Chapter 3
New Faces and new Friends
Two years had now passed since Tri had been adopted into the Uzumaki Namikaze family. He and Naruto, now aged 7 had had a remarkable 24 months. Their Shinobi training was going along superbly for both. They displayed ability that belied their years.
Minato's decision to increase the minimum age requirement to attend the Academy to 8 was the only thing that kept them from attending. So they would have to wait another year. Tsunade, Shizune and Hiruzen had them marked down as 'one-year wonders'. Most prospective children who attend the Academy graduate after two years, only the best graduated in one. Only around five percent of all graduates in the past decade had graduated after only their first year.
Despite their progress, not all in their lives had been positive. About six months into their training both noticed that their parents gradually spent less and less time training them, less and less time with them full stop. It upset and frustrated both of them, many times they'd asked for help with one thing or another and they'd instead been sent to Shizune or to Hiruzen or Tsunade. Eventually, both simply stopped bothering and went directly to Shizune, Tsunade, Hiruzen; They'd even persuaded Jōnin Maito Gai into helping on occasion with their physical fitness and Taijutsu.
It was just after one of those infamous Maito Gai training sessions that we find the two young brothers, on an early spring morning that seemed like any other. It would, however, mark the day the two brothers would meet one of their closest mutual friends.
"Urghh, I'm so glad we only have Gai's training three times a week," Naruto groaned. His everything ached. He thought he would get used to the physical punishment that Gai's training entailed but the big eye-browed Jōnin kept finding new ways to work them into the ground. Tri next to him chuckled, "Oh come on Naruto. It's necessary if we want to be good Shinobi. There are only 12 months left until we enter the Academy." Tri said to his blonde sibling.
Over the past two years, their individual personas had developed and despite looking like contradictions they complimented one another. Naruto was headstrong and somewhat impulsive but still kept his mind on task and fought intelligently. Meanwhile, Tri had developed a reserved, methodical style that suited medium to long range combat.
Their appearance too had changed. Not just that they were taller, more physically developed as you would expect from being them two years older. Although their hair was much the same, their attire had changed quite a bit.
Naruto much to the delight of everyone had long since abandoned the obnoxious orange garb he once wore, swapping it instead for black and grey. So now he wore black three-quarter pants with bandages around his right knee and a shuriken holster around his right thigh with regular blue sandals on his feet. The orange jacket had been replaced with a form-fitting black shirt with long sleeved mesh armour underneath. When necessary he also wore a thin grey jacket on top. The most prominent addition though was the Tantō Naruto wore over his left shoulder.
Tri too preferred darker colours. He now wore dark grey three-quarter pants, the hem of which fit tightly around his upper fibula and tibia. Both his knees were reinforced with bandages, with additional bandages around both his ankles underneath his black sandals. He like Naruto also wore a black shirt but he had a high collar that obscured his neck. He also wore mesh armour although his only extended to the upper forearm. Because dotted across both forearms and hands were seals. Storage seals, weight seals amongst many others.
"I know they are Tri. But Gai-sensei keeps forgetting we aren't adults," Naruto sighed. "Though I must admit, the results are noticeable," he added clenching his fist. Under Gai their speed, physical strength and stamina had taken noticeably increased.
"At least with Gai we actually get training on a regular and consistent basis," he noted bitterly, Tri sighed his agreement.
Home life was frustrating for both of them, the attention they received from their parents was now limited in the extreme. For the first six months or so, things had been fine. They understood their parents led busy lives, their Tou-san ran the village and their Kaa-chan had to devote most of her time to Rezano. But both still made time for their two eldest when they could, whether it was instructing or training them or just simply spending time with them. It had now been around eighteen months since their parents had taught or trained either of them anything.
A visit from Jiraiya had turned it all on its head. Following that visit, Rezano received more and more of his parents time and attention. And on one of the increasingly rare occasions, when either of them was actually free they told them they hadn't the time for one reason or another. Neither of them hated Rezano for the time and attention he received, they both understood and loved their younger sibling but the building frustration and loneliness led them both to resent him.
Furthermore, both of them realised that neither parent was doing it consciously, they weren't even aware of the extent to which they were ignoring their two eldest. And neither child could decide whether it that made it better or worse. They weren't the only ones to notice, Shizune, Tsunade and Hiruzen had all noticed, ever since the brothers had instead come directly to them for training.
But they couldn't inform Minato and Kushina of their ignorant stupidity because the brothers had asked them not to. Suffice to say none of the three adults were impressed.
And then a few weeks ago, Kushina had delightfully announced she was pregnant. As a result, Naruto and Tri had been caught in two minds. On one hand, they were elated to have another brother or their first sister. But they knew that the minuscule amount of attention they might have received was about to be taken away from them entirely.
In regard to their feelings towards Jiraiya. In Naruto's mind, he had gone from the caring grandfatherly figure he was openly affectionate towards. Now he was polite but cold, showing no positive emotion towards him whatsoever. Tri, on the other hand, didn't even bother with polite, he was outright hostile towards the Sannin. The dismissive attitude he'd displayed the night they'd met instilling an animosity that had only strengthened.
"Well it's a positive for us both, we get stamina and Taijutsu training from the best. And he gets practice in teaching and training others. Remember he said he wants to become a Jōnin instructor in a few years," Tri said spinning a shuriken on his index finger.
Gai's desire to instruct a Genin team was the primary reason he'd so eagerly agreed to train the two and three mornings a week he did just that. And while Gai could be a tough teacher, not afraid to be heavy-handed during spars he would compliment when appropriate.
Today he'd shown them a sheer rock face not far from the village. His challenge to them was to climb it one-handed without using chakra whether it took them a day or a year to complete. It had taken them nearly four hours to climb it with both hands and chakra, not to mention the number of times they nearly fell off. And now their arms felt as if they were going to drop off.
"How long do you think it's going to take to climb that cliff one-handed?" Naruto asked his brother. "A while," Tri chuckled.
They were still walking back to the village, through the endless trees that comprise the forests around Konohagakure. Ahead of them was a clearing and from the sounds of metal thudding against wood, it sounded like somebody was training. After sharing a quick look, they decided to be nosey.
Quietly making their way to the break in the treeline, Naruto trying his absolute best to be as silent as possible. Tri smiled and rolling his eyes at his sibling's antics, he instead chose to lean against a tree in plain sight.
The person who'd caught their interest was about their age, his shoulder-length black hair was tied back in a ponytail while his entire outfit was black except his grey sandals. The black-haired child was moving quickly, jumping and flipping while throwing shuriken. The sharp metal disks all hit their mark dead on, even the targets that were hidden behind trees.
He landed back on the ground to an applause. Turning around he saw a black and red haired kid leaned against a tree clapping. "Well thrown Uchiha-san," he complimented, raising an eyebrow at his recognising him as an Uchiha. "The fan symbol on your back," he explained walking out into the clearing towards him. "Anyways I'm being rude, allow me to introduce myself," he said extending his hand.
"My name is Uzumaki Tri, he said. "Uchiha Itachi," he replied, as the two shook hands.
"So is your companion going to introduce themselves or are they going to continue hiding in the bush?" Itachi asked Tri, both laughing as a sweat drop appeared on a nearby bush. Slowly Naruto emerged from the bush, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, I'm Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto," he said. "Well, it's nice to meet you Naruto-san," Itachi replied.
"How long have you been in training Itachi-san?" Tri asked his gaze again on the wooden target riddled with shuriken. "Since I was five, so just over two years Tri-san," the Uchiha answered his eyes on the Shuriken still spinning on Tri's finger. "That makes three of us then," Tri said, a flick of his wrist letting the Shuriken fly, it too embedding itself in the wooden target some thirty feet away.
"What fields are you both training in?" Itachi asked the two brothers. Naruto replied first. "Maito Gai-sensei and Tsunade-baa-chan teach us Taijutsu. Shizune-nee-chan teaches us Chakra control and Hiruzen Sarutobi-Jiji teaches us Ninjutsu as well as Fūinjutsu" Naruto stating, ticking each off with a finger.
"Okay.." Itachi replied, not really getting much information from his words.
"Our Taijutsu teachings include Maito Gai's Gōken (Strong Fist) and Senju Tsunade's Senju style. Shizune-chan, for the most part, works on improving our chakra control because we both have abnormally large chakra reserves for our age. Our Fūinjutsu training is just learning seals. While our Ninjutsu training has for the most part been learning the techniques they would otherwise teach you in the Academy. We may have to force the issue when it comes to chakra nature manipulation" Tri elaborated.
Itachi nodded. "How about yourself Itachi-san?" Tri inquired. "My training, for the most part, is the standard Uchiha styles in Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu. Although I have begun forays into Uchiha Katon Ninjutsu and Genjutsu," the Uchiha finished.
"Katon?" Tri said, his voice intrigued. "Would you be willing to demonstrate Itachi-san?" Tri had noticed the singed grass in parts of the clearing when he'd arrived and was curious to what had caused them.
He smiled briefly when Itachi nodded, turning to face the clearing he wove a few hand signs. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) Itachi spoke as a fireball formed in front of him before releasing it into the ground ahead of him, avoiding the rather flammable trees.
"Impressive Itachi-san," Tri again complemented the Uchiha. "Thank you Tri-san, you mentioned you had yet to try nature Ninjutsu. Does that mean neither of you knows your affinities?" he inquired.
"Yeah, we haven't asked yet," Naruto replied.
"Asked? I'm surprised your parents haven't helped you with it, it takes seconds. Speaking of which, both of your parents are really strong aren't they. Yet you never mentioned them earlier, do they not assist in training you?" Itachi inquired, the immediate looks of frustration on both their faces suggested to him he'd strayed into 'touchy' territory.
"No, they don't. They are… otherwise occupied." Tri answered, no emotion in his voice. Itachi could sense there was more to the issue, but decided prying further wasn't a good idea.
"So," Itachi spoke, breaking the nervous silence. "What were you planning on doing for the rest of the day?" he asked, deciding it was best to move the discussion to another topic. "Pretty much what you are doing Itachi-san," Naruto answered.
"Well then, shall we?" the Uchiha asked going to retrieve his shuriken. The brothers looked at one another, both nodding.
That Evening
Naruto and Tri were walking home, they'd bid farewell to their new Uchiha friend with an agreement to meet again the following day. In just a few hours Itachi had been able to point out a few minor flaws in their shuriken technique. Naruto who had taken to Taijutsu was able to provide Itachi with a few tips on his Taijutsu form while Tri was able to help with the efficiency of his chakra manipulation and control.
"What's the plan then Tri?" Having seen Itachi display of nature transformation Ninjutsu had made the siblings decide it was about time they added it to their learning. "Tou-san will almost certainly still be at his office at work while Kaa-chan will be downstairs with Rezano-chan. You distract them while I find some chakra paper. Say I've gone to the bathroom or something. Then in the morning after we've found our chakra natures I'll find us some Ninjutsu to start learning." Tri explained.
Naruto nodded in understanding. "What affinities do you think we'll have?" Naruto wondered aloud. "I've no idea about me, but Kaa-chan is Suiton and Tou-san is Fūton. So you'll probably be one of those, if you're really lucky, you may have both. Naruto was getting excited now, he looked on the brink of jumping halfway across the village.
A few minutes later they were home. "We're home!" Naruto half shouted across the house. "In the dining room," they heard. A quick nod from Naruto as he headed to the dining room while Tri shunshined upstairs, a trick Hiruzen's son Asuma had shown them a few months ago before he'd departed for the capital, his destination was their father's office.
Opening the door quietly he found it empty as expected. All the draws and storage scrolls were labelled and organised alphabetically, it made finding things very easy. Quickly tracking down the storage scroll labelled 'Chakra Paper'. Tri took it out, unrolled it and channelled his chakra into it, with a puff of smoke a few sheets of chakra paper appeared. He quickly put the paper in one of the storage seals on his right wrist before placing the scroll back in its rightful place.
He completed the plan by actually going to the bathroom, washing his hands and then heading down to join his family in the dining room.
"Evening Tri-chan," he heard his Kushina call as he stepped into the dining room. "Evening Kaa-chan, hi Rezano-chan." He said waving at his younger brother. Sitting down at the table but not before booping Rezano lightly on the nose eliciting a babyish giggle from the two-year-old. "Naruto-chan was just telling me you both made a new friend today."
-Uchiha Household-
"So, come on then Itachi, who did you meet today? For some reason, the anticipation's getting to me." Mikoto Uchiha cheerily asked her eldest son. They were in the midst of dinner when Itachi had mentioned he'd met two kids his own age. For a while now Mikoto had noticed her son's solitary attitude, especially over the past year or two, he didn't interact with many people. Only herself, Sasuke and fellow clansman Shisui regularly interacted with Itachi.
"Their names are Tri and Naruto," Itachi replied swallowing a mouthful of rice. The names took Mikoto by surprise, truthfully she was delighted. Her and Kushina were lifelong friends as well as rivals always seeking to one-up the other. She'd wondered for years whether their children would in some way be drawn to one another. And now it seems they were.
"It's nice to see you making friends Itachi," Mikoto smiled while wiping the mess from around her second son Sasuke's mouth. "Is Tou-san working late again Kaa-chan?" Itachi asked looking at the chair at the end of the table, which once again was empty. "Yeah, looks like another all-nighter," Mikoto replied bitterly. The lack of time her husband Fugaku, the leader of the Uchiha clan spent at home was a source of great frustration for her. Doubly so since on the rare occasions he was home he practically ignored Sasuke in favour of Itachi.
"I see," Itachi said neutrally.
"Are your new friends training to be Shinobi like you too?" Mikoto asked. Itachi nodded as he chewed. "Yeah, they're both pretty good, they train with Maito Gai-san, Tsunade-sama and her assistant Shizune-san. Mikoto was half paying attention as she was tending to Sasuke who'd decided to throw his rice everywhere. But she became confused, "Did they not mention Minato or Kushina among those who train them?"
"I did ask. But they said they were too busy, I think there's more to it but I didn't want to be rude," Itachi said. The confusion only grew on Mikoto's face. She knew for a fact that Minato and Kushina deeply loved their children, so why weren't they involved in their training?
She was pulled out of her thoughts by a chair dragging across the floor. Itachi had stood and was pushing the chair back under the table. "I'm feeling tired Kaa-chan, so I'm gonna go to bed."
"Okay, sweetie. Good night, I'll see you in the morning." She replied. Her attention still focused on getting rice into Sasuke's mouth instead of on the floor.
"Be good for Kaa-chan Sasuke," Itachi asked lightly tapping his younger brother on the forehead with his middle and index fingers.
-Uzumaki Namikaze Household-
"How do we use the paper, Tri?" Naruto asked as he rubbed the paper in his hands between his fingers. Kushina had been delighted at finding out her children had befriended the eldest of her closest friend and rival. She had also proclaimed their eternal rivalry would continue through their children which earned her some concerned looks from Tri and Naruto. Both had quickly escaped to Naruto's room having quickly made themselves scarce following dinner.
Naruto's room was no different to that of most seven-year-old children. A bed accompanied by a bedside cabinet, a wardrobe and Chester drawers. The floor was a comfy carpet and there was a small desk in the corner. But pride of place went to Naruto's giant bean bag, a gift from Shizune on his sixth birthday.
"Channel some of your chakra into it Naruto. How it reacts determines your affinity. If it becomes wet its Suiton, if it splits its Fūton, it burns then its Katon, it crumbles if its Doton and if it crinkles then its Raiton," Tri explained, his brother near mesmerised by the plain slip of paper.
"You go first Naruto-kun, we have an idea of what yours will be." Thusly Naruto channelled his chakra into the paper. The anticipation was palpable, what happened next wasn't what either expected.
"What?" both quietly exclaimed.
End Chapter