I don't own anything from the manga/anime Naruto. It is Masashi Kishimoto that owns Naruto. This is a fan fiction based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga and anime: Naruto.
"Ordinary conversation"
'thought'
"Wolf/Kyuubi speech"
'Wolf/Kyuubi thought'
Authors note: a comment from me about the story.
-- paragraph/scene change
Here I'll hold a vote for pairings. First a few requirements: no yaoi(gay) pairings, and no Naruto/someone a lot older. Sorry Naruto/Tsunade fans, but that would be hell to write.
Okay, the count so far:
Naru/Saku: 6
Naru/Ino: 6
Naru/Saku/Ino: 11
Naru/Tenten: 1
Naru/Temari: 1
Saku/Neji: 1
When Team 7 had eaten at Ichiraku ramen, and nearly emptied Tenshi's wallet, they headed in their own direction. Naruto headed back to the training area, Ino headed home while Tenshi and Sakura headed towards the hospital.
"Um uncle Tenshi?" Sakura asked suddenly.
"Yes?" Tenshi asked, turning to look at Sakura.
"How come we haven't been doing any missions yet?" she asked. Tenshi smiled at her before turning back to walking again.
"Because you have been slacking of for thirteen years now, and I have taken a week of from missions to get you into shape." Tenshi said and Sakura glared at him.
"We haven't slacken of all our lives. We have worked hard." She said sternly, which made Tenshi chuckle.
"I am sure you did, but to tell you the truth I don't think Genin fresh out of the academy are ready for missions. That is why I work you so hard now, before starting missions. Granted the missions at first will be jokes, D-rank always is. But even so, I want the three of you to be prepared." Tenshi said, his voice jokingly.
They walked in silence until they reached the hospital, where they headed in to see if Rin was finished soon. She had just finished getting changed into her training clothes when the two walked into her office.
"Oh, good timing. Are you ready little brother?" Rin asked and Sakura looked confused.
"What do you mean mom?" she asked.
"Rin and I are training together today." Tenshi simply said and Rin nodded.
"Its been way to long since I trained with my little brother now. You should come Sakura, and see how we fight." Rin suggested while picking up her bag. After that she checked to see if she had forgot something and locked the office. The three then walked towards the same training area team 7 used.
"So, what have you learned today?" Rin asked Sakura, who beamed with pride.
"I and Ino-pig trained with tree climbing, then trained to expand our chakra, then we learned to meditate and then we reached the top of the tree." Sakura said excitedly.
"And Naruto?" Rin asked.
"He learned to meditate and almost reached the top of his tree." Tenshi replied before turning to Sakura.
"Why do you keep calling Ino 'pig'? There isn't anything about her resembling a pig. Not in looks or personality." Tenshi asked and Sakura glared a little ahead of her.
"Because she calls me forehead girl." Was the simple, angry reply. Again Tenshi was puzzled.
"Why? Your forehead isn't that big. Is it?" he asked. Sakura didn't answer; instead she looked down on the ground.
Rin decided to talk about something else.
"Why is Naruto taking so much more time to reach the top than Sakura and Ino?" she asked and Sakura looked up again. Tenshi sighed a little.
"That is because he has much more chakra to control. The more chakra you have, the better control you need. Basically that means that Naruto needs more control than Sakura, since he has much more chakra." Tenshi replied and Sakura looked sad.
"So he is better than me then?" she asked but Rin shook her head.
"No. There is a lot more to a ninja than just chakra capacity and control. You can be a great ninja without much chakra." She said and Sakura beamed.
"Thanks mom." She said and Tenshi chuckled.
"We're here." he said and they arrived at the training area. They saw Naruto training on the tree climbing and Tenshi sighed before walking over and yanking the boy down from the tree.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" Naruto yelled and kicked while hanging from Tenshi's arm.
"Didn't I say training was over?" Tenshi asked.
"Doesn't mean I can't train on my own." Naruto replied while crossing his arms and glaring slightly. Tenshi sighed and shook his head before putting Naruto down on the ground.
"So, how far can you go now?" Tenshi asked and Naruto grinned.
"I'll show you. Just watch Tenshi-ossan." He yelled, did the ram seal and ran towards the tree. He continued upwards and upwards until he reached the top. There he grabbed the top and grinned down at his public, who were staring up at him. Sakura in disbelief, Tenshi and Rin in pride.
"Very good Naruto, but I see you still have some problems. Don't forget, this exercise isn't mastered until you can walk up and down several times without slipping. Now get down here, Rin and I are going to spar." Tenshi yelled up and Naruto jumped down. When he landed, he made a small indention in the ground from his weights. He then got up and walked wobbly towards the others.
"Why did I have to come down if you are going to spar?" he asked and both Rin and Tenshi grinned.
"Because you would have fallen out of the tree if you had watched from up there." They both said and Naruto and Sakura stared a little.
"Um, why? Isn't it a normal spar?" Sakura asked.
"Well yes, a normal spar between Jounins. Which is far from what you have seen yet." Tenshi said.
"Compared to a good Jounin, a Genin moves at crawling speed." Rin said, eyes shining with pride.
"Hey, I can move faster than that!" Naruto yelled and both Tenshi and Rin laughed loudly at that.
"Is that so? Well then, how can you say that when you have never seen our true speed?" Rin asked, clearly amused.
"Um, I haven't seen your true speed?" Naruto asked and both Rin and Tenshi nearly fell over with surprise.
"No, we haven't shown that yet. Not to either of you two." Rin said and Naruto blinked a few times. Tenshi rolled his eyes and he and Rin walked into the centre of the training area.
"You ready?" Tenshi asked as they faced each other. Rin nodded and both slipped into their battle stances.
Rin had her hands slightly in front of her body, while crouching slightly with her feet at about shoulder width. She was focusing entirely on Tenshi.
Tenshi stood with one hand in front of his face and the other by his hip. He too had his feet at shoulder width. He smiled at Rin and his eyes changed. Naruto and Sakura gasped as they saw how the regular brown shifted to glowing blue.
"Wow. Cool!" Naruto yelled and Sakura nodded. Rin looked slightly anxious. She took a step towards Tenshi, while he took a step away from her. A few more steps were taken and the distance was still the exact same.
"Why are they moving like that?" Naruto asked but Sakura shook her head.
"I don't know. Perhaps he is afraid of her?" she tried, but somehow didn't really believe it.
Then suddenly both Rin and Tenshi blurred out of sight and moments later a large shockwave flew trough the training area. Naruto and Sakura shielded their eyes from the dust that came flying. When they looked they saw Rin and Tenshi stand in the middle of a shallow crater, fists caught by the other. They stood there a bit, pushing against each other and testing their strength. Suddenly Rin pulled back, pulling Tenshi of balance and slamming a knee into his stomach. He groaned and Rin tried to repeat the action but Tenshi twisted his arms and flung Rin over his back. She landed on her feet, skidding to a halt and was smirking at Tenshi. Who smirked back, his glowing eyes showing amusement.
Rin's eyes widened slightly when Tenshi started grinning widely.
'No, he isn't going to…' she thought but all her thoughts were silenced when Tenshi closed his eyes before mumbling something and opening his eyes again. His eyes were still glowing blue, but something was different. It was like a sharper look passed the eyes, like the glow intensified slightly. Then his eyes widened and Rin couldn't move.
"Ninpou: kanashibari no jutsu." Tenshi said and Rin growled slightly. Seeing the curious look in his students eyes, Tenshi smiled.
"It is a jutsu that allows the user to paralyze his opponents with a single look. The ones that have mastered it can kill with it, but I can't. A missing nin named Orochimaru has mastered it, and if he uses it on someone, he can kill them, effectively killing someone with a look. Tomorrow, I will teach you how to counter it, since even Orochimaru can't kill with it without using it to paralyze you first. If he can't do that, then he can't kill you with the jutsu. But that doesn't mean he can't kill you though, since he is very strong." Tenshi said and turned back to Rin, who by now had countered the jutsu. She was glaring.
"I hate that jutsu. Katon: Karyuu Endan." Rin yelled out after doing the appropriate seals. A thin ray of white hot fire shot towards Tenshi. The fire scorched everything in its path, but Tenshi didn't dodge. Instead he smiled while forming seals. Sakura and Naruto held their breath as the fire got closer and closer to Tenshi, who finished with his hands in the bird seal.
"Suiton, water wolf shot" Tenshi yelled and water began to spurt from his mouth, and formed a wolf shape which met the fire head on. A hissing sound could be heard and Sakura and Naruto stared in disbelief as the fire and the wolf merged to produce a huge cloud of steam. The cloud rose to block the combatants' view from each other. Neither Rin nor Tenshi could see each other. But they could feel each other's chakra.
"So, what now? We wait until the steam goes away, or do we continue?" Tenshi called. Unknown to him, Rin was smiling while performing seals.
"No we're continuing." Rin replied loudly before whispering: "Futon: blade of the winds no jutsu" and waved her hands towards Tenshi. Huge gusts of wind came from her hands towards Tenshi, blowing away the steam as the blades continued towards Tenshi. He was blissfully unaware of the danger heading towards him.
'Huh? What is that…sound…oh, shit!' Tenshi thought as he heard the blades come towards him and started to move. He was to late though, and one of the blades cut into his arm, making blood spew forth. Rin was surprised that she had actually hit him but she didn't let it show. She did ask though.
"Why did you let them hit you?" she asked and Tenshi smiled slightly.
"I suppose even I can do stupid mistakes. I simply wasn't paying enough attention. I must apologise, since I thought that you wouldn't have improved on your fighting. Guess I was wrong. Shall we continue?" Tenshi replied and Rin nodded, returning to her fighting stance. Tenshi smiled before vanishing. Rin suddenly jumped forward, dodging the punch Tenshi had thrown at her. He had reappeared behind her, moving so fast that Naruto and Sakura hadn't a clue to what happened. Rin knew what had happened though. She was still crouching, and looked behind her to see Tenshi holding a kunai to her neck.
"Shunshin. I should have known you would use that to brag to me." Rin said smilingly while Tenshi huffed and pretended to be hurt.
"Well, two can play that game." Rin said and vanished to reappear behind Tenshi, holding his kunai to his throat. The same kunai he had pointed at her.
"I'm not going to ask you to give up, since I know you won't. But stop messing around, okay?" Rin said in a sweet tone. Tenshi glanced at her and smiled.
"As you wish." He said and vanished. Rin immediately started making seals. Before she could finish, Tenshi reappeared about twenty feet away from her and threw six shuriken and made some seals.
"Kage shuriken no jutsu!" Tenshi yelled out and the six shuriken multiplied into sixty. Rin stopped making seals, started making some new ones and crouched down, slamming her hands into the ground and pulled out a dome of earth.
"Doton: protection dome no jutsu!" Rin said and the shuriken Tenshi threw were stopped by the dome. She let it fall after a few moments, and was met by the sight of Tenshi finishing a seal and shooting fireballs at her.
"Katon: Housenka no jutsu." he yelled. He was only ten feet or so from her, so she couldn't counter with a jutsu. Rin was forced to dodge the fireballs as much as possible, but after dodging them all, she saw that Tenshi was gone. She looked around, but couldn't see him. She then heard a rumbling sound and looked down to see Tenshi coming out of the ground with a punch aimed at her chin. She dodged by allowing herself to fall backwards. Tenshi flew past her and she reacted instantly by placing her fist in his stomach. He grunted but grabbed her hand, twisted in the air and tried to slam her into the ground. She twisted her body awkwardly and landed on her feet. Grabbing the hand that held her, she dragged him of balance and slammed her shoulder into his gut. He flew back a bit, but when he landed he flipped onto his feet and smiled at her. She smiled back and they both started making seals so fast Naruto and Sakura couldn't follow at all. They finished at the same time.
"Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!" They both yelled out, and a dragon of fire formed above them and flew towards the other. The two dragons met in the middle and cancelled each other out. Tenshi and Rin rushed at each other and drew kunais and tried to slash each other. They blocked and slashed, blocked and slashed. Tenshi tried to slash Rin across her left shoulder, but Rin twisted out of the way and tried to stab Tenshi in his right thigh. He jumped away, narrowly avoiding injury. He jumped towards her and slashed towards her stomach. She jumped back, but still got grazed. Rin jumped a little away, and looked at Tenshi. Both were panting but smiling.
"This has been fun, but I think I will become serious now." Rin said and did some seals. A blue glow surrounded her hands.
"Fighting with medical jutsus, huh?" Tenshi asked and Rin nodded.
"Yes, only the best for you, right?" she asked and Tenshi chuckled.
"Oh, well then. I guess I should pull out some stronger moves too then." Tenshi said and held his palm up. In the palm a sphere of chakra appeared. It was made up of several layers of spinning chakra blades, resembling a typhoon.
"Rasengan." Tenshi said and Rin's eyes widened before narrowing.
"Stronger moves? Do you have a stronger move than that, except the heaven light?" Rin asked and Tenshi shook his head.
"Nope." He said smilingly and Rin just shook her head.
"I have a feeling this should stop now, before either of us get seriously hurt." She said and Tenshi nodded. They both let their attacks dissipate, Rin's hands lost their glow and Tenshi's Rasengan faded away. Both took a calming breath before letting their guard down.
"That was great Rin. We should do this again sometime." Tenshi said and Rin laughed at him. Both of them started making their way towards Naruto and Sakura.
"Just don't let it be six years until next time, okay?" Rin asked and Tenshi laughed slightly while scratching his head.
"Yeah, sure. I'll try." He said.
--
Naruto sat on his bed, recalling the fight he had seen earlier the same day.
"They moved so fast. I couldn't see them." he said to himself.
"Of course. They are both Jounin, and Wolf is a very strong one also, but if you tell him I told you that, I'll give you the mother of all head aches." Kyuubi growled inside Naruto's head.
"Alright already. I won't tell him. But what do you suppose he meant by 'making' us his level?" Naruto asked his furry tenant.
--
Flashback:
"Sakura, Naruto? Were you two able to follow me and Rin with your eyes and other senses?" Tenshi asked and both Naruto and Sakura shook their heads.
"No, not for the most part. You were moving way to fast, uncle Tenshi." Sakura answered and Naruto nodded fiercely.
"Yeah, you were so fast, it was like whoosh and you were gone. Anosa, anosa, you think I can become so strong some day?" Naruto asked and Tenshi smiled before ruffling Naruto's hair.
"I intent to make you, Sakura and Ino very strong. I intent to make you my level." Tenshi said cheerfully.
End flashback.
--
"I don't know, but if I were to guess, it means he plans to train you three to become so powerful that you can match him. That means a lot of training kit." Kyuubi said and Naruto grumbled but didn't answer.
"What is it kit? Afraid of the big bad Wolf's training? Or of failing his expectations?" Kyuubi asked in a mocking tone.
"NANI? What are you saying, stupid fox? I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I will never be afraid of training. I will never fail Tenshi-ossan's training. So just shut up fur ball." Naruto yelled and Kyuubi snickered.
"You are so easy to enrage. It isn't something a ninja should be. But I guess you at least have the guts needed. It must be because you have the strongest demon in you that you feel so confident. I understand, but try not to rely on my power to much little kit. You have to become strong without my power as well." Kyuubi mocked making Naruto even angrier.
"Just shut up you stupid fox, and leave me alone!" Naruto yelled and strangely Kyuubi did as he said.
Naruto sat on his bed for about half an hour before he fell asleep. His last thought was: 'If Tenshi-ossan wants to make me as strong as he is, then I won't back down. I won't take my word back. It is my nindo.'
--
Sakura was lying in her bed, staring at her roof. She was also thinking about what Tenshi had said to them.
'His level, huh? I…can I? Can I surpass mom?' she thought, slightly sadly. She then looked at her hand. She closed it and smiled.
'If he can make me this much stronger in such a short time, then I can. If uncle teaches and trains me, then I can become so strong. I will.' Sakura thought before snuggling into her covers and falling asleep.
--
Ino was unaware of what Tenshi had said, and of what had happened during the spar, so she was sleeping peacefully without thoughts of training in her mind.
--
Rin was lying in bed with closed eyes, but she wasn't asleep. She was thinking about the spar she had with Tenshi. More accurately when he had been hit by her wind blades.
'He should have heard them and been able to dodge them. I only used that jutsu to get the steam away, but he let it hit him. Why? To confuse me? No, that can't be it; he could have done worse things if he wanted to do that. To make me underestimate him? No, he doesn't need me to do that. Is he becoming rusty? It is the only thing I can think of that should explain it. But…he…no, he wouldn't allow himself to become rusty. Sensei trained him to well for that to be the cause. Then why?' she thought but no answer came. Opening her eyes, she looked at her nightstand. There were four pictures. The first showed a tall man with wild blonde hair and a huge grin with three young kids in front of him. One of the kids, the one to the left was a boy with black hair wearing goggles and a huge grin as well. In the middle a girl with brown hair and two rectangular streaks on her cheeks stood, looking happily into the camera. On the right side a boy with silver hair and a face mask stood. He had a look that literally screamed: "follow the rules or die" and "this is a waste of time". It was Rin's first team.
The second picture was mostly the same, except the black haired boy was replaced with a boy much younger than the others in the picture. He had brown hair and a slightly uneasy smile, as if he didn't know what to do in this situation. Rin had matured a lot in between the two pictures but still looked mostly the same. She had lost a little of the innocent look she had in the first picture, suggesting that she had seen things she shouldn't have seen. Yondaime hadn't changed at all, still the same blonde hair that seemed like it had it's own life, and the same smile that probably would make hearts beat faster. Yes, Yondaime were a handsome man, everyone that had meet him knew that, Rin would be one of the first to admit that. The silver haired boy had changed minimally. The only change was that he seemed to have lost some baby fat and had his forehead protector tilted so that it covered his left eye. His visible eye held much sadness and guilt.
The third picture was of Rin with a child in her arms and a man lying next to the two in a hospital bed. The man had pink hair and green eyes. He looked happy and had a huge smile on his face. Rin looked tired, but happy as well. She didn't look into the camera, instead she looked at the child in her arms. It was the newborn Sakura. The little girl was asleep, suckling happily on her thumb. Both Rin and the man, Sakura's father, looked happy, real happy.
The last picture was of five people. On the left stood Rin's husband, a hand over Rin's shoulder. He was looking at the three in the middle with fondness in his eyes. Rin was in the middle, holding two small children. One of the children was a girl with pink hair and a cute expression. It looked like she was giggling. The other was a boy with wild blonde hair and a fox grin on his face. Rin was cooing with the two children. On the right stood a boy, he couldn't be any older than eight, his brown hair covered in a bandana. He was looking at the two children as well; a gentle smile on his face, but like the other picture he was in, it didn't look like he knew what was going on exactly.
Rin smiled when she looked at the pictures. She missed her dead team mate, her sensei but mostly her dead husband. Thinking back to all the good and happy times without so much sorrow and death, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
--
Tenshi was sitting on the Hokage monument, looking out over the sleeping village. He sighed and looked at a scroll in his hands. It was named: "heaven light"
'I wonder when my three students will be ready to learn this. My strongest jutsu…Naruto is probably the only one that can use it more than once in a day. I can barely use any jutsu after this one. The chakra it takes to do is so huge, sometimes I wonder why I decided to teach it to them. A kinjutsu even before it was finished. But they will need it against Akatsuki. I can't let them go up against Itachi without something to counter that black fire of his.' Tenshi thought before he sighed and placed the scroll in a pocket in his vest. He pulled out another scroll and a brush. Placing the scroll on the ground, he began to write.
After about a hour of writing, he rolled up the scroll again and put it back into his vest. But not before taking another look at its title: "training schedule"
--
Three Genin stood in a training area, slightly nervous. Naruto wore his usual orange, slightly worn jumpsuit with his weights under. While he looked nervous, he also had a look of eagerness on his face. Sakura wore her red dress with the white circles representing the Haruno crest. She also wore the weights, but unlike Naruto she didn't look eager, but had a look of steel determination on her face. Ino on the other hand, didn't look so good. She was the one who was most nervous of the three. Even though she looked like her normal self in her purple two piece dress, if someone looked close enough they would see she was shaking a little bit. Naruto and Sakura had told her about the spar Tenshi and Rin had the day before and what Tenshi had said, and it scared Ino. She was sure she couldn't become that strong, and was afraid she would die. Not when Naruto told her she was strong and not even when Sakura said that if she didn't snap out of it soon, Sakura would win Sasuke, did Ino stop feeling scared. Both Sakura and Naruto were concerned for their friend and team mate, but decided to wait for Tenshi, who was slightly late.
--
Tenshi cursed himself for forgetting to set his watch and sleeping in. He jumped out of his bed, and made a kage bunshin start making breakfast while he showered and got dressed. Then he ate with a speed that could rival Naruto while eating ramen and vanished from his apartment.
In all it took him twenty minutes.
--
Tenshi appeared in front of his students with an embarrassed smile on is face. Before he could say something, three voices yelled:
"YOU'RE LATE!"
"Um, sorry I'm late. I forgot to set my watch last night." Tenshi said while rubbing his sore ears. For a few moments, Naruto, Sakura and Ino forgot why they were so worried, but then it came back to them. Their angry expressions changed into anxious ones.
Tenshi, noting the difference in mood, looked hard at his students.
'Huh? What's up with them today? You would think I scared them or something…wait…' he thought before realisation hit him and his eyes widened.
"Wait, are you three anxious because of what I said yesterday? About making you my level?" Tenshi asked. Naruto, Sakura and Ino looked at each other before nodding.
"Why?" Tenshi asked. He was confused. Why would someone be scared of becoming stronger? He had done it all his life, and had never been scared of it.
Naruto was about to reply, but Sakura cut him off.
"I don't know if I can become as strong as you." She said. Behind her Naruto was pouting slightly but also nodding. Tenshi looked at Ino, who looked really uncomfortable and was staring down on the ground while scarping the ground with her shoe. Tenshi was about to ask who she was and where the real Ino was, but then she looked up at him and his voice died in his throat. She looked almost desperate.
"Sensei, I can't become so strong, and if I try, I will die." She said sadly and looked down on the ground again. Tenshi looked at her before walking over to her and crouched down in front of her and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Ino, can you tell me why you think that?" he asked, his tone serious, but kind. Almost like a father talking to his child.
Ino looked wide eyed at Tenshi, but he didn't move, or change his expression.
"I…I…I'm just not g…g…good enough." Ino stammered and tried to hide her shame by closing her eyes and dropping her head low. Her eyes flew open when Tenshi gently lifted her chin slightly up. She looked into his eyes and was startled when they changed from his normal brown to glowing blue. His expression had changed from reassuringly to stern. His voice was stern as well, unbending and hard as steel.
"Yamanaka Ino, if I ever hear you doubt you're self like that again, I swear I won't be kind. You have lots of potential, you all have." Tenshi said and looked at Naruto and Sakura as well before turning back to Ino.
"Ino, if you set your mind on something, and work hard for it, then you can do it. If you work hard and have friends that help and support, then you can become as strong as me." Tenshi said and stood up and walked up to the memorial. Naruto also walked up to the memorial while Sakura and Ino followed shortly behind. The three Genin stopped a little behind Tenshi. He had his hand on the stone and his head bowed in respect.
"I have a reason for wanting you three to be at my level." Tenshi said but didn't continue. Naruto, Sakura and Ino waited for a while but then Naruto became impatient.
"Well? What is that reason?" he asked and Tenshi straightened.
"I have known Naruto and Sakura since you were born, although I have been absent way too long. I have only known Ino for three days now, but there is no difference in my eyes." Tenshi said and turned around to look at his students. His eyes were sincere and showed fondness.
"You three are my students, students that have earned my respect, students that have gotten my friendship. And students that I love. For you three I would gladly die, if it means to protect you. That is how much of an impression you three have given me in this short amount of time. But I ask myself, if I die to protect my team tomorrow, what about the day after, or the day after that? Or next year? What will happen to you three if I am no longer?" Tenshi asked, more to himself than to the three Genin. He looked up at the sky before sighing and looking down again.
"At your current level, you would not survive long. So I decided that I would train you three to become strong, real strong. I said I would make you my level, but what I would be most happy to see is you three becoming even stronger than that. Then I will know that you won't need me to protect you any more. That is why I want to make you three my level. So that you can protect yourself." Tenshi said and the three Genin looked at each other in wonder. Turning back, they looked even more anxious, but this time not for themselves, but for Tenshi.
"Tenshi-ossan, why are you talking like that?" Naruto asked
"Yeah, uncle. Why? It almost sounds like you are dying or something." Sakura joined, stepping forward with her hands on her chest.
"Sensei, you can't leave us." Ino said, almost on verge of crying. Tenshi smiled before turning back to the memorial. He gestured to it with his hand.
"One day, I will be on this stone. I have no illusions of immortality or that I am the strongest in the world. One day, you three will have to face the ninja world without me. Either you get promoted, or I die. But don't worry, that is long into the future. Now we train, okay?" Tenshi said and turned back smiling at the three Genin, who smiled back and nodded eagerly. Tenshi looked at them, but mostly at Ino. All the anxiety was gone, as if blown away by a wind jutsu. Tenshi was relieved.
'Good. They're confidence has returned. Now I can begin the training' He didn't want them to be afraid or doubt themselves.
--
Tenshi, Naruto, Sakura and Ino walked over to three trees that were badly scratched by kunais. Tenshi pointed to the trees.
"Get going. You have half an hour to run up and down your tree at least three times. Don't stop until I say so though." he said and the kids groaned.
"Tenshi-ossan, we can't do that. We only reached the top yesterday." Naruto complained.
"If you don't do this, then I will double you weights. Now move!" Tenshi commanded and the three Genin didn't hesitate. Instead they started running up and down. To their surprise they didn't have such a difficult time as they thought. Naruto slipped a few times, but managed to catch himself before he hit the ground. Sakura and Ino showed near perfect control and a significant increase in chakra capacity.
Tenshi smiled as he looked at the three running up and down.
'They may not realise it, but right now they are much stronger than they were three days ago. This is going great. Soon I can begin teaching them in combat and stealth.' Tenshi thought and chuckled as Naruto slipped again.
"Careful Naruto." He yelled. Naruto didn't respond, instead he continued to run.
--
After the half hour was over, Sakura had managed to run up and down four times. Ino managed three and was halfway down on the fourth time when the time ran out. Naruto also managed three and was almost to the top again when the time was out.
When the three of them all stood in front of him, Tenshi started to clap.
"Well done. Did you three see how much you have improved? Yesterday you reached the top, and after a night of rest, you have been able to run up and down the tree three times each, Sakura managed four. That is a huge development. Also you have surpassed my expectations, since all of you move normally with your weights on, much sooner than I expected. I don't want you to increase the weight yet. Today is Wednesday. On Saturday we are going to train together with team 10. Until then we aren't going to increase the weight, but on Saturday you are going to. Don't ask me why though. Think of it as a way to surprise your friends with how strong you are. It is never smart to show off your strength. Only show your real power when you need. But back to the point. In the next three days, we are going to train somewhere different. Go home and get your swimming clothes and meet me at the hot springs. You have half an hour. If you aren't there by that time, then you'll be punished. Get moving." Tenshi ordered and the three Genin scrambled towards their homes.
--
Naruto jumped from roof top to roof top. Excitement clear in his face.
"I wonder what he is going to teach us now." he said out loud. If Kyuubi heard, he didn't bother to answer.
When Naruto reached his apartment, he nearly tore off the door to get inside.
Once inside his apartment, he rushed to his bedroom and ripped out his drawers. Throwing clothes everywhere, he searched for something he could use as swimming trunks. He only found a pair of orange boxers with green swirls on them. He grabbed them and a towel and threw them into a bag before rushing out the door again.
--
Sakura ran inside her house, knocking Rin, who was about to go out to see the training, over.
"Oww…Sakura? What's the hurry?" Rin asked, rubbing her now sore behind. Sakura groaned before gasping and jumping up.
"Mom! Oh, I'm so sorry, but I have to hurry. I have twenty minutes to find my swimsuit and get to the hot springs." Sakura said and rushed to her room, almost stumbled over her pink bag, and ran to her dresser, where she yanked on the drawer she knew the elusive piece of clothing was. When she found it, a dark red suit that was open in the back, she whirled around and saw Rin standing there with an amused expression, holding the bag and a towel.
"I figured you would need a towel. So, why are you going to the hot springs?" Rin asked.
"Uncle said to meet him there. Something about training." Sakura said and placed her suit in the bag. She went a little around her room, gathering things like shampoo, sun oil, and other things she though she would use at the hot springs.
Rin smiled at her daughter, since she knew what kind of training Tenshi had in mind, and most of the things Sakura grabbed wouldn't be used.
When Sakura finished, she quickly jumped out of her window, Rin following close behind.
"Um, mom? Why are you coming?" Sakura asked and Rin laughed.
"Are you kidding? I'm not going to miss this for the world." Rin said and laughed even harder at Sakura's confused expression.
--
Ino had planned on going to the hot springs later that day anyway, so she already had all she needed ready on her bed. She looked at the two piece swimsuit she had. It was light blue, much like her eyes, with yellow flowers on it. She was proud of that swimsuit, it was her best, and it made her look really sexy, so much that she sometimes had to fend of boys with a stick, literally, when she went to the beach.
Tossing everything into a bag, she quickly ran out and headed towards the hot springs.
--
Tenshi stood on top a telephone pole, waiting for his students to run past him. He smiled when he saw them meet in an intersection and began to run towards the hot springs together.
"And here I was wondering if I had to teach them something about battle formations. Guess I won't have to, since they seem to get that naturally." Tenshi said to himself, observing how his students ran. He also noted that Rin was with them.
The four of them ran in the 'arrow head' formation, Naruto in front with Sakura and Ino on his sides, slightly behind him and Rin directly behind Naruto.
Tenshi smiled even wider when he saw that Rin winked at him and using sign language she said that it was the kids that started running like that.
Deciding to follow Rin's example, Tenshi vanished and reappeared behind Ino. Rin was the only one who noticed him and moved so she ran behind Sakura.
--
When they arrived at the hot springs, Tenshi vanished and reappeared about seven feet in front of Naruto.
"Alright, you made it on time. Good, and I see we have a visitor as well. Hello Rin." Tenshi said and Rin waved while smiling broadly.
"Okay, here is what is going to happen. Go change and meet me…here." Tenshi said and vanished and reappeared next to one of the hottest springs.
The Genin did as he said, reluctantly though, seeing the evil glint in Rin's eyes when she saw which spring Tenshi chose. After the kids were gone to change, she appeared next to Tenshi.
"You are a real sadist sometimes, you know that?" Rin asked and Tenshi grinned.
"Hai." He just replied.
--
Naruto, Sakura and Ino stood in front of Tenshi and Rin, Naruto had two huge bumps on his head and blood running down his nose from the nosebleed he got after seeing Ino and Sakura in their swimming suits. Apparently Ino and Sakura didn't enjoy that, since when they saw Naruto getting a nosebleed from looking at them, they bonked him on the head.
"Alright, enough bonking and bleeding. Pay attention. This is the next exercise." Tenshi said and walked out on the water. He could almost hear the impacts his students' chins made as they hit the ground.
Tenshi turned around to see Sakura and Ino trying to compose themselves, but Naruto was still staring, jaw hung open. Tenshi laughed a bit, which snapped Naruto back to normal.
"WOW! How do you do that? Amazing." Naruto yelled. Rin smiled and followed Tenshi out on the water. When she reached him, she turned to the kids.
"This is a chakra exercise." Rin said and Tenshi nodded.
"To stand on water we release a constant amount of chakra. It is a bit like walking up the tree, but a lot more difficult. But basically you release a stream of chakra into the water that you stand on. This is another chakra control exercise but it will also increase your chakra capacity much more than tree walk. Also, as with tree walk, to be able to walk on water is a very useful skill. Imagine you are fighting near water, and get knocked into the water. If you can walk on water, then you can surprise your enemy much easier." Tenshi explained and the three Genin nodded.
"Now, it's your turn." Tenshi said and Naruto jumped in excitement, pumping a fist into the air. Sakura and Ino were a bit less enthusiastic, but they were eager to try as well. Sakura and Ino looked at each other with determination shining in their eyes.
"I will not be beat by you, forehead girl." Ino said with a cocky grin.
"Huh? Ino-pig is delusional. I will beat you." Sakura replied, mirroring Ino's grin. Tenshi saw this, and leaned against Rin.
"I for one think it is interesting that those two haven't said anything about Sasuke for a long time. From what I heard, they were always fawning over him, weren't they?" Tenshi whispered and Rin nodded.
"Yes, it is strange that they haven't said anything about him yet, but I'm not complaining. Uchiha Sasuke is an uptight bastard that is only thinking about himself and his revenge. If Sakura came home and told me she was together with that bastard, I think I would have a stroke." Rin whispered back and Tenshi had to try very hard not to laugh loudly at that.
"Yosh, I'm going to master this in one try." Naruto yelled and stepped out onto the water. And feel right into. A few bubbles rose to the surface, Sakura and Ino were looking too see if Naruto was going to rise up on the surface, while Tenshi and Rin were counting.
"Three…two…one…" they said in unison and just when they said 'one', the hot spring erupted and Naruto flew into the air, red as a lobster.
"HOT!" he yelled before crash landing behind Sakura. Sakura and Ino whirled around to stare at Naruto, who were lying on the ground, practically steaming, while Tenshi and Rin barely stood on their feet from laughter.
"And that is why we are practising here. If you mess up, you get burned. It is a much faster way of teaching your body how to do this. Kind of…forcing the body to learn." Tenshi said and grinned when the three Genin shot him glares that oddly resembled the kanashibari.
"Now it is Sakura's turn." Tenshi said and Sakura gulped. She stepped out on the water, and sank down to about knee level. Her face contracted from pain when she felt the scolding hot water, but she continued to focus anyway. Soon she rose up so much that the water reached her to her ankles. She stayed like that for about five minutes before starting to sink. Tenshi quickly grabbed her and lifted her out. Placing her next to Naruto, Tenshi smiled at her.
"Good work Sakura, although not enough control. But I have a feeling you will get it real soon." He said and Sakura nodded weakly at him. She felt very drained, and her feet hurt.
"Okay, Ino. You're up!" Tenshi said and walked out on the water again.
--
Ino looked over at Sakura and Naruto before shaking her head, taking a deep soothing breath, closing her eyes and stepping out on the water. And stood on the top like Tenshi and Rin did. Ino kept her eyes closed and focused all her will on staying where she was. She didn't even think about the absence of a burning sensation around her feet.
Tenshi was very pleased, Rin was happy for Ino, Sakura and Naruto were staring in disbelief.
Ino stood on top of the water for another four minutes, but then she started to sink. She yelped when she felt the warm water around her ankles and lost her focus. Before she could fall however, Tenshi had caught her and placed her next to Sakura. He was practically beaming with pride at Ino, who blushed a little at the obvious sign of a happy teacher.
"Good work Sakura and Ino. Naruto has to take this more seriously. Now, any questions before the second round?" Tenshi said happily and Sakura raised her hand.
"How come Ino managed to do it in her first try?" she asked and Ino snapped out of her little daze of blushing to hear the answer.
"Well, unlike you and Naruto, Ino focused all her will into this. She focused only on standing on the water, while Naruto were overeager, and you Sakura were anxious about burning yourself. It is understandable, but it interfered with your focus and concentration. To your credit Sakura, you didn't lose your focus when you felt the hot water. Instead you fought and improved. Next time I want Naruto and Sakura to focus only on standing on the water, and nothing else. Got it?" Tenshi asked and Naruto and Sakura nodded. Ino raised her hand.
"Um sensei, what about me?" she asked shyly. Tenshi smiled at her before replying.
"You are going to focus on walking. Right now all you did was stand on the water. Now you are going to walk on it." he said. Ino nodded, determined to get this.
"Okay, Naruto. Get on the water." Tenshi ordered and the now slightly less red boy stood up.
--
Naruto closed his eyes, formed the ram seal and focused chakra underneath his foot soles. He closed his eyes, stepped out on the water, and sank down to ankle level, but then he stayed there as well. Tenshi smiled at Naruto's improvement. After five minutes, Naruto opened his eyes and rose up and stood on the water. To say Tenshi was surprised is an understatement. He was shocked. How did Naruto improve so much?
'Kyuubi? What the hell did Naruto just do? To improve so much is nothing short of extreme.' Tenshi mentally asked Kyuubi, who chuckled.
"The kit is really smarter than I or anyone else gives him credit for. The five minutes he was standing with his ankles in the water he was meditating, studying the difference in chakra that he used and you use. Then he corrected himself and banzai. Naruto is standing on water." Kyuubi said, pride filling his voice.
'Wow.' Was Tenshi's reply.
"Very good Naruto. How did you do that?" Tenshi asked and Naruto looked at him.
"I…oh shit." Naruto said and started to sink. Tenshi helped him to dry ground though. Naruto, Rin and Tenshi looked at Sakura and Ino, who hadn't said anything for a while. Sakura and Ino sat there, staring at the spot Naruto had occupied on the water. It was obvious they didn't believe their eyes.
"Um, Sakura? Ino?" Tenshi asked. That seemed to snap them back to reality. They turned to see a smug looking Naruto, a concerned Tenshi and an amused Rin. Then they remembered what Naruto had done.
"How did Naruto do that?" Sakura and Ino shouted at the same time.
"Yes Naruto, how did you do that?" Rin asked and Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment.
"I used my chakra to stay on the water, but when I sank I didn't know what was wrong, so I got an idea. I started to meditate and feel how Tenshi-ossan and Rin-nee-san did it. Then I mimicked them and I stood on the water. It worked really well. You should try it Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a wide smile. Sakura nodded slowly, while Ino was confused.
'Naruto thought up something so smart? Wow, I never thought he would be capable of that kind of thought. Perhaps he isn't…' Ino thought but Naruto interrupted.
"Hey! Ino-chan! Why the far away look?" he asked loudly, waving a hand in front of her face. It didn't seem like he or Ino realised the added suffix. Sakura did though, and she felt slightly jealous.
'Why am I jealous of Ino-pig? Its just a suffix.' she thought.
Tenshi and Rin also noticed, but didn't pay any heed to it.
"Sakura, it's your turn." Tenshi said and Sakura nodded.
--
She stood up, chased all thoughts of Naruto, Ino and anyone else from her mind, closed her eyes and started to meditate. She saw how her chakra moved. When she was sure she was deep in her meditative state, she spread her senses and sensed Rin and Tenshi's chakra. She nearly exited the meditative state when she felt and partly saw how much chakra Rin and Tenshi had. She also got the impression that what she saw wasn't even their full potential. After a few moments of admiring how much chakra was collected in her mother and uncle/sensei, Sakura remembered what she was supposed to do, and focused on how their chakra moved. She saw that the chakra moved completely different in them than in her. She looked at Ino and Naruto to see if the same difference was there, which it was, although Naruto had a big, warm sphere of red chakra around his navel.
In her, Naruto and Ino, the chakra moved like a flowing river, fast and, for lack of better words, impatient. The result was that Sakura's chakra coils, the pathways that chakra flows trough, wasn't completely filled with chakra. They looked like a tube placed slightly tilted that someone slowly let water flow trough. While Tenshi and Rin's chakra moved much slower and more composed. Their chakra coils were completely filled with chakra, giving the impression of someone drinking from a straw when the glass was full. Sakura didn't know why their chakra was like that. She then focused on Tenshi and Rin's feet. There their chakra moved at the same speed Sakura's did when she wasn't using it, but still the coils were full. Sakura saw how the chakra collected under the feet and went into the water, making Tenshi and Rin stand there perfectly.
Deciding to ask about it later, Sakura decided to try and mimic how the chakra moved at the feet. Forming the ram seal, she moved chakra down to her feet, filling the chakra coils, and stepping out onto the water. She sank a little, but then rose to stand on the water. She tried to keep the chakra coils in her feet flooded, but it was so draining. But slowly it became less and less draining and after about seven to eight minutes of standing on the water, she didn't have to focus so much on it. Then Tenshi moved and picked her up. Sakura stopped moving chakra and stopped meditating. When Tenshi sat her down next to Naruto, she looked at him expectantly. He smiled at her and nodded.
"Good, you got the hang of it. I don't want you to say what you saw yet though. Let Ino try first." Tenshi said and ruffled Sakura's hair slightly, still smiling. Sakura smiled back and nodded. She didn't show it, but she felt really tired and drained.
'I didn't know it took that much chakra to stand on water.' She thought
"Ino, you're up." Tenshi said and Ino nodded.
She stepped up to the water, took a calming breath, formed the ram seal and stepped out on the water. She stood perfectly on the water, but when she started to walk, her face contracted in concentration. She took slow steps, but at first she sank a little. Not much, not even to ankle level, but she had to stop after every step and rise up before taking the next. Eventually she became better at it. She still sank a little at each step, but it took much less time to compose herself afterwards. After ten minutes of walking on the water, Tenshi stepped in front of her and motioned towards Naruto and Sakura before walking over to them. Ino followed and when she got to dry land, she quickly sat down next to Sakura.
"Very good. All of you can stand on water now. Very good. Again you three have exceeded my expectations. I thought you would take much longer to do that. Because of that I have two rewards for you. The first is that we aren't going to practise water walk here anymore. Instead we are going to a river not far from the Hokage monument. The second I am going to give you three soon. But first, Sakura. Can you tell Naruto and Ino what you saw when you were meditating?" Tenshi asked and Sakura nodded before standing up, facing Naruto and Ino and entered lecture mode.
"When I was meditation, I saw my own chakra coils. They weren't half filled with chakra, and the chakra that was in the coils was flowing fast. But…yes Naruto?" Sakura asked when Naruto raised his hand.
"Anosa, what is chakra coils?" he asked and Tenshi, Rin, Sakura and Ino fell over in surprise, which is pretty big since Ino was sitting down.
"Chakra coils are like pipes throughout your body. It is in these pipes that chakra flows. Also in the entire chakra coil system there are 361 points, called tenketsu. These points are smaller than a needle head, but are very important, since they help regulate the chakra flow. The Hyuuga clan uses a special taijutsu style to damage the chakra coil and the tenketsu. They can stop your chakra with a few good strikes, closing the tenketsu and stopping the chakra flow, or increase the flow by opening the tenketsu further. Also, in the chakra coil system, there are eight gates. These eight gates also help regulate the flow of chakra. There is possible to open these gates and temporally gain extreme powers, but it will damage the body. Taijutsu masters can open the gates at will, but only after a lot of training." Tenshi explained and Naruto crossed his legs, and rested his chin on his left hand while resting his left elbow on his knee. His thinking pose.
"So, basically, chakra coils are where the chakra are, tenketsu are small points that can be closed and eight gates that control chakra flow. Right?" Naruto asked and Tenshi nodded.
"Can I continue?" Sakura asked and Tenshi nodded again.
"Okay. As I was saying, my chakra coils weren't half filled with chakra, and the same was for Naruto and Ino's coils as well. But mom and uncle's coils, they were completely filled to the brim." Sakura said.
"What do you mean?" Ino asked curiously. Sakura sighed and scratched her head, wondering how she was going to explain this. Then she had an idea.
"Okay, our coils looked like they were about half filled with water flowing like a river. The chakra is blue, so it looked like water. The rest of the coils were white and empty. But uncle Tenshi and mom's coils were completely blue. I couldn't see any shape resembling water, and no white and empty part of the coils. However I saw how their chakra flowed and it was much slower and composed than ours. Why I don't know." Sakura said, confusion showing on her face.
"Well, that is simple. We have much more chakra so it fills our coils while you don't have that much. Also our chakra flows slower than yours since ours are better moulded." Tenshi said cheerfully.
"What that means is that while your chakra flows fast and without much order, our chakra is slow and composed. Your chakra waste a bit of its potency because it flows so fast, while ours doesn't. Chakra is made by mixing spirit and body energy. This is called moulding chakra, and happens constantly in your body, more precisely in what is called your centre. In other words, the moulding starts behind your navel and ends in your hearth. Then the chakra flows throughout the body." Rin said.
"In the hearth, the eight and most dangerous chakra gate is. It controls how much chakra is moulded by the hearth. If that gate is opened, the person opening it will die. But I'm babbling. Back to the chakra. Why your chakra loses some of the potency is because it moves so fast when you don't have to. That means that the chakra uses up some of its energy to flow so fast and has to flow far throughout your body. When you have to use it, either your chakra moves just as fast, or you push your body harder to make it move faster. Me or Rin don't have to do that, since when we don't need our chakra, it flows slowly, but when we need it, it flows fast and precise, not wasting anything. That is often the difference between winner and loser in a fight, how much chakra is wasted. So, in a nut shell, the reason why our chakra coils is filled with chakra is because we have much more chakra than you, and the reason our chakra flows slower is because it is better moulded. That means that one day; you three will also have chakra like me and Rin." Tenshi explained and took a deep breath.
Naruto, Sakura and Ino nodded slowly, mentally fighting to process all the information.
"Alright, now that all the explanation is over, we are taking a break. Go and change and meet us here." Tenshi commanded and the Genin scrambled towards the changing rooms.
--
The three Genin stood in front of Tenshi and Rin, fully clothed again.
"Okay, now it is time for your second reward. We are going shopping." Tenshi said and was immediately meet with cheers from Ino and Sakura.
"Come on!" Rin said and they started to walk towards the shopping district.
--
Hello, Kin-Ryu Chikara here. I can't believe how many reviews I got for the first two chapters. I mean, wow. And the vote for the pairings will continue until I post my forth chapter. I'll probably make up my mind before I post it too, but we'll see.
I have to ask something. Someone calling himself Dragonmaster pointed out something for me. I realised I made Tenshi damned powerful. Opps. I mean, having a extremely powerful ninja everyone is afraid of isn't good for the story. Who would want to fight him, right? So Dragonmaster suggested I kill Tenshi. I don't know if I'll do that, but the thought seems a bit alluring.
But I won't kill Tenshi until chapter 5 at least. So if anyone wants me to kill him, or not kill him, let me know, okay?
Ja ne!