A/N: Chapter 5 gave me my 100th review and my 500th follower so as thanks, here is a little chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Naruto had been careful to deactivate his alarm the day before. He had shut it off in the morning actually, knowing full well he'd be too tired and bruised to think about it in the evening. So Naruto did not really understand why his eyes opened with a start nor why he rolled out of his bed, his heart beating faster than what was allowed. Barely awake, the boy eyed his clock and his sleep-addled mind panicked as he read it was already four.
"Tiger is gonna kill me," Naruto whispered before he darted for the bathroom, where he established a new personal record of speed showering.
It was only once he was out of the bathroom and dressed that he realized today was Sunday. His rest day.
The blond groaned and slapped his forehead. The week had been enough to establish a routine and his body, already used to be awake around four, had decided to get things started without his conscious authorization. Naruto groaned once again. Now that he was showered, dressed, and sleep had been chased from his mind, he knew he would not be able to go back to sleep.
He wasn't tired anyhow, just sore and relatively less than he had been at the beginning of the week.
The blond put his mask and ran to the refectory. He breathed a sigh of relief seeing breakfast was still being served. Even on Sundays, the ANBU corps never slept for real.
"Hello, Buffalo-san," greeted the diminutive ANBU recruit.
"Hello recruit."
Naruto smiled behind his mask. He had graduated, through the week, from a dispassionate "good day" to being called "recruit". It was, in the blond's opinion, a step in the right direction. The boy sat at one deserted table and wolfed his food down, his mask slightly up and his face masked under a partial transformation. He was becoming quite the adept of this specific jutsu.
He had always been good with it but now, it had reached a level where he could reduce to a minimum the ripples caused by the interaction of chakra with a solid object.
His food finished, Naruto rubbed his mouth with the palm of his right hand, thinking deeply. He had counted on sleeping in to kill at least part of the day but this part of the plan was now out of the proverbial window. The blond sat still for a minute. He had not been given any specific instructions for today, just reminded that using the various training spots without supervision was forbidden. Tiger had also given him his official backstory for his week of absence.
It was way too early to really go anywhere to do anything. Naruto ultimately shrugged after looking at himself. By force of habit, he had donned the clothes he used for training; he could always run up the Warmer. That would kill nearly three hours and he would see then what he would do.
Having given his tray back, the masked blond found himself at the start of the Warmer. Taking a deep breath, Naruto stretched for several minutes before he felt ready to attack the upward slope of hell. The blond set his pace carefully, something demanding but sustainable, and allowed his thoughts to wander.
How would he occupy himself today? It was the question worth a million Ryo. The blond could visit Konohamaru but his visit would be probably cut short if the young Sarutobi had homework to do or any other responsibility from his clan. Maybe Naruto could send a shadow clone to know if Konohamaru's afternoon was free. The boy nodded, satisfied with his plan. This way, he would even avoid seeing the Hokage in person. He had no wish to see his grandfather. A week, even as busy as this particular week had been, was not enough to digest everything.
Of course, Naruto had to go get himself some ramen. It had been a week of healthy, shapeless food -if surprisingly tasty- and the blond craved his favorite dish. Also, he was missing seeing Ayame. It was rare for him to be gone for an entire week without visiting the Ichiraku.
He also wanted to explore the library further. It was a mine of information waiting to be revealed. Naruto doubted everything was of interest to him but the most improbable thing could be found there. The blond would have never placed a bet on the fact there were books on entomology. Not everything was ninja related but when Naruto had asked the ANBU librarian about it, the man had answered that sometimes, nature was one of the best source of inspiration to develop jutsus of all kind. As such, it was a noble endeavor to seek to understand how things in nature worked.
The librarian, a very old man if his white and light grey hair were to be any indication of his age, had told Naruto that the famous water condensation technique of the Nidaime had partly come to the man by observing how water condensed on spider's webs.
How the man had developed a technique that was still infamous today simply from observing spider's web was beyond Naruto right now but the blond surmised that, much like he himself tried to replicate the ability to stick to surface from the same animals, the Nidaime had experimented while using his observations as a basis.
The library problem would easily be solved by a team of two or three clones.
He could also work on his calligraphy and write some haikus while he was at it. Time spent working on fuinjutsu was never time lost after all. Plus, he had a letter to prepare for someone and he had to prepare a bit of sealing for it. That reminded Naruto of his promise to his two senpais; he had to give a clone the task of creating a few samples for the two recruits who had agreed to help him.
His mind busy with various thoughts, the boy did not really notice when he reached the top of the Warmer. Naruto frowned when he realized he had no idea how much time it had taken him to run up the slope but then smiled when he assessed how he was feeling. His legs were warm but not hurting and it was with the satisfying heat of a workout well done. His breath, while quickened by the effort, was not ragged nor short. He had certainly progressed since the beginning of the week. He still lacked speed but the jog was nowhere as exhausting as it had been at first now that he knew he had to be cleverly conservative of his energy.
After thinking about it as much as he could during the week, Naruto had concluded that the reason he could lead chunin on a chase for hours was that the level of effort required of him was constant. It was the greatly varying levels of pressure that made the Warmer dangerous. The easy parts were meant to lure you into a false sense of security. At worse, the runner would become bold and accelerate and that would be their downfall as soon as the next high gravity portion came.
And Naruto had quickly noticed that whatever regulated gravity and air viscosity was affecting the length of the slope at random. One could not prepare for the Warmer or establish a map of it because the Warmer changed every day.
Regularity. It was certainly a valuable lesson applicable in taijutsu, kenjutsu, and chakra control. Naruto was sure it would impact other aspects of his training. It was one teaching the boy was intent on remembering.
Naruto stretched before frowning again. He did not want to go back down immediately -he had just run for nearly three hours after all- but he had to stay moving. His clothes, damp from perspiration, were starting to disgustingly cling to his skin.
The blond ran through a string of hand signs and the door to the outside opened. Tiger had shown him the mudras so that the blond would be independent of the man as much as possible. Tiger could run the Warmer in something like thirty minutes so while he waited for Naruto, the man trained.
Naruto found himself in the forest. Given how the sun rays were barely lightning the little clearing, it was around seven. The sun wasn't very high yet and could not be seen, hidden by the dense canopy. For a minute, the blond was at a loss as for what to do but it came to him quickly. He could work on his chakra control personally. He had yet to try the chakra manipulation himself.
The blond neared a tree and looked up its trunk. Trees in Fire Country were no joke. The colossus of wood standing tall in front of him, rooted firmly in the ground, was maybe four meters in diameter at its largest point and shot up to reach probably thirty meters.
And that was a relatively average specimen. The tallest titans of Fire Country, Naruto had read, could reach a height of up to a hundred meters while having a trunk so large it took dozen of men to circle it.
Naruto caressed the rugged bark and felt the relief against the palm of his hand. The valleys of the outer layer of the tree made for easy holds. Even without chakra and as long as hands were allowed, climbing up such a tree was possible.
The boy stepped back and crossed his hands in a seal he was become increasingly familiar with and create two shadow clones with a whisper. Naruto looked left and right at his two copies who simply nodded and approached the tree from various angles. The original blond neared the tree again and focused on his feet.
He needed small, supple needles, with barbs along the length and he needed a countless number of them. He knew it was not exactly the shape of the strange hairs a spider possessed at the end of their legs but Naruto wasn't exactly the size of a spider either. He had to compensate for his increased weight. That was something he was sure of.
For the following hour or so, Naruto tried to refine the amount of chakra sent to his feet and mold it in the shape he had in mind. Despite his best efforts, the boy kept sliding down the trunk, not able to stick to it even once. Frustration slowly rose and Naruto decided to stop his efforts before he punched a hole in the tree for his troubles.
It would not do to needlessly destroy a perfectly good tree in a bout of childish anger. Rather than letting his impatience boil down to violence, the blond choose to sit and meditate, plunging into the flow of his chakra.
A week of meditation had Naruto realize several things about himself. He had a lot of chakra, first and foremost. That he knew already and the reasons for it. What no one had told him was what it meant really beyond his ungodly stamina. His chakra coils were not developed enough to ensure control over the thrum of life energy coursing through them.
Normally, as chakra reserves grew, the ability to wield those reserves -also called chakra capacity- grew in concert. Chakra reserves got bigger with physical strength and mental experience and chakra capacity expanded with the enlargement of one's chakra coils. The natural goal of the body was to maintain an optimal "flow rate" so to speak.
In short, if the coils were too tight as was the case for Naruto, the chakra would flow too fast to be properly harnessed. It was like opening a tap with way too much pressure behind it. The problem was that the growth of chakra coils would come from training. The sealing of a massive chakra entity hadn't been taken into consideration by biology. Naruto's chakra system was getting larger and larger by the day, forced open by his ridiculous amount of life energy, but so were his reserves due to his training. At this rate, the equilibrium could possibly never be reached.
Simply cycling his chakra through his pathways by meditating was a way to artificially enlarge the coils. It was a process rarely needed, as few ninjas found themselves in the same situation Naruto was in. It was also slow.
Naruto could feel the familiar rush of a clone dispelling and, a minute after, the rush came anew as the second clone poofed out. The assimilated memories did not bring the boy any joy.
None of the two replicas had succeeded. As the boy had mentally ordered, one had tried to mold chakra in a glue-like fashion and had actually, if momentarily, stuck to the tree. It only solidified Naruto's belief such a method would go nowhere. To take his foot off the tree, the clone had concluded after experimentation that he needed to either cut the flux of chakra to his feet entirely or mold the chakra again back to something featureless. Not really cost and focus efficient.
By imitating a spider's bristles, Naruto was hoping the natural motion of the foot and a simple flex of chakra would be enough to anchor and detach the foot to a surface. Meaning once the chakra was activated, the blond would not have to even subconsciously think about it.
Now if only his chakra could obey and get into shape already. Naruto sighed and considered his problem. The glue was a way to go about it. A rough, inelegant solution but a solution nonetheless. The blond scoffed; he knew full well he would not be satisfied with it. It was half-assed and not properly functional.
Naruto Uzumaki did not take to all subjects with the same gusto but it would not be said that he did not see a problem to the end when he was faced with one that interested him. His studies in fuinjutsu had seen to that. Also his pranking.
The prospect to be able to walk on any surface and defy gravity presented simply too many potential applications to be ignored by the blond. Naruto resolved to simply try until he got it down. Giving up was not part of his dictionary after all and failing was key to success.
Fuinjutsu had also taught him that, repeatedly.
Opening his eyes, the Uzumaki stood up. The daylight was a little brighter but still, the trees masked the sun. It was time to run back down, have a shower, and change into something more relaxed.
A little less than three more hours later -the boy's clock showed quarter to noon when the blond came back to his cell- and Naruto was freshened, dressed in something definitely civilian, and en route to Ichiraku's ramen stand. A team of clones was wandering around the library, mask on, and a lone replica was in his room, working on his brush stroke and poetry. He had until eleven tonight to do what he pleased.
For the first time in a week, Naruto was wearing his hitai-ite.
He had exited the ANBU lair the same way he had entered it the very first time, seamlessly blending in with the flow of disparate civilians climbing up and down the Hokage monument. At this hour of the day and on this day of the week, they were mainly couples intend on sharing lunch in the park just above the hieratic heads. Sakura season was over and people were free to pick cherries if they could or simply enjoy the jasmine which had just started to blossom white. As he reached the end of the stairs, Naruto created a clone who scurried away toward the Sarutobi compound.
It took the blond half an hour at a leisurely walk to cross Konoha and find his way back to his favorite place ever.
"Hey, Teuchi-Jiji! Hey Nee-chan!" Naruto greeted with enthusiasm before sitting on a stool. The blond's entrance was ignored by the other customers. Everyone eating at Ichiraku's knew that that boy had the favor of the owners.
Delicious ramen was stronger than short-sighted bigotry in this case.
"Naruto!" A joyful shout was his answer as Ayame Ichiraku whirled around, wiped her hands on her apron, and hugged the blond boy. "Where the Flames were you this week?"
Naruto returned the hug with a grin and scratched the back of his head at the question. "Eh eh, well, they kept me really busy at the Hokage Tower."
"The Tower? Why were you there?"
"Well, I'm hum… Kinda… Repaying Konoha for all my pranking?" Said Naruto in a questioning tone, index finger on his lower lips and eyes looking upward, as if unsure how to properly put it. "Yeah, I think that's how they call it."
Ayame guffawed behind her counter. "Ah ah ah, so they finally caught you huh? Well, it was fun while lasted, right?" The cook asked with a large grin.
Naruto answered with a smile on his own. "Sure. I'm a ninja now, I need to be serious, 'ttebayo!"
"Eh, I bet you won't hold a month without turning the Tower on its head," challenged the brunette.
"What? No way Nee-chan! I'm all serious now!"
"As if, you're just biding your time," claimed the older girl with a nod of her head, convinced by her wise words, before she smiled again. Deserting her various saucepans for a second, the girl propped her elbow on the counter to support her head. "So what do you even do there?"
Naruto waved his hand. "Eh you know, carrying papers, carrying messages, Hokage Tower stuff I'd say."
Ayame's eyes opened as large as saucers. "No way! And you haven't gone crazy yet?"
"Oy, Nee-chan!" Naruto exclaimed with a look of indignation and a fake pout. "I'm not that bad!"
"Sure you are, you can't sit still for a minute!"
His long meditation sessions came to the blond's mind and Naruto grinned widely. "Well, I'm way better now. And anyway, they let me have my work out, so I can burn some energy before my day begins," continued the boy, shuddering a little at the memory of his first run up the Warmer.
Ayame was ready to doubt Naruto's exploit when the boy's stomach growled thunderously, making the blond blush a little and rub his scalp while the girl giggled.
"Well, they don't feed you right apparently!" The cook exclaimed before she offered Naruto her version of the megawatt smile. "What's it going to be?"
Naruto flashed his pearl white teeth for the girl to see. "Miso ramen large with extra pork, 'ttebayo!"
Ayame stood straight and saluted. "Comin' straight up, Ninja-san!" She exclaimed before focusing on her kitchen.
"By the way Neechan, where is Teuchi-Jiji?"
The brunette groaned and rolled her eyes as she was cooking. "He hurt his back trying to carry a gas canister inside," Ayame explained with exasperation. Seeing the Naruto's eyes wide with worry she waved a hand. "He is fine, just, the nurse forbade him to do anything today."
"So he's not there?" asked the boy, somehow weirded out by the fact Teuchi Ichiraku was on leave. The old cook was always behind his counter, had always been and would always be. It was one of the truths of Naruto's life.
Ayame shrugged after sprinkling some spice in a saucepan full of simmering broth. "He can't sit still if he's here so I chased him off. He told me he'd go see mom and then maybe relax in a park somewhere."
The girl punctuated her explanation by ladling a portion of noodles in a bowl she then proceeded to improve by adding several slices of pork, a boiled egg, seaweeds, and various other greens of all colors. It took the experienced cook but a second to dress the dish perfectly, topping it with a naruto with a flourish.
"One miso ramen large with extra pork!" She clamored with a grin.
Naruto took the smoking bowl gratefully and gave his sister a large smile. "Thanks, Nee-chan, I'm really starving!"
Setting the dish in front of him, the blond inhaled the delicate aroma he was so fond of; the smell evoking many good memories, bright spots of warmth in an overall dull canvas. Naruto's smile dimmed and his blue eyes filled with a rare melancholy.
"You know Neechan, Jiji would never leave the stand if he didn't trust you completely." The blond said in a subdued voice, looking down at the steaming noodles. "It means you cook as well as him, you can be proud."
Naruto missed the blush that reddened Ayame's cheeks and nose as he broke his chopsticks free.
"Itadakimasu!"
With ringing thanks, the boy proceeded to inhale the noodles. Immediately, Naruto hummed in satisfaction.
"Ahhhh! That's the real deal, 'ttebayo!" The blond exclaimed after his first gulp before stuffing a slice of meat in his mouth.
"Eh! Of course, it is!" Ayame, having her countenance again, answered, tranquil pride evident for all to hear in her voice. "Give me some time and they'll become even better than that!" She boasted.
Naruto stopped in his noodly tracks and stared at his surrogate sister, blue eyes alight with mirth before he scoffed. "Pff, as if! You can copy your dad's well but do better? Not gonna happen!"
"Oh yeah?" The brunette asked, the vibrato of a threat in her voice so blatant it was obviously faked. "Well, it has a better chance to happen than you becoming Hokage!" Declared the girl, nose pointed upward and arms crossed on her chest.
The boy grinned before it faltered. It was an old game between Naruto and Ayame, to clamor their dream at each other's face and challenge the rest of the world to stop them. The brunette would swear to become the ultimate ramen cook and the blond would swear he'd become the Hokage to surpass all Hokage. Two dreams that had, without discussion, equal respect from both parties. Becoming the ultimate ramen cook was absolutely no laughing matter.
The exchange, the ritual almost, had taken Naruto out of numerous dark, downward spiraling funks in the past. His Neechan had always known how to give Naruto his smile back.
But today, the game had suddenly lost much of its flavor. Because today, Naruto could not claim he would become Hokage. He wasn't sure if he wanted to don the hat anymore. His reasons had been too frail, flimsy at best. He still had great respect for the position and what it entailed though and so refused to proclaim fakely. It wouldn't do.
"Naruto?" The slightly worried tone of Ayame brought Naruto back to the present. The blond looked up at the girl he called his sister, perfect blue orbs peering in light chocolate brown. His eyes widened at the thought. His sister.
For some strange reason, it was as if he was seeing her for the first time. Her brown hair held back by her kerchief, her eyes and her light smile, filled with slight worry for him, her dexterous hands, still delicate somehow despite the hours of work. She so readily called him Naruto-kun and accepted him calling her Neechan. She had so freely played with little him in the past and bantered with him now. She could so easily bring a smile on his face, even when all seemed so dull and impossible.
In an abrupt second of enlightenment, Naruto realized all this and more and thought back to what had been floating on his mind for a week now. The intense, demanding boot camp of the ANBU corps had relegated the concerns to the back of his brain but they were there. Those thrice damned questions: who was he, where was he going, what did he want?
He hoped to find a family in the ANBU corps but he suddenly remembered he already had a sister looking out for him as much as she could. Teuchi was an uncle, Iruka a cousin, Konohamaru a brother, and the Hokage a grandfather, as much as the blond was angry at him at the moment. It didn't feel wrong to look further but he had to acknowledge what was there. A wide, bright, pearly white smile blossomed on Naruto's face, closing his eyes shut as it spread from ear to ear.
He had already answered one question by joining ANBU. but another one was actually ridiculously easy to solve if asked the correct way. The boy suddenly brandished his fist out, startling the cook behind her counter.
"I don't know if I'll get the hat Neechan but I definitely want to taste your ramen once you're the best cook ever," said Naruto, his voice firmed up by unshakeable confidence. "So to make sure, I'll become the best ninja ever and I'll protect you! It's a promise, 'ttebayo!"
For reasons she could not clearly formulate, Ayame Ichiraku felt herself blush like she rarely had, stared at by the azure blue eyes of her little brother. Deciding that it wouldn't do to lose her cool, the brunette bumped fist with Naruto, allowing a megawatt smile of her own to grace her face.
"You know what it means if it's a promise, right?"
Naruto nodded seriously, keeping his fist pressed against Ayame's. "It means we don't break it Neechan."
Ayame nodded. "Absolutely. Now go back to your ramen before they get cold," admonished the girl with mirth.
The blond's eyes widened and he sat back down. "Aw shoot!" He exclaimed before quickly going back to vacuuming his bowl of ramen under the amused eyes of the cook.
"You've really grown up, huh, Naruto?" thought Ayame with a fond smile before she turned her focus back to her kitchen.
Four cloaked figures were huddled together in a small room. One was seated behind a desk while the other three were standing at attention. It was very early in the morning and the normally impassive operators were all, some more than others, giving off the feeling they wanted to be done with it.
The absence of comfort did not facilitate their mood. In exchange for serving chocolate-flavored porridge, ANBU had to make do with relatively small offices. Money was not infinite after all and budget cuts had to happen.
The seated ANBU cleared their throat and, with the usual, distorted monotone, Dragon spoke. "So soldiers, what is the first-week assessment? Tiger, you go first."
The tiger-masked ANBU nodded. "Hai general." His voice ever controlled and professional, Tiger summed up his week with Naruto quickly. "Overall, he is chunin level in term of speed and endurance and his strength is coming along fast. At this rhythm, I estimate recruit Uzumaki will be at jonin level, physically speaking, in something like three months."
The declaration kept the room in silent contemplation before Dog shuddered. "That's too quick."
"It is," confirmed Dragon in their usual blank tone of voice. "Any idea how it is possible, Tiger?"
The ANBU allowed himself a second or two to gather his thoughts on the matter. He had obviously been thinking about his latest recruit's performances. From a purely physical point of view, Naruto Uzumaki was a monster, largely above what any chakra user his age should be. The exact passive and active effects of chakra on humans were not perfectly understood, not even by Tsunade Senju herself but the Greatest Medic in History had postulated some theories.
One, namely the "cultivation approach", tried to explain why ninjas had greater physical capacities than normal, even without actively flooding their system with chakra. When a human exercised, muscles would break down, triggering muscle growth, a process most effective during a period of rest. For a ninja, whose muscles were constantly fed chakra, the process was similar but with some differences. First of all, muscle growth happened undeniably faster. Second of all, it was also proven that chakra could and would alter muscle on a cellular level.
Muscle growth worked by adding more volume to muscle. It was certain that chakra also made the fundamental building brick more efficient, be it a conscious effort or a subconscious reaction. It was one of the bases for Tsunade Senju's super strength technique, one the medic had shared long ago.
How to properly activate the cultivation was still a very inexact science -something Tsunade had kept a secret- and how the passive process worked was all but unknown.
Tiger summarized all that to his general who only nodded and waved his hand. The ANBU wasn't surprised his general knew that already.
"What does this aspect of physiology have to do with Uzumaki, Tiger?" Dragon asked, something bleeding in the monotone this time.
Tiger did not snort but did roll his eyes behind his mask. He knew, when Dragon used this voice, that the general knew the answer already.
"I believe the regenerative factor of recruit Uzumaki allow muscle growth to happen instantly. I also believe that his chakra is rebuilding his muscles entirely. Lastly, having a proper diet is bound to have some positive effects. Recruit Uzumaki grows stronger while he trains, not after."
Dragon joined his fingers. "What makes you say that?"
"While recruit Uzumaki already gained more defined muscles, the ratio of muscle mass to strength is not consistent. By volume alone, recruit Uzumaki should be weaker than he truly is."
Silence once again fell on the room until Dog broke it, her voice a disbelieving whisper.
"Is that… Really possible, general?"
Dragon pressed his palms together. "Why do you think we consider jinchuurikis to be strategic weapons, operator? Much like ninjas are beyond what is possible for most humans, a jinchuriki is beyond what is possible for most ninjas. A jinchuuriki, trained appropriately, will always reach the S-rank threat level somehow."
Tiger gave no outward reaction to the statement, Cat swallowed with difficulty, and Dog opened her mouth to say something that died on the tip of her tongue.
"Now, before you allow fear to invade your heart, remember that recruit Uzumaki is first and foremost a ninja of Konoha. Is that clear?"
Three simultaneous, mechanical "hai" were the given answer. The general nodded and motioned for the assessment to continue.
"Due to recruit Uzumaki's high healing factor, I fear HSRB process might not work properly. I request authorization to triple the dose."
Dragon stayed silent for a pair of seconds before he nodded. "Granted but only under direct supervision. We don't want any accident."
"Hai, general."
"Continue."
"As far as skills go, recruit Uzumaki shows no particular talent and is behind what is expected of a genin. That being said, the determination and dedication he puts into his drills will ensure that his close combat will become feared. His mind is already used to thinking deviously and outside the box due to his old pranking habit. I intend to encourage him to apply it to combat in general."
Having said his peace, Tiger stepped back and Dragon motioned for Cat to talk.
The purplette haired woman stepped forth and cleared her still uneasy throat. "He shows no innate talent in kenjutsu but he is completely dedicated to a task if he is properly motivated, requiring normal guidance in my case. It took a week to get the basics steps and flow drills down which is within acceptable parameters. I feel like he is a curious boy but hesitated asking too much at first, a habit we are collectively," stressing the word, the operator shot a glance at Dog who fidgeted slightly. "Breaking him out off. By Friday, he wasn't showing this particular reluctance anymore in my case. To finish, I'm quite certain there is a gap in his learning ability. Anything physical is learned rather quickly but book smarts are harder for him to acquire. It took four days to memorize ANBU marking, rather than the average two. I am honestly surprised he can do fuinjutsu at all."
Dragon nodded. "It is supposedly in his blood. And fuinjutsu is not so much about book smarts than people tend to believe. If that is all?"
Cat nodded and fell in rank again as Dragon called forth Dog.
"So?"
The teenage ANBU fumbled a second with her words before she took a deep breath and looked at her commander. "Well... " She began hesitantly, unsure if there was any way for what she was going to say to make sense. "Chakra control is going to be difficult."
Dog paused a second and before anything could be asked she pushed on. "He has too much and his coils are too tight but that's… Not really the main problem."
"And what is?"
Under her mask, Dog bit her lower lip. She had thought hard and long at her sessions with the Naruto replica. How she had been at first, dismissive and frankly, angry. She had given her sweat and blood to Konoha for three long years after the Academy, working her ass off, before she had been promoted to chunin and noticed by the corps.
When a lone ANBU had knocked at the door of her clan's compound one fine morning, a little more than a year ago, it was a dream come true. She had always wanted to join the prestigious elite.
So the fact a snot-nosed, milk drinking brat, not even out of the Academy, dead last what's more, had been noticed because of his pranking had Dog a bit peeved. A tiny, little bit, not much.
Truth was, she had been and still kind of was incredibly frustrated and angry at the "luck" of recruit Uzumaki. So jealous had she been that she had also refused to take into account what the files she had been given about her charge said. She had ignored the ostracism the boy was the victim of and the general unpleasantness his life was as a result.
She had been so angry she had immediately dismissed his incapacity to execute the vertical walking chakra manipulation as lack of talent and as proof that the boy had nothing to do in ANBU.
When Tiger and Cat had insisted she discuss with Naruto about the vertical walking exercise, she had, after putting her feelings aside for a moment, came to realize what could be a boon and a problem.
"This is only a theory but I think he doesn't... Understand chakra as we do?" said Dog in a questioning tone, still unsure of herself if she was entirely correct.
Dragon inched forward ever so slightly. "Tell me more."
Naruto had exited the ramen stand, contentedly stuffed with his favorite food, and directed his steps toward the Sarutobi compound. His clone had gone off a bit earlier, informing him that Konohamaru was free during the afternoon. Apparently, Ichiro was there also and Naruto could not wait to see his older friend. With some luck, they could all rope little Eiri into some mischief. The blond rubbed his hands.
The walk was leisurely, pleasant even, as the sun was shining high and warm yet the wind was blowing a cooly. Naruto ignored the sneers and the glares the passer-by were subjecting him to and enjoyed the rumors of Konoha's life. Sunday was a day of rest for most people but it did not mean the streets were any less busy. Sundays, especially in spring and summer, were the days the artisans would open the doors of their workshop wide to showcase some of their work, hoping to charm a possible customer enough for them to place an order.
Naruto was never allowed inside nor permitted to touch but he could still see the bright colors of painted potteries and smell the polished wood of pieces of furniture. He could hear hammers hitting metal against as many anvils, the smiths trying to convince farmers and ninjas alike that they forged the best tools and weapons.
For a second, the boy wondered if he would have to pay for his chokuto or if ANBU would fork out the money. Given his salary, he would not mind paying. And once he would have donned the proper, painted mask, the smiths would fold into four to please him.
It would be so different than having to negotiate endlessly for scraps. The boy shrugged the unpleasant memory away and continued his route toward the Sarutobi lands.
It took Naruto another half of an hour to cross Konoha back to the Tower, take the right turn, and end up in front of a red torii. The Sarutobi compound was not enclosed by walls, like the Uchiha, the Senju, or the Hyuuga compounds were, but by a simple fence that would not have stopped anything.
Not like walls could stop anyone in a village of ninja anyway.
The two kanjis for "Sarutobi", as well as the clan symbol, a vertical line supporting two horizontal, back to back crescents with all extremity but one ended by a circle, were engraved on a panel in the monumental door. Two massive bowls of granite were flanking each pillar, ashes still red from the flames they had contained during the night.
One black haired ninja in a very standard Konoha attire, his eyes underlined by kohl, threw Naruto a passing glance and a small smile and waved the boy in.
"Hello, Sarutobi-san." The blond bowed slightly. The Sarutobi clan had always been good to him, their patriarch first and foremost, and if all members weren't close to him, most were cordial or at least polite.
"Hello, gaki." The guard answered jovially before he hunched toward Naruto, his hand shielding his mouth in a scheming gesture. "Kurenai-san is still not over your stunt of last week. Don't get caught," whispered the man with a smile.
Naruto stifled a whine about women and their distinct lack of humor, something that made the man chuckle, before he thanked the guard with a grin on his own. "Hai guard-san, I'll flee on sight."
"You'd better. Now get in, Konohamaru-kun and Ichiro-kun are waiting in the eastern wing."
Like many compounds within Konoha, the Sarutobi domain was covered by the forest. Unlike most clan grounds though, the Sarutobi's were huddled against the cliff side, which meant one had to go up a slope to reach the living quarters.
Visitors also had to be wary of the monkeys. They had a tendency to steal things off people without them noticing. How could someone lose their pants and not immediately take stock of it was still beyond Naruto but the blond had learned quite a few tricks from the mischievous animals.
The pranking primates were never hunted though, as they were sacred for the Sarutobi. Something to do with the soul of their ancestors, Naruto had been told long ago.
Walking up the old, sometimes barely defined steps, the blond shivered a bit as he entered the forest, the warm rays of the sun masked by the canopy. Birds were chirping, a little stream was running nearby, and a gentle wind was blowing through the ghost tube, making them sing. Naruto inhaled deeply. The undergrowth always had this peculiar smell he liked. The smell of calm motion, peaceful cycle, natural balance. There was also this tinkling sound of a child laughing-
Naruto whirled around and caught the little hands of a giggling, head over heal Konohamaru who was trying to steal his headband. "Gotcha!"
The eight years old shrieked playfully when his older cousin, Ichiro, jerked him up and back on the branch the older chunin was hanging from.
"Damn it, Bro! You're too sly!" Konohamaru fake pouted from up in the tree as Naruto laughed and Ichiro ruffled his hairs.
"You giggle too much Ko! You need to be silent." The blond explained with the utmost seriousness. "How long were you waiting up there?"
The young Sarutobi rubbed his head. "Eh eh, we waited for an hour at least," grinned the boy, not a little proud to have maintained his ambush for so long. "Ren-san warned us you were coming though."
The guard, Naruto surmised. "It was pretty good though Ko." The blond complimented.
"I did all the work though," complained a deep, adult voice in a whiny tone. Naruto looked at Ichiro, who had just spoken. The older Sarutobi, Konohamaru's direct cousin was a tall, muscular teen who, like most males of his clan, had dark hair and eyes. On his chin, he had the shadow of a goatee and a mustache above his lip.
"You're a chunin Ichiro-Nii. If that was work for you then you need to get more muscles." The blond retorted with a smile.
"Oh yeah? I'll show you muscles!" The older Sarutobi asked wit a threat in his voice. With a fast leap, the ninja found himself behind Naruto.
The blond had already whirled around and was wrestling with the older boy to avoid getting a noogie.
"You little… Insolent twerp… Come get… What you deserve!" The Sarutobi huffed, exerting as much strength as he could against the younger boy to gain the upper hand and failing to do so, to his growing surprise.
"No way… Ichiro… Nii… Not while… I live!" Naruto answered, straining his arms to their limit to square against the older boy.
A minute of full force arm wrestling under the encouraging shouts of Konohamaru Sarutobi later, the two boys broke apart, panting and sore, hands red from each other's grip.
"How the Flamel… Did you get so strong!?" Exclaimed Ichiro, his dark brown eyes wide in surprise.
"Training is… A bitch… Nowadays," answered Naruto, a bit taken aback himself by the fact he could match a fifteen years old chunin in pure strength. Especially a Sarutobi, who were people known for being rather solid. Sure his face was redder than Ichiro without a doubt and his breathing more ragged but still. He was certain he had not been nearly as strong just a week ago.
"Yeah, I can believe that," Ichiro said after a pause long enough for the two to regain their breath. "So, ninja huh?" The boy asked with a gleam in his eyes before he winked.
"Hm, guys?"
Ignoring Konohamaru's call, Naruto faced his older friends and nodded, his blue orbs shining with the same mirth. "Yep."
"What team?"
"Bro?"
Resuming his walk up the stair, Naruto answered to the following Ichiro. "Ah no team yet," said the blond while rubbing his scalp. "I kinda assigned to the Tower for now."
"Oh yeah? Why?"
"Oy Ichiro-Nii!"
Without missing a beat at the now distant shout, Naruto kept going "It's punishment for all my pranks I guess," sighed the blond with a straight face.
The brown haired chunin shook his head, a smile threatening to split his face. "Ah, not cool, not cool." He answered, his tone far from sympathetic as it was vibrating with restrained laughter.
"If you leave me on this branch I'm telling Kurenai-Obasan!" Bellowed Konohamaru from afar, panic and anger fighting for dominance in his voice.
Naruto and Ichiro collapsed in laughter and slowly made their way back to the young Sarutobi they had mercilessly left stranded up his tree.
Iruka Umino sighed deeply as he sat at his dining table in front of a steaming cup of tea. The teacher rubbed his tired eyes and gathered his thoughts. It had been a week and on Monday, tomorrow, the chunin instructor would hand his first report to the Hokage. Infiltration and information gathering had never been up his alley and Iruka had taken the week to read up on old dusty manuals and other "how to" guides, to polish his skills. He had not slacked however and had gathered as much as he could from incriminating pieces of evidence.
The first surprise that was all but one, Naruto was not the dead last. That was not to say the blond boy was especially brilliant but he was not obtuse either. While the boy shone at his brightest during physical activities, he was not a dunce when it came to more traditional academic subjects. History and Geography were not his forte, neither were mathematics and chemistry was the blond's nightmare but anatomy, chakra and ninjutsu theory, battle planning, and astonishingly, classical literature, were strong points that had never been properly acknowledged.
Second surprise and this one had been real for Iruka, Sasuke was not perfect. Certainly, the Uchiha was talented and had a solid brain inside his skull but some of his tests over the years showed little mistakes -nothing much but enough to not get full mark- that had been ignored, never corrected. Iruka had grimaced at that. That had without a doubt inflated the already bloated head of the boy.
The third surprise was that Naruto and Sasuke were not the only victims of this subtle sabotage. Hinata Hyuuga was under-marked, Ino Yamanaka had gotten a boost, and the teacher could keep on going. Sometimes the approach was even subtler. Kiba Inuzuka for example had never been corrected when he had repeatedly handed ludicrous battle plans that would have gotten him killed in real life. The only clan heir that had not been subjected to anything had been the Aburame.
Iruka had been terribly angry for all about ten seconds when he had discovered that before reason and cold logic told him it was exactly what whoever was behind the sabotage was after. If the Aburame were behind it, they would have sabotaged Shino to cover their traces. They were too experimented to allow such a basic mistake to happen and were undoubtedly loyal anyways.
The overall result, whoever was the culprit, was that a large chunk of the education of clan heirs had been undermined. The implications were terrifying. First, it was a very long term kind of sabotage, with the idea that if the future leading figures of the village were incapable, the village itself would be incapable. That would be for those who would survive. One possible, logical step for the future was to engineer ambushes that would target specific genin squads, hoping to kill or cripple an underprepared member or two. Second, it was a subtle kind of sabotage. It was not about blowing something straight up, it was about manipulating ninjas when they were most vulnerable: young and in training. Making them overconfident or on the contrary destroying any self-confidence. Third, it was pretty much impossible to identify the puppeteer without catching the spies first, as any major enemy of Konoha would benefit from such an action. And Iruka was certain there were numerous spies, as it was simply too much work for Mizuki to falsify all the tests alone.
And Iruka was not certain it was limited to Naruto's class. In a mere week, he had not had the time to check any more papers then he had but it could quite possibly be the emerged tip of a much larger iceberg.
The teacher had tried to remember any suspicious pattern his colleagues could have shown over the past years but nothing had jumped to his mind. It was not unusual for an instructor to stay behind in the Academy to grade papers, prepare materials for the lessons of the coming day, or any teaching-related activity. Even Iruka would be suspicious if that was to be his primary criteria for suspicion.
It was not at all difficult to enter the Academy past its opening hours anyway. Naruto had proved it numerous times by pranking the Flames out of his various teachers' desk and cabinet. Iruka smiled at the thought. The small blond boy had been warning them all for years that their security was riddled with holes and all the people could see were lousy pranks with colorful and messy aftermath.
Without the means of T&I, the teacher was limited in what he could do. He had no way of checking the financial situation of any of his colleagues, nor order a complete background check, and least of all straight up torture them. Iruka did not think he had the necessary amount of guts anyways.
He could establish a pattern though. He had noted all the date of this year's tests and, thinking hard, the brown-haired chunin was convinced he could get something. It was only a matter of time.
When Naruto departed from the Sarutobi compound, the sky was already losing its orange and purple tint the evening had given it and getting dark. The blond had a wide smile eating his face and a spring in his steps as he circled around the Hokage Tower and took the stairs climbing up the Hokage Mountain.
Konohamaru was working hard on dreadfully boring Academy stuff to get going, was already planning his pranks for his first year of ninja school, and was trying to work around getting Udon and Moegi, the member of his "elite corps", involved. The little brown haired boy had also fished from inside his scarf his latest advancement in fuinjutsu and Naruto, who had more or less taught him, was proud.
Ichiro was good and healthy thank you very much, had a ridiculous goatee to emulate his uncle Asuma that Naruto totally had not mocked, and was on his way to Tokujo promotion in a year or so. He was also dating apparently, according to Konohamaru at least, but the blond could not get his older brother to spit out who the girl was.
Eiri was a babbling little girl who had enrolled the older boys into her games with glee. Her cousins and Naruto had obliged, or caved in front of her puppy-eyes as Asuma had taunted, playing mount, monster, or magician alternatively.
Then Kurenai had arrived with her and Asuma's daughter, Mirai, and Naruto had had barely a second to coo at the adorable, ruby-eyed infant as the fierce kunoichi had immediately given her girl to her husband and started chasing the blond around, eventually trapping him in a genjutsu.
To finish, there had been cookies and milk before their little group had moved inside to watch a movie. It had been an awesome afternoon all in all. It had been so peaceful, so gentle, so normal.
So precious, so full of love, of happiness.
Naruto shook his head and walked along the little trail leading to the small cabin backed against the cliff that dissimulated the entrance to the ANBU barracks. After donning his mask, His knuckles rasped thrice against the wall and the blond waited for five seconds before knocking again twice this time.
The secret door opened and Naruto stepped back into his violent ninja life without a shred of hesitation. He had things to protect and he needed to become strong to achieve that.
In a room carved like a bowl with a floor smoother than silk stood a cloaked figure. Up and down, the ANBU was walking, defying gravity by sticking to the curved, slippery walls of the room.
Dragon abruptly stopped pacing and propped up a foot against the opposite knee. Intently, the general stared at the sole of their foot from behind their mask, as if trying to decipher a message only they could see.
"How do I even do it?" The general mused aloud, the normal monotone colored by two notes of both amusement and disbelief.
Dog's report had been quite interesting in many ways, more than even Dragon had anticipated. From recruit Uzumaki's incapacity to perform a simple chakra control exercise and movement drill, questions had been raised that no one had even thought of asking.
Was there a different way to do vertical walking? If yes, was it more efficient? And above all, how did traditional walking even work in the first place?
Apparently coming to a decision, Dragon suddenly exited the room and walked down endless hallways, all identical, back to the cramped office of the ANBU commander.
Dragon's eyes weren't enough to solve the problem this time but the general had, among the ANBU soldiers, a number of operators who were perfect for further, keener observation. Hastily, the ANBU commander scrawled a message in black on a red post-it before slapping it on top of the secretary's desk.
The man would address the code red immediately and Dragon would be able to observe further.
Code B-lambda operator required ASAP in office.
If that did not work, Dragon could always ask his old friend afterward. Hiruzen Sarutobi was not nicknamed The Professor for twirling his thumbs all day during their shared youth.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed. It was easy writing this and I had fun. What's more, I think that I'm way better at it than training sessions. The savvy readers will notice that Naruto had his "precious people" moment. As much as I like the idea itself, I dislike how it is done in the manga. Naruto meets a random guy (girl?) and after a minute they discuss life philosophy? I can't read this scene anymore without laughing because it is so out-of-place. "Blabla strength?" "Yeah!" "Blabla precious people!" "Sure!" "Okay, bye!" I think it has more impact if it is triggered by someone close to Naruto.
Anyway, remember that I feed on reviews (or alternatively, your soul) so leave one!