Chapter 15 – Training, training, and more training
"Alright Squad 4, we have 28 Days to get you as strong as possible for the Finals" Hayama tells his team.
"I can't wait! What do we do first sensei!" Tomaru exclaims excitedly.
"Calm down Toma-kun. I'll get to the training, but first I want to say how proud I am of the three of you for making it this far. Your team is the first in nearly a decade to have all 3 members in the Finals" Hayama informs them.
The kids smiled and blushed a little proud of themselves and happy for the praise. Although, Naruto was curious who it was before them.
"It couldn't have been that long ago sensei?" Naruto questioned.
"Actually it may have been longer now that I think about it" Hayama says scratching his chin in thought.
"Really who?" Fuki asked also curious.
"I think the Yondaime's team lead by Master Jiraiya the Toad Sage was the last team to have all 3 make it through to the Final round and on their first try as well" Hayama informs them.
"What's a Toad Sage?" Tomaru asked.
"Master Jiraiya is called the Toad Sage, because he holds the summon contract for Toads and through them learned how to become a Sage" Hayama lectures.
"Come on Tomaru, we learned some of this in the academy. His team mates were Tsunade Senju the Slug Princess and holder of the Slug Contract and the traitor Orochimaru holder of the Snake Contract" Fuki reminds him.
"They say Jiraiya got his contract by doing the hand seals for the Kuchiyose technique putting as much chakra as he could in it one day and bam he was in the world of the Toads and after passing a test became their summoner" Naruto adds on.
"Wait, you can do that!" Tomaru shouted.
"Tomaru don't you dare" Their sensei warns.
"But sensei … what if I never get a contract of my own" Tomaru whines.
"I understand Tomaru, but Master Jiraiya was lucky. There are summons that don't like humans and are very dangerous. If you were to suddenly pop up onto their territory they may attack first and never give you a chance to explain let alone defend yourself" Hayama explains.
"Really?" Tomaru asked sadly.
"I'm sorry Tomaru, but if just anyone could become a summoner there'd be a lot more of them. There are less than fifty known summoners and not all of those have actual summon contracts for an animal clan. It is a rare and valuable thing and not something you should rush into" Hayama further explains.
"What kind of other things do people summon?" Naruto asked.
"Well as someone who only dabbles in fuinjutsu I know it has many applications. Some use it as a means to summon their weapons like that Tenten girl did during the prelims or from a seal directly on their body" Hayama lectures.
"You can do that?" Naruto asked curious.
"It's possible, but it should only be done by someone experienced in the art. Sealing Tatoo's are dangerous if done incorrectly. Unfortunately I'm not that skilled in the art. You have to talk to someone like Hokage-sama or Jiraiya-sama if you wanted to have one placed on you" Hayama says.
All three nodded at the information, but only Naruto looked truly interested.
"Anyway we've gotten off track. All of you made it to the finals, which means I will be training the 3 of you individually during this month" Hayama tells them.
"Why sensei?" Tomaru asks.
"Your going to be in the Finals. I know the three of you have different opponents in the first round, but you could face each other in the second or third round" Hayama explains.
"I … didn't think about that" Tomaru admitted.
From the looks on their faces none of them did, but that's why he was doing this now.
"I know you didn't, but it's okay. If you face each other just do your best, but remember your teammates and friends now. Just remember this spar doesn't mean anything to your career. Yes a promotion is on the line, but even if you do everything right a judge could find some fault and decide you are not ready. So just do your best and try to have a little fun with it" Hayama tells them.
They nod knowing what he meant, but the thought of a promotion did loom large for all of them for different reasons. Toma because he saw it as getting closer to his dream as no one thought a civilian born kid could make it that far, Fuki had the same reason but also didn't like that she was often lumped in with Sakura and Ino when people talked about the rookie kunoichi, and Naruto still had that part of him that craved recognition not that he would admit it.
"Alright then I could either train each of you individually 2 days a week or I train one of you from eight o'clock to eleven o'clock, one from 1 o'clock to 4 o'clock, and the last one from 5 o'clock to 8" Hayama offers.
"I can come earlier sensei. I usually start training around 5 a.m. so I could meet you at 6 or 7 a.m." Naruto says.
"Okay … I guess I could train Naruto from seven to ten" Hayama says getting a nod from the blonde.
"Oh do me next sensei, me, pick me!" Tomaru shouts.
"Fine, Tomaru can come in at ten and we'll finish at one o'clock in the afternoon" Hayama says gaining another nod.
"I don't mind taking the last session sensei" Fuki says.
"Okay then it's settled. I'll train Naruto from seven to ten, Toma from ten to one, and Fuki we'll train from two in the evening until five" Hayama confirms.
The three teammates nod each agreeing with the time. Naruto had gotten used to being an early riser, because of the training schedule he set for himself. Tomaru liked the thought of being able to sleep in a bit and then goof off the rest of the day with his younger siblings. Fuki also wanted to sleep in and didn't mind coming later as she liked to be up at night anyway.
"Also I have asked a few friends if they would have some spare time to help train you. Fuki I know you have been looking for a taijutsu style that suits you. I have a friend that is willing to teach you twice a week during the month. He will show you a style that I think you will like" Hayama says and then hands her a piece of paper.
"That's his address. You should go look for him now and set up a time and place that you can meet. If you keep me informed I would like to monitor the first few sessions" Hayama says.
"Hai sensei" Fuki says before leaving.
"Fuki had previously told me she wanted to work on her taijutsu, but I need to know besides individual training is there something the two of you want to work on?" Hayama asked.
"Sensei, I'd like to keep working on wind manipulation" Tomaru says.
Hayama nodded and then turned to Naruto.
"Actually sensei … I'd like to learn more about fuinjutsu" Naruto says.
"That's a difficult art Naruto-kun. Are you sure you wouldn't rather focus on wind manipulation like Tomaru?" Hayama asked.
"I'm sure sensei" Naruto responds.
"Alright, unfortunately I don't know enough to teach you anything more than the basics" Hayama says.
Naruto frowns at that thinking he wouldn't be able to learn what he wanted to during the break.
"However, Hokage-sama is a fairly decent user of fuinjutsu and one of his students went on to be one of the foremost experts of it in the elemental nations currently. And if you remember what was said about Jiraiya-sama you should know the Yondaime was Jiraiya-sama's student. Maybe Hokage-sama would be willing to introduce you or at least give you material to help you learn on your own" Hayama explains.
"Hai, thanks sensei" Naruto says before taking off.
"Well, it's just me and you Toma. Do you want to start on your wind manipulation practice now?" He asks.
"You bet sensei!" Tomaru shouts.
"Alright, come on Toma we can start practicing in our normal training ground" Hayama says leading the boy away.
A few hours later Naruto was still sitting outside the Hokage's office. Seems the old man was busy with meeting after meeting and so far Naruto hadn't been able to get in to see him. He was about to give up and go home for the day when the secretary spoke to him.
"Uzumaki-san, the Hokage will see you now" the secretary says.
"Thank you" Naruto said before walking up and knocking on the door.
"Enter" sounded out from behind the door.
Naruto opened and then entered the door quietly as it shut behind him.
"Ahh Naruto-kun, what can I do you for you?" The Sandaime asks as Naruto takes a seat.
"I was hoping to learn about fuinjutsu Hokage-sama" Naruto answers.
"Oh, what about fuinjutsu exactly?" The Hokage asks.
"Umm … I'm not sure what you mean exactly Hokage-sama" Naruto responds confused.
"Well Naruto-kun, fuinjutsu is a complicated and diverse field of study. Some students of fuinjutsu go their whole lives never becoming a master due to the difficulty presented in learning and the fact that are few true masters of the art to learn from in the first place. Even most so called masters haven't mastered everything there is to learn about fuinjutsu" The Hokage explains.
"What can you do with it?" Naruto asks.
"Through fuinjutsu you can create barriers that can defend only you or your entire team, seal enemy jutsu fired at you, even seal an enemies jutsu and release it back using it against them, you can seal away someone's chakra, even seal things or people away. It's a very versatile and unique art that's only real limitations are the imagination or creativity of the person using it" The Hokage replies.
"Hayama-sensei mentioned Jiraiya-sama might be available to give me a few lessons during the break?" Naruto asked hopefully.
Unbeknownst to Naruto he was doing exactly what the elder hokage had hoped the boy would do. He knew Hayama wasn't ready to give his student over to the Toad Sage even if he ordered him too and he couldn't be sure how young Naruto would react to the proposition either. However, if Jiraiya could still mentor the boy in some way and gain some influence over him then it was one less thing he would have to worry about.
Because lately he had been worrying about Naruto. He had no idea what made the boy loyal to the village. As far as he knew Naruto had no friends, no love interest, no father figure, the boy didn't even have a favorite restaurant or hang out. And that was a dangerous situation to be in, not that he blamed the boy because in the end it was all his fault for not paying closer attention to the boy when the civilians finally calmed down and left him alone.
"Well then you are in luck Naruto-kun. I happen to know my old student is in the village right now … umm conducting some research … I'm sure he could help you out. Actually wait a minute" The Hokage says.
The old man pulls out three pieces of paper and starts writing on them before handing them to Naruto.
"The first piece of paper will lead you to where I believe my student is right about now and the second is a note I want you to give him that will explain things. The third is for the library. The books on fuinjutsu are in the restricted section due to how dangerous it is and the fact that few people are interested in it. That note will let the librarian know you have authorization to look in that section, but you will have to study and read there as those books cannot leave the library" The Hokage says.
Naruto nods at the information ready to get started. Naruto soon leaves the Hokage's office and heads to the address on the first piece of paper the Hokage gave him. When Naruto found the place a little while later he was immediately confused.
'Why would Jiraiya of the Sannin be here of all places?' He thought.
Deciding to trust the Hokage Naruto went inside, but found he had to pay when he still didn't see anyone that looked like the Toad Sage. After disrobing and washing then rinsing off Naruto donned his towel to protect his modesty and went outside to the onsen. He still didn't see anyone so he decided he might as well enjoy himself and entered the bathing area after folding up his towel and placing it on his head as he waded across the water to the far side of the bath and then relaxed after placing his towel on the edge.
Naruto enjoyed the hot water as he lay back against the edge of the bath and looked up at the sky. It was maybe five minutes later when he heard some noise coming from the opposite end of the onsen near the partition that separated the men's bath from the women's.
It seemed to be an old man with long shaggy spiky white hair tied off in a pony tail carrying some kind of gigantic scroll on his back. The scroll and the white hair tipped him off since he remembered how large the Cheetah Clans Summoning Scroll was he figured this was also a summoning scroll, although it was a bit larger than the Cheetah's.
Figuring this was Jiraiya Naruto got of the pool and covered himself with the small towel before making his way over to the man. He then dried off as best he could before going inside quickly to find his locker and the note he had left inside. When he returned he found the man still cackling away.
'How do they not hear that and rush over here to beat him senseless?' Naruto thought.
Letting go of that thought he walked over to where the Sannin was. He really didn't care what the man did as long as he would help with his training.
"Excuse me" Naruto says politely.
"Huh?" Jiraiya says as he turns to see who was bugging him.
He immediately turned back to what he was doing after seeing it was just some kid … although he seemed familiar. After a few seconds passed Naruto knew he was being ignored so he tried again.
"Excuse me, Jiraiya-sama …" Naruto says patiently.
"What do you want kid as you can see I'm busy" The Sage says not tearing his eyes away from the lovely ladies he was peeping on.
"I apologize for interrupting you, but the Hokage told me to give you this" Naruto says as he extends the hand holding the second note the Hokage gave him.
Jiraiya quickly snatched the paper out of the boys hand without so much as turning his head and read the note wondering what the old geezer was bugging him about now.
'Jiraiya the young man standing behind you no doubt is your godson Naruto. As you can tell he has grown up into a remarkable young man unfortunately I, nor anyone in the village, had much to do with that.
I need you to get close to the boy by training him. As things are I do not know where Naruto-kun's loyalties lay as he has no friends that I know of and no one outside of his sensei or teammates that he regularly talks to. Train him Jiraiya and gain his trust, become what Minato-kun wanted you to be'
Pocketing the note Jiraiya turned his head to look at the boy once more. He quickly turned back around, but didn't continue peeping.
'So that's Naruto'
'I guess I have neglected my duties as a god father far too long. Still I'm not going to just train some punk kid so easily. I'll make him work for it a little' Jiraiya thought deviously.
He turned around and gave a piercing stare to the kid.
"So … you expect me to train you?" Jiraiya says with an edge to his voice.
"I would be grateful Jiraiya-sama" Naruto says with a small bow unfazed.
"And why would I, someone who has trained some of the greatest shinobi to walk this planet want to train some little punk kid like you?" Jiraiya asks gruffly.
Naruto just shrugged not really having an answer for that. It wasn't like the guy was some long last family member or had any tie to him as far as he knew.
"Don't waste my time kid. I have important stuff to do" Jiraiya says before turning and giggling loudly to make it seem like he was peeping again.
'I really want to know how they don't hear that' Naruto thinks.
"Thank you for your time then Jiraiya-san, sorry for bothering you" Naruto says before returning to the hot spring and ignoring the old codger.
He already spent the money and five minutes wasn't enough in his opinion, plus it really was relaxing. Jiraiya meanwhile looked dumbfounded as he hadn't expected the blond to give up so soon. It had been awhile … okay almost a decade since he had checked on the boy or heard anything about him, but what he heard suggested someone that would have bugged him non stop until he gave in … or killed him one or the other.
Deciding to see if the boy was really going to back off he decided to continue peeping while making as much noise as possible without disturbing the ladies. It was nearly an hour later and the kid hadn't budged from his spot or seemed bothered by his exaggerated cackling and giggling when the kid got up.
'This is it, surely he's come to beg me for training now that he's got his courage up' Jiraiya thought.
Instead Naruto went inside the building and didn't come back. It wasn't until twenty minutes had passed that Jiraiya realized the kid wasn't coming back and decided to go looking for him. Finding the kid long gone Jiraiya used his skills to track him and found the kid was in the library reading a book. The kid read several books before leaving allowing Jiraiya to find out what the kid was reading.
'He's interested in fuinjutsu huh … this should be interesting' Jiraiya thought.
For the next week Jiraiya trailed the boy everywhere he went. He was astounded by the training the boy did on his own and with his sensei everyday. He was also impressed with how he was doing on his own with learning fuinjutsu. It was a complex art, but the boy seemed to be progressing at a good pace although Jiraiya put that down to genetics. If anyone was born to become a fuinjutsu master it was this kid.
Deciding to approach the kid he staked out the library in the afternoon when the kid came everyday to literally bump into him. However, he was still waiting hours later and his patience was beginning to wear out.
'I can't believe this, me Jiraiya of the Sannin stuck waiting for some kid to appear and beg for my training' Jiraiya thought tapping his foot near the entrance to the library.
'I already missed the noon bathing beauties. The only ones bathing at this time are grannies and little kids' Jiraiya thought.
It was at this point that he saw Naruto coming out of the Library instead of going in. At first he was confused, but quickly recovered and decided to enact his plan. Moving quickly Jiraiya moved into position and subtly nudged the blonde.
To his surprise though instead of reacting to the bump the blonde kept going offering an apology seemingly to no one and continued on his way. But, this didn't deter Jiraiya so instead he went for the direct approach moved to walk beside Naruto.
"Hey kid" Jiraiya called.
Hearing something beside him Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked over. He quickly went back to the notes he was reading.
"Hello, Jiraiya-san" Naruto responds.
"What are you reading over there? Don't tell me you went and found one of my books?" Jiraiya says.
"Huh?" Naruto says not really paying attention.
"You must be reading Icha Icha Exy Nurse. It's my favorite too" Jiraiya reveals.
Naruto however, is still reading the scroll he had been reading in the library before he decided he needed to get moving or else he would be late. Yet, he was just getting to the critical part of the scroll, which was on chakra manipulation in particular nature transformations and the uses of such. He had a technique he wanted to use in the exams and he was still unsure if he could learn it in time.
"You must like them busty and bossy like me and your old …." Jiraiya managed to catch himself and looked over at the kid.
Thankfully for him the kid was still reading whatever scroll he was so engrossed in and he realized didn't notice his slip up. That doesn't mean he wasn't furious. Quickly snatching the scroll out of Naruto's hand he looked at it.
"Hey!" Naruto shouts.
Not liking having things stolen from him since it reminded him too much of times that weren't kind to him. Naruto used his bloodline and vanished before he could be spotted way down the road far away from the now confused Sannin.
"What was that?" Jiraiya mutters as he watches Naruto vanish once again.
He also noticed the scroll that was just in his hands was nowhere to be found, but instead of searching for the blonde genin again Jiraiya decided it was time he got some answers.
The next day Jiraiya waited right outside of the Library and right at 10:30 there was Naruto walking up the steps.
"Naruto" Jiriaya says in a serious manner gaining his attention.
Naruto thought of running away again, but decided to see what the sannin wanted with him.
"Yes, Jiraiya-san" Naruto responds.
"Come with me kid" Jiraiya states and begins to walk down the steps.
"What for?" Naruto calls out.
"You said you wanted training right?" Jiraiya answers, but doesn't stop.
The few the civilians and ninja around that heard this stop what they were doing. They watched Naruto who seemed confused at first, but then shrugged and began to follow the toad sannin.
"Can you believe that?" said one of the ninja.
"I know, with Jiraiya-sama's training that brat will probably win the finals" says another.
The civilians having heard them decided to alter what they were doing headed away from the library all with the same thought.
'I'm going to be rich!' was what they were thinking.
Back with Naruto and Jiraiya, Jiraiya led the young teen to one of the training grounds. They stood around for a few moments before Naruto finally asked the question.
"What are we doing?" Naruto asks.
"Your not to bright are you kid" Jiraiya mocks.
Naruto frowns but says nothing.
"You asked me to train you so that's what I'm going to do" Jiraiys finally tells him.
"Why?" Naruto asks.
"Why what kid" Jiraiya responds.
"Why are you willing to train me now? I thought you were too busy to train in your words 'some brat'" Naruto says.
"I am, but Sarutobi-sensei made some good points in your favor. So shut up and be glad I'm willing to help you out" Jiraiya respons.
"Fine" Naruto grumbles. "What are you going to show me?" Naruto asks.
"I thought to begin with we should spar" Jiraiya says.
"Why?" Naruto asks.
"I need to see what you know. I was told you were going to be fighting Gai's kid so I want to see how you fight" Jiraiya responds.
Naruto nods as that sounds reasonable. Instead of waiting for a signal Naruto flashes forward and aims a leopard punch at Jiraiya's side which was blocked only for Naruto to flash to Jiraiya's other side and perform a sweeping kick, which Jiraiya hops over allowing Naruto to appear behind Jiraiya and punching him where his kidney is located.
Jiraiya turned to punch the kid but only hit air as he landed on the ground where he felt a kick to the back of his right knee followed with a quick kick to his lower leg and then felt something smash down on his heel he quickly hit the ground and then rolled over catching Naruto's fist and grabbing on before he could move away.
"Okay that's enough" Jiraiya says hiding the pain he was feeling.
Naruto stood down and backed up letting the Sannin get to his feet has he seemingly brushed off his attacks.
"So kid tell me what you want me to teach you" Jiraiya asks.
"I was hoping you could help me with Fuinjutsu" Naruto answers.
Jiraiya nodded already knowing that much.
"Anything else?" Jiraiya asks.
"I could use a new jutsu … the only ones I know are C and D-rank. I don't think that will cut in the Finals" Naruto answers.
Jiraiya nods knowing the kid was probably right. He had seen the list of finals participants. If he could get past Gai's clone and his teammate he would then be faced with either the Uchiha or the kid from Suna.
"Kid, I don't have time to teach you some super killer jutsu … unless …" Jiraiya starts.
"Unless?" Naruto repeats feeling hopeful.
"Well … there is a technique that could help shorten the amount of time it took to learn a strong jutsu …" Jiraiya starts.
"Then please show me" Naruto begs.
"I don't know kid. It's really intense and a rookie like you probably couldn't handle it" Jiraiya says.
"I can handle anything you give me promise!" Naruto shouts.
"I don't know …" Jiraiya responds.
"Please, I promise I can do it. Just give me a chance" Naruto begs.
After a few more minutes Jiraiya gave in.
"Alright kid, this move only takes one hand seal but it takes a lot of chakra. Are you sure you want to learn it?" Jiraiya asks still unsure.
Naruto nods determined to learn the jutsu.
"Do this and put all of the chakra you can into it" Jiraiya instructs.
Naruto nods and concentrates.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Naruto calls out releasing the built up chakra.
Instantly the field was flooded with whiskered blondes. A shocked Jiraiya stood in awe as he looked at the sheer number of clones that must have been close to a hundred if not more.
"Did I do it right?" Naruto asks slightly winded.
"Yeah kid, you did it alright" Jiraiya responds still shocked.
"So now what?"the Naruto's chorused together.
"… now we get started. I hope your ready kid. It's going to a long couple of weeks" Jiraiya says.
"Bring it!" they all shouted.
"Hmm … that's going to be annoying" Jiraiya grouses as he tries to regain his hearing.
Day of the Exam
Naruto stood in the arena standing in line with the rest of the waiting participants except for two that seemed to be missing. The Uchiha and the guy that proctored the prelims were the only ones missing , but Naruto paid that little mind. Standing next to him were his teammates, both had changed their outfits a little during the month just as Naruto had.
Fuki was a long sleeved t-shirt in green camouflaged colors and black pants and sandals, but ditched the scarf she usually wore and instead had a pair of sterling silver rope chain anklets. They weren't for fashion … well entirely anyway. She actually brought the anklets and took them to a shop that would inscribe fuinjutsu on them. She also had a pair of bracelets that served the same function hidden under her sleeves. Over the shirt she also wore a combat vest like those typically worn by chūnin or jōnin.
Tomaru also wore a long sleeved t-shirt in green camouflaged colors, but wore green camouflaged pants as well and black sandals. He decided against wearing a vest and he chose against wearing any weights or fuinjutsu enhanced items. Besides he felt as if he didn't need it thanks to training he under went with Hayama and his tutor turned out to be Asuma-sensei. He felt much stronger than he was before and more accomplished in controlling his wind chakra thanks to them. Also, unlike in the prelims Tomaru had his sword strapped to his side at an angle.
Naruto like his team mates wore camouflaged clothing, but instead of long sleeves he was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and his was in a brown-tan combination instead of green and the pants matched. For shoes he wore a pair of simple brown sandals. Aside from his normal ninja gear no other weaponry was visible although there were two barely noticeable tatoos on the back of his hands that looked like little spirals.
The past week Naruto had been on his own. Jiraiya said he had something important he had to do that would take him out of the village until the day of the Finals. That didn't mean that he didn't get a lot done with Jiraiya's help. He actually managed to learn five more jutsu with Jiraiya and Hayama's help before Hayama and Tomaru left on a trip around the same time Jiraiya left coincidentally.
That left Naruto and Fuki on their own not that they minded. Naruto spent the past week until late last night in the realm of the Cheetah's learning more about his summons and what they could do. Fuki did the same with the bears, plus they had an idea about what they were doing.
Just as Naruto's thoughts ended the proctor was given a signal.
"Alright, the same rules you were told during the preliminary round still apply. You win by knockout, forfeit, or death. If I deem a fight to be over you are to stand down at once understood?" The new proctor says.
All of the participants nodded.
"Then stand up straight and greet the crowd. Hokage-sama will say a few words and then we'll begin" Hayate says.
Lee and Tomaru were more than happy to wave and smile towards to the crowd while the rest stood and waited.
"Welcome to the Chūnin Selection Exam. I want to thank all those who traveled here to witness as the brave young shinobi fight for the pride and respect of their village. Now, I'll turn things over to the proctor as we get started" The Hokage says before he sits down.
"I want Hyūga Neji and Inuzuka Kiba to remain here. The rest of you move up to the competitors box" Hayate says.
The rest of the participants did what the proctor asked leaving Kiba and Neji standing in front of the proctor.
"Alright, the first fight of the Chūnin Slection Exam begins now" Hayate says.
Thank you for reading this chapter of Speed Unmatched. I wish all the mothers a Happy Mothers Day. Until next time dear readers :-)