A/N: Just to let y'all know, all of the Souton (Plant Release) Jutsus I'll be using in this story are the ones I completely made them up, unless there's an (*) next to them. And hopefully they make sense, especially considering I made them up in Japanese because they sound more legit, at least that's my opinion. . . so yeah . . .
Jutsus used in this chapter:
1.) Mokuton: Shibu Shuriken - Wooden Release: Branch Shuriken
2.) Mokuton: Moku Shouheki no Jutsu -Wood Release: Wooden Barrier
3.) Souton: Jigoku Hanabari no Mai - Plant Release: Petal Dance of Hell - The caster sends his/her chakra to grow a black rose(s), the rose(s) then glows dimly as the petals scatter into the air, multiply, and sharpen before they surround the caster in a vortex of black petal. If the caster wished to, he/she can pulse his/her chakra and the petals will fly towards the target(s). (My own Jutsu)
4.) Souton: Budōnoki-hibari no Jutsu - Plant Release: Vine Binding Technique - By gathering chakra onto the user's hands, they'll summon vines, or tree roots from the ground to wrap tightly around the target, they can change the pressure of the vines and tree roots at will. (My own Jutsu)
["Demon talking to it's host (through a mental link)"]
/ Demon talking by possessing it's host /
' Thoughts '
Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Meeting a Lion Cub
June 3rd, 1988, 3:40 am
Senju Compound, Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni
[Cub, wake up. You're going to be late . . .] Matsu yawned widely, [" damn why he had to have training so damn early"] the wolf demon whined slightly, annoyed by a certain silver-haired man who decided to start Raiden lesson almost at dawn
"Five more minutes, Matsu." The boys pleaded weakly, turning around in his bed pulling his covers over his head.
The demon wolf shook his head at the sleepy boy and sent a tiny shock, effectively waking the boy and falling off his bed with a loud thump. Raiden glared while the demon wolf rolled around laughing his ass off. He always did enjoy tormenting Raiden now and then, especially in the mornings.
"Ugh, shut up and go back to sleep or something."
[Aww, don't be like that cub. You know I love you."]
Raiden smiled, "I know and I love you too even you're an oversized bag of fleas." He teased.
Matsu huffed and feigned looking hurt, he turned around and curling into a ball resting his massive head over his paws.
["Whatever, I'm going back to sleep. Try not to wake me up until the suns out."] Raiden waved it off and got dressed rather quickly. Thankfully, he decided to take a shower last night instead of early in the morning to save some time. Stopping by the kitchen, he grabbed an apple from his fruit bowl and left towards the training grounds 23 to wait for Kakashi.
He had a good ten minutes before Kakashi was due to arrive, so he sat down leaning against the pole and waited. He started to get annoyed when there wasn't a sign of the silver haired man anywhere on sight: half an hour past the time they were supposed to meet and Kakashi was a no-show.
Raiden closed his eyes and started to mediate, he might as well do something productive as he waited for his sensei to appear. Taking a deep, calming breath, Raiden cleared his mind and started organizing his minds as Matsu has taught him to do.
His own mindscape was separated into four individual sections, or rather barriers. The outer section and first wall of defense is a huge stone castle which will prevent most people from entering his mind. The walls are reinforced with his own magic and magical fire which will burn anyone who forces themselves into his mind, rightfully so.
The second wall of defense is a gigantic labyrinth with countless dead-end, booby-traps which were masked by Genjutsus Matsu helped him place. He has been thinking of adding couple demons and magical creatures as well, but he's not strong enough the place them, yet.
The third wall of defense is basically a dark, damp, dungeon where Matsu resides to scare the crap out of any intruders scouring his mind. Any intruder, whom passes through his two walls of defense, will have to literally fight against a demon if they wish to assess his mind or pull out before they get eaten by Matsu.
The four wall of defense is a house with endless doors with containing fake memories to confuse the intruders and mislead them from the heart of the house, the library which contains all of Raiden's true memories. The door to the library is directed keyed to his magic and chakra signature, locked with a locking charm cast in parseltongue.
He pushed more of his magic to reinforce the outer walls of his mind. He watched as the walls glimmer brightly as they thicken with the new power he pushed though. The fire changed colors as well, turning a bright blueish-green. Once he was satisfied with the changes, he pulled out of his mind and concentrated finding his chakra. It took him a few moments before he felt the uninhibited flow of his chakra. He felt it moved throughout his body constantly, like water flowing in a stream.
He was fully lost within himself that he never once noticed a certain silver haired man was poking his cheek continuously, trying to wake him up. It wasn't until the man swatted the back of Raiden's head lightly that Raiden opened his eyes and saw a pouting Kakashi standing right in front of him.
Raiden groaned slightly, "When did you arrive?" He asked as he stood up slowly dusting off the dirt from his shorts.
Kakashi pouted, "thirty minutes ago, but you were sleeping and weren't moving. I figured I'll poke you until you woke up but no matter how much I poked you didn't budge." Raiden shrugged.
"It's not my fault you were late. I got here at four in the morning and waited thirty minutes for you to arrive, but you didn't so I figured I might as well do something productive and mediated." Raiden told the man.
"Aren't you going to question why I was late or be mad I was late?" Kakashi asked the raven haired boy, bummed out he wasn't getting chastised or yelled at by the raven haired boy.
Raiden shrugged lamely, "Meh, it's too troublesome to get mad for something as insignificant as being an hour and a half late. I'll just find a way to get back at you." Raiden smirked impishly making Kakashi chuckle nervously.
He holds his hands up defensively, "maa maa. No need Raiden-kun. I'm here and we can start our lessons." He shifted away from Raiden and put his Icha Icha Paradise book away. He didn't want Raiden to accidentally damage his precious book.
"I was expecting you so to be a little mad and I had this whole lesson planned out, but you're no fun so I'll just get to the lesson." Kakashi grunted disappointed his student wasn't mad at him. Most people would've yelp at him for making them wake up early and have them wait for him, but apparently Raiden wasn't most people.
Raiden raised an eyebrow and kept silent as the man sulked childishly as if someone took his favorite toy away. "Okay," Kakashi started. "Before we start there are couples of rules you must learn and memorize if you wish to be a ninja. They're called the Shinobi Rules." He paused dramatically, looking extremely serious.
"Rule #10: Being on time is only a suggestion, so leave people waiting for you unless it's urgent. For example: be on time or early IF you received a summons from the Hokage or if there's a new Icha Icha Paradise out." Kakashi closed his eyes and nodded seriously.
Raiden stared at the man with a straight face and nodded...Oddly enough, it made sense to him. Perhaps, Kakashi wasn't that bad after all.
"Rule #5: Doors are evil. . ." Kakashi shivered dramatically, "you NEVER know what evil may lie behind doors. . . So enter and leave out a window. It's much more practical." Kakashi grinned, on the inside he was laughing maniacally.
'Yes! My minion, heed my words and obey!'
Raiden sweat dropped heavily, 'is he serious?' He asked himself waking up Matsu.
["He's a bit paranoid but does have a point. There may be an ambush waiting for you behind a door for all you know. Plus, it'll be fun watching people's expressions when you jump in and out windows as you please."] Matsu snickered.
Raiden rolled his eyes mentally at the demon wolf and ignored him.
"So a good Shinobi is always late; unless it's urgent, and only uses windows to enter or leave a room, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, my young pupil. Following those simple rules and you'll become a great Shinobi someday. They're more rules you'll have to learn but those can wait, are you ready to start?"
Raiden nodded, "Hai!"
"Alright, from what I understand you already know the theory of chakra and how it works so I don't need to explain that. Do you know what the five chakra affinities a person can have?"
Raiden looked pensive for a second and nodded slowly. "There are five affinities a person can have at birth, which are: Katon - fire, Suiton - water, Doton - earth, Fuuton - air, Raiton - or lighting." Raiden stated.
Kakashi smiled. "Yes, a person is born with the ability to control one of the five elements with the proper training. They could even learn how to use other elements if they train hard enough. Do you know which chakra affinity you have?"
Raiden shook his head. "No, but my Mokuton and Souton combines both water and earth chakra inside the trees and plant life to control it, or at least that's what it said in the book I read." He paused for a second and asked, "Both that mean I have water and earth affinity?"
Kakashi frowned slightly, "While it's true that you combine both water and earth chakra to use you're Mokuton and Souton. It doesn't mean you'll have water or earth affinity, because both, Mokuton and Souton are technically a type of Kekkei Genkai; meaning they're bloodline limits that only the Senju can use. Just as the Uchiha have their Sharingan and Hyuuga have their Byakugan. Only they can inherit their Dojutsu while anyone outside their clans can't. Do you understand?"
"Yes, it makes sense. But if I don't have water or earth affinity, what do I have? And why is it relevant? It's not like I'll be able to learn any Jutsus yet."
Kakashi took out a piece of paper and handed to him. "It's relevant because, before we start I'll need to know which chakra you have affinity to so I can teach you a few techniques to help you control the element you can. It's the first step you must take and master before you start learning jutsus. Not only will it help you have a stronger connection to your elemental affinity, but it will make your jutsus strong if you have full control of it first."
"Now, this piece of paper isn't just a piece of paper, it's made by infusing neutral chakra. It helps an individual see which element they have affinity towards by simply pushing some of their chakra into the paper." Kakashi explained.
He got another chakra paper out and tucked it in-between his index and middle fingers, sending some his chakra into the paper, demonstrating his own affinities. Slowly the piece of paper began to get soggy and drip water. "If the paper gets soggy, it means you have water affinity and you'll be able to perform Suiton jutsus." He change his chakra and the paper slowly began to dry and crumbled into dust. "If the paper begins to crumble on itself, you have earth affinity and you'll be able to perform Doton jutsus."
He took out another paper and it started to smoke before it caught on fire. "If the paper starts to smoke and catch fire, you have fire affinity and you'll be able to perform Katon jutsu." He quickly changed affinities and used his water affinity to put out the fire before it burn completely. Once the paper was fire-free and dry, he sent his last affinity and the paper scrunched up. "If the paper crinkles, you have lighting affinity and you'll be able to perform Raiton jutsus."
"And finally, if the paper tears in half, you have air affinity and you'll be able to perform Fuuton jutsu. Unfortunately, I do not possess air affinity which is quite rare in Konoha, usually everyone has fire affinity or earth affinity." Kakashi shrugged putting his hands into his pockets. "Now, you try it. Send your chakra to your hands instead of your feet and focus."
Raiden gulped, "okay. Here I go." He said and he sent his chakra to his hands. It took him a while to direct his chakra to his hands without making the paper sprout a tree or plant as he's used to. He watched in awe as the right side of his paper started to scrunch up while the left side caught on fire." He smiled brightly, jumping of joy as he discovered his affinities. Kakashi clapped his hands together, but gawked as he felt a slight breeze before Raiden's paper was cut down in the middle.
Kakashi rubbed that back of his head, 'hmm not bad. Three out of five affinities it quite the accomplishment. For a kid his age, most fully grown ninjas only have one, or two.'
"Congratulations, you have fire, lighting, and air affinity. Now that we know what we're working with we can start out training. Since you've mastered the tree climbing exercise, we'll move onto the next level which would be simple kunai levitation." He took out a kunai from his weapon pouch and laid the kunai on his palm. Slowly, the kunai began to glow and rise up from his palm as if it was being pushed by an invisible force.
"The next level would be making the kunai stand straight up on your palm or finger." Demonstrated, making sure Raiden was paying close attention. "Once you master making the kunai stand up with ease you'll learn how to rotate the kunai and shoot it using only your chakra." The kunai began to rotate fast before it zoomed through the air with a loud whoosh and embedded itself of a tree. "These techniques are extremely difficult to master and would take you years to master them at my level. But if you work hard I'm sure you'll be able to master them by the time you're a Chuunin."
"Do you really think I'll be able to master them, Kakashi-sensei?" Raiden asked quietly, not making eye contact with the man.
Kakashi smiled softly at the blushing boy. He knew Raiden wasn't used to being complimented or praised by his skill, thanks to his previous family, but the boy was extremely bright and diligent when it came to his work ethic.
During their travels, Raiden wouldn't take no for answer when Kakashi asked him to stay at the fire camp while he went to hunt. Raiden, the stubborn little brat, would fight against him and demand he do this share and help with the hunting and foraging for food. The boy would return carrying couple of rabbits, or dragging a deer if he got lucky.
He knew Raiden was going to master the chakra techniques rather fast. There was no doubt about it. "Yes, I KNOW you'll master them in no time. Just do what I say and you'll be fine."
Raiden nodded sharply, his green eyes blaze radiantly with determination. "I'll do my best, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi ruffled his hair. "I know." He stated firmly, knowing Raiden was going to follow through. He asked Raiden if he brought the kunai he gave him yesterday and the boy took it out from his pocket.
"Perfect, now set the kunai on the middle of your dominant hand and relax. . . Take a deep breath. . . In. . . And out. . . That's it."
"Now, collect tiny amount of chakra onto your hand and tell me what you feel." Kakashi said softly as he observed the amount of concentration on the boy's face.
Raiden narrowed his eyes as he felt his chakra accumulate on his right hand. He could feel his chakra rushing into his hand and encircling around his palm. "It feels alive. . . Like as if it was a massive whirlpool and the kunai is right above it. It feels chaotic, electrifying, but safe and comforting."
Kakashi tilting his head to the left; "Okay, try pulling away the chakra from your hand slowly. Just barely, enough chakra so you can feel your hand warm."
Raiden nodded. He focused and willed his chakra to move away from his hand and back into his core. Little by little he felt the difference as his chakra felt less chaotic and tamer. "It feeling less wild now; is that normal?" He asked.
"Yes, when you start doing this exercise you'll always be putting too much chakra onto your palm and when you push it into the kunai the kunai will blast off. If you put too little chakra, the kunai will not levitate. You have to push just the right amount of chakra to make it levitate, there's no set amount of chakra you have to push since everyone has different chakra reserves. You'll have an enormous chakra reserves thanks to your little friend." He motion towards his stomach.
"Now, push the chakra in your hand into the kunai slowly." He told the raven haired boy.
"Okay," Raiden replied. He pushed his chakra into the kunai slowly, making sure not to force everything all at once. He felt the kunai heat up on his palm, but it didn't budge. He looked disappointed that he couldn't do it the first time, but it didn't expected to do it on his first try. He pushed his disappointment away and tried again.
Kakashi watched as Raiden continued to try over and over again with no success. He offered little advice from time to time, but otherwise he continued reading his book.
Raiden had beads of sweat accumulating on his forehead and was panting slightly. Kakashi noticed and stopped him thirty minutes in their lesson. "Okay, that's more than enough for one day." He glances towards the sundial and notice it was seven in the morning.
They started their training around 5:30 in the morning and been at it for a good hour or so. He needed to make sure Raiden doesn't overwork since Yamato will be coming by teaching how to use his Mokuton. Raiden wiped his brow with the sleeve of his shirt and pocketed his kunai.
"Are we done for today?"
Kakashi hummed. "I'm afraid so, gaki. There will be another instructor stopping to teach you how to use your Mokuton. He's the only other Mokuton user we have and he had agreed to teach you."
Raiden eyes lit up with excitement. "There's someone else like me?" He asked ecstatically.
"Err, he's not related to you, per say. It's quite complicated and I'm sure he'll explain if you ask nicely, but he can use Mokuton. He's is not as strong as your grandfather, but still powerful." Kakashi explained.
"Ohh, but he'll be able to teach me right?" Raiden asked.
"Of course, he'll be assessing your skill and create a plan to teach you, but you must be polite and show him respect." Kakashi said seriously. "He'll stop by your compound around noon, so stay alert for his arrival and don't tell him I'm teaching you, got it."
Raiden nodded rapidly. "Hai, don't tell anyone." He paused, "what about your rules? Will they still stand or should I wait until I start school to implement them?"
"That's actually a good question. Never thought about it. . . It would look rather rude if you do always late before you're a Genin. So I guess you'll have to wait, but Rule #5 still stands."
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!"
After Kakashi left, Raiden decided to explore the village some more to familiarized himself with his new home. Konohagakure no Sato was simply beautiful. He loved how the village was surrounding by nature and how the forest was bustling with life and its inhabitants respected each other. It was a huge difference from Surrey, especially the weather. He could finally could work on his tan he's been developing since he left.
Raiden was about to go into the local bookstore when he heard a loud yelp of a boy and decided to investigate. He followed the yelp using his heightened hearing and saw a group of men cornering a blonde child against a dark alleyway. It was clear to him the child was panicking and nobody else's seems to care or even attempt to help the child, so he went in.
"Look what we have here boys, it's the demon freak boy. How about we teach him a lesson he ain't gonna forget." The tall, stocky man sneered at the boy while his companions cracked their knuckles and agreed. Raiden stiffened as he heard the man called the blonde boy a 'freak' just as his uncle used to call him. Anger rushed through his system as he continued to hear the men approaching the child.
"Yeah, let's teach the freak a lesson he will never forget." A second man snarled as he got ready to charge.
He saw the boy eyes widen and crumbled into a ball trying to tuck his head between his knees to avoid and punches or kicks to the head. Raiden saw enough. If nobody was going to help the child, then he'll step in. If he was in the child's position, which he has, he'll want someone to help him. Raiden picked up a medium sized rock and threw it hard at the charging man. He watched as the rock smashed against the man and the man tripped falling face first against the floor.
"Oi, pick on someone your size." He yelled, making the three other men turn around to look at the one who threw the rock
When their eyes landed on him, they all laughed. "Look guys," one of the thugs exclaimed, "This brat is trying to help out the demon freak. Oi, kid! Get lost!" He sneered, "Wouldn't want your mommy and daddy, worrying about 'ya." One of them sneered.
Raiden grabbed another rock. "And leave you here to beat up someone four times smaller than all of you, no way. You're all bunch of cowards for hurting a child, no less." He saw as tick marks appeared on their foreheads and turned red filled with anger as they were insulted.
"How about we deal with this wannabe hero first; guys!" Another thug said, "Let's show him who's he's messing with."
"Yeah, why not; it's not like he'll be much of a challenge." One of them said and they all charged at him.
Raiden narrowed his eyes and sent some chakra towards his feet to help him move fast. He grabbed couple more rocks and dashed through them. They all stared as the raven haired brat disappeared in a flash. They stop and look around to see where the child is and can't find him until three rocks were sent flying at one of them and knocks him out.
Raiden laughed as he sees their surprise looks on their faces when he knocked out one of them. "Not so tough are ya?" He dashes towards one of them and kicks him in the groin making him see stars and faints holding his precious family jewels.
The remaining one growls at him and sees his partner sneak behind the raven haired boy and grabs him tight not letting him go. He smirked as the child struggled to free himself but can't."You should've been paying more attention demon lover. Now you'll pay for what you did to my friends. Yo Ichiro, hold him tight, would ya?" He said as the man holding onto Raiden smirked nastily.
"Of course, boss!" Ichiro replies, tightening his hold around Raiden as the leader of the thugs use Raiden as a punching bag.
Raiden eyes widen as his air is knocked right out of him from the heavy blow to his gut. He choked as he sucks in air and hears the men laugh at him. "Not such a big shot, are ya?" The man holding onto him sneers.
He feels another punch collides against his left eye, efficiently blinding his eye shut. He hissed painfully, "is that the best ya got!? My mother hits better than that!" He taunted through his pain.
The man redden and is blinded with fury. Blow after blow he hits Raiden and the boy continues to taunt, hiss, and spits at the man. He waits until the other man is uncontrollable and makes his move. He stomps on his captor's foot with all of his weight and head butts the man's chin and kicks him on his crotch. The man's grip loosens around Raiden and he falls to the ground yowling in pain. He quickly moved punched the other thug right on his chest making him gasp for air. The thug wobbles a bit trying to catch his balance and weakly meets the Raiden's eyes.
Having enough of the fight, Raiden released a bit of his killer intent and scares the man. He grinned devilishly at the man, his green eyes darkens promising a bloody death. Having blood running down his mouth, a black eye sealed shut and still standing helps to create a rather scary image and the man stumbles back and flees screaming for his life. Raiden pulls back his killer intent and laughs. He groans as his body protests and tells him to take it easy.
["Oh cub, that was hilarious. You've become quite a scary sight. I'm so proud!"] Matsu cheered and sends some of his chakra to heal the damage and soothe out the pain.
Raiden slowly made his way to the blonde boy but trips, falling onto his back. He cursed out loud and closed his eyes, "Oi kid! Are you alright?" He asked out loud but doesn't get an answer. He felt a shadow on him and he opened his one good eye and meets a pair of brilliant azure blue eyes and a halo of golden blonde hair. He sees a pair of adorable whisker like marks on the kid's cheeks and giggles.
"Hello, Mr. Lion Cub. Are you okay?" He watched as the boy flushed pink and Raiden smirked.
"W-why . . .?" The blonde child asked quietly, barely meeting his one good eye.
Raiden frowns at the question, "Because it was the right thing to do and nobody was going to step in." He told the boy frankly.
"B-but w-why me . . . ? Nobody ever tried to help me because they say I'm a demon. . . A freak who deserves to. . ."
He didn't get to finish what he was going to say as he heard a terrifying growl erupt from the raven haired boy. "Don't you dare finish that sentence or I'll snack you back of your head."
"You are a human being who shouldn't be calling ridiculous names or let others bigger than you beat you up." Raiden fiercely stares at the blonde transmitting as much honesty and understanding as he could. When the blonde sees he's being sincere, it makes the blonde boy tear up.
Raiden eyes soften, as he sees the loneliness behind those crystalline cerulean eyes. "Plus, I wouldn't be a good friend if I allow my friend to get beat up, or would I?" The blonde couldn't take it any longer and he breaks down. A tidal wave of emotions hit him and he starts to cry uncontrollably.
'A friend. . . He said I'm his friend. . .' The thought to himself and feels something warm tingle in his chest. He smiles softly, "friend," he tests it out, liking out it sounds.
Raiden sat up slowly, holding the blonde boy tightly. He looked like the blonde needed a hug, and the blonde clung to him as if his life depended on it. Raiden wrapped his arms around the blonde's slender shoulders and rubs soothing circles onto the blonde's back comforting him.
The blonde tightens his grips and he winces a little but keeps his pain at bay. It wouldn't do good to let the distraught boy know he's unintentionally hurting him by putting pressure onto his broken ribs.
After couple of minutes the blonde calms down and sigh softly as his chest feels much lighter. He realizing he's nuzzling into the raven haired boy neck and backs away awkwardly. He blushed heavily and chuckles awkwardly.
"Hehehe. Sorry about that." The blonde says quietly not meeting his new friend's eyes.
Raiden snickered lightly, "no problem. We all need a shoulder to cry on, now and then."
The blonde rubbed the back of his head meekly. "How did you move so fast!? It was like you disappeared in a flash! And then you appeared and knocked two of them out. It was so cool! Are you a Genin? I've never seen you before?" The blonde bombards him with questions and Raiden looks at him strangely wondering how much can he keep going without taking a breath.
Naruto notices the intense look of his new friend's green eye and blushed brightly.
"Don't apologize. I was wondering when you were going to breathe." He joked.
"Hehehe, sorry I tend to talk a lot." The blonde said quietly.
Raiden waved it off. "Nah, it's alright. But to answer your questions: I used my chakra to run faster. I'm not a Genin yet, and the reason you haven't seen me is because I'm new. I moved in yesterday and I'll be starting the Academy next year? What about you?"
"Whoa" He gasped loudly, "Really? So am I!" The blonde exclaimed. "I didn't know you could use chakra to run faster. Do you think I could do it too?" The blonde asked curiously.
"Hmm, well it's really hard to learn how to do it correctly but I'm sure you can manage it." Raiden smiled.
The blonde smile broadens, and his eyes twinkled brightly, like tiny little stars lighting up the midnight sky. His smile only damped when a loud, growling stomach was heard and the blonde blushed brightly and gave a nervous chuckle.
Not to embarrass his blonde friend, Raiden got up slowly and felt relieved as his bruises have healed completely except those that were noticeable like his swollen black eye. It would rise too many questions which he didn't want to deal with.
His jaw still hurt from the sharp jab he received which meant he couldn't eat anything solid until he healed.
"Hey, you never told me your name?" Raiden said to the blonde.
The blonde's eyes widen and face-palmed himself. "I forget about that. I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'll be the next Hokage, Dattebayo!" Naruto puffed out his chest and posed triumphantly.
Raiden grinned at Naruto. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto. I'm Senju-Potter Raiden, but you can call me Raiden. And I believe you'll become Hokage someday. I can see it in your eyes." He saw the passion the burned brightly in Naruto's eyes. Of course, Naruto hasn't realized it yet nor have the villagers, but Raiden certainly has.
Something made him want to help the slender blonde accomplished his dreams. He didn't know why, but he wanted to protect the blonde from the world; perhaps it's because they're similar in a sense, or something else he didn't quite understand.
Naruto smiled brightly at his new friend, 'he believes in me!' He screamed joyfully in his mind, basting in the warm feeling he felt rush through him. It gave him hope that perhaps he's dream isn't as farfetched as he thought.
The small blonde boy is too busy feeling hope, that he completely misses Raiden's last name which the raven haired was glad. He wouldn't want his first friend to befriend him for his clan name. He wanted a friend who'll like him because he's Raiden, and not SENJU-Potter Raiden.
"We'll, little lion. How about we go somewhere to eat? I, myself is starting to get hunger. What do you say?"
Naruto scrunched up his nose adorably, and Raiden wanted to coo at the smaller boy. He could totally imagine Naruto as a lion cub, especially with his unruly, spiky blond hair.
'Oh Simba! Naruto totally looks like him. That's his new nickname.'
Matsu snickered, ["seems like someone is quite taken by the blonde,"] the wolf demon wiggled his eyebrows and smirked.
Raiden blushed and mentally glared at the wolf demon. 'Hey, it's not my fault he looks so adorable.' Raiden defend himself and pointed at the pouting blonde. Matsu glanced at the blonde and took in his appearance.
The blonde has a slender, almost feminine body and was shorter than other boys his age. He had wild, spiked-up blonde locks and surreal blue eyes that you could spend hours looking at them, getting lost within the sapphire pools for an eternity. He had three identical scars on each cheek that resemble whiskers, making him appear like a lion cub or a baby kit.
Matsu sensed something was wrong with the boy. He smelled too much like a Kitsune and had some demonic chakra around him, but it was too faint. Matsu looked at the boy and whistled, ["you sure know how to pick them, cub. He'll make a great uke for you."]
Raiden felt his cheeks burned up, not knowing what an 'uke' is, but by the lecherous smirk and the wagging of his eyebrows, it must be something perverted. He remembered the time when he saw two guys kissing and asked Matsu why they were kissing, it was short to say that Matsu decided to give him a short and brief lesson on how humans reproduce, he gave a brief overview nothing too graphic but Raiden got the idea. When Raiden asked why he told him, Matsu stated he was mentally capable to knowing; despite his young age, Raiden was much older mentally.
Meanwhile; Naruto tilted his head to the side confused by the drastic change of pallor Raiden had.
'MATSU!I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THAT I'M EIGHT YEARS OLD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU PERVERT!'
Matsu snickered. ["Tell me what you think once you're older and let's see if you change your answer. Now go tend to your blonde, he's getting antsy."]
Raiden ignored the perverted wolf demon and shook his head. He assured the frantic boy he was fine.
"I'm alright, little lion. I just need to eat something. Do you know any good places? My treat,"
Naruto smiled madly and shook his head, completely ignoring the nickname.
"I know the perfect place! Come on follow me!" Naruto took Raiden hand and they bolted through the village towards a Ramen Bar, the same one he wanted to try out, Ichiraku Ramen. As soon as Naruto sat down, a beautiful teenage girl with long brunette hair and soft brown eyes smiled at Naruto fondly.
"It's great to see you Naruto-kun! Same as always," She asks knowing exactly what the blonde boy was going to order. She had always had a soft spot for the boy and it angers her how the villagers treat him. It was obvious to her that Naruto always wore a mask to hide his sorrows and loneliness from others and it broke her heart.
With her dad's help, they always welcomed Naruto to their Ramen Shop and talked with him about whatever the blonde wants to talk about and slip in couple of vegetables into the boy's ramen without him notice.
"You know it, Ayame-nee-chan!" He grinned at his surrogate older sister.
Ayame noticed the raven haired boy next to Naruto and looked puzzled. She's never seen the boy in the village, perhaps it's a traveler', she thought. Naruto noticed the strange look on Ayame's face and smiled brightly as he introduced his friend.
"Oh this is my new friend, Raiden! He kinda stopped couple of the villagers from beating me up and chased them away! It was so cool! You should've seen it!" The blonde exclaimed waving his arms in the air as he retold the story. Ayame's eyes widen and leaned over to kiss Raiden cheek making him blush as a reward for saving Naruto.
Teuchi heard the story and placed a huge bowl of Ramen in front of Raiden. "It's on the house for your heroic deed. And it seems you'll need this as well." He handed him an ice pack to his black eye. "It helps for the swelling. Enjoy!" He said as he went back making more Ramen.
Raiden blushed. "Ehh, it was nothing. I'm sure Naruto would've done the same for me if our situation were reversed."
Ayame approved of Naruto's first friend and was glad he found someone who isn't like the villagers. She knew was being genuine and would help Naruto if needed. She let the boys talked with each other and attended the other customers.
Raiden closed his eyes as he inhaled the delicious aroma of his ramen and felt his stomach grumble."This smells amazing." He commented.
Naruto nodded feverishly, "it tastes thousand times better than it smells! Try it!"
Raiden chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm and took his chopsticks and dig in.
Naruto waited to see Raiden's reaction to his favorite food and brighten as he saw Raiden's good eye widen and moaned at he ate earnestly. Satisfied by Raiden's reaction, Naruto followed suit and devoured his bowl of ramen and asked for another.
"Whoa, that's way better than I thought it, was going to be!" The raven haired boy said as he ordered another bowl.
Stopping at his third bowl, Naruto slurped up the noodles and swallowed. "See, I told ya were gonna like it! Another bowl Ossan," Naruto yelled making Teuchi chuckle as he served another bowl to the hungry blonde.
Stunned by the amount of bowls has eaten so far, Raiden wondered how many more the blonde was going to eat. Each bowl wasn't small exactly and he was already getting filled by his second. He wasn't going to get another, yet the blonde didn't look fazed.
Teuchi placed two more bowls in front of Naruto and smiled as the blonde devoured them in frenzy. After the tenth bowl Naruto finally began to slow down and rubbed his satisfied belly. Raiden asked for the check and paid the nice sized bill and thanked Ayame and Teuchi for the wonderful meal.
"Ahh that hits the spot," Naruto hummed to himself feeling satisfied.
Raiden looked at the blonde and sweat dropped. 'I'll need to be carefully when I invite him again. Thank Kami I had enough money.'
"Oi, Raiden what would you like to do now?" The blonde asked nervously.
He glanced at the clock inside a store and still had three hours to kill before that Yamato character came by his house. "Hmm, I have to be home in three hours but until them I'm all yours. Why don't find something to do." The raven haired boy says shrugging.
Raiden put his hands behind his head and ignoring the venomous looks people were shooting Naruto and the puzzle looks they were shooting him as they walked side by side.
Naruto taps his chin thoughtfully and thinks of things they could do together. He was bummed Raiden had to leave soon, but they'll be able to hangout tomorrow, he hopes. "Oh! I know." He grins mischievously making him appear more like a fox than a lion. "How do you feel about pranks?" He asked.
Raiden returns the wolfish smile and smirks handsomely. "I think this is a beautiful start for a beautiful friendship."
June 3rd, 1988, 3:00 pm
Southern District, Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni
"Oh man, I can't believe they didn't see it coming! It was like so obvious!" Naruto swiped a tear of laughter as they made their quick get away from their victims. Raiden chuckled, agreeing with Naruto fully. He didn't actually expect their victims to fall into their prank so easily.
How were they not suspicious of an abandoned box sitting out in the open with a don't open sign on it and they still chose to open the damn box, only to get chasing around by a pack of angry squirrels all around the village.
"That was too easy! Next time let's make something more flashy, what do you say?" Raiden suggested as they walked towards his house.
Naruto nodded rapidly. "Yes! We could make some stink bombs and places them around the village and waited until they're triggered by unexpected people."
"Hmm, we'll need to buy some of those timer tags we saw at the joke shop until we learn how to make our own." He said thoughtfully, "do you have enough water balloons?"
"Yeah, I have plenty of water balloons we can use and I could get started working on the sludge we'll need. . . Hmm it might take us a while to plan everything out but it should be ready by next week."
Raiden hums quietly to himself. "That's fine. We can buy the timer tags tomorrow and test a couple out. We need to time each tag so they'll explode at the same time. I'll see if I could find a book that teaches us how to make our own. It'll come in handy in once graduate the Academy."
They arrive at the Senju compound, Naruto's jaw to the ground at the sheer magnitude of it all. It was by far the largest compound Naruto has ever seen, with the expectation of the Uchiha compound, of course. Raiden didn't seem like those rich kids who are always parading how much money they got nor shoving it in his face. Or totally stuck up.
"Whoa, you didn't tell me you lived in a mansion. That's so cool!" The blonde commented.
Raiden shrugged. "I didn't think it was necessary to tell you. Sure, it's really big, but I live here all alone since I'm the last of my clan and inherited all of this. You know, if I wasn't too busy tonight I would've invited you over for a sleepover."
Naruto stiffens, he stares at Raiden intensely, "do you meant that?" The blonde asks hesitantly and shyly.
Raiden nods, "of course. What about tomorrow? You can come over and we'll have sleepover. We could spend the whole day coming up with new pranks and train for a bit. It'll be fun!"
Naruto smiled softly, he launched himself towards the taller boy and hugs him tightly not wanting to let him go. Today has been Naruto's best day ever and it was all thanks to Raiden who saved him from getting sent to the hospital by those men.
"It's okay, little lion. I'm not going anywhere and if you ever need a place to hide or visit me, you're always welcome here." He hugged the blonde boy before he ruffled his hair. Naruto pouted, his cheeks darkening pink. "Why do you call me little lion?"
Raiden chuckled at the embarrassed blonde. "Because of your three scars on each cheek and messy blonde hair makes you look like a baby lion. Or a baby kit when you come up with a new prank and grin madly. It's quite cute." He states matter-of-factly.
The poor boy reddens by being called cute. Boys aren't meant to be cute, they're handsome not cute. But it's not his fault he's a good few inches smaller than other children his age and had a slender frame. Not completely, effeminate but lithe. He hoped as he grew up he'll catch up to Raiden height who was five inches taller than him and a year younger as well. He was nine years old turning ten this year, while Raiden just turn eight and Raiden was taller than him! It wasn't fair!
"I'm not cute. I'm handsome!" Naruto glared at the raven haired boy affronted.
Raiden hold up his hands defensively trying to appease the blonde. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay you're handsome not cute, got it. . . But that's not going to stop me from calling you little lion." Raiden smirked.
Naruto touched his scars gently. He has never liked his scars much because it made him feel different from children. He never knew how he got him.
"If you don't like it I could stop calling you little lion." Raiden added a bit worried he was making Naruto self-conscious. He really liked his whiskers. It suited him.
Naruto shook his head. "Err. . . It's alright. I kinda like it but. . . Can you only use it when we're alone?" He says coyly, looking away.
It embarrassed him slightly, but he liked it. He wanted Raiden to be the only one to call him 'little lion' because that's what friends do, right? They give each other nicknames. Which meant, he'll have to come up with one for hi as well..
'Hmm he did have abnormally sharp canines like Kiba did, but his hair was pitch black like the fur of a wolf. And those green eyes seemed like they could glow in the dark. They were so green and pretty... Dog-breath was taken by Kiba, but Raiden didn't like a dog. He was wilder like a wolf. . . Yeah, it fitted him. Okami' He thought to himself. "Hmm, sure I'll just call you Naru while we're with others and little lion when were alone."
Naruto's azure eyes sparkled with joy that it made Raiden feel happy.
"Okay, see you tomorrow Rai!" The blonde said happily as he waved before he walked away with a huge grin on his face. Raiden shook his head at the blonde. "See you tomorrow, Naru!" He waved back before he open his gate and waited for Yamato to appear.
He was in the middle of pulling out weeds from his garden when he heard someone knocking at the gate. He pulled off his gloves and wiped off the sweat which had accumulated on his forehead.
"I'll be right there!" He yells out loud and walks towards the gate and spots a tall, well-built man with short brunette hair and dark brown eyes. The man appears to be around Kakashi's age group if he had to guess, around his mid twenties. He wore the traditional Jounin gear which consistent of a green flak jacket with a whirlpool insignia on the back of the jacket. He wore blue pants and Jounin approved foot gear. His hitai-ate was on his head plate that looked similar to his granduncle's, Senju Tobirama, wore hishead plate.
Raiden opened the gate and let the man in. "Sorry, I was busy tending the garden. I assume you're here because of Lord Hokage orders, right?"
Yamato smiled weakly, he scratched his chin. "Yeah, he asked me to help you with your umm 'special skill.' Is there a place where we could practice at without being seen by others?"
"Ahh, well you see the compound is heavily warded by privacy, anti-theft, and malicious intent tags that prevent anyone from entering without my permission. I kinda forgot to tell Lord Hokage that?" He scratched the back of his head laughing sheepishly.
"But, I'll tell him tomorrow. To answer your question, nobody but us could see what we're doing within the walls."
Yamato was impressed. It would certainly make things much easier for them. He noticed the boy had a black eye and asked what happened.
Raiden laughed, "Ohh a group of men were going to attack a boy and I stopped them not before they gave me this, but it didn't matter as they got it much worse. Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it." He growled as he remembered those men. Yamato eyes widen at the sudden surge of raw chakra the boy let out as well as the protective growl.
"I'm sure they won't be messing with either of you anytime so soon. Out of curiosity who was the boy the men were going to attack." He asked the raven haired boy.
Raiden features soften, "oh it's Uzumaki Naruto! He's a great boy, I don't know why the other villagers hate him, but I'll protect him since he's my new best friend! We're going to the academy together!"
Yamato is definitely going to report this back to the Hokage. He didn't dislike Naruto as did the other villagers and he hadn't spend anytime near him either so he couldn't really judge him. He was, however glad he has a friend now.
"I'll let the Hokage know about the incident. Now shall we begin?"
Raiden nodded.
"How about you show me what you can do so far. Just don't exhaust yourself too much, if you're feeling light headed stop immediately." Yamato told him and stood there watching Raiden as he started.
Raiden shook his hands and centered himself. He took a deep breath in and brought his hands together going over multiple hand signs, "Mokuton: Shibu Shuriken!" He yells out and tree roots erupt from the ground and they transform into wooden shuriken. The wooden shurikens were sent hurling towards its target which was a test dummy across the field. Yamato's eyebrows shot up surprised by the accuracy of the wooden shurikens.
"Mokuton: Shibu Shuriken!" Raiden tries again and instead of sending them flying as he did before, Raiden picked up the shurikens and tosses them individually at another target. Six out of ten shurikens make contact with the test dummy and three out of six were death strikes.
Raiden collects more of his chakra and forms different hand signs. As he finishes the long chain of signs, he claps his hands together before he bends down to touch the ground, " Mokuton: Shouheki no Jutsu!" Tree roots erupted from the ground merging together to create a sturdy wooden barrier in front him.
Panting slightly, Raiden wipes the sweat from his face and raises his arms into the air. Channeling his chakra into his hands, he pulls out weeds from the ground and wraps around the wooden barrier he made. He does the tiger sign and yells out, "Souton: Budōnoki-hibari no Jutsu!"
The weeds start to constrict breaking the wooden barrier by each passing second. Raiden drops his hands, and opens his left palm. He sends his chakra to his left hand and makes a beautiful black rose bloom from his palm. He sends chakra to his feet and dash toward his wooden barrier. He climbs to the top of the barrier before he leaps off and spins in the air. The black rose emits a strange red-ish glow before its petals surround Raiden, multiply in number of petals. "Souton: Jigoku Hanabari no Mai"
The petals glow ominously, a dark-ish red color and become extremely sharp to the touch. The petals circle around Raiden as if they were protecting him in a deadly vortex before they descend at in a incredible speed towards the wooden barrier breaks with the onslaught of the petals. Raiden descends gracefully with a blinding smile plastered on his face. The jutsu was beautiful, but extremely deadly from the damage it caused around the surrounding area.
Yamato wasn't expecting such high levels of Ninjutsus from a child his age and not only that but they were all effective. His Mokuton jutsus he performed were incredible, but not flawless. It was clear to him he hasn't mastered yet, but in due time it will be perfected.
The Souton jutsus were stunning, but he can't really give his input as he doesn't have any knowledge of Souton. He'll have to analyze the jutsus closely as dissect it.
Raiden is panting heavily. The last jutsu took a lot out of him; much more than he anticipated. "How was that?" He asked breathless walking towards the brunette man.
Yamato cleared his throat. "It was rather remarkable. I surely wasn't expecting such skill at such a young age." He praised the boy.
Raiden blushed. It has been a long time since he actually got to use any of his jutsu. It was liberating.
"From what I've gathered you have great chakra control and know how to distribute; which is great. You're Mokuton is powerful, but it's not refined. It'll take couple of years for you to perfect it and I'll be helping you speeding up the process. It's clear to me you'll have to trouble and you'll be able to surpass my own Mokuton one day, especially considering you inherited by your bloodline."
Raiden tilts his head to the side, "what do you mean? Didn't you inherit through blood?"
Yamato shook his head. "No, I'm not a descendant from the Senju nor do I carry any passive genes which would've allowed me to use Mokuton naturally. . . My situation is rather complicated." He said hesitantly.
"You don't have to tell me if you're not ready. I don't really care that you somehow got my clan's Kekkei Genkai, as long as you don't abuse it. . . It actually great that you do have it, I thought I was going to be the only one and I have no idea how to use it to it's best abilities" He smiled sincerely at the young man. Yamato looks gratefully at the boy.
He knew he'll have to tell Raiden how he ended up with Mokuton, but he's not ready yet. "Thank you, I'll tell you once I'm ready. I promise" Yamato assured the boy, he oddly felt comfortable with Raiden for some strange reason.
Raiden shrugged, "it's fine. Plus, you're helping me how to improve my Mokuton, without you I'll have to figure it out on my own."
Yamato nodded. "Okay, let's begin . . ."
June 3rd, 1988, 8:00 pm
Hokage's Office, Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni
"Ahh, Yamato." Sarutobi said slowly as the brunette man entered his office to report his training with Raiden. "How did it go?"
Yamato sat down on the chair. "It went better than I expected. Raiden not only is a great student, but he's attentive paying close attention to what I say and ask questions when he doesn't understand something. I'm not surprise if he surpasses me in couple of years." Yamato stated amused as the Hokage's eyebrows shot up.
"Are you sure?" He asks the ANBU who was still wearing his Jounin uniform.
Yamato nodded. "More than positive, he had Hashirama's blood running through him and he's extremely talented. Did you know he could not only make wooden shurikens, but also launch them as they transform. His wooden barrier is still faulty, but can withstand two of my water bullets before it break apart. And don't get me started on his Souton. He used weeds to strangle his wooden barrier cracking it. He then made a stunning petal dance of sharp black rose petals break his barrier and destroyed two other trees nearby.
His chakra control is better than most Chuunin and knows how to use it properly." He babbled on, proud of Raiden's current skill. He knew Raiden was going to become a great Shinobi someday.
Sarutobi puffed on his favorite pipe. "That's great. Do you have anything else to report?"
"Yes, when I arrived Raiden was sporting a nasty black eye. According to him, a group of villagers were about to corner Naruto when he heard the cries for help. He saw nobody was trying to help Naruto and he went in there to help Naruto. He incapacitated two of the men before the third of caught him and the fourth one punched him and kicked him. Raiden took the punches while taunting them. He waited until his captors loosen his grip and incapacitate him; while the fourth one high-tailed when Raiden released his killer intent.
And apparently, the pair of them were spotted throughout the village. They've become friends and Raiden is highly protective of Naruto. He said he'll protect Naruto from others who wish him any harm."
Sarutobi smiled. "Wonderful, I was going to introduce them to each other but it seems I don't have to. I'm glad they found a friend in each other." He blew out the smoke from his pipe.
Yamato took out the note Raiden gave him and handed to the Hokage. "Raiden asked if I could give you this. He apparently found the reason why nobody could enter the Senju compound before."
Sarutobi took the note and skimmed through it. His eyes widen as he read the contexts and pocket it. "That explains a lot of things. I'll speak to him tomorrow. You're excuse Yamato." Yamato bowed and left the room.
"You're full of surprise, aren't Raiden?" Sarutobi said looking out from his window, watching as the sun began to set over Konohagakure no Sato with a small smile on his face.