Naruto: Journal of Hope
After the second half of the Chunin Exams Naruto is passed over by Kakashi to train Sasuke. Angry, he storms out and runs far away to an almost forgotten place. There he stumbles across a journal, written by his mother and holding the secrets of his lineage. Inspired by his parents' love, hope and dreams, he decides to become the Ninja his parents believed he could be.
Chapter V: Elements of Change
It had been almost two weeks since Naruto started his training, and only two and half weeks until the finals. During that time, Naruto steadily and quickly improved since then. Thanks to the Shadow Clones, he had begun to refine his Chakra Control by having multiple Shadow Clones practise basic Chakra Control Techniques. His control was far better now that he could use the regular Clone Jutsu without it coming out like a deflated version of himself.
His Taijutsu form was still at its basic, but now Naruto didn't look like a thug swinging his fists around all the time. Jiraiya had taught Naruto the basics of a few taijutsu styles he had learned in his younger years that would serve as a solid foundation. It was a Taijutsu style he had developed with the aid of Sarutobi-Sensei before he went to Mount Myoboku.
Regardless, the Sage knew it would be a long time before he learned the Frog Kata.
Then there was also his mentality, after the harsh lesson involving the Genjutsu, Naruto had taken a serious inventory of himself. He had realised that by always rushing ahead he was potentially putting himself and others in danger. Especially those that he considered his friends and comrades in arms. It had scared him to think that his actions could impact those around him, and he wanted to make sure that something like that would never happen.
For him to improve mentally, Jiraiya began to teach the boy some meditation techniques. A little exercise designed to temper his impulsive behaviour. He also continued to read over the tactics and strategy guides for increased strategic knowledge. This was not to say it got rid of all his mannerisms, and he still had some of his impulses. Such as his tendency to call people by nicknames, such as Pervy Sage, Busy Brows and so forth. But now he was starting to use his head more than his gut.
Jiraiya had also taken the time to teach Naruto how to dispel Genjutsu. It was still by far his weakest of Ninjutsu, but at least now he could dispel low-level Gentjutsu, possibly mid-level given another week of clone training.
But hopefully, his opponents didn't use Genjutsu.
As for his Summoning, he could now summon a proper Toad. Well, a small orange Toad named Gamakichi and his younger brother, a small yellow Toad called Gamatatsu. But it was better over the tadpoles he had been summoning a week earlier.
The Nine-Tails however was the hardest part of his training. After the Genjutsu incident, Jiraiya learned that intense anger and emotions are what helped to bring out the power of the Nine-Tails. But given that Naruto would be in a state where his emotions would get the best of him, he decided to find another means of drawing out the Nine-Tail's power.
Several Naruto Clones continued balancing on logs, as they focused on maintaining their Chakra Control while keeping the log upright in the water. Another group kept reading Sealing Jutsu Fundamentals, while others read up on history and tactics. Sealing Jutsu was a lot harder than he initially thought, but he was determined to eventually learn the Art of his Ancestors.
The real Naruto was once again practising his Taijutsu, fighting off his clones as he instructed all his Clones to come up with group tactics and ploys to throw him off, guard. His Taijutsu skill had improved, thanks to fighting himself and Jiraiya. But it would still be a long time before could master a specific Taijutsu Form or hope to beat Neji in a straight-up Taijutsu fight.
That was why they were practising strategies to overwhelm Neji.
Naruto stood in the centre of the field, wearing only his orange pants, black shirt and sandals as he gestured to his clones. They nodded to each other, as prepared to attack. Two clones threw Kunai at the Original, and Naruto dodged or deflected the attacks. Another two got in real close and parried their blades with his, as sparks shot off from contact.
He jumped back as he pulled two Shuriken from his pouch and threw them at the clones. The clones exploded into smoke, right as two others threw Kunai tied with Ninja Wire as they wrapped around his wrists. The Clones held him in place, as two others rushed in and slid and kicked his feet up. Naruto fell to the ground as three more attempted to stomp on his stomach. But Naruto focused Chakra into his arms as he momentarily increased his strength and pulled the Clones holding him down, freeing himself from their grasp and rolling out of the way of the Three kicks. Naruto breathed out tired breaths as he smirked.
"Alright, that wasn't bad. But we need to increase the Number of Clones holding down the wire, otherwise, Neji could just break free like I just did," he said as the Clones nodded.
"What if we throw in Paper Bombs? That might work?"
"Yeah, buts it's still only an exam, we don't want to kill the guy,"
"Well, we need to make him pay for Hinata! He had no right to put her down like that!"
"But we can't let our emotions get the best of us again, otherwise we'd end up getting hurt,"
"Or worse, end up hurting someone we care about," the Clones discussed with the Original as they all shivered at the memory.
"Still hate that Pervy Sage made us see that," he said as he felt his hand begin to shake at the memory. "But still…I guess we needed to see it, knock some sense into our thick heads, huh?" he asked himself.
"Couldn't agree more, kid," he heard as he turned to see Jiraiya walking over to him.
"Ah, there you are, Pervy Sage," Naruto said as he dispelled the Clones and felt the information rushing back to him. "What kept you?" he asked as Jiraiya sighed.
"Stop calling me that, anyway I was running a little late because I had to pick up some things," he said as he grinned. "It's time for the next phase of your training, Chakra Transformation," he said as Naruto grinned.
"Alright! Now we're getting to the good stuff!" he felt excited. "So how does this work?" he asked as Jiraiya pulled out pieces of paper. "Paper?" he asked as the sage nodded.
"Yep, but not just any ordinary paper. This is Chakra Paper, special paper made from trees that feed on Chakra. They will react to one of the five Chakra Natures. For example…" he held the paper as he channelled Chakra into it. The paper instantly caught on fire and crumbled to ash.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed as Jiraiya smirked.
"When Chakra is applied, the Paper will react to your Chakra's Nature. What you just saw was my main Chakra Nature, which is Fire. It goes like this, Lightning Chakra Crumbles the Paper, Wind Splits it in Half, Water makes it Wet and Earth turns it into Dirt," he explained, Naruto picking this up thanks to the clones reading over the lessons. "What we're going to do now is determine your Chakra Nature, then we can focus on honing it," he said as Naruto nodded.
"So, does this mean Fire Style is all you're good at?" he asked as Jiraiya shook his head.
"No, you can use other Jutsus, but it's preferred to master your initial Nature Transformation to increase its power. Plus when you get older and train more, you can effectively use more than one Chakra Nature…" he held up another piece of Paper and channelled Earth Nature Chakra as the Paper Crumbled to Dirt. "I believed I explained this a while back, but one isn't limited to just one Chakra Nature. A Jonin can use up to two or three types of Chakra Natures, which can be acquired with enough training. But it's more preferred to Master your initial Element." he explained as Naruto nodded.
"What about Ice? I fought against someone who could use Ice a while back in the Land of Waves, what element does that fall under?" he asked as Jiraiya nodded.
"Well, that is by a combination of two elements, Wind and Water. However, it's near impossible for ordinary Shinobi to combine two Chakra Natures into a new one. Those that can use both at the same time possess a Kekkei Genkai, a Bloodline Limit. The First Hokage himself was famed for his Wood Style Jutsu, where he could combine Earth and Water to create Wood. Although, no one else aside from him has ever been able to replicate Wood Style Naturally," he explained as Naruto nodded.
"Whoa…hey, so how come no one else has been able to use Wood Style?" he asked as Jiraiya shrugged.
"No one knows, it was believed the First Hokage possessed a powerful life force that only his Earth and Water Style could naturally create Wood. Others have tried in the past, but the results have been fruitless and the Wood Style was classified as a Kekkei Genkai," he said as Naruto nodded. 'Not to mention all those sick Experiments Orochimaru conducted on those children just to try and replicate the First Hokage's power…' He thought to himself as he recalled the investigation into his once-former friend. "All right, enough history lessons, time to see what you have kid," he said as Naruto grinned and snatched the papers.
"All right, time to see what I can do!"
"Hold it, you only need to use one-!" he trailed off as he watched the papers in Naruto's hands.
One Paper Split evenly down the middle, indicating that he possessed Wind Chakra. But the other two were different, one became Soaking Wet while the other Crumbled into nothing but dirt as the pair stared at the papers.
"Huh? Why did three of them react differently?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya narrowed his gaze.
"Could it be…" he said as he took one of the spare papers. "Try it again Naruto…" he said as Naruto took the paper and applied his Chakra. This one split down the middle like the first. "Okay, now hold another…" he said as Naruto took a second one, while it became soaking wet.
"I see…It's possible but…" he said as Naruto raised a brow.
"But what Pervy Sage?"
"Well, it's possible that due to your vast amounts of Chakra, the Paper could only identify your most dominant Chakra Nature. So when you grabbed the others, they reacted to your other Chakra natures. So instead of having just one Chakra Nature, you have three," he said Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a sense of pride.
But the memory of the Genjutsu flashed across his mind, as the terrified Sakura gazed into his soul, and he pushed down his impulse to boast.
"So this means I have to master Three Different Elements now, right?" he asked as Jiraiya blinked at the boy's lack of boasting.
'I half expected him to boast about that…Must've been because of the Genjutsu…' he surmised as he nodded. Glad that that event more than knocked his Godson down a peg though the old sage wished he didn't need to be so rough.
However, It would be far worse if that happened when Naruto was out on a mission where he could freeze up and get himself killed. Better in a controlled environment rather than out on a mission where an enemy would have no such mercy
"Exactly, it won't be easy, even with the Clone Trick. But nothing ever is. So the trick now will be to have you learn to mould your chakra into that specific Element. After that, we can get started on learning some Elemental Jutsu, and a few Ninjutsu I've found that could be perfect for you," he said as Naruto nodded.
"Okay, so what do I do first?"
"Well, make three hundred clones. And then split them into groups of three groups of a hundred each. One group will focus on Wind, while the other two will focus on Water and Earth. For the wind Element," he snatched a stray leaf from the air. "You must take a leaf and cut it using your chakra," he instructed as he handed the Leaf to Naruto. "Seeing as Wind is your primary, you will be focusing on that Element first. Wind Chakra is the best at Close to Mid-Range Attacks, so you must make your Chakra Sharp,"
"As for you other clones, they must take this dirt," he scooped up some dirt and held it in his palm, "And use your Chakra to turn it into stone. Like this," Jiraiya clenched hands around the dirt as he focused his chakra on the dirt, the bits of dirt forming together until he opened his palm and in its place was stone.
"Whoa!" Naruto said as he looked over the stone. "So, what about water?"
"That one will be tricky," he said as he handed him another leaf. "You need to use your Chakra to draw the water out of the leaf until it dries up, like the ones you see in Autumn. My advice would be to hold it by the stem, so you don't confuse your sweat with the water. You'll know when you succeed when you can draw out a drop of water the same size as the leaf," he said as Naruto nodded.
"And this is all the first stage of training, right? Learning how to change my Chakra into that element?" he asked as Jiraiya nodded. "What about Lightning and Fire?"
"Well, similar to cutting the leaf, but you have to make the centre burn, like this," he grabbed a leaf in mid-air and held it between his two fingers. In no time at all, the leaf began to smoke before it burned. "But seeing as you don't have Fire Nature, we'll come back to it at a later date. As for Lightning, you have to generate a spark between two pieces of metal. Learning to charge your Chakra into a spark of electricity," he said as Naruto nodded.
"So, in a sense, anyone can use all the elements, right? It just takes time and practice" he asked as Jiraiya nodded.
"Correct. You may not know this, but the Old Man, the Third Hokage, can use all of the Chakra Natures. But it took him decades to master them all and you've got a method that accelerates the process. I say given a year or two, you might be able to Master all Five as well. See, reading all those books has been good for you," he joked as Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, some of it still flies over my head, but I'm picking up a lot more than I ever did before," Naruto admitted.
"Well, a good education will do that. Now let's get started, Group Wind and Water, go grab as many leaves off that tree as you can. Group Earth will pick up the Dirt and turn it into stone and finally," he instructed as all the Clones and Naruto nodded as they got to work.
The Wind group held their palms together as they focused on cutting the leaf with their chakra, a lot of grunting and groaning as they tried to make their Chakra Sharp. While the other group was trying to compress their Chakra into the Dirt to make it hard as Stone. The Water group was having the most difficulty, as they struggled to draw the water out of the leaves.
Jiraiya sat under the tree as he wrote in his notebook. Occasionally he kept an eye on Naruto, in case he accidentally tapped into the Nine-Tails Chakra. While it was his goal to eventually teach Naruto how to tap into the Tailed Beast's power, after seeing how anger could trigger a reaction, he decided to stock up on suppressing seals Minato had created a while back.
'The kid is determined, I'll give him that. Anyone else would've given up by now. He certainly inherited the better traits from those two…' he stopped writing as he looked up to the sky. 'Minato…Kushina…I had a lot of regrets in my life….Chasing after Tsunade for all those years just to be rejected, not stopping my friend Orochimaru from going down a path against the village, and not being there for your son. That one is probably my biggest one yet…' he closed his eyes as he imagined he was speaking to them now.
'I can't take back the time I lost on him…but I am determined to be here for him now. To make up for my mistakes and help guide him to be the Hokage he dreams to be. I just hope you can forgive me one day…' he thought, unaware of the ghostly figures that stood behind him. A hand on each shoulder as they watched their son proudly.
'…Oh, and Kushina? If I somehow die and see you up there…please don't kick my ass! I swear I didn't teach him that perverted Jutsu!' he mentally gulped as he imagined Kushina's image slightly shifted to her angry form while Minato backed off in fear.
He opened his eyes again as he heard one of Naruto's cheers as a small cut was made on one of the leaves.
"How about that…"
Meanwhile - Konoha Cliff Training Ground
Kakashi Hatake - Former Apprentice to the Fourth Hokage, Former Anbu Captain and Current Captain of Team 7 gripped the side of the cliff as he attempted to climb up with only one hand behind his back. If Gai was here, he knew his unofficial rival would try to climb the cliff with both arms tied behind his back.
"For this climbing exercise to be so difficult…damn…I've gotten out of shape…" Kakashi lamented as he continued to climb up the cliff. "I just hope I can make it in time…" he said to himself as he recalled the meeting he had with the Hokage and the other Jonin.
Two Weeks Ago - Joint Meeting
The news still struck them hard as the Hokage finished informing them of the tragic news. Hayate Gekko was slain. Most of them had known Hayate since their days at the Academy, some of them even served on the same Genin Team when they were young. One especially had a deep and intimate relationship with the man as she hid amongst the rafters.
"Wha…Hayate was…" Kakashi began as the Third Hokage nodded.
"His body was discovered this morning by Kikyo Castle. It would appear that he was killed using a powerful Wind Style Jutsu," Sarutobi informed as Anko glared.
"Was it…Orochimaru?" she asked as she still harboured deep anger at her former Sensei.
"We can't assume it was Orochimaru that struck the blow. Hayate was more than likely tracking the same Spy that tried to grab Sasuke at the Hospital, Kabuto Yakushi. But even though it wasn't Orochimaru, it's clear he is up to something," Kakashi surmised as the other Jonin nodded.
"Then we must cancel the Chunin Exams if Orochimaru is plotting something for the village…" Raido recommended until the Hokage shook his head, much to their confusion.
"No, Orochimaru revealed himself to Anko and urged us not to cancel the Exams. Currently, the exams have brought Shinobi from across all our Shinobi Allies," he said as one of his Advisors, Homura Mitokado, turned to him.
"What do you think it means, Saru?" he asked his old friend.
"Given what we know about Orochimaru, he bears a strong hatred for the Leaf Village, and he has enough strength to crush a village on his own. Since he left the Village years ago any number of Countries would want him as an ally rather than an enemy," he said as Raido shook his head.
"Impossible! No village in the alliance would betray another! Or even ally themselves with that traitor!" Raido exclaimed as the Third Hokage narrowed his eyes.
"The thing is the Treaty we have with the Other Villages is only as binding as any verbal agreement. As we've seen multiple times with Great Ninja Wars." Kakashi explained as Raido lowered his head.
"In any case, we have few little details to go off, there's no point worrying needlessly. It's all just idle speculation," Sarutobi explained as the Jonin nodded.
"We've dispatched Anbu Black Ops members to the other countries to gather as much intel as we can gather. We would be fools to act too hastily, and it might be what our enemy is waiting for…" the Third Hokage's Second Advisor, Koharu Utatane, advised alongside her companions.
"Besides, no matter what happens I have complete faith in all of you. If the time comes when our enemy shows their fangs, we will assemble our strength and fight back! For we are Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf! And we will not let our enemy take us down!" Sarutobi declared as all the Jonin nodded in approval, feeling the Will of Fire burning within them.
Present Day - Konoha Cliff Training
Kakashi felt invigorated at the memory of the Third Hokage's words as he continued to climb the cliff. His grip started to slip, as he focused his chakra on his brain and opened his inner gate.
He then flipped over the rock and landed on a higher ledged as he pulled himself up higher. But as he got higher, he noticed someone was standing over him. He looked up to see Sasuke Uchiha standing over him, hands in his pockets as he smirked.
"Took you long enough…" Sasuke said as Kakashi narrowed his gaze.
"Heh, so you finally showed up…" Kakashi said as he jumped over and untied himself. "I was beginning to think you'd be asleep for the entire time, then you'd miss out on some needed training," he said as Sasuke glared.
"I already wasted enough time resting, I need to get stronger," he said as Kakashi nodded.
"I know, I know. In case you are unaware, I'll catch you up, you will be facing Gaara of the Sand in the Finals. Gaara is a tough opponent, with mastery of a versatile Sand Jutsu. He was able to critically injure Rock Lee during his fight, so much so that Rock Lee may never be a ninja again," he explained as Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"I see…did you learn anything useful?" he asked as Kakashi sighed.
"Nice show of concern for your fellow Leaf Ninja…" he commented. "But yes, during his match Gaara was unable to initially keep up with Lee's intense speed. Luckily for you, I managed to record Lee's fighting style with Gaara using my Sharingan, so I will be able to teach you the same fighting style. Though I digress, you will not be able to replicate his exact speed, seeing as Lee spent years training in weights to achieve that level of speed. But the problem will be Gaara's Sand Defence, which itself is impressive and almost impenetrable…" Kakashi explained as Sasuke nodded.
"So, I will need a Jutsu that can bypass his defences," he said as Kakashi nodded.
"And for that, I will teach you one of my Jutsus," Kakashi said as he held up his hand. "This was a technique I created back when I was only Fifteen Years old and is considered an A-Rank Jutsu that might be just the thing…"
He went through a series of hand signs, before grasping his right wrist with his left hand and started gathering Chakra in his hand. He then changed the Chakra's Nature and Shape into powerful streams of electricity. The electricity sparked all around Kakashi's palm as Sasuke stared in awe.
"This…is the Chidori…" he explained as Sasuke stared with his Sharingan a blaze as he marvelled at the power of the technique.
"And this…this will help me against Gaara?" he asked Kakashi nodded. "And then…will it help me get my revenge?" he asked with a dark glare as Kakashi stared at Sasuke with concern but nodded.
"It will…But I must heavily stress, this technique I designed is meant to protect the ones you care about. You must never use it on your comrades, do I make myself clear?" he asked as Sasuke merely glared before shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Yes, I understand," he said as Kakashi still felt some concern, but nodded all the same.
"Very well, now, for you to be able to use this Jutsu, I will need to teach you how to change your Chakra Nature. You know what that is, right?" Kakashi asked as Sasuke scoffed.
"Of course I know, I'm not an idiot like Naruto," Sasuke said with a smirk, while the real Naruto sneezed at the Waterfall.
"Good, then this will make it easier. To use the Chidori, you must be able to change your Chakra into Lightning, to do this, you will need these…" Kakashi said as he held up
small metal wires. "The goal will be to change your Chakra into lightning, by having it jump from one wire to the other. Once you can do that, the Chidori will be easier to understand," he instructed as Sasuke nodded and turned around so he could begin to get to work. "By the way, aren't you going to ask about Naruto? He made it into the Finals as well," Kakashi said as Sasuke remained silent.
"...It doesn't matter… whether or not he wins or loses doesn't concern me…all I care about is getting stronger…" he merely said as he focused on turning his Chakra into lightning.
"Yare, yare...same old Sasuke…" he then looked off into the distance as he thought about his other pupil. "I wonder how Ebisu is training Naruto? By now he must've improved his Chakra control a little?"
Two Days Later
Naruto grunted and groaned as he focused on turning his Chakra into a sharp Wind, as he held the leaf in his palms. Sweat dripped down his face, as he focused on trying to get the technique down.
"Come on…Come on…" Naruto said as he opened his palm and saw the leaf had a cut going a quarter of the way down. "Damn…still not enough," he said as he continued to focus.
"Haha! Check it out!" he heard one of his clones shout as he held up a leaf that had a slightly deeper cut than his own.
"Damn it! I'm nowhere near that!" Naruto groaned as the clone smirked.
"Well, I'm just more talented than you,"
"We're all the same, idiot!"
"Check this out!" they all heard as another clone held up his leaf that had a deeper cut and smirked.
"Tch! Show off, that version of me is doing better than I am…Hey! Earth guys! How are you going!?" Naruto yelled to his Earth Group as they continued to try and turn dirt into stone.
"What do you think!? This isn't as easy as it looks!" one of the Clones shouted back.
"You guys have got it lucky! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get water out of a leaf!?" one of the Water Group Clones shouted. "I haven't managed to get even a drop!"
"I got like a pin prick size!" Another shouted as the Water Group Clones glared at him,
"Well, who asked you!" another Water Clone shouted. Naruto meanwhile looked at the bickering clones as he stared with disbelief.
"...I think I've used the Shadow Clones for too long now…" he said as Jiraiya nodded as he walked over to him.
"Yeah…best you have them dispel now and gather up those experience points," Jiraiya suggested and nodded.
"Good idea…Hey guys! We're going to take a break! Disperse in the following order! Wind Group goes first, then after a minute, Earth Group is next, then Water, okay!?" he shouted to the clones as they nodded.
"Okay!" they all shouted as the Wind Group dispersed, and Naruto felt the rush of information to his head. Followed shortly after by the Earth Group and the Water Group. He stumbled slightly from the headache that was coming on.
"Oh, man! I hate it when it does that!" he complained as he rubbed his head. "So much info, I feel like my head is going to burst…" he said as Jiraiya chuckled and handed him an aspirin and water container.
"Well, there are always side effects to using any Jutsu for too long. For you, it's having your head crammed with extra knowledge," Jiraiya said as Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, but for me, it's like a whole bunch of books smack me in the head at once…still better than Sakura's punches…" he commented as Jiraiya raised a brow and then chuckled. "What?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya shook his head.
"Nothing, nothing…it's just…you kind of remind me of myself back in the day…" Jiraiya commented as Naruto stared before a shocked expression crossed his face.
"Oh crap! Does that mean I will turn into you one day!?"
"No! I'm being sentimental! Boy, you know how to kill a mood!" Jiraiya yelled as he sighed. "Anyway, how's the training, it looks like you're making progress with Wind Chakra," he said as Naruto groaned.
"Yeah but… it's still pretty hard. My Chakra Control is better now, but it's still hard to make my Chakra turn into Wind and cut the leaf. Not to mention the other me's are having problems with turning dirt into stone and the Water ones…don't get me started…"
"Well you're just lucky we're focusing on the first level of Change in Chakra Nature," Jiraiya said as Naruto raised a brow.
"The First Level. What's the Second Level then?" he asked as Jiraiya smirked.
"Well for Wind…" he then pointed at the Waterfall. It involves you cutting a Waterfall with your Chakra…" he said as Naruto stared in awe.
"What!? That sounds impossible!"
"You've seen people summon Giant Snakes, shoot fireballs from their mouths and you have a Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox sealed inside you. And you think that's impossible?" he asked as Naruto closed his mouth.
"Good point…" he said as he looked at the waterfall. "So then what about Earth and Water?" he asked as Jiraiya smirked.
"Well Earth requires you to do the same thing with dirt practice, except you have to make a large boulder out of smaller rocks," he said as Naruto gulped. "And as for Water, you need to use your Chakra to make an Orb of Water the same size as your head," Jiraiya explained as Naruto nodded.
"Okay…so it's taking what I've learned in the first stage and then amplifying it. For me to use Jutsu of a Higher Calibre, correct?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya nodded.
"See, you got it! All those book readings have finally paid off!" Jiraiya said as he slapped a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Not really, I'm still having trouble with cutting the leaf. Do you have any advice to give, or know anyone that could?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya pondered this.
"Hmm…The wind is not my strongest element, I can help with Earth and Water, but I think I know someone that has extensive knowledge of Wind Chakra. He's the son of the old man and happens to be the Sensei of one of your friends. Asuma Sarutobi," he said as Naruto blinked.
"Asuma Sensei, you mean Shikamaru's Team? Wait, he's the son of the Third Hokage!?" he exclaimed, as Jiraiya nodded. "Then that would make Asuma Konohamaru's father!?"
"Close, but not the case. Asuma is his Uncle, Sarutobi has another son but he works in the Anbu if I recall…" he said as Naruto nodded.
"I see…" he looked over to the Hokage Monument in the distance as he looked at the heads of Third and Fourth Hokage. "Heh…I just realised…Konohamaru, Asuma and I…we're kind of alike…We're related to the Hokage and we have a lot of expectations to live up to now…" he said as Jiraiya nodded.
"Only difference is no one knows you're the son of the Fourth, and thus lived a completely different life than Konohamaru or Asuma for that matter. But I think it's made you stronger, and gave you the same kind of perspective both your parents had. They worked hard to get where they were and learned to value those around them, that's what made them splendid Shinobi…and what will make you one of the greatest…" he said as Naruto looked up at the old man and smiled.
"...That was…really touching…" he said before his eyes narrowed into a glare. "If it wasn't for the fact you're peeping right now!" he shouted as he pointed to the man's Shadow Clone peeking at the girls in the river downstream.
"H-Hey, what can I say!? I am a master Author and I need plenty of material for my next work!"
"GAH! WHY IS EVERY TEACHER I GET A PERVERT!?" Naruto yelled into the sky.
Meanwhile - Team 10 Training Ground
Shikamaru grunted in annoyance as Choji came barreling at him with his human boulder Jutsu. The clan heir of the Nara clan hoped to use his Shadow Binding Jutsu to hold his friend in place, but once he realised he didn't have enough Chakra, he jumped out of the way. Just as Choji crashed into a tree.
"What's the matter, Shikamaru? Ran out of gas already?" Asuma asked as Shikamaru groaned.
"Ah…what a drag…" he said as Asuma laughed.
"Okay Choji, let's do it again," Asuma instructed as Choji nodded.
"Right," Choji said as he prepared to use his Expansion Jutsu.
"Oi! Asuma Sensei!" they suddenly heard as they all turned to see Naruto running towards them. "Asuma Sensei!" he yelled.
"Huh, Naruto?" Choji said as Shikamaru sighed in relief.
"Never thought I'd be so glad to see that idiot," he said as he stood up. "What's up Naruto? Shouldn't you be training for the finals?" Shikamaru asked as Naruto grinned.
"Of course I am, I've been training super hard! I just need to ask Asuma Sensei something" Naruto said as Asuma raised a brow.
"Hmm? What do you need me for Naruto, you do realise I'm Shikamaru's teacher right, and I shouldn't be giving his potential opponent any advantage," he said as Naruto nodded.
"I know, but I need some advice. And I heard you're the best one to go to," Naruto said as Asuma stared at the boy. "See, I found out I have Wind Chakra, and I heard you're probably the best one to ask about it," he said as Asuma raised a brow.
"You're learning Nature Transformation? You need some real talent to master that you know," Shikamaru said as Naruto nodded.
"Yep, that's why I need tips from Asuma Sensei. Soon I'm going to be able to do some awesome Wind Ninjutsu!" he said as Asuma stroked his beard.
"I didn't think you were ready for that kind of training. Boy Kakashi must be putting you and Sasuke through the meat grinder, huh?" Asuma asked as Naruto glared subtly.
"Not really, he's been too busy training Sasuke at the moment. So, I've been getting help from another teacher," he said as Asuma raised a brow.
'Huh…I guess this has to do with Orochimaru and the Curse Mark, but why is Naruto suddenly learning Nature Chakra? Last I recall he was the Dead-Last at the Academy, and his Chakra Control was terrible during the Preliminary…did something change in just two weeks?' Asuma thought to himself. 'Oh well…I guess if he wants some pointers I can give him some, it's not like he'll make it past Neji.' Asuma thought to himself as he nodded.
"Alright, I'll give you some pointers," he said as Naruto smiled with excitement. "Only, if you agree to pay for Shikamaru's Victory Dinner after the Chunin Exams," he said as Naruto blanched at this, slowly turning to Choji having long known about the Akamichi's appetite…he'd be broke in a snap!
"Okay…how about this…Shikamaru wins, and I pay for the tab. I win, you pay for mine. Deal?" he asked as Asuma raised a brow and stroked his beard.
"...Okay…" he said as he shook the boy's hand.
"Not you like to make a risky wager Sensei," Shikamaru said with his hands in his pockets as Asuma shrugged.
"Eh, just this once. Okay, so I guess a simple way to show you would be to give you an example," Asuma said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out two knives. They weren't ordinary knives, they had four finger holes, and spiked knuckle guards and they were held with the blades pointing down from the fist. "These are my Chakra Blades, they're made from a special metal that draws out the Nature Chakra from the user," he explained as his Chakra flowed into the blade. It coated the blade in a sharp blue haze that looked almost like razors.
"Whoa!" Naruto said as he stared at the blade.
"Here, try to do the same," Asuma instructed as Naruto took one of the blades and channelled his Chakra into the blade. 'Huh…his Control seems to have improved a bit,' Asuma thought as he noticed Naruto wasn't struggling as much as he thought. However, the Chakra around Naruto's blade looked wobbly than Asumas.
"Hmm…it doesn't look anything like yours, Asuma Sensei?" Naruto said as Asuma nodded.
"Well you've only just started, so it's no surprise. Now listen up, when manipulating Wind Chakra you have to imagine splitting your Chakra in half and rubbing the two together. Then you've got to sharpen those parts into fine pieces and compress them together," Asuma explained as Naruto nodded.
"Like sharpening a Kunai?" Naruto said as Shikamaru and Asuma blinked.
'He got that?' they both thought at the same time before Asuma nodded.
"Right…anyway, the Thinner and Sharper they are, the better," Asuma said as Naruto nodded but then looked at the Chakra blade.
"Hey, I'm a bit curious about how good this Wind Chakra is. I mean we've already got Kunai knives, so what's the point then?" he asked as Asuma smirked.
"How about I show you, see that tree over there. Take my knife and throw it, and I'll do the same," Asuma instructed as Naruto nodded and took aim. He and Asuma threw their knives at the same time. But when Naruto's blade stopped at the tree, Asuma went right through the tree and hit the stone behind it.
"Whoa! It didn't just cut through the tree, it went right through it and hit the boulder!" he exclaimed with stars in his eyes, while Asuma smirked.
"Actually if I wanted to I could make it go right through the rock as well, but that's dangerous so I limited my Chakra," Asuma explained as Naruto flinched.
"W-Whoa…" he said as Asuma raised his finger.
"See, that is the key difference. If two Shinobi of the same level were to go at each other, the one with the sharper tool would win. Wind Chakra has the best abilities for Mid to Close Range Fighters. It's a pretty nifty ability, this Wind Chakra huh?" he asked as naruto nodded. "And hey, after the exams, if you ever need any more tips feel free to drop by, just be ready to pay for our meals," he said as naruto grinned.
"No problem! Now I just have to figure out Earth and Water! Thanks, Asuma Sensei!" he said as Asuma raised a brow.
"Earth and Water?" but before he could get an answer, Naruto crossed his fingers and dispelled himself.
"Huh? That was a Shadow Clone?" Shikamaru said as he raised a brow. "That was pretty mean of you, making him pay for our meal. Never took you for the gambler type," he said as Asuma mentally was processing what Naruto meant by Earth and Water, but shook it off.
"Eh, it will be fine. He may have improved a bit, but I doubt he'll be able to beat Gai's Student," Asuma said with a shrug.
"I don't know…Naruto is the one guy I can never really figure out. Not to mention he seemed different than two weeks ago, he may have a chance against Neji," Shikamaru said as Asuma raised a brow.
"You think so, hmm…guess we'll just have to wait and see…" Asuma said as he lit up a cigarette.
"Guess so…by the way…Naruto has the same appetite for Ramen as Choji does…" he said as Asuma stiffened at the thought. "Better hope Naruto doesn't win, otherwise you're out of Ryo," he said as Asuma sighed.
"Damn it…and I have terrible luck…"
Back at the Waterfall
Naruto and the rest of his clones got a rush of information as they processed Asuma's lesson. "I see! So that's how it works!" Naruto grinned as he refocused on his training. Jiraiya watched with a smirk as saw Naruto's determination.
"Kids got a knack for pushing on, I can say that much…" he said to himself as he watched his student before him, and recalled all his past students standing beside him.
'Nagato…Yahiko…Konan…Minato…so many of my students…so many of them passed before me…' he lamented as he looked upon Naruto. 'I wonder though if he is the one I've been searching for, the Child of Prophecy that will bring a great Revolution to this world…or will I have failed again?' he asked himself.
"Yatta!" he suddenly heard as Naruto held up a fully cut leaf. "I DID IT!" he and the other clones screamed as they threw their leaves in the air.
'Maybe not…I've got a good feeling about this kid,' Jiraiya smirked as he watched Naruto celebrate his victory over the leaf.
"Now I just need to get the Earth and Water down! Hey! How's it coming!?"
"What do you think!? Shut up and help us already!"
"Hey! Don't talk to me like that!"
"You're not the boss of me!"
"Yes, I am! I made you!"
Jiraiya sighed as he shook his head. "Well…at least it will be interesting, to say the least," he said as he got up and started to walk over to his newest protege. In the notebook left by the rock as multiple titles were written and scratched out. And amongst one of them was simply…
The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki
And Scene. Well, here is Chapter V of The Journal of Hope. I hope everyone enjoyed this Chapter. Now I am aware Naruto has Wind Chakra, but for my plan down the line, I decided to mess with Canon and give him two more, both to add to his arsenal and to establish a connection to his past life.
I did my research and in the Anime/Manga, Naruto was able to master Wind Transformation in about a few days. Due to the Shadow Clone ability which I implemented early. And Seeing as I had Naruto improve his Chakra control with Clones during the first two weeks, he should be able to get the first stage of nature Transformation in record time.
And as stated by Kakashi, Sasuke achieved a change in Chakra Nature in two weeks. And in my research and Narutoversiy Sasuke had only two weeks to achieve both the Chidori and Lee's fighting moves in only two weeks.
As for the Nature Transformation training. We never see how the other Natures are trained other than wind, so I went with some ideas and took some liberties. Hope that makes sense, anyone has better ideas I'm all ears.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this Chapter and see you in…
Chapter VI: The Hyuga Princess