Shigure Toshiro: Yes, I did. You'll also notice I moved Zabuza to getting the sword during Uzu's fall instead of years later. The beauty of Fanfiction, my friend, is that the continuity does not have to be exactly the same. In this timeline, Uzu fell around the middle/ tail end of the Third Great Shinobi World War, So Minato had already figured out and begun using the Hiraishin. I've also always liked the Idea the Uzumaki created the Mist Blades, so :P.
HikariKurayami88: even though I know you won't be reading this chapter, thank you for correcting me, I do appreciate it as I was never quite sure. And I greatly appreciate your criticism, and respect your decision to not continue reading. I will now address your points for the readers who will continue.
The first chapter up until the Genin test were not supposed to actually interplay or connect aside from being the same story, it was just showing different aspects of Naruto's life through the years at the Academy, and there will be plenty of lighthearted chapters later, as that is an integral part of the character, but even so, this is a story about a hardened killer, so yeah, it'll be pretty dark.
I realize you probably read this much later, but when I had the poll up, the option was 'Fem! Haku.', which I announced when I took down the poll, so I did let y'all know.
Chapter 29: The Intermission
"You're all going to die. Gato is..."
"Gato is dead," the emotionless blonde cut off the boy who had started speaking. The boy looked utterly shocked under his fishing hat. "And everyone dies eventually, it's part of being human. We shinobi just put ourselves at higher risk of premature death, but we do so willingly to protect our village."
"Why? Why should you care? No-one cares about you," the boy replied with his same gloomy tone, causing every adult to freeze.
"Inari," Tazuna said slowly, identifying the boy. "Why don't you,"
"I realize that," came the blond's quiet response. "No one person could care for a monster, ne? So how about instead of focusing on one, we look at the whole, Inari. In the end, it doesn't even matter if no-one cares about me, because I protect the people I care about. I don't care if I matter to them or not, simply knowing they are safe is enough for me." The blue-eyed teen vanished, then reappeared behind the small boy, resting his hand on one shoulder.
"So how about you stop wallowing in your apparent loss, and realize they sacrificed themselves for you, you ungrateful brat." with that, he gave the boy a small push, forcing him off-balance and onto his knees. "Or, you can man up and try to fight me. If you win, I'll let you do whatever you want. If I win, you quit being a baby."
"Naruto..." Kakashi began in a dangerous tone.
"Can it. He thinks he's a big man, let him prove it." The blond stepped pout onto the grass and crossed his arms, planting his feet. "If he can force me to move my feet from this spot, I'll leave him be." Everyone was about to protest, but they were cut off by Inari rushing at Naruto, his fist raised and a scream ripping from his throat. Naruto merely watched as the boy ran at him and began beating on his chest with all his might, screaming and crying nonstop.
He felt each impact, but as no more than a mere tap on his trained physique. After twenty minutes, Inari's blows began to weaken, and finally, they stopped, the boy sliding to his knees with tears streaming down his face, his hands clutching the knees of the teen in front of him.
"How would you feel," he managed out through the sniffles. "If your father left you. If your stepdad died. How would you feel?!"
"I'll tell you a secret, Inari-kun," Naruto said softly, his eyes turning from hard and crystaline, to soft and gentle. His use of the affectionate shocked everyone. Naruto knelt down, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, but his feet never moving.
"My father DID leave me. My father gave his life to protect my future. The man who adopted me, he is a great man, Inari, and if I lost him... if he died, I would be devastated, true. But more importantly, if he died for me, I wouldn't wallow in misery. I would rise above that crushing sadness, and be a man both my fathers would be proud of. Inari, the way of the world is never kind, and bad things happen to good people, but each time, it is a test."
"A test?" the boy asked quietly, wiping at his cheeks with the heels of his hands.
"Yes, Inari. Each time something bad happens, it's a test of your resolve, your faith, and most importantly, your heart. Your trials aren't meant to break you, Inari-kun, they are meant to mold you. The loss of your stepfather to Gato... I can't begin to understand that pain. I've suffered much, but never the death of my father. But, you must think of the times you had with him, the lessons he taught you. You must become someone he would be proud to call his son. Are you that someone right now?"
Inari remained quiet for some time, looking at the grass below his knees, before he spoke in a voice that sounded utterly ashamed.
"No."
"Then come with me," Inari looked up to see a black-gloved hand extended towards him, attached to the softly smiling face of Uzumaki Naruto. He reached up to grab it, and was hauled to his feet by the much stronger teen. "Sakura," the girl snapped to attention. "You'd better come too, there's something I want you both to learn today."
Sakura nodded shakily and rose, following the blond, who's face had once again become an emotionless mask, as he led the hatted boy into the woods. Ssasuke rose to go inside with both Tazuna and Tsunami, both of whom had been utterly forgotten, presumably to arrange the sleeping situation, Zabuza and the two Konoha Jounin just sat there, unsure what to do, and Haku... Haku decided to satisfy her curiosity, and followed the trio into trees.
Three miles away in a clearing
"Sakura, take these," the blond held out four weights to the girl, who took them, and immediately was dragged down by their weight.
"How much do these weigh?!" she puffed out. The blond grinned.
"Now begins YOUR first test, Sakura. If you can lift those weights to shoulder-height you pass." the whiskered hero turned to Inari, who was fiddling with his fingers in a very Hinata-esque way.
"Stop doing that," Inari snapped his hands away from each other. "Always try to remain confident and calm, and do your best to avoid developing bad habits, Inari." the boy nodded. "I'm going to give you basic Shinobi instruction, Inari. I'll teach you enough to deal with any non-shinobi that might threaten Wave, and you are allowed to teach the other children in the country, but after that, it's up to you to decide if you want to continue."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"We'll get to that later. First, we're going to unlock you're Chakra. Chakra is the most basic element of Shinobi life. It combines both mental and physical energies. Sit down." the boy obeyed, and Naruto joined him, showing him the lotus position. "Sit like this," Inari adjusted his posture so one leg was horizontal over the other, and his fists were pushed together.
"Now close your eyes and focus on a warm feeling in your stomach. When you find it, imagine like it's a fish. Throw a line out to it and wait."
Inari remained quiet for several moments, but eventually spoke, his eyes still closed.
"How did you know I like to fish?"
"Inari, you live on an island nation, you have a dock at your house, and fish swim in the sea like birds swim in the air. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Now focus." the boy once more went quiet, as a look of concentration swept over his face. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned into an hour before a sudden wave of power swept the area around Inari clear.
"Congratulations, Inari. You just unlocked your Chakra. With Chakra, you can do almost anything, but be warned," here, the boy gulped slightly as Naruto raised his finger. "Now that you can access this energy, if you ever get completely cut off from it, or it drops below a certain point, you will die. Chakra combines your knowledge, the mental energy, and your cells' power, the physical energy, into a potent mix. In order to use Chakra, you must convert some of your stamina into it, and focus it through hand signs. You can increase your Chakra reserves through training, both physical and mental, to be able to use more jutsus. Let's learn how to mold Chakra first, though." Naruto had Inari stand up and showed him the half-ram seal.
"Now try to channel it to your feet."
"My feet?"
"Yes, your feet. This is easier said than done, because the feet are some of the most difficult Chakra points to reach."
It took a few moments, but eventually, the boy managed to get some energy into the soles of his feet.
"Now, follow me," Naruto turned and walked right up to a tree, then walked UP the tree. Inari gaped at him for a moment, before cautiously placing one foot on the bark, which immediately slid down. "Try using more," the blond advised. Inari nodded and took a moment to channel more chakra to his feet, then took another step, which this time stuck. He took another tentative step up the tree, then another, and another. Finally, he was right below his teacher, however, he was visibly straining and sweating.
"Very good. Now, stay right there as long as you possibly can. If you fall, I'll catch you." Inari nodded and focused on staying where he was, which lasted all of a whopping twenty minutes, before he start falling, only for the blond to snap his hand out and catch the boys' wrist.
"That's better than I expected. Either you have amazing Chakra control without trying, or you have massive Chakra reserves for one your age. I'm inclined to believe a small mixture of the two." Naruto walked the boy down to the ground, then joined him. "Rest for a few moments to regain your energy. I'm going to check on Sakura." Inari slumped down between the roots of the tree as the Rinnegan wielder returned to his kunoichi teammate.
"How's it going?" the girl lifted once more, but the weights only came to about mid-thigh before she dropped them again.
"I... can't... lift them..." she panted, falling onto her back.
"Obviously, you can. Sakura, I want to show you something. Inari, come here a moment!" the boy rose and strolled over, only for the teen who summoned him to lean down and whisper in his ear. Inari nodded, then closed his eyes and grabbed the weights, pulling them easily to his shoulders, then opened his eyes once more, only for the hunks of metal to fall once more to the ground.
"Now, Inari, how did you lift those?" the boy shrugged.
"I was just focusing on my legs, like you said." Naruto nodded.
"Thank you, Inari. Go practice tree-walking for as long as you can. Try to reach the lowest branch and sit on it." the boy nodded, and scurried off to do his assignment.
"Sakura, follow Inari's example. Don't focus on lifting the weights." Sakura looked confused, but appeared to try. She gripped the weights, then looked at her legs, which were sweaty and grimy.
"EWW! Why am I so gross right now?!" with that, the weights snapped up to her shoulders, and she appeared surprised, before they plonked back down like bricks in high gravity.
"Now, tell me why that worked." Sakura remained quiet for a moment.
"You put a seal on the weights that restricts movement if the holder is focused on them."
"Good. Now tell me the lesson." here, the pinkette looked utterly confused, causing the blond to sigh and rest his forehead in his hands. He slid his fingers down his face with a sigh. "The lesson," he grunted. "Was that the conventional method doesn't always work. You have to think of new ways to accomplish a goal as a Kunoichi. It was supposed to help your abstract thought processes." a look of comprehension appeared on the pinkette's face.
"Now go join Inari practicing tree-walking." Sakura looked like she was about to protest, then closed her mouth and went over to the boy, who quickly showed her how to do it when it became apparent she had no clue.
"Sometimes I wonder how some of our Genin even made it," Naruto sighed, leaning against the tree Haku was observing from. "Our Academy program isn't anywhere near as stringent as it once was, or as what it should be. I don't suppose you know anything about Kiri's?" the girl hummed quietly. "Didn't think so. I'm guessing you were trained exclusively by Zabuza?" she hummed again. The blond sighed, then slid into a sitting position. He remained silent for several minutes, watching Inari and Sakura exhaust themselves.
Then, Haku heard a pleasant sound fill the air, and found it originating from the teen below her. He was humming something. She listened to the tune, but couldn't place it, although it evoked the image of a peaceful beach. Then, he started singing softly to himself.
"Oh, I hope to find a place/ A place to call my own/ A place to call my home/ Out where the ocean rolls.
The crash of the waves/ and the roll of the surf/ every way on every day/ on the island of my birth.
The sea, the sea, the sea calls to me/ my friend, you know, this is no trend, it's only my home/ if e'er I find this place I call home/ it's where I'll rest my bones.
The sweet siren song/ calls all day long/ out where the ocean rolls." Naruto stopped singing when he realized he'd been steadily getting louder, and his two 'students' had stopped to listen to his song. He rose and walked away.
"Come back to the house when both of you can reach half-way up the tree."