Notes: Took a little longer than expected due to other commitments, hope you enjoy it. Plus i've moved this to the Naruto Category since this story is heavily Naruto nased than DBZ. Please let me know if this a problem and if i should move it back. Thanks.
Dialogue:
"…" - normal speech.
'In italics' - thoughts
-: Flashback :-
Chapter 1 - Out at last!
"Bye Sakura-chan! Don't worry I'll come back stronger and keep the promise I made to you and bring Sasuke back!" Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja shouted, adding his classic foxy smile.
The pink haired kunochi could only smile at his antics, though she would
never admit, she would miss him and the village wouldn't be the same without
his presence.
"Yeah, next time we'll get him back for sure" she spoke softly to
herself as she waved to him from the Gate.
Inwardly Naruto sighed, he couldn't believe the effort he had to put in to make himself look 'normal' in the village and fit in with the other kids. And what did he get for his troubles? Hate, pain and suffering. Every night he could see the cold, menacing stares the villagers would give him in the darkness as they looked back at him, whispering their disgust for his very being. It had all gotten to him long ago, but he tried to show it didn't bother him. If he did, then they'd have already won.
Thankfully the chance had arisen for him to train outside of the village which he immediately took. Finally he could get away from all that had caused his way of life and ridiculed him when he tried his best. To them, all he would ever be was the 'Demon Fox'. When he graduated to Genin, he thought he may be given just a little bit of respect, but it was not to be. And his so called 'friends' that he had made whilst becoming Genin still ignored him and considered him the 'dead-last'.
'Yeah thats right, the so called 'dead-last'.' He thought. 'The one who stopped Haku which their precious Uchiha couldn't. The one who beat that baka of a Hyuuga prodigy, when no one ever imagined he could. The one who defeated Gaara when he transformed into the Sand Demon by summoning the Toad Boss Gambunta while the Uchiha got his ass handed to him. The one who held off Kabuto from killing Tsunade by learning a technique in a week that took Jiraiya 3 years to master , and by doing so giving Konoha it's Gondamine Hokage.' Naruto listed off. 'You'd think they'd show a little bit of respect and admiration for the achievements I have at my age. But then again, such is my life.' He sneered. 'I can't believe people like Sasuke are born with others instantly loving and respecting them without them doing anything, and people like me aren't even acknowledged in the slightest, even when they work their asses' off to accomplish their goals.'
Sasuke. The very mention of that name disgusted him to the core. All he wanted was to be accepted as his equal, but Sasuke could never have it, always wanting to be stronger with his excuse being to kill his brother and restore his clan. Naruto's anger began to rise with the thought of him going far enough in his pursuit of power to shove a Chidori through the left side of his chest, even when he called him his best friend. A part of him knew Sasuke would never want to come back willingly and now regretted not using the full power of the Rasengen and show him he was stronger, another part had wanted to be ridden of the betraying bastard for a long time but never had the courage to speak of it.
After gathering his thoughts and calming himself he secretly thanked Akatsuki for giving him the opportunity to train properly without the intervention of others. Even though Jaraiya was a renowned pervert across the lands, he didn't have the title 'Legendary Sannin' for nothing. This was his chance, 3 years of training with Ero-Sennin. He would improve greatly and go back stronger than ever and prove to all those people that hated him that he wasn't that stupid demon that he contained within him and would gain their respect. Which was, after all, the only real thing he wanted from his home Village. To achieve this goal, becoming Hokage of the Hidden Village of the Leaf was a distant second, though he didn't want anybody to think that. Besides, it wasn't his supposed character to think of anything else.
Jiraiya glanced at him as he walked beside and saw him deep in though. Yes he would do all he could to improve his new student to both defend himself and his 'precious people' as Naruto liked to call them. He owed Arashi that, and much more.
Naruto turned his head to meet his sensei's "Hey ero-sennin, what's up?"
"Oh nothing brat, i just had new idea for gathering research" he quickly replyed, though it wasn't the best thing to say around his new apprentice.
"Damn pervert" Naruto muttered.
"What was that!" Jiraiya demanded.
"Nothing, nothing sensei. So, where are we going and what are we going to do? Three years is a long time. How strong do you think I can become?" he asked quite cheerily.
"That depends entirely on you Naruto and how determined you are. You will have a long way to go and i guarantee you, it won't be easy, but I have the utmost confidence in you that all your skills will be thoroughly enhanced when we return after our time away." With this a huge smile plastered Naruto's face, the Legendary Sannin continued, "But don't get ahead of yourself, you have a very long journey to travel before that time comes. Many challenges and hardship await. We will be travelling to all the countries to gain invaluable experience. But first we must go to the Continent to the West over the Great Sea. If my sources are correct it should help you greatly." Jiraiya said whilst they jumped from tree to tree.
On the third day of the journey they crossed the border of the Fire Country and into that of the Wind. The young shinobi, who had never been in the Wind Country before, immediately noticed the change in climate. It wasn't that it was hot; it was just extremely humid and sticky. 'Heh how do they get water out here, all i see is sand and more sand.' He thought. "Hey ero-sennin, are you sure this is the right way, we've been going for hours now and this dust and sand seem endless."
"Of course i know where we're going! What do you take me for!" Sensing the obvious witty remark that Naruto was about to make, Jiraiya interjected, "Ah, don't answer that. Anyway to answer your question we are on our way to a small town on the Edge of the Wind that has a Port overlooking the Great Sea. Here we can book a boat to get us across the sea. We should be there in a few more days." he ended.
'And so the adventure begins' the Genin thought
After a few more days and pit stops they arrived at the port. Jiraiya had told him to have a look around the town while he went to book a boat for the next trip to the West Continent. As Naruto wandered around aimlessly, he stumbled into what looked like the centre of the town. It was like no market place he had ever seen before. It was a huge square with stalls that encompassed the perimeter backing onto houses and Hotels. In the centre was a large fountain. As Naruto walked closer, he spotted an inscription that had been written on the sideof the pillars of the fountain where the water shot from.
He read it to himself out loud, "We dedicate this memorial to the Ninja of Suna who protected our town in its time of need through the Great War." He looked up at the fountain again as the water splashed out of the top and trickled down to the pool below. He bent over to see how deep it went. The water was crystal clear and he could see his reflection with ease as if he was looking at himself through a mirror. Suddenly another head showed in the reflection.
"Not from around here are you lad." Said a voice beside him. Naruto spun to meet the person who spoke. Their eyes met, well his left eye met the stranger's right, the other had been covered by what looked like an altered version of what Pirates use to conceal an eye they had lost or damaged out at sea. The man was wearing a long dark coat that reached his ankles and black shoes matching the colour of his long beard.
"Er, no sir, i'm from the Village hidden in the Leaves." Naruto now stood up fully taking in the appearance of the man before him. He held out his hand and pointed at the man. "The names Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha and don't you forget it!" he exploded.
The man, momentarily fazed by the little outburst quickly recovered and looked the boy over. "I'm Barlock. So what you doing here lad?" he said notcing the leaf Head Protector on the boy's forhead, "Konohas a long way away."
"Well i'm training to become a better ninja so i can go back and prove to the villagers that i can be a strong shinobi so they will respect and acknowledge me." Naruto energetically replied, "Me and ero-sennin are travelling so i can learn lots of different jutsus and fighting styles. But we came here to get a boat to go to the West continent to begin my training." He finished.
The man raised and eyebrow at this "Boy, no one has travelled to the West Continent in a long time since it became bad for business when, what can only be described as a 'Sea Monster', began to destroy all the ships that were bound for the Pengaren Port. Every so often a team is dispatched to destroy the monster, but no one has ever come back." Barlock informed Naruto.
"Oh man, that, means ero-sennin won't be able to get us a boat." He exasperated, "And that means we came here for nothing" adding glumly.
The man gave him a confused look, "Who is the ero-sennin you're on about lad?"
"Oh Jiraiya-sensei, i call him that cos he's such a pervert." Naruto sneered
"WHAT! The legendary Jiraiya, creator of the famous 'Icha Icha Paradise' is your sensei!" the cloaked man exclaimed. As fast as lightning a small crowd had gathered around the two. Of course, all of which were men.
Naruto sighed 'Are all men perverts? Geez!' A vein popped on the side of his head, "Yes that perverted man is my sensei. I can't believe you're all the same, you disgust me." He spat, but no one seemed to care for his words of distaste as they all started asking him questions:
"Is he here now?"
"Will he sign my book?"
"When's the next issue coming out?"
Growing angrier by the second, Naruto had had enough. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs; "YES HE'S HERE, GO TO THE DOCKS AND FIND HIM FOR YOURSELF YOU BUNCH OF PE-"
A sudden shake of the ground stopped him mid-sentence. As he opened his eyes to find the cause of the commotion, all he saw was a trial of dust which had been left in place of the crowd. Slapping his forehead he turned back around to find that the strange man hadn't moved. "Heh, i thought you went with the rest of them Barlock, what's the deal?" questioned Naruto.
"Though i would gladly follow, i've got more important things to think about. The last ship sent to defeat the monster was 2 years ago, that day i lost my only son to the beast." The man sadly recalled. Naruto lowered his eyes, not knowing what to say in comfort. "However, i have managed to assemble a fine crew that are worthy and we will defeat the demon of the sea, but i must get back to finish the preperations." Barlock said. Naruto looked up sharply, this was the perfect opportunity.
"Hey Barlock, if me and ero-sennin come and help you destroy the Sea Monster will you take us to the West Continent in return?"
The man stroked his long beard slowly and looked to the sky. After a minute or two he stopped and made eye contact with Naruto again, "Alright lad its a deal, though you don't seem much, the Legendary Sannin would be extremely helpful in defeating the beast. The trade routes will be restored and i could find out if my son survived. Plus it would motivate the men to have such inspiration on board." Barlock said with immense satisfaction.
On the other hand our blonde haired Ninja was gritting his teeth as the man bad-mouthed his ability before him. "Hey you, i'll show you how good a ninja i am and everyone around here will remember the name Uzumaki Naruto when i've defeated the Sea Monster!" Naruto proclaimed. He would make sure that this town would see him in a different light.
"Heh, well ok kid, but i won't be held accountable for your safety while you aboard. Are you sure you want to do this?" Barlock queried.
"Of course, i promise to destroy the monster for this town. And i never take back my words, that's my nindo way!" Naruto extended his arm and gave Barlock his best 'nice-guy' pose that he could muster which he'd learnt from Lee.
Barlock smiled, 'Maybe there's more to this kid then meets the eye. Anyone who receives training from the Great Jiraiya must be a worthy apprentice.' Barlock thought. "Ok kid if you insist. Meet us at Bay E7 at 10:30 in 3 days, bring only the necessary equipment and supplies and don't be late. We set sail at 11:00 sharp and if you're not both on board before then, we will leave without you." He made clear.
"Thanks Barlock, see you then" Naruto waved as he made his way to find Jiraiya.
As the Leaf Genin walked around the village to find his sensei, he heard the sound of a large group of people making loud noises in the distance. Deciding he didn't have anything better to do at the time, Naruto headed for the crowd to find what all the fuss was about. Nearing the edge of the gathering a booming voice hit his ears, "YES MY WONDERFUL FANS IT IS I, THE LEGENDARY JIRAIYA, CREATOR OF THE WORLD RENOWNED ICHA ICHA PARADISE SERIES! PLEASE FOLLOW ME FOR SIGNED COPIES, AND THE NEW, LIMITED EDITION VOLUME THAT HAS NOT YET HIT STORES!" The crowd gasped with excitement. Naruto on the other face vaulted.
'Kuso! Why did i tell them he was here, this is going to be so troublesome! Listen to me i sound like that grumpy bastard Shikamaru! Then again, he may make quite a bit of money out of this little venture so he won't have to use any of mine.' Naruto sighed, ' I guess i'll go and train. He can find me later when he's done here.' And with that Naruto jumped from roof to rooft to find a suitable place to train.
"Why didn't i notice that before now? God i'm dumb! Maybe that Uchiha bastard did have a slight reason to call me a dobe from time to time." Naruto reasoned. He had been practicing his Kage Bushin jutsu outside the Village in a secluded area. "So each time i summon a clone, i will retain the memories of everything it does when it disappears as the chakra i used comes back to me." He scratched his head. 'There must be a way i can use that to my advantage. Since i have alot of stamina, that means i can summon a lot more clones than even a Jounin could.' He looked at the ground, then up to the sky and back down again.
Nothing.
He created another Kage Bushin for inspiration.
Nothing.
After 10 minutes of hard thinking, he was about to give it up as a lost cause when it hit him. "That's it! That means i'll be able to master ninjutsus, genjutus and tiajutus because i'll have gained more experience from my clones!" He exclaimed victoriously. "So if i create a thousand clones and practice the same jutsu, i could master it in... uh lets see.. ah..." he held all of his fingers up before him, "... um... and... ah, oh... carry the 1... uh... oh whatever, it'll take a lot less time to master than if i trained on my own. Now all i need is ero-sennin to teach me something new for once!" He rolled his eyes sensing a lot of begging and sucking up ahead of him.
Just then he heard the sound of shoes scuffling the ground behind him, "Ah so there you are, i've been looking all over for you." Naruto new the voice all too well, "So you've been training i see, learnt anything new?" Jiraiya asked as the Genin turned round to face his sensei.
"Nah, i've just been trying to improve on what i already know, perfecting my jutsus." Naruto replied. "Did you have a nice pervert meeting with all your perverted friends?" Naruto snickered. Jiraiya's left eyebrow twitched uncontrollably at his student's statement as he bashed his pupil over the head. "Ow, kuso ero-sennin what was that for!"
"I'll have you know that my books are a work of art and a best selling series throughout the land!" He opened up a bag for Naruto to see. Inside, money filled every inch of space available. "See just to prove my point. Think of it this way, at least i don't need to borrow any of your money now." Jiraiya smiled, scratching the back of his head.
"Borrow? When did i get that money back again? And don't you mean you won't need to 'borrow' my money as early as last time?" The blonde ninja added sarcastically.
Knowing it was best not to continue with this path of topic, the Toad Hermit decided to change the subject. "Oh yeah that reminds me, unfortunately it seems that we won't be going to the West Continent after all. Apparently, there is some 'Sea Monster' that has been destroying ships on the way to the Pangeran Port." He sighed, "I'm sorry Naruto, i said i would help them defeat the beast but they were too afraid to go anywhere near it. Looks like we'll have to start our training here, in the Wind Country." He waited for the inevitable whining and complaining of how the young Leaf shinobi could beat it with ease... but it never came.
Jiraiya looked down to face his student. His pupil had the widest grin on his face that he'd ever seen. Before he could ask Naruto spoke, "Hehe ero-sennin, I got us a ticket to the West Country. All we have to do is defeat the Sea Monster and we get a free trip."
He gave Naruto a puzzled look. "How did you manage that? All the people i spoke to were too afraid to even go out into the Great Sea, let alone go anywhere near the monster!"
"Well, i happened to run into a man who was going out to fight the monster and i made a deal with him that if we help kill the beast, then we will get a free ride to the West Continent."
Jiraiya could only smile at how Naruto, and only Naruto could pull off such a feat. It seemed like every time he met someone new, they'd instantly warm up to him and trust him completely.
"So when do we depart?" The hermit asked.
"Bay E7 on the docks at 10:30 in 3 days. The man's name is Barlock and he's the captain, so it should be easy enough to find if we get lost." Naruto replied.
"Ok then, i guess i'll go and get us a hotel to stay in for the time being. I'll come back for you later" Jiraiya said as he semi-waved and wandered off, giggling to himself abount new ideas for his next volume of his Icha Icha Paradise.
The Genin turned back around to continue his training. 'Hmm i think i'll put my theory to practice.'
"Taju Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
An endless echo of 'Poofing' sounds could be heard throughout the town, "Now i think it's about time i perfected the Rasengan, don't you?" All his clones nodded simultaneously. "Well then, let's begin..."
End Chapter Notes
If anyone feels that i should have included extra/less of anything please let me know, plus the usual stuff like spelling. Especially names of things.
I'd also be happy to have a beta seeing as i'm new to this and could improve the quality.
Anyway, hope that all who read enjoyed and let me know your thoughts. The next chapter should be up in the next few days.
See you then.