Disclaimer: This author does not own Naruto. This written work is not made or distributed for profit in any form, merely for personal and public entertainment/enjoyment. The Author does not own anything in this fic, besides plotline twists, etc and even those are welcomed for use by anyone. I would be honoured if someone liked one of my ideas and wanted to use them. Please if you do, mention where the idea came from.
When you get down to it, all works are influenced by everything the Author has ever read, watched or done. The idea of plagiarism is almost a joke in that context. Unfortunately the law sees things differently, hence this disclaimer and the need for lawyers.
On with the story, I am a little stuck on what to write, not liking the idea of a timeskip oft an extended period. Subsequently do not expect huge quality and length for this one (although if you have read the other chapters that hope is likely already sufficiently trampled).
The sun was not setting, late Sunday afternoon. It had already done so, twenty minutes prior. A young boy was rushing a girl of equal age home after an excessive training session, in which the boy had acquired many bruises and cuts.
There was reasonably extensive damage to his large tan trench coat, as well as his Fishnet under-clothing, although there did not seem to be any serious wounds. The girl by contrast was in good health. Her also large coat lined with fur on the hem not seeming to have any damage on it at all. She was though a little out of breath at the pace the ten-year-old boy was setting, as he fearfully and loudly proclaimed to the world at large
"D'Arvit, wari wari Hinata, I forgot the time when we both succeeded in our new Jutsu. Your crazy dad is going to kill me, I just know it." At this point the boy was shivering in trepidation and more that a small dose of fear (terror).
Hinata, in a calming voice said
"Its ok Naruto-kun, I will just tell Otou-san that its my fault for wanting more Ramen after training, even though that was your desire, before we realised the time."
"Hn, yes your right it is, ah well what's done is done." Said Naruto as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, as he does.
The Hyuga compound loomed closer; the massive complex would have blocked out the afternoon sunlight, if there were any to be found that is. As Naruto ran up, clutching Hinatas hand, nearly dragging her along, he saw an ominous sight.
The Hyuga main family head, Hiashi was standing at the front gates of the compound, talking to three branch members there, as they neared they heard him ordering the branch members out to find Hinata and bring her back at any cost.
"Um … Otou-san Gomen-asai (Sorry) we lost track of time at the Ramen stand, it's just so…"
Hinatas timid voice petered out by the last few words at the stern look on her father's face. He told the other Hyuga to go back into the complex for a while, while he talked with his daughter. This included the normal gate guards.
Hiashi thought about all the words to say in this grim (in his mind) situation. The importance of the Hyuga heiress maintaining proper dignity at all times, even if she insisted on her friendship with the blonde. Her failure to do so, as she was carted to her own home by the same blonde, acting decidedly ungracious at such time. His musing was interrupted by a mere whisper.
"Good bye fool."
A part of the night coalesced into a man enshrouded in a long white cloak, forming the final handseal in an unknown set, before quickly extending his hand, palm open, towards the little group.
As the mysterious figure once again whispered 'fool', Naruto surged forwards, knocking the surprised and slow acting Hyuga head out of the way while stepping squarely in front of Hinata.
A blinding flash of light could be seen, as a streaming bolt of lightning erupted from the man's outstretched hand, arcing towards Naruto. He however had formed his own seals and shouted out as the man performed his Jutsu:
"Ninpou: Chakra no Tate Jutsu!"
A domed cylinder of Chakra formed around the boy as the lightning literally struck. It protected Naruto while sweeping behind him, also shielding Hinata from the blast.
As both techniques collided, sparks of lightning splintering off the main bolt, Naruto slowly Turned pale white, his own Jutsu twisting and malforming at the frontal end, where there was direct contact.
A mere splinter hit Hiashi, who was knocked to the ground, unable to move yet still very conscious, seemingly in his own personal nightmare. He, the head of the Hyuga clan, strongest of Konoha had done nothing while an assassin attacked Hinata and himself.
Whereas a mere academy student was now defending his eldest daughter with all he had, which was proving quite a lot. Hiashi even dared to hope, for a moment, that the boy could hold out long enough to outlast the Jutsu.
Sadly it was not to be, the shield simply was not powerful enough to combat the sinister technique, and Naruto knew it too. Maintaining the walls of the cylinder for as long as possible, with a defiant scream Naruto released the frontal dome.
As it collapsed under the lightning, both Hyugas saw Naruto, bathed in the light for one fateful split second, before it engulfed him.
The man walked up to the charred body and grunted in a surprised fashion, before kicking him out of the way brutally, gaining a soft sob from the terrified Hinata.
"Well well, this kid would have been strong. A shame he felt like protecting two such weaklings as you Hyuga, even in death he stopped my Lightning Arc from harming that girl even a little. Truly shameful, but no matter, I will take the Hyuga back with me now, she will receive plenty of pain while we travel."
The man's Dark eyes, the colour of muddy water, visibly widened as his twisted mind began creating equally twisted images. He reached up and pulled off his hood, revealing… A Shinobi from the village hidden in the Cloud, judging by his forehead protector.
"Well, best be off, things to do you know, Hyuga to breed for the future of my village. With the same twisted, mad look in his eyes the man reached out to grab Hinata, who was too tired to resist.
Hiashi watched, veins in his neck bulging as he attempted to fight off the paralysis of the Arc Jutsu that he hoped was temporary, to no avail. His daughter was going to be stolen from before his very eyes, and there was nary a thing that could be done about it.
The leering man noticed a resistance on his outstretched hand, glancing at it he saw an inverted bubble of energy wrapping around his hand, effectively immobilising his entire arm. A pain filled mutter of " You will never hurt my friend while I can draw breath" could be heard.
The Kumo-nin (cloud ninja) looked over to the charred 'corpse' he had previously kicked away. He saw a battered yet still breathing boy, with a hand outstretched towards him. His skin burnt black and clothes melted to said skin, blue eyes shining with concentration, holding back the agony with sheer determination.
No longer amused, the Kumo-nin attempted to force his way out of the restraining Chakra no Tate, when he failed he ground out the words
"Damn gaki, you are not even a Shinobi yet, there is no way you can restrain a special-Jounin rank Shinobi. There is just no way, now be a good gaki and die"
The Jounin was unable to move, or perform Jutsu with his arm trapped; thus they had a little Mexican stand off. Hinata knew Naruto could not hold on much longer, he had used copious amounts of Chakra earlier that day, modifying his Jutsu for its current purpose, detaining someone.
Straining and panting slightly, the boy continued his relentless defence, while staring at the man with undivided concentration. The Chakra no Tate started to warp under the pressure, twisting and expanding slightly.
Beads of sweat ran down the Jounin's face. His thoughts as the time were 'Cant believe this kid can hold me, he is basically a living corpse. But I can see and feel his strain, it will not be much longer now.'
Naruto was shivering uncontrollably; bits of his charred flesh were falling off his badly burned body as he stressed it to and beyond its set limit in his efforts. The Jutsu warped once more, before it started to glow, as Naruto whispered "Kitsune Kai" it condensed, then imploded.
"Argggh, you little… my arm… you will pay for that!" The kumo-nin growled as he turned, pulled out a Kunai and reached for the now prone boy. The Shinobi knife extended shakily towards Naruto's throat, before halting, then falling out of a now limp hand.
The wind whistled through the street, where there were four figures, only the two Hyuga standing. Hiashi had been given the time to recover, he had used that time to deliver a silent and deadly Palm Thrust at the Kumo-nin's heart.
With that simple, elegant yet deadly move, it was all over. Two Hyuga branch member guards came out to do their guard duty, seeing the situation they ran up to Hiashi, who ordered them to take Hinata inside and set up a patrol along the Hyuga grounds perimeter.
The proud man then walked over to the prone figure of our hero. He gently picked up the now moaning boy, before lightly jumping up to a roof, and off to the hospital.
While en-route, the Hyuga head looked at the severity of the wounds. It did not look good for the boy, his chest had taken the majority of the shock, melting and fusing his entire rib cage together.
Hiashi assumed this was his demon's way of attempting to save the inner organs from major damage, an only partially successful gamble. The boy could barely breath, due to the lung damage and his damaged neck, which had a huge chunk burnt right out of it.
His arms, while also affected and burnt, were not in terrible condition, yet the legs seemed to be almost fine, except where his skin fused with the melted fishnet clothing.
Upon arrival, Hiashi rushed to the doctor who usually served the Hyuga main family.
"Mito-san I have a patient for you. He saved the life of my daughter, yet you know how he is treated here and elsewhere. Please (and you know how much it hurts Hiashi to say that) help him."
The doctor took one look at Hiashi's serious face and nodded.
"Hai, Hiashi-sama I know of his situation and personally feel nothing for or against the boy. I will be happy to treat him personally."
With that the Hyuga head put Naruto down upon an examining table in the adjoining room. As the doctor, known only as Mito examined the boy he inquired of Hiashi:
"What was he hit with? It looks like extensive burning damage; all wounds are cauterised suggesting lightning damage."
"Hai, Mito-san it was a lightning based Jutsu from a Kumo-nin. He stepped right into it, casting his own defensive Jutsu, Chakra no Tate; I have never seen the likes of it before. It even came close to blocking the whole attack.
Making a sceptical noise, the doctor (butcher, they are all butchers) set to work. Separating the Skin from the clothing was the first task, after a large needle filled with Panadine Forte of course.
Hiashi left the man to his delicate, dangerous work, stating that he would check in the next day. In reality he was planning a Shinobi funeral for the boy. Having seen and felt the extent of the damage, Hiashi knew it was unlikely for the boy to survive the night.
The middle-aged man felt the least he could do was see that Naruto had the burial of a hero, even if in life he was treated as scum of the most virulent nature.
Mito worked late into the night, accomplishing a large feat. He separated the boy's skin from his clothing, for the most part. Working on a stubborn piece located at his left leg, the doctor accidentally cut too deeply and to his mortification the entire leg fell off!
The stunned physician watched as the normal, slightly burnt leg shifted into a plastic and metal construct. With a start the doctor realised that the boy had been wearing a prosthetic limb. Upon closer inspection he noted the sole of the fake foot.
"Well ill be a son of a… It is a type of reinforced rubber, for taking impact shocks. That is really lucky, it must have acted as an insulator from the lightning, minimising much of the damage." Mito mused to himself.
"It must have been one hell of a technique, to still do that much damage though. I wonder what the boy has been through in his short life to have such damage inflicted upon his body."
Reattaching the limb, by merely lightly pressing it onto Naruto's stump, Mito went about his work. He had to give the boy more painkillers every two hours, so he would stay asleep. He left the boy to a trusted nurse (loyal to the Hyuga clan that is) to catch a few hours of sleep himself, with what remained of the night.
The next day dawned bright and sunny, as if the Monday morning cared not about the previous night's activities. One Hyuga head told his daughter to remain in the compound, then go to the academy for the day.
"After your lessons you can come with me to see young Uzumaki. Until then, conduct yourself as the heiress to this clan and do what must be done."
Hinata, losing whatever nerve she had displayed, bowed her head and mumbled 'Yes Otou-san.'
Hiashi attended a hastily organised council meeting, in which he explained the situation with the covert Kumo-nin. Unlike the last time a similar event had occurred, this was not their head ninja, merely a Jounin on a secret mission.
The Hyuga head outlined his plan for their response to the Kumo attack. It went something like this.
As the village of Konohagure was no longer weakened by the Kyuubi no Kitsune attack, as it had been earlier, they would not listen to the village of Kumogaure's demands.
Instead they would demand reparation of their own, in terms of monetary compensation, for a break in their tentative peace agreement. Also included in the 'bill' would be the hospital fees of the 'Shinobi' injured in the conflict. With the threat of war if not succinctly paid of course.
Hiashi felt it was only fitting that the village of cloud pay for Naruto's hospital fees (and funeral), while Konoha profited from that same event. As cloud was weakened from a recent failed uprising, they would likely bow to any Demands Konoha made.
As the saying goes: 'The boot is on the other foot now.' (Time for an ass kicking!)
The council wholeheartedly supported this plan, greedy old men that most of them were, they further suggested (ordered) upon learning of the extent of Naruto's wounds that the money all be made out to Naruto. Upon his subsequent death and likely with no family or will, the money would go straight into the council's 'emergency fund.'
The sandiame Hokage agreed, inwardly chuckling as he thought. 'Hrmm hrmm, they are underestimating Naruto's will to live, his spirit of fire. That will be to their own detriment, and Narutos gain.'
Heading off to the hospital, at a more sedate walking pace this time, Hiashi checked in on the boy, expecting to be told he had been moved to the morgue.
Imagine his surprise at seeing a conscious boy, bandaged nearly head to toe, being spoon-fed by the attractive young nurse loyal to the Hyuga family.
"Come on now, Naruto-kun, if you refuse to eat I will be fired and kicked out of my flat for not paying the rent." The young nurse pleaded, with trademark puppy-dog eyes, prompting the scowling boy to open his mouth once more and allow the 'horrible slop' to be placed in his mouth.
The nurse's name was and is Mituki Laura. An orphan who enrolled in the nursing program early on, at the age of eight, graduated in an unheard of two years, nursing in the Konoha hospital ever since. She is now a very capable nurse at the age of seventeen.
Like all people, Laura liked having and spending money. The Hyuga gave her money (in excess of her normal wage) to ensure her being their personal nurse when needed; her silence and bedside manner were both crucial factors for the employment.
To say that Hiashi was surprised would be an understatement. Naruto should by all rights be dead now, yet there he was, grumpily being fed. Not to mention the pain from his burnt flesh should have had him incoherent, yet he seemed awake and alert.
The nurse finished the feeding, gave Naruto an injection and gently told him to rest, which thanks to the injection, he did. She walked outside the room to talk to Hiashi.
"Hello Hiashi-sama, it is an honour to see you here again. Do you want to know the boy's condition?
He replied "Hai Laura-san, I would like to know how he seems to be in such good shape, considering his injuries last night." Laura picked up a chart, reading from it she said
"Hai, his recovery is nothing short of remarkable, stretches of skin that were totally destroyed are regrowing, his rib bones have unfused, and seem to be patching themselves back together. We did have to amputate his left ear; it had melted over the ear-hole, becoming a hindrance.
Other than that, it appears he will make a full recovery, he might even be out of hospital in two weeks. He will have major scarring, especially on the chest and neck, but he will live without any more disfiguring injuries."
Hiashi, frowning inquired "But I thought the boy did not have any disfiguring injuries from this incident Laura-san."
The woman looked at him for a few seconds in an evaluating way, before giving a small nod and saying. "Naruto has a prosthetic left leg, Hiashi-sama. It has a rubber base on the foot, which prevented much of the damage. Without it he would definetly have died."
The somewhat surprised Hyuga shook his head and said
"Well, it is good that the boy lives on. I will check back on him in an hour or two, with my daughter, she has been quite anxious to see him after all."
Laura murmured a "Hai, Hiashi-sama" as the proud man left the room, face once again blank as a politician's (as he indeed was).
She left the sleeping boy in peace, who then cautiously opened a single eye. Seeing that the coast was clear, he sighed loudly.
"Eh didn't think they would ever leave, scarring eh? Well I don't like mirrors, so it matters little."
As he spoke aloud to nobody in particular, he did notice a slight rasp in his voice, not obvious yet existent nonetheless.
Exploring his face with the tips of his fingers, Naruto did notice the bandaging all over it, preventing him from checking his ear in particular. Truth to tell, the loss of an ear really did not bother him much, as his recent amputation by his own backfired Jutsu had been far more serious.
After a boring hour or so, Hiashi came back, this time with Hinata in tow. She fussed over him, as women of all ages do for men who manage to get injured, making sure his pillow was adequate and the like.
Both Hyuga thanked him for his efforts, Hinata saying that he saved her life, Hiashi that he owed the boy a considerable debt. The man told Naruto that he was welcome to the Hyuga compound any time and could also ask Hiashi for anything he might need, now or in the future.
After they left, Naruto actually did sleep, troubled dreams with the crackling of raw energy and the smell or burnt meat. Insert the mental image of a large, imposing man scraping a knife along a sharpening stick here, if you are so inclined.
Naruto recovered extremely fast, in his words due to the 'noted lack or Ramen', so fast that he was released only three days after being admitted.
The boy was advised to keep to light exercise and not to strain himself at the Ninja Academy. He politely agreed with the doctor while inwardly thinking 'I can and shall take care of myself, thankyou very much'.
Walking with a slight limp out of the hospital on the cold, miserable Wednesday morning, Naruto was greeted with the sight of Hinata hurrying towards him. After confirming that he had been released, in contrast to running away, Hinata walked him back to his room. They went in and talked for a while, about his one-sided fight.
"Ne Naruto-kun, you really did very well, to hold him off like that, he was a special Jounin, one of the top cloud infiltrators. I think your Chakra no Tate needs a little special something though, when using it to block Jutsu."
"Hai, I know you are right Hinata-chan, might even talk to your dad about it, he said I could ask and he obviously knows about my Jutsu now. I might as well pick the brains of the finest in the strongest family of Konoha.
Hinata was most uncomfortable with the idea of the Hyuga being the strongest. She believed their ways were too rigid and did not hesitate to tell Naruto so. When he inquired as to the why of that, she noted their reluctance to learn and apply new Jutsu, or to use elemental based Jutsu.
Their ways were all based on the Byakugan and the Juken. To be the best, one must have a speciality, but the term overspecialisation comes to mind when thinking of the arrogant Hyuga. Hinata understood this on some level; she did want things to change, first by teaching herself new ways (assisted by Naruto of course) and second by becoming clan head. This would allow her to directly change the decrepit rules and traditions of the family/clan.
Until then, the academy beckoned, so the two set off. Naruto decided to go and see if he could handle the physical requirements, if not he could simply bag sickness and leave. By now all of the Shinobi in Konoha had heard of the altercation and Naruto's involvement in it.
Hiashi had made sure the news of Naruto's bravery spread over the village, to both Shinobi and civilian.
Arriving at the academy and filing into the class at to his usual seat, next to Hinata and far away from Kiba, the blonde had caused quite a few covert looks and muttering, as he still had bandages over his face and left ear. The thick, ugly scars on his upper chest and neck were partially visible, as were the less pronounced ones on his arms.
Naruto heard mutters of 'the baka got hurt, wonder where' and 'I heard he fought a Jounin from cloud, my dad said he held him off for a while. It must be a lie though, that kid cannot even use the Kawarimi Jutsu.' These comments made seemingly no difference to the boy, yet Hinata noticed the little things.
Things such as the way he sat in his chair ramrod straight (stiffly), as if expecting attack at any time. There was also the way his eyes seemed to harden and become devoid of all happiness and life, blue orbs with hidden depths to entangle and entrap the unwary observer.
The comments died down after Iruka came into the room and after roll call he began his usual droning lecture on another subject that might have been interesting, if not told so poorly.
After the stupefying lecture, they had the usual Taijutsu lesson, only this time it was unusual in the extreme. One fighter in the top of the Taijutsu ladder would face off against two who were doing less proficiently. As Naruto had not been beaten in some time with sparring, he was near the top in Taijutsu; therefore his match was against Kiba and Shino.
The idea was not to use any serious attacks (Like Kiba's Tsuga), only using the academy taught basic Taijutsu in tandem with the teammate to defeat the stronger foe. This was to promote teamwork and the ability to support another in battle. Also for the stronger, it helped when facing multiple opponents, as the best in Konoha are expected to do.
Squaring off, Naruto knew he did not have the usual stamina, or ability to take punches. He decided the only way too not get badly beaten was to use a seal-less Chibi Chakra no Tate upon being attacked. The small Wave would slow or block attacks as they came, if used with enough force they could even repel an attacker, allowing for an opening in which to attack.
Not waiting for a strategy discussion with his partner Shino, Kiba launched himself at Naruto with the thought of beating the bandaged blonde uppermost on his mind. Meanwhile Shino watched Naruto to discern his style and any possible openings in his defences.
Opting for his usual method of opening attack, the elbow to the chest, Kiba was astonished when he seemed to slow down, before Naruto grasped the offending elbow, pulled up and kicked him in the gut with a straight shot of the left leg.
Deflating like a windbag, Kiba fell to the floor, groaning, where Naruto nudged him out of the way with his toe. Shino, not having moved throughout the short and painful counter-offensive, flitted into action.
He attacked Naruto with one arm after another, in a slicing manner, attempting to hit specific pressure points on the boy's chest and neck respectively. Once again, the offending appendages slowed down enough for Naruto to latch onto with his own arms, before pulling the expressionless boy closer.
Grinning happily at Shino, Naruto moved his head back. Shino asked, in his usual monotone
"What now, Naruto?"
In response, Narutos head flew forwards, smashing his temple onto the other boy's face. Blood flew about as Shino had his nose scrunched into his face.
Kiba, now recovered after his own little loss, attacked Naruto in a frenzied manner. Using his Chibi Tate, Naruto blocked or slowed all attacks, while proceeding to beat his opponent down. He finished with a similar move to before, catching both boys as they attacked and slamming their heads together, breaking Kiba's nose on Shino's forehead.
Suffice to say both Kiba and Shino lost that little battle, without quite knowing why. Kiba had
Left the area, presumably to go sulk about his 'poor abused face'. Shino chose to stay and talk to Naruto, after plugging his still leaking nose with two pieces of tissue.
"Good fight Shino, your open handed attacks are harder that I thought to block, you seem to have started on a good taijutsu style. You might have got me if not for that clown Kiba, I would hate to be on his team in two years time."
With a slight bowing of his head and a "hn" Shino agreed with the still bandaged blonde boy. The two left, walking side by side to watch the others as they fought it out.
Hinata had finished with her two opponents by the time the boys came to observe. She had been facing two Kuinoichi who were not strong or fast, but had learned to work as a team to defeat their opponent.
They had almost won too, yet their reckless all out attack faltered when they were both hit by mild Juken strikes, applied with the academy Taijutsu. Hinata joined the boys in observing others.
Sasuke had gotten a lucky match-up; that is to say he was fighting Sakura and Ino. The duck-butt haired boy had been subsequently lynched by Ino, as Sakura proceeded to yell at the aforementioned Ino. The two girls then attacked each other, rolling around on the floor in a cloud of dust, fists flying, cartoon style.
Sasuke, watching avidly, though to the outward eye looked bored, occasionally nudged one or the other of the girls to keep their blood up, while inwardly thinking 'the longer they keep this up the less fighting I have to do.' The spoiled little shit did not want to fight the girls, as he thought it would be a waste of time, so this little cat fight was quite convenient for him.
After about twenty minutes more observing (Ino and Sakura were still going strong, kicking, clawing and biting) the Taijutsu practise ended and normal droning class resumed.
Nothing more of note happened that day, Naruto decided he was not up to any more training for now and went straight home. Upon entering his abode Naruto realised that he had nothing to do for the afternoon. His residence held no Television, books or games that were not to do with training. He decided in the end to sleep the day through, and that was it for our lil' slugger.
Waking up in the morning Naruto was greeted with a most unwelcome sight, that is to say a leering face, inches from his own. His reaction was priceless, shrinking backwards, with widened eyes, then expelling a Chibi Tate to repel the intruder, while groggily reaching for a handy bashing object.
At this point an amused and slightly put-out Anko spoke up.
"Well well gaki, I thought you blew off our sessions to play the sympathy card with Hinata, yet here you are, sleeping the day through. Guess we might as well train, eh?"
Naruto apologised, before stiffly sitting up and stating that he was still feeling 'terrible' and not up to any training. A pouting Anko seemed to weigh this statement in her mind, before grinning and stating brightly
"When you are ready you know where to find me, in the meantime the morning is the best time for Dango!"
With an enthusiastic shout, Anko sprinted out of Naruto's apartment, presumably to find the nearest Dango stand and deprive them of their stock. Shaking his head and shuddering slightly, Naruto noticed it was still early, by the dawning sun outside of his window. In an uncharacteristic display, Naruto yawned and layed down for more precious shut-eye.
The boy spent much of that week sleeping and eating, only resuming light stretches by Saturday, even those were only light. His body seemed sluggish at all times, harder and harder to move at all. It seemed to be a delayed reaction of his central nervous system being zapped by the electrical current that could have flash-fried a chicken.
Kiba had noticed this relaxed behaviour during the academy, he decided to track and ambush Naruto that Saturday, to repay him for his broken nose and spectacularly blackened eyes.
Sneaking along stealthily, Kiba relied on his sight and instincts to find the blonde as his nose was out of commission at that moment (hee hee).
It took about three hours from the morning onwards, but Kiba tracked the elusive blonde down, leaving his apartment.
Kiba thought to himself 'That lazy slob is only leaving his apartment now? Its nine for crying out loud, at least this will be easy'.
He failed to note that Naruto had removed the bandages around his head and arms, though leaving the neck bandaged (think Zabuza without the facial bandages as he charges the mob), this indicated he was feeling better.
His injuries – battle scars – were now visible, to some extent. His left ear was entirely missing, with massive scarring around that whole area, even disrupting the hair growth around it. Small scything scars ran down the right cheek, extending the whisker marks in a rather sinister manner. All in all, Naruto now looked the part of the demon of Konoha, as some villagers had labelled him.
Elsewhere, the village council was undergoing a serious debate. Mashimo Kimameto, a leading council member and a survivor of the Uchiha massacre was pushing for Naruto to become the living weapon of the village. If he had his way the boy would be their trump card in times of war.
The old, yet still powerful Uchiha argued that war was inevitable, when such a time came their village would need carefully honed weapons to fight with. His evidence was the Chakra no Tate Naruto had used, a powerful protective Jutsu if used with proper care and good timing. As the boy had delayed a powerful Jounin at his young age and non-existent experience level, surely proper training would turn him into an unstoppable wall, in between the village of Konoha and all hostiles.
The Sandiame Hokage was doing his best to quell the argument, by stating that Naruto was already a nin in training, he would become a tool for the village in his own time. He further suggested that Naruto had created his own powerful Jutsu, left alone with proper incentive to improve he could one day rival the Yondiame's near-incomparable strength.
He further reminded the council that the fourth had created all of his own and best Jutsu without unwanted help, Jiryia of the Legendary Sennin had been his mentor and only partner in that respect.
As hoped by the wily old man, the council seized on this dangled carrot after some further discussion, agreeing to leave the boy be if and only if Jiriyia could be located and convinced to Supervise the Genin team that Naruto eventually would join. If not, the council would appoint their own choice to train the boy.
Sarutobi agreed reluctantly, knowing that this was the only viable option. Meanwhile with a certain one eared blonde boy…
Kiba tensed as Naruto came past the alley in which he happened to be hidden. The boy prepared himself; his hands grew claws and became generally bestial in appearance. Leaping out of the alley, he attacked Naruto with a silent scream of juvenile hatred.
The blonde crouched as Kiba came. Kiba's outstretched hands sailed over the boy's head. Naruto then shifted forwards while still crouching and kicked Kiba in the stomach.
"OMPH"
The scarred boy straightened slowly, with great dignity for one his age and walked over to the now prone form of Kiba.
"Listen up, and listen good Kiba. I will not tolerate this any longer, if you have a problem with me deal with it like a real guy, not a coward. We are not opponents, we are allies, how would you ever complete a Shinobi mission with me as your partner?
We would both die in that case, due to your stupidity. You do not like me, I return the favour, you will at least try and be civil, and I shall do the same, if not I might as well kill you here and now. You are useless to Konoha as a ninja with your current attitude."
With that speech delivered in a flat voice, filled with open dislike, the blonde offered his hand to the glaring Kiba. Hesitation occurred for some indeterminable time while Kiba started into the swirling depths (think a lava-lamp) of Naruto's eyes.
Kiba took Naruto's offered hand, who lifted him to his feet. They shook hands once; pressure indicating that they still disliked the other, before they both walked off in opposite directions.
The Inuzaka had been planning to reject Naruto's peace offer, but after looking into those serious eyes he had realised the truth. A Shinobi cannot be petty, allowing rivalry or jealousy to get in the way of business.
Kiba had been acting like a small child, incapable of understanding or accepting any responsibility. But no more, now he would make an effort to at least tolerate the other's presence.
After leaving that little scene, Naruto was accosted by the Hokage's assistant, a cold bitch of a woman who usually ignored Naruto in all things.
She grabbed hold of Naruto's arm and said, "You will come to the Hokage, he wishes to talk with you."
His arm was shunted out of the woman's grip, by what appeared thin air, as Naruto replied.
"Very well, lead on assistant-san." Seething inwardly, though her face remained blank, the woman proceeded to do just that.
Checking regularly over her shoulder to ensure Naruto was still following, she led him briskly to the Kage tower.
An immense building, made from red stone, it is the symbol of the leader of the village and their power in said village. Currently used as the hub for Shinobi to acquire and receive payment for various missions, it also doubled as a last bastion of defence in case of invasion.
Many traps and wards could be activated to make the tower all but impregnable to any except for an elite Shinobi army.
Entering the tower, then after climbing far too many stairs (in his mind at least), Naruto found himself invited into the Hokage office.
"Ah Naruto, it is good to see you, especially after that incident earlier with the Kumo-nin. You seem to be in as good health as can be expected though, are you in need of any further medication or treatment?" asked the Sandiame, contentedly puffing on his pipe.
"Domo Arigato, Ojii-san, but I am doing fine. Just a few more days of taking it easy and it will be training time again." Naruto said all of this in a monotone voice, as if the subject did not interest him. Lightening up some, he inquired:
"What I would appreciate information on though, was how that particular Jounin level ninja got in our village undetected, not to mention spying on the Hyuga gates without being detected is a big deal, what with their Bloodline right?"
Sandiame put his pipe away after a serious look at Naruto, then chuckled.
"Ho ho, you are learning Naruto, it seems that they have developed an electrical based Jutsu that hides their Chakra system from all such seeking techniques, including the Byakugan of the Hyuga.
We are attempting to recreate the Jutsu with our own specialist team but so far have met with little success. If the situation changes you and the academy will be the first to know, as when we can perform the technique, we will soon develop a counter to said technique."
Nodding thoughtfully, Naruto then inquired politely:
"Ok Ojii-san, it has been interesting as always to talk, yet I somehow suspect you had a reason for calling me here, an explanation would be appreciated, I am a busy guy after all."
At this, Naruto mimed sleeping and eating. This elected another chuckle from the third, before he got down to brass tacks, as they say.
"Very well Naruto, the Shinobi from Kumogure are known both for holding grudges and never stopping. A somewhat impractical approach, yet it helps Konoha stay in the lead. They will try to take Hinata again, as such an ANBU guard will be assigned to her permanently while she is outside the Hyuga grounds.
The guard will make himself known to you today, so you will know him by sight and not attack him if you see him observing, this is all, ok?"
Naruto nodded obediently, so the Sandiame asked someone to 'please come in now.'
That someone was an average height ANBU member with a shock of white hair, who nodded his masked head slightly in Naruto's direction, before intoning "Yo."
The Sandiame explained a little further.
"This is the ANBU in question Naruto, he will be assigned to Hinata's bodyguard for the next three months. At that time, we will bring you back here to see the next guard, and so on and so forth. You may tell Hinata of these arrangements, her family already knows. Dismissed."
Both the ANBU and Naruto left, the former disappearing with a poof of smoke, the latter rising and walking out of the office.
Naruto had planned to find Hinata and tell her the news, yet he was so very tired.
Yawning and nearly colliding with various villagers, Naruto made it back to his apartment in time to collapse face down onto the bed.
This is where we will have to leave it, I am afraid; he is only a kid after all, though a strong willed one, I wouldn't want a violent cliffhanger to be on his head right now. Hope people enjoy this, for some reason it took me longer to write than the last chapters.
The ideas come harder now, dangit, though I have one or two in regards to the ANBU introduced before, hee hee. Must be that writer's block that I have heard about. In any case, please read, rate and review and all that, it helps me to improve and I know there is huge scope for this improvement.
Erm as before if anyone has any bright ideas they would like to see in this fic and do not want to write it into their own story, feel free to let me know, if I like the idea in twill go. This includes general storyline, pairings, though no Yaoi or Yuri, no offence but its unrealistic + unwanted in Naruto (to my eyes, ears and more importantly in my fic).
Also no Main pairings that hundreds of fics already have, like Narusaku or Hina. Do not get me wrong, Naruhina rules, yet it has been done. Many times, hashed over and over. I dislike very much just taking ideas from others, or following generally popular trends.
I have the same approach when playing various TCG games, if anyone is interested, where is the fun in playing a deck that has been used before, that many know how to counter. Much better to make something crazy and original, to confuse and aggravate opponents.
Ok enough rambling, eh I shall not bother with the Translation bit at the bottom, if you do not know a Japanese or other word, poor you. Get used to it if you watch English dubbed Naruto Jap eps. (Do so they are the best).
Good luck with all of your own Fics and life in general people of the globe and finally good night.