[Hello wonderful people! I want to get some things out of the way before you get to read the story.
1) I graduated from college back in June. Yay me! Now, I gotta find a real job! Boo!
2) I got a new laptop as a graduation gift! Is it to the standard of my last one? Probably not but it works and seems to have good specs. I don't see myself playing any games on it like my last one though. I'll save that for the gaming PC I'm building, which I have all the parts for. Just need a monitor and a Windows 10 installation.
3) I still plan on working on this story. Like I've stated before, this story will be the one that will never go on Ice {unless I burn out on it and need a break}. The other stories that you will start seeing being updated include A Saiyan's Return and A Brotherhood Rises. Yeah, I didn't forget about that story of mine. Nope! You can't prove anything!
4)FORGET WHAT YOU SAW HERE! THE PAIRING WAS EDITED BECAUSE I FORGOT SOME THINGS!
ENJOY!]
Cause and Effect + Montage!
If he has said it once he will say it again until he could find a new suck-uh successor to take this hat from him.
He was getting too old for this shit.
Just last night the potential kidnapping of the Hyūga Heiress was thankfully thwarted. And by someone, he least expected no less! Imagine Hiruzen's surprise when Naruto Uzumaki was brought before him and was told by Hiashi that it was he who stopped the kidnapper. That threw him for a loop and was an interesting start to his day. When asked what Naruto was doing out so late, he was simply told that he liked to stroll through the village at night when no one was around to bother him.
This made him flinch un-noticeable by everyone there. It made sense why Naruto would want to wander around the village with no one around. Shaking those thoughts away he quickly told the boy how proud he was of saving the girl. He would meet up with the boy later to talk about some things and reward him later.
After Naruto left, Hiashi spoke about the ANBU claiming that the man who tried to kidnap his daughter was the ambassador from Kumo. This was both startling news as well somewhat predicted. He knew he should have had some ANBU watching the man more carefully. He just didn't think this one person would almost get away with kidnapping. He had dismissed the Hyūga clan head and waited for those in the I&T department to get him answers for this recent incident.
It wasn't until noon that Ibiki Morino, the head of the I&T department, stepped into his office. "Report." The Hokage declared while Ibiki nodded his head before standing straight. "The man that was apprehended last night is indeed the ambassador for Kumogakure. We've discovered he had a secondary mission, off-record. Once the negotiations were settled and the treaty signed he would infiltrate the Hyuga compound and kidnap one of the young children of the main house family. It was fortunate that he was stopped instead of outright killed. With him alive, we now have leverage and proper evidence to convict Kumo and their Raikage of this crime." Hiruzen nodded his head while taking a deep inhale of his pipe and slowly letting the smoke slip past his lips. He needed to jump on this advantage they had now before any agents could come and possibly silence the ambassador. They needed him alive for the moment.
Dismissing Ibiki he pulled out two scrolls and began writing two separate letters. One for the Fire Daimyo and the other for the Raikage. Most likely right after he sends this letter would the Lightning Daimyo send one to the Raikage about the meeting he would want. To prevent war and this event from becoming public knowledge, a meeting would be held with a deal being struck. With each passing hour, it became obvious who would be coming out of this with the upper hand.
(EU)
"WWHHAAAAAATT!?" Many who heard this anger-filled scream knew it would be best if they avoided the Raikage mansion for the next couple of hours. The jounin who had delivered the two scrolls was feeling the pressure of his kage's chakra and anger. It was unsettling and he hoped beyond everything that he didn't become the man's next training dummy. Ay stared at the letters he had just received. At least to say, the contents of both did not make him happy. It was only because of his self-control that he didn't toss his desk out the window, along with the one who brought him these letters.
The ambassador he sent to Konoha was supposed to return last week. Not only was he not here, but the letters he had were from both the current third Hokage of Konoha and their very own Daimyo within Lightning Country. The one from Konoha pissed him off from the accusations being placed on them. He knew there were no orders about kidnapping any Hyugas. Those times were behind them and he didn't want to continue that practice of kidnapping clan members for their bloodlines. Not only was the ambassador alive, making it so even if he told the truth about not assigning him that mission they wouldn't believe him, but both Daimyos set up a meeting within the Land of Iron. A neutral ground so that both Kages could hash out their problems and come to a compromise. Both countries did not wish for war; Better to clash with words than with blades during these relatively peaceful times.
Ay knew not what good would come from the coming meeting. He could only hope for some mercy from his Daimyo. Though that wouldn't stop him from keeping things busy here. Dismissing the jounin in front of him he pressed a button on his desk to contact his current secretary and told them to call for certain individuals in his shinobi force to investigate these supposed orders. Once they showed up he told them what was happening and what Kumo was being accused of. He then set them out to figure out who was responsible for these orders since only a couple of people knew about this ambassador meeting.
Giving a long-drawn-out sigh, Ay gathered his Kage robes and summoned those who would be attending with him to the Land of Iron. He just hoped there was a chance to salvage this whole situation.
(EU)
"Welcome to the Land of Iron. Please respect our rules and do not cause any trouble with your stay here." An old samurai said as he and other samurai greeted their guests that they were expecting for a month in advance. His name was Mifune and he was the leading general of the whole country. Before he stood the Hokage and Fire Daimyo of the Land of Fire. With them stood the Fire Daimyo's guardians. One of them was Hiruzen's son, Asuma Sarutobi and Chiriku, a Ninja Monk. While the Twelve Ninja Guardians had been disbanded a while ago after a failed coup d'etat of six traitors, the Daimyo still trusted both of these two men to protect him with their life and knew no one better to do the job better than his samurai guards. With Hiruzen were two ANBU members that were his most capable Shinobi and Kunoichi respectively. One wore a weasel mask and the other a dog mask.
On the other side of the group were the Raikage and Lightning Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. Standing beside the Daimyo were two of his most trusted Elite Samurai Guard. Beside Ay was a young man with shaggy white hair that covered his left eye. He had dark skin and black eyes that held a boring look to them. He wears a high-collared, sleeveless uniform with loose-fitting pants, bandages on his wrists, and the one-strap-over-one-shoulder flak jacket of a Kumogakure shinobi. Next to this man was another young man who had short blonde hair. He wears the standard attire of the Kumo-nin: a sleeveless, black shirt with a one-strap-over-one-shoulder white flak jacket, black forehead protector, characteristic black, elbow-length arm-guards, and the red and white Kumogakure shin-guards along with a pair of sandals.
Both parties bowed respectively towards the Samurai General. Soon they were led to a large building that held both the rooms they would be staying in and the large meeting room where this whole thing would take place at. It wasn't long for everyone to have their luggage sorted out before the Kage and Daimyo duos made it to the meeting room. A large U-shape table was set for them to have a conversation. The Hokage and Fire Daiymo sat together with the Raikage and Lightning Daiymo sitting across from them. Mifune stood at the front of the table with his hands behind his back. Behind him stood two of his top samurai that were ready to help intervene with anything. The personal guards of Kage and Daiymo stood behind their respective lieges a fair distance to allow them the space to start things off.
The air was pretty tense with each person looking at each other warily. To break the tension that seemed to just increase with each passing second, Mifune cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Today we are here to discuss the crime of kidnapping a clan heir between two countries. Hokage-sama, you have the floor. Please explain your findings to the room." Hiruzen nodded his head and cleared his throat before staring across the room toward A who kept a calm look on his face and didn't show any sign of irritation to the crimes being accused of his country.
"A month ago, Konohagakure and Kumogakure were attempting to create a peace treaty after both finding the small war between our villages to waning on our spirits. I had agreed for A-sama to send one of his top shinobi as an ambassador to our village. It was a week after our communications that the ambassador arrived. As he was our guest we treated him fairly. The treaty talks began as he and I began negotiating the terms of the agreement. It took several days within the time he was allowed to stay within Konoha, but we eventually came to an agreement that would benefit both of our villages in the long run. It was on the last night of his stay that the incident happen. The ambassador was caught trying to sneak out of Konoha with one Hinata Hyuga. The current heir of the Hyuga clan, on her birthday no less. Fortunately, he was caught by a young boy who saw him trying to sneak away with Hinata in the sack he had. The boy was able to catch the man off guard and bought enough time for the clan head of the Hyuga, Hiashi Hyuga, to knock the man out. The next morning he was interrogated for information and we were told of his, off-record, mission he had." Taking a breather from his explanation, Hiruzen eyed the room to gauge the reactions of those here. The Fire Daimyo was unhappy about these events, especially since they were gearing up for a peaceful period that hasn't been around for a long time. Though he, and a few others, were interested in the part about a boy finding and stopping the kidnapping from being successful.
The Lightning Daimyo had a frown on his face as he thought through everything that was said. He knew about his Shinobi Village urges about getting bloodlines and those with dojutsus. Though, he hoped that the current Raikage wouldn't have those same ideas as his predecessors. A, on the other hand, couldn't hold back the glower that came to his face. "I would like to state that Kumo had no intention of committing any more bloodline theft. That stopped the moment I took this position and I made it clear to all of my forces that we would strengthen our village with our power. I would like to request proof that the ambassador had such instructions for this supposed mission."
"The Raikage has a point." The lightning daimyo spoke up. Eyes turned to him as his hand supported his head. "While it is a terrible thing to have happened, and you have my sincere apologies for it, what proof do you have that this shinobi acted upon the Raikage's commands and he isn't one of the few supporters of the old ways who wished to complete an old goal?" Mifune nodded to both of their statements and turned his head towards the natives of the Land of Fire.
"Does your party have any proper evidence to back up these claims?" The old general asked with Fire Daiymo looking towards the Hokage. Hiruzen nodded his head before looking back toward one of his ANBU. The dog mask ANBU stepped forward before handing him a scroll and then stepped back to her original spot. "This here is the mission scroll that the ambassador had in his possession." Instantly A grimaced at the audacity of one of his supposedly TOP shinobi keeping the mission scroll within his luggage. What idiot kept the scroll if this was supposed to be a secret mission?
The Hokage held it out and Mifune grabbed it before reading the contents within it. He kept a calm and neutral look on his face before walking over to the Raikage and handing it to him. "From what I have read, this appears to be a mission scroll that you gave to your shinobi. Can you deny that this isn't the scroll you gave to your man?" A took the scroll from Mifune and read it over. Instantly he had frowned before glaring at the words written. He could feel his temper rising the more he looked at it. Everything about this was faulty!
"I can deny that I gave this to my shinobi. For one, this isn't my handwriting nor my signature. It is well crafted, I'll give it that, but I did not write or assign this mission." Placing the scroll down, A motioned for the young man with the shaggy white hair to step forward. Nodding his head he pulled out another scroll and handed it to his Raikage before stepping back. A unfurled the scroll before placing both sides by side for Mifune to take a look at. "As you can see, this mission scroll is the one I assigned to my shinobi. This one that was found on him is a forgery." Mifune took a long look at both scrolls and used his keen eyes to spot the many differences between speech patterns and word usage. Despite the one provided by the Hokage being professionally done, he could see the flaws between it and the main ambassador's mission scroll.
"It appears that Raikage-sama is correct. There are obvious differences between both scrolls provided. While this disputes the fact that you didn't assign the mission to your subordinate, it doesn't stop the fact he was ordered to kidnap the Hyuga heiress."
"And how do we know that someone in Konoha didn't forge this!? Who is to say they aren't at fault for setting up this whole thing?" Ay accused while the room got tense again. No one said anything as Kage stared the other down. It was a long pause within the talks before the Hokage, with narrowed eyes, decided to speak against his words.
"I would never use one of my respected clans for such a tactic. To accuse us of such a thing is ludicrous. We could easily accuse you of using one of your shinobi to create the forgery as a way to dissuade us from seeing the truth!" With those words A slammed his hands on the table and stood to his feet with anger clearly shown on his face.
"And you would be a fool to accuse me of such a thing!" Instantly everyone's private guards were on standby with weapons out from the hostile motion of things. There was a tense silence as everyone stared at one another, waiting for someone to make a move. Mifune was still calm but they could see his hand was close to the handle of his blade if he needed to intervene. His samurai already had their blades halfway out of their sheaths. Taking a deep breath of air to calm himself, A sat back down in his chair before bowing his head to Mifune.
"Forgive me for my temper Mifune-sama." With these words, all the private guards placed their weapons away and the atmosphere cleared up from how tense it was before. Everyone was still on edge however and kept their bodies tense for action. Once things calmed down Mifune motioned for his samurai to stand down before he walked towards the middle of the room.
"You are forgiven Raikage-sama. I understand that these talks have made everyone on edge for the accusations thrown at one another. Let us take a ten-minute break before continuing these negotiations." Everyone seemed to agree before the Kage and Daimyos stood to their feet. Bowing to one another everyone walked their separate ways to cool off from the proceedings. Each of the Daimyos had a quick talk with their respective Kages about what would be happening next when the talks continue. Discussions of plans on how to make these negotiations work in their favor. The Fire Daimyo was currently interested in hearing about the boy who stopped the kidnapper. Hiruzen told the man who ruled his country about young Naruto. Told him about his status and who he was. The Daimyo wasn't happy that he didn't know about this boy and Hiruzen explained his reasoning for keeping him a secret. He had forgiven the old Hokage and told him about his idea to not only fix the mistake of leaving Naruto alone and ostracize by his village but also proper compensation for the attempted kidnapping.
Hiruzen was a little stunned at his suggestion but couldn't refute his Daimyo's plan. He didn't like it since this would mess up someone's life just to stave off the thought of war, but they did things all the time in the name of peace. Sometimes you just had to sacrifice another's life to achieve the results everyone wants. The ten-minute break had ended and each party returned to the meeting room before taking a seat. The Fire Daimyo decided to take the floor and stood up while looking toward Mifune and then the Lightning Daimyo.
"During the break, I have discussed an idea with my Hokage and we have agreed. To keep the peace between both countries, we propose a new treaty be made. Whatever stipulations that were accepted the first time will be gone over again and proper changes made to put this all behind us. However, before we speak of such conditions, I wish to make a demand. I have been informed that the boy who saved the young Hyuga's life is someone of importance. He is a clan heir. I will not divulge his identity right now to anyone to keep his identity close to my heart. My demand is thus, for the attempt of kidnapping a clan heiress and a potential successful kunoichi, Konohagakure, with my backing, demands for an exchange. Whether not the Raikage did or did not give this mission has become irrelevant without more proof that I doubt any of us have right now. As such, we demand that Kumogakure exchanges one of their future kunoichi for the ambassador that Konoha has in their custody. They will then be arranged to marry the boy in the future when both come of age."
The Fire Daimyo's words sent a shock of silence throughout everyone. A was clenching his fist tightly while doing his best to reign in his temper. The two shinobi behind him looked stunned at such a proclamation. This man wanted them to trade one of their own just to get back the ambassador who would be labeled a traitor! And they would be married off to some brat no less! Mifune kept silent to this as he thought over such a thing. The exchange of people has been done in the past. It was inevitable to use a human being as a bargaining chip when it comes to important matters such as this. The Lightning Daimyo cupped his chin and proceeded to think on the terms that were placed before them. It was a viable option and considering that they would come to an impasse soon enough with the discussion about the ambassador, it would be smart to accept such terms without causing more of a bad scene for them.
"We shall accept these terms." The aghast looks were not lost on the Kumo shinobi as they watched their Daimyo stand up to talk. "Your demand is acceptable. You would allow us to personally handle and sentence the man sent on this horrible mission in exchange for another life that was almost stolen away. I would like to add that you allow the selected kunoichi time to stay within Kumogakure for her to grow as a kunoichi before being transferred to Konoha when the time is right." the Fire Daiymo nodded his head in acceptance of the added terms before both men walked around and shook the other hands to signify that the terms were set, placed, and accepted in one fell swoop.
The Raikage couldn't, more so didn't, get the chance to refute anything that just happened. He sat there shocked that his Daimyo would agree to such a thing so fast. Was he mad! Now, one of his own would have to give up the life she lived just to keep the peace so war wouldn't come. His head looked down at his hands as they were clenching hard to the point his knuckles became pale. He silently gritted his teeth and then sighed.
"Very well then. The contract for this arrangement shall be made and signed by both of you." Mifune said while watching as both Daimyo went back to their seat. Silence reigned throughout the room before the samurai general started to speak again. "Now, let us move on to the new terms of the peace treaty between Konohagakure and Kumogakure."
(EU)
"Alright, Naruto. I think enough time has passed that you can check to see if the glider is completed. One of the steps to becoming a master Airbender is learning to use the glider. With it, you'll be able to fly almost anywhere." Aang didn't need to see the nod that his apprentice in being the Avatar gave him. The blonde boy made his way through his little underground base that was his home away from home. Honestly, two months flew by pretty quickly to him. It felt like nothing else exciting happened. He remembered the Hokage leaving for an important meeting. Naruto tried to ask and get info on where he was going and what was it for but he was only told that it had to do with the man he stopped. He didn't know what happened but hopefully, things worked itself out alright.
Beyond that, nothing else of note went on. He continued his training with his airbending, he pulled a couple of pranks off and got away with it all, he even started practicing with some instruments! Yeah, the young Uzumaki boy found a strange love in playing the ryūteki. A transverse flute made of bamboo. Its name means Dragon Flute. It was a nice hobby of his that he found to be relaxing. He was becoming a decent player as he learned how to read notes and guide books on how to play the instrument. Whenever he had free time he would practice it within his little hideout.
Walking through the Forest of Death was somewhat tranquil. The animals didn't bother him like he thought they would. He didn't think that in the last two years since his fifth birthday that he would be hanging out within training ground #44. This place was technically not authorized for him to be in but considering he's been coming here for a while and hasn't been caught yet or even harmed, then it all worked out in his favor. Exiting through the fence and checking the area before exiting he made a small sprint back towards the village. It didn't take him long to find himself on the road towards the Iron Clad Shinobi.
Entering the shop he looked around and didn't see many people inside. A few shinobi here and there browsing around while Tenten manned the front counter, helping with purchases. When her eyes landed on him she smiled and gave him a wave of her hand as she just finished a sale. Naruto moved to the counter and leaned on it while grinning. "So is it done!" he asked and Tenten could only roll her eyes before flicking his forehead. He yelped while rubbing it as she glared at him.
"You could at least greet me before coming in here asking for something." she pouted slightly with narrowed eyes making the blonde sweat lightly. He gave a soft chuckle before smiling at her. "Sorry. Hey Bunbun, how you been doing." A cheeky smirk came to his face while Tenten felt heat come to hers as she growled. Naruto snickered before quickly dodging out the way as the in-training weapon-mistress tried to tackle him.
"I told you to stop calling me that!" She shouted angrily while Naruto continued to laugh. He then yelps when she came up to him and started pulling at his whiskered cheeks. Even with the pain in his cheeks, he kept chuckling making her ire rise.
"Alright kids, you can settle down now." In came the voice of Shimoda. He chuckled at the antics of these two. Ever since their meeting two months ago they've become best friends almost. Honestly, he was happy for both of them. They could both use someone else around their age to hang with. Tenten because she never really clicked or got along with the different girls that liked to be girly. And then Naruto because of the burden/responsibility he was laid with. The boy was a ray of sunshine he couldn't understand how anyone would hate him.
"You're both here for a reason remember?" He asked with both kids grinning and moving to stand in front of him. He chuckled before moving to the back of the shop. They heard some moving around before watching Shimoda walking back while holding something wrapped with a black cloth. Setting it down on the counter he couldn't stop the chuckle coming from him as he watched both kids stare at the hidden item with stars in their eyes. Deciding not to hold them in suspense any longer he pulled the cloth off to reveal the item he created after two months of studying, trial and error, blood, sweat, hard work, and a little bit of prayer when certain parts malfunctioned on him. Before them, laid a staff with the wood being a darker brown, almost black, color. The sides had what appeared to be panels for something to come out. Some carvings looked like seals along the whole shaft. It was more rectangular than cylindrical.
Inside Naruto, Aang couldn't hold back the smile that came to his face. It has been a long time since he has seen a glider, including the one that was made for him by the Mechanist he met when he was younger. It was a great design for being a modified version of the original gliders.
And that snack compartment did come in handy.
"Alright, kids. Let me go over this creation of mine. It took a lot of studying from that scroll you gave me and even more late-night working to get it done. The staff is made from specially crafted wood. Grown within fire country itself at the Fire Temple. A special oak that is feed chakra and water to help it grow. Now because of this, it makes the wood studier than other trees out there. Takes a special kind of ax that can get past the natural defense of the tree to even cut it. The monks there use this tree for their staff and I have a friend up there that allowed me to buy some for the shop. I won't bore you with the exact details it took to shape this baby into what you see now. Just know I had to do some extra work because of the other compartments that go with it." Shimoda grinned seeing that the two were invested in his tale of the staff. They didn't there was wood specially made with chakra that you couldn't even cut with a normal ax!
"Now, since the natural shape of the staff isn't supposed to be as thick as a normal polearm weapon, I grafted some seals into the base." His finger pointed to some carvings the could see. It was sealing language but both of them were inexperienced with such a thing so they had no idea what it was they were looking at. "This seal will allow the staff to take in chakra. Make it so you can increase the defense of the wood to fight off anyone with a sword so they don't cut it in half. It can also absorb any chakra attacks. Though you'll have to be careful with that feature. There's only so much the staff can absorb before cracking from the pressure. You'll know exactly when you see the seals start to glow from how much is absorbed into it."
"That's awesome dattebayo!"
"You outdid yourself this time dad!"
"Hahaha, thank you both. Though I'm not done yet." Picking up the staff, Shimoda pressed a button on the side of the staff. Soon both watched as from the top to halfway down came out a fan. One on both sides. It was large enough to cover his back. At the bottom, they could see similar smaller fans that came out as well. "With a press of a button, it transforms into this glider. Honestly, I have no idea how you both can use this part. Yes, some handles come out for you to grab on, and at the bottom, a place to set your feet. I just don't see a time for either of you to use it considering the lifestyle of a shinobi and kunoichi alike. Though, who knows? It could come in handy. If you learn to use it properly." He said while pushing the fan wings back into the panels. Placing the staff back on the counter he stared at the two before a smirk came to his face.
"So who gets to use it?" As the question came both children paused before thinking to themselves. They both paid for the scroll. Staring at each other they had a silent debate on who should take it. Shimoda watched as they both nodded their head and turned back to him.
"I'll take it. Wait, what do you mean you'll take it! Stop that!" Shimoda laughed as the two pushed their foreheads against one another. He could practically see the sparks between their eyes against one another. Shaking his head he patted them both on the head to get their attention. "Alright kids, that's enough. You don't need to worry about who is taking this one. Simply because I had enough resources and material to make a second one!" Shimoda said and couldn't help laughing at the look on their faces. Moving to the back for just a minute he came back with another staff covered by a black cloth. Pulling the cloth back he showed it to them and they both could see that it was practically the first one's twin. Shimoda handed it over to Naruto with the secret Avatar taking it gently. Soon a grin grew on his face while looking up excitedly at Tenten. She had the other staff in her hand and had a grin on her face. It was obvious they wanted to test out using them right away.
Moving to the wall that had many different scrolls on weapon styles and usage he grabbed a beginner's kata in polearms. Turning towards his daughter he handed her the scroll and gave her a nod. She nodded back with a smile before leading Naruto out of the shop. Smiling at the two running out of his shop with Tenten holding onto Naruto's hand. Those two were getting closer and closer with each passing day. Shaking his head he went to attend to the other customers still in his store and those that were starting to come inside.
(EU)
"I brought your bi-weekly groceries Naruto," Itachi spoke as he walked into the apartment. Naruto was currently relaxing on his couch reading a book. Looking up he smiled at his brother figure coming in with bags of food from the market. Placing it all down in the kitchen he began placing them away.
"Thanks, Itachi-nii. I'm glad you are willing to do the shopping for me, but…" Turning around Naruto couldn't help the sweat drop that fell at the back of his head. Itachi had a frilly apron over his Anbu outfit and he was currently whipping up lunch for him. "...you know you don't have to cook a meal for me right?" All he got was a small chuckle with a ghost of a smirk on his face.
"Don't worry about it Naruto. My mother lets me do this all the time. Father is a handful a lot of times so she likes to take days out of the week to be to herself or with friends without him near. I don't blame her." Naruto could only shrug at that and went back to reading his book. It was a book on the Ryuteki. Ever since he has been learning to play it, he always tried to read up on the instrument. Reading different songs that could be played on it and the expert finger usage.
An hour had moved by with Naruto and Itachi eating the meal he made for them. Naruto couldn't believe how great of a cook Itachi was. If ever chose to retire from being a shinobi he could open a restaurant of his own. After their meal, Itachi relaxed with his brother-figure and watched one of the movies he enjoyed. It wasn't long before he noticed what time it was. Sighing he stood up and was ready to leave. He remembered that he promised his little brother, Sasuke, that he would help him train. He was going to be joining the academy next year and his brother wanted the help to be prepared for it. Stopping himself for a moment he rubbed his chin before glancing at Naruto.
It would be a good idea to get them to be friends. They could create a healthy rivalry that would push them both further as they became shinobi. Nodding at his idea he turned back around to face Naruto. "Would you care to join me this afternoon Naruto? I was planning to train with my little brother since he is scheduled to enter the academy next year. You are to do the same correct?" Naruto looked surprised for a moment before nodding his head. He could go for some extra training. And who knows, maybe Itachi's brother will be a new friend he could make! Standing to his feet grabbed some of his stuff before smiling up at Itachi. Itachi gave him a little smile before leading Naruto out of his apartment and towards the Uchiha clan district.
It was a long walk but once they were at the gates, Itachi told Naruto to wait right there since he would be taking them to a training ground that they could all use together. It wasn't more than a few minutes that he saw Itachi come back with a boy the same age as Naruto. The first thing Naruto noticed was his hair was shaped like a duck's butt. He held in his snicker as they came closer to him. "Naruto, this is my Otouto, Sasuke. Sasuke, meet Naruto. He'll be joining us for training today. You will both be attending the academy soon, so it would be best if you got to know one another. You may one day end up on a team." Both young boys nodded before looking at one another and smile appeared on their faces before shaking hands.
Itachi led both young boys to an open training field. Deciding to start easy since they were still kids he had them do laps around the field.
Fifteen laps to be exact. Easy in Itachi terms were different. After the laps, he allowed a ten-minute rest before having them do push-ups and sit-ups. Three sets of ten for both workouts. What made it harder to do though was that Itachi made them do it in sync. Each mess up that happened was met with both boys doing it all over again. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but pant in exhaustion once it was over. I mean hell, they were only seven! But who were they to argue about it when the one training them graduated at the same age. After proper rest and a water break, they were back in the training session. He wanted them to have a proper handle on hand-to-hand combat. Itachi showed them the starter stances he was taught in the academy. While he knew that Sasuke would one day learn their family style, he still wanted him to know the basic stances and movements.
After that, he had them both spar against each other. With each strike and move, he would walk around their bodies to pick apart what they were doing. Itachi didn't hold back in pointing out each mistake and the proper way to fix it. Naruto and Sasuke were getting a decent grasp on the stances but were lacking the fine movement each one required. Which was fine since they were young and this would be the first of many other spars that would fix the issue. Though, he did notice that Naruto had a strange fluidity to him. His movements looked like he was moving with the air and flowing almost gracefully like it with each strike he would send. Naruto would grow to be a quick opponent if he worked on developing the movement that he was showing now.
Itachi soon called for the spar to end. It was getting late in the afternoon and he figured that they accomplished quite a bit today. Naruto bid both Uchiha brothers farewell and asked Sasuke if he would be willing to hang out sometimes. This surprised the young ravenette and gave a nod of his head. Grinning, Naruto nodded back before waving at them both and taking off back to his apartment. Itachi led Sasuke back to their family compound with Sasuke looking happy that he managed to make a friend outside of the clan.
(EU)
This is it! It was finally time! Naruto stared at multiple targets that were set up around the room he was in within his hideout. Taking a deep breath he felt the air around him ready to be manipulated by him. Doing a mental countdown he prepared his body. His hands curled into a fist before loosening up. His feet bounced on the ground before looking up as his countdown reached zero. Instantly he moved into action. His left hand struck out at a target in front of him with air blasting out and knocking it over. Once it fell over he was quick to use his right hand to send another blast of air towards another target. His body was moving as fast as it could as he blasted air from his hands and occasionally his feet to hit each target around him. Using the fluidity he possesses to flip and roll to hit each target that his eyes could see. He ended his exercise with a flip of his body backward before kicking his leg out to send a wave of air toward a target hanging from the ceiling.
Landing back on his feet and looking around to see that all the targets were knocked over or down from whatever position they sat at, he smiled widely. Panting lightly, he walked over and grabbed a towel before wiping his face. 'So, how did I do?' He asked mentally to those who resided within him.
"I believe that was a better performance than last time," Aang said with a smile on his old wizened face. 'Still slow if you ask me. It took you five seconds longer to locate each target and an extra second to take them out. You're sitting at a time completion of five minutes and forty-three seconds. You did better on your last run of this little exercise of yours.' Kyuubi chimed in with Aang chuckling lightly. Who knew a spirit could be so tentative when it came to speed and time framing. Naruto just sighed with a roll of his eyes.
"I can't help it alright? My thoughts are a little distracted and I'm excited since today is the day I finally can join the academy!" He said with excitement clearly shown in his voice and his face. The year had flown on by almost quickly for the trio. Naruto's skill with airbending had increased incredibly. He wasn't at the master level yet but within the next couple of years, it wouldn't take long. This test/exercise of theirs was so that Naruto could see where his skills were currently at. Granted, it wasn't much to test against targets that were just stationary but it was the best he could do right now. He had a plan to set up a system of pulleys but he would need to find a space to do that. The hideout was fine but it didn't have the space for that kind of system to be placed in. Forgoing those thoughts, for now, Naruto stared at the clock on the wall and noticed he had about two hours before he needed to head towards the academy.
Running to the showers built into the place, he got washed up and dressed to start the day. He wore a dark orange, sleeveless turtleneck shirt. Over that he had a tan haori that had wind currents on the edges along with three light blue swirling lines close to each other like a triangle on the back. It was the insignia of the Air Nomads that Aang told him about and that he saw on Aang's clothing before as well in the book about airbending. He wore gray combat pants that reached just below his knees. They had shin guards and pouches sewed onto the front and back. On his feet were black shinobi sandals. The haori and pants were custom-tailored to him with the help of Shimoda. Before he left the hideout he went and grabbed his staff that Shimoda completed for him last year. Placing it on his back with the help of a sash to keep it in place, he ran out of his little hideout and used the air scooter to quickly traverse through the forest of death. He could have tree hopped but this was his favorite kind of transportation for the moment.
It didn't take long for him to exit the training ground and quickly make his way to the academy. Standing in front of the building he couldn't contain the grin that came to his face. As he was finishing gazing upon the building he heard someone call out to him. Turning around he smirked when he saw Sasuke walk up next to him. The Uchiha boy had a smirk on his face as he gave his best friend a fist bump. That year of training together and hanging out did wonder for their friendship. They were ready to take on the academy together. Though Naruto already explained his plan in trying to graduate early so he could be on a team with his friend Tenten. It didn't bother Sasuke since he felt like it was a challenge to see if he could do the same. Even if they weren't able to graduate early, there was still a chance for them both to end up on the same team.
Turning their heads towards the academy they nodded to each other before walking to the building and heading inside to find their class. They were ready to take on anything that the academy would throw at them!
(Montage! Play Son of Man by Phil Collins)
Oh, the power to be strong
And the wisdom to be wise
All these things will
come to you in time
Naruto and his class were sitting in their seats watching their sensei giving a lecture before the scene switched to the class outside doing sparring practices.
On this journey that you're making
There'll be answers that you'll seek
And it's you who'll climb the mountain
It's you who'll reach the peak
Naruto was outside at a training field reading up on the more advanced movements of airbending. He began practicing each stance with the wind following him. The scene soon switched to him outside the village on a cliff over a lake. With his staff opened he jumped off to practice using the glider, with his body gliding over the water lightly.
Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be
Outside of the academy stood Naruto as he and a few friends he made sat or laid on the grass staring up at the clouds. Soon the scene changed to the group having a race around the track of the academy with one of the boys running with his hands in his pockets claiming this to be troublesome.
Though there's no one there to guide you
No one to take your hand
But with faith and understanding
You will journey from boy to man
The scene showed Naruto walking alone away from the academy as the other kids were being picked up by someone from their family. His eyes stared at them with sadness before he looked down at his hand. Clenching it, he gained a determined look before running off into the distance with his body aging up as the years went on.
Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be
Naruto was with Sasuke as they spared against one another. Itachi sat in the background watching them both. Hiruzen was in his office watching the group through his crystal ball with a smile on his face.
In learning, you will teach
And in teaching, you will learn
You'll find your place beside the
ones you love
The scene showed Naruto was with Tenten as they battled one another with the staff weapon that her father made. Tenten managed to trip him up and straddled his waist with their faces extremely close. Their eyes connected with both of them being stunned at the emotions showing through them before the sun picked up the silhouette of their shadows leaning into a kiss.
Oh, and all the things you dreamed of
The visions that you saw
Well, the time is drawing near now
It's yours to claim it all
Standing on the roof of the Hokage Mansion was Naruto. He was staring at the Hokage faces on the mountain before looking into the sky where he caught the glimpse of two faces staring at him proudly. Then he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder before turning to see Sasuke, Tenten, Itachi, the Hokage, and some of his other friends staring at him confidently. Smirking he turned and ran past all of them before jumping off the roof with his friends following him.
Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be
Naruto was dashing through the trees of a forest as he blasted wind to different targets in the area. He landed in a clearing before manipulating water from a lake to come up and hit three other targets, showing he had started his training in waterbending. The scene then changed to him back at the academy taking a test.
Son of Man,
Naruto stared at Iruka as he entered the graduation room.
Son of Man's a man for all to see
After an unknown amount of time passed everyone in the classroom turned their heads to see Naruto walk back in with a headband tied proudly on his forehead. Showing he passed the graduation exam.
[Editted the chapter to fix a few grammar mistakes! Also needed to look over some information in this one for Chapter six. Be on the lookout for the new chapter soon.
Jangoman, signing out!]
