Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by someone/group other than myself. This written work is not written or published for profit, merely for entertainment and enjoyment of the author and any possible readers (the lack of reviews makes me wonder just who reads this.)
Edit 23.4.07 Again, spelling.
Hiya again people, hope you enjoy, it was fun writing it. Also it be an adequate distraction from a certain persistent health problem. Enough of my inspiration, on with the story. Rating and reviewing would be appreciated, to give general ideas on where to head with the story, I didn't really think of anything beyond my take on Naruto's life, not how long to go for, what to not mention/mention in detail (eg wave arc), pairings, etc.
The clash of steel on steel rang throughout the normally tranquil forest glade, as two combatants fought with all they had. The Midday sun shone on the scene of the battle with impartial impunity. The boy, Wielding two Kunai, swiped upwards with all his might, resulting in a swift Thwack of steel on soft flesh, before the gurgling noise that often accompanied the dissipation of a Mud Clone.
"D'arvit" (A shiny needle for whomsoever realises the hopefully obscure reference) the boy swore irately, as he warily glanced at the area around him for his opponent. He was violently reminded of the blind spot of man – behind him, as the cry of "Hidden Snake Hands" rang out from the aforementioned direction.
This resulted in much painful screaming, followed by the 'poofing' sound and smoke cloud from a creature being unsummoned. The boy levered his stiff, sore body to the vertical position known as standing, as he rubbed his lower back while loudly voicing his negative opinion: aka complaining.
"Damn Hebi-sensei, those ones really hurt, It's been so long today that I can no longer even dodge the Hebi-summons. I mean really, would it kill you to go a little easier?"
While saying this, the boy was sticking his lower lip out in a distinctive pout. Anko, the 'Hebi-sensei' herself, merely smiled before slowly, seductively (if you happen to be into that sort of thing) drawling
"Come now Naruto-kun, this is not even a proper warm-up for a Jounin, if you even want to reach that rank you will have to be faster and stronger than most, as your Chakra control is shocking to the point of Irreparability."
(I do not know how one can be seductive while mouthing the word Irreparability but Anko can and does manage rather admirably.)
Flashback No Jutsu – Earlier that same Sunday morning:
Anko had Naruto using the academy Jutsu, to see how well he could control their relative finesse. She had been both surprised and pleased when he had used his Chakra as a stilt-like construct during the last week's training, that showed real thought and talent, not to mention good reserves.
Her rarely administered approval was not to be doled out on his Chakra control though, alas for Naruto. After completely failing the Kawarami then creating a single clone via Bunshin that would not fool a Blind man, as it was unspeaking and immobile. The Henge you ask?
Well that is where Naruto's luck completely deserted him, forgetting the incident the last time he had used his latest working Jutsu, he performed a stunning Orokie No Jutsu, leaving an unconscious Anko, bleeding profusely from the nose? (I know while she spied on him using the sexy Jutsu earlier she was unaffected, but the technique is more effective the closer the victim happens to be.)
After Ankos 'revival' and an offhanded comment by Naruto on her sexual preferences, the boy found himself surrounded by snakes, atop a large tree. In any case, Anko decided that Naruto would waste too much time training his control to the point of being effective in combat situations, and decided to teach him techniques that were based almost exclusively off power.
It was a shame that there were few such techniques, so the snake-sensei first asked Naruto if he had any ideas (after eventually dismissing the snakes, allowing Naruto to plummet from treetop to the ground, rather violently.) To which the boy demonstrated his Kitsune Kai and its use with the Kawarimi Jutsu. At that point he remembered his little one-handed seal experiment, so he promptly projectile vomited all over Anko and fainted, clutching his left leg and moaning as he went down.
"Ah AGH, damn brat, my favourite jacket too." (She has several, all identical). Mouthed off Anko as she used a minor water Jutsu followed by an equally minor wind Jutsu (her limit in both elements) to clean and dry her Coat and fishnet clothing respectively. She had avoided the vomit by using a previously summoned snake's shed skin to replace with. Unfortunately Anko is unable to learn the conventional Kawarimi, and had to adapt it to the secret Ninjutsu move – Skin moulting no Jutsu, replacing with a snake skin, in nothing but her own skin.
After quickly reapplying her clothing, she checked the boy, who was unconscious (although in a different position than before) with blood trailing down his nose. Deciding to spare his 'worthless life' until he was at least conscious (again) Anko bided her time. After about ten minutes the boy awoke to a slightly less pissed and mortified Sensei, who only said
" Gaki, never do that again, or speak of it ever again, do I make myself understood?"
"Hai, Hebi-Sensei." (Naruto mumbled with a red hue on his face.)
After the 'unmentionable incident' they worked on a new Jutsu for Naruto. The idea was simple, using the aforementioned minor Wind Jutsu (Kamatiachi, used by Temari and greatly boosted in power by her battle-fan I believe) to pump a massive amount of energy into a wave style attack. She said that the inspiration had come from her time fighting more a far more powerful opponent (a slight understatement, but there it is), who could shoot waves of pure Chakra to deflect solid objects, nullify Chakra based attacks and even Implode a creature's Chakra pathways. This Jutsu would in theory overpower any attack physical or Jutsu, even able to kill humans, while nullifying their Chakra using abilities.
It had three steps, or different applications, to counter physical advances (thrown Kunai, Taijutsu, etc), Chakra attacks and to kill a human (or other beast) respectively.
The first was simple, use as much Chakra as possible, firing out a pulse (think echolocation style) of pure Chakra while trying to focus the wave as it hit objects to increase the damage and stopping power. This required much concentration and a different kind of control, not oft how much to limit for successful execution (as most Jutsu are), but the amount and time/place to funnel 100 possible Chakra into as the Jutsu impacted against solid objects. This Jutsu, properly executed would be both a shield from aforementioned solid objects, and a staging point for step two or three, as it is possible to switch from one to two, to three (in this order only), while still only having to attack with a singular Chakra wave.
The second, to block other Chakra based attacks, was subtle (relatively speaking), It used the same basic principal, the wave, but where it differed was directly before the wave struck. Before contact with the opposing Jutsu, the Wave user would launch a netlike Chakra construct ahead of, yet made from that same wave.
As the hostile Jutsu barrels through this net, it sticks, and relays information back to the user, allowing them to detect the exact amount of control, speed, and specific element/s being used for the Technique. This allows them to fire precise (or large and numerous, in Naruto's case) pulses of Chakra from the wave, to disassemble or at the least weaken the technique, this all in the split second before it Hits the Chakra wave. Upon contact, the wave repels while the Net worms its way through the technique from behind, where the centrifugal force from the hostile technique itself drives the net onwards.
After sufficient netting and contact, the Wave user simply floods the entire network with still more Chakra to rip apart the hopefully severely reduced Jutsu.
It would appear to the naked eye that the hostile technique would hit a (blue for Naruto, red for Kyuubi) wall, before simply evaporating like mist in the midday sun. Without precise control, shooting the Pulses before contact is impossible, although the Kyuubi never needed it, due to his abundance of Chakra, any Human would find they needed to use more pulses beforehand so they could use far less Chakra after contact with their wall.
Any human except for a Jinnchuriki that is, luckily for Naruto, whose shocking Chakra control was the reason for the Wave in the first place. Because of the linked body of the host and captive demon, and the specific nature of the Shiki Fuujin seal, The Foxes demonic Chakra is constantly leaking into Naruto, or more specifically his Chakra pool. This in order for his body to cope with the huge raw power output from the 'leaking teapot' that the Kyuubi has now become. So with more input (Chakra), the Jutsu could still work, even with less pulses, It would merely be harder to defeat high level Jutsu (like a Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu Gama style!) with it, due to their high destructive energy output, compared to Chakra input.
As Naruto gains in control (likely to be a long, slow and agonising process) he can insert more pulses into the Jutsu, increasing its effectiveness. Also the more he uses it to defend against a specific Jutsu/element the more effective it becomes, due to his increased understanding of its destructive force. Therefore he would likely use it against many fire techniques in practise (being in the country of fire), yet few wind-based techniques, making it more vulnerable to that specific elemental type.
The third level of the newly christened Chakra no Tate Jutsu is absurdly simple via comparison.
(I found one name that seems appropriate, literally Shield of Chakra. Deceptively simple eh? Ok I was too lazy to find a shocking name, sue me. It is thought Japanese grammar goes somewhat like this, if wrong, once again feel free to sue.) Is without a doubt the simplest of the three to perform and execute, and for that same reason is the most dangerous. Its design was and is to kill the opponent, via frying their entire Chakra circulatory system. It utilises both the wave and netting from wave level one and two, for successful execution.
Fire the wave, envelop the person or people in the net, drain their Chakra into your wave through aforementioned net, then inject it back in with shards of your own 'dying Chakra' infused in it. This dying Chakra is just that, dislocated energy which seeks its own energy signature, yet it has been modified to reject all other Chakra, including fellow dislocated shards. It will search as much of the surrounding area as possible, before losing momentum and feeding on itself in desperation (the same way some movies I have seen with snakes eating themselves. I need to zap parts of my memory into ambiguity, too many odd thoughts.) This condenses the Chakra, causing the opponent's own Chakra to reject it, and attempt to force it out of the body's system. This results in what happens often to recently condensed or superheated/frozen objects (in this fic anyway), namely Implosion, taking a hefty chunk of native Chakra, flesh, bone, sinew and the rest with it. This causes a chain reaction with the other slivers in a split second, resulting in a corpse that could easily be fit into a matchbox.
Although usually Naruto would need fair control (Genin Sakura level control) to properly create and utilise the shards, with a little experimentation he could use his own unnatural Chakra supply, pre-shattered into his own system to do the same job, injecting little 'Kitsune time bombs' into the target.
The third wave without the shards would merely burn the target's extremities, namely their skin. The damage inflicted this way is minor, unless a truly excessive amount of Chakra is forced into the Jutsu. Any of these three levels can be switched on the go, such as level two to level one, or two and one together, to combat a Jutsu with hidden Kunai, or a Puppet Style attack (objects controlled by Chakra strings).
The area the Jutsu affects is also controllable, although difficult to control; it is similar in execution to the Hyuga Kaiten. Emitted without seals, directly from any number of Tenketsu (Chakra expulsion points), the power is defined by the amount, the area of effect by subtle manipulation of said Tenketsu as the Chakra Exits. For example, using only one Tenketsu in the throat would result in an expanding frontal Wave, narrowing the Tenketsu would minimise the area of effect (to a possible dinner-plate sized wave directly in front of the user, expanding as it went.)
Of course, Naruto and Anko were merely attempting a definitive result for the first level of Ninpou: Chakra no Tate Jutsu. (Ninja Arts: Shield of Chakra technique.) After nearly exhausting the young Jinchuuriki's pool, he managed to stop an attempted spin kick to the temple, via Hebi-Sensei. After stopping the attack cold, Naruto grunted as he hurled out both arms, now shouting out with the effort (insert constipated shout here, hrooooagggh!) Hurling Anko through the air, into and also through three trees and finally into a cliff.
After a mutual period spent recovering, the two discussed the success of the first stage. Tricky to learn, impossible for most, not as much for the initial energy expenditure, but the drain of having to maintain or increase said expenditure. The sad thing is that if an opponent were strong enough physically, he could force the opponent to stay on the defensive or be crushed (think of Fuujin and Raajin, the Stupid brothers in the fillers facing down Ino or Shika, cant remember which one. Or simply imagine a huge Akimitchi arm about to crush the Chakra no Tate user, good luck there buddy, time for me to flee!)
The same opposite applied however, as is evidenced in young Naruto. If he put enough pure power into his defence, it became an attack repelling specific, or all contacted objects with violent force.
The master and apprentice continued with the wave training until Naruto was completely exhausted, then Anko unmercifully beat into him the importance of knowing Taiijutsu, as after using the Wave, Naruto would be vulnerable to attacks. Rather than having to waste multiple Tate's, she felt that the boy needed to be fast and strong enough to engage the target of the Wave before they could counter-attack.
Narutos own style helped greatly here. Who would imagine designing a Taiijutsu style to receive all attacks, and a Ninjutsu to block them? His best advantage in battle would be the greatest of any Nin, surprise. In his case though, the seemingly conflicting style would constantly baffle an unwary opponent, quickly subduing or obliterating them.
She punctuated the Taiijutsu practise with more use of the Hidden Snake Hands, one of the relatively few ninja arts she commonly used. After training Naruto to the ground, they stopped for a lunch break, Anko going back into the forest (don't ask what she eats in there), Naruto wandered over to a certain Ramen stand.
They met again after lunch, in the glade near the Forest of Death, to continue. Anko was surprised that the boy had regained enough Chakra to use more Waves, approximately four, one of which blocked her attack fully, another that repelled her a short distance, along with several Kunai.
This is how they spent their leisure time that day and despite Naruto's loudly voiced complaints, both were there simply because of having little else to do. The boy's 'natural' speedy recovery rate helped a great deal in training, twenty minutes on, then off was more than enough for both to continue.
Kai (This time-skip Jutsu is blatantly stolen, cant remember who from, it was described as a lazy way to do these sort of scenes.)After a quick rest, ended by more use of the Hidden Snake Hand no Jutsu, the unlikely pair began their afternoon training again in earnest. Whatever either of them said or acted like on the outside, they were currently exactly where they wished to be, and in the best possible company.
Anko knew about the Kyuubi of course, having fought against the bijuu in her time. She had been leading a literal suicide attack on the Kyuubi in the first day of the assault, In the hopes of affording enough time for the Elite Anbu to mobilise. A singular Tail, courtesy oft Kyuubi had crushed the land surrounding the Ninja, barely brushing by Anko while mince-meating the rest of her team. It was only through sheer dumb luck that she had survived, and without being brutally maimed.
The woman cared not that Naruto was the Kyuubi jailer (or so they say), her life had little meaning or purpose, until her observing the boy as he trained around area 44, her home, she had been running on autopilot. The boy had somehow effortlessly shattered her automatic, stale life. He had led a spark of energy into her personal space and she had latched on, like a badger to a human leg. This happens to be really god damn hard, to those who have not had the misfortune of the experience.
As for the young Jinchuriki, he neither knew about Anko's past nor cared. Having no past to speak of himself, and little real hope for the future, beyond vague dreams of becoming a powerful Jounin to stop the cold glares of the village (through the mutual respect and fear that comes with power). He lived completely in the present, all his thoughts centred on the now, not even five minutes ahead in a fight would Naruto contemplate, his strategy in battle or life was always thought of and executed on the fly. As a result he accepted Anko because she accepted him, and thought not at all on the why, focussing on the addictive adrenaline rush that coursed through those spider-web thin veins, filling the body with blood, delicious blood… Ahem back to it.
The two people both spurned by the village in general for events entirely out of their control, both lonely, and though now realising it, in need of a friend to talk to and be with. They had found this in each other.
After the hard, yet mutually satisfying (think whatever you like of my wording, remember their relative age here people. I know your all sick, because I am and as I am the only thing that truly exists, you are all simply weak carbon copy's of me, alike to Naruto's Bunshin attempts. Really, this is what I think… Well not in truth, but hey I had you for a second there… Back to it eh? Ok then) day the two went different ways, Anko back to the Forest of Death to shower and sleep, Naruto to the park in an attempt to find Hinata, whom he had been conversing with quite well lately. Once he had gotten the girl out of her shell, to some extent at least, he found her personality, timid yet not afraid, pleasant. It certainly beat the heck out of the cold eyes of the various villagers, and multiple ignorant Shinobi.
Having found Hinata at said park, Naruto decided the best way to greet her was to leap off a tall tree and alight next to her sneakily (like a ninja!) Unfortunately his luck seemed to be malfunctioning that day, as he landed the traitorous left leg buckled under his weight and the boy sprawled ungraciously on the ground next to the Hyuga heiress.
In truth Naruto had noticed during training that his leg was giving off uncomfortable twinges, or more specifically the area where his fishnet legging was missing, yet he thought little of it. A distinct advantage to being the demon's jailer was the increased healing system, to the point of miraculous regeneration. Normally even a strained ligament would be healed within minutes by the Kyuubi's Chakra coursing throughout the host body. Therefore he had ignored the warning signs, the result being his current less than grateful entry into the park.
Hinata had started as Naruto crash-landed next to her, but soon calmed down when she saw the only person in her mind silly enough to do something so foolish looking.
"Oh, h-hello Naruto-Kun, h-how are you?"
After picking himself up, then plopping down onto the ground, Naruto replied
"Not bad Hinata-Chan (insert blushing Hinata here), just training to make my newest Jutsu with Sensei. It's really awesome to finally have a technique that suits my style… Large and damaging, ehhehe."
Rubbing his head sheepishly, as he admitted his lack of subtlety (something usually required for a Shinobi) Naruto almost missed the nervous glance that Hinata gave him. He did catch it and asked
"Ne, Hinata-Chan (more blushing), did you want to ask something?"
"H-hai, may I ask (Naruto tensed, even with Hinata, his only like-aged friend, he did not want to explain the Chakra no Tate Jutsu before it was perfected.) D-do you think you c-c-could help me with t-training?"
"Eh, sure Hinata-chan, you do not even have to ask, what with specifically? I heard Iruka-sensei droning about the Hyuga's powerful Taiijutsu style, so what kind of help is needed?
Taking an emotional leap into space, Hinata threw herself on the fire of possible ridicule to explain, with many a stutter, to Naruto about her families Style and Techniques. That she did not truly fit in with them and wanted to expand her knowledge of Taiijutsu and general Jutsu to become more unpredictable in any situation.
After all, the Ninja is not traditionally the strongest meathead out there, but the tricky shadow, never truly seen, as it ghosts around, assassinating and pillaging upon command or whim. The Hyuga clan is renown for being the strongest, which while important, is not the true goal of the Shinobi.
Hinata knew she would never accomplish as much as was expected of her in the clan techniques or style, thus she wanted to become like a Kenpou (Chinese martial arts) user. That is to say unpredictable, not drunk. To this end, she had to experience more attack patterns, from a wide variety of opponents in order to find the right moves to incorporate into the Hyuga Jyuuken Style.
Naruto was surprised to say the least. The heiress of the most powerful clan wanting to learn other styles? He was correct in assuming that this would be a blow to the prideful Hyuga when they found out. This reason, along with the desire to help his friend (and divert some of Ankos near sadistic attention) made him utter
"Wow Hinata, it is an honour to be asked for help, tell you what, Hebi-Sensei will have some ideas, she is really smart, perhaps even something to throw those Hyuga guards off your trail."
Hinata agreed and the two went back to their separate homes, Hinatas two branch member guards collecting her as she went. One of the guards, an older woman thought to herself 'Didn't know that the girl swings that way. Better not let Hiashi-Sama find out, or there will be hell to pay', she had heard some of their conversation and noticed Hinata blushing and stuttering quite badly, as she only usually did with her father (though for different reasons obviously). As is usual with many, she saw what she wanted to see, adding two and two to come up with five.
After the Hyuga walked away, Naruto dispelled the Henge he had been wearing, which had made his appearance into that of a civilian blonde pig-tailed girl (think of just before the fillers, Narutos attempt to evade Sakura as the bikotchu latches onto 'her' ass).
"Heehee, stupid Hyuga guards, didn't even use the Byakugan to check for a Henge. Guess I shall talk to sensei before the academy tomorrow."
Homewards bound, Naruto was ensnared by the heavenly (to him) smell, wafting from a certain Ramen stand. After hollering out a greeting to Teuchi and Ayame, his daughter, he sat down next to a pink haired girl and inquired as to the nature of the delicious aroma.
"Ah Naruto, you are just in time for the latest Ramen flavouring, shark-fin Ramen (take that Kisame). I assume you would like a bowl?"
After a loud and resounding Ossu (yes sir, I believe) Naruto impatiently bounced around his seat, driving the others slightly mad. After receiving his food, spouting 'itadakimas' he then proceeded to noisily, yet efficiently devour the Ramen bowl. The pink haired girl found herself disgusted by the sight, yet fascinated by the sheer amount of food going in – if eating contests were the yolk of the Shinobi life, Naruto would be the Hokage and Ino would forever remain a Genin.
After polishing off his third bowl, Naruto slowed down (though by no means stopping) to talk to the pink haired occupant of the seat-over (did I mention the bubblegum pink hair?)
After the mutual name exchange and introduction, Naruto learning that her name was Sakura asked her why she was at the Ramen stand. She told him that it was a place to unwind, in her home her mother and father shouted a lot, at both Sakura and each other. For her part, Sakura noticed the odd clothing choice of the young boy, though she did not remark on it.
Recalling a previous encounter, Sakura did not really want to know if the blonde was any relation to the 'crazy purple haired kuinoichi' Ino had told her so much about. Ino is pretty much the gossip guru in this fic; she likes to know everything.
Flashback No Jutsu – two weeks ago.Walking along the streets of Konoha of a fine morning, one might hear a minor commotion. This came in the form of two distinctive young girls stampeding down the street, complete with cries of "Ino-pig" and "forehead-girl". The two were putting so much attention into their insults and power-walking race (think Naruto episode three) that they missed a purple haired woman walking along the street, eating from a Dango stick.
The resultant collision made the woman drop her last Dango ball onto the ground, where she blankly stared from it, to the speechless young girls.
"You two… Are so dead!" With that, Anko lunged forwards and Sakura + Ino ran for their very lives. After much mayhem, including both girls being dumped into a large Dumpster, and trapped there for half an hour by two vicious looking snakes; Anko went back to the Dango stand for another stick or twenty.
Wonder why so many high level Shinobi are not rich? Wonder no more as they all have debilitating addictions. Think about it Asuma has the ciggies, Anko the Dango and the rest.
KaiAfter Naruto left the stand, the conniving wench that is ten-year-old Sakura met up with Ino and whispered a dastardly plan into her ear: they were to spy on Naruto to see if he was Anko's relation!
The two snuck around the street, finding Naruto quickly, his attention being captured by a Shinobi weapons store, with many fine quality implements on sale. As he tried to enter though, the Owner Shooed him out, saying 'his kind' was not served in there. If you need a reference think on how black people were treated in the olden day America, with some areas like laundromats having 'Whites Only' and other such racist shit (forgive my language, there are only two things I hate, people that are intolerant of others and the Dutch. Another something for whomsoever can state this not-so subtle movie quote).
The two girls were surprised, they had not seen anything to indicate that Naruto was a bad guy, after watching several of his attempts to buy various things, they actually felt some empathy for the Trench-coat wearing Blonde. After he finally bought something in a store, a make-it-yourself Ramen kit, he headed for his residence. Naruto used a monthly kit each week, as they were cheaper than he was used to (being ripped off for the instant variety), the boy ate as much as possible. Which is, as you all no doubt know, a large amount indeed.
They were now shocked at the condition of Naruto's flat complex, being one of many buildings that had been condemned after the Kyuubi assault, due to little water pressure and electricity. Konoha had never renovated the area because of development on the village outskirts, increasing the size of the village and having to rebuild some of the defensive wall.
After their usual loud power-walk to their respective homes, in which their usual spirit was decidedly lacking, the two said goodnight and entered their own dwellings. Both thought 'time enough tomorrow to spy more on Naruto and see if he has any secrets'.
7:00 Monday morning (the following day)
This morning finds Anko and Naruto at it again. Cough. Training that is. (Hey I happen to be a sick person, deal with it. Even enjoy it neh?) First were light warm up stretches, during which Anko would occasionally strike out, forcing Naruto to block with whichever limb happened to be handy.
Then came the usual running by Naruto, with his Chakra wedges to elevate and speed him away from the rampaging Kuinoichi, they also allowed him to spin and twist in mid-air, avoiding almost all of the summoned snakes. (Argh, that one got me in the ass!)
Last but not least was the Wave training, where Anko would throw several Kunai, Shuriken and lastly herself at the boy, while he would attempt to repel them all with as few Chakra Waves as possible. As the wave, once fired, billowed outwards at a controllable speed, it could last more or less time depending on the concentration of the user, weakening as it expands due to the increased Chakra requirement.
Naruto was improving with the Wave oft the Chakra no Tate. He blocked one third of the weapons, slowing or changing the course of all the others so they did not damage him (imagine a knife being thrown through thick jelly, losing momentum and accuracy.) He even managed to halt Anko in her tracks and repel her cursing form about a metre. Anko had her revenge of course, using the Sen'eijashu (Hidden Snake Hand, I finally looked it up) after the Wave broke down, wrapping the unfortunate boy before tossing him into a nearby tree.
"Never let your guard down Naruto-kun" she teased. "You should have been ready to evade and counter attack then, the wave doesn't use that much stamina, just a lot of Chakra."
She is underestimating the difficulty of the Wave, as she cannot herself perform the Jutsu, as do most who can give advice on a subject without participating in the work. Naruto thought this was merely another training method, to increase his Stamina as well as Capacity and Wave abilities, as indeed it was. Albeit not a conscious method on Anko's part, but a method nonetheless.
After their hercluean (for Naruto) effort, the boy rested for a while, then ran off saying
"Oh crap, late for the academy, see you later Hebi-Sensei!"
Usually Naruto cared not at all for how late he was, but today was different, Iruka-sensei had promised that the latest student would be cleaning the academy toilets after school, as the cleaner had quit in disgust. Disgust I say, for the appalling Graffiti that a certain blonde student had artistically attached to the walls and floors, after learning that the aforementioned cleaner hated 'the demon brat'.
Suffice to say Naruto had little intention of cleaning up his own handiwork, it would be in his view, a colossal waste of time. He also wanted to talk to Hinata about training. Anko had told the boy she would only train him, that if he wanted to help the girl, he could do so alone. While this might deter most, not Naruto, he wanted to help Hinata and gain in experience of the Chakra no Tate at the same time.
Although the boy was late, more so than most, there were still two missing class members. He sighed in relief as he took the seat next to Hinata, his newest (and second) friend. She had kept the seat available by being uncharacteristically curt with anyone who moved to sit there, stating quickly, if timidly that the particular seat was taken.
The last to arrive were Ino and Sakura, who had both been shocked to the point of temporary paralysis at the level of sheer power Naruto had displayed. You guessed it; they spied on his training with Anko.
The two girls were told that they would get the cleaning job, despite their loud and vigorous blaming of the other for being late to class. Naruto snickered softly, bringing the attention of a certain boy upon his blonde head.
Inuzaka Kiba, seeing that Hinata had been saving the seat for none other than the class dobe Naruto, was peeved. No, it was safe to say the Inuzaka was thoroughly pissed off.
Having a crush on Hinata as he did, Kiba couldn't bear to see her with Naruto and as his ankle had been healed a few days back, was rearing to have another 'friendly' spar with the blonde boy. Luckily for Kiba (or not, whichever the case may be) after Iruka went through his usual two hour drone there was a Taiijutsu practise session, and by random lot, the feral boy had his chance for… Revenge!
The word revenge is just plainly superb. In all ways, it is superior to justice. Guess you all know if I would be an evil guy in any anime/superhero thing… definitively.
After being given the signal to start, Kiba used his Gijyuu Ninpou, Shikyaku no Jutsu to become incredibly animalistic, what with the claws growing, not to mention his usual miniature increased incisors. In response Naruto merely smiled open mouthed, something he did not usually do, exposing his own larger than average 'vampire teeth'.
Squaring off, Kiba launched himself at Naruto, who merely stood there, as before. Actually learning from his previous mistakes, Kiba stopped abruptly before reaching Naruto, jumped up and with a spin kick the blonde 'kissed the earth'. Gloating Kiba taunted his opponent, not noticing the handseals the downed boy made, a one handed Karana and Ram seal, respectively.
"Hey fool, you don't look so smart-assed now do you, heh you don't even deserve to be here, you are just a dobe who cant even use the Ninja arts!" Kiba was almost strutting now.
Naruto, still prone on the ground, turned his head, looked Kiba in the eyes, as he muttered "Kitsune Kai", using both curled up legs to spring fluidly to his feet and formed the quickly formed Kawarimi seals. As Kiba started forwards again, a rock shifted under his foot.
It then imploded, pulling his body down to the ground, left leg first, so he was in a kind of one legged kneeling position as Narutos leg booted him in the face, with all the momentum the 'dobe' could put behind his own left leg.
Suffice to say Naruto stopped then, as poor Kiba had currently managed to land on his already damaged nose, almost flattening it into oblivion. The academy nurse took him away, yet again, moaning and bleeding, looking like he had just been caught in a perverted act of dastardly proportions.
This proved too much for our hero, who fell to the floor, shaking with laughter and comments like "haahaa, got him dead centre. Stupid dog breath!" At this point the forgotten (nearly forsaken) dog Akamaru, hearing his master being insulted after being beaten, latched himself onto Naruto's left ankle, who didn't even notice.
After a bit more rolling and laughing Naruto picked himself up off the floor and began to walk away, noticing a weight on his left lag as he did so, although he couldn't feel the resistance. Looking down he saw Akamaru, whom he then removed and said softly to
"Wari wari (sorry sorry) Akamaru, it was mean of me to insult your master, but he did deserve it, flaunting his clan techniques. I just could not resist using a personal technique. The dog yipped slightly and ceased attempts to attack the Jinnchuriki, who set him down and went to watch Hinata and the others sparring.
Ino and Sakura were as is usual, fighting (friendly sparring, what sparring?), with Ino eventually winning by yanking Sakura's long hair until she gave in to the 'intense agony'. Never having had long hair, I do not know just how much yanking it would hurt, as opposed to having been kicked in the face, I do know all too well the pain of that.
Hinata was sparring against another female, one Naruto did not know. They lightly exchanged blows and counters, while moving at maximum speed (not fast, they are pre Genin you know). It seemed the two didn't want to hurt each other but still wanted to train seriously.
The rest were generally using the academy taught Taiijutsu skills, trying to beat down their opponent with those basic, yet effective movements. Uchiha Sasuke was facing Abarume Shino, who was merely dodging and blocking all the 'prodgies' attempts to beat him into submission. This frustrated the survivor to no end, none of his attempts were working, so he used a basic fire Jutsu, (you all know the one) to try and scare his opponent into fighting seriously.
Unfortunately he aimed his Jutsu to the left, which was the direction in which Shino dodged. Unable to stop, the Uchiha watched as his fireball hit the silent young man head on.
"Omigod I'm so sorry, are you ok Shino? Please don't be dead… please." Sasuke ran up to the smouldering form of his fellow academy student only to see… Burnt bugs? As he looked around for an explanation, he saw the two laziest students there, Shikamaru and Chouji, who were supposed to be sparring against each other, talking with… Shino, who looked a little bit miffed that his precious bugs were now burning. Shino then said, with his flat voice
"You should not have done that, Uchiha Sasuke, however if you want a fight…"
He then leapt into action, while the lazy bums Shika and Chouji watched, awed as the Abarume fighter used his remaining bugs to leech away the Chakra reserves of his opponent, while beating him black and blue with academy learnt Taiijutsu. After an extremely one-sided fight, Shino stopped and gathered his bugs to him; they swept under his jacket.
He went to stand by the lazy bums again, but when they gave him odd looks and a muttered 'scary' from Shika, the boy moved off to stand on his own. Having witnessed the fight, Naruto walked up to Shino and leaned up on the wall next to him, neither boy feeling the need to speak. They stayed that way for a few minutes, watching the sparring, before Naruto turned to Shino and said
"Nice technique, it is good to see the teme put in his place by his betters neh?"
Shino raised one eyebrow, and let out an affirmative "hn".
After the sparring finished Shino sat next to Naruto, who was next to Hinata on the end of the row. They did not speak much, but neither felt it was necessary. It was the beginning of a strong friendship for the two.
Naruto explained his plan to Hinata, after his training, he would meet up with her at the park, they would use the Bunshin and Henge techniques respectively to fool the Branch member guards, while finding a suitable area for sparring. As they both needed practise, Hinata would utilise new physical attacks, while Naruto would defend with the Chakra no Tate as best he could.
The plan went off without a hitch. The young heiress had never attempted to cheat or deceive the guards before, so there was absolutely no reason to scout out with the Byakugan. After the training Hinata would return to the park, Kawarimi her Bunshin, walk away with the guards then dispel the 'female Naruto' Bunshin.
The next day was the new norm for Naruto. Early starts, long training session, academy and more training then late afternoon sparring with Hinata. He did not notice the two bright-haired girls from his class observing them covertly again, although Anko certainly did. Her thoughts at the time ran something like this: 'Hn, he has stolen two of the Uchiha kid's fangirls it seems. How very amusing, I shall let him find out when he is good enough to sense them himself.'
While this was going on, another Konoha resident who favoured the trench coat happened to be in the area. He was not there for training, or even spying, no the young man called Aburame Shino was there on a hunt. A bug-hunt to be specific. The Uchiha's attempt to make Shino fight him had been successful, but at the cost of much of Shino's resident insectile population. He was poking about the forest, searching for the various required bugs to replenish his depleted stock.
A single bug came to Shino, one of his scouts, it perched on his finger and Shino commanded oft it "tell me".
It spilled the secret; thus the boy flitted quietly through the trees, landing on one near a clearing in the forest. He watched Naruto using his Jutsu, though no sound was emitted from his personage, Shino was impressed. He decided not to get on Naruto's bad side, as Kiba had consistently managed.
The boy would be a real juggernaut one-day, immovable and unstoppable, charging onwards against all odds. As it was, to a ten-year-old he was strong, like tractor (as the Russians eloquently put it.)
After early training, there was the academy again. Starting to wear thin on the young boy, the pointless hours spent listening to Irukas hypnotic voice, sparring with others with whom he did not dare to use his techniques on (Kiba was an exception).
This is mostly due to Ankos previous explanation of how the Genin would be grouped in three years, namely the best and worst, average, etc. The boy was aiming for average grades, so he wouldn't be in a team with the lazy Nara and fat Chouji. He did not want to be best or worst, having to be with either Sasuke or the loud Kiba in that case. Top Average would have resulted in those whom he knew nothing about, always a risk for the prudent Shinobi. Much better off with hopefully teaming up with Hinata and Shino, the only students he felt he could relate to.
He merely practised his Seppeku Fist style on his sparring partners. It was an effective way of learning another's strength, standing up to and taking their most powerful attacks. Finally near fruitless attempts to master the academy Ninjutsu, he had only mastered the basic Jutsu for untying rope and the Henge to date (two out of four is about average, neh?)
The only other thing to do was talk to Hinata about various things, from their daily sparring to life in the Hyuga compound. She was more talkative now that they knew each other better, though still timid and would regale him with softly spoken tales of her childhood.
Happy times spent with family, and old ones, most now passed on. The only close family she had left was her Father, who was cold all the time due to her lack of skill in the Hyuga techniques. There was also Hanabi of course, but the little girl had quickly caught on to her fathers cold attitude, to Hinata and others. This was a reason Hinata was and is trying to gain strength, to prove to Hanabi that the Hyuga way is not necessarily the best, before her sister became too rigid, refusing to use any other Jutsu, as did most Hyuga (like Neji).
After the drudge of the academy there was another quick one-hour training session with Anko, who teased him about cutting the training short to see 'his girl'. Turning a magnificent shade of red, Naruto screeched (in his most annoying treble voice)
"She is only a friend, Hebi-Sensei. Jeez one would almost think you are jealous."
After a satisfying time of snakes slithering rampant (as opposed to running rampant), Anko let Naruto go, she in the meantime 'poofed' off to her favourite Dango stand. Damned addicts.
After Naruto met up with Hinata in the park, using their decoy trick with the Henge and Bunshin, they found an unoccupied training area to work in. This day it was the Hyuga pride taijutsu, Juken, Verses the Seppeku Fist, Naruto's unorthodox Style. It was not going well for our young subject, who was currently getting beaten black and blue.
The idea of the Seppeku Fist is to not block, but receive all attacks, then counter, but the Juken blocks Tenketsu, preventing Jutsu and Chakra usage in those areas. Meaning that by taking the attacks, Naruto limited himself to Taijutsu, until such time as the Tenketsu opened naturally (usually overnight), this prevented the use of his Chakra no Tate Jutsu.
The two, seeing this problem experimented with using Chakra expelled from a Tenketsu before the Juken strike landed, to absorb or block the damage. This was also progressing slowly, Hinata knew it was possible to expel Chakra from any or all Tenketsu (via Kaiten), but most ninja only learn to use the hands and feet. Meaning that it is very difficult to learn to use any other Tenketsu, to the point of requiring years of dedicated practise.
After the afternoon's training ended, Naruto had succeeded in not blocking, but reducing the impact of a singular strike. He flooded and compacted his Chakra to the general point of attack before it landed. He had not the control or experience to do so for a single Tenketsu, yet his way made it easier for them to reopen, only taking about two hours, instead of a day. With time and practise, the boy would learn to focus and pinpoint the defence, maximising its effectiveness. It would also, in theory, protect the vulnerable parts of the body from Chakra based attack - namely the inner organs.
They called this Jutsu the Chibi Chakra no Tate, (mini/young shield of Chakra, I'm not good with Japanese, as you can tell. The two said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Hinata to Kawarimi with her Bunshin, and Naruto to make some Ramen at his residence. The Bunshin had taken a reasonable amount of Hinata's concentration and reserves to maintain, granted it is not a huge requirement, but as with using weights, they do not get any lighter (despite numerous fics of people unmoving when they put on weights, then bouncing around three hours later. Yeah right, they would still barely be able to walk.) It was good endurance training for the hopefully future Kunoichi.
This schedule was ongoing throughout the next four days. Naruto started to improve with the Chakra no Tate, both the level one and Chibi versions. He could now block near half of the thrown pointy objects aimed at his shields, and slow the rest down to non-dangerous speeds. Anko he could hold off about a third of the time, only managing to repel her about once in a day.
With the Chibi, it now reduced all Juken striking to a two hour Tenketsu recovery, unless Naruto had a lapse in concentration, as he had when Hinata led him into a rope trap, swinging him upside down into the air, for her to hit a few times. She truly was showing skill, and was willing to seriously fight Naruto after he explained to her that they both needed to do their best, or the training would be pointless for the both of them.
Insert a horrified Hinata here, at the thought of not training with 'her Naruto-kun', changing to a determined young girl, ready to beat Naruto bloody in order to remain his friend. It did not hurt of course, his demonstrating to her his quick healing ability, after he broke a finger trying to block her Juken with an open-handed slap.
Hinata was improving steadily as well, her speed and general stamina was up, due to trying to keep up with the inexhaustible blonde all afternoon long. She was also more devious, trapping Naruto often and attacking from unexpected angles.
All in all, both academy students had begun their path to power… or so they hope. On the fine morning of Saturday, the birds were singing, with their chirp, chirp and their tweet, tweet splat.
Everything was going according to plan; Naruto had completed training with Anko in the morning, ate lunch (guess which stand he gravitated towards) and can now be found with Hinata. The two were going all out, what with the Juken verses Seppeku Fist. (Gentle Fist Verses Suicidal Fist.)
Watching from above, a sinister figure bided his time. He was furious at the fact Hinata wanted to spend time with the dobe, his only thought was to defeat and humiliate Naruto in battle. This would, in his thoughts force Hinata to see who was the better 'man'. When Naruto was fending off Hinata's particularly vicious attack he struck, with a cry of Tsuga (Piercing Fang).
What resembled a twister bore down upon Naruto, who did not seem to notice, he continued to block Hinata's assault, his apparently calm demeanour only belied by the hardening of his usually tranquil eyes into icy orbs.
Narrowing those orbs as Kiba neared, Naruto whispered, for Hinatas ears only, Ninpou: Chakra no Tate Jutsu. Hinata saw Naruto pumping an unusually high amount of Chakra into the shield, even for his usual effort.
To her eyes, a blue dome formed from a single Tenketsu on the boy's back as the Inuzaka impacted with the shield, errant blasts of Chakra emanating in all directions. The shield was slowly being twisted by Kiba's rotation, warping and flexing, yet Naruto was holding on through sheer effort, he could not move away for fear of Hinata being hit.
This stand off continued, Kiba attempting to drill through the Shield, Naruto pumping Chakra into it at a prestigious rate to keep it functional. In the end it came down to simple stamina – Naruto had more. The rotation of the Tsuga slowed, and ceased, leaving an astonished Kiba hanging in mid air for but a split second, before the Wave of Chakra blasted into him.
Spiralling nearly out of control, the Wave carried the terrified boy right into the tree he had been spying on Naruto and Hinata in previously. There was an audible crunch upon impact, as the unfortunate Inuzaka had two ribs crushed by the impact.
Hinata went off to get help, while Naruto bandaged his chest, with a spare bandage usually used in his own training. Kiba moaned, and panting with the effort, gasped out
"Why… are you helping me, Naruto?"
"Because, you are not my enemy. I do not have any idea why you attacked me, nor if you were trying to get to Hinata, but if you put her in danger again, I will not be so gentle. You have been warned."
With that the blonde walked off, not wanting to answer any questions Kiba's 'rescuers' would ask, seeing him there. Hinata brought back Hana, Kibas older sister, whom she told she had heard Kiba crying out in pain as she was training alone in training area 5 (yes it's a made up area, sue me.) When it came down to it, Kiba said he had been training, perfecting the Tsuga (as indeed he had, in a way) when he spiralled out of control and into a tree. Again, not that inaccurate a statement.
Naruto and Hinata, meeting up again in a different area, decided to take the rest of the day off. Naruto was tired and had expended almost all of his energy in stopping Kiba. As he left, his mind was remembering the way the shield tried to spin with Kiba's attack, how he had forced it to stop, keeping it solid. If it could be forced to spin the opposite way before contact…
Although he did not realise it, this is a similar method to the Hyuga Kaiten. It is even probable that a rotating attack used on a shield of Chakra is what gave thought to the original Kaiten.
Of course, Naruto is not good enough to reliably expel Chakra from every point, or even any one point besides the hands. He can do it, but not all of the time, more a fluke than anything else at this moment.
Walking home with arms loosely swinging, head down, Naruto did not notice the person standing in front of him until he bounced off said person.
"Omph" was his inarticulate utterance as he rebounded off what looked like a solid human wall. He looked up, and seeing a massive version of Choji, apologised
"Sorry Akimitchi-sama, I was not looking at the path."
"Hmm" The big man boomed, as the glass in nearby windows rattled.
"That's ok kid, it happens. Where were you off to with such preoccupation?"
Thinking for a moment, the boy replied
"Well, homewards bound, as I don't really have much money for old man Teuchi's Ramen right now."
"You like Ramen eh, hey you must be the kid who buys so many kits from my new store, the monthly ones! Oh and please call me Chouja, the 'Sama' sounds really old." The man placidly intoned.
"Yes, Ramen is the best Akim - uh Chouja-sama, I am grateful to your store, your homemade Ramen lets me eat exactly what I want, all the time. Well, I had best be off, see you later!"
With that the blonde ran off, to prepare and consume some of his Ramen, mouth watering at the thought. As Chouja watched him rocket off, he thought 'Not such an evil looking kid to me. Anyone who likes Ramen cant be bad, perhaps the council is just plainly wrong about him.'
The big man left to find his drinking buddies, presumably Ino and Shikas fathers.
After his Ramen (mushroom & Rat, yes rat, some eat it) Naruto went through his nightly activities. Stepping out of the shower, he overbalanced and fell over.
"What the hell?"
Looking back at the shower, his leg had not journeyed to the floor as he had, it stood there motionless. After crawling to the leg in question, he saw that it was hollow and metallic. Upon closer inspection the boy reattached it to his stump, where it seamlessly joined, once again appearing totally realistic.
"Well, that is interesting. Now that explains why it was aching before. The only question is what the hell happened to my original leg?
I don't remember cutting it off, or losing it. Very odd, oh well now I have a spare storage device and if anyone stabs me in that leg, it wont matter. Yosh time for sleep."
With that, the now crippled (although he would not think of it that way) Jinnchuriki jumped into his bed, prosthetic leg and all.
The leg in question looks like a prosthetic limb when unattached – plastic, metal, rubber, etc. When attached however, it drains a small yet constant amount of Chakra to maintain a small Genjutsu, making it appear a solid regular limb. It uses the same energy source to become as swift and dexterous as a natural limb, making it near undetectable. The Byakugan is capable of detecting the Chakra, yet not the prosthetic itself, the energy acting as a smokescreen.
Ok that is another chapter, I was going to reveal the fake leg thing in a battle next chapter, but needed an ending for this one. Might still do that of course, having Naruto fight, then his leg unexpectedly falls off! Please any rate/reviews would be appreciated; I have very little idea as to what is good in this story and what is lacking. Well besides the fic in general being lacking that is.
Ok bye now people, seeyall next time eh? (Or not they say, while disconnecting the Internet socket and gluing it closed forever.)
Ah, Ah it occurs to the Author that some may appreciate a little translation bit here. Don't know, comment in review if you like the idea or not if you would be so kind, in the meantime, I will do it.
Hebi – Literally snake
Hai – Yes
Ossu – Sir (often said as yessir)
Jutsu – Technique
Chakra – Energy, when used in Naruto it is considered a combination of the energy of the body, and the energy obtained from physical and mental training.
Ramen – A meal somewhat like 2 Minute Noodles, but with differing meats and vegetables in them. Considered by Naruto to be a staple meal.
Hyuga – A family based clan in the Naruto world. Split into the main, and the slave-like Branch family.
Kaiten – A Hyuga main family Technique. Otherwise known as Heavenly Spin (whirl, something like that)
Juken – Gentle Fist. The Taijutsu style of the Hyuga clan, branch and main family alike. Using the index and middle fingers to inject damaging Chakra into an opponent, potentially damaging organs or closing Tenketsu (Chakra points).
Tsuga – (Fang Destroyer) Technique, used by the Inuzaka clan family members. Kiba and Akamaru are the only ones who have been seen using it, so far.
Chakra No Tate – Shield of Chakra Technique. Created by Naruto, it is similar to the Kaiten, without the spin to add power and flexibility. Three separate levels, Naruto can only use level one, to repel Physical objects. (A Jutsu created by the Author, for this fic).
Jinnchuriki – Demon Container. Or one who has a demon contained in their body. There have been three so far in the Naruto world, Gaara, Naruto himself and the Nebi (Two Tailed Cat) chick.
Taijutsu – Hand to hand combat Techniques. Also includes styles, such as the Seppeku Fist (suicide fist) and Goken (Strong Fist) styles.
Shuriken – Four bladed throwing stars, can be in fold down large form or small, palm-sized version.
Kunai – Throwing Knives. Double bladed, short like daggers and good for stabbing as well as thrown.
Sen'eijashu (literally Hidden Snake Hand Technique) An almost unknown Jutsu, thought to summon several snakes from the arms of one's coat, to attack or immobilise a number of victims.
Flashback no Jutsu – The lazy way of doing timeskips in reverse, in other words winding the story to a previous point in its timeline.
Kai – Dispel/release, used in several aspects, with the Ram handseal to dispel Genjutsu (illusions made from Chakra to affect the mind) or to cancel a Flashback no Jutsu.
Kitsune Kai – literally Fox Release/dispel. A technique once again created by Naruto, to purify and refine his Chakra in preparation for various Jutsu, can modify a Jutsu's effect.
If used with Kawarimi (replacement Technique) the object to be replaced with will heat or implode based on energy input.
Bunshin – Clone Technique. Used to make an illusion of Chakra, that is to all appearances a sold person. Will dispel upon physical contact with its 'skin'.
Henge no Jutsu - Transformation Technique. Allows for the user to copy another's body, down to the clothing and miscellaneous items.
Naruto's Orokie no Jutsu is merely the Transformation Technique, using a naked (or semi-naked) Female version of himself to distract and disable male Shinobi.
Think that is it, If something is missed, sue me. For real, goodbye now.