceiling with an almost blank stare, but the faintest of smiles on his face. Just four months ago, he was still a nobody. Now, he was almost done with the basics of sealing, he knew his elements, had learned a wonderful new jutsu, trap construction, and learned of his status as a jinchuuriki. He hadn't spoken with the fox in two months, not since his incident with the clone training, but that didn't mean he hadn't tried. For now, he'd have to settle for doting over the fox currently in his lap, petting her in silence as his gaze turned out the window to the full moon just now breaching the elevated horizon of the monument's cliffside. The sun had always been a spiritual champion of the people, but Naruto saw the moon as a symbol of what it truly meant to be a shinobi. A beacon of hope in the darkness, silent, ominous, and orbiting the world as a constant guardian. It was a clear, beautiful night, and he could see the stars shining as though the heavens themselves had come to tell him of a brighter future. "Tomorrow, Yoko." His smile grows wider, and his determination smolders, waiting to ignite in full at the first sign of a challenge. "We get our headband, and we take the world by storm."