How Destiny Turns

by TheElderOne

Through a fantastic set of circumstances, Naruto stumbles upon the Shadow Clone Jutsu a year early and uses it to graduate when he's eleven. A fresh Genin, he's placed on a team with Neji Hyuuga and TenTen Jinta, Might Guy being their sensei. This event ripples across the pages of history books in the Leaf, and Team 9 is intent to show how to turn the tide of destiny.

4. The Spars

Well, thanks for the reviews. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Whoop-dee-doo.

Chapter 4

About two weeks later, Guy had them spar together as training. Over the course of these two weeks, Naruto had trained relentlessly with Guy and Lee, bettering his strength, stamina, and Iron Fist form. He still wore the total of two hundred pounds worth of weights, but this day he was moving normally. The next day he would double it. He still ate with Iruka, who laughed at stories about Guy and Lee.

TenTen could now instinctively aim and fire any kind of projectile, hitting the clone every time. With the staff, she could hold off Guy but not attack which would open her up to more bruises. The spars would usually end with TenTen giving out to exhaustion despite the fact she had more stamina than before.

Neji hadn't learned any new Gentle Fist techniques as of yet, but he had set his sights on perfecting Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms. The clone would advise him on errors in his fighting form, and the flaws became rarer and rarer. He too had gained a respectable amount of endurance from the workouts everyday. Outwardly, he hated it. Inwardly, he knew it would help. Gentle Fist relied on chakra, and these workouts increased his reserves of it.

After the workout that day, the three were less tired but still feeling the effects of it. TenTen leaned against a tree as she felt her legs go rubbery, and Naruto paced to keep his muscles from cramping. Neji was stoic as ever, not one complaint slipping from him. Instead of creating the clones as he usually did, Guy spread out his hands in a sweeping gesture.

"Today, team, is the day for sparring!" he announced, grinning down at them. TenTen and Naruto exchanged glances, and Neji kept his stoic demeanor. Naruto wondered at how he would do. He and TenTen were probably on level ground, but he was worried about the eventual spar against Neji. For all of his arrogance, the guy was skilled, but even if Naruto lost, he'd give Neji hell for it.

TenTen was nervous. Out of the group, she was probably the weakest, not out of lack of skill but because either boy was skilled in areas she wasn't. On the other hand, she was better than any of them with her weapons. She turned her mind toward the boys. Neji could easily overpower her if he got close and Naruto could do the same but would be able to close in subtly. She would have to keep her distance and be aware of any trickery from the blonde.

Guy held up a fist with three straws. "Each of you takes one straw." Naruto frowned and then cursed when he drew a short one. Neji drew a long straw, earning a glare from the blonde, and TenTen picked the last one, a medium-sized one. "Alright. Neji, you get a break today-,"

"But that's not fair!" complained Naruto. "He gets to rest while me and TenTen have to fight two in a row!"

Guy shrugged. "Sometimes that happens. You'll get at least one break during the spars."

"But, still, it's unfair-,"

"I know, but you wouldn't complain if you were getting the break, Naruto," pointed out Guy, silencing Naruto. "Fight order: Neji versus TenTen, Naruto versus TenTen, and Neji versus Naruto."

Neji went to one edge of the clearing, and TenTen to the other. Neji kept his cool manner as TenTen looked increasingly nervous. A cold sweat was already gathering on her brow. Guy glanced between the two, noting TenTen's anxiety. 'That's the first sign of a lost cause.' "Begin!"

TenTen quickly pulled out a scroll and unfurled it, shooting out several kunai and shuriken. Neji jumped to the left and darted toward her. She threw senbon toward him, but he simply zigzagged, each of the projectiles whizzing by him. She backed up as he neared, throwing every kind of weapon she could pull out of her scrolls.

Naruto cheered on TenTen from the sidelines. "C'mon! Stick it to him!" After the veritable shower of weapons, "Sheesh, where the hell does she keep all of them? Holsters can't keep that many. Is there something in the scrolls?"

"She's using storage seals," said Guy, "Fuinjutsu."

"TenTen mentioned that the day after the Exams…The Uzumaki clan was skilled in it. What isfuinjutsu exactly?" he asked.

"The art of making and using seals. There are many different types of seals, but TenTen uses only storage and I guess explosive. Others can be…" Guy looked up, thinking. "Actually, there are limitless possibilities if I remember right. To really understand it, you'd have to ask someone else that's an expert."

Naruto nodded, and after a pause, "Can you tell me anything about the Uzumaki clan?"

Guy looked at him oddly, "They didn't teach it in the Academy?"

"Don't know. Probably did, and TenTen told me a little about it. Can you tell me more?"

"Sure. The Uzumaki clan- odd coincidence with your name- was highly skilled in fuinjutsu. They were feared by their enemies and their allies were thankful of escaping their wrath. Konoha was one of their allies, and the Senju-,"

"Senju?"

"One of the two founding clans of Konoha, the other being the Uchiha clan."

"Great. Sasuke's part of some great clan…All the more reason to be an asshole," mumbled Naruto. "You were saying, sensei?" he asked in a louder voice.

"The Senju were distant blood relatives of the Uzumakis, making the alliance all the more stronger. Also, the Uzumaki clan acted as the mediator of the parent clans, ensuring an unbreakable bond."

"Mediator? That makes them sound too nice."

"Wrong. A mediator has to be blunt and a threat enough to get the point across. The diplomacy part is optional," explained Guy. "The Uzumakis supported the two clans throughout the peacetime after the First Shinobi War, and then fought on their side in all other wars until their downfall in the Third Shinobi War.

"Their downfall was tragic but inspiring," began Guy, "Iwa and Kumo had allied with each other to face a common threat: Uzu. Konoha was cut off from responding as they were tied up with Suna and Kiri. As Iwa and Kumo marched on the small village, Uzu made a last stand while trying to evacuate the civilians, elderly, and young. All of the capable Uzumakis stayed behind along with the ninja force. The ensuing battle went on for three days until the last man, the Uzukage Firuza Uzumaki, was killed. The total casualties for Iwa and Kumo: fifty thousand out of sixty thousand. Uzu: Five hundred."

Naruto was awe-struck. "Good God. That's a helluva number to kill and then only lose five hundred. Surely there were others that got out like civilians or the children?"

"Hunted down. There were no survivors except for those outside of Uzu at the time, but unfortunately most have died now."

Back in the battle, TenTen was quickly running out of ammunition. She was at half-capacity with shuriken, and all of her kunai were gone. She was close to using almost all of her senbon, and yet Neji refused to be hit. He constantly changed his pattern and would stop randomly, taking her by surprise. 'God, where did all the training go?' She felt her breathing quicken, and her sweaty hands began to slip on the scrolls.

Neji closed the distance between the two, within his and her striking range. TenTen frantically tried to flip backward but Neji struck her on the leg, deadening it. She collapsed, but rolled away from any more hits. She stood shakily, testing her leg. It regained the feeling in it quickly, so she guessed he hadn't hit any vital nerve or pressure point. Neji narrowed his eyes at her, noticing he had missed, and activated his Byakugan.

Naruto squawked in surpise. "What the hell? His eyes…What's with the veins? And the weird pupil?"

"That's his Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan," explained Guy. "It is specific to the Hyuuga clan, and is considered to be one of the Three Great Dojutsu."

Naruto frowned. Another missed lesson. "What does it do?"

"It gives the user a 360 degree view around them, the range being 50 meters. It also gives the user telescopic and X-ray vision, and he or she can train themselves to increase the range. The final ability is to see the chakra network and flow of chakra. Skilled holders of the Byakugan can manipulate the flow by using their signature style: Gentle Fist."

"Gentle Fist?"

"It is the opposite of the Iron Fist but is just as or even more dangerous than it. It utilizes chakra to close or open chakra pathways through tenketsu, tiny charka gateways essentially. If someone's chakra is sealed, the person cannot use jutsu and is usually incapacitated."

"Sheesh, no wonder TenTen wants to keep her distance…damn thing would difficult to beat, but not impossible…hmmm." Naruto watched the unfolding battle, wondering how he'd fare against. In truth, he probably wouldn't fare any better.

In the battle, TenTen cringed as the Hyuuga activated his dojutsu, but then she unsealed her staff. 'Great, now it's over. Close range with Neji never works.' She shifted into the combat stance, and Neji settled into his own stance. She jabbed at Neji who sidestepped and darted at her. TenTen took several steps back and swiped at him, grazing his arms. She followed up with several jabs and whirls of the staff, and he tried to knock it away. Without thinking, she threw back toward herself and caught it. To Guy's surprise, her stance had changed and not for the worse.

She held the staff at a slight angle and her right hand was positioned near one end of the staff and the other holding it in the middle. Her legs were bent slightly, and her weight looked to be evenly distributed between her feet. It was the advanced stance, noted Guy, the stance that all users hope to one day take, and she'd did naturally.

The two circled cautiously, and TenTen marveled at the feel of her new stance. 'It feels natural, and the staff feels like it's a part of me now. This is…amazing.' Neji broke the circle and bolted toward her. She waited until he was in striking range and jumped up, bringing the staff down in a mighty strike. The Hyuuga seemed to be puzzled for a second, but then rolled away as the staff smashed into the spot he had been. She flicked her wrist and the staff seemed to move in two directions, the action confusing Neji before the weapon slammed into his side.

He slid back and glared at TenTen, who surprisingly matched him for it. Neji charged her and expected another midsection strike but instead felt his legs be swept from under him. She tried to hit him with two quick overhead strikes while he was defenseless, but he rolled away from those as well. He flipped up and watched her warily. She had never been a match for him up close, but now that had changed. The trick to defeating that staff would be getting uncomfortably close, but he thought it was necessary as he readied for another charge.

Neji closed the distance quickly and deflected a strike from the right. He spun while moving forward to get close to her and struck a pressure point on her leg as she lashed out. She fell to one knee but still swiped at his legs with her staff. He jumped to dodge it and struck her on the arms, and they fell numbly to her sides as her staff clattered to the ground. She was defenseless now, and TenTen knew it. Her glare was frustrated as she said, "I forfeit."

Naruto groaned at the outcome, but Guy applauded her performance. Neji looked at her coldly and walked away without offering any help. TenTen rose unsteadily, and Naruto walked over and helped her up. She grimaced as she felt her bad leg take her body's weight but thought she could use it before her battle with Naruto. Guy had a few words of advice and praise for her, however.

"TenTen, good work with the staff. The new stance you took surprised me; it's advanced and near the mastering level. However, you let nerves affect your aim. You have to calm down before a fight, even if you think you're going to lose," he said, causing TenTen to hang her head. "Don't worry. It's all a part of learning to get better. Nerves are simply an obstacle to overcome."

She nodded. "Thanks Guy-sensei." She picked up her staff and resealed it, the numbness fading from her arms. Naruto took position at one end of the clearing as did TenTen. She checked her weapons scrolls and refilled them from a larger scroll. All the while, her leg's numbness was not returning as fast as she'd liked.

"Hey, TenTen." She looked at the concerned blonde, "Are you going to be fine for the spar?"

"I'm fine. No need to worry," said TenTen, hands nearing her holsters in anticipation. Naruto grinned and adopted the Iron Fist stance. However, there was one difference with his and Guy's; With Guy's, one fist was kept behind him, but Naruto had tucked the fist near his waist. Guy didn't know why Naruto chose to do this, but it was an acceptable stance.

The Jonin looked between the two and, seeing that they were ready, ordered, "Begin!"

TenTen started off by throwing several kunai in his direction, not really hoping to hit him but instead get him to jump, presenting her a perfect target. The blonde, however, did not jump and instead dodged to the right. He threw a few shuriken in a reply and gripped a kunai from his holster. The weapons mistress deflected the shuriken with a few of her own and shot senbon at Naruto.

He darted to the left but caught several in his arms. Naruto swore and pulled them out quickly, the ends now lightly painted with blood. He looked furiously at TenTen, who smirked. He created two clones and charged with them. TenTen pulled out a scroll and out from it shot her staff, catching the blonde by surprise. 'What the hell?' A clone caught the staff with its face, and TenTen rushed forward and grabbed the staff and slammed it down on the other clone.

Naruto was momentarily stunned by the attack but recovered when he saw the staff slicing toward him. He parried it with his kunai which he holstered afterward. She'd knock it out of his hands if he kept using it. He jabbed at her and then attempted a sweeping kick at her legs. The punch was dodged and kick parried by her staff, which she swung at his head. He crouched and tried another sweeping kick which connected; however, as she fell, TenTen caught herself with one hand and used the other to strike at Naruto. She flipped back after the strike and landed away from him.

The staff grazed him as he tilted back, and Naruto responded with a series of punches, rolls, and kicks, all which were dodged or blocked by TenTen. 'This is getting out of hand,' he thought after narrowly dodging a retaliation strike from his opponent, 'I need to get that staff. If I can get it, then I can win.' She jabbed at the blonde, who stepped to the side. 'How to get it is the problem.'

He jumped backwards out of striking range and studied TenTen. She slid back into her stance and waited. 'Neji got in close to fight her,' thought Naruto, 'That's something to try, but I don't think it'll work twice. I might try to catch the staff, and I might end up breaking my hand.' He mentally shrugged and rushed his opponent, who swung at his right side as soon as he was close enough. He blocked it with his forearm and grabbed it with his other hand, pulling her forward and off-balance. He raised a fist to hit her side, but she rolled between his legs and snatched her staff away from him.

Naruto leapt away, but TenTen charged him and jumped with the staff ready for a shattering blow. The blonde narrowed his eyes but waited. 'Same with the Chunin…no….not yet…' The whistling of the staff was getting louder.

Naruto sidestepped as the staff crashed to the ground next to him; he felt the wind coming off of it. He placed a foot on it and kicked out TenTen, who released it and slid back. He grabbed the weapon and threw it behind him, and TenTen scowled angrily at him. "If you broke it, you bought it."

As he sped towards her, he smirked, "Don't worry. If I'd wanted to break it, you would've seen me do it." At the last word, he jabbed at her. She dodged it and jumped over him in an attempt to retrieve her weapon. Naruto, however, caught her foot and threw her to the ground. She lay there, dazed, as Naruto grabbed her collar and winded back a fist. "Gotcha."

"Screw you too," she mumbled, "Two losses in one day." He smiled and let her go.

"Cheer up. Maybe in ten years or so will you be able to beat me."

"Ah, screw you some more."

"You're so original sometimes, TenTen."

Guy clapped once, bringing their attention to him. "Good work, both of you. TenTen: seems the nerves didn't get to you, but that may be because of your easier opponent." The Jonin grinned at Naruto, who glared back. "And Naruto: your technique was good even though it was pretty much useless against her staff. And I would advise to limit those waiting tricks. Only those who have extremely fast reflexes can do them safely."

The blonde shrugged. "I have fast reflexes."

"Oh, do you?" Naruto jumped and whipped around to find Guy standing behind him. He looked at the Guy in front of him and watched it slowly fade. 'An afterimage…Sheesh, he's fast.'

"Alright, I don't, but I can still see the other's moves. That counts."

Guy sighed. "Just don't do that waiting trick anymore. Only if it's a last resort."

Naruto nodded and rubbed his arms where the senbon had struck him. He turned toward TenTen, who had gotten her staff. "Nice aim."

"Expect anything else?"

"Yeah. Thought you'd be nervous, or is Neji stronger than me?"

"That," she said, "will be decided in the next fight." Naruto grinned and looked at Neji. The Hyuuga eyed him coldly, trying to intimidate him. However, the blonde would have none of it.

"C'mon, teme. Quit giving me the evil-eye and take position."

TenTen frowned slightly. "What about your arms? The senbon?"

Naruto glanced at her and pulled up his sleeve. There were no signs that he had ever been struck by the needles, and her eyes widened. "I heal fast. Don't know why, but I'm thankful for it."

"Uzumaki-san, take position," said Neji with a slight mocking tone. He stood at one end of the clearing, arms crossed.

"Oh, you're finally ready, teme?"

"Do not call me that."

"I've got to have an asshole to call 'teme', and that's you, teme," taunted the blonde, walking to his end. Neji inhaled deeply to calm himself.

"You are going to regret ever calling me that," he threatened, adopting his stance and activating his dojutsu.

"I doubt it. I'm still fresh even though I didn't have a break." TenTen glowered at him and made a rude gesture in his direction. Guy shook his head. 'Can't wait till missions,' he thought sarcastically.

"Begin!"

"Kick his ass, Naruto!" cheered TenTen in spite of what he had said, "But then I wouldn't mind if Neji beat yours!" Guy facepalmed. Out of the trio, Naruto and TenTen were the closest friends, but sometimes it didn't seem like it.

"Yeah right!" shouted Naruto, hastily throwing together a plan. Either it would work, or he would crash and burn. He threw a few shuriken at Neji to see how he would react, but Neji dodged to the right and ran at him, Byakugan activated. Naruto backed up a few steps and created ten clones. They all ran to meet Neji head-on, and when they collided, hell broke loose.

Neji slid and threw out his shoulder, catching the first in the chest. He stumbled back into the others and tripped them up. Some managed to avoid the pileup and fight with Neji, and he smirked and beckoned them mockingly with a hand. One punched, but Neji knocked his fist away and clapped him on the chest. He dispelled, and two more clones emerged from the smoke. Both tried to punch him, but he parried them and jumped and kicked them in the head.

They sailed away, and before he landed, two clones positioned themselves on both his sides. He landed, and the one behind him tried to grab him, but Neji somehow saw him. As soon as the clone put hands on him, Neji threw him over his shoulder into the other, and the two vanished into smoke. The others had just untangled themselves from the pileup, but Neji descended upon them and wiped them out.

The memories Naruto received did not bode well for him, and he hurried to close his gaping mouth. 'Well, crap. I though he had to change whether he looked behind or in front of him, but it looks like he can see all around him all the time. Great. Just dandy.' He made another group of ten clones, but these were more hesitant, something that Neji took advantage of.

Two were gone in quick succession of Gentle Fist strikes, and a third lasted long enough to gape at the display before being forcefully struck with both palms, sending it flying. Neji gripped another by the collar and threw him into two others and struck them in the gut with open palms. Two maneuvered behind him despite knowing about his vision, and when they kicked out at him, Neji stepped back behind them and chopped at their necks. The last couple froze, and he smirked before dispelling them with quick jabs of his fingers.

Naruto was sweating slightly, but he quickly threw a shuriken at the now-advancing Neji. He dodged it and spun and attempted to land a vicious blow on Naruto. Naruto jumped backwards and watched Neji cautiously. The option of taking off his weights occurred to him, but as he reached for the clasps, Guy shook his head. Regret turning his stomach, Naruto took up the Iron Fist stance again.

"Why?" he asked as the blonde landed. "Why do you resist fate? You can never defeat me or accomplish your pathetic dream of becoming Hokage. There is not even the slightest chance."

"Because," started Naruto, ditching his strategy and opting for a more direct approach by charging the Hyuuga, "I want to prove-," He punched at Neji who deflected it and followed up with his own strike. "-to myself and to the village that-," Naruto dodged the blow. "-I'm not a weakling or trash!"

Neji snorted. He landed a glancing blow to Naruto's arms. "Fate is determined from the day you are born," he said venomously as he tried to jab a finger at Naruto's tenketsu. "You might as well surrender yourself to its current."

"Then tell me this, then: -," Naruto moved out of the way of Neji's jab and tried to sweep his legs out from under him which failed as the Hyuuga stepped out of range. "-How did I, the Dead Last of the Academy-," Naruto dodged a kick from Neji and retaliated with a right hook while still saying, "-graduate a year early and get on this team?" Neji narrowed his eyes but kept his silence as he sent a flurry of jabs at Naruto. The blonde held up his arms to defend himself but was sent sliding back a few feet. He mentally checked if he could still use chakra in his arms and inwardly sighed in relief when he could. "Hmm?" he asked, returning his attention to the Hyuuga. Naruto threw a few shuriken again pointlessly, and the Hyuuga smirked as they fell short.

"Looks like I just fooled fate and swam against that current," said Naruto as he charged forward. Neji shifted his weight to catch the frontal blow that never came as Naruto switched with a shuriken and landed a powerful punch to his jaw. Neji collapsed to the ground in a heap. "I never gave up the hope of proving to myself that I am strong," he finished.

TenTen's jaw dropped as Naruto ended the battle. "Wow. I knew Naruto was good, but to beat Neji…,"

Guy grinned. "Looks like Iron Fist can beat Gentle Fist." 'Take that, Hiashi!'

Naruto let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding and offered a hand to Neji, only for him to be replaced with a log. 'What? Wait…SHIT!' The Hyuuga appeared in front of Naruto, a smug sneer on his face.

"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"

"Two!"

"Four!"

"Eight!"

"Sixteen!"

"Thirty-two palms!" Neji delivered the final palm to Naruto's chakra center, and the blonde looked confused before he fell to the ground face first. Neji turned his back. "Failure," he spat, walking away. Naruto groaned, but then he said something that made Neji halt.

"Don't...count me out yet, teme." He struggled to push himself up, and his legs shook as he stood. "I can still beat your ass like this." His mouth was bloodied, but the flame in his eyes was bright. "Turn around so we can go again."

"You shouldn't be moving," said Neji, turning. "I blocked half your chakra points. Your breathing should be labored right now."

"Believe me, it hurts to breath, but that's nothing." He made the clone handsign again. "Now bring it!"

"Why?" demanded Neji. "You're defeated! You have nothing, but yet you continue on. What gives you that energy? Why?"

"Because," struggled Naruto. "I was called a failure!" He created one more clone, and they charged. Neji's anger flared unexpectedly at Naruto's words, and he wondered why he had such a reaction. Naruto's words were ridiculous, weren't they? Yes, they had to be...right? Neji shook away the thought and reacted to Naruto's last-ditch effort. He flipped over the original and kicked the clone under the jaw. He landed behind Naruto and touched a single nerve in his back.

Naruto's body locked up, and he fell over like timber.

"Naruto!" cried TenTen, running over to them.

Neji regarded the person before him cruelly. "Fool. You never had a chance."

"Naruto! You alright?" asked TenTen frantically, shaking the blonde. The blonde didn't respond and TenTen thought the worst: that somehow Neji had killed him. Then Naruto groaned and blinked his eyes, and her worry turned into irritated relief. "Get up! You worried me!" She punched him in the arm, issuing another groan from Naruto.

"Quit that," he argued weakly, "It hurts."

"You're gonna hurt a lot more if you don't get up!"

"I don't think you could hurt me anymore, TenTen."

"Get up or I'll prove you wrong!" Naruto blinked blearily again and slowly sat up. "Good. You had me worried there for a second."

Naruto flashed a small, painful grin at her. "Thanks for worrying, Kaa-san."

TenTen winded her fist back but then lowered it and said in a sickly sweet tone, "You;re welcome, Otouto-kun." Naruto glared at her but didn't move.

"That was a low blow."

"You called me old."

"No, I didn't. Not directly, anyway."

"Indirectly is what a girl always looks for, little one. You've got to learn that."

Naruto scowled at the name and shook his head. "You're mean sometimes," he grinned wickedly, "but remember who loss two times in a row today."

TenTen growled at him and punched him in the arm, hard. He groaned again as pain flared through his body and punched back though with considerably less force. TenTen responded by giving the blonde a playful noogie, and the blonde struggled. "There. That 'll teach you," she said, letting him go and ruffling his hair.

Guy smiled and Neji rolled his eyes. "Alright, you two. These spars conclude the training for today. You're dismissed."

Naruto rolled his neck after training with Guy and Lee. He was still feeling the effects of the ruthless regimen they did, but admittedly Naruto was starting to enjoy it. Not to the point of letting Guy brainwash him, but he enjoyed the challenge it presented.

He looked at the setting sun and sighed. Those two could and would train until midnight, but Naruto had no time for that. Besides, he could rely on other things besides taijutsu unlike Lee. The blonde shook his head at the thought of the jutsu-less Genin; the boy had a rough road ahead of him.

The blonde walked in the direction of his favorite ramen stand, not really paying attention. Boisterous noise from an alley drew him towards it, and he peered into the alley. Three teens surrounded a small figure on the ground and were kicking it and shouting insults at it. Naruto was reminded about the day he defended Hinata, and protective anger flooded through him.

"Hey, bastards! Leave that person alone!" he yelled, making the boys turn to face him.

"Heh, look. It's the demon boy," said a pig-faced one.

"Touch him again and I will show why I'm called that!" snarled Naruto, cracking his knuckles.

One, unfazed by the anger, taunted, "Pheh! You look more like a pussy than a-," He never finished as Naruto tore toward the boy, hands clenched into fists. The first punch sent the boy sailing, and a second caused one to collapse with a broken nose. The remaining one looked at him fearfully but with a spark of recognition. "Y-y-you're that k-k-kid."

"Oh, you're the same damn group that bullied Hinata? Looks like you never learn." Naruto grinned evilly as he recognized the voice. He appeared next to the teen in an instant. "Run to Mommy now," he whispered. The teen gulped and stumbled out of the alley. Naruto looked at the others, and his lip curled in disgust. "Bastards. Attacking something smaller than them. Bastards and cowards." The blonde turned to see who or what the figure was, and frowned slightly.

It was a small boy, shabbily dressed but looked healthy enough. His wide brown eyes looked in awe and fear at Naruto. The blonde offered a hand, and the boy looked at it before taking it. "Th-thank you," he breathed.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Just wanted to help. I don't particularly like bullies, and I've run into them before."

"I h-heard you."

"Hope you didn't hear everything. If you did, don't repeat some of those words around your parents," said Naruto lightly before walking away.

"W-wait!" Naruto turned his head. "You're the demon that everyone talks about?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. 'Demon' is what everyone calls me when they think I can't hear them," he smiled sadly, "I can hear every word."

"Oh," the boy kicked the ground with his toe, "well, I don't think you're a demon….erm…,"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki-san, sir." Naruto looked oddly at the boy before breaking into laughter.

"I don't think anyone's ever called me -san or a sir before," he replied, wiping his eyes. "What's your name?"

"Touza. Just Touza."

He patted Touza's head. "Well, Touza-san, run along now. I bet your parents are worried." He nodded and smiled at Naruto before taking off out into the street.

Naruto watched the boy disappear around the corner and smiled slightly. 'Nice little guy. I wish more people were like him,' thought the blonde before heading to Ichiraku.

The trip there was short, or so it seemed to Naruto whose mind had wandered again. He pushed the flaps away and sat on one of the seats. Iruka still hadn't arrived yet. Naruto was early anyway; he usually went home to change into his more comfortable clothes.

He waited until the Chunin arrived even though his stomach growled, and he earned several odd looks from the other patrons. When Iruka arrived, Naruto said irritably, "Took your time, didn't you?"

"There was a test today, and the papers took longer to grade," explained Iruka, waving over Ayame. She took their orders and shouted them to her dad in the back.

Naruto looked at Iruka and decided to start the conversation. "Today we had sparring."

"And?"

"Uh, well, I won one and lost the other."

"This is your first spar, right?" He nodded. "You did better than I did. I lost to both my teammates. I was the laughingstock until I beat them the next time." Iruka grinned. "That victory felt great to say the least. Who was the unlucky one?"

"TenTen, you know, the weapons girl? I've told you about her."

"Yeah, and I keep wondering if you have a crush on this girl."

The blonde snorted. "She's pretty and nice but more of a friend than anything."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious! Plus I know she doesn't like me. She likes Neji, the prick of the group."

The Chunin smiled, amused. "There's one on almost every team. It's just the extent of the prickishness. And I feel sorry that you missed out on her."

"Oh, shut up, Iruka-sensei, or I'll start on you and Ayame." Iruka blushed, drawing a smirk from Naruto. "And Neji takes the cake of prickishness. He makes Sasuke look damn sociable," said Naruto, leaning back in his chair. Iruka chuckled, and both quit talking as the food came. After they finished, Iruka asked, "Anything other exciting things happen today?"

Naruto hesitated before saying, "Well, I helped this kid with some bullies on the way here. Taught them a lesson. I knocked out two of the three. The other ran."

"That was a noble thing to do. I'm proud of you, Naruto."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks." He turned toward Iruka. "Do you know of anyone called Touza?"

"Touza…?"

"He didn't give me a last name."

"Hmm. I'm afraid I don't. If you could ask about his last name that might clear things up."

"Well, if I run into him again, I'll ask." Iruka nodded and paused, debating whether or not to ask one particular question. Naruto saw the pause. "What is it?"

"Did the bullies, or the boy for that matter, call you anything?"

"The bullies called me the usual, but Touza didn't. He did recognize me as the 'demon boy', but didn't run away in fear. Said he didn't think I was a demon. Even called me 'Naruto-san'." He smiled wistfully. "I wish more people like him," he repeated the thought he had had.

"Most people aren't."

"Yeah. I hate that, too, but that's just how the world works. For the people who don't like me, I just prank 'em, and for the people I do like, I still prank 'em."

"You've stopped this year."

"Yeah." The blonde grinned at the Chunin. "I bet you're glad. They always caught your attention a lot of the time."

Iruka laughed. "Yeah, they did. Painting the entire Academy neon pink is going to make anyone turn around!" They both laughed.

After the two had stopped, Naruto asked, "Hey, Iruka-sensei, did you teach about the Uzumaki clan in the Academy?"

"Yeah, but you weren't there. I remember it because Sasuke was fuming about you sharing the name of a clan with equal or greater power than his. It was pretty funny, actually," said Iruka, an amused grin coming on.

"I should've been there. I could've made fun of him."

"And then you two would have a fight. Sometimes it was best for you to skip to avoid Sasuke. And why do you ask, by the way?"

"Well, TenTen uses a ninja art called fuinjutsu, and Guy-sensei tried to explain it, but said to ask someone else more experienced." The blonde glanced at Iruka. "Do you know anything about it?"

"Yeah, but what did Guy-san tell you?" Naruto retold what his sensei had said, and after that the Chunin nodded. "He told you of it, and he was right. There are limitless possibilities for the art."

"Then why haven't I heard of everyone using fuinjutsu?"

"It's a time-consuming topic to learn about. It usually takes about ten years for someone to achieve the rank of expert, and another ten to be a master. There are geniuses, of course. The Yondaime was one. He was a master in about ten years."

Naruto smiled at the mention of his idol. "Yondaime…he was really powerful, wasn't he? He was able to kill the Kyuubi, and that's no small thing." Guilt flicked across Iruka's face at Naruto's words; the blonde had no clue, but then neither of the other kids did. Naruto asked something, bringing Iruka from his thoughts. "Do you know any fuinjutsu, Iruka-sensei?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I focus more on the defensive side of it. Barriers and such," he added at the confused look on Naruto's face. "I started when I was a little bit older than you, but since I haven't progressed much. I've never had time for it."

"How do you learn fuinjutsu exactly?"

"It's a bunch of theory and experimentation. Theory to learn how to make a seal, and experimentation to make sure your seal works and doesn't blow up."

"It can be that dangerous?"

"Definitely. We've lost people to defective explosive seals."

"The theory part…is it reading?"

"Mostly." Naruto groaned. "That's why it's not well-known. Most people would rather train or practice jutsu than read. Those who do pursue this, though, become very powerful."

The blonde grunted. "I was considering taking it up, but now…" He shrugged.

Iruka laughed. "It's not that bad. Tell you what: this weekend, come to the Academy after it releases, and I'll show you some basics."

"That'd mean cutting my training short."

"I'm sure Guy-san would understand, and if you don't like it, you won't have to cut your training short anymore."

Naruto frowned, considering. After a moment, he agreed, "Alright. But I warn you, I probably won't like it. That's too much dull reading."

Iruka shrugged. "It's not that bad." He grinned. "Just don't paint the Academy again."

Naruto chuckled. "Too bad. I had plans to paint it bright orange."

"And then everyone will know who did it!" They laughed again. After the laughter stopped, Naruto leaned forward with small smile on his face and put his arms on the table. He seemed to be deep in thought, and Iruka took it as the cue to leave. He rose and paid for his meal and, as an afterthought, Naruto's.

Before he left, however, "Thanks, Iruka-sensei."

"For what? The food? It's not a problem-,"

"No. For everything."

And cut. Man, that took a long time. Sorry for not getting this out sooner, but honestly, how many of you thought this was going to be the chapter Naruto beats sense into Neji? Eh? Well, that isn't going to happen for a while, like many things. Anyway, I hope you're not too irritated about the update speed. I don't want to burn out on this one.

EDIT (1/10/15): Well, changed up the fights. Not a whole lot done to this chapter.

Anyway, toodles.