Title: Technicalities
Rating: T
Character(s): Naruto Uzumaki
Summary: Ninja's technology had to come from somewhere, even it was the very distant past. Because they weren't the ones who created it, they obviously couldn't be familiar with everything. How disastrous could it be if Naruto was raised by someone who was?
Disclaimer: I own no one but my OC. You'll know her when you see her.
Warnings: Er, maybe a bit too much like the first episode... woops. Didn't mean to do that.
xXx Chapter Two: Initiate Integration Process xXx
Naruto pouted to himself as he trudged out of the classroom. Another year, failed. He knew everything required, could improvise with any scenario, had the ability to switch at least five fighting styles on the fly, and probably had the most random survival facts in his head compared to the rest of the classes he's been in, yet he couldn't even produce three simply bushins! Gah! If only he'd done better on his paperwork instead of studying other things this year! He probably could have averaged a passing grade if his other testing subjects were perfect.
What would Tari-chan do?
He stopped that line of thought fairly quickly.
"Who knows? She's crazy." He huffed as he sat on his swing. His anger slowly gave way to sadness and helplessness. He could do this! He wanted to do this! Tari-chan said both of his parents were well respected shinobi of Konoha, and he wanted to be respected. Most of all, he had precious people in this village he wanted to protect! He needed to become a ninja if that were to happen! He blinked thin tears away when he heard footsteps approach.
"Ah, Naruto. Don't be so upset. You know that Iruka-sensei just wants you to be ready." Mizuki said gently.
"But I am ready! I can do jutsu! Bushin is such a weak jutsu though!" Naruto argued as calmly as he could. Keyword in could.
"Hm…" Mizuki-sensei looked at him contemplatively. Naruto could feel hope blossoming in his chest. "Well, don't tell anyone, but there is a makeup test." Naruto grinned.
He knew there was a chance for him!
After all, last year had a special case as well.
X
Naruto groaned as he let himself fall forward onto his couch. A cool small square pressed against his side as if to reprimand him, but the small computer was resilient enough to survive a fall from the top of the Hokage Mountain. Unscratched.
It was proven rather unpromptly one day.
Naruto thought about the makeup test Mizuki sensei told him about, and it didn't make sense to him. Normally when a potential genin failed one section of the shinobi requirements rather spectacularly, they could prove to their sensei that they had a specialization that made up for it. They would then be guaranteed a professional mentor for that field as the sensei of their genin team. Lee-kun had done that with his taijutsu. Naruto could probably do it with his stealth or tracing. Heck, even information gathering.
But stealing a forbidden scroll? A treasure of Konoha? Sure it was a play on his infiltration and information gathering, but that was going a little too far. Tests were supposed to be in controlled settings, not with as many variables as a real life situation.
After a moment, Naruto pulled out his Tolerance and opened it.
"Tolerance, contact Religion of Tari-chan."
Connecting…
There was quiet beeping echoing for about ten seconds before a ring chimed and a voice answered.
"Moshi moshi, Naruto-kun." Naruto sighed in relief and rolled onto his back before answering.
"Hi, Tari-chan."
"I saw what happened. I'm sorry you didn't pass."
"Mizuki-sensei said I could take a makeup test, like with Lee-sempai."
"Hm…You don't sound too excited about it."
"Well, it doesn't make sense. Ne, Tari-chan, how do I track someone with my Flip Book?"
"Why?"
"I wanna see what Mizuki-sensei is doing right now."
"You do know that we might not be able to get complete footage?" After almost a month of frustrating gaps of technology sitting throughout the village, Tarisha had connected to the satellites with her Religion and replayed the past natural disasters. She rewatched the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune at least twenty times before conceding to Naruto that chakra was a real source of energy. It explained what happened to most of the computers around the once security-camera-filled village.
"Something is better than nothing." Naruto waved the issue away.
"Not unless you get something useful from it." Tari argued. Naruto rolled his eyes and moved the screens to better see his face. If he could see it well, she could.
"It's still something." Naruto said. Tari only smiled.
"Okay, Naruto-kun. Regardless, I won't be able to walk you through it over the vidcom. It'll do all sorts of weird things to our Flip Books. But, you could ask Tolerance to give you advice. Have it suggest methods of image tracking a subject. Just make sure you wait until we hang up. Okay?" Naruto nodded happily. "And remember, when you see a warning triangle, acknowledge it." Naruto laughed.
"I know, Tari-chan!"
"Send me an emess when you think you've found something. I'm going to be sweeping through the databases around the Hokage Tower." Naruto snorted.
"Okay. Have fun, Tari-chan." The older woman grinned.
"Oh, you know I will." Naruto laughed. When it came to village secrets, Tari-chan knew just how to work around all the passwords and loopholes in computer security to figure things out. He stood up determinedly as he looked at his trusty Flip Book.
"Okay. Tolerance, suggest methods of tracking individual subjects." Naruto said, feeling awkward and foolish. Tari had pounded into his head that his Flip Book was only as smart as him. He just had to remain smarter. As of three seconds ago, he definitely felt stupid with his computer, so he couldn't even imagine what his computer would do.
Suggestion:
Naruto gapped. He didn't think that was supposed to work!
Connect to real-time satellite footage. Suggestion: target individual through personal computer. Duly noted: must have verification passkey to initiate. Suggestion: wire feed of public cameras to target facial structure of identity. Suggestion: Naruto realized he had no idea how to stop his computer from continuing.
"Ah crap."
X
Naruto decided to steal the scroll anyway. He'd deal with his suspicious sensei when the time came. He crouched low near the entrance to the stairs. There were cameras and patrolling guards along the halls and stairs. He knew just how to get passed them.
"Tolerance, initiate sound frequency to hypnotize human beings for the next hour. Initiate controlled feed on current feedback for all surrounding recording devices within eighty yards to last for the next hour. My presence is to be hidden from knowledge. Initiate now."
Initiated hypnotism. Initiating hack. Countdown: one hour. Range: eighty yards.
Naruto walked. Then he stood in front of the Hidden Archives door. It was locked. With a padlock and an electronic lock.
'I think I feel insulted. Did they make it this easy for me because of my test, or is this really how secure our village secrets are?' Naruto rolled his eyes, not knowing which part he should feel more indignant about. He deftly picked the lock and pulled out the connection cable from his Tolerance's spine. He plugged it into the little mini-z type connector outlet, set just under the keypad. His Flip Book turned on, one screen glowing in an information screen and the other presenting a keyboard. Setting his Tolerance in his arm so the keyboard was flat and the screen tilted towards him, Naruto pressed the enter button to begin.
SECURITY UNIT 49G3KO95
VIRUS PROTECTION: NONEXISTANT
FIREWALL: NONEEXISTANT
PASSWORD: SET
-HIDE/REVEAL
-EDIT
-DELETE
ALARM FEATURE: ON
-VOLUME: 20/20
-COORESPONDING CONNECTION
Not bothering to read the rest of the page, Naruto touched the reveal option to the password, scoffing at the weak security.
PASSWORD: 3490281
Naruto closed the feature of his Tolerance and typed in the password, idly wondering why security doesn't require retina scans. Those weren't as easy to copy as, say, fingerprints. 'Oh yeah, that'd be copying feature of our village's prestigious doujustu. All the more easier for me.' The door opened, and Naruto took his time exploring. After a while of browsing and sometimes image captures, Naruto cursed himself for forgetting something he should have done.
Countdown: thirty minutes
"Whose there!" A man shouted.
Naruto groaned to himself and lifted the huge scroll onto his back. He should have muted Tolerance when he could. Regardless, it was a good timer. He had to meet with his sensei in the next hour and a half. Plenty of time to study the scroll in the clearing the man spoke about. He walked past the guard, who was holding a kunai, and closed the door, letting the lock reset itself. He snapped the padlock closed and nimbly moved out of the way of the oncoming charge. The other shinobi was blind, but he could see the lock moving and hear the door locking.
"Show yourself! Intruder!" Alarms blared once before Tolerance shut them down without prompt, still obeying its previous instructions. Naruto made a mental note to check up on the repercussions of messing with the Hokage Tower security. He walked out the front door and quickly leapt to the rooftops, intent on getting to the clearing before Tolerance's hacking and hypnotism wore off. Granted, anyone would be able to see him when they were far enough away – the range was eighty yards after all – but they were all focusing on locking the Hokage Tower down at the moment. Hopefully.
'Maybe I should have done a range of three miles.' Naruto thought as he ran. No one followed him, all resources still being used inside the tower to find him. He made it to the clearing in a few short minutes. With a grin and a flourish, Naruto snagged one corner of the scroll and flicked it towards the clearing, deftly opening the scroll completely in one move. He looked at it for a moment, marveling the length, before realizing something about it.
"That's going to be a bitch to close again, huh?" Naruto asked himself.
Countdown expired. Hypnotism deactivated. Hacking deactivated.
With a dying whiz, Tolerance shut itself off.
"Spoilsport." Naruto muttered before taking out his trusty Flip Book and spinning it on its spine. "Alright. Tolerance, initiate page scan and copy."
Copy program initiated
A small triangle blinked on the screen. Confused, Naruto acknowledged it.
"Tolerance, open corresponding notes to program."
Duly noted: dimensions of page unknown. Enter length and width of page.
"Tolerance, dimensions of page to be copied is as follows. Width, four feet. Length, unknown." Naruto hoped the program would still run. He'd never tried to scan a scroll before, and certainly nothing as long as the Forbidden Scroll.
Copy program edited; width: four feet. Length: undetermined. Awaiting scan command.
Naruto double checked that the scroll was as straight as possible and held his Flip Book out so it's measuring red highlights were on the edges of his project.
"Tolerance, begin scan." A light was flickered inside the outlining red highlighting lines and Naruto carefully walked along the side of the Forbidden Scroll. He knew his smart trusty computer would automatically edit his scan to allow for a nice little picture, but he'd rather get it right himself. After a walk that was a lot longer than he thought, Naruto was done. "Tolerance, end scan." The holographic light died out and Naruto could feel his Flip Book whizzing inside his hands. He suddenly hoped it wasn't going to die. He'd been using it a lot today, and it ran out of energy without sunlight. With a look of resignation, Naruto set aside his Flip Book from his mind for a moment and started the task of rolling the long scroll up again. Whoever wrote it must have been a masochist or a genius. The size of the scroll alone was a fairly good deterrent to have people not want to look at it.
"Alright! Let's see what we got." Naruto set the scroll to his side and relaxed on the ground with his Flip Book in his hands. He quickly opened the necessary folders to find his latest download and swiftly renamed it as Forbidden Scroll – Konohagakure no Sato. After all, who know if he'd get the chance to sneak a peek at other scrolls from other hidden villages? He opened the file with a double tap of his finger and studied the first technique.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu. Shadow clones, huh? I suck at clones." Naruto groaned to himself. "Er, solid projections, infiltration, yadda yadda… Whoa! I can know what it learned when it gets dispelled? Cool." Despite his initial discouragement, Naruto read the instructions of how to perform the jutsu. After carefully reading and rereading the hand signs and precautions, Naruto set his Flip Book down and stood up to give it a try.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto called as he finished his last sign and pushed out some chakra. A double looked at him.
"Yatta!" The two cried out.
"Cool! You get the scroll and study the even shit. I'll use Tolerance and get on the odd jutsus!"
"Roger Boss!" The Naruto clone said in French. Naruto laughed as the two set to studying. It was about ten minutes later that Naruto realized his sensei might be coming soon. He didn't want anyone to know about Tolerance, so he dispelled his clone, stared at the scroll for what he learned was in it, put Tolerance away and decided to continue practicing Kage Bushin no Jutsu. Mizuke was a lying man, Naruto knew this, but there was always a chance that this was really a test. The man said to learn one jutsu. So Naruto learned seven, he'd only tried one and so that was the one he was going to master and show his sensei.
"Naruto!" A familiar and unexpected voice called out just as he got the hang of realizing how much chakra created how many clones.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called back happily. The man was easily his favorite sensei, thus he gave no thought to jumping up to hug the older man. "Looks like I found you!"
"You dummy! I found you!" Iruka said in annoyance as he smacked the blond in the back of the head.
"What's the difference?" Naruto grinned as he rubbed his head. The other man didn't even hurt him. Tari-chan never got too physical with him unless he was feeling upset or depressed. She had an abundance of hugs then. Sometimes though, Naruto wished he had some other forms of interaction with people. He saw people shake hands, punch shoulders, and tap backs and stuff, but Iruka was the only one to do that with him. He liked it.
"You brat." Iruke smiled wanly as he ruffled Naruto's hair. The blond beamed. "Naruto, why did you steal that scroll?" He asked in a more serious tone. Naruto frowned.
"Mizuki-sensei said it was a makeup test. Didn't he tell you? He told me about it and this clearing too. This makeup test is so easy!"
"Makeup test? Naruto, there are no makeup tests, only alternative tests."
"Then, why did Mizuki-sensei…" Naruto glanced to the side of the clearing. It was faint, and he felt it more than heard it, but someone just stepped into the line of an alarm beam. The pressure in his ears told him some form of security technology was switched on by motion sensing, and chances are that person was Mizuki-sensei. The reason the audio was silent was most likely damage to the speakers, but not the unit.
"Naruto?" Naruto didn't answer Iruka as he turned to look curiously at where the mute alarm was blaring. Mizuki soon appeared on a branch.
"Naruto, quick, hand over the scroll!" Mizuki said urgently.
"Mizuki! You traitor!"
"I'm the traitor! You're the traitor! Naruto! Iruka is an enemy ninja! You cannot let the village's secrets get to him!"
"Mizuki-sensei, you said I only needed to learn a technique from this, not play theft and retreat." Naruto said, unphased by the two tense ninjas around him. Mizuki chuckled darkly.
"Yes, you're right. But," He took one of the giant shuriken off his back and aimed. "I was deadly serious about the scroll, you demon brat."
"No!" Naruto, realizing that something was very wrong with the situation, pulled at Iruka-sensei as the man tried to push him down. The giant shuriken landed with a dull thunk as the two hit the ground.
"Ow." Naruto said lowly. Iruka quickly leaned up. He had fallen under the boy when they were moving away.
"Are you alright, Naruto?"
"My Tolerance was a bit, low..." Naruto started before stopping. Iruka-sensei didn't know about Tolerance. The little Flip Book was currently about to slide down his pant leg, having taken the brunt of Naruto's weight when he tried not to land completely on his sensei. He was sure, if his healing rate wasn't abnormally fast, that he'd have a bruise on his outer knee.
"So I missed. I still have another perfectly good shot!" Mizuki yelled as he grinned. "Now die, demon!"
"Demon this! Demon that!" Naruto stood up angrily, feeling a tick on his eye as Tolerance slid down to the ground next to the Forbidden scroll. "What the heck, Mizuki-sensei! What's going on!"
"Oh ho ho! You mean you don't know!" Mizuki sneered as he lowered his weapon. Naruto crossed his arms as he looked up to the trees defiantly. "You mean you don't know why most of the village hates you? Why no one ever wanted you? Why even me and Iruka have hated you since we saw you?"
"Mizuki, don't say another word!" Iruka demanded as he pulled out a shuriken.
"See? Even Iruka knows. Oh yeah, that's right." Naruto slowly stepped away to put both men in his sight. He was really not liking where this was going. "It was a law, specifically made so you never knew."
"Just me? A law about me?" Naruto asked, feeling a little hurt. What did he ever do to cause his own village to hate him? He'd tried to never let it bother him that everyone obviously didn't like him. He'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't affected at all, though.
"Do you remember the date of the Kyuubi attack, you little monster? Isn't it the same day as your birthday? Did you really think a mortal, even as strong as the Yondaime, could possibly defeat a demon of destruction and power? No, he sealed it! He sealed it straight into you! You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" Mizuki threw his giant shuriken.
Naruto didn't see it coming. At all.
You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!
Him? Really? He was a demon? But, his DNA said he was human... Except, it explained his struggled just trying to live in the village. His well known freakishly fast healing speed. All the stares, whispers…threats. Insults... Oh Kami, he really was a demon!
You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!
"Naruto!" With a flinch, Naruto suddenly started paying attention to the world outside of his thoughts and cringed as Iruka pushed him to the ground. He could see a tremor of pain wash throughout his favorite – lying? – sensei. The man looked at him with sorrowful brown eyes. "I'm sorry, Naruto." Naruto could feel blood dripping onto his hand, rolling off of Iruka's back. He froze.
"What did you do that for, Iruka? That would have been a clean kill!" Mizuki complained childishly as he jumped down from the tree. He walked leisurely towards the two. "Oh well. I was planning on killing you anyway. Witnesses and all. You understand."
Naruto panicked as the silver haired man stepped closer. Confused and emotionally hurt, his gaze flicked over to Tolerance and the Forbidden Scroll. He slipped out from under Iruka and snagged the two, running away until he reached the edge of the clearing.
"Stop right where you are, Mizuki-teme." Naruto demanded as he held the scroll out and placed his hand under it, threateningly poised to snap. His Flip Book rested in a back pocket, out of sight from both men at the moment. "One more step, one more move, and I burn this precious scroll."
"Hahahahah! With what? You don't even have the balls to try." Glaring, Naruto moved his hand away and snapped. A small yellow fireball, as big as a beach ball, exploded in his hand. He had learned the trick from Tari-chan, who liked to light candles every once in a while. They were pretty big candles. She said they used to be used at cathedrals, whatever those were. He poised his hand under the scroll again. The two men blanched, having felt the heat from the first burst of flames.
"Naruto no!"
"Don't you dare you little bastard!"
"Then tell me what I want to know! Who made that law! Who was it that ordered everyone to hate me silently!"Mizuki relaxed, thinking he was off the hook.
"Give me the scroll, Uzumaki. It was the Hokage. Your precious Sandaime Hokage."
"Tolerance, initiate hypnotism around the Forbidden scroll. Create image to burst in flames, burning to ash quickly and remain invisible for one hour." Naruto intoned in German. He snapped. The clearing was silent as Naruto tossed the burning scroll towards the side of him, letting the image burn the scroll through near the edge of the tree line.
"You little shit!" Mizuki yelled. Naruto quickly hid, stealthily running away until he could pick a vantage point to ambush the man. "I'll deal with you later, loser." The silver haired man glared at Iruka before following chase.
"No! Arg-!" Iruka could only flinch as his wounds prevented him from moving quickly. "Naruto..." Determined to help his favorite student, Iruka forced himself to stand up. He would start training differently after this. He used to be pretty good at ignoring his injuries, but years as a safe teacher had made him complacent. He would start straining himself more during his training. If he survived the night. He really didn't want to kill his friend, Mizuki, but if he had to chose between him and Naruto...
It went without saying, that he'd do anything for Naruto.
With a determined breath, he stood up and started to run after the two.
"Iruka!" Mizuki called in surprise as a shower of kunai rained on him. Only two hit, but they were superficial. He had dodged for the most part. "What are you doing you idiot! That monster killed your parents! It's his fault you grew up all alone!"
Perched in the treetops, using Tolerance to help him hide, Naruto listened closely.
"That doesn't matter to me. I know Naruto. I thought I knew you. Mizuki, why did you want the scroll?"
"Ha! Why else? Why else would Naruto want it? We're both alike in that, you know." Naruto cringed at the idea. "Beasts for power! I was going to use the scroll to become unbeatable! Then the demon went and burned it! I'm getting my revenge on him, just as he's about to get revenge on the village right now. That's what beasts are, you know. Mindless monsters!"
"Yes, that is what a demon is." Naruto prepared to leave. He had heard enough. He was going to run away. Or stay with Tari-chan. Something. He wasn't going to stay here and take this crap anymore. "But that isn't what Naruto is." Naruto paused. He really wanted to believe in his favorite sensei. "Naruto is a human boy, full of energy and life. He works hard and despite his struggles he loves life. He loves this village and its people, regardless of how they treat him. He may mess up from time to time, and everyone jumps on him because of it, but that only makes him stronger when he succeeds. That isn't a demon. That is Uzumaki Naruto, of Konohagakure."
Naruto smiled gently, touched.
"You honestly believe that? Really? Don't make me sick. I was going to deal with you later, but I've changed my mind." Wiping the disgusted look off of his face, Mizuki took out a single kunai. "Your last night is here. Any final words?" Iruka said nothing, resigned. Just running here took the last of his energy. He was losing too much blood. He had already lost too much as it was. Mizuki started to run.
Naruto jumped down quickly, taking out his whistle and blowing it sharply to distract the two and stall for a moment of time. It worked. Naruto kicked the traitor in the cheek as he came down and was able to knock him away an impressive amount of feet. Naruto flipped backwards to steady his momentum and took a protective stance in front of Iruka.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei, I'll kill you!" He threatened as he took out a small fan. It was made of metal, more crude than anything, but Naruto knew how to use it. He was planning on getting a real tessen when he became a shinobi, but this was no time to ignore any skills due to secrecy. If he had to, he could resort to taijutsu as well.
He was rather proud of his taijutsu style, learned from the past through footage and what Tari-chan was vaguely familiar with.
"Naruto!" Iruka called in surprise. He collapsed to the ground, the loss of blood and surprise of battle taking too much from him.
"Such big words. I could completely destroy you with a single move!" Mizuki snarled. Naruto formed a cross with his fingers defiantly.
"Try it, bastard! I'll return it to you by a thousand. Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
"What!" Mizuki tensed, completely unprepared for such an overwhelming force of opposition.
"This is- They're, all real. Solid clones..." Iruka noted in quiet awe.
"Let's have him pay!" Naruto called out in English. With many war cries, Naruto and his clones all jumped towards their single target and proceeded to maul him. As they realized the man couldn't even fight back very well, they put away their tessen, unless they were going to use it to scare the Mizuki more.
Dawn broke out a few hours later.
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. I guess I got a bit carried away." Iruka gave one last sad glance to his unconscious friend and waved the boy closer.
"As long as you're alright, Naruto. Come here. I've got something for you."
"Are you okay? Should we get you to the hospital?" Naruto asked as he obeyed.
"I'll be fine." His body had started ignoring the pain a while ago. "It will be a great loss to the village, now that our Forbidden Scroll has been destroyed. But hopefully, with you in our ranks, we can start rebuilding our forces to be even stronger. After all, that scroll is only for the strongest of the strong; our Anbu."
"Really? That's pretty cool. It's a good thing the scroll isn't lost. Hey, hey! What are you doing?" Iruka had slipped Naruto's goggles off before looking at the boy strangely.
"Naruto, didn't you destroy the scroll?"
"Of course not! I wouldn't do something like that, ever! I just made you all think I did! It's still sitting in the first clearing. Can I have my goggles back?"
"You crazy little genius." Iruka knew the boy was gifted. "Close your eyes, Naruto. I have something better than goggles for you." Confused, but excited about surprises, Naruto obeyed and felt something cover his forehead. It didn't feel too different than his goggles... "Congratulations, Naruto." Naruto opened his eyes to see Iruka still holding his goggles. "You graduated." Naruto's eyes flicked to Iruka's forehead. There was nothing there, so that meant-
"You're so awesome, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said as he carefully hugged the brunet. He was mindful of his injuries, but couldn't help but tighten his hold just a little when Iruka hugged him back.
X
"Tolerance, mute response and deactivate hypnotism." Naruto intoned quietly in German as he waved his hand in the direction of the scroll. It reappeared as if the wind was erasing its invisibility.
"Naruto, what sort of jutsu is that? I didn't feel you use any chakra." Naruto walked towards the scroll to get it since Iruka was having enough trouble standing as it was.
"It wasn't a jutsu, Iruka-sensei. Ano, I'm not really comfortable talking about it, either. Maybe one day, I promise, but not today. Please." Iruka smiled as Naruto picked up the scroll in his arms and looked at him expectantly. He looked like such a young child, dwarfed by the scroll as he was.
"Okay. I won't pester you. We'll give the scroll back to the Hokage and then check me into the hospital."
"Hai."
"Hm, and maybe we could go get some ramen later today, seeing as how it is morning."
"Hai!"
xXx TBC… xXx
HK: Rawr! Another chapter done! I didn't mean for it to look so much like the episode, but it had to be done. And, after three or so weeks underway and thus unable to update, I wanted to get a chapter out to you guys. Unfortunately, my computer was retarded so I had to give it to Geek Squad to try to fix. I just got it back. You know how it is. Was it too much Tolerance time? Are you all okay reading Naruto's tech savvy instructions, or should I tone it down? Let me know what you think!
Posted: 14Dec2010