Chapter Two: Academy Days
I don't own Naruto :(
Naruto watched the clock as each passing second seemed to drag on. He let out a short sigh because there were still fifteen agonizing minutes left of Iruka-sensei's lecture. Focusing his eyes back onto the scarred Chunin so he could at least look like he was paying attention, Naruto thought of all the things he could be doing if he had just skipped this class. Unfortunately his father would know almost immediately if he had skipped, being the Hokage and all. It didn't help that his parents had threatened to take away his Fuinjutsu book if they heard he was causing trouble at the Academy. Naruto mumbled to himself about how he had the right to skip a day or two because he was the top student in his first year, and that hadn't changed since he had begun his second year. He was brought out of his musings by a voice he hadn't expected to hear.
"At least keep it down if you're going to complain." A lazy voice came from his his right side.
"I didn't even know you were awake Shika, want me to read you a bedtime story?" Naruto whispered back with a smirk on his face.
"Troublesome blond." the now named Shikamaru muttered as he just rested his head back onto the desk in front of him.
This served as a suitable distraction for the young Namikaze though, as he decided to reminisce about his first year of the Academy. All the people he met, and all the friends he made. It brought a smile to his face. Shikamaru was Naruto's first friend in the Academy, followed shortly by Choji and Ino. Although he was friendly with everybody, Shikamaru was his best friend. He enjoyed playing Shogi and watching clouds with Shikamaru, and he was glad whenever Choji and Ino tagged along. Now if only he could get them to train with him! Sasuke Uchiha was the only one of his classmates that liked to train with him, and they trained ALOT. He had tried in the past to get Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji to join but after one training session they had given up and called the pair masochists.
'Whatever that means.' Naruto thought to himself.
A small frown formed on Naruto's face as he once again toyed with the idea of telling his friends about his "condition". They would have to find out sooner or later, as his parents were training him in using the Fox's power. He was worried though, as he wasn't sure how they would react. Maybe some of them already knew? It wasn't as if the information was a secret. Naruto had a hunch that many of the clan heads knew, so maybe they had told their kids. Naruto himself had been scared when he first found out, but after some reassurance from his parents and learning a bit more about seals, Naruto knew he was more or less just a normal kid. A kid with access to the chakra of the strongest being in the Elemental Nations, but a normal kid none the less. He decided that he would tell his friends before they became Genin, they deserved to know.
*RING*
Naruto shot out of his seat as soon as the bell had rung, offering a hasty goodbye to Shikamaru just shook his head in response.
XxXxXxX
"Again, Naruto-kun. Focus on the shape of your chakra, this attack is meant to slice. Make your chakra sharper." Kushina instructed as she paced behind Naruto, watching him try to perform a new wind jutsu. "Wind Cutter Technique"
This was the sight that Minato was greeted to as he walked out into his family's private training ground. Trees surrounded the clearing, offering a good amount of privacy. Minato silently leaned against the wooden railing at the back of the house, watching with great interest to see if Naruto would pick up the technique now that he had gotten that tip. Sure enough, Naruto focused on his chakra and did the hangsigns before he shouted "Wind Cutter Technique!" and launched a mid sized blade of wind at the dummies on the other end. As the top half of the dummy slid to the ground, Naruto cheered, while turning to hug his mother. Kushina congratulated her son and easily accepted his hug.
"I'm so proud of you Naru-kun! You have a very strong affinity for Fuuton techniques, so I want you to practice them as hard as you can! I think that you could get so good at them that you don't even need to do the handsigns for them. Now its time for dinner though! Go wash your hands and sit at the table!" Kushina smiled as Naruto's eyes widened at the possibilities of his wind affinity.
Naruto turned to run into the house until he saw his father looking at him with a smile. He jumped into his father's arms and hugged him while the Hokage just chuckled and congratulated his son.
"Hurry up! It's ramen night and I'm gonna eat it all if you're too slow, Otou-san!" Naruto said as he released his father and ran into the house to get washed up.
Minato's face became serious after Naruto left, and he sighed as he hugged his wife who had made her way towards him. Naruto was progressing, he just hoped that the boy would be ready when Akatsuki came knocking.
"He's doing well, I just hope we have enough time to prepare him for the future. Jiraya sent word that apparently the Akatsuki are gathering funds right now. We don't know exactly when they will come, but Jiraya thinks we have a few years." Minato said quietly to his wife, who was still in his embrace.
"Minato-kun, he will be fine. I know he will be strong enough when they come. Even if he isn't, he has us to protect him." Kushina said with a little bit of confidence.
"I know, I just am in no rush for our little boy to grow up." Minato said as he sighed once more, before the two moved into the house.
XxXxXxX
Naruto woke up with a yawn as sunlight filtered through his window and into his eyes. Today was Saturday, that meant that Kakashi-nii was going to spend some time with him! Naruto hopped out of bed and put on his usual outfit which consisted of a blue form-fitting T-shirt, black ANBU style pants, and black combat boots. He also wore bandages around his forearms to cover up the gravity seals he had given himself(with the direct supervision of Kushina, of course.). After he dressed, he strapped his wooden training sword to his back before giving himself a once over in the mirror.
'Yep, I look badass.' Naruto thought to himself as he made his way to the kitchen where he could already smell the distinct scent of pancakes.
As soon as he reached the kitchen, he saw his mother sitting down enjoying a cup of tea while his father finished washing the dishes. Naruto poured himself a cup of tea and sat down beside his mother, who kissed his cheek and greeted him.
"Good morning, Naru-kun. Are you going to spend some time with Kakashi today?" Kushina asked him as she took another sip of tea.
Naruto just nodded excitedly as he took a bite of his breakfast. He was happy to spend some time with his older brother figure, he didn't get to see him much because he was in ANBU. As Naruto swallowed his food, he explained what Kakashi wanted to train him in.
"Kakashi-nii said that he was gonna train me how to be more stealthy! He's even gonna bring Pakkun out if I get good enough!" Naruto practically bounced in his chair as he gushed about what he was going to learn.
It helped that Naruto was sort of like a sponge when it came to learning, he was very quick to absorb lessons and put them into practice. Kushina shivered as she thought about how powerful Naruto could potentially be with the power of the Nine-Tails and learning from a handful of elite shinobi in their respective specializations. He was learning Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu from Minato and Kushina, Kenjutsu from Kushina, and stealth/tracking from Naruto became a Genin they would have him sign the Toad contract and as a Chunin he would begin learning Frog Kumite along with Sage training from Jiraya. For now, Naruto was competent in his father's Hummingbird Taijutsu style.
Kushina's thoughts were interrupted when she felt her son kiss her on the cheek and hug his father before saying goodbye and running out of the house to meet Kakashi. She just smiled at the thought of her energetic little boy, before standing up to start her own day.
XxXxXxX
Naruto was walking down the streets of Konoha as the sun was rising. His thoughts focused on how cool it would be for him to sneak up on his friends with the stealth training he was about to receive. He was just admiring the scent of fresh bread being made, when he heard a commotion coming from the park across the street. With his curiosity peaked he stalked over to where he heard the noises coming from, trying his best to not be seen. Yet what he saw caused him to break his cover almost immediately.
"Hey! What are you doing? Leave her alone!" Naruto shouted as he came out from behind a tree with his fists clenched.
Three boys stopped what they were doing and looked at the blond with annoyance. Couldn't he see that they were just making some jokes about this girls' eyes? A look was shared between the three boys and they decided to taunt the boy too.
"Or else what? Is the little prince of Konoha gonna save the girl with weird eyes? How cute!" the lead bully said, as he stepped towards the brat intending to make him run away.
Of course, that's not what happened. Naruto took a step forward at the attempt to scare him. He wouldn't back down, he couldn't. Not even if he was scared (Naruto would claim that he wasn't scared at all.) What these boys were doing was wrong, and he knew it. It didn't matter to him that all three were Genin, he wouldn't run away when somebody needed help. His dad wouldn't, so Naruto wasn't going to either.
"Back off or- or I'll have to make you back off!" Naruto said, cursing himself for stuttering.
"So the brat wants to play hero, huh? Well come on then, make us leave." the second bully taunted and dropped into the basic Academy stance.
Naruto silently dropped his gravity seals as he stepped closer to the older boys, unsure of who to take on first. Although the decision was made for him before he could act, as one of the boys decided he wanted the first round.
Naruto's eyes widened as the boy ran at him, fist cocked and aiming at the blondes' face. Naruto almost scoffed at how easily he could read the older boys' movements. As the boy got closer, the blond just moved slightly to the left and caught the boy by his wrist. Putting his leg out, he tripped the older boy and used his momentum to flip him forward onto his back before giving him a swift punch to the face. Naruto didn't have time for much else as the second boy decided to rush in while he was distracted. Dodging the initial punch, Naruto was forced backwards as he watched for an opening. It didn't take long for him to spot on, and he slipped into the boy's guard. Giving the second older boy a palm strike to the sternum, he watched as the boy fell back in shock and pain.
*WHACK*
Spit flew from Naruto's mouth as the leader of the three bullies gave him a sucker punch while the blond wasn't paying attention. Naruto growled and turned to hit the boy back, but when he did all he could do was gasp. In front of him, the lead bully was hanging in mid air by the scruff of his shirt collar. Kakashi was the one holding him up, using only one hand and wearing a friendly eye-smile that Naruto swore wasn't very friendly.
"Mah, mah. Naruto-kun why are you always getting into trouble?" Kakashi said in a rather bored tone, still holding onto the Genin.
"Kakashi-nii! He started it, they were bullying this girl and I had to stop them!" Naruto said as he tried to defend himself.
"I see, why don't you go check on the girl while I talk with these three?" Kakashi asked in a way that left no room for argument.
Naruto simply nodded and turned to where the girl was sitting. He finally was able to really pay attention to her, noticing the girls' eyes that the bullies were picking on her for. They were lavender in color, with no pupil. Naruto also saw that she had black hair, and was wearing a purple sleeveless shirt with a mesh undershirt. She had to be 3 years younger than him or so.
"Hey, you're the second daughter of Hiashi-san, right?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Hai, my name is Hanabi. You are Naruto Namikaze, yes? Why did you get involved? I could have just knocked them out." Hanabi asked with a slightly annoyed look.
"Heh, sorry I just couldn't help myself. I want to protect this village and the people in it, just like my Otou-san!" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.
Just then, Kakashi stepped up beside Naruto with an orange book in one hand and his other tucked into a pocket. Kakashi asked about the situation and smiled when Naruto explained his side of it.
'He definitely carries your Will of Fire, sensei.' thought Kakashi as he ruffled the blonds' hair before he tucked his book away and clapped his hands.
"Okay then, we should take little Hanabi-chan back to the Hyuga compound as I'm sure Hiashi-san is worried about you, and then we can go do some training before lunch." Kakashi said, turning on his heel and walking in the direction of the Hyuga compound.
XxXxXxX
Kakashi sighed as he stood in front of a very familiar stone, his eyes fixed on three names that were carved into the stone. Another minute passed and Kakashi suddenly disappeared in a swirl of leaves, only to reappear in front of the desk of a certain blonde haired Hokage.
"Yo, sensei." Kakashi said with a small wave to Minato, before he sat down in a chair across the desk from the other man.
Minato finished up writing a letter to Mei Terumi, the leader of a newly founded resistance against the current Mizukages' army in the Land of Water. Mei had written to the Hokage to try and inform another of the 5 Great Villages, in her opinion Minato had good morals and so she reached out to the Leaf to explain what was happening. Though he would be damned if he just stood idly by as people were slaughtered because they were different.
Minato for his part was not shocked by the contents of the letter, he had heard rumblings of what was currently happening in the Land of Water. He sealed the letter in which he told Mei to keep him updated and to reach out if she needed some help in the future. Obviously he would have to be covert about it, he could not let it be known that Konoha was helping to fund a rebellion against the Kage of another of the Great 5. He stood and opened the window, holding his arm out until a hawk landed on him. He tied the sealed letter to the birds leg and let it fly off. He sat back down and sighed before looking to his last living student.
"Sorry about that Kakashi, I just needed to send that letter off as quickly as possible." Minato said as he leaned back into his chair, decompressing himself.
"No problem, sensei. Though, I am assuming that you have brought me here to speak about Naruto's training?" Kakashi asked in a slightly curious tone.
"Ah, yes. More specifically I want your breakdown of his abilities. His school records are fine but you train with him the most so I thought it would be best to ask you." Minato said as he ended up leaning forward again in sudden interest in the topic.
"Ah, yes. Naruto-kun is doing very well. As you know it has been a few weeks since we began working on his stealth and tracking, I am confident to say that Naruto could conceal his presence from most Genin at this point. He has monstrous chakra reserves so his control, while lacking is still very good given the circumstances. His physical strength and overall speed are probably mid Chunin. I would also say that his Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Kenjutsu are all about low Chunin level while his Fuinjutsu surpasses mine now. That's not so surprising considering who his parents are though." Kakashi explained, and did his famous eye smile when he finished talking.
"Good, thank you for that. What about his work with the chains?" Minato said with a smile at his sons' strength was growing.
"Ah, that is probably a better question for Kushina-sensei. To answer your question to the best of my ability though, he is very competent and precise with their movement and attacks and the speed he can use them at is about low to mid Chunin much like most of his other skills. Its hard to believe that Naruto-kun is only 9 years old and so strong." Kakashi said with a rather proud smile under his mask.
"Yet you became a Chunin at 6." Minato let out a half hearted chuckle as he thought with regret about how his Genin team had lost their innocence so early.
"Different times. It was necessary, sensei. I don't blame you for anything." Kakashi said, catching the look in Minato's eyes.
A sad smile came to Minato's face as he thanked his student. Though it did little to quell his guilt, he was proud of the man that Kakashi had become. He was sure that Rin and Obito would have become just as great if things were a little different. If he had been there.
'I want to change this world. I don't want to see innocent children become killers, or die brutal deaths. I will do what I can to set the world onto a peaceful path, and I have faith that my son and his friends will inherit a healing world.' Minato thought to himself before he stood, gesturing for Kakashi to follow him. They walked out of his office and out into the streets towards the Namikaze home, where he found his son training with his wife. A determined look in the young blonds' eyes as he worked to draw the power of the Kyuubi.
'Yes. This generation will be ready for anything. Something tells me that Naruto will make some noise among the Shinobi Nations.' Minato thought with a smile, as he and Kakashi went to join the mother and son.
XxXxXxX
Yo! That's all for this chapter. I know, I know... It's short too. I'm really just trying to set up the world and introduce characters ad relationships before I go more into the story. Essentially I want to REALLY start this fic around the Chunin exams. Im going to do a time skip next chapter to about the time Naruto becomes a Genin. I also want to start the Wave Arc next chapter as well. So I'm hoping for Chunin exams by Chapter 5 or so.
Anyways, its been real. Review if you wanna, send ideas or interactions between characters you'd like to see included and I'll consider them. Nothing is concrete yet, there are only a few scenes and arcs that I want to add specifically. Other than that, I'm not sure where this story will lead us.
Until next time,
Wonderouzzz :)
