Again, no Edit Notes on this one before this simply because I've been going through way too much recently. I'm physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted and the issues are simply piling on at the moment. However, I find a little solace in writing this story so here ya go.
Note, this chapter was written while I was struggling through some personal issues so it's not the greatest and will be cut short somewhat abruptly. I need time to get myself back together before I can try to put out something with a little better quality, even if this story isn't supposed to be one hundred percent serious to begin with.
Chapter 5: Uzumaki Arc Part 4
"No." Jaune answered his parents question. They both looked at him in shock, but it quickly turned to relief. "Even if my fight with Amethyst wasn't just luck, I know I'm not ready for a combat school. For now I think I can learn more in the forge than in a school. Besides, if you're going to be training me, I'll get more than I ever could from a combat school, right?"
Joan scooped her son into a crushing hug immediately. She spun him around, ignoring the cracking of his bones. "I'm so happy! You're going to do great things Jaune, and we'll be there at every step to help you!"
"Mom...can't...breathe…" Jaune choked out, starting to turn blue.
The woman didn't seem to hear him as she continued hugging him like a teddy bear. Hector laughed a bit. Then frowned when he noticed Jaune not moving.
"For Oum's sake, Joan, give him some air!"
Joan finally dropped Jaune with a smirk. He hit the ground and started to wheeze, sending a tearful glare at his mother. She just knelt and kissed his forehead.
"Lesson one of your training will be escaping a stronger opponents grip!"
"That's a weird place to start…" Jaune wheezed.
"ROUND 2!" Joan called and grabbed Jaune again.
The teen's eyes widened and then bulged as his mother squeezed him. He reached for his father in vain, shedding a tear as he saw his father in a prayer position.
"Rest in peace my child."
'Got damn traitor!' Jaune thought before focusing back on his mother. He knew she wasn't using her full strength and this was just the first of many tests she would give him. He remembered her doing the same thing to Maria a while ago.
Unfortunately, no matter what Jaune tried, he could not escape his mothers grip. However, he found out a rough way to use aura to enhance his own physical strength in single limbs, as well as his internal organs. He was able to loosen her grip a bit, however, she simply upped her power and kept him there. When that didn't work, he moved his aura to his lungs and helped expand them. Though painful, he was able to breathe naturally.
The impromptu training session lasted for over an hour before Joan tired herself out. She smiled tiredly at her son. "Well, if you can never escape, you're enemy will be too tired of squeezing their little stress ball eventually."
The blonde gave a half hearted glare at his mother, getting a smirk in return. Jaune let his head hit the floor and he smiled inwardly to himself. As much as he wanted to go to a combat school, he realized if what Naruto and the others said was true, then his knew abilities would be very hard to explain. Plus, he hadn't actually learned anything yet. He was going to be learning and getting stronger regardless of if he want to a primary combat school or not. His goal was still to get into one of the major college level combat schools though; specifically Beacon.
A shadow cast over the blonde and he opened his eyes to see his father standing over him, offering him a hand. The young Arc took his offered hand and stood. Hector placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder and the pride in his eyes was almost palpable.
"Try to get to bed early tonight. Tomorrow, we'll start training bright and early. Then we'll get in the forge and see how well you can handle some of the more strenuous forging techniques."
Jaune's eyes lit up at his fathers words before he gripped the man in a bone crushing hug just as tight as his mothers. Hector's eyes bulged for a moment and his wife almost fell into hysterics at the look on his face.
'Like mother like son…' He even wheezed out in his mind.
"Thanks dad! Mom! You guys are the best!" Jaune cried as he released his father.
Hector rubbed his aching ribs, giving pained chuckles at Jaune's excitement. "Don't thank us yet Jaune. We've got a lot of catching up to do with your training. It's going to be hell."
Jaune nodded and gave a resolute grin. "I'm ready for anything!"
"I...I can't...breathe…"
Jaune laid on the ground, sweat pooling around his form as if blood draining form his body. His chest heaved up and down, his shirtless form clad only in black jogging pants. It was already clear that his body was changing, the forming 4-pack abs and toned arms being a clear indication. However, the teen might as well be on his death bed for as much pain he was in.
"Good work Jaune-kun!" Rock Lee called, bent over and breathing slightly heavy. "You've officially completed the 5 hour intermediate training exercise!" he exclaimed.
"Wait...intermediate?" Jaune huffed out, clear exasperation in his voice. He took a moment to catch his breath a bit better before struggling to sit up. "I thought...you and Guy-sensei said…this was the expert exercise?"
Rock Lee chuckled before standing tall and starting to stretch. "Of course not! Something so simple and short could never hope to stand up to the 7 hour expert exercise. Plus, the 10 hour master exercise is what you should be striving for!"
Jaune's head thudded into the ground at the thought of a master exercise.
It had been two weeks since Jaune had his aura unlocked and the Ghost of the Elemental Nations had upped his training to dangerously stupid degrees.
When he returned, Naruto immediately wanted him to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu, which he did with no problem at all. Not really surprising since it was Naruto's preferred jutsu and his knowledge and experience with it was transferred to Jaune.
Then, Hinata and Ino taught Jaune the Kawarimi and Henge. He learned it fairly quickly and had potentially mastered them with the help of his special shadow clones. However, once they realized Jaune could create over a thousand shadow clones without feeling the slight bit drained, they began to drag the other ghost into the training. Lee and Guy had made it their mission to train Jaune in every single art of fighting they knew. But to learn it, they needed his body in better shape than most huntsman could achieve in their lifetime.
Just as Jaune was about to finally recover, he was struck with the memories of an entire platoon of clones. His eyes widened and he bolted to his feet. "Oh crap."
Rock Lee rose an eyebrow at his student and friend. "What's the matter Jaune-kun? Are you ready to continue sparring?"
"Hinata-sensei is coming…" He called before turning and bolting from the clearing. Rock Lee was confused, before another blur that he identified as Hinata blasted through the clearing.
"HOW HAVE YOU STILL NOT HAD CINNAMON ROLLS?" The terrifying wail of the starry eyed princess echoed.
Rock Lee just chuckled at the two. He knew Hinata was just testing Jaune's progression in her own way. Though, she probably was going to capture and drag him back into town to try some cinnamon rolls. He shivered when he remembered the time she forced her cousin and the rest of his team to eat some she had personally baked. They were the most delicious treat he had ever had, but after being forced to eat over thirty of them, he was happy to have developed a cinnamon allergy.
'Though allergies mean nothing in the afterlife...good thing Hinata-chan hasn't figured that out yet.' Lee thought before going back to his own exercises.
As Jaune dashed through the forest surrounding Konoha, he beamed with happiness.
So far, the ghost of the elemental nations had been keeping their promise. Within the last two weeks, Jaune had gained months worth of skills and was already on his way to being capable of keeping pace with his elder sisters. Well, Amethyst anyway. Maria herself was a year into Beacon and he wasn't sure of how strong she actually was. Not as strong as his parents for sure, but she could occasionally make them get serious.
Safron herself wasn't really a fighter. She had a great amount of aura and could protect herself against several grimm. But she decided to pursue a different future than that of her family. She never went to a combat school, but practiced with her family to make sure she would always be able to protect the people she cared about.
Jaune was snapped from his thoughts as Hinata suddenly appeared in front of him. He yelped and tried to stop his forward momentum but slammed right into the older woman's chest. The teen sighed and groaned, resigning himself to Hinata's incoming affection. He didn't dislike it, but it was fairly embarrassing.
"You were distracted Jaune-kun. Is everything alright?" Hinata asked as she rubbed her cheeks against his own. The blush that stained Jaune's entire body made the forest glow and but he didn't struggle. She was worse than his mother.
"I was just thinking of how much progress I've made in such a short amount of time. You guys said that tomorrow you'd be getting more people involved, and I hope I don't disappoint anyone."
Hinata set the boy down so he could walk beside her and nodded at his words. The two fell in step and began to head back towards where Rock Lee was.
The starry eyed princess took a quick glance at the boy next to her as he seemed to fall back into his thoughts. She smiled sadly as she looked at him. He reminded her so much of a younger Naruto that he could pass for their child. The boy had endeared himself to most everyone he had met almost instantaneously. Plus, he had so much potential that had nothing to do with him being a catalyst.
However, that last thought made her frown. He WAS a catalyst. Jaune didn't know what that truly meant, and as far as she could tell, Naruto wasn't too keen on completely explaining it either. But the teen didn't seem to care. He was dead set on achieving his goal of becoming the strongest huntsman in his world. Hinata knew that would happen regardless. However, it was the hardships that would come with it. She herself, alongside Ino and Naruto were proof that even with seemingly infinite power, there would always be something that could threaten everything you've worked for. And everyone you loved…
"You okay Hinata?" Jaune asked, snapping the princess from her musings. She took a moment to notice that they had arrived back in the forest clearing, though Rock Lee seemed to have left.
"Oh, sorry Jaune-kun. I was lost within my own thoughts as well. I suppose we have that in common!"
Jaune shrugged and began to stretch. "So what will we be doing now? I've only got a few clones in the library with Shikamaru right now and he says they're just about done with all the books allowed up to chunin."
Jaune had been given a crash course on the ninja hierarchy and the elemental nations themselves. He could recite all of the different clans in Konoha along with their current and previous clan heads with ease. He had met most of them already, with promises of training later on once Naruto approved.
However, he was disappointed when he was informed that he wasn't even currently able to be called a genin. His disappointment didn't last as he had been reassured that within the few weeks he had been being trained, he was clearly strong enough to be considered chunin at least.
Hinata sat on the ground and motioned for Jaune to follow suit. He did and sat in front of her cross legged.
"It's time for you to start receiving our Kekkei Genkai Jaune."
The teens breath caught in his throat. "Are you...are you sure I'm ready?" He asked hesitantly. The starry eyed princess just nodded.
"You're improving at a tremendous rate Jaune-kun. I know you won't abuse or rely on these powers. Naruto-kun and Ino-chan believe so as well, right?"
With her words, Naruto and Ino entered the clearing. They gave Jaune warm smiles and nodded. "Of course. I thought you should've gotten them a few days ago, but Ino-chan insisted that you get used to your basic ninja skills first." Naruto answered.
Ino folded her arms. "I only suggested it because having not just one, but all of our Kekkei Genkai is going to take years to master, even with shadow clones. Plus, the strain it could possibly put on you is tremendous, even with just taking my, Hinata-chan, and Sasuke-kun's abilities."
"Wait, Sasuke?"
A third figure appeared within the clearing in a swarm of ravens. Jaune yelped at the sudden appearance but blushed sheepishly and pretended like he was just stretching. The others just chuckled at him with Sasuke giving him a sly grin.
"Looks like the dobe finally thinks you're ready to receive my doujutsu. And if you succeed, that means you'll be training with me and my brother from now on too." Sasuke looked to his left and Jaune followed his gaze.
He waited a moment, expecting Sasuke's older brother Itachi to appear in the same swarm of ravens. However, when nothing happened, he looked to Sasuke confused, just to get another sly grin from the man.
"Oh, you suck!" Jaune called with mirth. Ino and Hinata giggled while Naruto held a serious gaze.
The clearing grew quiet as everyone noticed Naruto's serious look. A tension began to build as Naruto began to slowly walk over to Sasuke. The Uchiha's mirth left his face as Naruto stood before him.
The blonde jinchuriki placed a hand on Sasuke's head. "Are you sick Sasuke? It's starting to seem like you have a sense of humor."
Sasuke pushed Naruto away as the others burst into laughter.
"Bite me Naruto." Sasuke huffed. Naruto's cheeky grin made the Uchiha blush. "Don't you dare."
"Ah, not in front of the kid anyway." Naruto winked, drawing an undignified flush from Sasuke.
Once more, more people began to make their way into the clearing. Sakura was wearing a medical outfit and trailing her were Tsunade and Shizune.
"Sorry we're late, Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru-san were having a debate about if it were possible to surgically remove stupidity from people." Sakura explained.
Jaune finally noticed that Sakura and Tsunade were covered in blood. He paled but had to ask. "Uh...what happened to you?"
Sakura noted the teen and then looked down at herself. She blushed sheepishly before removing her hospital outfit, leaving her in her usual outfit. Before she could answer though, Tsunade huffed and folded her arms.
"I told him you can't just rip someone's brain open and remove traits like that. He didn't believe me so we experimented on Kabuto. Unfortunately, we learned you can surgically GIVE people stupidity."
The clearing grew quiet…
Jaune rose a hand. Tsunade rose an eyebrow at the boy.
"Uh...how?"
"Too long of an explanation. Anyway, we're doing the Kekkei Genkai thing now right?" Tsunade brushed him off. Jaune frowned.
"But I want to know how you can surgically-"
"Anyway, let's get started. Jiraiya-kun wanted to spar with Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan and I refuse to let him do it alone. I owe those brats for breaking my legs." Tsunade interrupted again.
Shizune sighed. "That happened literally millions of years ago Tsunade-sama. Just let it go."
Tsunade rounded on her aid and friend with tears in her eyes. "You didn't have your legs broken!"
"No, I just had my soul sucked out!" She countered.
"HOW DO YOU SURGICALLY GIVE SOMEONE STUPIDITY?" Jaune shouted.
Tsunade turned to the boy and glared. "You shouldn't worry about it! You've got enough as is!"
"Maybe you're stupidity should be surgically removed Tsuande-sama if you're holding on to a million year old grudge!" Shizune shouted.
"Oh, excuse me! You're just pissed I didn't immediately approve of you SLEEPING WITH MY GODSON!"
"NARUTO WAS OLD ENOUGH AND HE CAME ON TO ME! I've told you that a billion times, or did having your legs broken fuck up your ears too?"
"HOW DO YOU SURGICALLY GIVE SOMEONE STUPIDITY?" Jaune once again shouted.
Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke stood off to the side with sweatdrops as Jaune, Tsunade, and Shizune continued their yelling, somehow coming to the topic of ' Chocolate Chip syringe injections'.
They all unanimously came to the conclusion that listening to Jaune, Tsunade, and Shizune argue was indeed the way to surgically give someone stupidity…
"So…" Ino started. "Should we be worried about Kabuto?"
The group simply shrugged.
After the group were able to drag Jaune away from Tsunade and Shizune, they finally settled down to begin the process of awakening the powers within Jaune. The solemn silence that fell over the clearing was enough to let Jaune know all jokes were over. While Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune were there, they were only able to watch. They would intervene if things went wrong, but if they did, even they didn't know what they could truly do.
Naruto, Ino, and Hinata stood in front of Jaune as he sat on the ground in meditation. It took a bit longer than normal to fully calm down as he knew this was a momentous moment. Just like having his aura unlocked.
"Okay Jaune-kun." He heard Ino speak. "We're going to start with Hinata-chan's byakugan. You'll need to receive her memories first, just like with Naruto-kun." She reiterated. "However, you'll be getting almost everything from her, even through her adulthood. Are you prepared?"
Jaune swallowed and nodded. Ino didn't wait and immediately placed a hand on his forehead. Instead of doing the same to Hinata, however, she held her hand towards her lover. Hinata's chakra burst around her in a silhouette of herself; a manifestation of her being. Ino's eyes widened and the energy about Hinata seemed to flow through the girl and into Jaune. Jaune's back arched as he was slammed with the girls energies.
Everyone watched with bated breaths as the process took longer than it did the first time Jaune received Naruto's memories. It only took a little over two minutes, but it felt like eternity, especially to Jaune.
"He's strong." Tsunade whispered as she watched the boy cringe in pain. However, he didn't howl out. Soon, the transfer was finished. Hinata dropped to her knees, panting and sweating. Ino huffed, but remained standing. The ordeal was much more taxing on the other two and she was used to it by then.
Jaune took heavy breaths as he lay on his back. Sakura moved to his side, knelt, and grabbed one of his hands, instinctively checking his pulse. "Are you okay Jaune-kun?"
The young teen took a few more moments to catch his breath before sitting up and sighing. He looked at Hinata with a look of admiration. "If me and Naruto are supposed to be the same person, then thank you." Jaune called.
Hianta giggled and stood to stumble over to him. She dropped to her knees again and pulled the boy into a hug. "You are you Jaune-kun. But now we're family."
Jaune hugged the woman back and held back a tear.
Hinata's memories were a rollercoaster and having to relive the night she and Naruto died again had reinforced something he had grown to learn in the short time he had known them.
He loved them.
Ino and Hinata were like mothers while Naruto was almost like a father figure, but more like a big brother. Something he didn't know he really wanted. He understood that receiving their memories would make them all closer, not just as student and masters.
"Well?" Sasuke asked, hiding his eagerness to also go through with the transfer.
Jaune and Hinata separated and Jaune stood up. He closed his eyes and searched for the energy that he had received from Hinata. However, he immediately understood that it wasn't her energy. It would be his own. With a slight tweak to what he was doing, Jaune's eyes snapped open.
"Byakugan!" He cried. Sure enough, the telltale veins of the Hyuga doujutsu surrounded his eyes. The sudden shift in perspective made Jaune stumble, but the memories from the starry eyed princess helped stabilize him faster than normal.
"How do you feel?" Shizune asked as she approached with Tsunade.
Jaune turned to face everyone but immediately flushed red and turned around. However, that didn't solve his problem and he cried out, slamming his hands over his eyes and throwing himself to the ground.
"I CAN SEE EVERYTHING! EVEN THROUGH MY HANDS!" He rolled about.
Everyone paused before Hinata's own blush flooded the clearing. "Ano, Jaune-kun doesn't know how to turn off the x-ray function…" She called quickly. "Jaune-kun, reduce the amount of chakra going to your eyes without shutting off the feeling."
With her words, most everyone in the clearing understood. While most smiled in amusement, Sakura grew a tick mark.
"How much did you see Jaune-kun?" Sakura growled out, a red aura beginning to form around her.
Jaune didn't seem to hear her as he was focused on doing what Hinata had said. Thinking she was being ignored, Sakura began to stomp over to the oblivious teen. Ino and Hinata moved to stand in front of Sakura before she could get closer to the boy though. Their glares made her pause.
"You know damn well he wasn't peeking on purpose." Ino scolded the pinkette. Hinata, on the other hand, looked ready to beat Sakura within an inch of her afterlife.
"Besides, we've all seen each other naked here, for varying reasons." Shizune giggled.
Tsunade shot her best friend and apprentice a dirty look. "I would very much like you all to keep the shit you do in the bedroom with my godson to yourselves."
"What? I only meant since three of us here are doctors and we've done check ups on each other. You and Jaune-kun being the only two here who haven't slept with Naruto-kun hadn't even crossed my mind!" Shizune chirped innocently.
Sakura's anger was lost at her mentor and senpai's words. She deflated, knowing that she still had a temper problem that she hoped wouldn't transfer on to Jaune like Hinata's fainting spell temporarily had. "I'm sorry." She bowed to Ino and Hinata, but mainly to Jaune.
"No problem…" Jaune breathed out, taking in his surroundings with his new doujutsu. The others took note of him looking around and awaited his thoughts. "I can see...your chakra pathways?"
Hinata beamed and scooped Jaune up into another hug. "Yes!" She cried out. "That's why we wanted you to have the byakugan first! So now you'll also be able to see how chakra is being molded and you'll be able to learn new jutsu and techniques even faster!"
"Just how broken are you planning on making the kid?" Tsunade huffed. Ino, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke looked at Tsunade and collectively answered.
"Yes."
"…" Tsunade threw her hands up and began to leave the clearing. "You've got Shizune and Sakura, you'll be fine without me." She grumbled and stomped away.
Shizune just giggled at her friend and mentor. "She's been agitated since Jiraiya-sama refuses to give her his legendary massages anymore."
"What'd she do?" Ino inquired.
"She lost a bet." Naruto answered. "She bet that she wouldn't get turned on by anything ero-sennin could write."
The clearing grew silent.
Ino was the first to sigh. "Jiraiya-sama may be a huge pervert, but anyone can tell that if he writes something seriously, it'll damn near be a masterpiece."
"Hence why she lost the bet!" Shizune laughed.
"Less talky, more giving the kid the sharingany." Sasuke called and moved to sit where Hinata had originally.
"Never talk like that again or I'll give you nightmares for the next 100 years." Ino threatened. Sasuke just smirked at her, knowing how to get under her skin. "I swear, if you'd been like this when we were kids, maybe you'd have gotten laid."
"Wasn't interested." Sasuke shrugged.
"Yeah, in the opposite sex." Ino grumbled.
Jaune was blushing at hearing the adults talk, but was getting used to it. He knew they did it on purpose as well. Ino and Hinata constantly hinted at him needing multiple 'partners' though they never went into detail on why. They were all trying to get him comfortable with the idea of intimacy and sex, and surprisingly enough, it was working.
It was at that moment, Jaune realized he had glazed over several memories of Hinata being intimate with multiple people. Including the aforementioned Sakura, Sasuke, and Shizune.
'Gonna lock those in the vault for a while...'
"Anyway, let's keep going." Ino called as she moved to stand before Jaune and Sasuke.
Naruto crossed his arms and smiled. Looking at Jaune, he could only be grateful that things were going smoother than he could have hoped for. Jaune took to all the things they taught him like a fish to water. It didn't matter that he was a catalyst at all. He was naturally gifted to learning. Plus, he was a hard worker.
'Give it enough time and you'll be stronger than even me Jaune…' He thought proudly.
Another week later…
It didn't take Jaune long to get used to all the new abilities he received. Granted, he was nowhere near a master of anything he had learned, sans the shadow clone jutsu, but he was proficient with most things none the less. He had gotten used to the Byakugan the fastest since it was an inherent trait of Hyuga's in general. The Sharingan was taking more time since there were many stipulations to activating it in the first place.
His thoughts began to drift to the memories he received from Sasuke but he quickly shook his head.
Jaune had quickly come to realize that he had a fairly simple life. The people of the Elemental Nations lived in constant war back in their time and reality. Not with a purely evil force either, but with each other. Jaune hadn't fathomed the thought of fighting those he called his friends and family, let alone needing to kill dozens or hundreds of people just to see another day. He had always romanticized being a huntsman; wanting to save the day, the knight, and the girl too.
However, Sasuke made it clear to Jaune that even in his own world, the enemy wouldn't always be a mindless or savage grimm. Sometimes they would be corrupt human or faunus, or maybe just someone on the opposite side trying to survive.
It reminded him of when he overheard his parents discussing something that happened back when they were fairly fresh huntsman and huntress. It was as simple as armed and trained ex-huntsman attacking a public area and they had to put them down. Not the most grandiose of stories, but the lasting impact of having to take the life of another living human and/or faunus had stuck with them.
Feeling a depressive bout settling over him, Jaune sighed and let it go. The last person to give him a kekkei genkai that day had been Ino. The Yamanaka family's hereditary bloodline allowed them techniques to access another persons body and mind. Ino herself, being essentially a god, had abilities that were simply insane. From simple mind reading, to literally creating an exact replica of a person with all of their memories intact. The woman was scary and he finally understood how it seemed like she knew everything he was thinking.
'Because she ACTUALLY knows everything I'm thinking.' Jaune scoffed in his mind. Then wondered if the woman could hear him even if they were far apart.
'Yep!' Ino's voice echoed in his head.
'HOLY SWEET MAJESTIC EAGLE!' Jaune jumped as he heard the disappearing giggles of the mindwalker.
After a moment of silence, and hoping that the woman had vacated his head, Jaune grumbled and returned to meditating.
He sat in the usual clearing, awaiting his newest teacher. While he had advanced in his ninjutsu and taijutsu skills, Jaune had realized he was still lacking in an area that was far more important than even those; kenjutsu. Though he knew he was no longer a slouch with weapons, he was far from proficient with anything to an acceptable degree for a huntsman. So Ino and Naruto had said they had the perfect person to kick start his weapons training.
"Alrighty shrimp, wakey wakey!" A mirthful female voice snapped Jaune from his thoughts.
He opened his eyes to take in the form of the beautiful bun haired Tenten. "You'll never stop calling me that will you?"
"Not until you're taller than me!" She chirped and held a hand out to pull him to his feet.
Jaune just glared at the woman. She wasn't even that much taller than him, but he kept those thoughts to himself. (And me! -Ino) Ignoring that, (Hey!) Jaune took note of the three 5 feet scrolls Tenten carried on her back and under her arms.
He had met Tenten a few times when in the village with others. She had immediately taken a liking to him when he began to talk about the weapons he would make in the forge. Their conversation ended with the girl claiming that Jaune was now her second soul mate, with Naruto ironically being the first. She would cling to the boy whenever Hinata wasn't looking, tempting him in a way that proved she had spent way too much time with Anko.
"I'm only thirteen…" Jaune had called after finally getting flustered from the woman's flirting.
"One, I'm technically dead so I don't have an age anymore." She ignored Jaune's cries of 'necrophilia'. "Two, you're legal in terms of ninja when you become a genin, or you turn 15. So mama's gonna break off a piece of that tail either in the next few weeks, or the next two years." She pinched his butt, finally making the blushing teen substitute far away from the girl.
"Good times!" Tenten called, once again snapping Jaune from his thoughts. Jaune paled and looked her in the eyes.
"Please tell me I didn't…" Jaune groaned. The bun haired woman just giggled.
"Yep. Projected the memory right into me. Should I be offended that you penetrated me without warning?"
"STOP!" Jaune cried and covered his ears. It only served to make the weapon mistress laugh even harder.
Unfortunately, Jaune had been having a harder time controlling some of his new abilities. One of the abilities he had received from Ino had been thought projection. He had already advanced to the point where he could share memories with other people and was on his way to learning how to send false memories to people. However, he sometimes subconsciously sent thoughts.
It had happened at home when he had a song from a commercial stuck in his head. He had been playing it in his mind for a good half an hour before almost everyone in the house broke out singing it at varying times. When questioned, they all said it had suddenly popped up in their minds and wouldn't go away.
Back with Tenten and Jaune, after seeing that the boy was too flustered to concentrate, Tenten sighed.
"Okay, let's get serious Jaune-kun." She called, hoping to get him to focus. He paid more attention, but it was clear he was still a bit wary of her. "How about this. I promise to not flirt with you while we're training. Hell, I'll even do you one better!"
The girl held up a single handsign before a poof of smoke covered her. When it dissipated, the girl was much shorter than she had been before with a bit of baby fat back on her face. Her attire had been replaced with a pink chinese style shirt and black ninja pants. She had reverted back to herself as a 14 year old genin.
Jaune rose an eyebrow and studied the girl in curiosity. The blush that stained his cheeks wasn't missed by her. She smirked and folded her arms, knowing that meant he thought she was attractive even as her younger self. "This will work out better for training you for now since this makes us closer in height, though I'm still taller."
"By like an inch!" Jaune argued, the blush abandoning his cheeks.
"Tomato potato! Either way, let's get started!"
Tenten finally placed the scrolls down and unfurled them. The massive scrolls rolled out to over 30 meters each.
"Do you want to start with the basics?" She asked and held a hand over one of the symbols on a scroll. Jaune nodded and watched as the girl swiped the symbol. A small poof of smoke produced four basic swords. Two were longswords while two were katana. "We'll go over combat with both. You told me katana are rare in your world but you made one so we'll handle that in a bit. But since broadswords, longswords and such are more common in your world, we should make defending against them our main focus for today."
Jaune nodded at her reasoning. Plus, they'd be able to test multiple weapon types against each other. From what he knew, the woman had mastered every single weapon in her own reality and even some from others that Naruto had shown her.
"Here!" The bun haired girl tossed Jaune a sword. The blonde caught it with ease and twirled it once, somewhat on instinct. Tenten giggled and began to move to stand opposite him. "You already seem comfortable with it. I suppose it won't take long to get you on par with your peers at least."
"I need to be better than my peers." Jaune took a stance with his sword held in one hand and bounced on his feet a bit. Though the sword was fairly long, it didn't feel unnatural with one hand. Especially since he held it close to the hand guard.
"Of course. That's why they sent you to me. Even Hayate-san and Yugao-san come to me every now and then to keep their skills up. I promise by the time you're able to become a licensed huntsman, you'll be a master of every basic weapon known to man!"
Tenten took her stance, holding the sword with both hands and pointed towards Jaune. She was honestly impressed that he seemed to naturally fall into his own stance that felt familiar. She figured having so many memories from Naruto, Hinata, Ino, and Sasuke had given him a very good look at how to use weapons as well, especially from Sasuke and Hinata.
"You know, it'll be easier if you had my memories as well. Granted, it wouldn't transfer all my skills, but you'd have a massive amount of knowledge on these weapons."
Jaune shook his head. "As much as I appreciate how gaining knowledge is simple because of Ino, I want to learn some things on my own too. Once I feel like I've learned enough on my own, then we can transfer your memories to me. That way I can separate what I've learned from what you're giving me."
Tenten shrugged but admired his ethics. It reminded her so much of why she had fallen for Naruto. Granted, Jaune's determination was something else entirely. He had a fierce will that she could easily see surpassing even Naruto's.
"Alright then. Don't cry if it's too much though!" With her words, Tenten took a step forward and seemed to vanish.
Jaune's eyes widened as he instinctively hopped back. Tenten appeared in front of him, her sword already seeming to have been swing in a diagonal upwards slash. Jaune felt the wind pass him and flinched as even the back draft seemed sharp and cut into his clothes. The following gust of wind was enough to launch him several yards back but he was nimble enough to land on his feet.
'Holy crap she's just as fast as Lee!' He thought momentarily. However, that moment was all Tenten needed to kick forward again, blurring towards him. Jaune panicked and gripped his sword with both hands, holding it in front of his body in a vain attempt to block the girls blows. However, he froze as he felt a prick of steel on his neck.
"Dead!" She chirped, holding the sword point first at Jaune's throat. "Unlike katana, swords like this can be used for slashing and thrusting. Though slashing is more efficient, the length of it can get a quick kill like this if you're either skilled or lucky."
She turned from Jaune and sheathed the sword in one fluid motion. As she walked away from him, she swayed her hips a bit, smirking as she could feel the blush on Jaune's face without even seeing it.
"Pay attention!" She called as she turned to face him with her hands on her hips. His eyes snapped up from their stare at her bottom and she couldn't help but giggle on the inside. "So as you can see, something like the longsword can be used with both speed and power. Depending on the size and your height, you can control the close range with more precision than those with longer and unwieldy weapons. Granted, if you're going one handed, maybe use a shield?"
Jaune scoffed. "I don't particularly like shields. I tried practicing with Crocea Mors, our family sword and shield, and it didn't end well."
"Have you practiced with it since you've started training with us?"
"…" Jaune wanted to smack his head against a wall.
"Welp, there's another thing to do! Shields are technically weapons too. You should be able to take down an opponent with just a shield if you need to. So we'll go over that too!" Tenten retook her position. Jaune followed suit, taking the bout more seriously. "In the meantime, let's keep going! I want you able to go toe to toe with Yugao-san before the days over!"
Jaune paled at that. 'Is everyone on Lee's team this nuts?'
'Yep!' Ino chirped in his head for the last time.
This is another chapter I'm ending abruptly just to get it out since it's been so long. I have an idea of where I want to go within the next chapter or two, so it shouldn't take long to get them out. (At least, not as long as it did for this one.)
This chapter felt like it dragged in the wrong places to me so I'm going to reorganize and start fresh with the next chapter.
Also, I'm glazing over a lot of Jaune's training because I don't want to reveal everything he'll be able to do by the time Beacon rolls around, or even some of the events that happen before then. Some things may be shown in detail but for the most part, I'm going to be doing quite a few time skips.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed it at least somewhat!
Til Next Time Loves!