Enjoy this chapter! ^^
"...i-chan."
A loud voice rang in his ear. How unpleasant.
Something was shaking his body. How irritating.
"Onii-chan!"
Naruto's eyes shot open painfully. It felt like he'd been hibernating for hundreds of years as he woke up from his slumber.
"Fuck… 5 more minutes…"
Naruto passed out instantly.
Not being one to give up that easily, Kuchel Namikaze crawled over her brother and started pushing him from the other side.
"Fat… Ass… MOVE!"
With a huge burst of strength, Kuchel pushed her older brother with all of her might. Naruto's face lazily swung over into the floor next to his phone, his eyes still closed. He put a hand over his eyelids to cover the light.
"Wake up! You've been sleeping since, like, Friday. Like, Mom thinks you're super sick and sent Dad to get drugs. You alright?" Kuchel said.
Naruto sat up, his eyes still closed. "... I think I'm okay. I'm just really tired."
Kuchel helped her brother get to his feet, grabbing his arm and pushing him upwards. "Good, cuz, like, if you're sick I always get sick. Must be, like, a sibling thing."
"Thanks Kuchel," Naruto said. "I might need help getting down to the kitchen."
Kuchel put Naruto's left arm around her shoulders and helped him downstairs. For Naruto, he realized that he could actually feel his arm, which was a drastic improvement from the last time he was conscious.
As the two siblings made their way downstairs, Naruto heard a concerned gasp from his mother.
"Naruto! Are you alright? You've been asleep since Friday! Do you need help walking? Do you have Polio? Are you sick? Do you need vitamins? What do you need?!"
Kushina started fussing over her son, pulling down his face to take a look at him.
"I need you to let go of me, mom. I'm fine… but what day is it today?"
"Sunday," Kuchel said.
"... so I slept through an entire day?" Naruto said.
"Yep."
Kushina pulled back a chair for Naruto to sit in.
At this point, Naruto simply believed that he got electrocuted by something during his field trip, and he had a small seizure that knocked him unconscious for an entire day. Not being one to worry his family for trivial matters, he was probably going to have Doctor Sarutobi take a look at him just to make sure he was fine.
What was he a doctor of again? Naruto thought.
"I made chicken soup; it's good for your body when you're sick,' Kushina said, putting a bowl in front of Naruto.
"... Thanks mom."
Feeling a lot better than the day before, Naruto smiled to himself before digging into his dinner.
"Sasuke came in and dropped your homework by the way. Apparently you, like, forgot to pick it up on Friday," Kuchel said, bringing him a stack of paper and plopping it on the table.
"..."
Naruto woke up much more easily on Monday morning compared to Sunday evening.
The event of Friday was mostly forgotten. Naruto shuffled to the bathroom to take a quick shower before eating breakfast.
Being the efficient person he was, he brought his toothbrush with him to brush his teeth while washing his hair.
As he used one hand to spread shampoo on his head, he used the other to vigorously brush his teeth.
Perhaps too vigorously, as the toothbrush snapped in half after about 3 strokes.
Annoyed, Naruto threw the plastic half into the trashcan and used the small stub to finish brushing.
Weird.
School was mostly the same for him on Monday. His mother insisted that he stayed home for another day to rest, but Naruto decided against it, not wanting to fall behind on his subjects.
Most of the time in class Naruto was only half-focused on the teacher. He usually finished the worksheet during the lesson, and stared outside his window or slept for the majority of the latter half of his classes.
After 6 hours of excruciating boredom, Naruto visited the Chemistry room to pick up some substances before heading over to Doctor Sarutobi's lab.
Opening the wooden door into the polished, white classroom, Naruto spotted a familiar girl sitting on a stool alone in the classroom.
"Hello, Sakura," Naruto said, pulling his own stool next to her and taking a seat.
"Hello, Naruto. Whaddyuwant?" Sakura said.
"Am I suddenly not allowed to say hello to my childhood friend?" Naruto asked.
Sakura Haruno was one of Konoha's brightest, which sparked a friendly rivalry between the two geniuses. As much as she hated to admit it, Naruto was incredibly smart - which annoyed her to no end, as not many years ago was it that she was the smarter of the two. However, after Naruto started hanging out with Doctor Sarutobi, he pulled ahead of her pretty quickly.
"Make yourself useful, grab this and keep it still," Sakura said, handing Naruto a flask containing a clear liquid.
Naruto grabbed the flask and immediately gave it a little shake.
Annoyed, Sakura frowned and glared at the blond. "I said still, Naruto Namikaze."
Naruto held the now translucent liquid into the light and continued to shake the substance until it turned opaque.
"Interesting," Naruto said.
"Why do I even try… You're being difficult again, Naruto," Sakura said, grabbing the flask form his hand and dumping the chemicals into her waste bucket.
Naruto grabbed the stuff he needed and decided to stop bothering his friend.
"By the way, could you not terrorize the kids in our class?" Sakura called out as Naruto started making his way to the door.
"When have I ever terrorized our classmates?" Naruto said.
"Last week? Choji hasn't come to school since."
"I did him a favor if anything."
"Just because you're strong doesn't mean you should use it to instill fear, Naruto. If you didn't have your fancy… karate moves-"
Naruto looked slightly annoyed, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction. "I haven't studied Karate, Sakura. That's Sasuke's thing."
Sakura had to almost roll her eyes.
"You know what I mean. Try not to get arrogant, Naruto, it won't work out for you.
Naruto gave her a lazy mock salute as he walked out the door.
Naruto entered the old familiar room. It used to be a tech workshop before it was given to Sarutobi for his classes, so the room was tall and open to the second floor. The roof, which was connected to the third floor roof, was covered in pipes and machinery that now only Sarutobi used was littered around the back of the classroom.
Sitting down on one of the wooden tables, Naruto carefully laid out the chemicals he brought and called out for the doctor.
"Oi, I'm here," Naruto said.
Usually, Sarutobi entered the room from one of the many entrances into the room and tried to scare Naruto, but today, Naruto was somehow able to sense his presence from the second floor hall door.
Staring right at it as the door opened to reveal Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto wondered why he was able to detect the old professor.
"Are you alright, my boy?" Sarutobi asked, noticing that Naruto was staring at him in a peculiar way.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Here are the chemicals you told me to bring, by the way," Naruto said.
"Sorry I took so long. I was in a… heated discussion with Orochimaru. He seems to have faced a failure with one of his experiments. Said it was malfunctioning," He explained.
"... Right."
"He's convinced that one or two of our students tampered with one of his assets, which would be impossible since they were with a tour guide the entire time. However, he was angry at me, and I had to convince him to calm down. Shall we get started? I'll show you how to make nitroglycerin today."
Naruto was sweating bullets. A wildfire of panic suddenly grew from the back of his head before it was defused by his own rational thinking. It was (probably) the right thing to tell Sarutobi that he was probably the reason why one of Orochimaru's precious assets were malfunctioning, but at the same time, considering that Orochimaru was Orochimaru, he could probably replace it in no time. Maybe he would tell him later once Orochimaru got over the ordeal.
"Okay…."
Heading home after a long afternoon of experiments, Naruto felt his brain clear up as he stepped outside.
The sun was setting, and the sky was turning a dark blue hue as the final, pink rays of the sun scattered along the western side of Konoha.
Naruto inhaled deeply, allowing the cool night air to fill his lungs and refresh his organs.
Walking the road he's walked by thousands of times, he put on his headphones and closed his eyes as he made his way back to his apartment.
Humming to himself, he didn't notice the hooded figures that were following him from behind.
Fifteen minutes later, the rays of the sun were extinguished from the sky, leaving the moon as the sole luminosity alongside the speckle of stars in the Spring-night sky. An urban city, Konoha's streets were filled with tall blocks of markets and businesses, showing off the capitalist nature of the 21st century.
Naruto was zoned out to Paginini's 2nd Violin Concerto as a hand covered his mouth and shoved him into an alley.
His eyes snapped open, his arms instinctually trying to grab onto something that would give him leverage to stand his ground.
Only feeling open air, Naruto's rational side settled in. As his parents were fighters, they made him study self-defense from a young age. These guys would be child's play.
Damn. His father's concerns about crime rates increasing were indeed not unfounded.
From the corner of his eye, he suppressed his panic as he counted 4 figures blocking the alley, which meant that he had to fight his way through 5 grown men, probably armed.
He tried raising his voice, but the hand covering his mouth squeezed, drawing blood from his lips.
The others were advancing, obviously trying to incapacitate his legs. The 5th thug, the farthest away from him, opened a small container revealing a shot.
Whatever it was, Naruto had no intention of finding out its side effects.
Before his attackers could grab his legs, Naruto leaned back and started climbing the wall with his legs, pushing backwards in an attempt to release the deathgrip on his head.
The person was trained. Or at least, took some martial arts classes. Most people would not be able to hold onto Naruto with this leverage, but the man holding him down seemed to know what he was doing.
Naruto kicked off of the wall, falling over and landing relatively softly on his back as his attacker cushioned the blow.
"Fuck! Grab the kid!"
Naruto spun himself around and with all his might and momentum, he punched the man who was holding him in the face with perfect form. He felt his nose break under his knuckles before Naruto jumped, putting more distance between himself and the other four. He had practiced this punch hundreds of times, and with his momentum, there was no way the guy would stand back up.
Straight (Boxing)
A punch thrown with the dominant hand. The blow should travel "straight" through the opponent's guard, hence its name. A powerful blow coming from the upper body's strength, unlike the Jab's arm strength.
One down, Four to go. The man he punched in the face was bleeding from his nose. He was writhing on the ground in pain.
"I think it's a little bit unfair for five grown-ass men to gangbang a 16-year old teenager, wouldn't you agree?"
There was no response. The men simply advanced towards him. The two in front pulled out knives from their pockets, each revealing the serrated steel that hungered for blood. These blades were designed to cut through human flesh.
Naruto gulped subconsciously, entering a fighting stance with his fists raised to guard his face.
Stay calm… I can't call the police, and as far as I know, no one's coming to help… I can take them one by one; got to engage first.
Naruto quickly dashed to the left frontliner, facing him head on.
The man threw his fist at him, but was stopped inches away from his face.
Naruto had his leg extended; Naruto stopped the man with a light side kick to his quads. With this position, Naruto was able to adjust his stance.
I haven't perfected this move…
Remembering how his parents had taught him, he moved into position, his open palm extended towards the attacker, his fingers placed vertically and just glancing at the solar plexus.
Strength into the feet and legs to surge the body…
Power in the core and back to twist the spine…
Force in the shoulders and arms to accelerate the arm…
The full power of the body into the end of the fist.
The One-inch punch. (Jeet Kune Do/Various)
One of the most iconic moves of Bruce Lee's art, Jeet Kune Do, the attacker stands with his fist almost touching the target. With the well-timed chaining of multiple muscle groups, the punching power of this technique is enough to break bones if done correctly. This technique is present in various styles of Chinese martial arts, not only in JKD.
Naruto's fist connected with his target, and the man was sent staggering. The power of the punch knocked the wind out of him as he felt the impact of the solar plexus catching up to him.
Naruto felt a strain on his right wrist.
Fuck… I really need to practise this move properly before using it!
"C'mon man, it was one punch that wasn't even executed properly-"
Naruto's words were cut off as the other frontliner swung his knife at him while he was distracted. Cursing to himself for letting his guard down, Naruto ducked miraculously quickly before looking up.
It was incredible. It was as if he could see his opponents movements. With lightning fast speed, he punched his attacker's extended arm at the elbow, breaking the joint in one hit. A little bit of bone protruded from the arm, which told Naruto that he was not going to be able to fight.
Three down, Two to go.
Can't get cocky…
The last two advanced, and Naruto's mind was clear. Clearer than it had ever been in his life. Something about this situation, his blood pumping adrenaline and his body finally in action felt… right to him. It was as if he had done this a million times before, and his body was honed to this type of combat.
The 4th attacker tried to tackle Naruto to the ground, but Naruto easily dodged it, grabbing his face and smashing it into his knee. For the second time today, he felt a nose break as he shoved the body into the brick wall, cracking it ever so slightly.
As he saw the body fall to the filthy concrete floor, he heard a small voice in his head.
Duck.
He didn't even voluntarily think of the motion. His body simply moved, and Naruto heard a gunshot go off in front of him, and the sound of a bullet striking the back of the alley echoed in his ear.
Before Naruto could look up again, there was another gunshot. Once again, he didn't even have to react with his mind; his body moved to the side.
With a surge of confidence, Naruto leapt into the air, unknowingly breaking the world record and raised his legs in a familiar stance.
As the son of one of the most famous Taekwondo artists of this age, this kick was ingrained into his body through training and genetics.
Nalla Chagi/Flying Side Kick (Taekwondo)
A powerful kick delivered in the air (specifically 'flying') after a running start, it uses the momentum and lower body power of the user to deliver a devastating blow to the upper body of the defender.
With a smooth move, Naruto delivered a decimating kick to the man, spinning in the air and landing on his feet before running as fast as could towards his house.
He broke another record as he ran at inhuman speeds.
"I'm… Home…" Naruto said, drawing heavy breaths as he opened the door.
Naruto took off his shoes and threw his backpack on the couch in the living room, and grabbed a cup of water, chugging it down in 2 seconds flat.
Minato and Kushina were sitting on the table, staring at their son as he grabbed another cup of water and chugging it down. He opened the refrigerator and started grabbing anything and everything he could find. God, he was starving. It was as if his stomach was replaced with a bottomless pit.
"You're pretty late today, son. Projects with the Doc again?" Minato asked, breaking the ice.
Naruto turned around and sat down next to his mother. "Yep, ended up doing some extra stuff. I'll try to let you know next time."
"Crime rates are going up, Naruto. Please don't make us worry too much," Kushina said, heating up some dinner for her son.
You don't say…
"Right. Sorry," Naruto said.
Minato squinted at his child's lips.
"Naruto, did you get into a fight today? Your lips weren't like that this morning."
Shit, Naruto thought.
Not wanting to worry his parents further, Naruto lied as naturally as he breathed. "Ran into a wall while looking down at my textbooks. I should probably put some honey on it later or something."
Kushina instantly turned around and grabbed her son's face, examining it to make sure that it was okay.
"Naruto, you're hurt. Again! Your body is precious; I know that you're as reckless as a teenager gets, but please, for our sake, take better care of yourself," Kushina said, a concerned look on her face that only a mother could produce.
Ahh… breathing is nice, thought Naruto as his mother unknowingly asphyxiated him.
"Yeah.. Sorry…" Naruto said.
Quickly brushing off his parents, Naruto ran to his room and locked the door behind him.
With his hands pressed against the door, he felt the adrenaline rush fade away and his legs started losing its ability to hold him standing.
What the hell was that… Naruto thought, the events of the alley replaying in his mind over and over again.
He looked down at his hands, which were surprisingly unscathed. He could almost swear that he felt his knuckles bleed and tear through his calluses.
Why didn't he feel this before? He started noticing that his muscles were much tighter and compact than before, and his sense of hearing, smell, and sight felt many times more acute than just last week.
Naruto knew that he was born to fight, but this was completely different. It was as if he were made to fight, and nothing else.
He was so tired that he didn't even notice in the morning. However, after the events of tonight, he could feel that something was… changing inside of him.
It was almost like his real life character had levelled up in a game.
He considered his options.
The criminals were most definitely not incompetent. They had a distinct fighting style, and they seemed to be somewhat coordinated. Judging by the fact that they had a drug ready to sedate him, this was not the first time that they had done something like this.
Standing up, Naruto walked over to his queen sized bed and flung himself down on the soft mattress. He could see his beige roof and a few strands of his blond hair covering his eyes.
He finished eating the last of his load of food as these trains of thoughts lead him nowhere in particular.
Tired of thinking, Naruto decided to take a quick shower.
10 minutes later, Naruto emerged from the shower, his body soaked in water droplets and his wet, blond hair covering his right eye.
He looked into the mirror and was shocked at what he saw.
Although just a week ago his stomach was well-defined for his age, it was nowhere near the level it was now.
There was a clear six-pack, and his chest muscles were pronounced. His biceps had increased in size, and overall, his entire body seemed more muscular. Well, his muscles seemed to have been …compressed.
However, his body still seemed lean, and if he wore clothes, it would be hard to tell that he was this packed underneath.
Did I hit a sudden growth spurt or something? Naruto thought, looking back at his muscles and flexing them one by one to see if they really existed.
After examining his body, he grabbed a new toothbrush and brushed his teeth. As he brushed, he took a closer look at his teeth and was surprised for a second time tonight.
His canines were much sharper than before, and they looked slightly longer.
What.
At this point, Naruto was confused. This was a rare feeling. Usually, he was able to draw a logical conclusion out of everything, but everything about this situation was completely illogical.
How was it possible that he was able to grow this much muscle in a span of less than a week, as well as grow his canines to a predatorial level?
What was going on?
He had never heard of this happening to a human. Was he exposed to radiation that caused a mutation in Orochicorps?
Being electrocuted in the secret room could've been a reason why, but he couldn't reasonably believe that he would suddenly gain muscle after almost losing an arm via electrocution.
However, he wasn't one to complain. He'd just gained a ton of muscle without lifting a finger.
It would be hard to explain his sudden growth of muscle (As he didn't really know why either), but he decided that it was for the best if he didn't show off too soon.
After exiting the shower, Naruto finished his schoolwork and went to bed.
After school the next day, Naruto Namikaze was back in Sarutobi's room, finishing his AP Physics assignment.
He knew that he had to tell someone about his sudden… transformation, and no one came to mind more suited than Doctor Sarutobi himself.
"Doc," Naruto called, closing his textbook and staring directly at the professor, who was leaning back in his chair with a book in hand. Cosmos, by Carl Sagan.
"Yes, my boy?" He asked.
"... What was the biggest growth spurt you've ever had in your life," Naruto said.
Sarutobi took off his glasses and put down his book. A serene smile stretched upon his face as he recalled the memories of his younger self. Thousands of memories faded through his mind as he tried to remember his pubescent years.
"Sometime your age I grew about 5 cm in 3 weeks, but that's probably the only significant growth spurt I had. Why do you ask?" Sarutobi said. A deviant smile replaced his expressions. "Are you concerned that you're not growing enough? You're 176, at 16, Naruto. You have plenty of time to grow."
Naruto grunted. "I mean, did you ever have an experience where your muscles suddenly grew and, uh, compressed?"
Sarutobi frowned. He leaned forward in his desk and stared at Naruto, who was sitting very uncomfortably on a stool, his textbooks laid all over the smooth wooden desk.
"Is there something wrong, Naruto?"
Naruto spun in his chair, turning to Sarutobi. "Right. So I need you to promise not to tell anyone, because honestly, I have no idea what's going on either."
Sarutobi nodded. "I promise."
Naruto let out a breath. "So last night when I was walking home, I walked into some guys who were up to no good. 5 of them, and I thought I was pretty screwed when they jumped me. That's not even the crazy part."
Sarutobi's frown deepened.
"So I came home and took a shower, and when I came out, my muscles were packed like hell. I mean, look!" Naruto said, pulling up his blue sweater and his white shirt underneath. "I have a six-pack now! I didn't have it a week ago! What's going on, Doc?"
Sarutobi's eyes widened. Dots connected in his mind, and a thousand emotions passed through his face.
Relief, Disbelief, Shock, Terror, Pride, and Confusion.
It was Sarutobi's turn to let out a long breath.
"Naruto, did you happen to run into anything… unnatural at Orochimaru's company?" Sarutobi asked, his voice deepened in utter seriousness.
Naruto's blue eyes narrowed slightly, and his hands started feeling uncomfortable as he gripped the side of his chair. "No…"
"I need you to tell me the truth, Naruto. Was there anything unnatural?" Sarutobi asked, standing up and making his way towards Naruto.
Naruto felt intimidated. He wasn't used to the Doctor being this serious. "I mean… Yes. I got lost more or less, and ran into a strange room… I got electrocuted, I think, and my arm was numb for a few hours, but when I got home and slept through a day I felt completely fine. Seriously though, I don't think this has anything to do with my muscle gain."
Sarutobi was now right next to Naruto. Naruto avoided eye contact.
"Where did you get 'electrocuted'?" Sarutobi asked.
"My arm."
"Which arm?"
"My left."
"Show me."
Naruto hesitated, but took off his sweater and pulled up his shirt to reveal his left arm completely.
Sarutobi spent about two minutes examining his arm, looking closely with his glasses and poking it in a few different places.
"Of course, you of all people…" Sarutobi said, taking a seat and massaging his forehead with a hand that leaned against the table.
"What do you mean?"
Sarutobi stared at Naruto. The machinery next to them whirled quietly, almost as if the stage was set for Sarutobi to speak undisturbed.
"When Orochimaru called me yesterday, it wasn't about a simple asset being tampered with. Something was stolen from him. An organic prototype that produces … a serum, one that he has been trying to develop for some time now, disappeared. He was angry, and demanded that I find out who it was."
Naruto felt his heartbeat quicken ever so slightly.
"However, the reason why Orochimaru was so interested in the person who took the serum was because no one has yet survived taking the serum, according to him."
Sarutobi paused. The sound of machinery and distant footsteps filled the silence of the room.
"Everyone who's taken it died within the next 12 hours. You, however, survived. Which means that there's something about you that was compatible with the serum. He wants to perfect the serum by using you as a guinea pig, I believe."
Naruto slowly put his sweater back on. "Isn't that… illegal?"
Sarutobi closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. "I've been suspecting that Orochimaru has been conducting illegal experiments for quite some time now inside the facility. However, I've never been able to prove it, and I honestly don't think I want to find out that one of my brightest students has been using his knowledge not for good.
"This serum… what is it supposed to do?"
"Orochimaru was very vague about it, but he hinted that it's a sort of… enhancer. By genetically engineering an animal, the venom of the bite will inject the serum into a person, in theory giving them extraordinary abilities depending on the animal. However, every 'test subject' he called them, suffered drastic consequences such as coma, hemorrhaging, heart failure, brain death, asphyxiation, and death. You've survived this long, and I believe that you're the first survivor. Were you sick by any chance over the weekend? Any symptoms?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. Taking this all in at once was an emotional rollercoaster.
"I was… super tired and I slept through the entirety of Saturday and woke up on Sunday, but after that, I felt pretty normal by Monday," Naruto said.
"He'll be very interested in you, Naruto. But please, take this warning to heart and do not take it lightly," Sarutobi said. Naruto could tell by the expression on his face that this was a matter of life or death. "Do not, I repeat, Do. Not. Tell anyone about this event. Forget it ever happened, and live life normally. You'll find that you have gained extraordinary abilities, but make no attempt to use it. If Orochimaru finds out that you are the student he's been looking for, I honestly don't know how I'll stop him from getting his hands on you. You must keep this a secret. Do you understand?"
Naruto stared back. "I do."
"I need your word, Naruto."
"I promise. Seriously, I'll keep it a secret… between you and me," Naruto said.
Sarutobi smiled at his youngest disciple. He was truly gifted, and Sarutobi would not be able to handle the consequences that would arise should Orochimaru get his hands on Naruto.
"Good, now go straight home. You're free to ask me any questions about your new body, and I will be happy to answer. Only in real life though. We can't risk exposing ourselves virtually."
"Alright," Naruto replied, grabbing his textbooks and swinging his backpack over his shoulder and walking out of the door.
Choji met up with Shikamaru that day, limping slightly as he exited the campus.
Not one to let such an obvious sign of bullying pass, Shikamaru was quick to point it out.
"Who hurt you this time?" Shikamaru asked, turning forward again after giving his friend's leg a quick glance.
"Not today, Shika… I just want to go home and lay down for a while," Choji said, his voice a lower tone than usual, the pain and fatigue of the day rich in each booming step he took.
The two friends stayed in silence as they continued to trudge forward, turning corners on auto-pilot.
An internal war was taking place in Shikamaru's mind. Throughout the years, he had tried to speak to Choji about his problems at school, but each time, the boy would fail to fully understand the order of his words.
As the two friends parted ways to their separate houses, Shikamaru turned around and noticed his friend, his neck stiff from looking down for years, and his spirits dampened.
There had to be something else he could do.
Almost like a moment of destiny, he noticed an ad flyer on the ground.
"... MMA gym?"
As Naruto walked downstairs from his locker, he ran into Sakura and Ino.
More accurately, they ran into him. Ino smacked him on the back of the head and pulled him by the ear.
"Sup, genius boy!"
"Sup, bitch."
Naruto lightly tapped Ino's hand away with his and turned his attention to the two girls.
"Shouldn't you two be home by now?" Naruto asked, moving down the stairs as the two girls followed him.
"Probably, but Sakura insisted on watching Sasuke's game. Speaking of which, he should be done soon, so if you want to catch up to him, go quickly," Ino said.
Sakura blushed slightly, hitting her friend in the shoulder.
It was pretty obvious to everyone except for Sasuke that Sakura had a hard crush on him, but alas, Sasuke was as oblivious as an ostrich sticking its head into the sand.
"Alright, thanks." Naruto said, shooting a rare goofy smile towards Sakura.
"Oh, shut up, Naruto," Sakura said, her face turning even more red as she tried to cover it with her oversized textbooks.
"I didn't say anything," called Naruto, skipping 3 stairs at once to get to the bottom floor.
Naruto waited outside of the locker to meet Sasuke. When he came out, Sasuke looked tired but excited about the match.
"How was the game?"
"'Mazing, good team play, good solo play, good plays all around. Wanna get some bubble tea before going home?"
Naruto remembered that Sarutobi told him to go straight home, but because he was a teenager, he decided to agree.
At the bubble tea store, Naruto reminded himself to get his sister a drink as well. She would probably appreciate his generosity, however unthankful she could be at times. As they were waiting for their drinks, Naruto leaned against the wall next to Sasuke and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey Sasuke," Naruto asked.
Sasuke, who was enjoying the fresh scent of tapioca and tea leaves, turned his attention towards his blond friend and smiled. "Hn?"
"If you suddenly gained the ability to… control the weather or something. Something really strong. What would you do?"
Sasuke tilted his head in thought, putting his hands behind his head.
"Probably use it to make this world a better place. Cliche, I know, but it's the right thing to do," Sasuke said. "I'm not one of those 'bystanders are just as bad as the bully' type person, but I do feel like if you have an overwhelming advantage over a bad situation for another person, you should at least try to help them out. If not, anything that happens afterwards might as well be your own fault."
Naruto's jaw slacked a little bit, and he gave Sasuke's words some thought. "That's pretty deep. Did you rip that off of a book?"
"Completely my own words, amigo," Sasuke said. "I don't know, Maybe being the son of the Commissioner rubs off on you. Sense of justice and all."
As they retrieved their drinks, Naruto saw from the corner of his eye that Sasuke gave the female barista a wink. The brown-haired girl's eyes turned into hearts for a split second before she looked like she was about to faint.
Naruto smiled and reminded himself that his friend may have his intelligent moments, but he was an idiot most of the time.
Naruto didn't even bother knocking on his little sister's door before entering. Opening the wooden door that had a pretty sign that read "Kuchel Namikaze ❤ ", Naruto entered the room.
Kuchel, who was sitting on her desk laughing with her friends in a video call, turned her head towards the door so quickly that her neck cracked.
"Ow.. Onii-chan! before you come in my room! Even if we're siblings I do want a little bit of privacy, ya know!" Kuchel said, quickly closing her laptop and glaring at her brother.
K-9 wagged his tail and gave him a happy look as his ears perked on edge of Kuchel's bed.
Naruto pulled out his little sister's favourite beverage and put it on the edge of her table. "Mmhm. Bubble tea to make it up for you. Bye."
Kuchel's eyes brightened, and a wide smile appeared on her face. "THANKS!" she cried out as Naruto left her room.
Naruto shuffled across the hall into his own room and locked the door shut,
This was some pretty heavy stuff.
A few thoughts crossed his mind. If he was a teenager with lesser intelligence, he probably would be using his skills to attract girls and get laid.
He, however, knew that he should probably take the Doctor's warnings to heart.
Was it truly his responsibility to use a gift that he never asked for? His immediate answer was no, just as the Doc had said.
Upon thinking even further, his answer did not differ.
Naruto truly believed that no one can fix one's problems but themselves, and he was given no proof that this philosophy was incorrect.
As he stared at nothing in particular with his face and arms buried or hugging his silky orange pillow, the few lines of words spoken by various people which changed his life came back to haunt him.
"Hizashi Hyuga, Guilty."
"Neji, come back. Please."
"NO!"
His fingers gripped the pillow harder, as he buried his head further into it.
The following week was mostly normal for Naruto. Slowly getting used to his new body. Fortunately, his friends at school seemed to take no notice of Naruto's transformation; Naruto was extra cautious to keep his secret intact.
It was during Math class on a Thursday afternoon. Putting a hand through his blond hair, Naruto was deep in thought.
How long would he have to keep this up before he could make the excuse that would make sense? A little over one week in, and he was tired already.
Not to mention that the constant reports of crime on television in Konoha made his mind uncomfortable and body tense up. People he cared about risked their lives everyday to try to suppress the filth rising from the dark side of Konoha. Fighting a losing war with few people they can trust. The police force was corrupt to the point where the commissioner had to get help from his parents every once in a while, after all. Over the past few years, the morale of Konoha had dropped steadily. Many people considered moving out, but many also moved in due to the industrialized, technologically advanced state of the city.
He promised that he wouldn't go out looking for people to fight, but if an opportunity showed itself in front of him, Naruto wouldn't hesitate to test his limits.
"Deep in thought, genius boy?"
Naruto looked up. The yellow old fluorescent light blinded him slightly as he lightly stretched his legs under his desk.
"Deep in your mom," Kiba said, giggling to himself from behind Naruto.
"Repeat that for me?"
"S-sorry… just a joke, thought you would find it funny…"
Naruto ignored the dog-lover, and identified the speaker as Ino, who sat to his left. On his right was the window. It was a grey day; the clouds covered the sun.
"More or less," Naruto said. "What's it to you?"
Ino looked down at her textbook and flipped a page in a manner that screamed of boredom.
"Making sure that genius boy doesn't decide to test the integrity of our school's foundation. As much as I hate this place, it'd be a pain in the ass for my mom to cover things up," Ino said.
"Maybe she shouldn't have chosen to send her daughter to the school she works at."
"Things are getting pretty crazy out there. Apparently, just last week, some jumpers were found beat up in an alleyway. Good for whoever fought their way out of that situation," Ino said.
I may have a few ideas as to who that was.
"People like you and me need to stay under the radar; underdogs in this kinda society don't tend to last long in a vulnerable spot," She said.
"You really going to put me in the same group as you, the one who upholds their dildo collection as a prized jewel to be proud of?" Naruto said, voice bleeding with sarcasm. "Furthermore, I can fight very well, Ino."
"Whatever. Point is, asshole, you've got a good brain that could benefit our city. Don't let the bad guys knock the sense out of you before you can help the little guys," she said. "So keep your head up, dick straight, and back strong."
"You do realize that a dick is only straight when it's erect. Are you suggesting that I should have sexual fantasies more often?"
"Oh, right. They're all bendy and weird when they're flaccid."
"How the fuck do you know that?"
"Common knowledge."
"Common knowledge for a girl who's familiar with the anatomy of the male genitalia. A demographic you happen to fall under."
"You calling me a slut?"
"You're putting words into my mouth."
Ino smirked and tapped her pencil on her desk.
"If this is your pathetic attempt at flirting, you're not as much of a genius as people credit you for being."
"You could recite the alphabet twice and you'd still not have enough letters to label every strain of hepatitis that your body is crawling with. Seriously, I don't even know how I haven't been infected after spending an entire semester sitting next to you. I can feel the warts forming around my genitals as we speak; I think direct contact would cause cancers to grow in my entire lower half of my body."
"Son of a bitch."
Minato Namikaze's MMA gym welcomed beginners and experienced fighters alike. It was almost a slogan of theirs.
This was one of the reasons why Shikamaru Nara decided to bring Choji there, even though it may very well be embarrassing for Choji should Naruto find out that they were going to potentially become regulars at the gym.
They hoped Naruto wouldn't mind; after all, Naruto was the one who stopped Kiba from beating the living hell out of Choji.
Entering, they felt a weird sensation as they heard loud bangs of punches connecting with pads, murmurs, and crashes of experienced fighters trying to put each other in a submissive move.
Choji gulped as Shikamaru led them to the beginner's section of the gym, which looked much more friendly than the experienced fighters-thank god. The place smelled like a new car, which was surprising; Choji expected it to reek. Also thankfully, the place seemed large enough that there was somewhere for everyone to go.
Somewhere in the back of the gym, Minato Namikaze was training with a student of his, wearing his signature black shorts and white hoodie that had a fiery red design on the bottom. His hood was up, and he was holding up pads for said student. Shikamaru squinted over-something about the student seemed… familiar. But he shook it off, and steered Choji towards the beginner's area instead.
"Looks a lot more friendly than the others, right?" he quipped to Choji, who nodded, looking relieved. Mostly, the people in the beginner's area were just practicing the basics: punches, kicks, and some cardio.
Generally, it looked like they were having a good time. Seeing the age range from teenagers to middle-aged encouraged Choji even further.
Walking up to an instructor, Shikamaru decided to take the initiative (Which was quite rare) to talk to the woman, who seemed to be the person in charge.
She had her violet hair in a bun, fishnet suit covering her body, as well as a beige overcoat with a lollipop in her mouth.
"Hmm? You guys new here?" She asked.
"Sure are. My friend wants to sign up, how would he go about doing that?"
The woman quickly examined Choji. "Nice weight, we can use that to your advantage, probably. Don't worry about signing up for today, just check out the place, and if you like it, you can talk to me or Minato-san afterwards, he'll hook you up."
Choji smiled. This place seemed nice. All he needed was to-
"Wassup Anko?"
The voice made Choji's stop.
"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said.
Kiba Inuzuka walked in with a duffle bag over his shoulder.
"Sup jackass, how's your super hot sister doing?"
Kiba ignored the comment and gave her a quick high five before looking over his shoulder to his left.
And to his left was none other than Choji Akamichi himself, frozen in terror.
"Fatass? What the fuck are you doing here?" Kiba asked. He had on a headband, and his attire screamed "Gym asshole".
"J-just e-exercise… Parents said it's good for me…"
"You could start with walking, and not eating as much," Kiba said.
Shikamaru felt anger crawl up his mind as he saw the boy that was tormenting his friend.
"Move out of the way and go to your lesson, Kiba. We're not here to entertain you," Shikamaru said.
Choji, however, tugged on Shikamaru's sleeve ever so slightly.
Let's go, his eyes said clearly.
"Nah… I've got a good idea," Kiba said, a bulb lighting in his head.
Asshole got away last week lucky… Naruto's not here, I can beat the shit out of him in the arena, no one will be able to say anything as long as I only break a couple of rules!
"It's a good idea to let people fight someone more experienced than them for exposure, I'll train these guys up for their first day," Kiba said, turning to Anko.
"...? You sure?"
"Yap."
Anko stared at the three of them, and noticed the tension. She pulled the lollipop out of her mouth with a small pop. "You guys know each other?"
"Friend from school," Kiba said.
Anko walked away with a small wave. "Alright, I'm back to kicking ass then. Have fun!"
Before either Shikamaru or Choji could say anything, Kiba threw a pair of gloves towards Choji.
"Hey guys! I'm gonna fight this kid, so I'm gonna need a guy or two to watch over this fight!" Kiba yelled.
The members of the gym seemed familiar with Kiba, so a small group approached the three of them. They were middle-class, and seemed to take this as a queue to take a break and watch a fight.
"I-I think I have to go, guys, I-I'm not really good at fighting-"
However, the crowd wasn't listening. They came to see a fight, and a fight they were going to get.
Shikamaru had to do something. He watched powerlessly as he saw someone lift Choji up and into the ring, Kiba putting on his own gloves and warming up with a few punches into the air.
Choji looked back at Shikamaru with fear in his eyes.
Fuck… Keep your brain whirling! Think of something!
Shikamaru took another look at his surroundings, and a brilliant idea came into mind as he made eye contact with a person who had joined the crowd to watch the fight.
Now he realized why Minato's student seemed so familiar.
Inside the ring, Choji was sweating buckets. Any attempt to leave the ring would be heavily scrutinized, and he had no doubt that he would be able to escape.
What do I do?
His options were very limited. Even Shikamaru seemed to be scanning the area with no avail. Kiba had spent almost 4 years since middle school tormenting him… Choji wouldn't be able to fight back to a good enough level.
He had no other choice but to hope that Kiba wouldn't go all out on him.
"H-hey, Kiba, go easy on me, okay?"
Kiba, however, ignored those words and restrapped his gloves to be even tighter than before.
"Put on the fucking gloves. You're getting a week's worth of pent up frustration, fat ass."
Choji gulped, and with trembling hands, began to put on the gloves.
"Like I said, it's good practise to fight someone of higher skill to learn a thing or TWO!"
With the end of that sentence, Kiba threw a punch directly at the center of Choji's face before he could even finish putting on his gloves. Choji could only stare as he saw Kiba's fist fly towards his face while his hands were busy fumbling with a pair of uncomfortable, unfamiliar gloves.
SMACK
Kiba's sadistic grin faltered slightly as he felt his fist not connect with the crushed bones of Akimichi, but rather an open palm, the fingers curled around his fist.
"Good practise to fight someone of higher skill, eh?"
Kiba looked up for the second time in only a few days to have his anger immediately dissipate into fear after someone had stopped him from getting at his living punching bag.
This time, his face went pale as he realized that he wasn't going to get away with it with a simple slap on the wrist.
Sasuke Uchiha grabbed onto his fist with such power that even through his gloves, it was starting to hurt.
"S-Sasuke? What are you doing here?"
"Watching the match. Shikamaru told me the context of the situation."
Kiba glared at the pineapple haired boy, who gave him back a stare of indifference.
"Since you said it yourself, I'll grant you the honor of fighting someone of higher caliber: Me," Sasuke said, grabbing the gloves in Choji's hands, and putting it on his own. "Go down with Shikamaru."
Choji nodded in thanks, and stepped out of the ring with Shikamaru.
Although before the crowd was ready to see a beginner get mauled by Kiba, they were now presented with a new treat.
"Kiba's not half bad, he might be able to win."
"But he's up against Sasuke Uchiha, he'll be lucky to last 20 seconds."
"Remind me who this guy is?"
On the ring, Kiba started sweating. He knew that he'd have to play a little bit dirty in order to get an edge above this guy. He put up his guard, and through his arms and sweat rolling down his eyebrow, he could see that Sasuke was completely relaxed.
"Meh, these are ornamental anyways," Sasuke said, throwing away the gloves and revealing his hands wrapped in white bandages.
He entered a familiar opening stance of Kyokushin Karate.
Kiba knew he was screwed. Sasuke Uchiha was on par with Naruto, and there was no way he could beat either of them unless he played dirty.
However, with the girls in the gym staring at him, and his bros witnessing the match also, there was no backing out for him.
The tables were fully turned on Kiba. He just wanted to let out some stress and frustration by beating up Choji in front of his friends, but he was about to get his ass whopped by the school fuck boy.
"Well to begin, he's the son of Fugaku Uchiha, police commissioner of Konoha."
"BEGIN!"
A seasoned fighter in boxing, Kiba started to step, getting into the rhythm has the two fighters began to circle each other very slowly.
I can do this… I can win… I can win…
"An Uchiha? Doesn't that mean…"
"... he's studied Karate?"
"Correct, and we're about to have our eyes serenaded."
Kiba was the first to strike. His fist extended slightly in a quick jab to Sasuke's unprotected chest.
Kiba smiled as his jab connected seemingly effortlessly.
What the hell? He didn't even try to move!
"Kiba's not inexperienced, he's been studying Boxing for a while now."
"That doesn't mean shit against Sasuke. Look at him."
Although Kiba's punch fully connected, Sasuke was completely unphased by his attack.
What? That should've at least made him stumble!
Kiba's heavy breath started to fill the silence as almost the entire gym focused on the two. The footsteps inside the octagonal ring echoed throughout the hall. This was the moment when he realized something that should've been obvious minutes ago.
Kiba spent his entire life being at the top of the food chain in school. The nerds, fatasses, and geeks were under his feet. They were his playthings, and he could just choke them or hit them for no reason whatsoever. After all, that's what he truly believed in. Power belonged to the chosen few, and he was a chosen person.
Born with great physical strength and a talent for boxing, there were very few who could beat him in a fight, and those who could were usually his friends.
Yet here, in front of him, was a predator that was somehow higher than where he stood.
Kiba struck again for the second time with a low-kick to Sasuke's knees. It connected perfectly, but once again, Sasuke was completely unphased.
"Sasuke's been training in Kyokushin since he was 5, he has over a decade of experience."
"How is that relevant to him not taking any damage from Kiba's attacks?"
Slowly getting frustrated at his techniques, Kiba's strikes started becoming more and more spontaneous.
A kick to the side chest.
A hook to his stomach.
Another low kick.
5 Straight blows to his chest.
Still, there was no result.
What the hell? Why is he not taking damage?
The crowd was starting to stir up as well.
"The thing about Kyokushin is that they train their users…"
Kiba now completely ignored his form, and threw a huge punch at Sasuke's face.
"... to harden their bodies to the point where they can be hit by a literal brick, and they'd still be able to stand."
For the first time, Sasuke made a voluntary move to dodge an attack. Weaving the move by ducking to the left, Sasuke was in a perfect position for his first attack.
Kiba's arm was stretched far due to carelessness and frustration, his body damp from sweat. Meanwhile, Sasuke had his body leaned to the left, and his dominant foot was ready to use the momentum of the dodge to connect the only strike he'd need to win this fight.
"Mawashi geri"
BAM.
A simple roundhouse kick struck Kiba's side with the force of a rhinoceros. The noise echoed in the ring as Kiba was sent flying towards one of its eight walls, his face contorted in pain, clutching his right side as he felt his ribs scream in agony.
"I didn't even hit you at full power, and it wasn't your liver. Get up, " Sasuke said, grabbing Kiba by the collar and lifting him over his head.
With a small grunt, Sasuke readied himself to slam the bully onto the ground with his strength and gravity.
"Sasuke, that's more than enough."
The serene voice of Minato Namikaze rang out, stopping Sasuke in his tracks.
He let go of Kiba, causing him to fall to the ground while clutching his side and moaning in pain.
With the fight over, and the Yellow Flash diffusing the tension, most of the crowd receded back to their tasks, while Choji and Shikamaru stared back at the two as they shared some words.
"That wasn't necessary Sasuke, and very out of character for you," Minato said, staring down the blue haired boy as he unwrapped his hands.
"I have a good reason for doing everything I do, Minato-san. Knocking a guy's ego down a few levels included."
"How would you feel if I put you in the ring and beat you to a pulp?"
Sasuke glared back slightly, trying to keep his temper from removing the tone of respect he always kept while talking to the Flash.
"I just did Naruto and the two boys over there a favor," Sasuke said, pointing behind him in the general direction of the people who came to ask for his aid. "How would you feel if your kid wasn't using what you taught him to do what you'd do in a morally grey situation?"
Sasuke finished unwrapping his left hand, and moved away to end the conversation. "I don't mean to be rude, but you might want to talk to him about being more observant of his surroundings."
Minato slapped him in the head lightly as he turned around, and returned to his group of students with a seed of insight planted in his head.
After they were finished with their conversation, Sasuke jumped down from the ring and faced the pair of friends.
"Well that was somethin'," Sasuke said.
"Thanks for giving us a hand, Sasuke."
"Yeah, thanks…"
Sasuke sat down next to them and started unwrapping his right hand. "No worries, just try not to draw any more attention on your first day. I assume Anko debriefed you?"
"She was, but Kiba stopped her in the middle," Choji said, taking a seat next to him.
"Well, I'll give you guys a brief rundown then. You probably know this place as Naruto's dad's gym. You guys know who the "Yellow Flash" is?"
Choji shook his head.
"Oh boy… You see those line of trophies on the far right side of the room?"
Choji and Shikamaru scanned the wall, and noticed a massive shelf filled with shiny golden trophies of all shapes and sizes.
"Some are from the members of this gym, a few of Naruto's and mine included, but most are Minato-san's when he was still the Middle-weight champion in UFC. Earned the name "Yellow Flash" because of his speed, usually went right through the guard simply because his opponents wouldn't be able to predict where his fists would go. Got super famous because of it, but now he's retired and runs a dinky gym in Konoha."
Choji listened intently.
"I didn't know Naruto's dad was that famous."
"He doesn't really flaunt it around, now, does he? In any case," Sasuke said, standing up and giving Choji a hand. "You're here to learn how to fight? Wow. Nice weight, it'd be hard to tackle you properly when you learn how to counter it."
"More or less…"
Normally, Sasuke would hand him over to Anko or another instructor to train them, but because it was his own acquaintances involved, he felt a nagging feeling of responsibility in the back of his mind.
Briefly, he remembered what Shikamaru had told him moments ago.
"He's been getting bullied by classmates for a while because of his weight."
"Huh, I've never been in his class so I guess I didn't notice."
"Partially the reason he's here is because Naruto stopped Kiba from beating the shit out of him the other day."
"Goddamn blondie…"
Staring at the shorter, plump boy, Sasuke noticed that Choji seemed to always look down, wherever he went. Even now, with Sasuke in front of him, he was staring at his feet, not his eyes.
Useless sense of self-righteousness…
Sasuke took a deep breath in, and let it out.
Must run in the family, no wonder we're all cops… well, except for him.
"Alright, Akimichi, the first thing you're going to do is look right into my eyes and not look away…"
Choji's brown eyes nervously stared into Sasuke's blood red pupils.
Just a couple of blocks away, a group of kids in white-clad doboks were happily throwing punches into the air.
The ground was made of a soft material, and the room was of a rectangular space that was just large enough to feel cozy but still effective.
Another group of kids were lined up before a red-haired woman, who had her hair in a neat ponytail, and a thick blackbelt with six golden stripes, indicating her proficiency in the art of Taekwondo.
"Alright kiddos! Come at me!"
The lined up kids happily kicked the pad she was holding up, which she gracefully used to cushion the impact.
Finally, in the third section of the room, there was another group of students practising the systematic sequence of moves that they've been practising for years.
The dojang was filled with adrenaline, happy shouts, and excitement. Kushina Uzumaki truly loved doing what she did for a living, and was very thankful that she was able to retire relatively healthy, with very few permanent health problems from her days fighting professionally.
On the first floor of the building, Naruto entered the block that contained his mother's workplace with a tired expression on his face. Unbeknownst to him, a second transformation was happening inside his body.
The elevator dinged as he arrived onto the fourth floor, where he exited into the dimly lit, blue hall and into his final destination.
The boy gave his mother a small wave before changing into his usual training attire, similar to how his mother was dressed, with a few less golden stripes on his own belt.
Moving to the line of punching bags, he briefly did some stretches before spending the better part of the next hour perfecting his One inch punch.
Helping out his mother every once in a while, he spent the rest of the day on almost autopilot, going through the similar routines he was familiar with.
The only thing that seemed odd was when he broke through two punching bags. After getting a confused and annoyed look from his mother, he cleaned up the mess and gave himself a reminder to practise controlling his strength.
It was the evening of the same day when Naruto's morals were put to test.
The family of four were eating dinner, K-9 quietly napping away on the couch.
It was mostly silent, which was unusual, as Minato and Kuchel would start arguing over something about 30 seconds into dinner, and Kushina would join in. However, there was no awkwardness about the silence.
Halfway through finishing his meal, Minato's tired, half-opened eyes were brought to full attention as something buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled out his phone and his eyes widened in shock.
"Kushina, we need to go," he said. He quickly grabbed his coat and rinsed his hands before heading for the door. His tired expression made him look many years older than 41.
The tired look was mirrored in Kushina, who let out a long breath before standing up.
"Naruto, take care of Kuchel and clean up when you're done. Leftovers in the refrigerator, you know the drill."
She gave them both really quick kisses on the forehead before joining her husband.
"What's up?" Kuchel asked. it was unusual for them to suddenly be called this late into the night.
"Urgent call from Fugaku. You two stay at home, Don't go anywhere outside tonight… Just in case," Minato said, putting on his shoes and opening the door. "If anyone knocks, don't open it. We have our keys, and keep yourselves hidden if someone tries to force their way in."
Naruto gave his parents a small nod, and Kuchel waved them goodbye.
"Is being a cop dangerous, Onii-chan?" Kuchel asked.
Sensing the drop in happiness, K-9 moved from the couch and curled up under their feet.
"Depends on the context. In a rural area in Canada? No. In a corrupt city like Konoha? Yes," Naruto said.
"Mm…" Kuchel said, pushing a little bit of her red hair to the side. "I wish there was something I could do. It always makes me uneasy when they warn us like that. It's as if they're telling us that they're about to jump into a really dangerous situation, and it's a reminder as to how powerless I am."
K-9 put his head on her lap, giving what comfort he could give Kuchel.
"I wish I had superpower or something, so I could be there if they ever needed me."
Naruto quietly listened, and considered his options.
Everyone had their opinions, but missing out on a unanimous calling in a perfectly set up situation was a crime he wouldn't be able to live with, should the people close to him suffer because of his lack of action.
He could break his promise just once, right?
Right?
Minato and Kushina ran out of the car into the police station.
"What's the situation, Fugaku?" Minato asked, walking into the grey, concrete building. The room's walls were soaked in the stench of smoke, and many of the officers were either sleeping, looking at their phones, or staring at nothing in particular.
Fukagu was the only one running around the office, grabbing documents and laying them out in front of himself, Obito, and Rin.
"As you all know, there's been a sort of a civil war going on between the gang in the Southern part of Konoha, and many civilians have suffered because of it." Fugaku grabbed the pictures of raided grocery stores, robbed banks, and pillaged apartments and pointed towards it. "Our end goal is to eliminate the crime ring in the city, but with the… lacking manpower we have, we're going to have to take things slowly.
Fugaku turned an eye towards the pile of beer-guts behind him and suddenly felt the urge to vomit.
"What's the plan?" Minato asked.
"I've been tipped off by an anonymous source that there's going to be a fight near the retail store in about 30 minutes. We'll have to leave now to catch up to them. Get your Kevlar; we're going to have to fight on two fronts," Fugaku said.
Rin and Obito nodded, moving towards the storage room to get the suits they needed.
"Oi, brats," said a drunken redneck cop with a little bit of his belly sticking out from the bottom of his too-small shirt, "Just take it easy. You don't have to risk your life to stop something that you can't stop!"
Rin politely smiled, and tried to ignore him. Obito, however, was more vocal about his opinions.
"Just because your sorry ass decided that making money's more important than making this city a better place doesn't mean everyone has," Obito said, putting a hand on his shoulder and staring straight into his face.
"I'm giving you advice, youngling," the redneck said. "You've only been here for a few years. I've been doing this for 25; it'll take a miracle to save this city from its corruption. I'm ahead of the curb, and you, your girlfriend, Minato, Kushina, and Fugaku are all part of a dying breed. Take my advice and stay down."
The fatass leaned back in his chair, causing the poor thing to creak under his immense weight. "We're the rich ones, and you're the ones struggling to pay rent every month."
He blew some smoke directly at Obito's face, causing him to cringe and look away to avoid the stench of calcium decay and tar.
"Then I'll just wait for the miracle. I'd rather be like myself than you."
The redneck tsk'ed to himself, and opened another can of beer.
Rin pushed her boyfriend away from the other cops.
"Just try to keep your balls in your pants for once, Obito," Rin said.
Obito stomped his foot on the ground in the cutest way possible. Almost made Rin forget about the prior events.
As much as she hated to admit it, there needed to be a miracle to save this city from corruption.
3 Hours Later.
Obito, Rin, Fugaku, Minato, and Kushina entered the crime scene with their handguns/fists raised. The store was empty, way past its hour of closing. The group of law-enforcers and athletes slowly converged on the location. The scent of something burning was prevalent throughout the huge open room filled with piles of clothes, aisles of food, shelves of electronics, and more.
Making as little noise as possible, they traversed through the tall aisles of materials in the darkness.
"Shouldn't there be, I dunno, noise?" Kushina whispered.
"There should be… were we tipped off in the wrong direction? I thought there was a fight!" Rin said.
"Should've known… Fugaku goes crazy whenever the gangs are involved, ever since Itachi-"
"Over here!"
The voice of Obito Uchiha echoed through the huge empty space, alerting the group of five towards his location.
Worry rose up in Rin. What was that idiot thinking?! They were supposed to stay quiet and sneaky, dammit! Not yelling out loud and announcing their arrival!
Unless he was surrounded?
What if he was captured?!
What if he was being tortured?!
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod
Rin and Kushina arrived where Obito was, only to see a pile of groaning bodies and the bright lumination of a burning chair.
"Woah, nice one Obito, you take these guys down all by yourself?"
Rin let out a sigh of relief. She really needed to rid herself of the habit of overthinking and panicking.
"Not exactly… I found them like this," Obito said.
"Is that a burning chair? What the hell…"
Fugaku and Minato shortly joined them, and they started searching the pile of men for death/injury.
To their delight, most of them seemed to be conscious, albeit in quite a bit of pain.
Fugaku pulled one out of the pile with fury and pushed him to the ground.
"Easy Fugaku-"
Click.
Fugaku Uchiha cocked his gun, putting it against the forehead of the man on the ground.
"I'm only asking this once. Who did this?"
The four friends behind him looked in worry. Minato looked to his wife, who was thinking the same as he was - Fugaku wasn't thinking straight. He never was the moment he even caught the scent of the underground gangs appearing on the surface for a second.
"Commissioner… Uchiha?" The gangster responded. He donned multiple chains, with leather pants and jacket. His attire was similar to the ones worn by the rival, upcoming gang in southern Konoha.
"You have not answered my question."
The man started laughing, a horrible gurgling noise coming out with it as blood seeped through his mouth.
"It wasn't him, old man… And even if it were, you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."
Fugaku pulled the man by the hair, and bent it over to a very uncomfortable angle, his gun now pointed directly at his temple.
"You know where Itachi Uchiha is?"
"Dumb… fuck, this is Southern Konoha, look up north if you want to find your estranged kid; but even if you do, you'd probably wish you haven't," he said, his neck straining harder by each word as Fugaku's strength increased.
Fugaku's hands started shaking as his breathing intensified.
"Commissioner, calm down," Rin said. "We both know that Itachi probably wasn't here tonight."
"Then who could it have possibly been to have wiped out all of them whilst fighting a fight on two fronts?"
Right on queue, a body came flying from one of the aisles.
CRASH.
Everyone turned their head towards the figure who sent the man flying with a blow.
Between the piles of produce, a person with a dark, black hoodie, and equally dark sweatpants, alongside a "thief mask" that covered his entire face with eye holes and a mouth hole could be seen. His hood was up, and due to the darkness of the store, it was nearly impossible to make out any more detail.
"Freeze!" Screamed Rin, her gun now pointed at the new assailant.
The figure ignored her comment, and instead started running in a seemingly random direction.
"H-hey! You're supposed to freeze when I do that- urgh, why do I even bother…" Rin turned to her friends to give them new orders. "Kushina-san, Obito, come with me, Minato-san, stay with the Commissioner!"
As all of this carnage took place, one man in the pile slipped back towards the back exit of the retail store.
"How the FUCK did the newspaper find out about what happened last night?!" Obito screamed in his seat.
"Shh," Rin said, putting a finger to her lips. "Do you want the entire building to hear?"
"No, but, look!" Obito said, shoving the newspaper into Rin's face.
Rin stared down and read the article.
"Mass crime scene stopped by masked man… Police show up late, is this finally the end of the crime ring in Konoha…?"
Rin read on, a frown forming on her face.
"Gang war… Fight shut down… One member escaped- wait, someone escaped? How'd we miss that?! Masked man uncaught… Who the hell wrote this? How do they know so damn much?! I mean, in fairness he did get away, no idea how he was able to just straight-up just disappear last night… Hey, they left out the part where we, y'know, actually put them all in jail! Urgh, of course they did, the paper loves getting a kick out of making fun of the police…"
Rin put a hand on her forehead.
"This is your fault," she told her boyfriend.
"How the hell is this my fault?"
"I dunno, it just is."
"Damn, how the hell am I supposed to make up for this."
"Hmm, nice food and buying me something would probably do the trick."
"...Fine"
At a similar time, in a local high school not so far away, a group of teenagers were doing some physical exercise on the gym floor. Naruto looked up at the pipe-riddled roof as he felt the iron-clad grip of Sasuke's hands on his arms.
With perfect form, he continued to do his sit-ups with ease.
"Did you see the news this morning?"
Naruto's eyes were now focused on his friend, whose pale skin was complemented by their dark blue gym uniform.
"Not really, what's up?"
"So last night my dad and your parents had to go and break apart some civil war in Southern Konoha. Well, at least they were supposed to."
Naruto stopped for a second mid sit-up, neurons connecting in his brain. "Oh yeah, they did run off last night. Sounds fun, what happened?"
"Apparently some guy in a mask showed up and took care of it before they even had a chance to do anything."
"Wait, that was on the news?" Naruto said, slightly concerned.
"Yeah, why're you so surprised?"
"No, just… My mom said something about that during breakfast today, I just didn't think they'd blast that on the news."
The overweight P.E. teacher walked past, and noticed Naruto's perfect form.
"Lookin' good, Namikaze!"
"Mhm."
Sasuke turned around, putting himself into position to start sit-ups as Naruto finished his reps. As he continued doing his own reps in silence, Naruto did too. Not going unnoticed by Sasuke, he decided to release the situation in his own way.
"Man isn't it gettin' a little hot in here?"
Naruto instantly realized what he was doing.
"Don't you dare, Sasuke Uchiha."
"I think I'm just gonna… take this off!" Sasuke said, taking off his shirt. Naruto groaned as he physically felt the gaze of about a hundred girls stare at Sasuke's rock hard abs as he continued to exercise his core muscles.
"Fuck you, man."
"Like I've said before, I don't swing that way."
"I literally hate you so much."
"No you don't 3"
Naruto heard a girl faint with an explosive nosebleed as Sasuke pressed his forehead against Naruto's as he came back up.
"YOU reALLY aren't MAKING THIS ANY BETTER, UCHIHA!"
Sasuke ignored him, and instead reduced the speed of his sit-ups to further exaggerate his muscles flexing.
"By the way, Choji came to your gym yesterday," Sasuke said.
Naruto looked at him with confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean? I was there."
"Your dad's"
"Ohh… yeah that makes sense, I haven't been there in a while, why was Choji there? I suppose physical exercise is good for everyone."
Sasuke explained what happened, from Kiba trying to 'rightfully' beat up Choji, how Shikamaru gave him the context of the situation, and how Choji wanted to stand up for himself, and be able to diffuse a situation with only a few words, like Naruto did.
"Wait… I did that?"
"Yeah, man, how do you not remember somethin' like that? Do you have brain damage?"
Naruto ignored his comment. "Is it really that bad?"
"Listen buddy, I'm not even in your class and it didn't take me that long to realize that the kid's obviously being bullied pretty hard. Is sleeping all you do in class?" Sasuke exasperated.
"Not entirely, but mostly."
"All I'm saying is that you probably want to look out after him. As far as I know, he's not just being bullied inside the classroom. Do me a favor and keep an eye for him as he goes home today."
"That's not my responsibility," Naruto said, staring at the bleachers on the left side of the room. "Surely it can't be that bad…"
"Naruto, yes it is. He might not be your friend, but he's probably struggling to make it to school with a bright outlook for the next 6 hours on a regular basis. If it isn't our responsibility to stop something, even if we have the power to, why else did you spend the last decade training in MMA?"
Naruto looked away for a few moments while holding onto Sasuke's legs as he finished his sit-ups in silence.
"Why don't you do it yourself, then?"
"I've got a date with a REALLY cute girl after school today," Sasuke said, a mischievous smile on his face.
"Fucking of course."
Kiba was not having a good day so far.
Getting yelled at by his mother after she found out he was causing trouble in her friend's workplace was not a good way to start the day, and being yelled at again by his teacher for being late did not help his mood.
With that in mind, there was no better person to take his anger out on but Choji Akamichi.
It was lunch time, and the class was divided up into their respective friend groups. Ino and Sakura were talking about animal crossing and cute league skins, a group of boys sat together with their Nintendo switches, screaming at each other as their Smash characters fell into oblivion.
Like usual, there were only two people who sat alone. Naruto Namikaze, with his head down and sleeping, and Choji Akimichi, with three times the size of a normal lunch.
While the entire class thought Naruto was sleeping, he, in fact, was fully awake.
He found it slightly harder to fall asleep for the past few days; his senses seemed to have been dialed to 11, and he was struggling to get used to all of this.
He could smell the deodorant on the boy in front of him.
He could hear the conversation between the girls about which member of BTS was the hottest.
He could feel the moisture of his breath on his arm.
He could sense the paper aeroplanes being thrown above his sleeping figure.
Burrowing his brow, he creaked his eye open to see Kiba move towards Choji.
Here we go..
Kiba slammed Choji's face into his lunch, and pulled his chair backwards, making him fall on his back with bits of food on his face.
"Aki-bitchy, why the fuck were you in the way? I'm trying to walk here," Kiba said.
The class turned silent for a second. Ino started adjusting her makeup, and the rest of the class looked on as something was about to happen.
"B-but I was just standing still-"
"No one fucking asked, fatass," Kiba said, kicking Choji in the stomach, hard.
The impact of his foot made Choji release his recently-eaten lunch onto the floor with a horrid noise.
The bystanders cringed as Choji vomited.
Kiba, on the other hand, started laughing.
"Now, now Choji, it's bad manners towards your parents to waste their food, isn't it?"
Choji's eyes widened as he stared back at Kiba while on his knees. "S-sorry, Kiba…"
"Why the fuck are you apologizing to me? Apologize to your parents," Kiba said. Another brutal idea formed in his head. "Hey, actually, you know how the saying goes: Actions speak louder than words?"
Choji nodded silently. By now, some of the class stopped paying attention, fully used to this type of environment.
"Then don't waste food, eat it."
Choji looked back at Kiba with fear in his eyes. "E-eat what, Kiba?"
"Well you can't waste all this food, can you?" Kiba said, stepping on Choji's hand and smothering it on his own vomit.
"Eat."
Choji began crying as he lowered his head down and started licking the ground.
Behind him, Naruto Namikaze continued to stare at this interaction.
"Aaaaand today's top model is none other than Choji-chan!"
Kiba dramatically pointed his arms towards Choji, who he had completely stripped down to all but his boxers and his t-shirt.
"Lose some weight, holy shit I need compensation for my eyes being damaged by this sight."
"Put some clothes back on him, you're going to make the whole class go blind!"
The comments came pouring in as Choji could do nothing but stand there, staring at the ground.
"H-hey Kiba, how long until I can put my clothes back on?"
"Until I say so, fat ass… Did you just ask if you can put your clothes back on?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Well today's opposite day! Get him, boys!"
Kiba and his friends converged on Choji, their hands reaching outwards to whatever little clothing Choji had left.
"N-no! Guys! Stop! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"
The emotion inside Naruto started to intensify as he continued watching these interactions.
Had I never noticed because I was sleeping, or because I didn't think it was my responsibility?
He had a lot more to learn from Sasuke Uchiha it seemed.
"You okay, buddy?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah! I-I'm fine, thanks for walking me home, Shika…" Choji said. The cloudy skies of Konoha made it impossible for any sunlight to shine through as Choji stared at the playground filled with kids in his neighbourhood.
"I can walk you all the way, I really don't mind. Are you sure you're okay? You seem kind of out of it today. Was it Kiba again? "
Choji smiled brightly at him "Shika, I really appreciate your concerns, but seriously, I'm fine today. You can go back home."
"Alright. I'm still for telling your parents about what's happening at school; but I'll respect your decision for now. Take care!"
The two friends waved goodbye.
Choji walked back towards his house, and as he reached the flight of stairs to his home, he suddenly stopped as the smile was swept away from his face.
He sat down, with his hands on his head. His body started shaking, as his breathing intensified. His hands gripped onto his hair, a few of them being ripped out as he started crying, snot and tears mixing as it fell to the ground.
Under his flight of stairs, Naruto Namikaze was quietly listening.
Alone, Choji continued to cry for a few more hours.
The sun started setting.
It was complicated.
I don't want to go to school… I don't want to…
What did I do wrong? Did I do anything to make them feel that way?
It'll probably be better to just die…
It'll be more comforting to die…!
"Why are you crying?"
A figure, clad in a black mask, sweater, and hoodie appeared before him.
With bloodshot, tear-riddled eyes, Choji looked up with saliva and snot leaking out of his breathing holes.
"Little boy."
Choji stared as the figure kneeled forward, his left hand extended for him.
"It's time to become strong. I'll turn you into someone…"
The man grabbed a brick from the bottom of the stairs.
"...Who no one can mess with."
The brick was crushed into a thousand pieces by the strength of this man.
I can't interfere every time. Choji will have to stand up for himself if he wants to be able to face his demons from now on for the rest of his life.
With that being said… Pushing him in the right direction wouldn't be a bad idea.
Wish me luck, Sasuke.
Author's Note: Pretty long chapter. I'm still having a blast writing this, which is a good sign.
Let me know what you guys thought! If you enjoyed, it would mean everything if you left a review. ^^
I'm trying my best to squeeze in writing into my schedule whenever I can, so expect a new chapter (hopefully) soon!
See you then.
Next chapter: Fight back little boy!
