An Epiphany- Prologue

Inspired lightly by Turn of a Hero.

Hugely helped by Heavensmercy

This story is based on the idea that Naruto has a brain and that sometimes he actually uses it. No powerups, no death, no massive changes, just simple Epiphany.

"Alright brat, more chakra control." Jiraiya start, running off to go whore his way into an early grave.

Naruto didn't fight back, he didn't say anything at all. Instead, he turned to a tree where his clones stored something vital. Scrolls, eleven scrolls that they had copied with a delicacy he did not realize he had. They worked impossibly hard over the course of the entire night after breaking into the small fifteen people monetary. The notes he read told him this was only scrolls on the basics, that the bigger and better scrolls were in fact at the Main Monastery on the other side of the Land of Fire. Still, Naruto was content with what he got, he have come to realize Kakashi was a bad teacher but the man had mentioned that he needed the basics more than once. Like when he made him work with that jerk Ebisu.

Of the scrolls he stole, copied... he copied three scrolls on taijutsu, two scrolls on chakra control exercises, one on meditation which the scroll swore would make him stronger, one on something called conditioning, two on basic fire jutsu and two on sealing. Naruto instantly made a plan. "I'll read the sealing scrolls at night... " he frowned. "Wait, I already know what they say, how... do I remember what shadow clones remember?" Frowning, Naruto opened the scroll and a smile crossed his face. "I do! I can have my clones work on the reading while I work on the taijutsu and training,... but they have to do it away from here, I can't have Pervy Sage find out about this... he'll take them away or just be stupid. I don't trust him anymore!

"I have a month around this area, I can spend a month sneaking into the Monastery, gaining more and more jutsu and better taijutsu and... wait taijutsu, maybe I can be like Lee and wear weights! He was so fast, but where am I going to find weights? Bah, I'll work on it later. Let's get this stuff down first. The conditioning scroll said that I need to strengthen my body and the chakra scroll said I need to strengthen my mind for better chakra and control... that means meditating and reading, which I hate but if I can make my clones do it...hehehe... there is a local library here, I can make a clone read up on stuff. Maybe make it Transform into someone else, so the Perv can't find out about it...

I have a month to get enough jutsu to rely on and two years and five months to get strong... I can do this, even without Jiraiya helping me... believe it!"

With that in mind, Naruto set clones to read up on the scrolls then got himself to training like the scroll said. He copied it to the letter, training for three hours before a half an hour meditation break ( which was really hard) then he would practice the taijutsu katas for another three hours. After eating, he would practice the handsigns for the Great Fire ball jutsu and the Dragon Fire Jutsu. He managed, after the fourth time to manage both jutsu, though only barely.

Proud, he would then practice a new chakra control exercise, in which you stuck leaves to your hands with chakra, From there you would move into sticking rocks, then water to your hands, then keep them on while you trained. It was hard for Naruto, and he failed majorly, but he would keep up at it, making the slightest progress by the nights end.

Finally, he would end his night by sparring with his clones, using all he learned to have epic fights that lasted twenty minutes or more.

All the while he had elven clones reading the scrolls and over again, and he had five clone reading at the local library, all under various disguises as ninja and people he knew in the Leaf or Wave. He pitied his clones but it was a worthy sacrifice if it really made him stronger. He could only hope it would help.

:::

Over the course of the next month, Naruto found over fifty scrolls in the Monastery, and that was a small monastery. He could only wonder what the larger one would hold? The clones read over fifty scrolls and books on various subjects, expanding his vocabulary and knowledge base by quite a bit. Overall by the months end, Naruto was smarter, and since he read history and books on science and other things... Naruto grew smarter and more well-rounded.

Naruto did not tell Jiraiya a damn thing the entire month, only growing in contempt for the man as he realized how utterly uncaring the man was towards him. How bad his training was, how much he deserved better. Naruto stewed in his misery and slowly it grew into hate. For the first time, Naruto realized that though he had been lazy and complacent, in truth he had never had a good teacher. With every increasing skill he started to see that truth more and more. He just needed guidance, a firm hand.

His speed doubled in a month, his strength tripled. His taijutsu finally got interesting, he saw it every time he sparred with his clones. He learned fiave fire jutsu as well as how to manipulate fire, mainly by burning a leaf and holding a flame in his hands without it spreading. His chakra control got so good, with actual training in it, that he managed to do that Rasengan with only two hands instead of using a clone to help!

After a month of practice, He started to understand seals enough to cast a few, mainly a few binding seals and oddly explosive tags. He got good enough to recognize, though barely, the quality of his own seal. The more he picked it apart, which he did with the help of a clone, the more he realized it's genius and how dumb Jiraya was to consider weakening it like he had mentioned.

It was this suggestion that made Naruto's mind up... he would leave Jiraiya one day. He only had to deal with the toads, who could resummon him according to some scrolls he read. During his meditations, at the behest of the scrolls he found in the town ( not the monks' scrolls), he started to dissect his life and boy did he realize how much it sucked. The Toads were a big part of that. They did not help, they actively attacked him even! They were as unhelpful as could be. If he was to free himself, he had to feal with them... that was not going to be easy. Seals could help, or he could remove his contract... in either case, he could escape. He just had to consider his options...

And so he did... as they left the nice town by the Monastery, Naruto stayed just behind Jiraiya and contemplated his options... wondering how he could do this and just what he needed to do accomplish them... 'I have a few months until I master my stolen scrolls enough so that I can actually do something with them and run away. If I focus on chakra repression and control, mixed with my stealth I could easily escape him... I just need to get rid of my ties to the Toads. I can focus on mastering my other skills for a while... from there, I could disguise myself, become someone else, until it is time to go back to the Leaf... and then... then I will make my dreams come true. One way, or another! I will need to find out how to get money and experience as a ninja... finding scrolls won't be hard, I know where all the monestaries are, I could break into others for skill and power... '

Satisifed, Naruto continued to plot...

Train, then deal with the toads, then run away... if he could do that... he was set.

If he could do that... no one could stop him.

'Or maybe I stay with him, masking my real training the entire time, until we return, using him for protection... which should I do? Stay with the idiot or make my way to freedom... choices, choices.'

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

What should he do, go against Jiraiya or stay with him?

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.