A/N: Welcome to Chapter 1 of Ascension! I really appreciate the reviews for my prologue :D
Anyways, I'm enjoying writing the story so far. Once I get a feel for where it's really going, I'll start looking for a beta, but I'd rather not pick one up just to drop the story a few chapters in because I never really planned it out right.
Well, everything else I have to say can wait till after the chapter, enjoy!
Ascension
By TgCid24
Chapter 1: Welcome Home
In the master bedroom of his very own modest, yet stylish house, Naruto slept fitfully. Dreams, as they so often did, haunted him.
Naruto took his first break just a few hours outside of Konoha.
All in all, he was feeling pretty good. If the landmarks were anything to go by (and they usually were) he had already passed the spot where he and the rest of Team 7 had encountered their very first enemy shinobi...the Demon Brothers. At this rate he would be in Wave Country in two days, maybe less.
It was an odd feeling, he had decided, to be out on his own away from his home. He had been almost terrified to take his first step, but each step after the first made it easier and easier until it felt just like any other mission...only without a team to back him up...as in by himself...okay, so maybe he was still a little nervous.
He unceremoniously plopped his gear down, pulled out a pot and filled it with water from a nearby stream, lit a fire, and started the water to boiling.
While he was waiting for it to boil he turned his attention to the scroll.
"Finally!" he said...out loud...even though he was by himself...any other person might have thought that odd, but Naruto didn't seem to notice. "I get to see what the big secret's about. These jutsu had better be pretty damn good!"
He popped the wax seal that held it closed and started to unroll it. Well, at least he tried to unroll it. The scroll, however, remained firmly shut. Only a small flap would peel away, revealing nothing.
"What the?" he said to himself...again. He tugged on the open end of the scroll harder and got the same result.
Naruto growled in frustration and tried one more time. The minutes continued ticking on by while he continued his fruitless attempts to open the scroll.
He tried standing on the open end and pulling the scroll up; that ended with him planted tail-bone first in the ground.
He secured the open end under a large boulder and threw the scroll as hard as he could...then he had to waste time tracking down the still unopened scroll somewhere off in the woods.
The last thing he tried was banging the scroll against a tree, but that didn't really accomplish anything beyond stress relief.
Frustrated and hungry, he tossed the infuriatingly closed scroll on the ground next to his pack, dug out a cup of instant ramen, and stirred in the now boiling water.
Several minutes of ramen induced euphoria later, a much more relaxed Naruto returned to the puzzle that was "the scroll" and studied it once again.
After several long minutes of quiet contemplation he stood, left hand on his hip and right hand pointing defiantly at the scroll. "All right you damn scroll, OPEN!" he bellowed. The scroll continued to quietly mock him.
Naruto let out a defeated sigh and slumped back down in front of his new enemy, eyeing it distastefully. Why couldn't it just be something simple? Why couldn't he just yank one end of the scroll and watch it unroll?
Maybe there was some kind of technique he needed to do? Did he miss something Tsunade had said to him when she pulled the scroll out of the safe...?
"The safe?" he whispered to himself, looking back down at the scroll. Maybe it opens like the safe?
He dropped to his knees and studied every inch of the scroll. "No twistable knobs, so it's not a combination lock. Hmm...what did she do next?"
A brief image of Tsunade pricking her thumb on a needle flashed through his mind. He turned the scroll over so that the sealed portion faced up, bit his thumb, and smeared the blood across a nearly invisible line. His body quivered in nervous anticipation.
His blood slowly seeped into the paper and completely disappeared. At the same moment, kanji that read "blood seal" lit up and glowed, right where the blood had been.
There was a slight snick, like a knife sliding across paper, and the scroll came slightly unfurled.
"YATTA!" yelled Naruto, pumping his fist in the air victoriously. He burst into an excited jig and was halfway through it before he remembered why he had wanted to open the scroll in the first place: To read it.
In less than a second, he was on the ground in front of the scroll again. The first section of the scroll looked like a letter...addressed to him.
Dear Naruto,
Happy fifteenth birthday!
It's kind of sad for us to write that, knowing that if you're reading it, it means we probably never saw more than your first birthday.
On the upside of that, if you're reading this, then we stopped the bastard!
As we write this, the Kyuubi no Kitsune is burning a slow, methodical path towards Konoha. If that path holds true, we will have to engage him before the week is out. So, in preparation for the likely event that we will soon lose our lives, we have compiled the combined knowledge of our clans for you, our son, into this scroll.
Our son, it's an amazing feeling to just think those words. You won't be born for a few more days according to the medic-nin, but we already love you more than life itself
But information storage was only the secondary function of this scroll, as far as we are concerned. Its main purpose is to allow us to have at least some way to tell you that we love you; to pass on what little bits of parental wisdom we'll be able to; to tell you something that every child needs to know: Someone cares, someone wants to be with them, and that is our most fervent hope son; that we'll get to be with you.
If the fates don't smile on us and we're gone, please understand that it wasn't what we wanted, because we didn't want to leave you behind.
If everything did work out...well, you wouldn't be reading this scroll then. If everything worked out, but you're still reading, YOU ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE YOUNG MAN!
Hehe, anyway, we have a lot to do, so, before we finish off this letter and get to sealing everything into the scroll, allow us to impart our bits of parental wisdom.
Dad says: You'll be a great ninja some day, but the most important thing is not being a great ninja, it's being a great man. Always do what is right, even if it's against the rules. Do that, and I'll be a proud, proud man. A father couldn't hope for more.
As far as women are concerned...well, I'm just as lost as you probably are. All I can say about them is 1) Listen to what they have to say, absorb it, don't just hear it and forget, or you'll get hit, hard. 2) Never, ever listen to Jiraiya if he tries to give you advice about women...ever. I love you son.
Mom says: I love you, my baby boy! Be a gentleman, brush your teeth and wash all of your cracks and crevasses. If you become a ninja, then kick major ass. If you don't become a ninja, kick major ass at whatever you do become. No matter what happens, I'll be proud of you, because you're my son, and dammit, that's all I need to know!
With all of our love,
Uzumaki Kushina, Heiress and Last Scion of the Uzumaki clan
Namikaze Minato, Heir and Last Scion of the Namikaze clan, Yondaime Hokage.
Naruto silently mouthed the words "Yondaime Hokage" again and then paused to process what he had read.
"WHAT!" his scream echoed through the forest.
Naruto found himself feeling a lot of things all at once. A confusing cornucopia of emotion.
He was so sad that he wanted to cry, but he was so happy that he wanted to finish the jig he'd started when he opened the scroll. He was feeling at peace, knowing that someone out there had truly and deeply loved him, but he was so angry at his father for landing him with the burden his life had been that he wanted to scream.
All of his thoughts swirled together and threatened to overwhelm him. His heart was beating so fast it sounded like it was humming in his ear. He was taking quick shallow breaths. His eyes were darting around the clearing at random.
Finally, he snapped and vented his frustration in the only way that most men his age know how...by hitting things, hard. The poor trees never stood a chance, but the clearing grew by leaps and bounds that day...
Cerulean eyes snapped open and took in the unfamiliar ceiling above him. The blur of tears fogged the view for a minute before Naruto could groggily wipe them away.
Almost instinctively, he stretched a hand out to feel around for his parents' scroll, just to make sure it was still there, propped against the wall by his head.
With a groan, he rolled over and checked the clock.
4:45 a.m.
Naruto let loose another groan and rolled out of bed. It was early, but he'd never be able to get back to sleep now.
His tired gaze took in his brand new master bedroom and a small smile quirked his lips. The queen size bed was nice and squishy, just the way he like it, but other than that the room was a little spartan. Just a dresser, a small vanity that he assumed was his mother's, and a few random paintings. But all in all, it was much nicer than anything he was used to.
A loud buzzing noise shook him from his reverie. He'd forgotten that he'd set his alarm for five.
Quickly, Naruto went about his usual morning rituals. He dragged his bed cap off his head, tossed it on top of his comforter, and made for the shower.
After he was clean, all the way down to his smallest tooth, he tossed a chain mesh shirt on, covered it with his orange flak-vest, slid into his black combat pants, and slipped his long black cloak over it all. Giving himself a cursory once-over in the mirror, he nodded at his reflection and grabbed the strap of his scroll, secured it behind his back, and went to prepare himself some breakfast before his morning training session.
Naruto took no more than a few steps before he realized he had forgotten something. He turned back to has half emptied travel pack, rummaged through it for a few moments, and pulled out his old hitai-ate...proof that he was a Konoha shinobi, and damn proud of it. Now that he was back in the village again, he could wear it without fear. The small smile he'd been wearing since he woke up widened a little more.
Two hours later, a well-fed Naruto found himself staring at the doors of the Hokage's office for the second time in as many days.
The rabbit-masked ANBU to his right nodded in greeting and knocked once.
"Enter."
The ANBU pushed the door open for Naruto and waved him through.
"Yo," greeted a familiar voice.
Naruto pulled up short, sapphire eyes drinking in the all together unexpected scene.
"What's up, kid?" called another, just as familiar voice.
Kakashi leaned comfortably against one side of Tsunade's desk, and standing on the other side, arms crossed was... Jiraiya?
He hadn't expected to see the perverted old man any time soon. He'd just seen the man two months ago in Suna, on his way to the other side of Wind Country...how in the hell did he end up all the way back here?
"Ero-...sennin?" The old man's eye twitched in annoyance.
Before the Toad Hermit could respond, however, a groggy, pathetic voice interrupted. "Could you guys not yell?" Tsunade asked grumpily.
Now that Naruto's attention was drawn to her, he could see the blood-shot eyes and hastily applied make up; sure signs of an Obaa-chan hangover.
"Obaa-chan...have you been drinking?" he asked intelligently.
"Shuddap," she slurred, clutching her forehead. "Just...just take him to the training ground you two, give me some peace and quiet until I can get my coffee, neh?"
Kakashi, face in his book as usual, simply nodded and disappeared through the window. Jiraiya, however, laughed loudly at his former teammate.
"Ah, poor Tsunade-hime," he teased, "can't hold her sake."
Tsunade never lifted her head from her hands, but her fist connected with his face easily enough.
"Heh saw that coming," muttered Naruto.
Jiraiya, clutching his nose, turned to Naruto and said in a nasally voice, "C'mon kid, Training Ground 50." Naruto nodded and followed the man out the open window.
Once he felt they were a safe distance away from the tower, and Tsunade's wrath, Naruto spoke up.
"Neh, Ero-sennin--" Naruto paused for the obligatory threats the man always muttered when he heard his nickname, "What're you doing here? I thought you were going to check a rumor on the other side of Wind Country?"
"What, not happy to see me?" Jiraiya asked. "Surely you've missed my razor sharp wit; my indefinable, yet undeniable charm?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Naruto deadpanned, waving his questions off, "and you're dodging the question, old man."
Jiraiya's smiling face turned grim. "I can't tell you right now, Naruto. It's sensitive info, and until Tsunade-hime says otherwise, it's need-to-know."
An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Finally, Jiraiya broke it, "What's with the cloak? You didn't have it the last time I saw you."
"Pretty cool, eh? Gaara gave it to me the day I left Suna to come back home," Naruto said proudly, a wistful smile on his face.
"It makes you look kind of like an Akatsuki," Jiraiya remarked.
Naruto's face fell and Jiraiya cursed inwardly. He hadn't meant to bring anything like that up.
"Yeah," Naruto finally said, an obviously fake smile plastered across his face, "intimidating, isn't it?"
"Sure, kid," Jiraiya answered with a bright smile, his cheer just as obviously fake, "very intimidating."
The roof tops passed beneath the now silent pair in a blur. Within a few minutes, they were on the very edge of town and Naruto started to look around uneasily. "Ero-sennin?" he asked, breaking the silence.
The man grunted in acknowledgement. "Where exactly is Training Ground 50?"
"Heh, you'll see," Jiraiya said mysteriously. They continued on in a straight line, over the walls of Konoha and into the forest. A couple of miles out, they finally came to rest at the edge of a gigantic clearing.
Kakashi was already there, leaning against a tree, reading his book.
Naruto looked around curiously for a moment. "This place...it feels familiar," he said, mostly to himself.
His eyes searched the ground for any familiar landmarks, and then gradually made their way up into the trees.
Above a particularly thick branch in the tree on the opposite end of the clearing, Naruto saw three suspicious looking holes drilled into the trunk. A mental image overlaid itself onto that trunk...Sakura, trapped in a giant hand of sand, slowly being crushed.
"This is the clearing where I fought Gaara!" he blurted out.
Both of his former mentors chuckled and Kakashi spoke up for the first time. "Yeah," he agreed, "well...a few months after you left with Jiraiya-sama, the ANBU Demolition Squad requested permission to test some of their more...volatile experimental explosives. Hokage-sama didn't exactly want half of her village blown up just to test some new explosives, so she told them to find some place outside the village to do it.
"As you might have guessed, they found this spot and thought it was perfect. Pretty soon they started doing all of their test runs here...eventually it became a sort of unofficial training ground."
Kakashi eye-smiled at him, "Hokage-sama thought that you might need a little...um...space, to cut loose for you test."
"Cool," Naruto said, an evil grin spreading across his face, "I won't have to hold back too much then."
"You really think that holding anything back against Jiraiya is a good idea?" The Hokage's voice seemingly came from nowhere. She materialized right in front of them, clutching a cup of steaming coffee, and smirked at Naruto. "He is a Sannin, after all...even if he is a pervert."
"Super pervert, thank you very much," Jiraiya interjected, a smirk of his own directed at Naruto. "I won't be holding back kid. I really intend to push you."
Naruto's grin widened, the Sannin's smirks disappeared. "I'm fighting Ero-sennin? Let's do it then! I haven't had a good spar in a while," Naruto said happily, rubbing his hands together. Jiraiya simply nodded his agreement.
They positioned themselves a few dozen yards apart and bowed to one another. "Don't worry kid, I'll try not to kill you," taunted Jiraiya, running a hand arrogantly through his long white hair. Naruto's grin only got wider.
Tsunade appeared between them, an arm raised. "Ready?" she asked, and without waiting for a response, she chopped her hand downward and shouted "HAJIME!"
The word had barely left her mouth before she retreated to a limb just above Kakashi's spot. The Copy-nin had stowed his precious book to watch the action.
The two opponents stared at each other for a few seconds. "Are you going to fight or not?" called Tsunade. In response, Naruto lifted a hand to the strap across his chest, flicked the catch, and caught the scroll in one smooth motion. Without a word, the scroll disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a giant throwing star.
"I see he's gotten better with Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)," commented Kakashi.
Jiraiya smirked. "You should know by now that shuriken, no matter how big, aren't very effective against higher level shinobi," he said.
Naruto smirked, nodded, and threw the shuriken at him anyway. In a swift, smooth motion that belied the white hair and crow's feet around his eyes, Jiraiya dodged to the left, eyeing the shuriken as it went by.
'Not even a shadow shuriken? I'm insulted!' he thought to himself.
The Sannin turned his eyes back to Naruto...only to find him not there anymore.
His black eyes wandered carefully over the training grounds, all of his senses drawing chakra to enhance themselves, searching for any sign of his blonde opponent. A small rumbling noise alerted him at the last second and Jiraiya leapt to his right, avoiding the grasping hand that shot up out of the ground.
Catching nothing but air, the hand pushed against the ground and propelled Naruto the rest of the way out. He still had a big, stupid grin on his face.
The blonde blurred into a lunge, fist extended for a punch. Jiraiya tilted his head slightly, letting the fist go by, and slammed his own into Naruto's gut. "Too slow kid, too sl--" the Sannin's taunt trailed off when Naruto exploded into a cloud of smoke.
"RASENGAN!" shouted a voice from behind.
"Looks like Naruto's taking this seriously," said Kakashi, watching dispassionately as his former student appeared behind Jiraiya, a swirling ball of chakra in his hand. The rasengan drilled into the Sannin's back, sending him spinning across the clearing before coming to a stop with an almighty thud against a boulder.
"Yes, but I was hoping to see something new, they're both holding back a lot," sighed Tsunade, "I told Jiraiya I wanted him to push the kid, not play around with him!"
Naruto looked at his handiwork and smirked, even when Jiraiya melted into a mud clone.
The real Jiraiya materialized behind him and planted a kunai in his arm...Naruto exploded into a cloud of smoke again.
"Another kage bunshin?" Jiraiya growled, "haven't you learned anything new?"
"Of course I have!"
Kakashi and Tsunade started when a small tree next to them poofed into a cloud of smoke and revealed Naruto, still grinning like a madman.
"Wanna see?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, dammit!" shouted Jiraiya, scowling at his apprentice, "that's what we came all the way out here for!"
"Okay then, here goes nothing!" Naruto's hands quickly ran through a short series of seals, stopping on hitsuji (ram), and he bellowed at the top of his lungs: "Ninpo: Junbuu no Jutsu! (Ninja Art: Favorable Wind Technique)."
A breeze picked up around Naruto, rustling his hair and billowing his cloak out, flashing the orange vest underneath.
The others looked around curiously. After several seconds, they all turned their attention back to Naruto.
"Umm...Naruto?" began Kakashi.
"Hmm?" the young man responded.
"What exactly does that jutsu do?"
"Oh, not much, it's just a genjutsu I learned...I think it makes me look cool, don't you?" asked the blonde innocently. "With my hair and cloak blowing in the wind I look totally bad ass!"
Kakashi stared dumbly at him; Tsunade smacked her palm to her forehead and winced when it reignited her headache.
"You stupid gaki; stop screwing around and fight me seriously!" yelled Jiraiya.
Naruto looked around and, seeing that no one really seemed to appreciate his cool new jutsu, he shrugged and nodded. "Okay, if you really wanted to see some of my new stuff, all you had to do was ask." He stepped forward, back into the clearing.
"Did you see when he transformed into the tree?" Kakashi whispered to Tsunade once he was out of earshot.
She shook her head no. "Must've been when we were all concentrating on the shuriken, but, he'd have to be fast for that, really fast."
Meanwhile, Naruto was flashing through a long series of seals. "This one's an original," he explained casually. His hands stopped on the seal he usually used for Kage Bunshin and he called out: "Namikaze Naruto Hijutsu: Genson Bunshin! (Namikaze Naruto Secret Technique: Living Clone)"
"Living clone?" Kakashi wondered aloud. A visible amount of chakra swirled around Naruto, giving off an odd feel as it was molded into the technique.
The smoke cleared, revealing two identical Narutos.
"All that chakra for one modified shadow clone?" asked Tsunade, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Seems kind of...wasteful, doesn't it?" Kakashi could only shrug, he'd seen enough from Naruto over the years to know that he shouldn't underestimate him...no matter how much it seemed like he should.
"Ready to get serious old man?" the Narutos asked in unison.
"Whenever you are," Jiraiya returned.
Both Narutos blurred out of existence, the first reappeared in front of Jiraiya, throwing a quick jab to his face. Moments later, the other appeared, crouched beneath his counterpart, and threw a sweeping kick. Jiraiya deftly shoved the punch aside and countered the sweep with a sharp kick the ankle.
'Hmm...the one I kicked didn't disperse, not the clone then,' he thought to himself, his limbs blocking several more punches and kicks on autopilot.
Bringing his attention back to the fight, he began to study both Narutos' moves.
They were fighting in different, yet complimentary taijutsu styles; one seemed to rely heavily on smooth, purposeful, and powerful kicks while the other relied on precise, lightning quick punches. The punches were all straight forward jabs that he would normally just dodge, but all of the kicks were long, horizontal, and sweeping, keeping him from escaping.
'All right, your offense is pretty impressive...how's your defense?' Jiraiya mused. He dodged a punch from one, lifted his leg over a sweep from the other, chambered a kick, and loosed it at the puncher's face.
The kicker, his hands free anyways, continued his crouched spin and stood between the over-extended Naruto and Jiraiya, blocking the kick with a forearm and opened hand.
"Protecting your clone?" asked Jiraiya, sure that he'd figured them out. Both Narutos only grinned in reply.
The puncher launched a quick jab under his teammate's block, aimed at disabling Jiraiya's knee. The Sannin twisted in midair into a handstand and flipped away before he launched back into the fray, this time going for pure offense.
At least, he'd planned on going for pure offense. He had to dodge and block quick jabs from one of his oppenents every time he threw his own punch or kick, all of which were blocked by the other.
Eventually, when it became clear that neither was going to win the taijutsu battle, Jiraiya leapt back, threw a few kunai to keep the Narutos from following, bit his thumb as he landed on the opposite end of the clearing, and went into a familiar series of hand signs.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)."
A loud bang and a puff of smoke later, Jiraiya was crouched on the shoulders of a horse-sized purple toad with red spots on its cheeks and nose.
"Long time no see, Jiraiya-kun," said the toad.
"Ohayo, Gamabuki-chan," replied the Sannin happily.
"So, who're we fighting?" asked Gamabuki.
"The blonde haired brat over there," Jiraiya pointed towards Naruto and his clone.
"Neh? Naruto-san? What did he do?" asked the confused toad. Naruto and Naruto both gave him a friendly wave.
"Oh nothing, nothing, we're just sparring," Jiraiya assured him.
"Oh, okay then," replied Gamabuki, apparently satisfied, "Ready, Naruto-san?" he called. The blondes grinned and nodded.
"Are you sure about that kid? Gamabuki-chan here is a ninjutsu master!" Jiraiya taunted, patting the toad's head fondly.
"Neh, I wouldn't taunt him Jiraiya-kun," Gamabuki whispered urgently, "If half the things Gamakichi-sama said about him are true, he'll be a tough one to beat."
"Meh, we can take him," Jiraiya retorted, waving aside his companion's concern. "Go for the left one first; I'm pretty sure that's the real one."
"Hai!"
The toad's gullet billowed out, "Suisenbon no Jutsu! (Water Senbon Technique)."
Gamabuki expelled a breath, along with a giant, needle shaped blast of water aimed at the Naruto on the left.
Instead of dodging, both of them began sealing, simultaneously, with one ending on tiger, and the other on dragon. "Namikaze Naruto Ketsugou no Jutsu: Hiboufuuu! (Namikaze Naruto Combined Technique: Firestorm)."
One Naruto stepped forward and belched out a large fireball at the water needle. Less than a second later, the other let loose a gale force gust of wind. The flames fanned out into a giant searing cloud, moving across the field, incinerating everything in its path.
The water needle evaporated and Gamabuki and Jiraiya leapt to safety.
"Holy..." Kakashi murmured; his eye was widened almost comically.
"Great Kami," Tsunade gasped at the same time. "Have you ever seen a clone capable of doing that?"
Kakashi slowly shook his head. "It would use up all of its chakra, dispelling the clone before the technique was complete," he explained automatically.
Tsunade nodded in reply, a small smile spreading across her face. "Well, he's definitely gotten better then."
Kakashi's only response was to pull his hitai-ate up and activate his Sharingan.
Back on the field, Gamabuki launched a counter attack with Jiraiya--whose casual air had been replaced by a grim focus--shouting instructions from his shoulders.
"Trap them!" Jiraiya yelled. "Force them together!"
"Suiton: Teppodama! (Water Element: Water Bullet)," shouted Gamabuki, aiming to the left of the two Narutos.
Jiraiya hurled several shuriken to the right, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)."
"Suiton: Teppodama!" Gamabuki followed up, aiming directly between the two Narutos.
That left them with only a few choices: Don't move it get hit by a dense, fast moving ball of water that would really hurt; move to the right, into a steel curtain of sharp pointy things; move to the left, into a dense, fast moving ball of water that would really, really hurt; be driven together, as Gamabuki and Jiraiya were obviously hoping; or move upward, the only safe option they could find.
They chose upward; Jiraiya smirked.
"Do it," he said.
Gamabuki's tongue lashed out, lightning fast, and wrapped around the nearest one and hurled it across the clearing. The toad and the Sannin turned to their remaining opponent, intent on finishing him off.
The remaining Naruto landed in a crouch. He quickly formed two successive seals and shouted: "Mizugakure no Jutsu! (Hidden Mist Technique)."
The entire clearing was immediately shrouded in mist, hiding Naruto from view.
"Hmm, looks like he might be done, Gamabuki," Jiraiya muttered, "he's resorted to hiding. That's not like him at all."
Before the giant toad could respond, Naruto's voice echoed through the mist. "Fuuton: Kanpuu no Jutsu! (Wind Element: Cold Wind Technique)."
A blast of frigid wind swept across the field, herding the mist before it, revealing both Narutos. Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'Damn, hoped we'd gotten rid of one.'
Neither Gamabuki nor Jiraiya were paying too much attention to what happened to mist when it's cooled extremely quickly. All the moisture in the air hardened into small ice pellets...sharp ice pellets, carried on a very fast wind.
Jiraiya's instincts, well honed after decades of combat, screamed at him to move. In a split second, he'd leapt from Gamabuki's shoulders and into the trees above.
Gamabuki, unfortunately, wasn't nearly as fast. The frozen mist ripped through the toad, dispelling it in a small explosion of smoke.
Several seconds of shocked silence passed.
Finally, Jiraiya's face split into a wide smile and he turned back to the pair of blondes. "All right kid, you've passed the preliminary round, and now, it's time to end it."
He bit his thumb and flashed through the summon seals again, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
When the smoke cleared, Jiraiya sat on the head of Gamabunta himself.
"What?" The Toad Boss's eyes rotated back and forth before catching sight of Jiraiya. "DAMMIT JIRAIYA, MY WIFE HAD JUST BROUGHT ME MY LUNCH!"
"Ah...Gomen, gomen," Jiraiya said, smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head, "This won't take long! We're just about finished with Naruto's skill assessment."
"A test...you interrupted my lunch...for a test?"
"Um...yes?"
The great toad sighed. "All right, all right, just don't bother calling me for a few months after this, I won't answer! Now, let's get this over with, what do you want me to do?"
"Just help me finish up this spar, that's all," Jiraiya replied in a placating tone.
"OI!" Naruto Number One and Two called in unison from across the field, "old man! You gonna talk all day? I thought you said you were gonna end it?"
"Shut it, gaki!" Jiraiya yelled back. He turned back to his new mount, "Ready, Gamabunta?"
"Hai."
The Toad clapped his hands together, his great gullet expanded, and then spewed a fountain of oil.
"Katon: Gamayu Endan! (Fire Element: Toad Oil Flame Bullet)."
Jiraiya let out a deep breath of fire, igniting the oil.
The resulting molten stream rushed through heat distorted air, straight at the pair of Narutos. Both sprinted to the left, barely avoiding a painfully hot death.
Before either the Sannin or his amphibious mount could rally themselves and strike again, one of the Narutos leapt towards the other, transforming in mid-air into another giant shuriken. The remaining Naruto spun, deftly catching it in mid-air, and came around to face his opponents, ready to throw.
"This again?" muttered Jiraiya.
Naruto hurled the giant shuriken at Jiraiya, who calmly took one step to the left and yawned theatrically. If he hadn't been so busy showing off, he might've noticed the triumphant smirk on Naruto's face.
Instead of passing him by, the shuriken changed back into Naruto Number Two directly in front of Jiraiya, a smirk much like his counterpart's on his face. Both blondes shouted: "Bakuhatsu Bunshin no Jutsu! (Exploding Clone Technique)."
Jiraiya's eyes widened. Half a second later, his world exploded.
The ground rocked, the sky was covered in black smoke, and Gamabunta was dispersed back to his home, wherever that may be, back to his patiently waiting lunch.
The only Naruto left cast a glance to the trees to his left and grinned.
"That was a damn quick Kawarimi (Replacement), but you're still too slow, Ero-sennin," he shouted, echoing the perverted hermit's earlier taunts...and then he was gone. A brief flash of light, and he was just gone.
Before the displaced air could rush back in to the spot the boy had just vacated, before the flash of light could even register on any of the spectators' retinas, Jiraiya fell from his tree perch.
Well...maybe "fell" is too light a word.
He was launched from his tree perch by Naruto's fist.
A small cracking sound came from a spot to the right; the spot Naruto had only just disappeared from. Sound apparently, had needed a second to catch up to him.
The great Toad Hermit had barely landed before Naruto appeared by his head, a kunai pricking him just under his chin.
"Well, you were right about one thing Ero-sennin, it was time to end it," Naruto said with a cheeky grin.
"That was Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) wasn't it?" Jiraiya asked, acting for all the world like he and Naruto were sitting down for tea.
"Yep."
"When did you tag me?"
"During our little taijutsu match, my genson bunshin slipped the shiki (seal or formula) into your sandal when he blocked a kick."
"Sneaky bastard," Jiraiya grumbled.
"Shinobi," Naruto corrected, his grin never faltering.
"What about the clone...I could've sworn I hit it a few times, but it never dispelled...and how could it do so many jutsu without running out of chakra?" asked the older man.
"That's a little complicated. Like Obaa-chan said, it's a modified version of kage bunshin," explained Naruto, sounding far more...intelligent than usual. "I've been told by the few people who've seen it that the chakra feels funny when I mold it?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"That's because it's building fake muscles and organs. It isn't just a solid chakra construct, but a real, living, breathing being. It's life span still relies on it's chakra, but it is much more resilient than a shadow clone.
"It can mold chakra, it has it's own chakra source, and it has it's own chakra control. It's truly a living clone."
"So, you've basically got a teammate on call, whenever you want it?" asked Jiraiya
"Yep," Naruto said proudly.
"Nice technique," Jiraiya complimented him. "Does it still flood you with what it learned after it disperses?"
"Nah, we share a mind-link instead. We talk to each other in our heads. If I really wanted to, I could see through his eyes and hear through his ears, and he can do the same."
The sound of two hands clapping together drew their attention.
Naruto stowed his kunai and they both made their way to their feet to face the applauding Tsunade. "Well done, Naruto. I see you put your time to good use while you were gone. Wouldn't you agree, Kakashi?"
The Copy-nin hadn't moved; he was still leaning against his tree, staring unabashedly at Naruto.
"Kakashi?" Tsunade said again.
The silver haired jounin shook his head and blinked. "Umm...yes, yes indeed." He cast a suspicious glare at Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Tsunade apparently missed the look, she turned back to the panting master and apprentice as though nothing were wrong. "Well, I'd say the first part of your skills assessment was a rousing success, neh?"
"Yeah, you bet!" Naruto said still grinning. "Wait..." he continued, his grin slowly fading into a confused frown. "Did you say 'the first part?' As in there is more than one?"
The evil smile on Tsunade's face did not bode well...it didn't bode well at all.
Naruto sighed and went to retrieve his scroll.
A red haired young man stared out across the desert, ignoring the wind born sand blown into his face.
Behind him a group of Suna shinobi were busy readying supplies. As soon as the sun started to dip below the horizon, he, along with his advisors, body guards, and siblings, would set out on their journey.
October tenth was five days away. Traveling at a lazy pace, he and his entourage would reach Konoha in three-and-a-half.
"They had better make sure you do, because if they fail, we'll crush them!" shouted a high pitched voice in the man's head. His calm face never twitched; he just simply ignored the voice. He had learned long ago that he had more than enough will power to keep it in check. It irritated him, somewhat, that long after the source of the voice had been extracted, echoes of the voice itself still plagued him.
"In five days, Namikaze Naruto, you will have a real birthday, and if those fools in your village don't agree...maybe I really will crush them," the man muttered to himself.
In a small wooded clearing outside of Konoha, next to an empty shed, a masked shinobi knelt before a dark figure.
"The Jinchuuriki has grown strong, and he'll definitely be in the village for the festival," the masked man informed the other.
"Perhaps," the shadowy figure's voice grated oddly. "We shall arrange a little test. If he's strong enough, maybe he will be sufficient."
"Hai," the masked man agreed and disappeared.
A few seconds later, the shadowy figure did the same.
A/N: Well, there we go! My first action scene, which I think turned out okay.
I gave you a few hints of the beginning of the plot, and Naruto is starting to settle back in well enough. So next chapter we should see some of the Rookie 9, Gaara, Temari, and Kankouro, and Naruto's first meeting with Sakura since his return...maybe.
If I have enough time, I may fill you in on some more of his training, or possibly go over the rest of his skill assessment (traps and stealth is all there really is to that).
As far as the fight goes, you may have noticed that Jiraiya never even came close to Hermit Mode, or any of his hair techniques. They wanted to test Naruto relatively well, not kill him.
Likewise, Naruto was holding out plenty. He didn't use any of the techniques from his family scroll (sans rasengan and Hiraishin). I think I've got some neat stuff for you when he starts busting those out, or at least, I hope.
Well, review if you don't mind. Tell me what I did wrong, what I did right, or if I just plain suck and should never write again.
Original Techniques:
Please keep in mind that I suck at Japanese. I've done my best to translate things using online translators. If I've messed up, don't hesitate to correct me.
Ninpou: Junbuu no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Favorable Wind Technique) - An E-ranked genjutsu that Naruto picked up off a rookie gennin while he was visiting Grass country. Its practical purpose was to cool off it's user on a warm day by making him believe a cool breeze was blowing around him. Naruto just uses it because he thinks it makes him look cool. (Genjutsu is Naruto's main weakness, he only knows a few, and they are all C-rank and below)
Namikaze Naruto Hijutsu: Genson Bunshin (Namikaze Naruto Secret Technique: Living Clone) - An S-ranked original of Naruto's. Basically, it's a bastardized version of a shadow clone, but instead of just making a solid construct, his chakra actually crafts a faux living being; one capable of sustaining damage, using techniques, and thinking freely.
Suisenbon no Jutsu (Water Senbon Technique): Gamabuki's original technique. His chakra molds and condenses a blast of water into a large, four foot long needle.
Namikaze Naruto Ketsugou no Jutsu: Hiboufuuu (Namikaze Naruto Combination Technique: Fire Storm) - Naruto and his living clone do this jutsu in tandem (hence the name "combination technique"). One of them expels a large fireball (bigger than Sasuke's Goukakyuu, but smaller than Itachi's) and the other fans it into a raging storm with a blast of wind. A-ranked.
Bakuhatsu Bunshin no Jutsu (Exploding Clone Technique) - Naruto molds lightning chakra into his living clone, breaking a chakra specific seal (as in it only responds to Naruto's chakra) and activating a chemical reaction within the clones body; basically it makes a big boom, and that makes Naruto happy.
A Special Note On Naruto's Taijutsu: You will see an in depth explanation later, but, for now, suffice to say that he was using a bastardized version of his mother's and father's different styles. When he really gets serious, he only uses one, and he does it very well.
That's it for now. See you next chapter!
4/11/2008: Eheh...I kind of realized today that Shukaku had been extracted from Gaara a long time ago. I've gone back and added a slight addendum to that scene, hopefully it makes it a little more palatable :blushes sheepishly: