Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Kishimoto Masashi does…
Also I claim no ownership over the '…for dummies' book series.
"spoken"
"as spoken by Kyuubi"
-thought-
-as thought by Kyuubi-
Awakening of the Slumbering Beast
Chapter 3: The Chuunin selection… exam thingy
Naruto was tense. Despite the display of bravado shown earlier, he was somewhat afraid of the reaction he was going to get from the people of Konoha. Not that he was worried about being outright lynched or anything but still… Stroking Akai absently between the ears he steeled his resolve to overcome what ever the villagers would throw at him, and his newly adopted neechan, and strode purposefully towards the gates. When he got there he noticed, to his relief, that he wasn't the only one who was feeling nervous. The two ANBU members who were assigned to guard the gate visibly tensed when they came face to face with a baby kitsune and the Kyuubi's carrier. A meaningful glare from Kakashi held back any comments from the ANBU who only motioned a court acknowledgement to the returning nins.
As he had expected the villagers immediately took note of Akai, who was curiously peeking about from her baby carrier, and began to whisper amongst themselves. Their reaction varied from fear to confusion and ultimately to anger. As they walked by he could hear the whispers "…evil fox, proves that he's a demon spawn…" and the subsequent replies of "…shh remember the law." As the Team Seven made their way towards the Hokage tower to turn in their mission report, Naruto had to fight back surges of anger. He really didn't care if the villagers slandered him, but to call him a demon spawn was an insult directed towards his parents. Calming himself he concentrated on watching the reactions of the shinobi populace. To his confusion he received hardly any evil glares, instead most of the shinobi who passed only tensed slightly when they took note of Akai or met the gaze from Naruto's slitted blue eyes. Others looked him with regret, alarm or a mixture of both, some even seemed sympathetic of all things.
Kakashi, who had been tense and ready to defend his student if need be, began to relax as he noted the absence of hostility from Konoha shinobi. The villagers were really only a minor nuisance and posed little, if any threat to anyone who was above the second year as an academy student, let alone a Genin. He had to wonder though, what had caused such a drastic shift in their attitude. Certainly it wasn't his changed appearance or Akai-chan…
After submitting their mission reports Kakashi dismissed Sakura and Sasuke while ordering Naruto to stay behind on the pretence that he should personally inform the Hokage of his 'bloodline limit'. Sasuke, who had activated his Sharingan was also about to stay but was again dismissed by Kakashi, who stated that the Sharingan was a well documented and thus really didn't need special attention. It went without saying that Sasuke was somewhat annoyed at Naruto hogging the spotlight, grumbling to himself he stalked out towards the Uchiha mansion. The clerk was feeling quite co-operative, especially after Naruto flashed him a fanged grin and narrowed his now crimson eyes, when Kakashi requested a private meeting with Hokage. After only a few minutes of waiting they were shown in the Hokage's office.
Moment of silence ensued… no one moved. Sandaime stared at Kakashi and Naruto, who stared back along with Akai, who was quickly growing bored at the silence. Deciding that it was prudent to show off she jumped down from the carrier and patted deliberately across the floor towards the frozen old man. She stopped few yards in front the man and curiously tilted his head… then with great concentration very carefully uttered "Konnichiwa ojisan!" Strutting proudly she whirled around and scampered back into the baby carrier.
The, now properly greeted, old man pinched himself under his robes. He had to be dreaming, no way had he just seen Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi walk into his office with a baby fox that had promptly jumped forward and greeted him. That simply didn't, couldn't happen. He pinched himself again and finally resigned himself to the realization that it really had happened. Rubbing his temples the old man sat down with an audible sigh and spoke in his intercom ordering that he was not to be disturbed… this was going to be a long day.
After series of long winded explanations about Kyuubi, seals, cubs and so called bloodlines they finally got to the issue of Naruto's real family. Explaining just exactly why Naruto's lineage was kept a secret was surprisingly easy, the reasons being mostly what Kakashi had expected them to be. Naruto's father had made plenty of enemies, especially during the third shinobi war when he had single handedly eliminated a great number of enemy ninjas, and the families of those enemies might seek revenge on the survivor of the Kazama clan. There was also the fact that other ninja countries, while being 'allied' to Konoha, were not above trying to gain power by any means necessary. If they were to learn that Yondaime, who was considered to have been a genius, had a son who incidentally also held the Kyuubi sealed within him… the temptation for gaining such a powerful 'tool' could be overwhelming.
Naruto, flinching visibly at the word tool as it reminded him of Zabuza and how he had regarded Haku, almost missed the question that was directed to him. "So Naruto, now that you know, do you think you could keep this as a secret until such time that you are ready to assume your father's name?"
He began to nod vigorously. "Sure thing Hokage-ojisan, I've managed to get by on my own since I was kicked out from the orphanage… well I did get that allowance from you but…" He began to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. "I was just wondering. Kakashi-sensei told me that father had developed few neat jutsus, so maybe they would still be written down on some scrolls or something." Both of the older men could only smile when the embarrassment faded away to an eager expression that came from anticipation of learning new jutsus.
The chuckling Sandaime shook his head "Well… there certainly are matters pertaining onto your father's estate. The estate would consist of your father's house and the surrounding grounds, a reasonable amount of wealth and an assortment of scrolls, books and other effects. Seeing as you are a minor you would need…" he pointed at Kakashi. "…your legal guardian's, who at the moment is your uncle Hatake Kakashi, consent to take possession of any of the said items. The way things are I would suggest you don't move to your father's house until you become at least a Chuunin or we come up with a plausible explanation as to why Arashi chose to leave his house to you. As for the scrolls and books, they range from academy level to Hokage level jutsus so please be patient and let me and Kakashi hand them to you when we feel you are ready to learn them.
Naruto, fighting of a wave of depression from not being given any superpower jutsus on the spot, began to nod in consent. He was about to ask if he was dismissed when the Sandaime continued with questions. "Now Naruto, about that dream you and Kyuubi… shared. You said that there was a man with paleface, dark hair and yellow eyes correct?" At Naruto's nod he continued. "That description fits a missing nin of the leaf, and I was wondering if it was by any chance…" there was a poof of smoke "…this man?"
Naruto reeled back from the combined shock of suddenly seeing 'his' tormentor and from the unbridled rage he felt coming in waves from Kyuubi. Snarling he bared his fangs and clenched his now clawed hands "That's him… who is he?"
Sandaime Hokage, who by now had released the henge, sat back on his stair and began writing something. Peering up from the document he said "That would have been the likeness of Orochimaru, a former student of mine and one of the Sannin, a S-class missing nin. Most probably the others with him were members of a group called Akatsuki, which we sadly now very little of." turning back to the document at hand he soon finished it.
"Naruto, you are on this date ordered to seek out and eliminate Orochimaru and the Akatsuki for their crimes against Konoha. You will also fulfil your bargain with Kyuubi. So is ordered by the Hokage and information of this mission will be stored in the village archives." Smiling gently at the boy he continued. "By no means do I expect you to rush after Orochimaru anytime soon… He is way beyond the reach of our average Jounin and a brat, albeit a strong brat, would be only a minor irritation to him. This is an S-class mission without time limit so consider yourself under orders to grow stronger… Also the mission is highly confidential so don't go bragging about it."
Naruto, who was about to burst from excitement from receiving his first S-class mission, was about to object when called a brat but conceded that the old man was probably right. Besides he had just been ordered to get stronger so maybe he could cajole more of his father's jutsu from Kakashi. Shrugging he decided that it was about time for lunch, a decision that was hastened by a loud growl from his belly, he grabbed his backpack and requested a permission to leave. After a dismissive wave of hand and a suggestion, that should he hurry he might find his former teacher before he began his lunch break. Eager to get some free ramen out from Iruka he hastily departed leaving the two adults behind.
When the boy had vanished in a speed bordering supernatural Kakashi chuckled. "Seriously that kid, he just learned that he's got a nice inheritance and still he's eager for free ramen…" his good mood diminished considerably as he noticed the Sandaime's troubled expression. Raising an eyebrow at the old man he asked "So there's more trouble in the paradise?"
Rubbing his eyebrows the old man sighed. "Some things were brought to my attention and made me feel my age. Umino Iruka noted a discrepancy in Naruto's academy records. During his first year he was actually one of the better students, yet he had a punitive record that outstripped the rest of the class put together. He was punished repeatedly for failing test, not knowing things and the like. The interesting thing was that his grades fell from top three to the dead last position, yet his punitive record remained… only it went from failing things to disciplinary punishments."
He sighed again. "It would seem that some teachers deliberately picked on him, asking question that no first year student should know and punishing him hard for any shortcomings. As it was Iruka began to wonder exactly how badly Naruto was being treated by the villagers and suggested an experiment. Iruka and Konohamaru's tutor Ebisu spent the next day under henge posing as Naruto. They reported that they were driven out from most shops and from the Shinobi library of all places…" The old man stared at his desk, sometimes it was really hard to believe that the village was worth fighting for.
"I launched a subsequent investigation into Naruto's life after this and found out some disturbing things. For one, the boy has only been receiving his base Genin pay, no mission bonuses or anything, something that has now been dealt with… harshly. Naturally the accountants responsible only said something about an unfortunate oversight but changed their minds, confessed and began fervent repenting after spending some quality time with Morino Ibiki."
Tapping his lip thoughtfully he continued. "Actually this 'bloodline limit' might be a blessing in disguise, especially with the evidence, true or not, that would indicate Orochimaru's involvement in the whole Kyuubi attack. Seeing as I let a ordered a select few Jounins, who consider Naruto as a hero for keeping Kyuubi safely sealed away, ask questions along the lines of 'What if Naruto is driven to despair by his maltreatment and decides to unleash Kyuubi?'." The old man took a moment to fill his pipe before continuing.
"There was a noticeable shift in attitudes in only a few days time… probably mainly due the fact that those who have feared and hated him now fear the possible repercussions of their own actions more. And then those who have been neutral towards him or have not stood up on his behalf from the fear of being labelled as 'demon lovers' are now considering that it might be prudent to show some friendliness towards the boy."
Kakashi felt somewhat angered again by the sheer stupidity of the villagers, until he too realized that he had not taken any particular interest in his life, aside from trying to get him eat more fruit and the like. Sighing he wowed to himself that he would make it up for his nephew. "Well, if he's not been allowed in the Shinobi library I suppose suggesting that he study the basic jutsus that the library offers for Genins would be good way to begin his training?" Expecting an agreement and subsequent dismissal he was mildly surprised when the Hokage rose up and began to move towards the far wall.
"Kakashi, your orders to focus on the Uchiha survivor stand as they were. I understand that you would want to personally oversee the training of your nephew but you are the only one who can instruct Sasuke in the use of his Sharingan." Glancing at the Jounin to make sure his Sharingan was covered he began to furiously roll through combinations that would unlock the now revealed wall safe, not that he doubted Kakashi's loyalty to the village but he had stashed his precious, author signed, originals of 'Icha Icha Paradise' in the said safe…
"Of course, you may continue to instruct him on your own time… However I would suggest that you simply give him appropriate jutsu scrolls and delegate parts of his training regimen to others. I understand that Maito Gai has himself a hardworking pupil who is in need of an enthusiastic sparring partner…" Slamming the safe shut after retrieving three scrolls and a set of keys, he tossed them to the now visibly shivering Kakashi.
"Oh, Gai isn't all that bad you know… and what I gathered from your info about Naruto's Shinkugan ability, hardcore taijutsu training would be just the thing for him. And if you are wondering why, and what, I just gave you. There are scrolls for the 'Hiraishin' and 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin'… I don't expect Naruto to actually master the 'Hiraishin' anytime soon but he should start learning it. As for the special shuriken and kunai Arashi used to get the 'Hiraishin' to work… that third scroll contains the information to create the necessary seal on shuriken and kunai. The keys fit for Arashi's house, show it to Naruto sometime if you like." With a final dismissal Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke leaving the Hokage in deep though.
Umino Iruka was about to dismiss his class for the duration of the lunch break when two things happened at once. The bell rang signifying end to the lesson and the door to his classroom burst open revealing a slightly panting, happily grinning Naruto. Iruka immediately began to do a mental estimate on how much of his money would soon line the pockets of Ichiraku Ramen's owner. He was brought out from his lamentations by a chorus of 'Ooh' and 'Ah' squeals that his female students, who had taken note of Akai-chan, were letting out with great intensity and volume. Befuddled he did a double take on Naruto, who ecstatic about the attention was in a proud tone explaining about Akai-chan and nin-animals in general. Suddenly the loss of hard earned money didn't feel so bad… There had to be a juicy story behind this all and he just had to hear it come hell or high ramen bill.
Naruto was more than happy to accompany the now curious Iruka to Ichiraku's. It had taken some time to evade the horde of young kunoichi potentials who were intent on petting Akai and to pry off Konohamaru, who had attached himself to Naruto's leg demanding to now where his 'oyabun' and eternal rival had acquired such a 'fearsome' assault animal. Twenty one bowls of ramen, three for Iruka and eighteen for Naruto and Akai, later Iruka was looking forlornly at his deflated wallet. The money had gone for a good purpose though as his former student was now contently sitting back and lazily petting his new companion. The story had been equally good… Iruka could hardly believe all the stuff Naruto had told. The said boy suddenly became thoughtful as he remembered something that had been nagging him the past few weeks. In a sufficiently loud voice and innocent tone he asked. "Ano Iruka-sensei… I've been wondering… what does 'masturbation' mean?"
Had he been eating at the time, Iruka would surely have choked on his ramen. As it was he only suffered from a combination of massive face fault and excessive sweat dropping. The old man Ichiraku, who despite the new look had quickly welcomed his best customer, chuckled slightly while the waitress Ayame gasped and then blushed bright red. Grabbing Naruto by the collar, the now very embarrassed, Iruka dragged him outside and to a side alley. Waving a finger in front of the amazed Naruto he began to lecture about proper behaviour in public. Naruto just blinked, had he said something wrong… all he did was ask a simple question. Voicing this though stopped Iruka, who peered at him incredulously. "You really mean you don't know what mas… erm that thing is?"
After indicating negative Naruto was again dragged away by Iruka, this time by hand, to a nearby bookstore. Steering Naruto towards a particular shelf Iruka began to browse through the titles. He found what he was looking for and went to find the cashier to pay for his purchase leaving Naruto to browse the shelf. There were many titles that he dismissed as outright weird or otherwise useless but few caught his attention. Deciding to visit the store at a later date he grabbed the one titled as 'Shinobi field operations for Dummies' and headed for the counter. Iruka, having waited for Naruto to pay for his purchase, handed him a book labelled 'Sex Ed. for Dummies'.
Clearing his throat he began "Naruto… you obviously are in the age where you need to know about… things. I would love to sit down and talk things through with you but my afternoon classes are starting soon and I can't skip them. This book should cover pretty much what I would say so read it and I'll be ready to answer any questions you might have later." he added a mental -Hopefully…-
Naruto was now blushing, he might not know what that 'masturbation' thingy was but he certainly knew the word sex. And judging by the reaction his question at the Ichiraku's caused, it most likely had to do something with sex. -Ewww, gross… I hope that Kyuubi talking about things like that doesn't mean that she's a pervert!- Thoughts such as that didn't sit well with Kyuubi who began loudly object at the near blasphemous thought. Smirking at Iruka, and in his mind to Kyuubi, Naruto nodded and waved his goodbyes before heading home.
At home he found Kakashi, who had invited himself in through the window, sitting on his kitchen counter. After returning the shin-guards he had been using for the past weeks and receiving a pair of badly worn leather bracers and two scrolls he was ordered to show up at the bridge leading to training area twelve four thirty the next morning. With a "Also Naruto, you should start studying the jutsus available for Genins in the Shinobi Library." the lazy Jounin vanished leaving Naruto to wonder what the hell he was supposed to do at the bridge. He had things to do however so he promptly tossed his backpack to the corner, grabbed the bracers and led Akai out of the house.
He had noted, just as Kakashi had, that he needed new clothes. Deciding to take the more than subtly given advice and forego his usual orange jumpsuit he began to head at the only ninja equipment store in town that didn't treat him like trash. The store was run by an elderly couple who had, on the occasion he had been in need of gear, been quite polite, even friendly towards the boy. He had noticed for one that they sold him items for the actual price, instead the usual inflated price he was forced to pay in many stores. What best suited him at the moment was the fact that in addition to weapons, scrolls and assorted pieces of shinobi gear the store packed a selection of clothing designed specifically to meet the demands of ninjas.
He let himself be carried away by the mystery of the two new scrolls he'd gotten. The eager fox boy was so out of it that he didn't notice he was being tailed. A good fifty yards away was a shape moving from shadow to shadow, rooftop to rooftop. Nor did he realize that he was about to collide with someone until it was too late. After hitting dead on with someone he landed square on his butt and began to struggle to get up and apologize at the same time. Any apologies were effectively cut out by a loud "Kawaii" that made him positive that he had run into a girl and that the said girl had noticed Akai. Quite frankly he was amazed at what he called the 'Akai-chan syndrome' and it's effect to females in particular. Taking a good look at the person he had run in he recognized her as one of the girls in his class. -I know her. She's one of Sakura's rivals in Sasuke fan-club… Ah yes, the 'Ino-pig'.-
After helping the downed Yamanaka girl on her feet and making few moments of polite small talk, mostly about 'Sasuke-kun' and mostly because Ino didn't want to let go of the cute fox, Naruto tried again to retrieve Akai-chan and get away from the girl who was in the process of thoroughly petting the said animal. Ino had other plans though, running into Naruto was a stroke of luck seeing as how she could pump him for info regarding Sasuke-kun. Finding out more about the cute little thing Naruto had picked up somehow was an added bonus, she could use the animal as a pretence to visit Sasuke at Team Seven's training ground. Also like any other female of the human species, she was powerless to resist the idea of shopping, even shopping for someone else. She grabbed Naruto by the arm and dragged him towards the store, blissfully unaware of the mysterious person, hiding on the rooftop, glaring kunais at her back.
Almost two hours later a thoroughly exhausted Naruto, burdened by several bags, exited the shop. Ino had been almost as scary as Sakura-chan when she'd been selecting clothing for him. Seriously the girl was tyrant, though Naruto had to admit that his new wardrobe wasn't all that bad. His old blue sandals had been replaced by black ones, and he now wore black pants and ankle wrappings similar to those used by ANBU. The fishnet shirt with elbow length sleeves was something that, according to Ino showed off his 'well toned' arms. He had been dubious about that but had relented in the fear that opposing Ino too much could be as hazardous to his health as riling up Sakura. Covering his chest he had a sleeveless, dark grey vest that had, as the owners of the shop were proud to show, steel mesh woven into the fabric for additional protection and a collar that could be opened up to form a hood that would cover his entire head and face, effectively hiding his blonde hair. On his arms he wore dark brown, almost black bracers that now held the seal engraved training plates within them.
More curious was the contraption the store owner had made for Akai-chan. It was designed after the baby carrier, which while useful was still too bulky and 'colourful' to be used on missions. Now Akai was being carried around in a modified 'fox carrier', basically it was a long, padded bag that was semirigid on one side and could, depending on the situation easily and comfortably, for both Naruto and Akai, be positioned on any side of the carrier's body.
In addition to the two only slightly varied sets of clothing, another vest, selected at Ino's insistence, that was similar to one worn by her teammate Shikamaru, and a set of underwear. Naruto also bought a light gray jacket, complete with steel meshing. He did, when Ino was not looking, also slip a set of dark blue clothing, that was the identical to the ones worn by Kakashi and Iruka, into the growing pile of purchases. Finally having it all packed he politely refused any further offers of help, including ominous offer to redo his hairstyle, from Ino who seemed to be in a shopping induced frenzy.
Standing on the street outside the Shinobi'r'Us store and watching Ino bounce away humming a happy tune Naruto came to the conclusion that he would never ever understand girls… no females in general, and their weird fascination for shopping. He shuddered at the memory of the feelings of glee, and the multiple orders to pose in front of a mirror while trying on different clothes, that had come from Kyuubi… in Naruto's mind a serious blow to her image as a demon. Curiously, though he didn't notice it, the person who had been tailing him had vanished during his shopping spree. Also there was, though he didn't notice that either, a small pool of coagulating blood on a nearby rooftop. Unaware of these odd happenings he squared his shoulders and began to lug the rather heavy bags home.
After dinner, which he had made with his rather limited skills of cooking anything other than ramen, he decided that the jutsu scrolls could wait until next day and focused instead on the book Iruka had gotten him. After only a few minutes Naruto, now sweating and with a radiant blush, was thankfully interrupted by Akai who wanted her after dinner play. Tossing a squeaky ball for her to retrieve didn't ease Naruto's mind though and he soon decided to brave the book once more. Naruto managed to avoid death from nasal hemorrhaging, having his hair catch fire from blushing and dying by sheer embarrassment while reading the accursed book. He even began to wonder if using 'Oiroke no Jutsu' and 'Harem no Jutsu' was ethically acceptable… -The odd thing is that Sasuke-teme didn't even bat an eye when I subjected him to 'Oiroke no Jutsu'… maybe he's one of those hmm, homosexuals or whatever. Or maybe having all those fangirls hanging on him since he was ten has made him resistant or something.-
The predawn air was refreshing. Taking a deep breath Naruto stretched and let loose a contended sigh. It was almost four thirty, the time he was supposed to be here. Looking about he couldn't see, smell or hear anyone in the vicinity. There were faint sounds coming from, what he surmised was, training ground twelve. Why anyone would be training at this ungodly hour was a mystery to him though. Much to his amazement Kakashi arrived only few minutes after the set time. Foregoing the usual explanations for his tardiness, seeing as he had arrived miraculously on time, Kakashi began to lead his student towards the training ground.
Just before they got there Kakashi stopped Naruto and looked at him sternly. "Naruto, what I'm about to say is very important so listen carefully." He waved his hand in the general direction of the now quite audible noise of flesh hitting something hard. "You are going to attend extra taijutsu training every morning under the tutelage of Maito Gai. He is a taijutsu freak to be frank, and he's bit…" Kakashi cleared his throat before continuing
"…anyway, he knows a lot about different taijutsu styles and has a student who's in need of sparring partner. Now I want to stress out two very, very important things. First, he considers me as his 'eternal rival' and is always challenging me to these ridiculous contests… so do your best there and don't give him any reason to… challenge me more often. Second, now this is the most important thing I'm going to tell you. Even if he insists it's NOT okay to wear green spandex. On that note nice to see you looking like a real ninja by the way…"
-Green spandex? what the hell has Kakashi gotten me into now… though I admit the part about this 'Gai' dude being a taijutsu freak sounds promising even if a bit intimidating.- Feeling Kyuubi think along the same lines he finally got the answer to his unvoiced question. He had found the Green Beast of Konoha. His reaction of -Holy crap, it wasn't a joke…- was supplemented by a rather disturbing -Hmmmh… Nice butt.- from Kyuubi that forced him to suppress the urge to gag.
Loud yell of "Kakashi, my eternal rival!" was the beginning of bizarre, at least in Naruto's mind, events. After series of loud "Have you come to join the magnificent Rock Lee and myself in our quest for youthful passion." and "Ah the fire of youth!" and the like Gai finally calmed down enough to notice Naruto who had the look of a cornered animal in his eyes. Casting a questioning glance at Kakashi who replied with intricate hand gestures he turned towards Lee. "Lee, to better understand your youthful passion run two laps around Konoha." The said Genin struck his 'nice guy' pose, complete with the glittering teeth and then became a green blur as he vanished from sight.
Focusing on Naruto, the green clad Jounin became suddenly serious and business like. Short "Uzumaki Naruto-san?" was more statement than question, not like there were many blonde demon vessels in the greater Konoha area. Turning his eyes to Kakashi he asked "I take it that there is a reason you have brought this epitome of youthful passion, who is only rivalled by my very own Rock Lee, here this day… Perhaps you and he would like to join us in our pursuit of perfection?"
Kakashi nodded slightly "Gai, the Hokage has requested that you offer your assistance in bringing out the 'youthful' potential of my most 'excellent' pupil…" cringing beneath his mask he went on. "Naruto has an incredible potential in taijutsu because of his unique… destiny. I believe that with a little coaching he could advance rapidly and in turn offer your Lee a worthy sparring partner. I would note that you have my permission to run him to the ground if you can…" Seeing Gai nodding in ecstasy he turned to the now horrified Naruto and said "Well Naruto, it would seem that you will be training every day from four thirty to seven with Gai and Lee. Oh and Team Seven will meet for training tomorrow at seven thirty at the usual spot… don't be late now." the last part went unnoticed by Naruto who was going through a mantra of -Shit, this isn't happening, this isn't happening- over and over in his mind.
He soon realized that Gai, or Gai-sensei as he came to call him soon enough, was talking to him. At the mention of training weights he showed his bracers and explained that they were a gift from the Yondaime who felt that he should get them as a compensation for his 'sacrifice'. Soon after this they were joined by Lee who immediately upon hearing that Naruto was to train with them began to greet his new training partner.
After that they got down to business. Naruto noted that Gai-sensei, while being… eccentric, was by no means stupid and knew his business. Five hundred kicks and punches later they had a break, after which Lee and Gai began to demonstrate basic taijutsu stances. Naruto was about to activate his Shinkugan but refrained from doing so by a sudden sting of guilt. He really didn't have any problems with using his eye ability against enemies but he felt as if he was somehow cheating his new partner and sensei out of their hard earned skills. Bringing attention to himself he proceeded to explain his doujutsu to the now very interested pair.
When he had reached the end of his explanation both Gai and Lee were in tears and bawling about "How the truthfulness of youth was glorious" and the like. Naruto got more than slightly nervous when they began to hug each other and then, he nearly flipped at this, included him into a fierce group hug. After they had calmed, both of them vehemently insisted that he keep his eye ability activated as it would still require 'flames of passion and hard work' to gain any advantage. And then they trained…
Naruto's schedule remained pretty much constant after that. His rigorous sparring sessions with Gai and Lee in the morning were followed by a quick shower and hasty sprint to Team Seven's meeting place. After which they would either practice for several hours or do a mission or possibly both. He had also read the 'Shinobi field operations' guide and had subsequently purchased more books suggested by the author. He also spent time trying to understand 'Hiraishin no jutsu' but made little progress, he did discern that some special seals or marking were imperative to the process. When asked about this Kakashi produced a set of shuriken and kunai engraved with the necessary seal, and gave what precious few bits of advice he had regarding the jutsu. He made more progress with the 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin' that was really nothing more than an extension to his favourite jutsu, he was at the point where he could impress even Kakashi with the sheer number of shuriken clones he could create. Naruto also spent some of his time studying some basic Genin level jutsus, he really didn't bother learning them but rather tried to focus on knowing and identifying them.
Another positive development was his fast building friendship with Lee, who despite patterning himself after Maito Gai, was an overall nice guy. They had lot in common actually, both were considered dropouts and were dead set on proving their Nindo. They both worked hard and in an interesting note had similar experiences of being teamed with the 'Rookie of the year' of their respective groups. They also compared their training weights, Naruto trying to walk around wearing the insane leg weights that Lee used without any discomfort and Lee testing out Naruto's bracers. He was impressed with them and promptly asked if Naruto knew where to get more such 'magnificent' items. Naruto promised to look into the matter but couldn't guarantee that he would be able to procure another pair for Lee.
Getting to know Lee better also lead into another development, within the week Naruto noticed that, he was spending another three hours every evening sparring with the ever energetic taijutsu expert and it paid of too… big time. He could literally feel himself growing stronger and faster, forcing him, much to Kakashi's amazement, up his weights again. And then there was the fact that his taijutsu was improving so fast that Lee had to actually stop holding back slightly.
Naruto was feeling cheery. He was full of delicious ramen that he had devoured in vast quantities after returning from yet another successful and exciting mission. It had been the 'visit the beach' day for Konoha's pre-schoolers and the lucky Team Seven had been selected for lifeguard duty. It had been moderately fun to watch Sasuke brag about his swimming skills and then leave him to pick his jaw from the ground when Naruto had swiftly run across the water's surface to rescue the one and only potential victim of the day.
Because it had been such a good day Naruto was feeling playful and decided to 'notice' Konohamaru who had been 'shadowing' him for the last few days. Not that Naruto really minded playing with Konohamaru and the 'trio of terror', but things had really been busy. This didn't really matter to Konohamaru who beyond excited about the cool eyes and the fierce and powerful assault animal his 'yoabun' had acquired. Sighing inwardly he promised to that he would play ninja the following day, and decided to actually spill the beans to Konohamaru motioning the eager kid to follow him to their special training site.
After a few moments of tense silence Naruto asked his loyal follower what he knew about the Kyuubi. He quickly received the patented tale of Yondaime's heroic battle with the demon and subsequent victory and death. Lifting Konohamaru by the neck he placed the kid on the ground before himself and while staring him in the eyes said in a low voice. "That's not the whole truth… Kyuubi didn't die, she was simply sealed away. Sealed into the bellybutton of a newborn child… namely… me… Uzumaki Naruto.
Konohamaru was gaping at Naruto, the silence continued unbroken until slowly he turned his eyes towards Akai, who was currently asleep in her pouch, then back to Naruto's face. He repeated this process several times and then began to shake. With a loud yell of "NO!" he turned and ran from the clearing leaving behind a heartbroken Naruto. -Maybe it's true, maybe I'll never be accepted.-
What Naruto didn't know was that the person who had been stalking him on several different occasions had also cried out in denial for the confession before wheeling around and running. He didn't know because the said person had been a good hundred yards away from Naruto and Konohamaru and because Naruto was so immersed in his own misery that he didn't notice another person approaching until he heard a warning yap from Akai.
Instincts kicking in he rolled forward and turned around in mid roll ending in a loose ready position, ready to attack, defend or retreat as required. He relaxed when he noticed that the only person on the clearing was Ebisu, the closet pervert and Konohamaru's tutor. He failed to notice however that instead of the cold glaring eyes he'd been sporting before there was now a healthy dose of admiration in those eyes. Clearing his throat Ebisu spoke. "He's young you know. Give him some time to think it over and I'm sure he'll be back to begging you to play ninja as usual."
When Naruto only shook his head sadly the elite Jounin walked forward and ruffled the blonde's hair. This caused the boy look up in amazement, was this really the same stuck up closet pervert who'd stated that 'spending time with the likes of Naruto only served to make you dumber'?
"It was a brave thing Naruto-kun… you really should hint that maybe Kyuubi wasn't on her right mind when she attacked, that would help too. But right now the little whelp needs time to sort out his feelings." He then walked to the nearby wending machines and popped out two cans of soda. Tossing one to Naruto he sat on the nearby log. "Seriously, Konohamaru has changed after he met you. Before it was hard to get him to train and now… it's hard to get him stop training. He used to idolize the Yondaime, now it's you. And then you go and drop a bomb like that on his lap without any warning…" Smiling again the 'closet pervert' shook his head. "I'll talk to him tonight, or Hokage-sama will and by tomorrow he'll be pestering you about your 'assault animal'…" Finishing his soda he turned to leave "So don't worry Naruto-kun… you will prove that you are not the 'monster fox' and people will change and believe you… I know I did." with that he vanished, presumably to track down his wayward student.
Akai-chan decided that her Naru-onichan needed some comforting and began softly nuzzle her head against Naruto's cheek. The act had the desired effect as it brought out a bitter laugh followed by a slight smile. "I'm really pathetic aren't I neechan? Me, the one person who should know better than to hold prejudice against others, expecting a small kid to instantly process something that would probably cause brain overload on most adults. I owe him at least the benefit of a doubt… right?" He was only responded by a more resolute head butting which meant that playtime was about to begin...
He was happily surprised when, come next day he was again being shadowed by a suspicious looking, square 'rock' that moved on its own. Whispering few choice instructions to Akai he let the small kitsune ambush the 'rock' in question. After being surprised by a sudden pounce of the fierce Akai, The infamous Konohamaru corps made their appearance… namely they crawled out from underneath the box. Their loud demands about playing ninja made Sakura wonder exactly how, and why would a ninja go about 'playing ninja'. She was in a bad mood anyway, Sasuke had turned down yet another offer for a date and what was worse stated said that he considered Naruto to be more capable a ninja than her. She didn't even realize that she was staring at Naruto while thinking -I'm below… him?- the whole time.
This caused Konohamaru, who was at the time whispering his apologies to Naruto, draw several wrong conclusions. Tapping Naruto on the hand he 'whispered' "Not bad bro… she's your… this?" and whipped out a pinky. The chain of events that followed was only natural when dealing with something as volatile as Sakura's temper. Naruto, noticing the danger signs denied that he was associated with Sakura in any romantic way, which caused Konohamaru to again 'whisper' "Heh, I knew you could do better than some flat-chested forehead girl."
Slowly, as if moving away from a snake that was ready to strike Naruto began backing away from a very scary looking Sakura… and then bolted along with the whole Konohamaru corps. Naruto knew by instinct that no excuse would save him from a severe beating, even if he was innocent. Sakura would only say something along the lines that he'd influenced the brats or whatever. And they ran, until Konohamaru bumped into someone, a boy wearing makeup and a Sand Hitai-ate, who quickly grabbed the startled kid by his long scarf and pulled him into air. Naruto, upon seeing the struggling Konohamaru quickly flashed his signature hand seal and charged yelling "Hey fatass! Let go of him."
He didn't make it to the stranger when suddenly something, guided by the 'makeup boy's' finger movements, tripped him. Smiling conceitedly he exclaimed "Konoha Genins are weak!" his smile faltered though, when 'Konohamaru' opened his mouth to display impressive fangs which he promptly sunk into the offending weirdo's hand. Yelling in pain the weirdo dropped the brat and swiftly placed a kick on his midsection causing a poof of smoke from a vanishing clone. Looking about he saw the small brat, the blonde brat, a pink haired brat and two other brats standing some distance from him. Basically he hated brats, especially the blonde who was grinning widely, so it was prudent to teach them a lesson… Not listening to the companion's objections he whipped out the strange package he was carrying and was about to… do something when he was interrupted by yet another stranger.
A red haired boy, who was hanging from a nearby tree, instantly brought out the scent of fear from the two other Sand nins. Naruto could also feel hair rising at the back of his head… there was something about this guy. These thoughts were mirrored by Kyuubi who was pacing nervously about in her cage. "Kit! Activate the Shinkugan, there's a familiar and repulsive feel about this one… and be careful." Now quite cautious, Naruto channelled chakra into his eyes and instantly saw something 'wrong' with the boy. The gourd that was on the boy's back was alive… it moved constantly forming shapes of what looked like, well he really didn't know what they looked like. He deactivated and reactivated his eyes just to make sure he wasn't seeing things… He wasn't, Kyuubi's growling was a sure sign of that. "Grrrrr that mad raccoon, beware that one kit. He carries a Bijou within him just like you, with the exception that his is quite insane… and judging from his insomniac looks and the look the gourd, only partially contained."
After a lengthy conversation with Kyuubi, Naruto was brought back to the world of the living by Konohamaru who was tugging his hand and muttering about Sasuke stealing the show from him. Blinking Naruto took note that there indeed was Sasuke, playing the hero and questioning the Sand ninjas as if he was the sole guardian of Konoha. After a short introductions a staring match ensued between, the newly introduced, Sabaku no Gaara and Sasuke. Few moments of mutual staring passed until Gaara whirled around and turned to leave only to be interrupted by a yell of "Hey! Hey! What about me?" from Naruto.
Shrugging in disdain Gaara dismissed him with a short… "You got lucky with Kankuro, I'm not interested in the likes of you." …that died in his throat, when Naruto tapped into Kyuubi's chakra and took a step forward. Gaara took a step too… only backwards, the guy he had pegged as a weak was now suddenly radiating power, power that sent Shukaku in insane whimpers of fear. And Shukaku feared nothing.
Temari and Kankuro also reeled back from the blonde, having spent time with Gaara they instantly recognized the 'feel' of demonic chakra. Both lived in constant fear of Gaara snapping and feeding them to his sand, and now… Gaara had the same look of fear in his eyes. Kankuro gulped and began to make up plausible excuses to skip the exam. The prospect of facing someone who could instil fear in his little brother, someone he had just insulted, in combat didn't sound too good.
Sasuke simply dismissed Naruto as a showoff, using some weird genjutsu or something to create that odd distortion behind him… -Pfft, wasting his time trying to look good or whatever… He should practice more or he'll be a liability in this Chuunin exam… that is if he's even allowed to participate.- At that he turned around without saying anything and began to stalk away from the others.
Sakura and Konohamaru corps simply stared in bewilderment at the odd behaviour of Suna nins. Though Konohamaru had an inkling as to what Naruto had just pulled on them, he still couldn't bring himself to understand why the Sand trio would react as they had. Oh well, time to do something about it. "You show them boss! We're counting on you!"
Naruto, thinking that he had Gaara's attention, stopped using Kyuubi's chakra and walked past the other Jinchuuriki saying "We need to talk… in private." Not stopping to see if Gaara was following he began walking towards Team Seven's training grounds. He smiled inwardly as he heard Gaara say "You two tell Baki that I'll be… late." and then the sound of footsteps, following him.
It didn't take much talking, really the mention of words like 'possesion' and 'partially contained', did the trick and soon enough Naruto was staring at very small seal positioned on the left side of Gaara's chest. -This brat is lucky that Shukaku is completely insane, that's a three point seal that could barely hold a lesser demon. I guess that it's hard for the damnable raccoon to concentrate on anything for any given length of time. Should a more complex seal be placed over the existing, and quite shoddy I'd say, seal it should effectively contain the bastard raccoon.-
Gaara readily, after assurances that he would most likely retain the use of his sand, agreed. Getting rid of the insane cackling, whispers and being able to sleep without the fear of having his personality devoured simply sounded too tempting. Also Shukaku was ranting and whimpering in fear about escaping the horrible beast and so on. To Gaara it was a payback of sorts to let the bastard suffer.
The following day at midnight Gaara, Naruto, Kakashi and the Hokage met at same training ground. After few questions from the old man and Kakashi they proceeded with the sealing. The process consisted of Gaara removing his shirt, Kakashi painting several seals and circles, which Kyuubi using Naruto as a proxy checked and the actual sealing, performed by the Sandaime. All in all, the whole event was quite unremarkable were it not for the fact that there were two Jinchuuriki present.
Having put on his shirt, and noticing that his sand still responded to commands, he turned to everyone present. Fixing his gaze at Naruto he offered, probably for the first time in his life, a profound thank you and then vanished in a whirl of sand.
Gaara slept like a baby that night, it had taken some effort to actually fall asleep after a lifetime of forced insomnia though… Incidentally Kankuro, Temari and Baki were wide awake and on high alert, ready to run far and fast should Suna no Shukaku decide to come out and play. They didn't sleep a wink and almost suffered a nervous breakdown when Gaara, yawning contently, emerged from his bedroom and offered them a good morning of all things.
Kakashi was late and Sakura was bored, Sasuke was keeping up his cold façade and only responded with single words in reply for all her queries. Something really was missing but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Sighing he noticed that Naruto had positioned himself comfortably against a tree and was reading something… again. Then she realized what was missing, Naruto wasn't bugging her like usual, he hadn't asked her for dates after their mission to wave country either. Suddenly a horrible idea formed in her mind. -He's been reading those yellow and black books everyday since we got back from Wave Country… could it be that he's turning into a pervert like Kakashi-sensei. I'll beat the daylights out of him if it's a dirty book… that moron is so expressionable.-
With that she stormed to now alarmed looking Naruto and grabbed the book and began waving it about. "Now you listen to me Naruto, just because you aren't as good as Sasuke-kun you still don't need to go try and gain sensei's favour by reading dirty books like him!" She pointedly dismissed any objections and continued. "See Naruto, you should just train more, you can't learn anything from reading books like…" She took a look at the title and ended, now surprised tone. "…these. Why the hell are you reading 'Basic first aid and field medicine for Dummies'?"
Naruto tried to grab the book from now utterly dumbfounded Sakura and explained. "Well you see Sakura-chan, I read this book about basic field operations and situations that you might encounter while on missions. The author suggested additional reading and this book was among the list… I'm just 'expanding' my horizons or whatever"
Nodding dumbly Sakura handed the book back to Naruto and turned on her heel and walked, almost mechanically, towards another tree. She sat down in deep thought -Naruto is... growing up or something. He's not the same Naruto that left with us to the Wave, maybe that first real brush of death changed him more than I realized.- hanging her head at the scolding from 'Inner Sakura' -Maybe I really should stop putting him down so much, I mean Sasuke-kun is probably right. Naruto might… no Naruto is stronger than me. I know, I'll take Sasuke-kun's advice and train harder, I'll even ask Naruto for some training advice… if he can become strong the surely the most beautiful and talented Kunoichi in Konoha can!- She cheerer up at the thought, the loud "HELL YEAH" from her inner self also helped, and subsequent dreams in which Sasuke noticed her strength and professed undying love… Sighing and blushing she again wondered where on earth was Kakashi.
The man in question was not far from the meeting place, he was busy though. He'd seen a girl with cyan hair and simply had to reread a part from 'Icha Icha Paradives vol. II' that depicted a girl with similar hair doing intresting… things. After some time of blushing beneath his mask and giggling almost girlishly Kakashi checked the time and decided that he was sufficiently late. He appeared a moment later at the meeting place only to be knocked over by a loud yell of "YOU'RE LATE!". After making his patent excuses of cats, old ladies and the road of life in general he handed his students some papers. "I've nominated you guys to the Chuunin selection exam. I know this is sudden but here are your applications… It's up to you if you decide to show up or not. If you decide to attend, turn in your registration form at room 301 in the academy by four pm. tomorrow." He fixed them with a lazy stare. "Anyway you'll need a Genin leader for the test so…"
His gaze turned from Sasuke, who simply said. "Psth, naturally it should be me… and you two better not hold me back." to Sakura "Sasuke-kun is the strongest and the best and he's a leader!" to Naruto who remained quiet for some time. "If Sasuke wasn't on this team I'd nominate Sakura for leader… she's smartest and not prone to rushing into dangerous situations, but she'd do anything Sasuke would tell her to do regardless of the consequences and thus it'd be a liability to have her as leader. Sasuke is strong all-around, but on the other hand would simply rush into things and leave his team fend for themselves, he considers us as dead weight anyway." He ignored a freezing glare from Sasuke and dodged a blow aimed for his head from Sakura. "As for me… I have keen senses that would be good for scouting and such, have been training other stuff too but I don't know much about leadership or anything and would probably rush into a dangerous situation too so… I guess we've lucked out?"
Kakashi was positively surprised at Naruto's blunt admission of his shortcomings, and how he had pointed out strengths and weaknesses in his teammates. He called for a vote and not surprisingly the vote was Naruto: 1 – Sasuke: 2… until he, much to Sakura's objection decided to give his vote to Naruto. With the score now being tied he suggested that they do a light sparring match using no weapons and only simulating offensive jutsus. It was time to see if Naruto had actually learned anything fancy after receiving his 'gifts' from Kyuubi.
The pair faced off and Sasuke, certain of his victory didn't even bother to activate his Sharingan. Not that the Sharingan would have helped him but at least he would have picked up a new technique. Going through his signature move Naruto made four kage bunshins appear, then flashing through another set of hand seals he exclaimed "Kiri Gakure no Jutsu" releasing a massive amount of thick mist that quickly enveloped the area.
Sasuke was momentarily taken back by the sudden appearance of the mist. -So the dope has learned a new jutsu, I guess miracles do happen.- He rushed around, fist leading at the sound from behind him only to be caught from behind by multiple hand and legs that tied him down, he tried to struggle but to no avail as the kage bunshins swarmed over him. And then the mist cleared… there was the rookie of the year, prodigy of the vaunted Uchiha clan, Uchiha Sasuke… held down by three grinning bunshins while the fourth had its arm pulled back fist ready to strike.
Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when a "Give up Sasuke, or do I have to knock your lights out?" came from behind her. There was the real Naruto grinning widely and petting his cute fox. Receiving no answer from the boiling Sasuke, he looked at Kakashi who declared Naruto as the winner of the match and as the new Genin leader of Team Seven. Standing up and glaring kunais at the happy Naruto Sasuke grumbled something about "You caught me by surprise… it won't happen again dead last." to which Naruto only sniffed an indifferent. "Doesn't matter, I won this one… subordinate-kun."
When Team Seven arrived at the room 301 Naruto was in a really good mood. He'd totally humiliated Sasuke by politely asking Lee not to damage his 'sidekick' before the exam when he'd challenged Sasuke. Lee getting the hint had happily agreed and added a needled barb of "Guess he isn't as tough as he's said to be, what with losing to you in a simple taijutsu." Naruto had only smiled angelically and nodded in consent. At the door they were greeted by Kakashi who happily stated "Oh… so Sakura came too? Now we can properly take the exam. This test can only be taken in teams of three but you all came of your own free will, you guys make me proud… now GO!"
Team Seven entered the room leaving Kakashi behind in deep thought. -I may have said that they are ready, but… even those fearless kids may be shaking in their boots right now- his morbid thoughts were cut like a lightning by Naruto's loud voice
"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS!"
He sweat dropped, the Chuunin selection exam had begun…
TBC… (later this week or early next week…)
Oyabun would stand for boss… or something
and if you don't know what konnichiwa means...
Author's rant.
Now first I need some info from you esteemed readers:
1) Does Sasuke refer Naruto as dobe or dope… I was partial to dobe but my Mickeysoft Word didn't recognize it as a word and neither did any online dictionaries I tried, they did however say that dope would stand for a stupid person; a dolt.
2) Anyone know was that whole bridge guarding mission ranked as A or B mission. Kakashi said that it was a potential B mission but…
3) If anyone has any twisted ideas about pranks Naruto should pull of… feel free to notify me. I already got Jiraiya pegged with spiked sake, ultimate taijutsu and a strategically placed bunshin :p
If you wonder what ANBU wears there's a neat picture of Kakashi in ANBU getup with his ninkens on chapter90 of manga… I thought that the pants especially looked pretty cool and stuff. Also I apologize if I offended any members of the fairer sex by stating that they are shopping crazy (I just witnessed a post x-mas sale and I can tell you it wasn't a pretty sight… Like sharks after a shipwreck they were I tell you!)
Naruto is being stalked? Who is it? Why was there blood on roof? DUNDUNDUN… Stay tuned and find out if you didn't guess already.
Uhhum, this chapter came out kinda long or something. There's not much action here… only Naruto biting Kankuro and then grappling Sasuke (which is conveniently covered by mist). Take heart, there'll be more action in the next chapter which will have the 1st and 2nd parts of the Chuunin exam and the downtime before the 3rd part preliminaries.