Chapter 1. New sensei.
The Village hidden in the Leaves,known throughout the Elemental Nations to produce some of the most deadly ninja to have ever lived. Konoha during the summer is hot and dry,befitting the country it resides, Hi no Kuni Land of Fire. Luckily for the inhabitants of the Leaf village spring had only just made its appearance and showed signs of being a more mild season. The breeze that merrilily made its way through the late mourning of Konoha was cool and crisp, did nothing to help one new Genin at all as he was in his apartment ruminating on previous events.
Naruto was not having a great day at all. The mission he'd just got back from… well it was starting to eat at him. Mentally at least. Naruto's very first mission outside of Konoha had turned ugly fast. As he sat on his old comfy couch he contemplated what had occurred. The mission in Wave would be one he would never forget… he had taken life. More than once. Haku, a girl Naruto had started to like, had died. She had been killed by Kakashi,as she had been the fake hunter-nin in Zabuza's employ it was not her death that had caused Naruto to truly bloody his hands,No, it was what happened after that caused him to lose himself a little. The men in Gatos employ,the would-be ruler of Nami,what they had attempted to do,to his friend's cooling corpse had pushed Naruto to a breaking point. He'd accessed the Kyuubi no Yoko's chakra again,this time in a far greater quantity. So much as to form the Shroud with a single tail. Naruto had then proceeded to tear into the thugs and would-be left none standing. It was bloody and absolutely brutal. Some died quickly. Others had not. But now we find the Uzumaki in his apartment. "Ah! I should go see Hokage-jiji, he always has good advice. This shit's driving me crazy." The young ninja exclaimed. He decided to go to his bedroom to get his headband,one of the things that marked him as a ninja. He paused in his room. A sparsely furnished room, only having two dressers,a single full size bed and a small closet. Naruto made a mental note to look into sprucing the room a little. He turned to grab his Headband from the dresser directly next to his bead when something caught his eye.
The image in the mirror. "No one will ever take me seriously wearing bright orange." he remarked to the empty apartment. Naruto went to the closet taking off the garish outfit. He loved orange, and would find a way to incorporate it into his look later. But wearing all orange? Even he could see how deadly a choice that could be. He searched through closet forgoing any civilian wear, he remembered Kakashi had given him some dark blue cargo pants. He found the pair. He quickly put them on. Next came his top. He already had his chain-mesh undershirton, turned back towards his dresser and started the search,finding a dark maroon long sleeved shirt he put it on over the mesh armor,and upon its discovery a plain black t-shirt over that. Picking his headband up off his dresser and tying around his head to keep his bright golden locks out of his eyes. Strapping his kunai-shuriken pouch to his left thigh.
He headed for his front door. Naruto turned around to look over his dwelling. A simple apartment if there ever was one. While he was finally making some money,some of it would have to go to the place he called home to spruce it up. Even if a little. The boy then made sure his traps were set. All four. Only one with the potential to be lethal, he lived in this village. It wouldn't be a good thing to kill some drunk for getting their apartment number wrong. He opened the door and closed it in one motion. Locking it was a must. Then he was off. The Hokages tower rested squarely in the center of the village. At civilian pace Naruto would get there around four am. Good thing he was a ninja then. That sounded really boring to him. To the civies on the street Naruto appeared to be a red-black blur. They dismissed it as ninja business. They were right… mostly. The tower rested about twenty-eight kilometers from Naruto's place. He made good time, jumping one final time, landing on the roof of the office below the village leaders. The Hokage sat at his desk filling out paperwork. He knew Naruto was behind him. Naruto knocked on the glass asking permission to enter. Hiruzen made a come in motion with his right hand. Having received the go ahead Naruto opened the window and hopped in. " Naruto, its been awhile since you last visited." The aged Kage greeted. Naruto took a step in front of his leaders desk...and paused.
Hiruzen saw the conflict in the boy's eyes, he'd wait for him to breach the matter of what was bothering him. "Hokage-jiji can I ask you something?" Naruto asked while putting every shred of the immense respect he held for the man in his voice. Hiruzen was impressed…. For all of five nanoseconds. Naruto had been humble. The elder knew Naruto to be friendly,loyal,and) Naruto was not humble. Naruto looked at the admittedly nice wooden floor. "Of course you can." Hiruzen replied about to wave the hidden Anbu off. "Jiji i want their advice on this as well"Naruto toned out. The alarms in Hiruzen's mind went to full sirens. " Naruto what's this about?"the wizened Kage asked. "Did Kakashi-sensei give you the mission report yet?" Naruto asked in reply. "No, due to his fatigue I allowed him to turn it in tomorrow." Hiruzen stated. Naruto took a calming breath. "Jiji I killed on this last mission.I ,uh, used the foxes Chakra as well." Naruto stammed out. Hiruzen stood, and motioned for Naruto to sit on one of the two couches in his office. The old Sarutobi pulled his office chair in front of the occupied couch. " And why do you need the Anbu's advice?" the Hokage asked. " They are the best at controlling their emotions so I thought they could give me some tips on how to control the my emotions during a fight." Naruto said quietly.
Hiruzen almost sighed in relief. He snapped his fingers and four appeared in a line next to the Hokage. Naruto took note of their masks. Hare(Rabbit),Inu(Dog),Neko(Cat)and Boar(Ino).Three females, one male. The sole male being Inu. "Inu go fetch us some sake and tea."the Hokage ordered lightly. Inu disappeared in a smokeless Shunshin(Body Flicker). The three Anbu left pulled the opposing couch from the other side of the room and placed it parallel with Naruto. "Naruto-san the Anbu go through strict conditioning to have a high degree of control,as you have not had this training so you will sometimes lose control."Neko said simply. Naruto nodded. It did make sense. "But I lost control,after falling for a girl who turned out to be the enemy! I should be able to control myself more."He spat out. He knew the Hokage would never let the Anbu tell anyone about what he was saying. They knew the Hokage thought of Naruto like his own grandson. So in a way he trusted them.
The old Sarutobi cleared his throat and gathered his thoughts."Naruto,sometimes our hearts beat for others even against our will, why do you think you liked her?" Naruto thought for a brief moment. "She understood me,knew what it's like when no one wants you. Knew what it was like to have her existence ignored."Naruto said with a thick voice. Hiruzen knew what Naruto spoke of. "What you felt that day, was the truest pain of loss. People die. You know this,friends come and go,but when someone your heart resonates with dies, especially if they are killed, a wound is inflicted upon you. One that never really heals." Hiruzen said,his eyes far away for a moment. "Sometimes pain makes us do horrible things Naruto-san. It causes us to forget even if for a brief flicker in time who we are. The heart and all matters pertaining to it are rarely, if ever simple"Hare stated Inu then appeared a bottle of Sake in one hand and a hot mug of tea in the other. Boar cleared her throat and spoke "Sometimes we lose ourselves in rage. Rage born from pain burns fiercely. It can consume one if it is allowed the guilt of taking life. The day that guilt goes away you have lost yourself. You're a good person Naruto-san.I'm sure Hokage-sama can recommend your sensei give you some moderate emotional conditioning."Naruto had never listened more intently in his entire life. He had come for advice and had received some. The Hokage poured five small glasses of sake,and handed one to each Anbu and one to Naruto. "Long Live Konoha!"he toasted to which the others said "Long live the Leaf".Naruto suppressed a cough with a poignant exhale . The boy could school his face into hiding what he was feeling,but his eyes always told Hiruzen what he was thinking. "Wise words Naruto… you would do well to remember them." Naruto shuffled on the couch ever so slightly."Jiji I don't know how to say this but here goes…." He paused as if he was chewing on the took a short breath. "I don't think Kakashi-sensei is training us seriously." He finished looking more than a little and if you could see the Anbu's faces,looked a bit surprised."what makes you say that?"Hiruzen asked quickly. Naruto looked the Hokage dead in the eyes. "He's only taught us teamwork exercises and treewalking." Naruto stated matter of factly. Naruto for a second thought he saw rage in the Hokages eyes,but it was gone so fast it may have never been there at all. Hiruzen had seen Naruto lie before, the boy could lie very well but everyone has a tell. Naruto looked him in the eye and said it without flinching in the slightest. "I'll have a talk with you if we can't resolve that for I've gotta get back to it."Hiruzen stated nicely enough,but he was hiding his anger very stood and looked to leave then he turned to his leader and hugged him tightly whispering "thank you Jiji."
Hiruzen blinked and Naruto was already dashing across the rooftops heading home. "Taking after your father already I see." The Hokage held his nostalgic smile for a couple of seconds. "Hare bring Kakashi to me immediately,"he ordered. Hare was gone before he'd even finished. The other Anbu snapped into action,setting the room as it was before Naruto's visit. Not five minutes later Kakashi and Hare materialized. "Anbu seal the room.''Hiruzen commanded. Kakashi could feel the Hokages anger crashing against him like waves during a storm. "Have I heard correctly? You had your team go up against an A ranked nuke-nin after only teaching them ...TREEWALKING?!''Hiruzen's chakra reached a truly terrifying level. Kakashi was feeling very,very small before his leader. "Are you a fool Hatake? I should strip you of your rank and have you jailed for reckless endangerment of Konoha Shinobi!But no…"his chakra reaching normal levels once more " I will not be doing that instead I will give you a chance to redeem yourself!"Hiruzen fumed.`Hai Hokage-sama!"Hiruzen took a minute to collect his bearings. "A Jonin of my choosing will help you teach Team Seven. You will alongside him train, Team Seven into what they should be. You will not under any circumstances slack off or try to undermine his training methods." Hiruzen commanded firmly. "Hai,who is to be my teaching partner?"Kakashi asked politely while mentally chanting 'anyone but Guy, not Guy anyone but him'. The Hokage looked at Kakashi in his sole visible eye and stated "Hiro Uzumaki has just made Elite Jonin status. He will meet you and your team at training ground thirty-five at Eight ,in the morning. DO NOT BE LATE" Hiruzen ordered hotly. Kakashi left through the door. "Neko please Go retrieve Hiro''. Hiruzen said politely. He was still angry at Kakashi. To put his team in danger like that was inexcusable.
The Hokage had never known the man to be foolish,but as of late he was slacking. The Hokage did not wait for long. Neko was outside the door with Hiro Uzumaki. She opened the door to let him in. Hiro always stood out. It seemed Uzumaki did that quite often. Around six foot three with blood red hair that seemed to be untameable. He had blue eyes. A rare feature in a pure blooded Uzumaki. He wore the standard Jonin uniform with the exception being a dark read headband for his forehead protector. A duo of Tanto that were longer than most, but shorter than a Ninjato rested on the small of his back. "You called for me Hokage-jiji?"he asked. Hiro was also one of the few people that could get away with calling him "jiji". Hiro's voice had a modest timbre to it but wasn't what Naruto would call a ladies man voice. Hiruzen knew Hiro had wanted to take a Genin team. Hiruzen had not really given the man the chance, his mission success rate wouldn't allow it. But now it seemed like a good idea. " Yes. You will be Team Sevens new Sensei. Their training has been subpar at best,negligent at worst."Hiruzen stated heatedly. "Isn't that Hatake's team,he die or something?"Hiro asked flatly. " it has come to my attention that his training needs to be looked after. You will help Team Seven become a well oiled,efficient and dedicated squad of Shinobi,you will make every effort to drag their potential you understand?" Hiruzen looked thoughtful for a second."Wait… isn't my cousin on that team?"He asked the Hokage. "Yes"was the reply. What happened next sent a chill down Hiruzen's spine. A look of sadistic glee crossed Hiro's features. "Well then I'll have to train them the Uzumaki way!"he stated gleefully. After Team Seven's files were given to Hiro. Hiro laughed about "the Uzumaki way", Hiruzen knew he had doomed Team Seven to the most hellish training...Well outside of Might Guy's but that man was extreme. Oh well if they survived they would be alot stronger.
The next morning Hiro was seen walking towards the training was around seven twenty. He had read the files that the Hokage had given him on Team Seven. He was not impressed with the academy teachers. He knew better than to trust them to be impartial when it came to Naruto or Sasuke. He would get a feel for the three Genin as soon as he met them today. He was nearly at the ordered training grounds. He made it with time to spare. The appointed time had been gone for ten minutes before he caught sight of Team Seven. He waved them over. Sasuke looked ready to disobey but he saw the Jonin flak three made their way over and Naruto asked rudely, "who are you and-"was all he got out before he was interrupted. "First off Genin Uzumaki you will not take that tone with I know the Hokage had someone tell you to be here at eight. You are late. I will introduce myself as soon as Kakashi stops wasting my time hiding in the tree."Hiro barked loudly. " Ma, Hiro-san I'm here." Kakashi said as he jumped down from his perch on the tree. There was definitely tension between the two Jonin, even Sakura could feel it. Hiro cleared his throat,looking at the three Genin. "My name is Hiro Uzumaki. I will be helping you train from now on."He would've continued but he was interrupted.
"YATTA!Hokage-jiji did what I asked!"Naruto whooped. "Baka! Why would you ask for more training?" Sakura asked chambering a punch. When she went to throw it she felt two things. One,her arm felt like it was stuck in a steel ,she then felt her breath leave as an overwhelming presence engulfed her. "Genin Haruno,you will not strike your teammates outside of training. It does not solve anything and its Illegal. Am I clear?" Hiro's voice came from her left. "H-Hai"she squeaked out. The presence and grip on her arm vanished. "Now as I was saying, My name is Hiro Uzumaki.I'll be helping you train from now.I like gardening,training,sculpting,and forging. I dislike arrogance and people who do not take things seriously.I've been a Jonin for about four years." Hiro finished while giving Naruto the eye for interrupting earlier. Hiro then stated "One thing I know is that the files on you three are useless."Hiro took a single step backward and reached into his flak jacket's left breast pocket from which he pulled a pack of cigarettes. Hiro and Kakashi had written orders explaining how long the team would be togther and what the Hokage expexted of the two Jonin in the coming months.
"Those things will kill you."Sakura said with a disgusted look. Hiro and Kakashi chuckled. "As a Ninja I hope these are what kills me."Hiro claimed. Hiro then looked at the three Genin,taking a hit of his cigarette he said " One thing I know is that the Academy's file on you three are useless." Naruto looked to Hiro " Why are the files useless.?"he wondered. "For one they say there isn't one redeeming quality about which is false of course." Hiro looked at Kakashi,who then came to stand next to his fellow Jonin. "We will be training you Hokage has stated that this team will be together until you all reach Tobestku Jonin." Kakashi then continued "In one year's time you all will be promoted to Chunin.
Now, Me and Hiro have been given direct orders to train you to the best of our combined will also be taking more missions outside the village as a result."Kakashi said with a…eye smile? How does he do that? "I'll break down my training plan-ideas to you now,but first let me explain during training and especially during missions,you three will follow our orders they are abosulute, if you don't understand why we're ordering you to do something ask after at least trying to complete said order. We will not tell you to do something during training that you are not able to do,that goes double for know what you all are capable of and you will do as we say."Hiro stated with finality. The Genin looked contemplative. Hiro then continued, "First, the physical conditioning of this team is lackluster at best. None of you train your bodies outside of what Kakashi gives you.
Trust me in the coming months you're going to regret that. Sakura, you may be the smartest Genin here but either of your teammates would kill you in a serious fight in under a you will be hardest because while you'll be miles ahead of these two mentally,physically you'll be miles you will get off this diet. Yes I can force you,don't believe me go to the Hokage and ask."Hiro finished a little fire coming into his voice at the end. "I'll go get us some not ramen Naruto." Kakashi said be shunshining away. Hiro cleared his throat to get the attention back on him. "Naruto you will start eating right. If I have to force you I will. Ramen is awesome,food of the Kami,but unless you want to be a midget the rest of your life you need to eat right. Sasuke you need to balance your training,just trying to learn techniques will not help you fufill your ambition. If you have a shitty foundation any thing you build on that foundation is just as shitty understand?" Sasuke looked comtemplative. " Naruto you have great stamina,but most enemies are not going to wait for you to charge them like a berserker. You will be easy to train as you are pratically a blank slate. Now here's how the first few months are gonna go..."