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Chapter 4: Nature Chakra and how things have changed.
Kesshi Uzumaki-Here you go.
BANKAIZEN-thank you
Toa Solaric-Thank you. I can see how Naruto dying would be a catalyst for bringing peace. I think that it would have made a good OVA, or even a good alternate ending.
Genesicgaogaigarvsgodgundam- I can agree that Naruto's ending wasn't bad, but I feel it could have been better.
Kesshi Uzumaki-That is an idea for the future. I may figure out how to do that.
Pensuka-Yes, yes they are.
Argorok-I'll try to
Spark681-I hae some ideas, but no spoilers.
-Than you, for the compliment on both stories.
Alexc123-thank you, but be a bit more specific on what you liked about it.
Marshman101-Thank you.
Marshman101-again, thank you.
Melikalilly-Thank you, but seriously be a bit more specific, if possible.
Kage88-glad to be writing again.
Kage88-good to know.
Kage88-thank you again
Sage of chaos-Well, here you go.
Enshin no Shisha-Glad you think so, and here is the update.
JAIMOL-Let's just say, epic One Piece style reaction.
Guest-ask and you shall receive.
NarutoKushina-Glad you like it and I do have plans for those who actually cared for Naruto. As for your Kakashi suggestion, I'll take it into consideration.
Norris321-Glad to see you like it.
Guest-Here you go.
Elements 1999-My intention was to make it better.
Guest-I can respect someone's opinion if they think a story is boring or exciting. I know not everyone will like my work. However, I do have this to say. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Antishyguy weegee-thank you for pointing out the problem and I've update this chapter. I will work on the other three at a later date.
Now, I know I want to get ahead of the game and try to get some ideas for Naruto's future guild members. If you have any ideas for characters, let me know.
Chapter 4: Training Continues, A Peak at Current Events, and Expansion Begins
Two months had passed since Naruto's first real solo mission. Since then Naruto has been training even harder.
His morning workout had increased in load, by adding various weights to his legs, arms, and back to make movement even harder. It would be easy at first, but as movement went on his limbs felt like they were weighing several pounds heavier. As the weights go easier to lift she would add more weight to them.
Naruto's chakra control hadn't improved much to the month, but Kushina kept coming up with new methods, like giving his mother a piggyback ride, while running across water. She was also teaching him how to open his chakra gates. She told him that this was to be used a last resort, as the effects of doing this technique could be a serious problem if he used it in a fight too soon. He could only open one gate so far, but he was doing very good for his first attempt.
His taijutsu training had gotten an overhaul, his father adding new katas. He had also finally gotten started on teaching Naruto the flying thunder god technique, and integrating it into his fighting style. The first attempt at the use of the jutsu was bad as he immediately threw up, but repeated use got him used to the technique. That still didn't make it easy however. The massive increase in speed caused Naruto trip and crash, and gain a very badly twisted ankle. He was getting used to it, bit by bit, but it was a slow process.
His genjutsu training had gone from detecting genjutsu to casting it. However, Naruto's chakra control was far from perfect. He could still only cast minor ones, but Indra was still impressed with how the boy had progressed in that amount of time.
Ashura had begun teaching Naruto how to perform half seals. This way he could combine two different elements, like scorch and swift, into a powerful combination jutsu. However, the complexity made it very hard for Naruto to get the hang of, even with the shadow clone training method. However, Naruto was proving that this was his main point. In his spare time, his parents would find him writing notes on possible combinations, effects, and how they could be effectively used. It reminded them of how Minato was, when they studied sealing together.
Naruto's fuinjutsu had increased by a good amount. He could make some seals and a few advanced ones, though his work was nowhere near his father or even the perverted sage's level, but he was learning rather quickly, much to his father's pride.
Speaking of which, in the month following Naruto's first real kills, Naruto had started to spend a little bit more free time with his father and mother, beginning to build the bonds that would come with parents and their children.
Naruto had just finished his morning workout. He went to go to his next teacher, but was instead shocked to find that Hagoromo and Hamura were waiting for him, instead of his mother for chakra exercise.
"What's with the change in schedule?" Naruto asked, slightly confused.
Hagoromo looked Naruto over and answered, "Naruto over the past year me, my sons, and my brother have watched you grow. We have decided that now it is time for you to learn the next step of your training…Senjutsu (sage techniques).
Naruto blinked in surprise. The next step.
Hagoromo said, "You do know of the two parts that make up a person's chakra, correct?"
Naruto nodded and answered, "Yeah, the physical and spiritual aspect."
Hamura answered, "Correct. However, what you don't know is that, there is a third aspect…Nature."
Naruto looked confused.
In response, the two brothers placed their hands together in seals. Markings appeared below their eyes.
Immediately, Naruto felt their chakra shoot to the roof through his sensor abilities. The power that they were giving off was insane. Naruto was surprised by this, and felt himself start to get excited.
The two brothers then looked at Naruto.
"Humans are not the only creatures with chakra," Hagoromo said, taking his teacher mode, "Chakra can be found in all living things, and can be harnessed, like you've seen with the dogs of the Inuzuka clan, the insects of the Aburame, and the members of the various animal summons you have seen."
Hamura continued, "However, it is not limited to just living creatures. Chakra exists in all things. The dirt, the grass, and the rocks all have chakra within them. We are going to teach you how to harness this power."
Naruto was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
With wide, excited eyes he said, "What'll happen when I learn it, ttabeyo?!"
Shaking their heads at the boy's verbal tick, the brothers continued their lesson.
Hagoromo answered, "With knowledge of this, you will become stronger, faster, and more durable."
Hamura continued, "All of your techniques will increase in power and range. Even your already impressive sensor abilities will increase greatly."
Naruto was practically giddy with excitement, the massive bundle of energy he was, coming out. However, he stopped suddenly. This all seemed a little too good to be true. Power like this always came with a side effect or a price.
Naruto asked, "What's the catch? Like mom says, there is no such thing as a free lunch."
The two smiled, seeing a difference in the Naruto from so long ago. He probably would have just jumped in without giving heed to the danger.
Hamura answered, "There are a few things you should know. First, you must stand completely still for the time you need to gather nature chakra, otherwise you will not be able to gather it properly. Second, because movement is necessary in combat sage chakra cannot be replenished."
Hagoromo answered, "You must also be careful about how much you take in. Using too much nature chakra can be dangerous."
Naruto cocked his head to the side and asked, "What's the worst that could happen?"
The two brothers looked at each other. Using their powers, a small tree grew out the ground. Hagoromo placed his hand on the tree to send nature chakra into it. Naruto was shocked to see the wood tree turn to stone, crack, and the crumble away into dust.
Hamura answered, "Too much nature chakra can be dangerous to the body. If you cannot regulate the mix of your own chakra and nature chakra, you will turn into stone."
Naruto paled slightly as he realized that this power came with quite a few perks as well as disadvantages.
Hagoromo asked, "You are aware of the risks. Are you willing to learn?"
Naruto was hesitant for a moment and then nodded. He was ready.
Hamura smiled and said, "Good. Then let us begin."
Back in the elemental nations, Konoha…
In the year of the death of Naruto's death, not much had changed. You would think that a ninja, who had affected many lives would have had a bigger impact, however that was not the case.
The village had managed to cover up Naruto's death with the story that it was Orochimaru's goons who had killed him and not their beloved Uchiha.
As a result, the Wave Country, the land of vegetables, the land of birds, the waterfall village, and spring country all put out their own personal bounties on the Snake. At the same time, some strain was put on the various alliances that the villages that Naruto had impacted. There had been a ceremony that several people attended, showing just how many people Naruto had impacted in his short time as a ninja.
Each country held their own ceremony for the boy. Wave country went so far as to put up a statue of Naruto, with a plaque on it that ready, "In honor of the boy who brought hope back to us".
There was some minor fallout from this however from the sand trio.
After they left, Shukaku spoke to Gaara, telling him about how he could smell Naruto's blood on Sasuke's arm. Unfortunately for Gaara, they couldn't try anything without causing an international incident. They had brought this to the attention to the wind daimyo. The man was slightly disturbed by this, celebrating the death of ninja of their own village. While the wind daimyo couldn't do anything, he sent this information to the fire daimyo, who was equally disturbed. He decided that he would keep a closer eye on his ninja village.
He wound up coming down to said village, a few days after the blond boy's death. He was brought there to act as a judge, for Sasuke Uchiha's trial.
The daimyo was somewhat disturbed at how easily the civilian side of the council was quick to jump to Sasuke's defense, saying he wasn't acting of his own accord, blaming the curse seal on his neck. This didn't sit well with him and only made him want to keep an eye on his village even more. As the trial progressed, Jiraiya approached using evidence collected from Anko Mitarashi, to disprove the mind control aspect. He also brought up a few mental evaluations from Sasuke's past that were altered to make it seem like Sasuke was mentally sound. The daimyo quickly ran a verdict. Sasuke was to have his chakra sealed and put under house arrest. On top of that, many of his assets were frozen until it was found he wouldn't do anything stupid. He was also forbidden from leaving the village. All of this was until further notice. During that time, Sasuke was going to undergo mental evaluations, until he was deemed fit for service.
The civilian council would have protested, but even they weren't stupid enough to go up against the daimyo himself.
With the Uchiha case taken care of, Tsunade announced that she was stepping down as the godaime, an announcement that was met with a lot of shock and outrage, mostly from the shinobi council. Tsunade's stepping down was accepted by the daimyo, upon hearing that it was only Naruto who convinced her to come back. The civilians would later find out that she took every cent of the Senju family fortune, jutsu, and everything that the Senju family owned. Well, everything except the kitchen sink, which she threw at the elders when they tried to convince her to stay. The civilians tried to get her for theft, but as it was her inheritance they could do nothing.
After some debate, Danzo Shimura, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old teammate was selected to be an elect for the position of Rokudaime.
In the year after that, not much had changed. The village's financials were fine as were their businesses. The relationships between their allies were still strained after so much time, but things were still fine. If you looked however, you would see that there were a few extra civilians around the village. These were the personal spies for the daimyo. If anyone stepped out of line, the man would know.
With the time skip information, we turn our attention to a familiar ramen bar.
In this bar, the two were filling an order for some of their best customers…Konhamaru Sarutobi, Moegi, and Udon.
In the past year, Konohamaru had gotten taller, leaving him less likely to trip over his own scarf.
Udon's sinus problems seemed to have cleared up, and like Konohamaru, he had gotten taller.
Moeig had gotten taller as well, and the permanent blush she had on her face seemed to be fading.
The three still wore their traditional green goggles, showing their part in the Konohamaru ninja corps, only around their foreheads. Udon kept his protector on a belt, Konohamaru kept it in a brand on his left sleeve, and Mogegi kept it in a necklace form.
"Thanks for the ramen, Ayame, old man," Kono said with a smile after he finished the last of the broth.
Teuchi chuckled as he said, "No problem kid, just try to knock it off with the old man stuff. You saying it makes me feel even older."
"Yeah," Kono said rolling his eyes, "See you around. Come on you two, we got to go."
Moegi nodded and said, "Right."
Udon said, "Yeah."
The trio then got up and left. In the past year, they had taken up Naruto's position as the resident prankster group. They found everyone who had ever mocked, made fun of, or celebrated Naruto's "death". They were the victims of some hilarious, but completely harmless pranks. Including, but not limited to, fish in the air vents, stink bombs, itch powder grenades, maple syrup and feathers, etcetera.
Meanwhile at training ground 7…
At training ground 7, we find a familiar sight. Three ninjas were waiting for a sensei.
Sasuke hadn't grown much, but you could tell that his time in prison didn't change his perception at tall. He was still the boy he was a year ago.
Sakura hadn't changed much either. She still had her crush on Sasuke, but it seemed to have faded slightly over time. She was still a fangirl in her mind, and would always jump to Sasuke's defense, especially when someone brought up the rescue mission from a year ago. However, her support didn't have as much vigor as it used to.
There was a new character with them however, Sai Shimura, the adopted son of Danzo Shimura. Sai was of average height and was extremely pale, showing almost no emotion all the time. The man had less emotional range than Sasuke.
Sasuke was tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for Kakashi to show up.
In the past year, Sasuke's prince-like status had fallen. After his attempted defection, many of the shinobi clans looked upon him with suspicion. A few civilians were also looked at him nervously. After a couple of months, Sasuke managed to get his chakra unsealed and his house arrest lifted. However, he was still forbidden from leaving the village and he didn't have access to the Uchiha clan fortune anymore, only what he got on simple D ranks, which he felt were beneath him.
After a few moments, Kakashi appeared with a familiar orange book in his hands.
"Hello," he said, with a casual wave.
Sakura didn't even bother yelling at her teacher, as she had obviously given up trying to get the man to curb his tardy habits. Plus, her respect for her teacher over the year had started to decline rather rapidly.
Kakashi sighed and said, "Sasuke, come with me. Sakura, Sai, you two get started on your exercises. I'll be back in a while to check on you."
The two walked off leaving the pink haired girl with the pale, black haired boy. This was another reason Sakura was starting to dislike her teacher. Now with the blinders partially removed, she could not look at Kakashi with respect as he always seemed to focus on Sasuke. In the past, she always said that Sasuke needed the training more, but after sitting in on a session with other teams, she was beginning to wonder why they even had a team if Kakashi focused completely on Sasuke.
"So, shall we get started ugly?" Sai asked.
The boy was socially awkward, due to apparently being isolated for most of his life. Due to this the boy, didn't have much of a filter when it came his conversations, speaking his mind to the point of being blunt, and unintentionally insulting people. As a result, he was not popular, especially after he his little conversation with Choji.
"Shut up Sai!"
Sakura then proceeded to try and punch Sai, but unlike Naruto in the past, he didn't let her punch him. After two attempts Sakura stopped and simply stormed off to get some of her own work done. She certainly wasn't going to train in front of Sai as he gave her the creeps.
Thus, began what was a normal day for team 7.
After Naruto's death, Team 7 had fallen from favor of the rest of the ninja teams, especially the Konoha 12 members. Between Sakura's slowly fading fangirl mentality, mistrust towards Sasuke, annoyance towards Sai, and disgust towards Kakashi, the team was the least favored amongst the four teams.
Most of the team paid it no mind, but Sakura didn't. She saw the suspicion that was aimed at them and she didn't like it.
Meanwhile training ground 9…
The sounds of fighting echoed through the air. The sound of blows connecting, being blocked, and the sound of a body hitting the ground was heard all over.
On the field you could see the members of team 8 and team 9, fighting each other.
Shino was fighting against TenTen, his insects acting like shield against her various weapons. He was proving to be agile and smart enough to switch with bug clones. A good battle with two mid-range to long-range fighters.
To their right, Kiba and Akamaru were both fighting against Lee, who was proving why he was considered the best in hand-to-hand combat. The two were currently brawling. Kiba attacking with his usual animal style, with Akamaru attempting to flank the guy. Lee was capable to anticipating his attacks, and managed to deflect the dog.
Off to the side, was something that would have seemed strange to anyone who saw them a year ago. Neji and Hinata were currently sparring, their skills in their family's fighting styles matching and countering one another.
"Enough!"
The two teams stopped and they stepped back from each other. They were approached by their respective team leaders, Guy and Kurenai. Both teachers hadn't changed much in the past year, sticking with their usual attire.
Lee hadn't gotten about a half an inch taller, and he had gained more muscle from his training, which was visible through his suit, if you looked hard enough. He was moving much better, having finally completely healed by Tsuande's hand before she left. A new addition was a chuunin vest, proving his advancement in rank. Ever since Naruto's apparent death, Lee had thrown himself into his training, saying that he would live for his fellow genius of hard work, Naruto.
TenTen looked about the same, but she was clad in a new chuunin vest, like her somewhat odd teammate.
Neji was the same as ever, though his hair was slightly longer and he wore a chuunin vest as well.
Kiba was wearing a chuunin vest showing his change in rank as well, but other than that, and an extra half inch in height, he hadn't changed much. The real change came from Akamaru. The dog, which had once been small enough to ride around on Inuzuka heir's head, was now the size of a well-breed grey hound! This came from a mix of training and a steady Inuzuka diet.
For Shino, it was hard to tell whether he had changed physically or not, only showing a slight growth in height. He had replaced his normal glasses with black goggles and now had a chuunin vest as well.
Out of all of them, Hinata seemed to have changed the most. The girl was now about two inches taller, her hair having grown in length, now reaching her neck. Like the others, she had a Chuunin vest on, over a black long sleeve shirt and long pants. The clothes were not as thick, showing off her figure. During the past year, Hinata had thrown herself into her training. This increase in skill, along with actual praise from her father, lead to an increase in confidence, which resulted in Hinata's change in attire. The change exposed just how much the girl had developed thanks to her years of proper diet and exercise, something that made two certain fangirls very jealous.
Guy smiled and said, "My youthful charges, you have improved greatly in the past year. As such, we have decided that now would be the point where we begin your training in elemental chakra."
The groups of ninjas muttered excitedly amongst themselves.
Guy reached into his belt and pulled out a series of pieces of paper and raised it so they could see.
"This paper was made from a special tree grown and fed chakra. As a result, the paper from the tree will react to chakra showing your affinity. Fire will ignite it, wind, will split it, lightning makes it wrinkle, earth will turn it to dirt, and water makes it damp."
To show an example, Guy channeled his chakra into the paper, resulting in the paper wrinkling up and then bursting into flame. Kurenai did so with her own piece, only for nothing to happen.
Upon seeing her look, the woman answered, "Some chakra doesn't have a particular affinity. Those people, are best suited for genjutsu, or other basic specialties."
Each student reached out and took the paper. They all channeled their chakra and there were various changes.
Neji's turned to earth with a portion of it igniting, and the other becoming mud, indicating a triple affinity of fire, earth, and water.
Tenten's didn't react at all, making her slightly depressed.
Lee's didn't react either, most likely a side effect of his condition, which made Tenten feel a little better, and made Lee feel depressed. However, he quickly pushed it down, saying that despite this, he would still become the best in the village.
Kiba's turned to dirt, making him smirk.
Shino's turned to earth before it ignited, indicating a double affinity for fire and earth.
Hinata's piece crinkled up before a portion burst into flame, and another became wet, indicating another triple affinity for fire, water, and lightning.
"Yosh! Hinata's and Neji's affinities are quite powerful indeed!" Lee yelled, upon seeing the two cousins both have triple affinities.
"Aw, no fair!" Tenten pouted, feeling jealous that she didn't have an affinity, while many others had two or three.
Lee patted his female teammates shoulder and said, "Do not worry, Tenten. I know how innovative you are and you will no doubt be able to overcome this shortcoming as you have learned how to wield many weapons!"
Tenten smiled at her teammates words.
"Yosh, my youthful students. Now that we have a view at what your affinities are, we shall begin your training in the elemental arts! Come, we shall now the spring of youth, turns into the summer of manhood!"
Lee immediately shouted, "Yes, Guy-sensei!"
The two then began their usual chant and hug routine, making the members of the group avoid the sight before them.
To help stop any scarring, we shall move on.
The Akamichi barbecue restaurant…
"Oh, that is some good stuff!"
Team 10 now sat in their usual spot in the establishment owned by the Akamichi clan. The four sat as they ate at a normal pace, except for Choji who stuffed as much food in his face as fast as possible, which was understandable given what his clan techniques required him to do.
Over the past year, Choji had gotten a little bit taller, and he had changed out his old clothes, for some new red armor, that vaguely resembled his father's, and had let his hair grow out some. If you looked close enough, you could see the "fat" on his arms didn't seem to jiggle as much. After his little brush with death, he took his training more seriously, which resulted in some of his fat turning into muscle.
Shikimaru had also gained some height, but he didn't change much other than that. He was still a chuunin, but that was because he considered getting more responsibility as a jonin to be troublesome…no matter what his mom said.
Ino had changed her look as well, wearing a purple outfit like the one she wore a year ago, only exposing her midriff. Something that had driven her father up the wall.
"Easy there Choji, you'll choke," the platinum blonde said as she watched her teammate eat, with a slight feeling of disgust towards the glutton.
"Why? You want to get back to Sasuke?" Asuma asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ino groaned and buried her head in her arms. Ino had originally been on the "curse seal mind control" bandwagon. However, after Jiraiya's evidence and Anko's testimony, she fell off that. It also helped that when Sasuke was finally out of his home, she tried to go out with him. Sasuke rejected her, publicly and harshly, with a rant that left the platinum blonde in tears. With her image of the village prince shattered beyond repair, Ino turned towards her team and began to get serious about her life. For some time after this, her father was torn between doing a happy dance and tearing Sasuke's mind apart for what he said to his daughter.
"Are you ever going to let me live that down?" she asked, with a blank expression as she lightly glared at her teammates.
Choji and Shikiaru both chuckled as they saw the girl's frustrated look.
Asuma just smirked as he took a drag on his cancer stick.
The hokage tower, the hokage's office…
We change the view to the hokage tower, where the sixth hokage, the rokudaime, was currently going through some of his paperwork…Danzo Shimura.
After Tsunade announced that she was leaving again, the daimyo came down to help choose an elect. Jiraiya and Kakashi were prime candidates for the position, but Kakashi was needed to help train Sasuke and Jiraiya had his spy network. Danzo quickly got himself picked as an elect by stating at it was Hiruzen's way of thinking, a way of thinking shared with Jiraiya and Kakashi, that resulted in Konoha being in the state that it was currently in. Fortunately for Danzo, the Daimyo was not a very forward thinker and was easily swayed by external sources.
Soon after, Danzo Shimura was made the Rokudaime.
Over the past years and months, Danzo quickly made changed he thought would help the village, including increased security around the village, and setting higher requirements for the academy, including cutting out some of the unnecessary classes. A lot of civilian kids wound up quitting because things got harder for them. There were some of tougher stuff, who adjusted and kept with the new curriculum.
Speaking of the civilians, he had officially disbanded the civilian council, having no use for the civilians constantly fighting through the council meetings and how they acted out like they owned the place. Danzo instead, replaced it with a single councilman, the civilian advisor, whose expertise were the various civilian businesses and the money coming in and out of the village, alongside the village treasurer.
He had almost made a change in the budget with a bit more money going to the research and development branch. They were currently working on creating new weapons and tools for the village, but most of the tools were still in early testing and not ready for deployment or use.
The biggest issue Danzo faces was Sasuke. He could see Sasuke had potential as a pawn in the future, given his one-track mind.
Danzo had to resist the urge to chuckle to himself at the memory of the Uchiha boy. The boy was almost laughably easy to control. Just mention his brother or power and the boy would come running. Sasuke was a tool for Danzo's grand design, his sharingan a potential weapon after losing Itachi to the Akatsuki. Sasuke would play his part much later, but for now the Rokudaime would wait.
Moving on from the past, Danzo moved to something that had him troubled.
A little over a month ago, he had sent Kakashi to the land of rivers to assist the jinchuuriki of Suna so that they could help their relationship after Naruto died. He didn't understand the reason those two had such a bond, but he ignored it. The real reason was because of his interest in the four celestial symbols, and their unique weapons. Kakashi's secret mission was to assist in taking down the symbols and then bring them back to the village, so they could begin creating their own versions and produce them in large quantities.
However, there was a problem they hadn't expected. The masked boy.
From the report that came from Kakashi, from what the silver haired pervert heard, the boy possessed incredible strength, skill, and power for his age. He was an excellent strategist, excelling in improvisation, with the use of special jutsu that should have only been accessible to a person with a bloodline, including the fabled swift release. Upon hearing that, he immediately thought it was the missing ninja, Hiruko, but realized that he was more a scientist than a frontline fighter.
The red hair made him think it was an Uzumaki that might have survived the massacre, but the abilities didn't match up, plus he was way too young. The chance of it being the spawn of a full blooded Uzumaki was possible, however.
He reached out through Jiraiya's spy network, the man not giving his updates as frequently as usual.
Danzo tapped his fingers together in thought. Idly wondering, what this man would want. You don't just put yourself in danger to protect a Jinchuuriki, given their nature and how people would turn on them. Could he be a member of the Akatsuki organization from Jiraiya's report? Could he have been a member of some new organization?
Danzo made sure to send keep checking through is contacts to see if this unknown figure would show himself again.
He had to be quick though, as he was not the only one looking.
The bloodline rebels in Kiri were currently searching for him with what limited resources they had, in hopes of asking for his help ending the war.
Suna was grateful for his actions and were hoping they could convince him to join their village.
Kumo was also interested in this mystery man and hoped to get something out of him as well.
Finally, Iwa was searching for him as well, believing that man with many different bloodline techniques could be of use to them.
Maybe the boy would be of some use. Or he could be a threat. In either case, Danzo would be ready.
At this point, the door to the man's office opened as his secretary entered with a large stack of paperwork. The bandaged man sighed to himself as he cracked his knuckles and grabbed his stamp and pen.
As the woman left he mumbled, "I'm beginning to think that Hiruzen allowed himself to the be killed. I don't even get why these people complain about all of this stuff."
As Danzo filed his papers he was unaware of two pairs of eyes on him from his air vent.
A small dark green toad and a white and blue slug, both watching with rapt attention.
Mount Myoboku…
The large mountain stood tall and imposing in the world, covered in what would resembled a swamp, with thick trees, marshy grounds, and solid rock normally attributed to mountains. There were large spires of rock with water pouring over them, creating rivers and muddy banks. Throughout the entire mountain, toads of all sizes, small, average, larger than average, and just huge, walked, hopped, and acted like there wasn't a care in the world. There were, however, a few other toads, dressed in armor, who seemed to stand by, just in case.
In another part of the mountain, secluded from the rest, was a pool, filled with toad oil, that fell from a waterfall, behind it, with a toad statue standing in the center, more oil pouring from its mouth, surrounded by various toad statues of various sizes and shapes. The only sound that could be heard, was the sound of the oil falling into the pool.
The sound was then broken by the sound of someone getting hit on the head with a stick.
Jiraiya let out a cry of pain as he was hit on the head by a stick. With a frustrated groan, he turned the toad who had hit him in the head.
The toad was large enough to stand on Jiraiya's shoulder. It was grean with white hair, that was styled to resemble a Mohawk, with thick eyebrows and a small goatee. He wore a high-collared cape and in one of his webbed hands, was a cane fit for his size.
Off to the side, was another toad. It had a green underbelly with purple its mouth and it's back. The toad's head looked like it had a hair net with hair-rollers underneath, giving it an old woman look, which made sense since this toad was female.
In order they were Fukasaku and Shima, the great toad sages.
"Honestly Jiraiya," the toad sage said, shaking his head, "You've been at this for almost three months now and you still haven't gotten any closer to mastering sage chakra."
Jiraiya sighed in annoyance as he rubbed the growing bump on his head.
After Naruto died, Jiraiya had grown disgusted with how the village seemed to celebrate his godson's death. He left the village, having activated his sannin travel rights, he immediately reverse-summoned himself to the toad's summon realm, mount Myoboku. Since Naruto's death, and the changing of the prophecy, Jiraiya decided it was time to act, taking his training seriously both in sealing and the art sage arts.
In the past few months he had made some progress with his nature chakra use, but it was a slow process. It was times like this that, he wished he had some of his student's stamina or insane chakra levels. To make sure that Danzo would stay off his back, he made sure to send reports from his spy network. Of course, they didn't have as much detail as they did before, but it didn't seem to mind to the old mummy, as Jiraiya called him behind his back.
Jiraiya grunted as he sat down in a meditative position and began again, Fukusaku raising the stick, prepared to strike if he needed to.
Shima shook her head and said, "This is the last time for the day, Pa. It's almost dinner time and I'm making grub stew."
The male toad elder licked his lips at the sound of his wife's cooking, while Jiraiya, briefly showed a look of disgust.
Shikkotsu Forest…
The damp bone forest could be described as…beautiful. The forest itself was bright green, filled with thick trees, that suited the forest's name. It lived up to the damp part of its name, as trees were soaked in water, leaving patches of mud and thick wet grass on the ground. There were trees tall with thick needles for leaves, other trees held delicious looking ripe fruit.
The air was silent, filled with only the sound of wind brushing through the trees, water droplets falling to the ground, and the smell of fresh grass.
The silence however was broken by the sound of a female grunt and rock being smashed into rubble.
Deeper in the forest we find a clearing. In said clearing Tsunade stood with her arms crossed under her large breasts as she watched with a critical eye. Next to her is a familiar pig, Tonton, and to her right is a very familiar slug, as large as a human with three blue stripes going vertically down her back. This was Katsuyu, the slug summons.
The sound cracking rock was heard again. Following the noise, it was revealed that the black haired woman was currently wailing on a large boulder. With each impact, a huge crack would form in the stone, sending dust and debris in certain directions. Shizune panted in exhaustion as he bent over trying to catch her breath.
"Don't stop now, Shizune! You keep at it until that thing is dust!"
Shizune wiped her forehead of swat and proceeded to continue wailing on the boulder.
Tsunade smiled as she watched her young assistant turned apprentice.
After leaving with Shizune, Tsunade reverse-summoned herself to the Damp bone forest to avoid any of Danzo's goons, not trusting the old coot that they decided to make the rokudaime. When they arrived at the forest, Tsunade decided to promote Shizune from assistant to apprentice, deciding that she deserved it after staying with her for so long and putting up with her attitude. Since then she had started teaching Shizune everything that she knew about her abilities as a healer, including her super strength.
She wasn't the only one. She had worked with Shizune to attempt to conquer her fear of blood, or at least make it not as crippling, as well as gain some of the skill she had lost over years of drinking, traveling, and gambling. She was making good progress and was close to regaining the strength of her youth.
As the boulder was finally reduced to dust, Shizune doubled over panting in exhaustion.
Tsunade pulled out a bottle of water, fresh from one of the many springs around the forest and gave it to her apprentice, who drank greedily.
Tsunade said, "You did good. It took you at least three less punches to destroy the rock than you did yesterday. You're making progress."
Shizune smiled as she panted.
"Go relax and take a break. You've earned it."
Shizune smiled and walked away, looking extremely tired.
Tsunade then turned towards Katsuyu.
"Your apprentice is making good progress, mistress," the giant slug said.
Tsunade nodded happily and said, "That she has. It makes me regret not making her my apprentice years ago, instead of just an assistant. She's definitely an improvement over Sakura."
That was also true. Just before leaving the village Sakura had asked her to take her on as an apprentice. Tsunade was tempted to given she heard about Sakura's impressive chakra control. However, she learned quickly that it was because Sakura had very small reserves. It also didn't help that she overheard Sakura talking to Ino about a fantasy she had about acting as Sasuke's personal nurse. Less than an hour later, she threw the idea of Sakura being an apprentice down into the incinerator.
Tsunade was pulled from her thoughts when the sound of ruffling leaves reached her ears. Turning towards the sound, she was a slug, about the size of a horse, that looked identical to Katsuyu. It slithered over to them and gave, what Tsunade perceived, as a bow.
"It is ready Lady Tsunade," the slug spoke, also using Katsuyu's voice.
Tsunade smiled as the slug turned around and slithered away. The Senju heiress followed. After a few moments, they approached what looked like a pool filled with, what resembled oil.
Katsuyu, the smaller duplicate of herself anyway, said, "It was nice of the toads to allow us to use their special oil so that you could learn how harness nature chakra."
Tsunade answered, "Yeah, but don't forget, we had to trade it for a large amount of the fruit of the forest. I didn't even know the fruit here could be used to enhance stamina and strength."
Katsuyu looked at her mistress and said, "Yes, but you have to remember that those effects are only temporary."
Tsunade nodded as she moved towards the pool, walking over the oil with the water walking skill, and sat down in the middle of the pool in a meditative pose.
It was time for the next phase of her training to begin.
In the world between worlds…
Naruto let out a groan as he sat down at the table to eat. The day had gone by slowly. Naruto's training in the use of nature chakra was going slow. The process was far more difficult than the blond boy had originally thought. He had bene struck in the skull by his two teachers and as such had a pretty good-sized lump on his head.
As the blonde finished his food he was suddenly aware of footsteps. Realizing that everyone was at the table, he thought it might be his fiancés. This only made him more surprised when a man and a girl he didn't know walked through the door.
"So…you are the brat that those three sisters told us about?"
The man's deep voice resonated throughout the room.
Naruto stood up and asked, "How do you know the girls? Who are you two?"
The man scoffed and said, "So they haven't told you about us, have they? Figures they would wait until later to tell you."
The girl slapped the large man on the shoulder and said, "Don't be so grumpy you grouch. I'm Mavis Vermillion, the first master of the fair tail guild. Hi."
The man grunted and said, "I'm Bahamut, the dragon god."
She smiled and said, "We're supposed to be your teachers in the future."
Naruto blinked in confusion, not expecting this.
Hagoromo stood up and said, "So you are the two that the goddesses mentioned as Naruto's future teachers. While I can understand that you want to start training him, we need a little bit more time."
The "dragon god" scoffed and said, "I've been waiting for over a year now! I've waited long enough!"
Mavis floated to the eye level of Bahamut and said, "Hold your jets, Baha-chan. They still need a little more time. Plus, you know what it's like to control a lot of power."
The man grumbled something under his breath as he mumbled.
"Um…I have to ask…who are these guys?"
Ashura answered, "We are not entirely sure, but we have heard from your girls about them. These two are apparently from another world, like our own, but very different in many ways. They are apparently mages, who use magic instead of chakra. At least, that is what Hikari told us."
Naruto's other teachers, including his parents, all nodded, having heard from the three sisters about the two.
Naruto blinked and asked, "Magic? Doesn't that seem a little crazy? I mean chakra I can understand but magic?"
In response, Mavis walked forward and raised her hands. In a bright flash, a large wolf-like creature appeared behind her with a growl. The creature then roared angrily, releasing hot, disgusting smelling breath, in their direction. Naruto's eyes widened and flared his chakra ready to fight when he realized something. Using his sensor abilities, he saw the creature didn't have any chakra.
Neither did Mavis, or Bahamut, but whatever power they used it was incredibly powerful, nearly matching Ashura, Indra, and Hagoromo.
Mavis smiled as the wolf vanished. With a smile she said, "Are you a believer yet?"
Naruto slowly nodded unable to believe his eyes.
Bahamut sniffed at the site of Naruto's surprised expression before turning towards the boy's teachers.
"Have you finished his training yet or not?"
Ashura answered, "Naruto's use of nature chakra is progressing slowly but surely. If he improves, he may have this down in about a month…give or take a week."
Bahamut sniffed and said, "Fine. You have one month, and not a day more. Whether he is done or not, we'll be taking over his training."
With that the two left, Mavis flashing a peace sign as she left.
Naruto then blinked and turned towards his teachers and family and asked, "Okay, seriously, who were those guys?"
Hagoromo answered, "Do not worry about it for now Naruto. We officially have one month from today to finish your training under us, so eat. You'll need all your strength for what is going to happen."
Naruto nodded and sat down, and he idly began to wonder just what was going to happen in his future now.
Cut! Okay, so Naruto training in the use of sage arts has begun, taught by the two quarreling brothers. He has also met Mavis and Bahamut, his future teachers in the art of magic. We've also seen what has happened since Naruto, supposedly died, as well as introduced a few things to the game that are different.
Also, I would like some input on who you would want to be in Naruto's future guild. If you want it to be a certain character from another series, you must list their magic, their abilities, weaknesses, and how their abilities would change in the world of Earthenland.
If it is an OC, give me a name, personality, magic, attack and/or defense spells, and any quirks they might have.
Let me know what you think. All flames will be ignored.
