When the Jounin, Sayuri, found Naruto he was crying his eyes out and relating what had just occurred to two people that owned a Ramen Stand. She heard the old man behind the counter say, "Well I'm truly sorry about that Naruto, but it's like this. For arguments sake, if you take a bowl of ramen, is it as good without the noodles as it is with them?"

"No."

"The Hokage is the figurehead of Konoha."

"Figurehead?"

"Yes. A figurehead is a person that seems to have a lot of political power to the outside world, except really doesn't. You see the Hokage is like the ramen in the example that I was using. The Hokage needs the people on both the civilian and shinobi councils to run the village in general while he takes care of all of the upper-tier shinobi issues, like maintaining peace within the Hidden Villages. That's also why the chosen Hokage are always the strongest in the village. They act as a deterrent against the other villages."

"I see," Naruto said, thinking, 'Gee whiz, there's more to this Hokage gig than I thought.'

The Jounin that had practically demanded that she be able to train Naruto, Sayuri, entered the ramen stand after hearing the chef's analogy as to the Hokage's role and the ease of which he had calmed Naruto down. As she entered she thought, 'Well, I'm lucky that that old man was here, I don't know how I'd have gone about trying to calm him down.' She sat down and asked, "Six bowls of Shio Ramen please."

Naruto looked at the woman sitting next to him in wonder and asked, "Hey nee-chan, you understand that ramen is the food of the gods, right?"

"Of course, anybody who doesn't does not deserve to call themselves...hmm...I don't know."

"You're kind of weird nee-chan."

Sayuri face-faulted, her shoulders gaining a dramatic slant, she said, "Geez thanks Naruto-kun."

"Huh? How do you know my name nee-chan?"

"I was in the Hokage's office just now when you burst in there."

"Okay, so what do you want with me, surely your love of ramen isn't the only reason that you are here?"

"Well, I won't lie. I truly was hungry, but you're right. I have received permission from your Hokage to train you a bit." Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief as Sayuri continued, "of course anything that I teach you needs to be vetted by the Hokage, but I will at least train you in the basics of my ninjutsu style."

Naruto asked, "Ninjutsu style?" unsure what Sayuri meant by that.

"Okay, I'll start with an overall explanation of the ninja arts since, according to the Sandaime you have not had anyone explain them to you."

"Sure I know what the ninja arts are, shinobi utilise ninjutsu, hell, it's even in the name."

"Yes well, I'm sure that there are some people that believe that, but there is even more to the ninja arts than simply ninjutsu."

Naruto asked, "Really?" astounded that his knowledge was so lacking.

"Yes. As you said, shinobi utilise ninjutsu, you are also right when you say that that is how we came to be known as ninja. But there are also other ninja arts, some slightly more common than the others. The three that all shinobi should know of are Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu."

"Genjutsu and Taijutsu?"

"Yes. The Genjutsu discipline is, as the name suggests, relates to putting the opponent in an Illusion and you will rarely find a shinobi that specialises in it. Taijutsu is hand to hand, or melee, combat. The rarer arts are Kekkei Ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu, along with Kekkai Ninjutsu, there is also Jikūkan Ninjutsu and, then there is also the type that I shall be teaching you, Hana Ninpō."

"Hana Ninpō? Sorry, but compared to all the others it sounds kind of weak."

"Yes, well watch this," Sayuri said as she looked at a red lily that was growing in a garden nearby. Sayuri went through a set of handseals and said, "Hana Shuriken: Hikarakuyō." The red, six pronged flower shot towards them at a high speed and embedded itself in the Ramen Stand. Naruto tapped it and found that, even though it still had the feel of a flower about it, it was incredibly hard. When he tapped the end of one of the petals he found that it was also very, very, sharp. Sayuri asked, "Still think it's weak?" Naruto shook his head dumbfounded at how Sayuri had done what she had. "Oh right! I think I forgot to tell you, I'm Sayuri, a Jounin from the Land of Vegetables."

"Wait, the Land of Vegetables? Why would you want to help me?"

"Well, I see a lot of me in you. You see I was orphaned at a very young age too. I was all alone until I was put in a Genin team with two of my classmates. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"I see," Naruto said, looking solemnly at his ramen. He then looked at Sayuri and said, "Thanks, Sayuri nee-chan." They both then rushed through the rest of their ramen and headed to a training ground.

Author's Note

Kekkei Ninjutsu – Bloodline Ninjutsu
Fūinjutsu – Sealing Techniques
Kekkai Ninjutsu – Barrier Ninjutsu
Jikūkan Ninjutsu – Space-Time Ninjutsu
Hana Ninpō – Flower Ninja Art