Good Day Everyone I hope you are enjoying the story so far. This are going to get very fun this chapter.
We are still going to do the pole for Gohans new sibling to be a girl or boy. And then a name for him or her afterwards. But let's get starts with chapter 3.
Hinata panted as she wiped sweat from her brow as the voice of her father snapped her from her train of thoughts.
"Again!" Hiashi's demanding voice commanded as she continued managed to get up in order to combat her younger sister, Hanabi in more training. Despite the girl being only seven years old, she was way more skilled in the art of the Hyuga, the Gentle Fist, than compared to her sister who was five years older than her.
Hinata yelled as she charged at her sister before she was thrown to the ground with ease. As Hinata lifted herself from the ground, frustrated tears built in her eyes as she was reminded of her failure.
"I believe this calls for a lunch break." Hiashi said although Hinata could hear the disappointment etched in his voice. Before anyone could retort, Hinata dashed out of the room.
"Elder sister!" Hanabi tried to follow before Hiashi stopped.
"Enough. Do not go after her." Hiashi ordered as Hanabi sighed before she reluctantly agreed.
"…Yes father….." Hanabi half-heartedly agreed. Despite being above her sister in terms of skills, she still looked up to her sister. She was so kind-hearted and welcoming after all.
Hinata ran through the village before deciding to stop as she caught her breath. It wasn't fair. Why was she given the burden of the Main branch? And because of this her father was extremely strict with her, taking no mistakes whatsoever. She knew deep down her father was ashamed of her….
Before she could think anymore thoughts, a familiar voice cut her off.
"Hey it's you!" One Son Gohan yelled as Naruto trailed behind him.
In the week since he started his Ki training, while he wasn't even a quarter of good and skilled as Gohan was, he was able to make an orb of Ki from the size of a fly to the size of a baseball.
"Hinata? What's wrong?" Naruto asked as he got right in Hinata's face.
"Uh, Naruto?" Gohan sighed.
"Yeah?" Naruto nonchalantly asked.
"You're too close." Gohan replied as Naruto turned his head before noticing Hinata's face was as red as a beet. Before the boys could say anything, HInata feel back dazed with swirly eyes.
"I…uh….think I did something bad." Naruto nervously laughed as Gohan sighed.
"You think?" Gohan retorted with a hint of amusement.
After about five minutes Hinata woke up under a tree.
"Uhn…." Hinata moaned as Gohan decided to speak up.
"Are you okay?" Gohan asked as Hinata sat up.
"Yes I am. Thank you, Gohan." Hinata gratefully thanked the hybrid who smiled in return.
"Of course." Gohan replied as Naruto decided to speak up.
"So why were you out here anyways Hinata?" Naruto curiously asked as Hinata frowned.
"It's…nothing…." Hinata lied as the two preteens weren't convinced.
"The way you were running and your overall body language weren't proof of just 'nothing'." Gohan reprimanded as Hinata sighed. There was no hiding anything from Son Gohan was there?
"Now tell us, what's wrong?" Gohan inquired as Hinata reluctantly decided to spill her guts out in the open.
"It's my father…I haven't been able to keep up with my training…I can see it within his eyes….I'm probably nothing but….a failure to him…" Hinata replied as she was near tears in the end, much to the anger and disgust of the two boys…
"A failure?" Gohan asked.
"What the hell is wrong with him!? No parent should think of their kid as a burden!" Naruto yelled as Hinata shook her head.
"That goes with my responsibilities as a Hyuga…." Hinata sadly said as Naruto stood up.
"I say we go have a talk with your 'dad'!" Naruto growled before running off.
"Naruto wait!" Gohan tried yelling to no avail.
"Naruto! Darn it, guess we gotta go after him." Gohan sighed as the two followed the blonde. They eventually found the blonde lost in a random corner of the village as he had no idea where the Hyuga household was.
Eventually the group made their way to the Hyuga household. It was a large martial-arts dojo like household.
"Whoa, this is huge!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah it really is." Gohan agreed before Hinata meekly gestured the two to follow her after walking inside.
The two boys were eventually led inside to where Hiashi was talking with the Hyuga elder.
"Oh Hinata. You're back." Hiashi stated.
"Yes father." Hinata replied as Hiashi's eyes darted towards Naruto and stopped at the sight of Gohan.
"Ah…it's you." Hiashi said as Gohan noticed the distrust evident in his voice.
"Yeah. I'm Son Gohan." Gohan politely introduced himself.
"What brings you boys here?" Hiashi inquired as Gohan decided to speak up.
"We hear you've been having problems with Hinata's training." Gohan began.
"And because of that she's been really emotional!" Naruto added as Hiashi scoffed.
"It turns out she's not fit enough to be clan head." Hiashi coolly said as Gohan felt a vein come to his head.
"…What?" Was all Gohan managed to ask.
"She's a failure…weaker than her sister five years her junior. I suppose it was a waste of time with her then." Hiashi stated as Hinata felt tears come to her eyes while Naruto grit his teeth in rage. Sure the two weren't friends but Hinata was never outright mean to him.
"You bastard…" Naruto growled before Gohan put an arm in front of him.
"So you think just because she doesn't perform to whatever standards you have that she's a failure?" Gohan asked, although inwardly he was pissed.
"That is correct." Hiashi bluntly replied as Gohan exhaled.
"Well, have you considered the fact that you're not a very effective teacher?" Gohan asked as Hiashi looked at Gohan.
"Excuse me?" Hiashi asked.
"You're clearly too hard on her. I bet if I worked with her, she'd be better, I guarantee." Gohan asked as a look of amusement adorned Hiashi's feautures.
"You? Really?" Hiashi bemused as Gohan didn't waver.
"That's right. Give me a week and she'll be a better student!" Gohan proclaimed as Hinata looked shocked at him.
"W-what!?" Hinata stammered as Hiashi glared at Gohan, losing his previous amusement.
"Okay then. I give Hinata a week to work with you and we'll see if she can get better without my assistance." Hiashi said to Gohan who smiled.
"Sounds like a fair bet." Gohan grinned as Hiashi said nothing more before leaving to his own devices.
"Uh…Gohan…you probably shouldn't have done that…." Hinata stammered as Naruto yelled, "Yeah! What about my training!?"
"It's fine. I can work with each of you one day each. Sound fair?" Gohan smiled as Naruto shrugged.
"I guess…" Naruto agreed while rubbing the back of his head.
"Alright then, Hinata. Let's go to the training field." Gohan said before the Hyuga priestess reluctantly followed.
As soon as the two got there, Gohan immediately stood across from her.
"Okay, show me your form." Gohan instructed.
"Right." Hinata said before getting into her stance and immediately Gohan caught onto her problem.
"I've figured out your problem." Gohan said in realization as Hinata raised an eyebrow.
"Huh… you have… what is it?" Hinata inquired.
"Your pose lacks any confidence. In order to be an effective warrior, you need to have confidence in yourself." Gohan explained as HInata sighed.
"Well…as you can see…I haven't really had the best reasons why…." Hinata said as Gohan walked up to Hinata before putting his hands on her shoulder.
"You can't let what other people think bring you down. What matters is what you think about yourself!" Gohan explained as Hinata's eyes widened.
"Believe…in myself?" Hinata asked.
"Yes. If you don't have faith in yourself you can't ever hope to get better." Gohan said as memories of his childhood and the fight against Nappa and his lack of confidence came floating through his mind.
"You know Hinata, I wasn't as confident as I am now. I used to run away and hide from battles…that would get some of my friends hurt…." Gohan began a little sadly as Hinata frowned as she felt his pain.
"Oh Gohan…." Hinata said before Gohan looked up and smiled.
"But I changed and became more confident….My master told me how important it is to trust and believe in yourself…Only then can you truly become strong." Gohan finished as Hinata was silent but his words seemed to have struck a chord as Gohan decided to add more.
"So if a wimpy, whiny crybaby like me could do it, you can too!" Gohan grinned as Hinata's eyes widened.
"R..Really?" Hinata asked.
"Really." Gohan answered as a small smile adorned Hinata's features.
"You're right….I'll work on it…." Hinata smiled as Gohan told her to try again.
"Again!" Gohan said as Hinata tried to
After a while, Hinata was able to get about 15 percent more confident in herself before showing off her gentle fist abilities on a nearby tree.
"Amazing…" Gohan marveled before he decided to clear his throat.
"Alright, we'll work again on Wednesday, is that okay?" Gohan asked as Hinata smiled.
"Yes thank you." Hinata smiled before the two walked back into the village where they ran into Kiba and Shino.
"Oh Shino! Kiba!" Hinata exclaimed.
"HInata! You're with Gohan?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.
"Hi." Gohan greeted with a smile.
"Yes. Gohan, these're my friends. Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame." Hinata introduced her friends.
"Yo!" Kiba greeted as he figured if Hinata liked him, maybe Gohan wasn't as bad as everyone made him out to be. Although Shino was still unsure about Gohan.
"It's nice to meet you both." Gohan smiled before his eyes came upon the appearance of Akamaru.
"Aww….what a cute dog." Gohan smiled as Kiba grinned.
"Hehe thanks. His name's Akamaru and he's a ninja hound. Akamaru say hi!" Kiba instructed as Akamaru's eyes opened as he came across Gohan and surprisingly jumped in his arms.
Akamaru licked the half-saiyan who laughed heartily.
"Haha I like you too Akamaru! You remind me a lot of my old pet Icarus!" Gohan laughed before returning him to his owner.
"Heh if he does that to you, especially on your first meeting it seems like Akamaru can really trust you!" Kiba grinned as Shino was still silent.
"So what's Gohan doing with you anyways?" Kiba asked as Hinata explained the situation.
"And so Gohan here is training me for the next week." Hinata explained as Kiba laughed.
"Well given what we saw in class it seems like he'll be a really great instructor! Right Shino?" Kiba asked his friend who was still silent, slightly unnerving Gohan.
"Uhm…is he okay?" Gohan asked as this guy was creepier than even Vegeta.
"Haha, he's alright. He just does that with people he doesn't know. Isn't that right Shi-"Kiba tried asking as Shino walked off, leaving a confused trio of preteens together.
"Yep…the people here really are strange after all….." Gohan sighed
"One more time, Hinata!" The young voice of Gohan told his unofficial "protégé" as she nodded.
"Right!" Hinata said as she hit the tree ahead of her as she left a huge hole in the center of it. In the last week since she had been trained by Gohan, she had grown to be slightly more confident in herself and thanks to her newly found confidence, she had been able to help perform her gentle fist much more effectively and better.
"Heh, you really have improved Hinata! I'm proud." Gohan smiled his trademark "Son" grin as Hinata blushed at the praise.
"T-thank you, Gohan…." Hinata stammered as Gohan laughed. One week obviously wouldn't be enough to make her one hundred percent confident, of course.
"C'mon, let's have a small break." Gohan said as the two sat down and enjoyed a light snack of rice cakes and water.
"So today's the big day." Gohan said as he held back with his enormous appetite as the last thing he wanted to be was greedy with food. Unlike his father would've.
"Yes…." Hinata sighed. While she did improve and was certain that she'd be able to beat her sister would her father approve of her or was it too late to earn his approval?
"C'mon, don't be like that! You're stronger now! Not just physically but mentally as well!" Gohan encouraged Hinata as she smiled.
"You're right….I'm sorry for doubting myself." Hinata softly smiled as she finished off all the rice cakes she'd eat.
"Of course." Gohan replied as he downed his water bottle.
"Now, it's time." Gohan said while getting up as he helped her up.
"Right. And I will succeed." Hinata declared as Gohan smiled with pride.
"That's what I want to hear." Gohan smiled before the two made their way into the village towards the Hyuga Compound.
"Take a deep breath and then we'll enter." Gohan suggested as Hinata exhaled before she opened her eyed.
"Okay, I'm ready." Hinata said as Gohan nodded as the two entered the huge abode.
"Ah Hinata….you're here." Hiashi acknowledged his daughter who nodded at his greeting of sorts.
"Yes father. I'm here. And ready. Who will my opponent be?" The young Hyuga heiress asked as her younger sister walked out.
"I am, older sister." Hanabi answered her little sister as Hinata had an inkling she'd be fighting against her.
"Yes." Hinata replied as the two made their way to the inner dojo of the Hyuga.
Hinata and Hanabi took their respective fighting stances as Hiashi surveyed his eyes over his two daughters.
"Do your best Hinata. I have faith in you." Gohan told his friend as she turned her head back to smile back at him.
"Whenever you're ready. Begin!" Hiashi ordered as Hanabi dashed at her older sister with her gentle fist before she blocked it.
"What!?" Hanabi asked.
"She's gotten faster…." Hiashi observed as Hinata knocked her sister back before she standing over her. Nothing but focused and confident eyes from Hinata shocking everyone but Gohan.
"Alright!" Gohan mentally cheered.
Hanabi not wanting to give up tried launching at her sister with more of her gentle fists as Hinata was able to dodge several times.
"Your too Slow Hanabi!" Hinata said. As Hanabi noticed that her Byakugan wasn't even activated.
Hinata countered with a gentle fist of her own, knocking her sister towards the edge of the door.
"I win…." Hinata smiled as she walked over to her sister and helped her up.
"Elder sister…." Hanabi said as Hinata helped her up.
"Are you okay Hanabi?" Hinata asked as Hanabi smiled.
"I am! You sure have gotten better, elder sister." Hanabi grinned as Hinata smiled at the praise.
"Thank you." Hinata smiled as she rubbed the head of her little sister who blushed proudly. Even though she may've been weaker she always looked up to Hinata. She was just so warm and down-to-earth.
"Well I'll be…it seems I was wrong about you Gohan…..I'm sorry…." Hiashi apologized as Gohan waved his apology off with his father's trademark grin.
"Haha it's cool!" Gohan laughed.
Unbeknownst to everyone however, one Neji Hyuga was watching the whole thing.
"For Hinata to increase to where she was able to be better than Hanabi that easily ….This Gohan guy…." Neji thought before he walked over to where everyone was.
"Hey you!" Neji said as he walked to Gohan with a stern look on his face.
"Me?" Gohan asked.
"Brother Neji?" Hinata asked.
"Brother?" Gohan pondered internally before his attention was called back to Neji.
"That's right. I see you've been training Hinata?" Neji inquired.
"Yeah. Why?" Gohan asked before Neji got into his fighting stance.
"Fight me." Neji ordered as Gohan raised an eyebrow.
"Fight you?" Gohan asked as Neji nodded his head.
"That's right. I'd like to see just how strong you are. After all, you were able to effortlessly defeat Lee! So I'm curious!" Neji said as he activated his Byakugan.
"That's-"Gohan was about to say as Neji rudely cut him off.
"It's the ocular power of the Hyuga Clan, the Byakugan." Neji said as Gohan nodded his head.
"Right, I read about that in the library. Well sorry but I'm not gonna fight you." Gohan said as Neji cocked his head back.
"And why is that?" Neji said as Gohan shrugged.
"I'd beat you just like I did with Lee." Gohan nonchalantly said as Neji wouldn't budge.
"Oh is that right?" Neji asked as Gohan sighed.
"Look I'm not a fan of fighting people weaker than me so please let's just call it quits." Gohan said as Neji refused to flinch.
"Come on!" Neji said as Gohan exhaled before raising a finger.
"This is all I need to beat you." Gohan simply said as something in Neji snapped before he lunged at the unafraid Half-Saiyan.
Gohan remained as steel as a rock as Neji was about to connect with Gohan.
"Eight trigrams-Two palms!" Neji was about to complete his jutsu before Gohan flicked his fingers away with his one finger like he predicted.
The Hyuga members watching had awestruck expressions.
"What in the?" Hiashi was speechless.
"H-how?" Hinata barely managed to stammer.
"With one finger?" Hanabi added.
"Like I said, there's really no point." Gohan said as he attempted to help Neji up as Neji lunged at him again.
"No point!? You just got lucky! Eight trigrams-Two palms! Four palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty Two palms!" Neji roared as he lunged at Gohan with a ton of strikes as Gohan effortlessly swatted his fingers away with no effort before taking his hands and throwing him back.
"Let's just stop this. Maybe one day when you train harder you'll get better than me." Gohan smiled with respect at his adversary before he turned around.
"Huh…it's like I've seen something like that before." Gohan shrugged as the Hyugas were left stunned at Gohan's display of power. It was really no question why Hinata was able to excel in a week.
Neji, furious that his pride was hurt, attempted to attack Gohan from behind.
Gohan sensing this turned around only to sock Neji in his gut, holding back of course.
"Don't ever try something so cowards again, or you are no better than Cell or Majin Buu" Gohan angrily whispered this into Nejis ears.
However, this was worse than any hit Neji had ever received in his life and he was rendered unconscious.
"I think you all should take him to his room and let him rest…haha…." Gohan awkwardly said as he adopted his father's sheepish grin as the situation was awkward.
"I'm sorry for all of this….Well….see ya!" Gohan said before walking off as Hinata stopped him.
"Thank you…For your help. I really appreciate it. It was the first time anyone ever believed in me." Hinata thanked as Gohan grinned at her.
"Of course. And if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask! And also remember, you are strong and can do anything as long as you put your mind to it!" Gohan smiled as Hinata blushed at Gohan's encouragement as he left.
Neji, after an hour, woke up in his bed with Hinata sitting by his side.
"What're you doing here!?" Neji spat coolly at Hinata who stammered nervously.
"Well…after Gohan knocked you out I carried you to your bed…" Hinata frowned as she wished that Neji would stop blaming her for that incident….
"Well I'm up now so leave!" Neji yelled as Hinata did just that, not wanting to cause any drama.
Neji frowned as he stared at the pillow below him.
This Gohan guy would most definitely become a problem in the future….What a huge pain in the ass….. But he would surpass him. It wasn't in his fate to be second best after all...
It had been nearly a month since Gohan's arrival in the Village of the Leaves. Thanks to the local grapevine, word spread quickly of Gohan's defeat over the Rookie of last year, Neji Hyuga.
Now the local genin, not knowing him personally were somewhat afraid of the Half-Saiyan claiming how a person who didn't know key yet could beat Neji Hyuga effortlessly wasn't human.
If only they knew how right they were…
Gohan walked home from the local grocery store for the third time that week as a result of Naruto's appetite.
At least he could control his own appetite….At least somewhat…..
Gohan walked home thinking these very thoughts before coming across a certain pineapple head.
"Hey, it's you, Gohan right?" Shikamaru asked as Gohan nodded.
"Yeah I am. And you're in the same class with me, right?" Gohan asked as Shikamaru nodded.
"Right. And the name's Shikamaru. Hey why don't you come to the park with me? I'd like to play a game with you." Shikamaru suggested as Gohan shrugged thinking it couldn't be all that bad.
The two then made their way to the Leaf Village Park where a game board was set up on a table.
"And this is?" Gohan inquired with a raised brow.
"It's a game called Shogi. Basically it's a strategy game." Shikamaru said before explaining the rules to the hybrid.
"Oh I see….seems simple enough!" Gohan said before the two sat at the table and began playing.
Shikamaru was left stunned as Gohan just barely lost to Shikamaru of all people!
"Wow…..and they call me a genius…." Shikamaru muttered as Gohan laughed.
"Haha well I was called a prodigy!" Gohan smiled as he thought of how his father, Piccolo and even Vegeta would call him that occasionally during his training as Choji walked over.
"Hey you guys!" Choji greeted with his happy smile.
"Sup Choji?" Shikamaru greeted his friend with a fist bump before Choji noticed Gohan.
"Oh so you're Gohan. I'm Choji." Choji greeted.
"Hey Choji!" Gohan smiled. For some reason, he got a serious Yajirobe vibe from the Akimichi.
"Want some Chips?" Choji offered as Gohan smiled.
"Yeah, thanks." Gohan accepted his offer as the three left the table with Shikamaru's game as he retrieved his before the three went to a park bench.
"So Gohan, you been enjoying your stay here?" Choji asked as Gohan laughed.
"Haha well it's had its ups and downs. But I'm making the best of it." Gohan chuckled as Shikamaru looked over at Gohan.
"Hey, sorry for how everyone's been treating you. You don't seem that bad." Shikamaru said as he gained respect for the son of Goku as he saw how intelligent he was.
"Yeah, you seem pretty chill." Choji added as Gohan felt happy that he had made two new friends.
"Thanks guys. That really means a lot." Gohan smiled before getting up.
"Well I should probably get home. I bought some groceries." Gohan smiled before waving goodbye to his two new friends.
As he made his way home, he noticed how Naruto was nowhere to be found in the apartment complex. He guessed he was doing his own training based on his impatient he was. Chuckling, he decided to do some training of his own.
It was a nice, beautiful morning in the Hidden Leaf Village as two particular young boys were doing their regular scheduled sessions of early morning training before the Academy.
"Well done, Naruto!" Gohan complimented his friend as Naruto held out a beam of Ki before firing it at the tree next to him.
"Heh, thanks! I'm so happy I can use Ki now!" Naruto grinned as Gohan smiled with pride at his friend. He's come a long way from the unexperienced rookie that he met four months prior.
"Who knows? Maybe someday you'll be as powerful as me!" Gohan laughed as Naruto smiled broadly at the thought of surpassing Gohan. Could he do it? Gohan was the most powerful person that he ever met after all.
"Oh no! We should probably make our way to the Academy! We have thirty minutes!" Gohan exclaimed in shock as he stared at his watch as Naruto nearly fell back in shock.
"Oh crap that's right! We definitely gotta boogie!" Naruto yelled as he ran back home in order to get cleaned up before falling on himself. Gohan laughed as he ran over to his friend's side before helping him up.
Normally Naruto wouldn't be as ecstatic to go to school but today was a day of particular importance to him; it was the day of Graduation Exams. On this day, the students in the selected year of study would be given a test in order to show off their ninjutsu skills and if successful in performing the required jutsu, they would pass and become honorary ninja of the Leaf. If they didn't, they would be retained and forced to retake the course again.
While Naruto had failed the previous two times prior to today, he was pretty confident because thanks to training with Gohan he found himelf taking his studies more seriously. The blonde was pretty sure that aspect in Gohan's personality was probably the result of a strict upbringing.
If only he knew how right he was…
As the two boys made their way home, got cleaned up and ate breakfast they could only wonder what sort of adventure awaited the two upon becoming ninja.
"Well Naruto, you ready?" Gohan asked his friend as Naruto grinned at the half-saiyan.
"You know it, bro! Let's go!" Naruto declared before running off as Gohan laughed before following him.
"That guy…Something tells me he'll never change." Gohan mused fondly before following after Naruto.
After a short walk full of conversation and chatter, the two eventually reached the Ninja Academy. As they entered the classroom, Gohan greeted Shikamaru and Choji who took notice of him.
"Hey guys!" Gohan greeted his friends as he walked up to them with Naruto at his side.
"Oh Gohan! You ready for the exams?" Choji asked as Gohan smiled.
"Yep!" Gohan replied as a thought came to Kiba's mind who walked up to the two.
"Wait a second, if you don't use Chakra, how're you gonna take the test?" Kiba inquired as he raised an eyebrow.
"Due to me being able to use Ki and given their relation with each other, Iruka's worked out a way for me to still take the test." Gohan explained as Kiba nodded in understanding.
"Oh I see…" Kiba said as Shino said nothing to Gohan as he sat down, slightly unnerving the half-breed. He wondered if this guy was related to Vegeta given how unfriendly he was….
"G-Good Morning…Gohan….Naruto…." Hinata meekly greeted the two as she appeared behind Shino.
"Oh hey!" Naruto cheerfully greeted the Hyuga.
"Good morning, Hinata." Gohan politely greeted back as she blushed slightly at Gohan. After his help in giving her the confidence to perfect her skills more, the two became close friends over the last four months with him constantly checking up on her as well as making sure her father was treating her well. While she had been in love with Naruto since he saved her from bullies ever since they were four, recently she found her feelings shifting over slightly to Gohan. After all, he really seemed to enjoy her company and he always made sure she was happy and accounted for.
Hinata smiled before sitting next to Kiba and Shino as Ino and Sakura came barging through the door like a herd of stampeding bulls.
"I'm first!" Sakura and Ino simultaneously yelled as they breathed for air, ignoring the snickers they received as a result of their bizarre entrance.
"Heh, look at that, I win again Sakura!" Ino smirked at her rival who returned said smirk.
"Oh give me a break, my toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead!" Sakura retorted before noticing her crush who looked at her for a second before turning his head away.
"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as Naruto sat up to greet her.
"Good morning, Sakura!" Naruto greeted his crush who shoved him out of the way.
"Move it!" Sakura yelled, pushing him out of the way.
"That…hurts…." Naruto comically cried.
"Man, ouch…." Gohan winced before helping his friend up.
Sakura greeted her crush who ignored her before he stared at Gohan. There was an obvious air of tension before Sasuke looked away. Gohan shrugged before sitting next to his best friend.
As Gohan and the others waited for Iruka to enter the room, he thought about his time in the Leaf. The villagers' opinions of him was definitely interesting as although he won over a good deal of them with his good deeds in him repairing the parts of the village that he indirectly destroyed, there was still others who were a bit wary of him and saw him as slightly of a freak due to being able to use Ki instead of chakra as well as being able to defeat outstanding genin such as Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga, the latter having quite a level of disdain for the son of Goku due to him humiliating him in their fight. Some could argue it was even on the level as the one he has for Hinata.
Gohan's relationships with some of his classmates were better at least as him, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba were all friends who tended to hang out from time to time when there were no classes. He and Ino were friends who would speak to each other every now and then where as Hinata who he was really close with. Their bond was on the same level as the one he had with Naruto due to him giving her more confidence in herself and her abilities whereas Sakura didn't care for him due to finding him to be a complete weirdo. Sasuke and Shino were wary of him due to Shino being naturally wary of outsiders of the leaf. Although the Aburame didn't outright dislike Gohan, a part of him didn't trust Gohan whereas Sasuke, although he didn't want to admit it, was jealous of Gohan due to his power. He was definitely sure that Gohan could defeat Itachi and the fact that some outsider from another world could defeat Itachi while he worked his ass off and couldn't defeat his wretched brother was truly maddening to the last Uchiha.
Gohan was snapped from these thoughts as Iruka entered the room.
"Good morning class! I hope you all are ready as today is the Graduation Exam." Iruka began as he greeted his class.
"When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The exam will be on the Clone Jutsu." Iruka said as Naruto nearly leaped out of his seat. He couldn't wait until his name was called as had that jutsu nailed!
Everyone waited patiently as their names were called; Sakura, Shino, Choji, Hinata and etc. Eventually it came to be Gohan's turn.
"Son Gohan!" Iruka called as Gohan nodded before following the scarred ninja into the testing room. Upon entering the room, Gohan noticed an adult wearing the same clothes Iruka wore but he had white hair.
"Son Gohan, correct? I am Mizuki and it's a pleasure to meet you." Mizuki smiled as he held his hand out to Gohan who stared at the man warily. There was something….ominous about him. Although not wanting to be rude, Gohan returned the gesture.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Mizuki." Gohan politely replied as he shook Mizuki's hand.
"Okay Gohan, even though you don't use chakra, I trust you have an ability that you can use with your Ki like producing copies of yourself?" Iruka asked as Gohan smiled.
"Yep!" Gohan replied before crossing his arms together.
"Multiform Technique!" Gohan yelled before he was able to make two copies of himself that were on the right and left sides of him respectively.
"Amazing! That's very much similar to the clone jutsu! I wonder, how did you learn it?" Iruka asked in amazement as Mizuki appeared equally as shocked.
"A friend of mine by the name of Tien taught me. He thought it'd be useful for me in battles." Gohan answered as he remembered how during the three years before the Androids' attack, the other Z-Fighters such as Tien, Chiaotzu and Yamcha would occasionally train with Goku, Gohan and Piccolo and Tien decided to teach the young boy his technique.
"Well this Tien of yours sounds like a true master." Mizuki smiled with his eyes closed as Gohan nodded.
"He really was." Gohan said as Iruka smiled before handing Gohan his prize for passing the examination.
"Well whatever the case is, you pass! Congratulations!" Iruka smiled as Gohan was awarded his honorary ninja headband, thus making him a ninja of the Leaf Village.
"Wow….It looks really cool! Thank you, Mr. Iruka! I promise to make you proud!" Gohan smiled before wrapping the headband around his bicep. Even though it was a forehead protector, he felt it'd be cooler on his arm.
Gohan smiled and gave the older man his thanks before leaving and waiting outside for his friend Naruto to graduate. He wasn't worried and was sure that Naruto would pass this time. After all, he reminded him so much of his father who could do anything.
Naruto waited on the seat of his pants for his name to be called and enarly jumped through the roof when the name "Naruto Uzumaki" was called.
"Alright! It's my time to shine!" Naruto gleamed before literally stampeding into the testing room. Mizuki's eye widened slightly at the site of the orange wearing boy.
"Okay Naruto. For this try, you have to make the clone jutsu." Iruka instructed the young boy who grinned before cracking his knuckles.
"Sure thing! Clone jutsu!" Naruto grinned before putting his hands together for the sign for said jutsu before summoning nearly fifteen different clones around the room, much to the shock of the two ninja present.
"N-Naruto?" Iruka stammered.
"Hehe, sup?" One of the clones grinned.
"H-how? A couple of months ago you couldn't even make a clone without it looking deformed and frankly….pathetic…but now?" Iruka could barely breathe as Naruto grinned while rubbing his nose proudly.
"Well I had a lot better motivation and practice this time" Naruto smiled like a fox as Iruka smiled in thought.
"Gohan….the bond these two boys share is nothing short of amazing…." Iruka thought with pride as he was proud that Naruto was finally able to graduate.
"As much as it pleases me to say this, I hereby announce: you pass!" Iruka smiled as he handed Naruto his blue forehead protector.
"Yes! Thank you so much!" Naruto yelled as he took off his green goggles while placing them in his pocket before putting his headband on and posed for it several times.
"Well? Well!? How do I look!? Like a model!?" Naruto grinned with sparkly eyes as Iruka laughed while Mizuki stared blankly.
"Yes, yes I suppose. Now the best of luck to you on your ninja career…" Iruka proudly smiled as Naruto grinned at him.
"Thanks again!" Naruto giggled excitedly before running outside the classroom.
"As much as a pain in the ass he can be, I'll miss that boy." Iruka sighed, albeit a little sadly as Mizuki said nothing. In fact if one could go inside his head, one would see just how furious he was.
Naruto ran outside to greet his friend eagerly to celebrate with him.
"Gohan! I passed!" Naruto cheered before hugging onto the boy as he tackled him to the ground, making both boys laugh.
"I knew you could do it! Now…can I please breathe?" Gohan asked as Naruto sheepishly chuckled.
"Right, sorry…" Naruto laughed as both boys continued laughing. However, close to the two of them, two adult women scoffed at the sight of them as they waited for their children.
"Can you believe it? They actually let those two pass?" One of the woman spat with pure disgust in her voice.
"I know….Our Hidden Leaf Village truly has follow if those two were allowed to pass…I mean one's a chakra-less freak and the other's the-"Her friend tried to add before she was cut off.
"Hey now! We're not supposed to talk about that, remember?" The woman corrected her friend.
"Oops, sorry." Her friend corrected. And their conversation was fully heard by the two, not like the two women cared either way.
Gohan sighed but didn't care what a bunch of ignorant people thought of him. He frowned as he looked at the sad expression on his friend's face.
"Hey Naruto. What did they mean what you are?" Gohan asked as Naruto sighed.
"I don't know…Every time I try to ask about it, all I get are vague answers…..Even the Old Man can't answer…" Naruto answered despondently as Gohan felt remorse for his friend. It wasn't fair to see him being treated for something he had no idea why. Sure he was a bit of a troublemaker, one incident involving him painting the Hokage monuments came to mind, but he was a genuine, down-to-earth person who was loyal. He would definitely find out the answer himself, one day. However, that didn't matter as he turned to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Who cares what a bunch of people like them think? You passed and are one step closer to your dream of becoming Hokage. And you have me!" Gohan smiled as Naruto's eyes widened in realization as he realized that Gohan was indeed right. Naruto returned the smile gratefully.
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Gohan! And who cares what a bunch of dumbasses like them think!? One day they'll definitely change their view of me and accept me as one of their own!" Naruto declared proudly as Gohan felt proud of Naruto. He really was definitely like his father.
"And I'm sure you can do that Naruto!" Gohan smiled as he remembered how hated Piccolo was. All of the Z-Fighters save for his father, detested and rejected him but with time he was seen as one of them and if someone like Piccolo could be accepted, Naruto definitely would!
"Now whaddaya say I make us some celebratory dinner?" Gohan suggested as Naruto grinned hungrily.
"Hell yeah!" Naruto yelled. And with that the two made their way to their home as they were suddenly approached by Mizuki.
"Oh, Naruto, Gohan. Hello there." Mizuki greeted friendly.
"Hello." Gohan replied.
"What's up?" Naruto asked.
"I'd like to speak to Naruto if that's okay with you, Gohan? It's nothing major and won't take long." Mizuki said as Naruto looked to Gohan as if asking if whether or not it was fine or not.
"Sure. Just don't take too long." Gohan said before stalking off to home.
Naruto and Mizuki were sitting atop of a building looking over the entirety of the Leaf Village.
"So Naruto, tell me…." Mizuki began.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked.
"Now that you've graduated from the ninja academy, you're a ninja now. But tell me, what's your overall goal in the grand scheme of things?" Mizuki asked the energetic twelve year old who watched the going and coming of the villagers down below before donning a determined expression on his face.
"I want to become Hokage. That way everyone will stop treating me like dirt and see me as someone important! As one of them! And I will achieve that goal!" Naruto announced as Mizuki chuckled.
"I see…If that's the case, then I have a certain proposition for you…." Mizuki began as Naruto raised a curious eyebrow.
"A proposition?" Naruto inquired.
"With it, I can guarantee that you be promoted to Chunin!" Mizuki grinned as Naruto nearly fell off the building in excitement. That's definitely a step in the right direction.
"TELL ME!" Naruto practically begged Mizuki as he got in his face who laughed before settling him down.
"Okay, you just have to do this….." Mizuki explained Naruto's "proposition" although if one could look closely, they'd see a somewhat evil smirk on his face.
Son Gohan was a person who was fairly patient, even in the tightest of situations. However, even he had his limits.
Gohan tapped the dining table with food in front of it with slight irritation. He told Naruto to not be out too long yet this was three hours since he was gone. What on earth could he be doing?
Gohan sighed as he put on his shoes before leaving the apartment in order to find out what Naruto was doing. He flew secretly through the sky as to not be detected before hearing a couple of voices from down below.
"I can't believe it! He's gone too far this time!" One ninja yelled.
"That's right! That damn Naruto! When I find him, I'll skin his little ass!" Another ninja yelled just as angry.
Gohan raised an eyebrow before descending to a nearby building.
"He stole the scroll of sealing! This isn't just some prank but a serious crime!" A third ninja yelled.
"Thankfully Lord Hokage gave us the order to find and apprehend him!" A fourth ninja yelled as Gohan was speechless at what he heard.
Naruto was a lot of things, a brat, troublemaker and even a delinquent but a thief? He was just too pure-hearted for the concept of thievery.
Gohan shook these thoughts out of his head before going to find Naruto by locking onto his Ki.
"Naruto….just what on earth have you gotten yourself into this time?" Gohan could only ponder about his friend as he flew to his location.
Naruto Uzumaki had never been more confused in his life. One moment Mizuki had promised him that he'd be able to advance to Chunin by stealing the scroll of sealing and learning a jutsu from it but then Iruka found him and had no idea about it. If that wasn't bad enough, Mizuki nearly drilled him to death with several Kunai that he was saved from at the last minute thanks to Iruka.
"Wait…what the hell…is going on here!?" Naruto more or less demanded rather than asked.
"Hehe, I've gotta say thanks for all the help, Naruto." Mizuki smirked as Naruto looked even more puzzled.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on here!?" As Naruto practically begged for things to make sense.
"Mizuki used you to get the Scroll of Sealing from his own selfish, nefarious ways!" Iruka answered while ripping kunai, after kunai out of him as Naruto gazed at the ninja for his betrayal in utter disbelief.
"What the!? Is this true!?" Naruto yelled with a fierce glare as Mizuki didn't even try to look scared.
"Hehe, that's right. And thanks for being the perfect little bait for my plan to gain more power. Although I wish I could've escaped without you being dumb enough to get caught. Then again, you always were the dead last so I guess that was to be expected." Mizuki shrugged.
"You bastard…." Naruto growled.
"And like the useless piece of trash, you are I'll have you killed like one." Mizuki began as he reached for the Shuriken on his back.
"Sayonara!" Mizuki yelled as he swung the ninja item down at the started rookie ninja. Naruto barely had enough time to react. At least until….
The Shuriken was literally blasted from and disintegrated in midair.
"What the?" Mizuki asked before noticing Gohan atop a tree before jumping down to the ground landing in front of the started Iruka and Naruto.
"Gohan?" Iruka asked.
"It's you!" Naruto exclaimed with a sense of relief as Gohan glared at Mizuki.
"I should've known you were up to something fishy. Something about you always seemed a bit off and now I'm glad to know I was right!" Gohan glared at the traitor ninja as this Mizuki guy really was no different than Cell.
"Hehe, leave it to the good old Son Gohan to being a thorn in my ass. But rather I won't let my plan fail here. Especially if this little monster has anything to say about it." Mizuki grinned as he motioned to Naruto, making both boys raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean a monster?" Gohan inquired as Naruto was equally curious.
"Mizuki, don't you dare tell!" Iruka yelled at the top of his lungs as the white haired shinobi ignored him.
"Hehe, why don't I tell you a story Gohan? Since you're friends, even though I have no real reason why, with Naruto, you've probably always wondered why he's treated like dirt even though there's no real reason why, yes." Mizuki began as Gohan nodded.
"Yeah I admit I've always been curious about the harsh treatment towards Naruto." Gohan answered.
"Tell me why!" Naruto demanded as Mizuki chuckled evilly.
"The reason is quite simple….Twelve years ago there was a nine tailed demon fox who attacked our village and it was sealed within the body of that idiot blonde right behind you by our beloved Fourth Hokage!" Mizuki explained as Naruto's face literally lost all of its color as Gohan looked at his friend in shock.
"….W-what?" Naruto could barely gasp out.
"He's…the holder of a demon?" Gohan asked.
"That's right. The demon fox who attacked the village has taken over his body! He is the nine tailed fox!" Mizuki declared as tears built up in Naruto's eyes. Finally…it all made sense….why he would hear parents push their kids away from him, why the villagers would call him "that boy" and whisper about what he was…..It was because the fox was inside of him…..He supposed that was the reason behind his whisker marks on his face.
Gohan looked to his friend in sympathy as he realized the burden that he was forced to carry from a very young age. His life was sacrificed for the safety of the village…..If that wasn't saddening, nothing was….
Gohan walked up to his friend and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto….I'm so sorry…" Gohan reasoned as tears fell from the blonde's eyes as he remembered everything the villagers did to him from kicking him out of stores, to the forced isolated social interaction he had with his peers to the overall denial of his existence, it was hitting him ten times over.
Naruto said nothing as Mizuki continued to jeer at the blonde.
"Hehe, I must wonder what Lord Fourth was thinking. What the hell made you so special!? Hmph. Then again, you'll be seeing him soon when I'm done with you, little demon!" Mizuki laughed as Naruto looked down while feeling a multitude of emotions; sadness, grief, betrayal, hurt, anger and hatred. Those damn village bastards had the audacity to treat him like a leper yet lie to him all his life!? Oh how he was definitely going to prove them wrong….Especially with this bastard in front of him!
With these thoughts in mind, a red chakra surrounded him, shocking Iruka and Gohan.
"T-this Chakra…it….feels like…." Iruka could barely gasp out as it reminded him of that night from twelve years ago.
"It feels….so cold!" Gohan observed as it reminded him of when he saw Vegeta go Super Saiyan for the first time. Gohan could only surmise that this was the power of the nine tailed fox.
"Haha, no one will ever accept a monster like you!" Mizuki jeered before guffawing into another laughing fit.
Hearing this Gohan Shot back to Mizuki and Glared at him. Clouds started rolling in faster than anyone has ever seen in the village. Yellow lightening bounced around the forest I nthe direction of Gohan and Naruto.
"You want to see a Monster! Mizuki!" Gohan snapped at Mizuki.
The earth stared cracking underneath them. The tree where Mizuki was in got hit by lighting and caught alight. Mizuki jumped behind all of them. Naruto turning around to face him with the red chakra still surrounding him. But then even catching Narutos attention. Gohans back still facing Mizuki, his Hair went spiked up, at that point the earth shacking. Even being felt by smaller villages away from the Leaf. Gohans hair turned Gold as he looked over his shoulder to Mizuki.
"Ga…Gaaa…W..Wh…what are you?" Mizuki tried to ask.
"I am the light, for when there are people like you" Gohan said as he powered down due to sensing over 50 ninja on their way here.
However, Naruto wasn't ready to calm down to the shock of Gohan and Iruka.
He was too busy laughing before he stopped, feeling the air. What he saw would stay with him for the rest of his days…..
Naruto raised his head up revealing his features…His hair was spikier, his whisker marks became more pronounced and his teeth became sharper but what was the most shocking was his eyes, they were blood red….and if one could look deep into his eyes they would see nothing but anger and hatred.
"So I'm just a monster huh!?" Naruto yelled as he gave a death glare to the white haired ninja who nearly fell back on his rear from the tree he was on before he donned a confident smirk.
"W…WHAT?" Mizuki tried to say but is still just frozen.
"I'll show you who's a real demon!" Naruto roared as Mizuki screamed in fear. And just from pure instinct he managed to throw the extra shuriken that he had attached to his back.
"N…Not if I kill you first!" Mizuki yelled as he attempted to throw his Shuriken before Naruto appeared right in front of him in a speed no one, save for Gohan could have seen.
"Go ahead! Just try to kill me!" Naruto roared before breaking the Shuriken before slamming a hard punch to Mizuki's gut.
Mizuki felt the air leave him before he was slammed hard into the ground by the twelve year old.
Mizuki barely had enough time to get his senses together before Naruto punched him square in the face. Before Mizuki could react Naruto hit him again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And yet again.
This went on for a little while longer as Mizuki was slowly losing consciousness as the possessed Naruto kept on pummeling the pathetic man, getting his fists stained with Mizuki's blood in the process.
Gohan and Iruka could only watch in shock as their friend delivered the beating of a lifetime to the now rogue ninja.
"Naruto…" Iruka sadly commented as he wished he could've done more for his student while Gohan could only stare in horror at the state Naruto was in. He was in a state of hatred that everyone around him was null and void. He was so far gone in his grief and rage that he was a totally different person now. It was just like how Gohan was when he attained his Super Saiyan 2 state. If he didn't stop, he'd definitely kill the traitorous Mizuki. Not like Gohan cared anything about the fool but he'd be damned if he'd let Naruto's innocence be tainted.
Gohan then got up before making his way to the blonde ninja.
"P….please….Mercy…." Mizuki begged as pathetic tears ran down his eyes. His face was bruised and covered with blood and it was by sheer miracle that he was even remotely conscious even a little.
Naruto however was having none of it.
"…Mercy…Mercy!? All the times I wanted someone to be nice to me, did anyone listen to me!? No! So screw you and your mercy! Naruto roared as he continued his punishment for several more seconds as he readied one final fist.
"And this…is for everything that's happened to me over my life!" Naruto yelled as he was about to kill the bastard, ignoring his pleas for mercy before his hand was grabbed right as his fist was only a fraction of a second from Mizuki's face. He looked up to see it was none other than Gohan.
"Gohan?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto…don't kill him." Gohan said to his friend who grunted.
"But! He!" Naruto tried to argue as Gohan shook his head.
"He's not worth it. Believe me. And deep down I know you know it too." Gohan said as Naruto growled in anger before his features returned to normal as Iruka was able to make his way to the two boys.
"Mizuki…You Bastard…How you've fallen ever since we were kids…" Iruka sadly sighed as a long tear flew down his eye.
"You were friends with him, Iruka-Sensei?" Gohan asked the scarred chunin.
"Yes. He comforted me after my parents died and we were as close as well…you two…but I guess that was all an act…huh…Mizuki?" Iruka asked as Mizuki didn't reply. Upon further investigation they all figured out that he lost consciousness.
"I think we should take him back to the village now…What he did was treason and he'll definitely be locked up in prison for his crime." Iruka said as the two boys nodded before making their way to the village.
Gohan just looked up as 50 Ninja landed around them as if Gohan knew there were coming.
"Come with us" Unknown Anbu member declares to Gohan Naruto and Iruka as 2 ninja pick up Mizuki and disappear.
Upon reaching the gates, Hiruzen was there waiting for them with his pipe in hand and a content smile.
"Iruka, Gohan and Naruto…congratulations for bringing down the traitor to our village…Although it's saddening what he became, I can take solace in the fact that the scroll is safe and sound." Hiruzen congratulated the three boys although internally he was shocked that Naruto unleashed the power of the nine tailed fox.
"Thank you Lord Hokage." Iruka politely bowed as Gohan smiled in thanks as Naruto said nothing.
Hiruzen frowned but realized this was probably the right reaction after finding out that he was basically lied to his whole life.
"Well Gohan, Naruto I can take you two out for ramen to-"Iruka tried to say as Naruto walked away from the group saying nothing, ignoring the concerned calls from his friends.
"Oh Naruto…." Iruka frowned as Gohan decided to go after him.
"I'll handle it." Gohan simply said before following after the blonde.
"I think maybe I should go to…" Iruka tried to follow before Hiruzen stopped him.
"Wait Iruka…I think this is a job only Gohan can do… how about you tell me what was the meaning of all that shaking and lighting" Hiruzen said as Iruka was silent before nodding his head and started telling Lord Third what Gohan had done.
Gohan followed after the blonde before Naruto ran off in an attempt to be alone. Gohan then waited for him to go home as he decided it'd be best to approach him from that angle. Upon entering their home, Gohan then sensed that Naruto was over the edge of the apartment building.
Naruto was solemnly looking at the ground below as he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Gohan's presence.
"Hey…." Gohan awkwardly greeted as Naruto sighed.
"…Hey…." Naruto greeted back.
"You know….what Mizuki said back there…he wasn't right." Gohan began in an attempt to reason with his friend as Naruto shook his head.
"And what makes you so sure? You saw how I reacted back there. That's nothing short of how a monster would react." Naruto countered harshly as Gohan sighed knowing this wouldn't be easy.
"Naruto, you know that's not true. You're not a monster, you were just someone lost in his own grief…" Gohan said as Naruto turned to him with a glare while tears cascaded from his eyes.
"How do you know what's not true!? I nearly killed him because he got under my skin!? Don't you understand!? I'm nothing but a freak of nature! A monster! Hell even when I was walking through the village earlier, the villagers' eyes got even colder to me, like me finding out about the nine tails made me even more hated than I originally was!" Naruto yelled as Gohan said nothing as he continued letting Naruto vent. Trying to say anything soothing would only make him angrier.
"You know something!? Maybe I should've let him nail me with that Shuriken! It's what I deserve after all…." Naruto moaned as Gohan put his hands on Naruto's shoulder before giving him a stern glare full of shock. The cheerful boy who chanted how he was going to be hokage day in and day out like it was his mantra was going to just give up!?
"Don't say that! Don't you ever say that, Naruto!" Gohan yelled as Naruto returned the stern look.
"Why shouldn't I!? I'm just a monster in the eyes of everything!" Naruto yelled as Gohan's hold on his shoulder got even tighter.
"Because Iruka cares about you! Mr. Hiruzen cares about you! Teuchi and Ayame care about you! And I care about you!" Gohan declare as a certain light that was lost in Naruto's eyes began to shine at the declaration of Gohan's words.
"W-what?" Naruto stammered as Gohan wouldn't let up.
"That's right! I'd never, ever see you as a monster! Hell you're more human than anyone I've ever met! Even more human than me!" Gohan announced as Naruto found himself silent at the hybrid's words before he suddenly started sniffling.
"G…Gohan…" Naruto moaned as Gohan pulled him in for a hug.
"T-thank….you…." Naruto tried holding back his tears.
"It's okay…It's okay to cry…Let it all out!" Gohan told his friend as he sobbed in Gohan's arms like he was a child who lost his mother in the store and found her.
"It'll be okay…It really will…." Gohan soothed as he remembered his father doing this to him as a boy.
Naruto continued crying before he eventually cried himself to sleep as Gohan tucked him into his bed.
"Poor Naruto…he's lived a life of hell….Well with me here I won't let him go through the pain of loneliness anymore…He's like my brother after all…" Gohan said as he pondered a way to show him how much he meant to him before a lightbulb appeared over his head.
"That's it!" Gohan yelled as he pumped his fist in his palm.
Well Guys that is Chapter 3 done. I hope you like it and will be going a very interesting root on the next 2 chapters. Any recommendations to where you want to see this story go. Don't be afraid to hit me up with some suggestions. They are very welcome. Chapter 4 will be out by the end of next week hopefully
