Chapter 15: The Weight We Carry
"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed."
-Booker T. Washington
/Floating Fortress Ancor Vantian
/Bay of Haran
/Land of Mist
Shinno
Wind clawed at Shinno's robes like the grasp of some huge sky-eagle.
Without the unbreakable suction created by a subtle application of chakra on his shoes, he would've been ripped off his position at the pinnacle of the city-sized floating fortress. A railing-encased crow's nest the size of a small, square house stood open to the vastness of the clouds around him. The temperature at forty-thousand feet stabbed into him like needles. Radiant sunshine sparkled across moisture-laden clouds, casting the world in a bizarre dichotomy; so cold it could kill you if left too long, oxygen so scarce one struggled to draw a worthwhile breath, and so visually warm and arresting that you couldn't help but believe yourself in the Pure Land.
Shinno was in heaven.
The Sorakage of Hidden Sky found he cared not one whit of the dangers, as the benefits of the view across an ocean of cloud proved one no man who received a taste of the sky's bounty could resist.
Today, as he did on all days when Shinno hoped to achieve a milestone success, saw him seeking refuge and an inner calm watching the utter savagery of the sky.
As a young aspiring doctor, Shinno had devoured any text he could get his hands on and his favorite quote came from ancient writer Tenjin Genmei who wrote, 'the hurricane is curious and wise, for to become the tempest outside is to still the inner self.'
Though Tenjin had written that regarding battle and commerce equally, more than anything, those words resonated with Shinno throughout his youth and into his adulthood, informing every action he considered and took.
A breaker of clouds parted, opening a portal into the mist-shrouded world below.
Pity that we must stay secluded here a while longer.
The plan was in motion, but there was still time for delays and problems. Nothing was secure until all the pieces were in place and even then there was certainly room for error. Thus, secrecy needs dictated they stay hidden in the mist and the clouds, privy to these entrancing dawns.
The poetic irony of that statement was not lost on Shinno.
A hiss of compression of the sliding door behind him jolted him out of his idle thoughts and the enormous man turned to stare at his most valuable employee. An impossibly rare find indeed.
"Lord Shinno, Lady Konan has arrived."
Shinno sighed. Idle time was few and far between. Duty called.
"Very well Karin, thank you. Did you see her to the Conference Room as I asked?"
"Yes sir."
"Excellent. We still have time before Gato's presentation and our client's arrival, do we not?"
"Affirmative."
Shinno nodded, waving a hand. "I will be there shortly. Make sure Lady Konan is comfortable and has everything she needs."
Karin bowed, backed away, and exited, the door sliding shut behind her.
Like threading an intricate tapestry, Shinno was weaving disparate and sometimes fractious forces together for a purpose. Shinno was an archer wielding a bow with an almost impossibly heavy-draw, readying to loose with an arrow made of everything he could gather.
Unskilled archers sometimes hurt themselves badly during a misfire.
Shinno could not afford a misfire.
Revenge was so close.
Briefly acknowledging the respectful salutes of his soldiers as they passed in the halls, Shinno punched the button and watched the door to his main conference room slide open to reveal an opulent, albeit practically bare, suite.
Empty, save his visitor.
Rarely did Shinno indulge in his appetites as a man, but he had to admit that looking at his benefactor's emissary was a rare treat. It was said that the finest art collection in the world lay in the palace of the Fire Daimyo. One of those prize pieces depicted a woman so breathtakingly beautiful that any who saw it wept and felt an aching sadness for the rest of their days, simply because nothing would ever compare to the visage captured by the artist. The rumor went that the Daimyo had the painting covered after a visiting dignitary hung themselves right after a viewing. True or not, and he was not the type to believe such an outlandish tale, Shinno imagined such a thing would be bad for trade relations. The more likely story was that that snake of a Daimyo had the dignitary murdered and covered it up using a stupid painting.
Regardless, in his mind at least, the Kage of Hidden Sky believed the artist couldn't have depicted anything more breathtaking than the Lady Konan of Hidden Rain.
"Lady Konan. A pleasure to see you again. How is Hidden Rain and my Lord Pein?"
"Both he and Rain are well, Lord Shinno."
Settling his jacket, a suitably officious gold-and-scarlet affair, around him as he sat adjacent to Konan, Shinno settled his wire-rim glasses carefully and gave her his full attention. He'd come to realize her icy demeanor was not a result of any malice, but simply an integral part of who she was; scrubbed of emotion, Konan truly was nothing but an extension of Pein's will. Shinno pulled himself away from a more thorough examination of her curved lips. Those fierce orange eyes that gazed at him belonged on a Sky-eagle more than a human being.
A good reminder she was no one to mess around with, let alone stare at.
"I come not for idle chat, but on matters that God deems of particular importance."
"I hear and obey, Lady Konan. What is God's will?"
"The Seifuku-sha. He is… pulling back, shall we say, from many of the projects that once consumed him. The debacle in Iron country and the dissolution and temporary death of the ninth bijuu have enraged God. Yet, the vaunted Man in Red, Butcher of Hidden Mist, shows nary a care. He has even abdicated his Kageship to another. This is strange, yes?"
Shinno sat back, stunned. The Seifuku-sha moved on the ninth bijuu? That was… not part of the plan. Order was important to the function of the Kojiki, according to The Seifuku-sha and Pein both. Pein sat now in his seat of power, ensconced in the Kojiki, continuing to decode it's deeper functions, yet, that was what they had all agreed on.
Why abandon a solid plan to chase shadows?
The Kage Summit had been a convenient pretense to stir chaos, hence the suicide bomber Shinno had procured, yet it was absolutely, unequivocally not the opening salvo of Phase Two.
This was teetering on the edge of disaster. Shinno couldn't help the hoarseness of his voice as he rushed to provide some reassurance to his proprietor's emissary.
"Lady Konan, I assure you I remain committed to God's plan. I knew nothing-"
She held up a single, perfectly manicured hand. A shade of blue, the same as the bob of hair that had no single follicle out of place, painted on each of her nails. Shinno tried not to sweat.
"God knows you are loyal to the cause of peace, Lord Shinno. That is not why I come and not why you are to Hear Him."
Shinno leaned forward earnestly. "I am ready to Hear Him."
"God wants you to watch our erstwhile ally who may not be everything we believed him to be. You may be the only person, aside from God himself inside the Kojiki, that can match the Seifuku-sha one-to-one. God wants you to find out what The Seifuku-sha's real goal is if it is not peace through the Kojiki's eventual might. You will pierce the veil and act if you detect treachery."
Shinno nodded, trying his best not to reach up and rub his temples.
"I hear and obey, Lady Konan. If I may?"
She nodded once, sharply.
"The plan paces afoot, quickly enough that it would be difficult to halt. Am I to continue with the original plan?"
The Angel of Amegakure was silent for a minute.
The Sorakage found himself holding his breath until she spoke.
"The plan continues. Akatsuki cannot afford any stability in any region once Phase 2 commences. God wishes you to know your loyalty, success, and efficiency in doing so has not gone unnoticed and will be rewarded."
A feeling flooded through him; not quite relief, but close enough not to matter.
Konan stood and Shinno followed.
"Again, I hear and obey."
Silently, as she always did, and without fanfare, the Angel of Amegakure left.
Shinno knew she would simply fly back to Rain and needed no escort.
Chief in his thoughts however was the horrifying possibility that the earliest supporter of Pein's regime, and his dream of peace through overwhelming superiority both, had a deeper goal than any of them knew. Pein had forgiven the first time the Seifuku-sha struck at the Nine-tails and it was insane to think he would forgive a second disruption of such a carefully laid plan, one that had been decades in the making. Losing the Fourth, a potential ally that God had been considering extending his reach towards, had been almost unforgivable.
Shinno, selfishly, was glad that alliance hadn't solidified.
Dismissing it for later thought, Shinno turned his attention to the next item on the agenda; Sukumu Gato and their joint client.
A knock sounded outside the conference room door. Karin knew well enough the procedure for delicate matters relating to Amegakure.
"Enter."
Sure enough, the fiery red-headed aide de camp popped in, glasses glinting from the sun shining through the wide windows.
"Gato just arrived and wants to know where we'd be setting up the demonstration for Iwa?"
Dressed in ink-stained overalls, with her typical goggles hanging around her neck, the Uzumaki weaponsmith had a love/hate relationship with the arms dealer Shinno had hired as an intermediary. Sukumu Gato quickly dropped the blatantly misogynistic attitude he'd come in with upon realizing the true value of an Uzumaki dedicated to making weapons that he could turn around and sell to the highest bidder. Now Karin had a thoroughly willing sales executive eager to sell whatever she came up with; strange bedfellows to say the least. She'd even sent flowers to the man upon hearing of the trouble with his son.
Terrible business, that.
Today was a prototype delivery for a buyer Shinno had deliberately targeted. Kumogakure was making huge strides in their own arms development. Yet God had decreed chaos; thus did he receive. Kumogakure wouldn't be so focused on racing development for long. No, they'd have their hands very full, very shortly.
"Before I forget, did Pakura seem amenable?"
Karin blinked at the non sequitur.
"Um, oh, yeah, boss, but she made it pretty clear 'it' would only happen if the Terraforma Device is delivered and demoed on-site."
Thinking quickly, Shinno tapped his chin with a finger.
"That is acceptable. Draft that and have Matou send it. As for Gato, Hanger Four is probably long enough. Set up there and I'll meet you shortly."
Briefly, the leader of Hidden Sky visited his office, adjacent to the conference room he'd used to speak with Konan, he stepped to his previously tidy desk and rearranged some receipts and invoices until they were a neat pile again. That done, he left both the office and conference room and took the quickest access stairs down the twenty-five levels necessary to reach the hangars.
Hangar Four was the last of them, roughly the size and shape of a sports field. Three of the four were filled with their single- and multi-person flying devices while the fourth was mostly empty, which made it ideal to serve as a range. That and it was reinforced via Barrier jutsu by both Karin and himself to withstand quite a lot of punishment.
The wide but diminutive form of Sukumu Gato stood out in the center like a missing finger on a spread hand. Karin to his left was fairly tall, but the client; a man named Kitsuchi representing the Tsuchikage, towered over them both.
Karin had one of their prototypes, a long silvery weapon that resembled a regular footman's pike if that pike was made of solid steel and inscribed with dark tracery. The Fuinjutsu in the gunpike was new, created by Karin specifically for this project, and was nothing short of brilliant in its simplicity.
With any luck, they'd have a deal secured within the hour.
Just enough time to meet with his last guest and given the… delicate...nature of the Angel's request, would provide some important illumination.
Shinno pasted a smile on his face and stepped fully into the hangar, his boots making a ringing sound on the metal floor as he crossed the room to meet his guest.
Despite multiple potential set-backs Phase Two would commence shortly.
After the group broke apart, deals were struck, and each went their separate ways, Shinno's last and final and arguably most important visitor entered from a side-door in the bulkhead of the conference room. The door blended seamlessly with the vast expanse of steel and Shinno watched from where he'd been digesting his latest political conquest.
Clad in the Mizukage's normal hand-stitched blue and white wave-printed kimono, Utakata of the Six-Tails settled himself with a familiarity that rankled.
"I just found out. Congratulations on your new position, Mizukage. Despite your new burdens, I trust all is ready?"
The former Hunter-nin turned traitor turned newly-minted Mizukage nodded, peering around the room with distracted interest.
"You are...aware that the kinjutsu of the Tsuchigumo clan has never been used, correct? Failure is… a possibility."
Shinno was aware of this, he'd studied the recovered scrolls thoroughly, though the ones related to this particular kinjutsu were exasperatingly spare.
"I'm aware, Utakata. I very much appreciate you taking point on this operation as well as providing the… sacrifice. There is a reason we are targeting this particular place first before the real test."
Utakata smiled humorlessly.
The smile wasn't one that reached his eyes.
Shinno had long suspected something was off with this container and it was plain as day in that dead stare. Shinno hadn't quite figured out the specific hand that held the strings, but he supposed it didn't much matter given what they were attempting. Nothing less than an upheaval of hundreds of years of shinobi history in a single stroke.
Shinno considered this his immortality project; if all went well, he'd go down as the man that wiped out a super-power. The destruction of a tyrant country that ruled over all others, the greatest nation-state bully that ever existed.
It was glorious.
The best plans, though, were ones that came together slowly, woven of a thousand threads. This was only one, albeit a very important one.
"The second strike will be Outpost 41 then… then Konoha as the final push."
Utakata continued, almost listlessly, "Whatever I can do to make sure Konoha is destroyed… I'll do it. Name your first target."
Shinno smiled and spoke one name.
Utakata looked confused but agreed. He had no choice after all.
/Nakamura Hall: Classroom 10A
/Konoha Shinobi Military Academy
/Land of Fire
Naruto
Within minutes of entering 10A and selecting a seat in the front, Naruto realized he would have an easy time staying off the radar.
As far as his roommates were concerned, minus Kiba who found the whole thing hilarious and just desserts for helping 'a traitor,' Naruto might as well have been a ghost.
In an effort to make as few waves as possible, given that he was extremely conscious of Headmaster Saito's Sword of Damocles hanging over his head every moment of every day, Naruto abandoned his seat next to a serious-looking girl named Ino Yamanaka, buried in a book about-Naruto read the title, 'Beginners Guide to Poison' and tried not to seem too eager to get away-to ascend the lecture hall stairs and take a place next to the one person Naruto both sort-of-knew and was fifty percent sure didn't hate his guts. Sakura Haruno leveled a sly grin in his direction and kept her feet up on the desk.
"You know, I've been told only slackers and shy people sit in the back. Which one are you?"
Blinking, Naruto frowned.
Neither of those options was true when measured against why he was really up here.
What to say?
"...given how much it seems you don't give a shit," Naruto pointedly looked at the sandaled feet on his future workspace. "I'm guessing you're the slacker-type?"
Idly, Naruto noted there was delicate pink nail polish on her toes.
"First off, this isn't an academic class, just informational-meetings and such. Second, I don't really know-to be honest, I never had much trouble with academic work. Why sit in the front if you know you'll be fine?"
She paused for a second considering, "I also don't need glasses so… I can see everything. I do my work and I keep my head down like a good little aspiring-shinobi."
Naruto settled in his seat, taking his bag off and propping it against the leg of the desk. Leaning back, he struck the same pose as Sakura and realized it was significantly less weight on his lower back.
I think she might be onto something.
"That's fair, I guess. I'm in that same boat then-the keeping the head down thing. So...neither option then?"
Both of them watched as the other kids filed into the classroom in dribs and drabs. Having consulted the roster earlier, there were twelve assigned students to each class, of which there were five or six total classes, Naruto couldn't remember, in the First Year cohort. Given that the gender ratio was roughly equal, Naruto expected all the people he didn't know to be girls.
Sakura, Satsuki, and Ino made three, and Naruto watched as three more entered the room in a large group; twin girls, dressed in the same melancholy, funerial manner and a rather… homeless-looking purple-haired girl.
"Those are your roommates, right?"
Sakura sighed.
Remembering his own issues, Naruto gave her a crooked smile.
"That bad?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Boy, do I know what that's like."
She considered him for a second, "Yeah, I guess you do."
"So?"
Sakura set the legs of her chair down and leaned in, speaking softly. "That girl there? The pretty girl with the long blonde hair?"
"P-pretty?" Naruto cleared his throat. "Uh-huh, yeah?"
"Her name is Ino Yamanaka and I don't think she's ever shared a room with another person-let alone two-in her entire life. Only child if I've ever seen one. I can almost feel her anxiety every time she looks at my side of the room."
Sakura frowned, pink hair swaying as she shook her head.
"Then again… I don't have much room to talk. Anyway, her shit is color-coded and she's rather… bossy. Which sucks given that I like to do my own thing."
The girl then pointed to the twins.
"Yuna and Aiko Kuroshiba are rooming with that girl over there, see? The one who looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster? That's Ami Totsuka. Yeah, she doesn't own a hairbrush. I looked. Her clan is as small as mine is actually. Smaller, if that's possible. She's first generation. Found that out pretty quick. I also found out that Ami barely qualified for the Academy. Oh, and the twins are scarily in-sync, even down to finishing each other's sentences."
For someone who seemed slightly… aloof, Sakura sure did pay attention to everyone and everything around her. How'd she find all this out without being friends? Naruto had to know.
"Not to cut you off, 'cause this is good information to have so I don't piss anyone off," Naruto paused thinking, "Well, anyone else. But how'd you get so… observant?"
"You'd be surprised, despite having pink hair, sometimes people just forget I'm in the room."
Self-deprecating it might be, but it smacked of someone lonely. Naruto didn't know what to say to that, so he searched for something, anything to talk about. One downside of having been friends with someone like Kazan is that you never really needed to have an actual functioning conversation.
Clearly, he was out of practice.
"...uh, that will be super useful as a shinobi, I guess?"
Naruto watched Sakura watching his roommates. God what a lame thing to say. I'm so stupid. Stupid!
She spoke absently.
"After my mom died on a mission I never got the details about, it was just Dad and I. We had to downsize from a house to an apartment, so it was pretty tight quarters. He… didn't take my mom's death very well and that meant it was me looking out for me. After Dad joined ANBU, it got pretty dark there for a while, so...yeah."
Sakura sighed, shrugging her shoulders, turning away from the class.
"I don't know… I guess… I got pretty good at sensing changing moods. Not to mention the only thing we bonded over happened to be shinobi-stuff. Taught me a good bit about a lot of different things. Observation is under-rated as a shinobi skill, but it was something he harped on about. Guess it stuck."
Naruto was quiet at that.
Sounded… rough.
"Must be pretty worried about him, you coming here?"
Sakura lifted her lips in something resembling a smile.
Naruto could tell it was fake.
"I'll check in on him when I can. He's away on missions a lot anyway, so…"
Their conversation was cut off as Iruka suddenly appeared at the front of the room. Under one arm was a stack of papers in manila envelopes.
Naruto slumped. "More paperwork? Kami, this is gonna be rough."
Sakura let out a tiny giggle. Suddenly, Naruto was struck with the fact he hadn't hung out with someone his own age since Kazan died and hadn't laughed with anybody in an equally long time; well before the prison stint at least. The blonde grinned at Sakura who shrugged like, 'What can you do?'
Paperwork wasn't so bad compared to some other things he could name, was it?
Clear and strong, Iruka started speaking and Naruto focused.
"Welcome class, this is only our first meeting as a Class Advisory. We will be having these every Friday morning of your first year to help you get acclimated and iron out any issues you may be having. Today will be short, so stay with me please."
Iruka handed the papers, still in the manila envelope to Satsuki who sat in the center-left seat at the front.
"Satsuki, would you do me a favor and pass those out? Thanks."
Continuing Iruka leaned against his desk. Naruto watched the back of Satsuki's short-bob rise and start moving, passing out papers.
"Becoming a shinobi of the Leaf requires graduating from the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy. And that is predicated on both academic test scores from your four years, physical test scores throughout, the Mid-term Exams, and the Practical Field Test which is conducted as a Field Exam in your final year."
This was great news. The Field Exam and the Physical test scores could be within reach; Academic… that was half-and-half as those scores most likely meant chakra-based tests. Or was that part of the physical tests, too?
His teacher continued speaking, so he abandoned his train of thought.
"You have roughly two years to complete all assigned full-year courses. After that are more specialized courses that are electives. After that, assuming you complete your required two years of courses is the Jonin-sensei Placement Test and provisional employment as a soldier of the Leaf: a registered Genin-level shinobi. That will continue along with your electives for another two years."
Four years before he'd be able-?
"From there, there are hundreds of different career paths available to you. Later on, in your tenure here at the Academy, these will be expanded upon. Are there any questions?"
Naruto raised his hand. Iruka noticed and pointed.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Iruka-sensei,"
"Professor Umino is fine."
Naruto hesitated. "Professor Umino, what classes are we taking?"
Iruka smiled. "Perfect segue, thank you. So, I'm passing around all of your class schedules now. The system is designed so that you all are in the same classes. Each cohort, as we call them, will be thrown into some difficult assignments; both group-based and as individuals. The Will of Fire demands that you all grow together and support one another. Thus, this was deemed the best way to ensure ready-made team chemistry. With me so far?"
As Naruto scanned the room, the class collectively looked like they swallowed a sour fruit. This was exactly what he was afraid of honestly, that his grade would hinge upon working with others. Working with Sakura wouldn't be too bad, but most of the others seemed… well, they seemed like they didn't quite take this at all seriously.
Choji was absent, drifting, and still eating.
Kiba, from Naruto's higher-up position, was doodling an anatomically-correct pair of boobs on his sheet. That bossy girl Ino was carefully arranging her class schedule and inking times and dates into her planner while the twins did… something, next to her. Praying?
The purple-haired slob Ami looked barely awake, nodding off every minute or so, while Hayato, who sat next to her, sweated through his formal shirt. Shino seemed the same as ever, simply scanning his schedule.
Satsuki was… right in front of him.
Purple eyes met dark brown and Naruto couldn't help but notice flecks of yellow and green in striated patterns as he gazed into a face that could've been a younger twin of Mikoto, if a bit more sharply-angled. The utterly dispassionate look on her face matched her mother perfectly, though. Through her high-collared shirt, he could see a wide expanse of marble-white flesh which prominently displayed a wide scar that seemed to wrap around her collarbone…
Sakura nudged him, but not before he realized he was staring. Clearly, Satsuki picked up on it and was pissed if the red discolorations on her cheeks were any indication. Shit.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer weirdo."
Heat crept up his neck.
Satsuki rolled her eyes and threw his schedule at him. Naruto scrambled to clutch the fluttering paper as the important document got stuck to his face. He sputtered and scowled as Sakura tried her level best-and failed-not to laugh at him.
"You know that's the Hokage's daughter and an Uchiha to boot, right?"
Sakura shook her head as Naruto's mouth opened and shut like a fish, scrambling for words.
"No accounting for taste, I 'spose."
"Shut up Sakura, it's not like that. She just looks so much like the Hokage, I-I was surprised is all. Not, not, you know- that."
Sakura gave him side-eye while she absorbed her schedule.
Naruto turned to his own paper where a lot of information stared back.
Naruto Uzumaki
Age: 10
SR#: 012607
Affinity: [REDACTED]
Citizenship Status: Full
Clan: Uzumaki
Bloodline Limit: [REDACTED]
Biography: [REDACTED]
CLASS SCHEDULE COHORT 56
Tradecraft and Conditioning (Combination):
Professor Anko Mitarashi, Tokubetsu Jonin, T&C Instructor and
Mizuki Touji, Chunin Assistant Instructor T&C
4:30 AM- Conditioning: Training Ground 48
BREAKFAST: 6:45 AM to 7:15 AM
7:30 AM- Tradecraft: Classroom 2
Physical Combatives:
Professor Tori Nakata, Tokubetsu Jonin
9:15 AM- Training Ground 48
Field Fuinjutsu:
Professor Hideo Nakamura, Tokubetsu Jonin
11:30 AM- Barrier Classroom 4
LUNCH- Noon to 1 PM
Chakra Theory and Practice:
Professor Yakumo Kurama, Tokubetsu Jonin
1:15 PM- Barrier Classroom 1
Geopolitical History:
Professor Raido Namiashi, Jonin
4:30 PM- Classroom 3
DINNER- 5:45 PM to 6:45 PM
Combat Mathematics:
Professor Aoba Yamashiro, Jonin
7:00 PM- Classroom 5
Report Writing:
Professor Iruka Umino, Tokubetsu Jonin
8:15 PM- Classroom 6
The ability to process his future schedule ground to a halt in his brain as he stared at the start time for 'Conditioning,' whatever that was, and realized he'd have to be awake at a time some people preferred to start going to bed.
The samurai were notorious for this kind of mind-over-body challenge; oftentimes depriving themselves of sleep for days to test their limits, or whatever. Mifune, as Naruto had been painfully made aware, was a huge fan of ice baths for their 'rejuvenating' properties.
Naruto distinctly recalled being thrown, at four in the morning, straight into a frigid pool fed by a glacial underground waterfall outside their house. Yojimbra and Mifune found it both educational and hilarious.
The blonde did not, especially when Yojimbra held him under to test his, quote-unquote, 'endurance.' The breath-stealing cold was something he remembered very well.
This class schedule seemed designed to jam-pack as much information and training into the day as humanly possible. Would this even be possible for someone without chakra present to smooth the edges of their exhaustion?
Iruka cleared his throat and that was enough to have the attention of the entire room.
"The first day is always an information dump and as much as I'd like to say that was it, there is yet more to cover. The biggest piece of information, the most crucial to you as students, is the milestones you must hit in order to reach the end: graduation. Let's talk about the big picture."
Once relaxed and open, their class advisor and their Report Writing instructor seemed to sober up, sharpening his gaze and his presence to maximize impact. Naruto hung on every word because every word could be vital. Any shortcut or opportunity needed to be seized immediately. That was the only possible way he was going to maneuver around his own disability and the almost insurmountable obstacle that was his lack of access to malleable chakra.
Square pegs could not fit in round holes, or triangular holes, or slightly smaller squares.
"The Academy Preparedness Reformation Act, instituted by the Fourth Hokage after the Third Shinobi World War, enshrined new standards for our graduates to meet in order to be considered Genin-level shinobi." Iruka waved an idle hand as he was met with curious looks. "You'll learn more in Professor Namiashi's class, but suffice to say that the important part of the APR Act is that a student cannot become a Genin without taking, and achieving a minimum score, on a Field Exam."
Naruto put his feet down and leaned in, as Iruka was writing a grading formula on the board.
"Counting for fully half of your entire grade, and no, I'm not talking about for just that year-I mean for the entire tenure of your attendance at the KSMA- your performance evaluation given after you take the Field Exam will be the penultimate decision-maker on your promotion and your final academic standing."
Sakura was almost vibrating their table with her eagerness.
Iruka pointed. "Yes, Sakura?"
The girl lowered her hand. "So someone with perfect test scores and classwork could still fail out if they didn't do well in the Field Exam?"
Their teacher looked at the ground, considering, then back up.
"First off, Sakura, the Field Exam is a real mission-with real death, real consequences, and real stakes. It just so happens to be watched over by Exam proctors. But they will be instructed not to save you, simply observe. It is the truest test of whether you have what it takes to be a shinobi of the Leaf."
One finger folded on Iruka's hand, "Second, you will not be able to even take the Field Exam at the end of your tenure if you haven't achieved minimum scores on all your coursework. The Field Exam takes everything you've practiced, been tested on, and have learned and funnels it into a real experience. They both go hand in hand."
Sakura slowly sat back, looking troubled.
Turning the problem around in his head, Naruto realized the Field Exam was a wild-card. Achieving average scores just might be enough to skate by until he took his Field Exam where his much more considerable experience would provide him, hopefully, the edge he needed to succeed. What were the odds a mission used to determine the suitability of Genin-level shinobi would be worse than fighting Orochimaru? Or a Mist ANBU?
Not high, that was for sure.
Whispering had started up in the room, but Naruto was grinning, lost in another world, imagining earning his Hitai-ite and being that much closer to his goals.
"Does that answer your question?"
Sakura nodded and Iruka clapped his hands with a kind of finality to it.
"There is nothing else required of you all for today-most of the meet-and-greets are being saved for your first real day tomorrow, so rest up and relax because for the next four years you won't get much of it!"
Iruka beamed at the class and Naruto could fairly feel the man's seemingly boundless enthusiasm. This man was the instructor of Report Writing; how could anyone be so cheerful about reports?
"As far as I'm concerned, you are all dismissed!"
Naruto sighed and followed Sakura in packing up.
The whole day was stretching out in front of him and Naruto suddenly realized he didn't know what his next immediate move should be. The prospect of returning to the dormitory to relax was… not relaxing. In his mind's eye, he could picture Shino's heavy stare laden with disappointment, or Shikamaru's acidic sarcasm and disdain, or Hayato's palsy-stricken shaking pissing him off, or even Kiba's barbaric simpleton routine just plain getting old.
There was one person he could talk to… or thought he could anyway.
Iruka's voice cut across the sounds of their advisory packing up. He was not best pleased, judging by the sharp snap.
"Choji, Shikamaru, Shino, Hayato, Satsuki, and Naruto… you six are staying."
Sakura gave Naruto a long look and a thumbs up as she shoved Kiba who was actively laughing at them. Kiba stumbled and glared at her, but that faded when he realized Sakura wasn't the least bit intimidated. The lidded-gaze Sakura stabbed Kiba with had him moving quickly. She could scary, that one. Damn.
Watching Kiba get backed down by Sakura was almost enough of a happy moment to balance out the no-doubt, impending shit storm.
Almost.
/Nakamura Hall: Classroom 10A
/Konoha Shinobi Military Academy
/Land of Fire
Naruto
"Someone please explain why I'm receiving communique's already from the Headmaster, of all people, regarding you six?"
Iruka had sat them down in a line at the front of the classroom. Sighing, their Advisor leaned against his desk and folded his arms. Silence.
Strangely, it was Hayato that spoke up.
"Professor I-Iruka, my c-cousin Neji was p-picking on Satsuki and we were s-simply defending her."
Satsuki rolled her eyes. Naruto had been watching for it. Her voice was a cloud heavy with sarcasm. The skies were about to open up.
"Like I even needed help from you all. I could've taken Neji."
Naruto could hear Shikamaru's incredulous snort.
The Nara was about to open his mouth, but Iruka cut them both off before they got started.
"I don't care how it started, I care that you were fighting at all. Do you understand how that makes you all look?"
"I-I w-won't a-apologize, Professor Umino."
Hayato looked like he'd seen a monster under his bed-for real, but pushed through, words tumbling over each other, firming only when Naruto and the others turned to him incredulous. Emboldened, Hayato spoke slowly, barely stuttering. Professor Iruka looked just as shocked as the rest of them. So shocked he didn't interrupt.
"She needed our help, whether she admits it or not. I-if we hadn't stepped in my cousin would have k-killed her. Most people don't know it, but Neji has… a...v-violent temper. He's...he's killed training partners before."
Hayato swallowed, but Naruto wasn't watching him. Instead, he was watching Satsuki's face. Impossibly, she paled even further upon hearing that Neji has killed training partners before.
Isn't that not supposed to happen here? The Will of Fire and all that?
Are they just a bunch of hypocrites or what?
"I...I've never seen Cousin Neji so mad. I was… a-afraid for her."
Iruka was quiet so long Naruto thought he'd malfunctioned.
"Did you tell the Headmaster your suspicions, Hayato?"
The Hyuuga boy hung his head and their professor sighed, unfolding his arms and standing.
"I can't believe it… but I'm proud of you all. Despite the result."
Shikamaru interrupted, almost snarling.
"I take the strongest offense at including Naruto in that, Professor. That guy-"
Iruka cut through his words and silenced him with a hand.
"Naruto very well might have saved your life Shikamaru!"
The man rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I know for a fact that Neji is the top-ranked student in this Academy for a reason. The fact the five of you aren't horribly maimed or dead is due to Naruto's direct intervention. Finding a professor is exactly what should have been done."
Wisely, the Uzumaki kept silent. He was in an odd position of being praised for something he genuinely thought had been the wrong thing to do. Awkward didn't begin to describe how he felt.
Choji, for once, wasn't eating, instead, he was surprisingly focused. "Professor, I appreciate you telling us you're proud of us… but what is to be our punishment?"
Naruto locked eyes with Shikamaru and held them; dark brown meeting violet. Mutinous and churning, Naruto wondered for the first time what had happened to this boy to make him so… angry.
The irony of that thought was not lost on him.
"Each of you will produce a place in Konohagakure be it business, branch, or office, that is extraordinarily uncomfortable to you personally. You will volunteer there for a minimum of a thousand hours. If it is not satisfactory to me in how far out of your comfort zone your choice is, I will do my level best to pick one that exceeds that standard. Am I clear?"
Iruka eyed each of them.
Naruto would've said the look on the Uchiha's face was… mulish, but that was a childish term. The Uchiha were all about dignity after all. A slight grin appeared on Naruto's face as Satsuki started to open her mouth. Their Professor just looked at her and she snapped her jaw shut. Shino just nodded. The others seemed similarly resigned based on facial expressions.
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
Great. He was assigned yet another onerous task that would sap his rapidly dwindling free-time. Just great.
/Apartment 34N
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Naruto
8A, 16A, 16B, 21D… where is 24C?
As Naruto scoured the short alleyway he'd turned down from the main thoroughfare, he peered into deep-set apartments grouped in quads which lay above him. Afternoon-sun, hot and thick, blazed down on him, slanting through the railings and various openings in the quad roofs.
More and more he felt no, he knew, that Shizune was the perfect person to spend this unexpected boon of free time getting to know. For starters, she didn't hate him. Or he didn't think so anyway. Secondly, she might know a bit more than the average person about Tsunade's kinjutsu.
Naruto had gone back to his apartment to fetch the small card on which Shizune had written her address and managed to avoid any sort of confrontation with his roommates, receiving instead just icy glances.
According to the card, this was the place.
Apartment 24C was, like all the suites in Garasujo Apartments, made for the well-off shinobi. The entire construction, at least from the outside as Naruto weaved in and out of greenery, melded natural with modern conveniences. Glass everywhere, dark wood, and plant-life occupying the same spaces gave the entire thing a sort of upper-crust feel. The blonde didn't know Shizune well, but it didn't exactly...well, it didn't fit her.
But they were nice-looking all the same.
The last Uzumaki hesitated at the burgundy door stamped with 24C, his fist hovering.
Would she want to see him still, after he yelled at her mentor and her, then berated the Hokage and generally made an ass out of himself? Maybe he should leave...
"Naruto?"
There she was, clad in light green scrubs and holding a brown paper bag filled with what looked like groceries. She was smiling slightly. Naruto scrambled away from the door, rubbing the back of his head.
"Hi Shizune, I-uh-I hope it's okay-"
Why are you stumbling?
The girl admitted to changing your diapers, idiot!
"Here, take this a sec."
The weight of the groceries was foisted off into his arms as Shizune took out her keys, letting them both into the apartment. He followed her down a brief hallway that let out into a wide-open space that screamed comfortable, yet not-quite-lived-in; from the gushy-looking L-shaped sofa facing a modest television right down to the warm kitchen and cushioned bar stools. All the walls were bare, no artwork or sculptures or anything that made it feel like a real home.
Naruto set the groceries down on the island and found himself at a loss.
What am I doing?
"I-"
"You don't owe me anything, you know."
"What?"
There was nothing to read on Shizune's face. She'd stopped, back to him, and had one hand resting lightly on her countertop.
Shizune turned, stepped close, and put one warm hand on his shoulder.
"I heard a little bit about what you went through from the Hokage, well-not really, actually Lady Uchiha told Tsunade who told me." Shizune paused, seemingly fishing for what to say. Finally, she waved that away. "That's not important, what is important is that while I'm here if you want to talk, you don't need to say anything if you don't want to."
Since his wave of homesickness the first night here and subsequently the revelations about his parents, Naruto had never felt so unbalanced in his life. Shizune was just so… nice. Was this what it felt like to have a motherly sort of figure in his life?
Naruto looked down, not sure what to say.
"I… I just did what I had to."
Shizune shook her head, hand squeezing tight.
"The fact you think of it as so straightforward does you a lot of credit."
They were silent for a moment. Naruto looked up, staring at her for a long moment. Tsunade's apprentice continued to bustle around the room, putting her groceries away.
Wracking his brain, Naruto tried to think of what he should say or do.
Instead, Naruto found himself vomiting words.
"I shouldn't be alive, you know. There were so many times over the last year that I should have died." Idly, Naruto traced a finger around the flecks and veins of silver in the marble of Shizune's counter-top. "You don't realize how much freedom, how much comfort and respect and strength, chakra gives you until it's ripped away from you."
He snapped his fingers.
"One moment, I'm someone different; the adopted ward of the Shogun of Iron, the next… nobody. Nothing." He felt her eyes on her but didn't look up.
"The Nine-tails ripped more than just my chakra apart that night. Him and the Seifuku-sha. They took who I thought I was… took my life, my freedom, my power. All of it."
"Naruto-"
"It's okay. Really. You don't have to say anything."
Why am I sharing this? You don't tell people this stuff for a reason!
"Thing is… I've been focused on regaining my chakra for a long time now, always scraping by without it. You all take it for granted. But I won't. Not anymore. I can taste how close I am to fixing myself."
He cupped his thumb and index finger together, indicating a small distance.
"I'm this close. This close. I hear about a super-secret, all-powerful healing technique that your boss has squirreled away… and what does she say? The 'Greatest Healer in the World?'"
Shizune's face dropped as she realized where he was going with this.
"Naruto…"
"No, Shizune. She says, 'fuck you.' Not, 'hey, I'll happily help you out, kid.' No, she says a big ol' fuck you because I'm some bratty kid who isn't worth anything."
Shizune sighed gustily. Naruto realized all of a sudden that she looked exhausted; dark bags sat heavy under her eyelids and her clothes looked rumpled and slept in.
Heat crept up his neck and all of a sudden he couldn't begin to suck in enough air.
God, I'm such an asshole.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I just came here to- you're probably tired and-"
Waving, Shizune snorted. "Shut up Naruto. I told you already you don't have anything to apologize for. You don't owe Konoha anything as far as I'm concerned. Come on, come sit. I'll grab us drinks."
Not sure where to put his hands, Naruto awkwardly sat on the couch.
She returned shortly with a pitcher of sweetened tea.
"I know the pre-brewed tea is blasphemy, but I like it."
He couldn't help but grin at her smile. Naruto had always had a sweet tooth, and a huge appetite for ramen, which Iron didn't make very well, but Yojimbra and Furu wouldn't often cook sweets.
I guess that means since I'll be making my own money, I can get whatever I want? That was a thought.
Shizune eyed him across her cup as they both sipped and were lost separately. She spoke up, a minute or a half-hour later and Naruto almost started, lost as he was in thoughts of the future.
"You said you came here to...what, exactly?"
Naruto knew exactly why he came here. Should he share it?
Mifune always said, he who rises early, gains the height.
"At first, I came because I thought you could help me with my chakra problem… and now…"
The honesty was difficult, but Shizune just listened without interruption. That, in and of itself, gave him an unexpected insight into himself.
"...I think now maybe I just wanted a friend."
He hadn't realized it before, but Shizune transformed when she smiled. Her whole body lit up and seeing it made him happy, for the first time since Kazan died, he was really happy-not just the momentary happiness of learning more about his mom and dad. The admission embarrassed him, the vulnerability scared the shit out of him, but something told him that Shizune-of all people-would understand.
"Well, who says you can't have both?"
Stunned, the Uzumaki looked at her. "You mean it?"
"Absolutely. Tsunade always keeps needling me about teaching. Besides," she grinned mischievously. "I'll get to boss you around then, won't I?"
Naruto groaned. "Oh god, you're one of those aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Tsunade always said I'd most likely be too hard on students, but you'll be my guinea pig to prove her wrong!"
Maybe… this wasn't such a good idea.
This is what I wanted, right?
Leaning back, Shizune clutched her cup of sweet tea, thinking.
"I'm going to be honest with you Naruto. What you're asking to learn is the chakra equivalent of climbing a mountain with a boulder strapped to your back while reciting the epic Tales of Sen Farseer… in a time limit of less than twenty-four hours."
Naruto just looked at her. Shizune sighed.
"I guess that wouldn't phase you- let me put it this way: I've trained under Tsunade for almost my entire adult life and still do not have the chakra control necessary to form even the Yin Seal, let alone activating the Creation Rebirth. Still want to try it?"
More than aware this was his only shot, Naruto nodded. The technique sounded like just another part of his life story, one that fit in quite well with the other bullshit. The idea that he would fail or that it wouldn't work didn't even come into his head.
This would work. It had to.
Setting her cup down, the dark-haired iryounin retreated into her bedroom down the hall and returned five minutes later with a fairly thick book. Naruto couldn't put a finger on it, but Shizune's demeanor had changed in the few moments she'd been gone, shifting into something more… methodical.
"I like Silver's Atlas of Human Anatomy, but when you're more comfortable with the material, you may want to shift to a photographic atlas. Some find value in pictures more aligned with what you'll actually see when performing medical techniques."
She motioned to him with the enormous book, waving it at him to take it.
Slowly, Naruto reached out and took the thoroughly-used tome.
"What- what is this for?"
Shizune's face wrinkled in a way that made it expressly clear he was an idiot. He was aware.
"You think you can just," she threw up her hands, "poof? Then the magic technique that requires no work will heal you?"
Suddenly, the Uzumaki realized he was an idiot. Of course the pinnacle of medical jutsu would require extensive medical knowledge. He groaned.
"Yeah, smart guy."
"I am, aren't I?" Shizune nicely stayed quiet. "Then, once I memorize this… then what?"
"See? You're already wayyy smarter than you were ten seconds ago. I'm a proud aunt."
Eyeing Shizune, who was having way too much fun with his ignorance, he contemplated that idea. "Aunt huh? I guess I can take it… cause you're old and stuff."
Shizune drily stared at him, "Oh yeah? How about you come talk to me when you aren't such a shrimp?"
Heat crawled up Naruto's neck. Man, it's always the height thing.
"Anyway, you were saying?"
She stared at him for a second with a half-smile. "Okay, okay. The next step is we… save some fish."
Thinking it was a joke, Naruto waited for the next part.
The two of them stared at each other in silence.
"...that's...wait, what?"
"Yes. You heard me."
"Save fish? Why?"
"I'm not letting you practice on live humans. That would get me fired. And dead people don't exactly need any healing."
"But… fish?"
"Yes, fish. Now come on, finish your tea and we'll get you started on that textbook."
Naruto threw back the whole cup of sweet tea left untouched through the whirlwind of a conversation and stared at Shizune. Strangely, the prospect of entering the Pit to kill Ratface-again-didn't give him nearly the kind of trepidation that staring at a bunch of words on a page did. He'd take nearly having his femoral artery cut, again, then do book work.
As he kept reminding himself though, again and again when adults tried to treat him like a child, he was not a child any longer. Childish would be to throw a temper-tantrum about studying a book, childish would be to turn down this kami-sent offer of help from the one person that had a prayer of helping him.
Childish acts wouldn't spontaneously murder the Man in Red for him.
Hard work, dedication, and pushing himself further than he ever had would only give him a shot. So he had to make the most of it.
That meant… books. For now.
"Okay, I'm ready." Shizune nodded, turning to lead him into what looked like a home office, still half-smiling. "And Shizune?"
"Hm?"
"...thanks."
/Training Ground 48
/Konoha Shinobi Military Academy
/Land of Fire
Naruto
What felt like six years ago, Naruto had learned the habit of getting up at the ass-crack of dawn in order to squeeze in extra practice time. Extra practice time meant his skills with one, and then two, blades had sky-rocketed while everyone else chose to catch a little bit extra sleep. Hard work had been his only edge. Naruto was firmly convinced the extra practice had saved his and Kazan's life.
Hard work would be his edge here too, he hoped.
That meant getting rough with himself. Being better meant getting up earlier and out-working those who were clearly more skilled. Naruto was sure that most of these kids would be miles and miles ahead of him. Catch-up would be difficult, but doable.
However, 'getting up earlier' was impossible when him and all of his classmates were required to stumble into Training Ground 48 at four twenty-five in the morning.
Getting up earlier than that would be… hard.
After he'd left Shizune's house late in the evening, where they'd been studying that anatomy textbook piece by piece for hours, Naruto had holed himself up on his bed and read a little bit extra just because he hated it so much.
Doing what he hated would make him stronger, right?
Apparently, he'd fallen asleep only a half-hour after learning about the basic building block of life; the cell. That subject was fascinating, but not fascinating enough to overcome such a jam-packed day. Random facts about adenosine triphosphate and organelles were floating around in his head and it made for absolutely bizarre dreams. In one, he'd been chased by a gigantic gland. Truly horrifying.
Blearily, he rubbed his eyes and gazed around the massive gymnasium. Next to him, Shikamaru was clearly asleep and weirdly, the only person fully-aware and seemingly chipper was the Akimichi. Naruto was looking at exactly what Choji was so excited to see.
The massive boxy Training Ground was covered half in mats and half in some hard, grey stone. A large, bizarre swimming pool filled an alcove in the back, worked into the stone where there were steps down into the water and as Naruto peered over there, he estimated the pool stretched another seventy-five feet. The depth was only about to his neck.
That wasn't the strangest part.
A track, lined and numbered, stretched around the gym in an enormous oval, outlining the mats and stone floor both. Off-center, on the stone floor, lay twelve enormous…
"Are those… boulders?" Naruto hadn't even realized he'd spoken aloud.
Sakura was next to him, looking slightly disheveled though and answered.
"Hey Naruto. Um. I… think so?"
He hadn't seen her come in. Over her shoulder, her roommates filed in; the twins together, Ami separate, Ino and Satsuki were talking as they brought up the rear.
"Whatdya reckon this hellish torture will be then?"
"Dunno, my dad told me a little bit about ANBU training. They usually had to do super long marches carrying heavy crap. Maybe this is something similar?"
"I did something like that once. The opposite of fun."
Naruto vividly recalled Tanaka and Torin forcing the Gutter apprentices to run with that fat, awkward log that felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. If this was something similar, then he'd be well-prepared. Then again, this was a big fucking difference from a log to a goddamn boulder, even a small one.
Sakura, unbeknownst to Naruto, was giving him a strange look.
"Well kiddies, hike up your panties and hold on tight-Professor Mitarashi is here to start your day off right!"
The strange, almost purring voice was nearly in his ear. Naruto started.
How the fuck?
His teacher, if that was who she was, was right next to him. When did she-?
"Are we rhyming now, Anko? Please don't tell me you're listening to that trash music coming from Kumo now are you?"
"That's Professor Anko to you, Assistant Professor Mizuki. And no, I'm just a genius."
The woman who was clearly insane, judging by the frankly unprofessional display and seeming lack of regard for first impressions, had bright purple hair and a layered outfit. Mesh covered a sheer cloth tunic that was then covered by a thick tan duster with a high collar. As Naruto looked, and part of him thought he really shouldn't be trying to figure out whether it was see-through or not, he realized she was just wearing some flexible skirt and ankle-guards. That purple mess of hair was twisted into a complicated updo that made it look like a star was bursting behind her head. The grin on her face had nothing resembling good-natured happiness behind it, but rather a bloodthirsty maliciousness that reminded him of Shizune after she took out that massive anatomy book.
Were all shinobi in the Leaf village insane?
Am I destined to become one of them?
Images flashed through his head of savaging Lionel Gato and Naruto wondered if maybe he fit in better than he thought. For the first time in a while, that was an uneasy thought. Had Kazan been right about how far Naruto had gone down a dark path?
The Assistant Instructor, and judging by the considering looks the female students were giving him, was a rather good-looking guy. Naruto could hear Kiba grumbling from all the way over here. Silver-hair fell in coiffed waves down his head held back by a proudly-displayed hitai-ite. Steel eyes calmly looked them over. Naruto felt like he was being analyzed.
Their Professor, Anko he thought, brushed past him and came to stand next to Mizuki.
"Line up."
It was a voice that expected to be obeyed and it came from the Assistant Instructor. Naruto was quick to fall in, pressing shoulder-to-shoulder with Sakura on one side and Satsuki Uchiha on the other. As he did, he caught a whiff of some type of clean scent wafting off the Uchiha.
I… forgot to shower last night. God damnit.
Realizing he was being weird, he refocused on his instructors.
"My name is Professor Anko Mitarashi and that is Assistant Professor Mizuki Touji," here the man smiled, showing straight white teeth, and waved.
"This is the first part of our two-part class that encompasses some of the most important topics shinobi will ever cover in training. Any guess on what that will be?"
Naruto raised his hand, as did Sakura, and Satsuki.
Mizuki pointed at Sakura. Naruto noticed she didn't even hesitate.
"Tradecraft."
Anko didn't so much smile as she did leer.
"Oh, very good little girl, yes. You read the syllabus then, bravo. What is tradecraft then?"
Sakura looked around, then realized Anko was still speaking to her.
"Sir, Tradecraft is the techniques required to successfully carry out missions, sir."
"First off, drop the 'sir' shit. You're future operators, not soldiers. Secondly, that is the vaguest, most useless definition of tradecraft that also happens to be mildly correct, I've ever heard. Congratulations on that level of mediocrity."
Sakura seemed… not best pleased. Anko turned from facing Sakura and leveled a gaze that encompassed all of them.
"Disguise. Tracking. Land-based and star-based Navigation. General Cartography. Tools and Electronics. Wilderness and Urban Self-Sufficiency and Logistics. Insurgency, counter and other. Espionage. These are vital shinobi skills that we will cover in the second part of the class."
Mizuki took over, stepping forward.
"You are shinobi. That means we will drop you any and all places in the world where you, in turn, will be able to not only succeed but thrive. Is that understood?"
There was a chorus of various kinds of yes's and agreements.
Inside, Naruto was sweating as he hadn't even heard of some of those things. If he was going to pass, no, exceed the Headmasters edict, he'd need to find a way to become proficient in all of these things. That meant knowing what the goddamn words meant.
Professor Anko continued.
"For now though, as we have about an hour and thirty-five minutes left, we'll progress to my favorite part. Do you all see these stones? These are your new best friends. Everyone place themselves in front of one."
Sidling over, he picked the one closest to the water. Rough in texture, but almost perfectly spherical, Naruto couldn't help but imagine he was staring at a miniature moon with all the same distant pockmarks and craters. Anko had a smile in her voice as she spoke, walking up and down behind them.
"Every year, I try to give some advice that makes this process easier-both on you and on myself. But every year, I'm disappointed by how thoroughly weak and undisciplined the minds and bodies of wannabe shinobi's are. Then I realize words will never cut it. So, I will watch as you struggle and I'll say what I always say; there goes another one that doesn't get it. Their body gives out and they give up. End of story."
She stopped pacing, looking at Ino with a sneer.
"Conditioning, you might imagine, refers to simple calisthenics. This is not the case." Anko pointed at the stones and then at the water. "This is about finding where your line is, the point with which you take control of your own mind in order to break your own perceived limits. Professor Mizuki and I will assist you in finding your limit. It will be up to you, and only you, to take that first, brutal step across it and then to keep crossing it every time you find a wall."
Naruto knew where that line was already.
He doubted any of the other kids would.
This was shaping up to be yet another terrible physical challenge… but that was something he was intimately familiar with.
"Your grade depends on simply being here and not quitting each and every day. Our job is to get you to quit. So make us fail and you succeed. Simple." Anko laughed and it echoed strangely in the gymnasium as she walked over to a shrouded object in the center of the room. Naruto could've sworn it hadn't been there before. She whipped a covering off of it to reveal a stiff, medium-sized bronze-cast bell. Anko pointed to it.
"All you have to do to make it stop is to ring this bell. No points lost, I won't yell at you, neither will Professor Mizuki."
Shikamaru raised his hand. Mizuki called on him.
"What happens if we ring the bell? Do we fail the class?"
She seemed almost… gentle, as she smiled at him. That seemed very wrong on her face.
"Not at all little Nara. Class is over for you for that day and you go eat. Easy, peasy. Just ring the bell, agony stops, and you go eat. Simple."
Shikamaru frowned, brow furrowing. Naruto could tell his mind was moving a thousand miles a minute.
"What's the point of doing the class then? Sadistic punishment? Why not just ring the bell immediately every day?"
"You could, certainly. I would very much encourage you to do that."
"...why?"
"Enough questions. Time for the fun to begin."
The head instructor stepped over to her own stone which was nearly six inches larger around than the students. With ease, she squatted down, feet planted wide and rolled the stone up to her shins and into her lap in one motion. Naruto wasn't the only one watching the veins in her neck bulge as she seemed to curl around the massive stone and hoist it further up her chest until she held it like she was holding a tree trunk.
In one smooth, powerful motion she flipped it from her chest to over her head, thrusting the sphere into the air with an explosion of guttural sound. She paused, breathing deliberately, red patches dotting her neck and what Naruto could see of her chest, but then reversed the process, gently setting the stone down.
It had to weigh at least three hundred pounds.
Holy shit.
There was a collective silence.
"Holy shit." That was Kiba.
Professor Mizuki stepped forward off his line. "All of you, your goal for today is two hundred of these same motions. We call them, 'Triumphs.' However, we're adding a slightly different component." Mizuki pointed at the pool. "You will perform a Triumph, then walk the Atlas Stone down, into the pool, across the length of the pool, then back to your starting position. You will set the ball down, then repeat. Do you understand?"
Naruto could see the fear, the same tightness, and nervous energy, that was currently racing through his body.
Professor Anko was quiet this time. "If I feel anyone using an ounce of chakra for this, you will not only be forced to ring the bell, but you will not be coming back to my class. Is that understood?"
A chorus of, 'yes, ma'am's' echoed back at her.
"Get to work."
Naruto decided this would not break him either.
Surprisingly, he was second only to Choji Akimichi, of all people.
The first bite of the moist, slightly-cooked-too-long eggs blasted through him like kami-given ambrosia. Naruto moaned and didn't even register Sakura doing the same thing next to him. The collective amount of sweat pooling and dripping off her brow gave her hair a matted look. Both of them were disheveled and Naruto knew his own stink must be emanating off him like heat from a furnace.
But the food was so much more important now than cleanliness.
All of 5U slumped around him, shoveling food, clearly agreed.
They had chosen a place in the cafeteria that was almost right next to the faculty table. Call him paranoid, but the last time the Uzumaki had been in here, there had been a massive brawl that had landed him in some pretty steep hot water.
Shit, I just realized I still have to figure out an uncomfortable place for me to do my community service. Maybe I can do it in the hospital?
Now that Naruto thought about it, that would be perfect.
That settles it, I'll ask Shizune when I see her tonight.
Sakura poked him. The whole breakfast period had passed in an instant, covered in his haze of bodily exhaustion. That was one thing that didn't necessarily disappear when you empowered your body with chakra. Chakra meant you could last longer using chakra. It did nothing for simple muscular expenditure.
"Hey, Naruto we gotta go. Come on, the others are leaving. We don't wanna be last!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay, okay."
He felt a bit like a fish lost in a school all traveling along the same current as Sakura and he tried to stay close, chatting while they leisurely followed at the back of the pack. 5U was all around them in two's and three's, clustered and talking. Naruto couldn't help but notice everyone was following the Uchiha who was alone at the front.
Within minutes, the twelve of them found themselves outside Classroom 2 where Assistant Professor Mizuki was waiting. Brandishing the key, Mizuki opened the door and waved a hand forward. 5U filed in, rushing to grab good seats.
Pulling a spiral-bound notebook out of his backpack, Naruto noted that the first unit was listed on the board. All it said was, 'Navigation 101.' Eager, Naruto stared at Mizuki who stared back at the class, pen poised over his paper.
To his growing horror, Naruto realized that this was not just the basics of being a shinobi; it was mostly theory!
GOD DAMNIT!
Naruto knew himself or felt like he knew himself pretty well, and the crushing realization that already he had two huge problem areas staring him in the face was making it hard to focus on the intricacies of using a slight application of chakra to identify true north, essentially turning yourself into a compass. The next hour and a half saw him sweating-only this time it wasn't because he was hauling a seventy-pound rock through a pool of water two hundred times-no, it was because books were now bound to be glued to his forehead at all times.
If only he could just absorb knowledge like his seal could absorb chakra from his body.
Yeah, right… only in stupid manga's.
No, this year would be filled with hard work and he knew he needed to stop bitching. Better this than being attacked over and over again like some apprentice Gutterknife, right? Or being chased by horrible missing-nin? Or having a bijuu ripped out of his stomach?
Putting pen to paper, Naruto did his best to focus on Mizuki's voice; engaging as he tried to be, and wrote everything on the board, determination welling up inside of him.
I won't be defeated by stupid books.
Flexing his hand, Naruto realized he hadn't written that much before, well, ever.
"I'll admit, as much as I expected that to be a breeze-some of those terms were difficult. Who would've thought using positional data from chakra sensor techniques and pairing them with star-based loxodrome positions would be so complicated?"
Naruto slowly turned his head to stare dead-eyed into Sakura's smiling face.
"Were you born this way or…?"
"What, born a genius and absolutely stunning in every way?"
"No, I mean a born asshole."
Her grin was borderline criminal.
"You could always try your luck with another friend-how about Shikamaru? You seem like you two get along real well."
Her pointed look needed no explanation. Naruto opened his mouth.
"...or how about Satsuki Uchiha? She seems just, so… fun. You could practice tongue-boxing."
Closing his mouth, Naruto rolled his eyes and spoke in a monotone. Desperately he wanted the heat appearing on his neck to disappear and take him along with it.
"Okay, okay. You've made your point. I don't have a lot of options so thank you, lord Kami, for bringing me Sakura Haruno. I'm super lucky to have her around being a genius and absolutely stunning in every way. Happy?"
"Yes, very. Thank you." The smugness was unbearable.
The blonde sighed so loud Ino gave him a dirty look from where she was walking in front of them. Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino's back and Naruto had to wipe the grin from his face quickly or his fellow blonde would've gotten suspicious.
I guess… I guess I have made a friend after all.
Naruto stared at the pink-haired girl and realized it hadn't been on purpose. She'd seemed to not have much in common with the others and they'd simply entered each other's atmosphere, gravitating towards kindred spirits. Now he had a thousand questions. Why him? Why wasn't she friends with the other girls?
Why him?
"Sakura… not that I'm not happy about it… but…"
Those green eyes slid to him and he hesitated, then realized he wanted to know.
"We're… friends, right?"
She seemed to sense his intent because she was quieter when she responded.
"I think so….why?"
"It's just…" Naruto looked away, finding it hard to look at her. "I'm wondering why me."
The two of them hung back a bit, but couldn't go too far as 5U as a cohort was headed to their Physical Combatives class, the class to which Naruto was most looking forward. They only had ten minutes and it was on the opposite side of campus, housed in Training Ground 48.
Squeezing through the crowds of students, Sakura spoke haltingly.
"Have you noticed that the idea of being a shinobi doesn't bother any of these other kids? They don't seem to take this," both of her hands indicated the buildings around them. Naruto suspected she didn't just mean the physical buildings.
"My clan is small and very new. Two generations. We came from almost entirely civilian stock working in the sciences. My parents were the first to ever make Jonin, which was a huge deal."
Naruto noticed Shikamaru's head turn ahead of them, but he couldn't stop Sakura from speaking so he just made sure to drop back a bit.
"These foundational clans, their kids don't really get it. The reality of things out there, I mean. My dad drinks. Sometimes he gets night terrors and I sit up with him for hours, waiting them out. He's almost stabbed me once, thinking I was an Iwa-nin."
Horrified, Naruto tried to continue listening, but all he could think of was that this sounded like his nights-minus the screaming.
"After mom died, all of this shit started. But it wasn't because of being a shinobi, it was because of the things they started asking him to do, you know? I mean, a good bit of Genin- and Chunin- shinobi don't kill a single person. Did you know that? ANBU though? They butcher people in their sleep, Naruto. Assassination, torture, general black operations- you name it they do it. Their body count is like, in the hundreds."
Sakura's intensity was in her eyes and the way she talked with her hands.
Naruto didn't say a word. Sakura realized she'd been a bit louder than she wanted, quieting down, but no less intense.
"Look, I'm sorry. It's a lot. And I'm not knocking being a shinobi. I still want to be one… but I know this shit is serious. I guess…"
She shaded her eyes and looked at him and it was like looking in a mirror.
"I guess I get the sense you know exactly what I mean. These clan kids… they grow up hearing about the honorable stuff, you know? How great it is to be yet another in a long-line of shinobi serving the Leaf. Not the dark crap that never seems to get talked about."
Here, she hesitated. "You remind me a little bit of my… my dad. I hope that doesn't bother you. You seem like you... know what it means to really want this."
To trust or not to trust?
Naruto could hear all the people telling him to open up screaming at him.
He forced a smile. "Compared to an ANBU? Why would that bother me?"
You remind me of my dad.
Kami.
Thankfully, his mind didn't have to whirl around that tidbit as they followed, again, the Uchiha to the massive double-doors of a building labeled Training Ground 48.
They had arrived.
Walking into the sandy arena gave Naruto tingling chills as his memory played back the splash of blood from a devastating strike of Seiryu the Lightning Dragon's cleaver of a sword separating a kid from their head, bone sticking out like some candy-center.
Shivering, Naruto struggled to control himself and push down the memories as he could feel his heart racing, pulse climbing, and lightning chakra gently manifesting against his will. If his soul was an ocean, The Rage swam there under the surface, a world-swallowing leviathan waiting to consume him. Tempting. Beckoning.
Looking for something to do, Naruto knelt on the ground and took his backpack off. The others were spread out and looking around. Rummaging through his backpack, he retrieved the paper with his schedule on it and refreshed his memory. The instructor stated, 'Tori Nakata, Tokubetsu Jonin,' would be the primary teacher of Physical Combatives.
"Where the hell is our teacher?" Kiba's voice carried fairly far, edged with annoyance.
Ami yawned, doing a terrible job of hiding her exhaustion.
Ino responded to the Inuzuka. "I'm sure he'll be here shortly. Just shut up and be patient, idiot."
Kiba whirled and waved a clenched fist in her face. Ino flipped her long hair over one shoulder and ignored the boy, Akamaru barking to no avail.
"The hell you say to me, Yamanaka? God I'm stuck with a bunch of losers and this bitch, too? Who hates me in Administration?"
"Likely everyone who knows you. Even some who don't. I think it's your face. Stop being troublesome, Kiba."
Shikamaru hadn't even turned from where he sat resting against the stone walls of the training ground.
Ignoring Sakura's eyes on him, Naruto put a hand against his head to shade his eyes and realized there was a man crouched on top of the wall ahead of them, opposite the entrance.
"Hey, there's a guy up there-"
But he was gone.
Then he was right in front of them.
A/N: Hey folks, I'm going to put this up today and then I'll be working on putting together two chapters this week in order to resume my regular schedule. Now that we're back in Konoha, the scenes are a little more delicate and so I have to spend more time thinking about them instead of just writing. As always, reviews help me target whether I'm hitting the mark on consistency and tone, and to figure out what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Super helpful people, thank you to those of you who've reviewed and left detailed notes.
Those are treasures. Thank you.
