Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor am I an expert on the Naruto Universe.
Chapter 3: Medical-nin
Naruto's enthusiasm faded considerably as he stared at the massive list of books and scrolls he'd need to read. The first book he consulted had a short list of recommended books for aspiring medical-nins. From there, the rabbit hole of information he needed to know spiraled out of control. His finger shook as he moved down the double-column list on the front of his paper. "This is impossible," he muttered as he felt his hopes fade.
Gritting his teeth, he summoned the image of the injured villager begging for help. He felt a savage smile stretch his cheeks as he made several marks on the page. If he had to, he would read the entire library over twice to make that image become a reality. Nothing would stop him. He wanted, needed, that vindictive pleasure he knew he would feel.
Naruto pulled down the patchwork cloak that helped hide him from casual observers and stuffed it into his sling-bag. He strained his hearing to pick out any movement around him. Sakura and Ino continued to argue near the front of the library. A soft footfall nearby made him shrink back into the shadows under the window. He watched the pinched-faced chunin librarian pass by his hiding place, her head moving back and forth. After several tense seconds, he watched the liar inspect the stacks across from him before moving on.
Keeping his breath shallow, he waited a little longer before moving. He knew the layout of the library, so he crept as quietly as he could through the rows of tall bookshelves toward the Advanced Chakra Control section. A successful medical-nin had to have superior control over their chakra as well as extensive knowledge of the human body. Chakra Control was something Iruka told him would keep him alive longer, so he started with those books first.
He escaped the library with two chunin on his heels. His luck ran out when the two shinobi, responding to a violent confrontation between Sakura and Ino, spotted him climbing out of a window. He knew the only thing that prevented the two shinobi from recognizing him was the dark clothing he'd stolen before his venture. Head wrapped up in black cloth, he labored for breath as he dashed from alley to rooftop and back down into an alley again. From their shouts, the two chunin believed he was a spy from another village, trying to steal their books and scrolls.
Naruto wanted to laugh. He wasn't a spy, he was a student that had to steal so he could learn. As the first chunin blasted past him in a rush of wind, he pulled out the patchwork cloak and pushed a generous amount of chakra into the Cloak of Invisibility Technique. Unless the chunin was looking for the general, Academy-level Ninjutsu, he would pass and allow Naruto to double back as a henged villager.
A distorted body blurred past his hiding place. Releasing the jutsu, he changed into one of his old man 'masks' and hunched over. He shoved the cloak into his sling-bag and hobbled out of the alley. Twice he watched a group of shinobi bound past him on the rooftops as he threaded his way through the market. Once or twice, a grim-faced chunin would stop and survey the market area but would move on moments later.
Energized by his success, Naruto made his way into the Red Light District and ignored the blatant propositions from the younger ladies of the night. They promised things that made his ears turn red. He was just glad the henge hid his discomfort. Once he was comfortably safe inside the rundown hostel, he fished out the four stolen books and two scrolls. He'd anonymously return them once he finished reading them and taking notes or outright copying the contents for his collection later.
Advanced Chakra Techniques for Aspiring Medial-Nin was the most boring read Naruto had ever suffered through. Even the books Natsu made them read about climate change were more interesting. Not only did the author use words he'd never seen before, but it felt like they wanted the reader to suffer by reading through hundreds of clinical tests for each technique listed. If he read the word 'experiment' one more time, he thought he'd throw the book out the window.
It took him five days, spending five hours a day in total reading, to finally get through the book. He admitted it might have been a waste of time because he wasn't even sure what the book was supposed to teach him. His physical exercises, more to alleviate the boredom of reading the book, gave him ample opportunity to mull over what the author was trying to explain. One bright spot for all his trouble was that he had a better understanding of how to focus his chakra across his feet. The fifty pages devoted to Tree Climbing explained how shinobi could coat their feet with chakra to help cling to surfaces, but they could also use chakra to hide the sound of their footsteps. Instead of latching onto a surface, he could eventually learn how to slide along a surface without disturbing the object he was touching, like the ground. An advanced form of the technique would allow him to move at greater speeds with chakra-assisted strength.
Naruto's resolve wavered once more when he tried to get through a heavy book on the human body. More than once he wanted to throw up his hands and ask Teuchi-sama if he could apprentice under him. At least then he could make heavenly ramen to eat. It would be something to show for all his hard work. He knew he wasn't stupid, but every chapter he slogged his way through felt like mental torture. For every new word he learned, there were ten more he had to look up. To make matters worse, he had to reread entire chapters when he realized he didn't understand what the author was trying to explain. Mentally exhausted, physically in pain, he lay on the floor of his allotted living space and stared at the off-white ceiling. He wanted to cry, to rage at the world and himself. Why was he so stupid? He couldn't be a medical-nin.
A gentle knocking at his door roused him from his dark thoughts. He glared at the door, wishing whoever it was would go away. The knocking came again. He sighed and levered himself to his feet. "Who is it?" he called.
"Iruka," the familiar voice called through the door.
Naruto wanted to curse himself for speaking. He sighed, schooled his face, and opened the door. The chunin instructor leaned against the rail and looked down at him. "Yes?" he said in his politest voice he could muster.
"Two things. One, I have your monthly stipend. Your... caretaker is out, apparently. That or she didn't want to come to the door," Iruka-sensei stated as he pulled out a brown envelope and passed it to Naruto. "Second, I want to talk to you about those tests."
Naruto took the envelope and sighed. His mood darkened as he stared the instructor down. "I told you. Someone is switching my tests and is copying my handwriting. It's the only thing I can think of. I've tried checking for Genjutsu both when I took the test and when I got it back. When I marked on the back pages of my test, I got a copy back without those marks," he all but growled as he glared at Iruka.
The chunin instructor pursed his lips and drummed his fingers on the railing. "You do realize, that is a lot of work for someone to do just to mess with your tests, right?" he asked, his voice even.
"I don't know why someone would," Naruto hissed.
Iruka nodded and reached into his flack jacket. He drew out a stack of papers. "Could I come in?" he asked with a strained smile.
Naruto blinked and mulled over his choices. He could deny his former sensei and figure things out on his own. The image of those terrible hours reading the medical-nin books made him shudder. "Fine," he muttered before turning around and going back into his apartment.
"I... I half expected trash and clothes to be everywhere," Iruka commented as he closed the door behind him. "My apartment doesn't look nearly as neat as yours does."
Naruto stared at the instructor, wondering if the comment was a compliment or an insult on how he lived. Things needed to be in order, had to be in order, or how could anyone live? He had to have an even number of items, spaced either directly opposite each other or evenly spaced out on the same surface. How could anyone live with clutter? He shook his head. "I like to keep my things clean," he explained.
"But not your clothes?"
"They are irrelevant. This jacket has ten rips in it. When it falls apart, then I will buy another one, dye it a muted color, and continue to train. I go through a lot of clothes."
The chunin Instructor stared at him before shaking his head. He placed the stack of papers on the small table in the middle of the room. "I want to believe you. I know you are smart, Naruto. Take this test here, in front of me, and I will grade it. No one but me will touch it. Do you trust me not to tamper with your test?" he asked in a soft voice.
"I'll get my pens," Naruto said with a nod as he went over to his sling-bag. He took out both pens, setting them on either side of the pages, and looked up. "Can I start?" he asked.
Iruka looked lost as he stared at him. "Of course. Don't you want to know what the test is? You could study for it," he offered.
"No, if I know the material then I will pass. You care about your students, or you wouldn't even be here. I'll take your test," the blonde boy said as he clicked the pen and hunched over the paper.
One hour later, he finished and pushed the test across the table. Iruka had stayed with him the entire time and hadn't moved except to make himself a glass of water and inspect the pile of medical-nin books on the counter. "You're reading books that are far more advanced than anything the Academy teaches someone your age. Two of those books are missing from the library. Care to explain?" he challenged as he took the test papers. The tone of his voice didn't sound angry, just puzzled.
"I stole them when I was told I wasn't allowed in the library while classes weren't in session," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "I have an... interest in learning how to be a medical-nin. However... I think I'm not suited to becoming one."
The instructor raised an eyebrow. "I'll ignore the first part, because I really don't want to get into that right now. You know the village has been on high alert for weeks because of your..." he broke off as if trying to find the right word. "Desire to learn. Why do you feel you aren't suited to being a medical-nin?"
"All of those experiments and tests from the first book drove me mad trying to figure out why the author thought it was important to write down. The second book... well, I have to reread the chapter multiple times to even get a hint of what the topic is about. I'm spending more time looking up the definition to some weird word than I am actually reading," he shouted as he slammed his fist on the table.
Iruka blinked and stared at him. "Can I look at the books? The two you're talking about?" he asked. After Naruto nodded and told him which books he read, he got up and brought them back to the table. He opened the first book on the human body, read a few pages before closing his eyes. With a pained expression, he closed the book and opened the other one. After a minute of reading, he looked up and stared at Naruto. "These books are worded and focused on reinforcing knowledge the author expects you to already know. The Academy isn't just for children. After you leave for the day, specialized classes are held for adults wishing to learn more. What you're attempting to read looks like a medical-nin prep class. You're expected to have already passed the basic courses before you even touch these books."
Naruto felt his jaw drop. "But, but, the book I read said these were the basic books to read," he complained.
"This is why we have instructors," the chunin said with a smile. "To help guide you through the path of knowledge. By having someone experienced in the field show you where you should start, you can hopefully avoid problems like this. You're reading material way above what you've been exposed to."
"Oh," the blonde boy muttered as he stared at the offending books in front of him.
"How do you think you did on the test?"
Looking up, Naruto shrugged and bit his lip. "I passed, but there were questions I didn't have the full answers for. I did my best though," he challenged.
"I know, I watched you," Iruka answered with a bright smile. "The fact you answered every question alone means something is wrong. I will grade this and get it back to you. Please trust me to find out what is going on. Sometimes, we have to live through adversity to come out stronger on the other side. I am on your side, Naruto. Never doubt that. I want what is best for you, in all things."
"Welcome class, my name is Asato Fumi. This is your third year here at the Academy. During the year, I will push each and every one of you to make a decision. A decision that will shape the rest of your lives. Many of you come from civilian families, and that is okay. I myself am from a civilian family and have worked hard to get where I am today. I specialize in Genjutsu, like Kureani Yuhi. You might know her as the Genjustu Mistress of Konoha. In my class, I expect you to pay attention at all times. What I will teach you is important, even if you already know the material. I abore slackers," she stated in a hard tone.
The new instructor was tall and had long, flowing dark hair. Her deep blue eyes cut through the class as her gaze flicked to each student. Naruto and most of the class looked at Shikamaru, his head resting on his table. "Troublesome," the Nara boy complained as he tried to lift his head off his desk. It looked like a strenuous force of will.
"Will you be teaching us Genjutsu?" Sakura asked, her loud voice echoing around the room.
"In short, no, but I will teach you how to dispel Genjutsu and what to look for if you think you are under its influence. However, if you take what I teach you and expound on your knowledge, then you could easily learn a few of the simplest jutsus. Now, roll call."
Naruto looked around the class and realized all the clan children were in the class. Shino Aburame, a dark-haired boy with dark glasses, and Choji Akimichi, a brown-haired rotund boy with swirl marks on his cheeks, joined the other clan members. Mito Sawa, a blunette boy with wide, staring eyes, could be considered a clan member too, although the Hokage hadn't officially signed the Sawa Clan into Konoha's ranks of the elite. Naruto wondered if the civilian children were dropping out or if they got placed in another class.
"You look happy for once," Sekien Hano commented as he looked at Naruto. "Did you find your calling in life over the break? Maybe as a laborer for the construction company?" he asked with a sneer.
"No, your mom came over to my apartment last night," Naruto answered with a snort. The dark-haired boy froze before his face twisted into a rictus of hate. "I'll kill you!" he shouted and jumped over the table.
"Enough!" Fumi-sensei ordered in a booming voice.
Sekien-teme ground his teeth as he glared at Naruto. Leaning back in his chair, the blonde boy held two senbon ready to defend himself. With Iruka-sensei's help, he'd found a few basic medical-nin books fun to read. Especially the ones that described the circulatory system of the human body and how to disable an opponent with one strike. He didn't think he could achieve that level of precision yet, but he couldn't wait to try it on someone.
"Both of you will serve detention, and tomorrow you will get to tell the class what awaits them if they disrupt my class," Fumi-sensei announced with a cold smile.
Naruto sat back and took notes through homeroom class. He wanted to work on something else but didn't want to tempt the new instructor's ire again. Glancing at Sekien, he felt a smirk stretch his left cheek. The insult he'd heard in the market had better results than he'd anticipated. When the two young shinobi got into a physical brawl outside a weapons shop, he made sure to memorize the expletives and phrases so he could use them later. He had no idea what half of what they said meant, but it obviously made them angry, so it was worth learning.
During Taijutsu class, he stared at each of the combatants and tried to gauge their skill level, flexibility, footwork, and overall physical health. Choji, the overweight boy, surprised him. The boy's footwork left deep gouges in the dirt, but his speed, flexibility, and skill surpassed many in the class. Shikamaru caught him staring and gave Naruto a rare half-smile. Choji and Shikamaru were close friends and finally got the same homeroom together.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ino and Sakura fought like wild cats over a scrap of trash. Kicking, biting, and pulling hair seemed to be their chosen fighting styles. While Naruto found it unseemly for an aspiring kunoichi, he had to admit it was amusing to watch. Fumi-sensei stopped their fight with a slashing motion as a gust of wind blew the two furious girls apart.
"What was that? Who taught you to fight like that? You two..." the stunned, angry instructor questioned. "Answer. me," she demanded in a dangerous voice.
"She... we..." Sakura spluttered as she looked between Ino and the angry woman.
"I fight better when it isn't against, forehead," Ino announced as she stuck up her nose.
Ignoring Sakura's indignant shout, Fumi-sensei pointed to the rest of the class. "Get out of the ring. If I ever see that again, I will throw both of you out of this Academy, by your hair. That display was a disgrace to every kunoichi to have ever lived or will ever live," she spat and shook her head.
For the first time Naruto could remember, Ino and Sakura looked truly defeated. He wanted to laugh, like they'd done to him so many times before, but found he couldn't. The class remained silent as Fumi-sensei stared at all of them. "Never lose your head, or you will lose it. If I see a display like that from any of you, I will follow through with my promise I gave to these two... children," she grated out, her teeth grinding as she glared around the training yard.
A somber class followed their instructor back to the building and breathed a sigh of relief once she'd left them with Mizuki for his history and general skills class. The day flew by, but Naruto was dreading the detention he'd get. Walking back into his homeroom class after the bell, he took his usual seat in the back.
"No, you and Sekien will sit in front of me. You won't want to go far," Fumi-sensei promised with a dark look in her blue eyes.
Naruto waited for Sekien to arrive and get the same speech. He looked nervous. The instructor closed the door and sat on her desk in front of them. "You, I know," she declared as she pointed a finger at Naruto. "You, Sekien, are relatively unknown to me. I've reviewed your grades. They are middling at best. Why do you want to be a shinobi?"
The gangly boy puffed out his chest. "My father and grandfather were shinobi," he declared. "I want to be like them."
"You have average test scores, average taijutsu skills, and struggle with basic ninjutsus. You'll die early if you continue on this path. Do you practice outside of class time?"
"Sometimes," the boy answered, his face twisted into a grimace. "I can be better. I'm at least better than him!" he spat as he waved his hand toward Naruto.
"We're talking about you," the instructor replied with a raised eyebrow. "You don't practice outside of class. Do you want to die? What reason do you have to not take what we teach here seriously?"
"Anyone can pass," Sekien complained. "Natsu-sensei told us that the first year."
"The requirements for graduating are shockingly low compared to many other villages, and anyone with half a brain can graduate, but does that mean you'll live very long as a genin? If you had to fight a classmate, to the death, who do you think you could win against? Outside the village, most encounters with shinobi from other villages end in a phyiscal confrontation, even with our allies."
"Uh... I..." the young boy stumbled, trying to find an answer to the instructor's question.
"Think on it, hard. It isn't too late to join a craftsman or a trade school. Being a shinobi isn't for everyone. Now, your detentions. Look at me and keep your eyes wide open. There," Fumi-sensei ordered and flew through hand seals faster than Naruto could keep up with. "Narakumi no Jutsu," she hissed.
Naruto blinked, trying to figure out what happened. The instructor vanished, and so did his classmate. Before he could wonder why the door crashed open to reveal Iruka-sensei, his face a mask of disappointment. "You failed, yet again, Naruto. I thought we talked about this. You're better than this. Why would you throw your freedom away by joining with the Council?" he shouted.
A shiver went down Naruto's spine. He didn't understand. Why was Iruka-sensei mad with him? What freedom? He didn't join anything. His confusion redoubled as another figure appeared in the doorway. He froze when he saw the look of raw anger and pain on the slender boy's face. "You lied to me. I was your friend, and you lied to me!" Ikki-kun bellowed. Naruto flinched. "You're nothing more than a demon, nothing at all. You're a liar, a useless freak. Everyone hates you! They should. All you do is lie, steal, and hurt those around you."
"I just," Naruto started, trying to explain to his friend.
"You just wanted a friend. Oh, poor demon. You. Don't. Deserve. Friends!" the image of Ikki-kun raged.
Naruto felt the tears sting his cheeks as he stared at the angry boy. A dark, painful pulse thumped in his chest. A voice, distant at first, joined several others as their chant echoed around the room. "Demon, demon, demon," the voices chanted.
He looked up to see Iruka-sensei and Ikki-kun join the chanting. A pulse of anger coursed through him. The pulse grew into an insistent beat. Blood pounded in his ears in time with the chant. He gripped the chair as a wave of bitter resentment wash over him. They would always hate him. Always think him a demon. He should be one then.
"If you want me to be, then I will," he bellowed and tried to launch himself at Iruka-sensei.
He blinked and found himself high above the village, looking down at hundreds of shocked and scared faces. The stunned silence lasted until a shrill, high-pitched scream shattered the afternoon air. Shinobi appeared out of nowhere, their leaf hitai-ate's gleaming in the bright sun as kunai and gouts of fire shot toward Naruto. He flinched as what felt like hundreds of dangerous objects hurtled toward him. With a wave of an unknown hand, one that wasn't his own, it knocked everything aside like a child knocking over a tower of wooden bricks. Several shinobi, their faces set in a mask of pain, got caught up in the blistering wind and slammed into buildings and the ground at terminal force.
The indiscriminate slaughter of all around him lasted for what felt like years. He watched children, running for their lives, get squashed under crumbling buildings. An older villager and his wife stood in his path, attempting to buy time for others to run. They died as a gout of red energy washed over them. The protectors of the village, people he'd seen before, died in waves.
Naruto felt a great shift within himself as the classroom popped back into focus. The smell of death, fear, and destruction vanished as he rolled out of his chair. He threw up, emptying his stomach of his meager lunch while laying on his side. Someone was speaking to him, but he couldn't hear them. The sound of crying echoed in his ears. He couldn't tell if it was him that was crying or his classmate.
His vision returned slowly. He blinked through watery wet eyes as he tried to lift himself away from the puddle of sick in front of him. A masked Anbu stood over him a hand on his chest. He blinked and coughed. "Dog-sama?" he asked, his voice sounding foreign to his ears.
"Do not speak yet," the dog-masked protector ordered as she rose.
It took him a moment to reorient himself as his memory played back his visions. He realized Fumi-sensei must have used a genjutsu on him. His stomach roiled, and he felt like he might get sick again. Was he a demon? He healed faster than anyone he knew and could take life-threatening injuries and survive. The villagers hated him for some reason none of them would ever tell him. He shivered as he remembered the red chakra that flattened the two villagers and destroyed scores of shinobi.
Naruto levered himself up to his knee and looked around. Sekien's shoulders shook as he cradled his knees. Splinters from Naruto's chair littered the floor around him. He blinked and saw an entire chunk of the table where he'd been sitting was missing. Blinking, he looked down and thought he saw the missing piece among the wreckage of his chair. Other things filtered into his senses as the classroom seemed to slide into focus.
Two Anbu had Fumi-sensei on her knees, and both had their tantos at her throat. He could see a red line and a droplet of blood that slid down her neck and into her flack jacket. Another two Anbu guarded the door while his dog-masked protector spoke to someone else that he couldn't see. He tried to rise, but his legs didn't have the strength to support his weight. Little snippets of battle created by the genjutsu still played in his ears. Resigned to stay on the floor, he rested his head against the table behind him. A wave of exhaustion washed over him.
When he woke, he found himself in his bed at home. The tattered jumpsuit he'd thrown up on was gone. Only in his underwear, he slid out of bed and blinked at the low light coming in through the window. The darkening sky seemed to agree with his mood.
"How are you feeling?" a familiar voice asked, his tone low and gentle.
"I'm fine, Hokage-sama," he answered as he turned. He'd never seen Hiruzen Sarutobi look so old. "What happened?"
"I would like to ask you that," the old man asked as he placed his hands in his lap. He sat on one of the two chairs Naruto owned, his face tight with worry.
"I... I..." Naruto stammered, trying to find the words.
"The genjutsu your instructor used can be... traumatic. That advanced genjutsu shows us our fears and amplifies them to one extreme or another. It should never be used on children. Its sole purpose is to break the mind of its victim. Our Torture and Interrogation Unit uses it when we have to question the enemies of the village. While it is effective and does little physical damage, any damage done to the mind can take much longer to heal. We'll start with the easy questions. How are you feeling?" the Hokage prompted with a small smile.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto turned his attention inward. "My chakra feels a little off," he reported with a frown. "Other than that, I'm fine." He opened his eyes to see the Hokage giving him a strange look.
"Feels a little off?" the old man asked. "Could you explain?"
"My chakra feels like a deep, wide lake, a little like the one at the far edge of the village, or maybe the strong wind you feel when you're on top of the Hokage monument. For some reason, my chakra feels... energetic. It almost pulses like it wants to be used, but I'm not jittery or anxious. Normally when this happens, I need to do... something. Train, run, jump over houses, or something physical. It helps."
The Hokage seemed to relax a little as he flashed a toothy smile. "The power of youth," he remarked as he sat forward. "Are you comfortable with telling me what you saw?"
"No, not really," Naruto muttered.
"Then we will shelve that topic for now," the old man said, but Naruto thought he'd be forced to tell his story sometime soon. "There are some interesting books on your table. I am aware of your... excursion into the Academy library during your break, however, I wasn't aware of what reason you wanted the books or why your collection seems to have grown."
"I think I want to be a medical-nin," Naruto admitted as he scratched the back of his head. The Hokage stared at him with a confused look.
"I was under the impression you wanted to be a Hokage."
"I did, until I realized everything you did and had to put up with," he admitted with a sigh. "I think my skills might be put to better use as a medical-nin."
The old man hummed as he drummed his fingers on the small wooden bedside table. "That requires a lot of memorization, dedication, and a willingness to help everyone. Being a medical-nin is a lot harder than most people think. I still believe you could be the strongest shinobi this village has yet to see, but it takes a certain amount of strength and dedication to become a successful medical-nin as well. You remember my student, Tsunade?"
Naruto nodded ticked off on his fingers, "Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and Orochimaru-sama," he answered. "All three became powerful shinobi in their own right. One became a renowned medical-nin, one writes popular... er... adult fictions, and one... well," he muttered before trailing off.
"Became an enemy of the village," the Hokage finished with a sad smile. "A lust for power will make the brightest stars fall. Orochimaru was the best in his class, one of the best shinobi in the village, but it was never enough for him." The Hokage broke off, his eyes distant and unmoving. He shook himself and looked at the blonde boy. "How far along are you in your studies?"
"Uh, I don't know," Naruto admitted with a shrug. "I only just started learning this stuff."
"I can't let my paperwork pile up, and today's events certainly will create a small mountain of it," the Hokage said with a twisted smile. He put his fingers together in a cross. A moment later, a clone appeared beside him before vanishing in a tiny gust of wind.
"Hey, I've seen that jutsu before! It's Kage... Kage... something. I watched an Anbu use it to try and find me. What makes it different than the regular clone jutsu? Wait, you sent it to do paperwork? It's a real clone!" Naruto exclaimed as he sat up straighter.
"It is a Forbidden Jutsu to anyone under Jonin level. There is a reason it isn't taught in the Academy, or to anyone I haven't approved of learning it. The clone has half my chakra. Every clone I make splits that chakra again. A Jonin level shinobi might be able to create one, maybe two, but anything more than that will kill them."
"Oh, well... it sounds cool at least. I could do my homework and still train."
"That you could. However, that is something you'll be able to do once you become a Jonin. A nice incentive, don't you think?" the Hokage temped with a bright smile. Naruto grunted and crossed his arms which caused the old man to laugh. "Now that my hands are freed up a little, how about I help you with your knowledge. Let's start easy. Tell me everything you know about the chakra within our bodies."
The Hokage wanted Naruto to return to class the next week, stating it would be a good idea to let his mind relax. Bored and restless, Naruto didn't follow the old man's recommendation and spent most of his time reading or trying out new training exercises.
He'd purchased a book that gave examples of different training styles. The Hokage, impressed with his limited but growing knowledge, gave him an envelope full of ryo. He said it would help him purchase new books and supplies. At first, Naruto didn't want to take the money. He used a henge to purchase almost everything he needed so the villagers wouldn't overcharge him. It wouldn't be long before he had enough saved up to purchase the shinobi kit and outfit he'd been eyeing for months. The extra ryo would bring him closer to his goal, but the temptation of more medical-nin books won out in the end.
Instead of throwing himself headlong into hours of brutal training, he instead took half a day to work out a real training regimen. Iruka-sensei's dire warnings about his lack of Chakra Control stayed at the forefront of his mind while he mapped out his training. It took one, exhausting day to figure out he'd been training the wrong way the entire time.
Battered, bruised, but smiling, he limped home to soak in a bath of medicinal salts. "It all hurts," he complained as he felt his body trying to knit his strained muscles. "Ah, too bad this stuff costs so much," the blonde boy complained as he wiggled deeper into the water, the smell of lavender tickling his nose. "Maybe someone has a book on making medicines. I should check that out," he muttered as he closed his eyes.
On his first day back to class, several students asked him what happened to Sekien. He shrugged and told them he didn't know what happened to the gangly boy. It didn't take long for him to find out his classmate never returned to class after the terrible detention. Fumi didn't call his name during roll call. In fact, she did everything in her power to ignore Naruto's existence. Whatever happened, had either scared her or made her so angry with him she didn't want to acknowledge his presence in her classroom.
A few students commented on it for the first few days, but as time went on, everyone accepted it. Naruto, bored in class, started reading his medical-nin notes and books during class, ignoring everyone else around him. When questioned, he gave the questioner a level look and stared them down before turning back to taking notes. He was never given a single test by his instructor. Iruka-sensei complimented him on his improving grades, but Naruto didn't have the desire or energy to explain what was really happening.
The lack of progress from Iruka-sensei's investigation into Naruto's fake tests and his general dislike with the Academy made the blonde boy aggravated. Iruka-sensei told him that he was trying to get to the bottom of the issue but that it was proving to be more difficult than he'd hoped. Happy to be left alone for once, Naruto took Fumi's attitude toward him as a good thing. He could study what he wanted, practice Chakra Control during homeroom, and sleep when he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.
Training, reading, and practicing his knowledge through pranks became his life and his main outlet for keeping focused. Whenever he wasn't pushing his body and brain to the limit, he would start to dwell on the nightmarish scene the genjutsu showed him. The knowledge that he would kill everyone he knew, even the people he didn't like, with glee bothered him. He knew he might have to kill one day and knew it was part of being a shinobi in a dangerous world, but to outright murder defenseless people made him sick to his stomach.
The villager's whispers and outright dislike for him seemed magnified as he made his way through the village without hiding behind a henge. He wondered if they were right. If they knew something about him that he didn't know. Was he truly the demon they claimed he was? The question haunted his idle thoughts and the dreams he could remember. Finding new ways to tire himself out kept those thoughts and dreams at bay. When Iruka-sensei questioned him about his lethargy, he would always lie and say he'd just been up thinking of new ways to prank people. It was a flimsy excuse, and he had to back up his lie a few times before the nosy instructor took his lie at face value.
Naruto discovered one unforeseen problem with his new training schedule. It became harder for him to spar with his classmates. Not because they were getting better, but because he had to stop himself from targeting areas that might cripple his classmates. In two books, he'd read about different ways to disable an opponent without killing them. Precise strikes to a human's joints, unprotected knots of nerves, chakra points, and delicate organs could debilitate or cripple someone with minimal effort. A shinobi's internal chakra offered some protection naturally, but in many cases, a fast, precise strike could overwhelm a shinobi's natural defenses.
He'd tried out several painful experiments on his own body as he learned where each of the weak points on his body was. It became clear why the Hyugas were experts at close quarters combat. They could see the chakra flow through someone's body and could disrupt it with ease. However, after a few painful experiments, Naruto found he could create a crude replica of one of the prominent Clan's attacks. By pumping a massive amount of chakra into his fingertips, he could inject a chakra point with his focused chakra. He'd only tried out the technique twice on himself. The pain was simply too much for him to ignore. It felt like a hundred or more sharp needles stabbing outward through his body from the chakra point.
During his Taijutsu class, he lost on purpose after getting two touches. He made sure both strikes would disable his opponent. Sasuke was the one classmate who wouldn't let him give up. Natsu never cared when Naruto stepped back and surrendered, gesturing the blonde boy back to stand with the rest of the students, before calling the next two combatants up. Sasuke would complain, yell, and demand Naruto to fight him for real. The dark-haired boy never managed to get his way, even when he lashed out with a strong kick in an attempt to provoke the blonde boy.
Iruka-sensei ran the stealth and concealment class for the year. Naruto and Shino dominated the class with their high marks. The young Aburame was quiet but always paid attention and had an eye for detail. It didn't take long for Naruto to realize the silent boy used his parasitic insects to track his fellow classmates. Shino used his family's techniques to move from cover to cover, always staying one step ahead of his pursuer. Hinata and Kiba came in close third and fourth. The young Hyuga used her Byakugan to spot anyone looking for her, but she had trouble keeping still and hidden. Kiba, the Inuzuka boy and potential heir to his Clan, used his nose to scout and hide. His main downfall was that he could be provoked easily, even when he knew he was supposed to remain hidden, and his overconfidence in his nose. Strong smells and Itching Power Bombs could incapacitate the young boy.
"Have either of you found Nara or the failure? Ah, why won't he just fight me like a real man! You hear that Naruto? Come out here and fight me. I want a rematch from earlier you coward!" Kiba bellowed into the park.
"He won't come out because you demand him to," Ino scoffed as he peered behind a bush. "I just want to go back inside. It's hot out here today. My makeup is running."
"Hah, that's what you call it? It looks like a baby power got thrown in your face," Sakura taunted.
Naruto remained perfectly still on the branch above the group of three. He'd spotted Shino's insect attached to Kiba's leg, so he knew the quiet boy hadn't been caught yet. Feeling the wind shift, he made a split-second decision to relocate.
"Hey, I think I smell the failure," Kiba yelled and turned around. "He must have climbed the tree. I'll check it out," he called as he bounded for the thick trunk of the closest tree.
Naruto watched from a nearby tree as Kiba struggled to climb the tree and tried not to laugh. Iruka-sensei was right, Chakra Control was more important than instructor Natsu made it seem. The scrolls the friendly chunin gave him were one of his most prized possessions. He'd never imagined how much a simple scroll like the 'Tree Climbing Excercise' would help him in his everyday life. It'd taken him almost two weeks to understand and use the technique and another two weeks to master it enough to walk on hard surfaces. By spreading his chakra around the bottom of his feet, he could hold himself in place on hard surfaces. After a little experimentation, he figured out how to apply that same technique to his hands and other areas of his body. Now, he could glue himself to a wall or tree branch without worrying about falling off.
"I smelled him, I know I did," Kiba complained as he jumped down from the tree three minutes later.
"Come on, you know he can fool your nose. He's done it before," Ino complained as she kicked a rock. "Let's just go back. Naruto, Shino, and Shikamaru can stay out here all day for all I care!"
The trio argued for a few minutes before starting back toward the Academy. Naruto relocated to a new tree by jumping off the trunk of his tree and landing on a large branch fifteen feet away. He pressed his back against the rough bark and narrowed his eyes. Sasuke clambered up onto the branch he'd just vacated. The Uchiha looked around with a scowl as he inspected the bark where Naruto's boot pushed off of.
"I know you're out there. Fight me, dobe!" the dark-haired boy demanded.
Naruto remained silent as he inched his way around to the other side of the tree with his fingertips. He moved his body as little as possible as he listened as hard as he could. Sasuke was good at remaining quiet until the last possible moment.
An hour later, Iruka-sensei jumped out of the tree line and onto the manicured lawn beside Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji. The blonde boy got tired of hiding and simply sat down beside the two boys and stared at the clouds. The Nara heir claimed it was calming to watch the clouds pass overhead. Naruto didn't agree with him but had to admit it was easier to fall asleep laying on the grass and listening to the wind. Choji followed Shikamaru's lead and generally never tried his best when it came to the Academy's classes. However, if the prize for first place was some kind of food, he'd destroy anything in his way to win it. When motivated, the chubby boy was a force to be reckoned with.
"There you three are," the instructor complained as he crossed his arms. "You're supposed to stay in the park until the others found you," he chided while looking at Naruto.
"I did," the blonde boy complained. "The others ran off. Shino got bored too," he complained as he waved a lazy hand toward the trees at the edge of the schoolyard.
Iruka-sensei sighed and shook his head. "The four of you... just get back to class. You're already late for instructor Mizuki's trap-making class," he ordered with a frown.
The next day, Naruto slid into the seat at the back of his homeroom and froze. The tip of something sharp rested against his right thigh. He eased himself out of his seat and looked under the table. Someone had stabbed a piece of paper with a kunai to the underside of his table. He inspected the tool for trap wire and the paper to make sure it wasn't an Exploding Tag. He wouldn't put it past some of his classmates to try to hurt him in some way.
The calligraphy of the three characters made him blink. He'd never had the patience to learn the perfect strokes required to have such masterful brush skills. Tucking the paper into his ripped jacket, he sat back and inspected the kunai. It looked like a normal tool a shinobi used, but after shaving off a corner of his chair, he realized the quality of the metal was much higher than a normal kunai. He made a mental note to ask the writer of the note what type of metal it was.
After the last bell, Naruto bounded across the rooftops, headed for the lower-income district. He passed his apartment and dropped to the deserted street a few blocks away. Two burly villagers sneered at him as they came out of one of the seedier bathhouses. A flushed woman, her hair dripping wet, blinked in the sunlight before rushing off toward the center of the village. Ignoring the woman, Naruto slipped into the alley beside the building. At the end of the narrow corridor was a gambling den. He'd seen masked men and women enter the establishment on his way home from training before.
Moving to the left side of the alley, he pushed open one of the canvas flaps and squinted his eyes. The dark room had one small lantern sitting on a single table in the room. A tiny beam of light extended from the lantern, illuminated a piece of paper on the far wall. Naruto sniffed the air and frowned. He wasn't sure, but he thought the room hadn't been occupied in days. The air smelled of must, rotted wood, and oil.
He waited in the doorway, while he made his decision. The odd way the mystery person contacted him intrigued him. Holding the strange kunai in a reverse grip, he entered the room, letting the canvas cut fall closed behind him.
"You made the correct decision," a voice called from the shadows directly in front of Naruto.
It took all of his willpower not to shout. A figure moved just enough for Naruto's sharp eyes to realize the person had been there the entire time, just outside the light cast by the lantern. Their body, cast in shadow, was just a little darker than the blackness around him.
"I got the message," Naruto said into the uncomfortable silence.
"That you did," the voice, deeper, more confident answered. His hand appeared on the table, holding a thick folder. "What I have is information you want. You don't know you want it yet, but you do."
"No information is free, everything has a price," Naruto shot back. Iruka-sensei was clear when it came to the price a shinobi had to pay to get intelligence. Many times that price was the life of another shinobi. Everything about the situation he found himself in said he was dealing with a shinobi.
"True," the voice conceded with a menacing chuckle. "This information does have a price. The price is beneficial to my employer and you. You must decide if the knowledge contained in this folder is worth the unknown price."
The figure moved as Naruto stepped back toward the door. A brief reflection of light at the corner of the figure's face made him think the stranger wore glasses. "Why is it important that I know whatever is in that folder?" he questioned.
"That is for me and my employer to know and you to discover once you agree to our terms. One day, you will need answers. After you read this, you will have more questions. Questions, my employer can answer. The price is this. Agree to meet my employer sometime within the next year or two. It would be better if you were a genin at the time, but I understand you aren't completely in control of that."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, but he thought he already knew the answer.
"All of it is in this folder... and more," the figure tempted. "Take it. All we ask is that you agree to meet. There may be a task we need you to perform, but it won't be something you haven't done before."
"What happens if I don't want whatever information you have? If I don't want to be tied to you and your employer?"
"Nothing, you walk away now. You remain blind to the threats around you. Do you really think this village will let you do what you want? Hasn't the last two years at the Academy taught you anything? We have limited time. Make your decision."
"I'm walking away. Something doesn't seem right about this," Naruto said as stepped backward toward the canvas.
"I will leave seven sheets from this folder on the table in three days time. I suggest you read them. It is a sign of good faith from us. Goodbye, for now," the figure said in a whisper.
Naruto pulled down the canvas behind him, flooding the room with light. The figure was gone, and so was the folder. The page embedded in the wall was blank. Before he could take a step, a figure blurred into existence beside him. The Dog-sama put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from taking another step.
"Who was that?" the female Anbu questioned, her voice hard.
"I honestly don't know. I got the note to come here this morning," he answered and pulled out the note. He passed it over to the Anbu as he thought quickly. The question he expected came less than a breath later.
"What did they want?"
"To trade information for a favor in the future," Naruto answered honestly. Something itched the back of his neck. "I told them no and pulled down the canvas. When the light flooded the room, they were gone."
"You were told there are enemies of the village that might be after you. Why didn't you inform someone of your intention to come here?" the Anbu questioned, her voice hot.
"Should I know who those enemies are and what they want with me?"
"In time. The Hokage will tell you when he is ready."
Naruto nodded but disagreed. If he didn't know what to look out for, how could he protect himself? He might not be a shinobi yet, but he would soon. The stranger's words rang in his mind. He wasn't in control of becoming a genin? A wave of familiar anger welled up inside him when he remembered the fake tests.
"Where did you get that kunai? You didn't leave for the Academy with a weapon with those wrapping around it," Dog-sama questioned as she peered at him.
"It was what held the note to the bottom of my table in homeroom," he answered.
"Did you check to see if it was poisoned? An explosive note under the wrappings? Anything?"
"I found out it was made of a strange, sharp metal," Naruto argued, trying to defend himself. She was right. He should have thought of poison.
"Chakra-infused Metal," the Anbu whispered. "That kunai is worth half a year of my salary or more. May I inspect it? I will return it to you, for no other reason than to deny those that would take it for their own use. That type of weapon is one to be used, not kept in storeroom collecting dust."
"Uh," he said as he stared at the weapon in his hand. With a shrug, he passed it over to the Anbu before starting for the door. "Can I go now?" he asked as he stepped into the alleyway.
"You know how to reach me. If something like this happens again, I need to know about it. Your safety falls on my shoulders. I have no desire to explain to the Hokage or the TI why you got abducted or killed."
For the next two days, Naruto made sure to keep to his schedule. The stranger's words ate at the back of his mind as he stared at Fumi-sensei. Her mouth moved, but her words never reached his ears. He'd made his decision to check the meeting spot again, without telling Dog-sama or the Hokage. Something told him it would be worth it. He wanted it to be worth it if he could find some answers. Iruka-sensei was a nice person, but the instructor admitted he was low on the totem pole when it came to the hierarchy of the village and what he could or couldn't do. When Naruto thought hard about who had the power to influence his life as much as it had been, only two names came to mind. The Hokage or the Council. He wanted to believe the Hokage wouldn't sabotage him, but what was good for the village? Did he trust the smiling old grandfather?
Drumming his fingers on the table, he tried to go back to studying the insanely complex network of chakra pathways through a human's body. When that didn't work, he tried his exercises to improve his chakra control but couldn't focus. Without a physical outlet, his last and best method of distracting his mind, he twirled one of his kunai under the table, flipping it back and forth between his hands and using different grips.
The next day, after the last bell, Naruto went straight to his favorite training area that happened to be five minutes away from the gambling den. He knew at least one person was watching him. While he never saw them or smelled them, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end multiple times while he was training. To conserve his energy for later, he didn't push his body to its limits. Instead of carrying a heavy log while he ran around his little clearing, he only worked on lifting the timber to work on his strength and chakra manipulation. In short bursts, he could flood his arms with chakra to supplement how much he could lift. When he used the incomplete technique, he could lift things almost three times his weight for short amounts of time. The drawback was that his muscles couldn't withstand the burden of the weight and the influx of chakra. Within a minute or so of using the technique, his arms and legs would feel like jelly. It took five minutes or more for his body to heal the damage enough for him to move without intense pain.
As he made his way back to his apartment, he tried to go past the gambling den. However, as he approached, two figures appeared on rooftops near the alleyway. Without changing direction, he sprinted past the two Anbu, their white masks visible in the dying light, and made his way toward his apartment. He resigned himself to the knowledge that he'd never know whatever the mystery man wanted him to know.
After a scalding hot shower, Naruto exited his bathroom and froze as his eyes rested on the table between two medical textbooks. Someone left seven sheets of paper, spread out in a fan in front of the books. One page had a photo attached to it with a metal clip. A cold feeling washed through him as he made his way over to the table. Someone broke into his apartment. It wasn't the first time. Once, a group of villagers during the Kyubi Festival decided it would be fun to destroy the demon's belongings.
Remembering Dog-sama's admonishment about not being careful, he inspected every nook and cranny of his small home for traps, poison, or anything else that might hurt him if he went near the table. Twenty minutes later, he sat behind his table and picked the first page. He froze as his eyes swept over the document. It was his handwriting.
