Jinchuriki of the Shadowkhan
Chapter 2
Note: To explain how and why Tarakudo's mask is sealed within the Scroll of Seals, I'm going to say that it was formerly in possession of the Uzumaki Clan along with the Shinigami Mask. Also, considering the danger the Oni Masks pose to their wearers (what with your being consumed by the Oni within when you wear it) it was sealed within the scroll by the Shodai Hokage. Finally, note that this is a separate universe to Jackie Chan Adventures, so the Oni had been sealed within the mask long before the start of the series.
I will also say that, for my current plan for the fic, pairings won't be a main focus. There might be some romance, but the fic won't revolve around it.
Disclaimer: I own neither series.
Note: This chapter, and a good bit of the current arc, is inspired by the fic Team 8.
As Naruto sat on his bed in his tiny apartment, he couldn't help but smile and glance over at his shelf, where a shiny, and slightly used Konoha Headband was sitting. After helping bandage his sensei's wounds, Naruto had given an abbreviated explanation of his new abilities, leaving out the contract with the Demon Fox and the floating head of the Oni King of course. Iruka was a bit exasperated that Naruto thought stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals was a good idea, but couldn't fault him for trusting his teachers to do their jobs. And because of this, in congratulations for learning what seemed to be an advanced Jutsu, and in gratitude for his help apprehending a traitor, he had been granted a field promotion to Genin by Iruka, even being given Iruka's own Hitai-ate to signify this.
Smiling to himself at the memory, Naruto closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him, not realizing that his world was soon about to change.
xXsceneXx
Naruto blinked in surprise as he realized that he was back in his mindscape. He was understandably confused, as he had remembered lying down to sleep and was fairly certain he was not dreaming.
"I see you have arrived," said Tarakudo as he floated around to the front of Naruto, "good. Now we can begin."
"Begin?" asked Naruto in confusion, "What's going on? I was just about to go to sleep. Why am I here?"
"You are here," rumbled the Kyuubi as he towered over the blonde from within his cage, "because your chosen future lies ahead…and you are woefully unprepared."
"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto.
"Gaki," huffed the Kyuubi with a sigh, "I've seen your grades and performance in your village's Academy, and they were really quite abysmal. And, while much of that can be excused due to many of your instructors sabotaging you along the way, the fact of the matter is that you are most certainly not Shinobi material."
"What?" exclaimed Naruto, "You saw how I kicked Mizuki-teme's ass earlier…"
"Yes," interrupted the Kyuubi, "but you required the help of your Shadowkhan army to do so. While they are valuable allies, you will need to be able to rely on your own abilities if you want to ever become Hokage."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Naruto as he quizzically scratched his whisker birthmarks.
"This is where I come in," said Tarakudo, "you see, the Ninja tribe of the Shadowkhan that you have control over, can be the perfect teachers. They will be your instructors as you learn to fight like a Shinobi. Plus, we won't have to worry about being pressed for time, as time moves differently in your mindscape."
"Alright then," said Naruto, "how do we get started?"
Tarakudo nodded and three Ninja-khan materialized, rising up out of the ankle-deep water, "First off, we'll be working on hand-to-hand combat, which I believe you refer to as Taijutsu."
As the three Ninja Tribe members slid seamlessly into fighting stances, Naruto felt a chill go down his spine.
"I feel I should also mention," added Tarakudo, "that this will hurt. A lot."
Naruto gulped.
xXsceneXx
As Konoha's Jonin gathered in the Hokage's office, they wondered what had prompted the Sandaime to call such a late meeting on short notice. Many wondered if it had to do with the theft of the Scroll of Seals by a certain blonde prankster, but said scroll had already been reported as retrieved by Iruka Umino, with the Chunin stating that the real traitor and mastermind behind the whole incident.
"Thank you all for gathering on such short notice," said Hiruzen, "due to recent events, there has been a change in regards to the potential Genin teams."
"What kind of change?" asked Asuma as he took a drag from his cigarette, getting a glare from his colleague, Kurenai, who was standing next to him as she waved the smoke away.
"Shouldn't we wait?" she asked the Sandaime, "Hatake-san still hasn't arrived yet."
"Ha!" chuckled another of the gathered Shinobi, a Tokubetsu Jonin named Genma Shiranui, "Kakashi would be late to his own funeral."
"Probably one of the reasons he hasn't kicked the bucket yet," joked Aoba Yamashiro, another Tokubetsu Jonin."
"In any case, there is a new addition to the list of potential Genin," said Hiruzen as he pressed forward, "in light of events involving the theft and successful return of the Scroll of Seals, Uzumaki Naruto has been granted a field promotion to Genin, and is to be placed on a Genin Team alongside his graduating classmates."
"Wait, what?" exclaimed Asuma, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he unable to even perform the Bunshin no Jutsu, which is a requirement for graduating?"
"That is correct," said Hiruzen, "however, Naruto-kun was instrumental in the capture of the traitor Mizuki and the recovery of the Scroll. Additionally, in the process, Naruto managed to learn a powerful new Jutsu that allowed him to subdue the traitor and save Iruka's life."
"What kind of Jutsu did he learn?" asked Kurenai curiously.
"A sort of Summoning Contract," said Hiruzen as he steepled his fingers, "it allowed him to call upon a species of shadow warriors that obeyed his commands."
Hiruzen motioned to his secretary and copies of the mission report were passed around to the gathered Jonin for them to peruse.
"Impressive," admitted Asuma as he read the description of the fight as detailed by Iruka, with some specifics added by Hiruzen thanks to him observing with his Crystal Ball, "and the kid has complete control over these beings?"
"So it seems," replied Hiruzen as he recalled the scene, "and it also stands to assume that these creatures are low to mid Chunin level combatants at least considering how effortlessly they were able to defeat Mizuki."
"So you see," said Hiruzen, "with Naruto's recent addition to the graduating class, a change to the currently assigned teams is in order."
The gathered Jonin glanced at the reports in front of them, each of them weighing the potential benefits and downsides of having the village's most troublesome prankster on their team, and whether or not him having an army of shadow warriors balanced that out. However, before anyone else could react, a surprising person spoke up.
"I'll take him."
"Kurenai-san?" said Hiruzen in mild surprise, "This is unexpected. I was under the impression that you wished to form a Team focusing around stealth and reconnaissance."
"And I think we all agree that 'stealth' and 'Naruto' are two words that are rarely used in the same sentence," said one of the gathered Jonin, "hell, the kid wears bright orange. He might as well wear a target on his back."
"Really now?" asked Kurenai dryly, "Remind me, how long did it take you to catch him last time he painted the Hokage Monument? And why did nobody catch him until after the deed was done?"
The Jonin, along with most of the other occupants in the room, including several ANBU guards, had the decency to look embarrassed.
"And in regards to my intentions for my team," continued Kurenai, "while Kiba's Inuzuka Clan abilities would be quite useful, I think Naruto would better fit the role intended."
"I see," said Hiruzen, "then it's settled."
At that moment, a Jonin with spiky silver hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face, with his headband also covering one eye, appeared in a poof of smoke via Shunshin, "Sorry I'm late…"
"Uzumaki Naruto will be assigned to Team 8," concluded Hiruzen, "and Inuzuka Kiba will be transferred to Team 7."
"…eh?" said the extremely tardy Hatake Kakashi as he tried to figure out how he just lost his sensei's son as a student…and what had changed to allow him to graduate in the first place, "…what just happened?"
xXsceneXx
As Naruto walked into the Academy building, he couldn't help but roll his shoulder to try and alleviate the ache he felt. The training he had been doing every night in his mindscape had helped him improve, not only with his Taijutsu, but with what Tarakudo referred to as 'traditional Ninja techniques' in leaps and bounds, but it tended to leave him with phantom aches due to the strenuous workout he was put through. It was worth it though to become a proper Shinobi. And today was the day he'd prove it.
"I wouldn't worry too much," said Tarakudo as the projection of his head floated alongside Naruto, "with the training we've been providing, you're more than ready."
"Right," said Naruto, "let's do this!"
Walking into the familiar classroom, Naruto found a seat near the front and waited as his classmates began to file in. Suddenly the sounds of stampeding footsteps could be heard from the hall, and two girls about Naruto's age, one with bright pink hair, and the other blonde, burst into the room. As the two of them argued about who was first, Tarakudo floated around and frowned as he took in the expression on his host's face as he gazed at the pinkette.
"…you like her, don't you?" mused the Oni King, causing Naruto to blink in surprise.
"What, Sakura-chan?" exclaimed Naruto, barely remembering to lower his voice because nobody else could hear or see Tarakudo but him, "I mean, yeah? Why wouldn't I? She's so pretty!"
"More like petty," muttered Tarakudo, causing Naruto to glare at the floating head.
"Don't talk down about her!" he growled, causing Tarakudo to raise a busy eyebrow as the blonde turned towards his crush and waved, "Sakura-chan, over here!"
"What do you want, Naruto-baka?" she asked with a scowl as she regarded him with disdain.
"Do you want to sit with me?" he asked, "I saved you a seat."
"Baka!" spat Sakura as she whacked him over the head, "As if I'd ever sit with you!"
With that, Sakura ran off to fawn over a raven-haired student with a scowl on his face.
"Yes, I can feel all the affection," deadpanned Tarakudo as he watched this, "seriously though, what do you see in her anyways?"
Naruto was about to retort, but caught himself when he noticed Iruka walking into the room.
"Greetings everyone," said Iruka, but barely anyone noticed, forcing him to pull out his patented, Big Head Jutsu, "QUIET!"
"Loud," commented Tarakudo wirily.
"Ahem," said Iruka once the class had quieted down, "I would like to congratulate you all for coming this far. Today is the day you graduate from being Academy Students and take your first steps towards becoming Shinobi of Konoha. I will now announce the Team placements and the Jonin Instructors that will be your leaders as you take your first steps as Genin. Now, to begin…"
Naruto tuned him out a bit as he waited for his name to be called, going over some of the combat tactics lessons, or 'practical ninja techniques' as Tarakudo called them, in his head as he waited for his name to be called, 'I wonder if I have enough eggs for that…' he thought to himself as he remembered a certain ninja tool Tarakudo had taught him about.
"Uzumaki Naruto," called out Iruka, causing the blond to perk up, "Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata. You will be Team 8. Your Jonin Sensei is Yūhi Kurenai."
Naruto quickly tried to remember what he could about his new Teammates. Hinata was cute, though not as much as Sakura-chan, but a bit weird as she could barely speak clearly around him, and Shino was really quiet, but knew a lot about bugs, which came in handy during several field assignments and survival classes. He could think of worse people to be teamed up with.
Soon enough, Iruka finished announcing the different Team assignments and several Jonin entered the room and stood before the students.
"Team 10," said Asuma as he smirked confidently, "you're with me."
"Team 8," said Kurenai politely, "if you would follow me."
"Hey wait a minute, what about us?" called out Kiba as other Teams' Jonin sensei introduced themselves, with Akamaru, his canine partner, barking in agreement.
"You're Team 7, right?" asked Asuma, "Your sensei has a reputation for being at least two hours late to any appointment. You'll be waiting a while."
Naruto tried not to snicker as he saw his former classmate's face fall and followed his new sensei out of the classroom and to the outside field where they sat on the ground in a circle.
"Greetings," said his new sensei, "my name is Yūhi Kurenai. For the foreseeable future, I will be your new Jonin sensei. How about we start by getting to know one another, considering that we're going to be a team? Why don't you each tell me what your plans or aspirations for the future are? For me, I wish to continue training and honing my skill until I can impart my knowledge onto the next generation, paving the way for them to grow."
"Alright," said Naruto with a grin, "as for me, I want to become Hokage one day, so that I can earn the respect of the whole village!"
"A lofty goal, but an admirable one," nodded Tarakudo from his place by Naruto's head.
"An ambitious goal indeed," said Kurenai, unknowingly agreeing with the Oni King, "who's next?"
"I-I will," stammered Hinata, "for m-me, I want to rise to the position of c-clan head and abolish the usage of the Caged Bird Seal to subjugate the Branch Family."
"I believe you can do it," said Kurenai, "how about you, Shino?"
"Quite," agreed Shino, "and for my goal, I wish to continue to master my clan's techniques and one day discover an even more impressive species of insect than what already is known."
"Excellent," said Kurenai, "now, I would like to congratulate you on graduating and becoming Genin of Konoha…"
"I sense a 'but' coming," muttered Tarakudo, causing Naruto to glance over at him, an action that was not missed by his former classmates.
"However," continued Kurenai, ignorant of the Oni's quip, "there is one more test you will have to overcome if you wish to become Genin."
"What sort of test is that, sensei?" asked Shino stoically, "Does it pertain to what sort of Team we are to become?"
"Quite observant of you, Shino," noted Kurenai, "yes, you three were selected for a reason. I wished to form a Squad adept in tracking and infiltration missions and the three of you have skills that would be most beneficial to that. Hinata, Shino, your clan Doujutsu and Techniques make you invaluable for tracking missions, and Naruto, I've read the reports of the Jonin tasked with capturing you every time you pulled one of your pranks. While I would expect you to behave with more maturity now that you are to become a Shinobi, the skills you utilized to avoid Chunin, Jonin, and ANBU level Shinobi are exactly what an infiltration mission would need."
"Now," she continued, "as I said, there is a test you must pass before you are official Genin, and due to the nature of our Squad, it will be this: you three will be tasked with tracking me down and retrieving a scroll I will be keeping on my person before retreating to a designated point without me catching you. In addition, you will only have one hour to complete this assignment."
"I suggest you sleep well tonight," said Kurenai, "because tomorrow, I won't hold back."
To be continued…
