A/N: I hope the dark stuff didn't scared too many of you off, but that's the problem with writing an evil character. They do evil things…. Anyways read and review.
Jariya had been worried about the boy after they left the hospital. He'd wanted to see how Naruto reacted to the villagers, but he wasn't quite prepared for the quiet withdrawal that Naruto had shown, up through the entire sealing process. Even the old ramen chef had grown pale and slack jawed at Naruto's despondent behavior outside the shop. Then he saw the stone toads and knew for sure Naruto had the same affinity for the toads that he did. He was even tempted to have the boy perform the summoning jutsu without the contract to shock the toads, but thought better of it.
Naruto had finally emerged from his shell and he was eager to learn more about the child he was denied.
"Well if I wasn't impressed before, I am now." He said allowing the awe to escape with an earnestness he never showed these days.
"Ehh, it's not really useful. I had felt the chakra all around me during one of my meditations and had thought about Jiji's conjecture regarding the nature of a chakra universe. I attempted to harness the chakra itself but was unable to. I'd realized that, when I connected with it I started to sense everything around me, but I'd turn to stone soon after."
He saw Naruto slipping away and spoke quickly, "How about we eat and talk seals?"
Naruto's head shot up, eyes wild with hope, "Really?"
Jariya smiled widely, "Of course."
Naruto
Any doubt about the man's prowess with seals was banished the moment the first lesson began. All of the burning questions Naruto had about seals were answered and the man's chakra began to warm and swell with… He couldn't place it. It was easier to feel the nuances of the man's large chakra alone in the forest. The world felt quite around him as they began with barrier seals. Naruto soon found himself with a kindred soul in the old man's presence and he hung on every word as if it was the only sound in existence.
The way the demon shadow had cloaked himself from his senses was soon clear and he felt amiss, as to how the shadow had figured it all out on his own. Was the part of himself that made the shadow better at seals than the whole somehow?
They moved onto storage seals and it was time for the ultimate question.
"Jariya sama, where do the items go when they are sealed?"
Jariya paused for the first time and looked at him searchingly. "You don't know? I'm sure it was covered in the material you've read."
"Well, they said it was a pocket dimension but where is it? Where does the pocket dimension exist?" The words came with the hunger he'd felt all along. He knew the answer was important but couldn't identify why.
Jariya chuckled and rubbed his head affectionately. Naruto secretly took pleasure in the contact, but made no move to express it.
"It is everywhere and nowhere. It is its own space outside our universe that is created and anchored to the object the seal is placed on."
Naruto sat silently digesting the concept. "Why can't my clones be sealed?"
The space's volume is defined by the chakra used to create the space and any object that's chakra is not tightly bound just adds to the space. And no, I don't know how to get inside the space. Masters have been after it since the concept was first introduced, but when someone is placed into the space they always die, so don't get any ideas."
Naruto only smiled, "Too late sensei."
Jariya felt the pain grip his chest, hearing those words spoken in another time, by a mirror like image. He glanced away at the setting sun to hide the pain so deep that he could never hide it from his face.
"I'm sorry I just thought, that since you were teaching me…" Naruto's words trailed off with the slipping of the smile from his face.
Jariya only stood and began walking away. "Sensei is just fine Naruto, but today's lesson is over. You've got a big day tomorrow." And he was gone.
Naruto smiled to himself at the thought. He shunshined back to Yamato's place to see the man sitting in meditation inside a small, wooden, partial dome. The man rose and greeted him with a sharp nod, before turning towards the house. Naruto continued his walk and paused at the door.
'I'm sorry about missing this day Kyuubi. Have a good night.' He thought before passing through the doorway.
Naruto stayed up putting seals on his clothes, with help from a few clones. Three seemed to push him like he'd made 50 before. He put on the one way barriers seals, binding his chakra so that he couldn't be sensed. Once he was finished he thought, "Why not silencing seals?"
So, he placed them on his shoes so they wouldn't make sound. And then the thought for a moment about what else he could use. "Flash bangs!" He said happily, and then a sly foxy grin slid across his face.
Day 8
A quick breakfast, run around the village with Yamato, and a shower saw Naruto on his way to the academy. He travelled under henge and when he got to the academy, hesitated at the entrance.
'I don't want to deal with questions and suspicions about those murders. Will they look at me with fear too? The adults couldn't say anything about the Kyuubi, but they could about the murders.'
"Kage" He whispered and a large cloak with a hood appeared over his head. He headed to the bathroom and closed his eyes to feel for anyone that was watching him. He could feel Yamato's chakra outside the building along with a few others. He entered a stall and placed barrier seal tags on each wall. Crouching on the toilet seat he made the cross shaped seal, so he wouldn't waste any chakra.
"Kage Kyuubi", and a red haired boy appeared in front of him.
The Kyuubi and he eyed each other for a long moment.
"Wait here for a few kids to come and go before you leave and one more thing."
Naruto unrolled a small portion of a scroll and unsealed an extra jacket. He handed it to Kyuubi with a smile. "I'm not going to lie to you. There is a small tracking seal on your form, so I can cancel you no matter where you are. This Jacket will hide your chakra to everyone but me. It'll appear to most people that you're a civilian.
The Kyuubi eyed him for another moment and then inclined his head.
Naruto smiled and said, "At least one of us will have the day to himself."
Naruto loitered around the halls, away from his classroom, until a few minutes from the start of class. When he entered, his hood was pulled down to hide his face. He could almost feel the students' attention focus on him. As he walked by Hinata he slipped a note into her jacket. When he passed Kiba he held out his fist, and was gifted a solid return bump. He slumped into a desk in the back next to the window and closed his eyes to listen to the children. Someone had come to his desk and, form the smell of deer, he knew it was Shikamaru.
Shikamaru sighed and spoke softly, "I thought more than I'd like to admit about our meeting the other day. Your deception throughout our time at the academy was flawless. I acknowledge you Naruto."
Without another word he left. Naruto sat, feel appreciation for the hood hiding his expression.
'Kyuubi', he thought.
A great stirring within him came before a flash of images. Naruto smiled softly, and thought, 'I knew you weren't all bad Kyuubi chan.'
The broiling anger he felt inside him made his smile spread into a grin.
Iruka came in and he pulled back the hood slightly to make eye contact. The man's eyes held weariness and Naruto felt a pang of sadness grip him. 'He's unsure.'
Naruto pulled the hood back and closed his eyes again. Iruka began with congratulations and then went into a speech. He talked about the three man cells they'd be placed on and how important they were.
"You will live and die by the strength of your team. No matter how talented or intelligent you are, without your team's trust and backing, you will die."
A thoughtful hush took the class. He began calling out names for teams and Naruto noticed most of the civilian students were being lumped together, until team 6.
"Team six; Nara Shikamaru, Akimiki Choji, Inuzuka Kiba, Jonin Captain Sarutobi Asuma."
Each of the boy smiled at each other.
"Team seven; Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, Jin Hewit."
Ino hopped up in protest, "Naruto didn't even graduate! How can he be on a team?
Iruka only nodded over at Naruto, whom pulled back his hood to reveal his head band.
Hushed conversations lit up like wildfire amongst the genin, and Ino plopped back into her seat.
Naruto nodded at her without a smile, and she was taken back by his somber facial expression. She glanced over at Hewit, whom obliviously started into his note book, and scowled.
"Team Eight; Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, Hugo Nelu, Jonin Captain Yuhi Kurunai"
Each of them shared glances and nods.
"Team Nine is still in circulation from last year. Team Ten; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura-"
"Ha, Ino pig! True loves conquers all!" Sakura yelled before being brow beaten into silence by Iruka.
"Yoha Yongi, Jonin Commander Genbo Hatsu. Now, you'll have an hour break to get to know your teammates before your Jonin Sensei picks you up. This is not a suggestion. It is your first order as Genin of this village." Iruka ended with a fierce look on his face and a tone more like a commander than the sensei they'd known.
The teams began to meet up and Naruto walked over to Hewit's desk, which was close to Ino's. He could see some of the civilian students avoiding him, though was comforted by the questioning looks from the kids from ninja families.
Ino remained at her desk, head atop it. Hewit glanced up at Naruto and nodded. "I knew you couldn't be that dumb. Well done Uzumaki."
Naruto held back the grimace, and smiled at the pale boy. He held out his fist and the boy only stared at it for a moment before looking up at Naruto questioningly.
"You're supposed to bump it with your fist." Naruto said encouragingly.
The boy lightly bumped his fist into Naruto's and gave a small grin.
Ino sighed loudly and looked over at them. Naruto held out his fist, "Like it or not Ino, we're going to be a team. The best team there is, believe it." His smile widen towards to end and even Hewit smiled at her sitting, leaning to the side of Naruto.
Ino's fist bumped his and stayed, "As long as you guys know I'm the boss." She looked seriously at them both awaiting their reply.
Naruto looked back at Hewit and winked, before looking to her with a foxy grin. "Sure thing Hime."
She smiled, "Good, because I don't need a couple of slackers for teammates."
A few minutes later they were eating at an Akimiki stand nearby. Ino had ordered a small salad and Naruto and Hewit were sharing an Akimichi sized bowl of sashimi salad. Naruto had been skeptical, but when Ino had offered to pay he accepted with gusto. Then the bowl, if you could call the baby sized bath tub a bowl, came and the last of Naruto's reserve had vanished.
They ate in companionable silence, until Ino broke it, a cloud of misery forming over her head.
"I can't believe Sakura gets to be on Sasuke's team. Now she's going to be all over him and I'll barely see him", Ino said poking the last leaf of salad with her fork.
Naruto was lightly elbowed by Hewit, who whispered, "You better nip this in the butt now, or she's going to be whining about this until we're chunin."
Naruto leaned back, putting his hands behind his head and staring off. "Yeah, you're pretty lucky Ino."
Ino dropped her fork into her plate and glared at him.
Naruto ignored the clattering of the fork, continuing, "We all know he wants to rebuild his clan, and wants a strong kunoichi. Not some weak fan girl. Sakura's going to annoy him to death and by the time we see them again you'll have become everything he's been looking for."
Hewit whistled a high to low tone, "Yep, you sure are lucky Ino. We'll work the hardest out of any of the teams and become so strong, the Uchiha will be begging to be with you."
Ino's glare softened into a grin. "Yeah, forehead's got no chance."
They walked back talking jovially about what their sensei might be like and what kind of training they'd be doing. Hewit showed them a few of his inventions and Naruto revealed a bit about his sealing arts. They talked about some tactics they could use and Ino began to feel like she'd need to come up with more to contribute. When they got close to the academy Hewit stopped them.
"Hey guys, from now on we're a real ninja squad. Let's put our game faces on and start acting the part when we're not alone, okay?" He put his fist out in the middle of their group. Naruto and Ino added their fists to make an awkward triangle and Naruto shouted, "Team Seven!" Hewit and Ino added their shouts soon after.
When they came into the class room Naruto was first, followed by Ino and Hewit.
Sakura scooted closer to Sasuke and waved with her fingers at Ino, whom pointedly ignored her. They took up a spot in the rear, where Naruto normally sat, and spoke quietly to each other, ignoring everyone else.
Iruka arrived, not too long after, and stood eyeing the assembled teams. He nodded to each of the groups that looked like they'd done what they were supposed to do and was surprised to see Naruto's team looking almost like real squad. Naruto gave him a foxy grin and he noted similar grins on his teammates sitting over each shoulder.
"Alright, let me bring in the Jonin captains."
Everyone turned to the door, to hear some scuffling and curses before the door slid open. Kakashi came strolling in briskly, scanning the faces of the genin, "Team seven, report", he all but shouted.
Team seven quickly stood up with a sharp, "Hai sensei." Naruto leaped up and landed a few feet away from the man, followed, a heartbeat of hesitation later, by Ino and Hewit. All three bowed at the waist.
Naruto spoke first, "Team seven at your command sir."
Kakashi nodded once, turned, and walking briskly out the door. A black haired woman with red eyes side step out of his way, left eye twitching with furry.
The class sat in silence as they marched out after their sensei, and most began to sit up a little straighter.
Kakashi rounded the corner spoke over his shoulder, "Roof top, quick as possible", and he was gone in a puff of smoke.
Naruto looked at his teammates' stunned faces before he grabbed them and went into shunshin. His coils burned at the extra bodies, but he ignored it until they were all on the roof.
When they appeared he, attempted to hide his deep breathes and Ino attempted not to throw up in front of their sensei.
Kakashi nodded, "Good, follow me", and took off across the roof tops at speed.
Naruto leapt after him, struggling to keep up. A few minutes later he realized his teammates were far behind. He grit his teeth and made a shadow clone to follow his sensei, while he hung back to wait for his teammates to catch up. Both arrived moments later and he eyed their breathless forms, before looking back where their sensei had been and cursed softly.
"How can you be so fast?" came between Hewit's gasps for breath. Ino only looked at him, gripping her knees and waiting for his answer. He ignored the question and reached out for their hands. I can shunshin us in the general direction until I know where he is taking us, but I can't keep doing that. Ino looked like she was going to protest, but Hewit's quiet voice came out first.
"Thanks Naruto."
Ino seemed to think better of her indignation and took his hand. They vanished in a swirl of leaves and appeared towards the edge of the village. He was gasping for breath, hands on his knees for a moment. He received the flash of memory from his clone. Their sensei was at a training ground and looked pissed. He could still hear the man's gruff question echo in his mind, "Where's my team?"
Naruto grit his teeth and pivoted into a run, "Hurry guys, he's waiting."
A few minutes later they burst into the clearing, each of them looking equally in shambles from the sprint.
Kakashi took in their appearance, "Too slow. A team can only move as quickly as its slowest member."
Ino looked at the man in fury and was about to speak, but Naruto beat her to it. "I'm sorry sensei, we'll get faster."
Silence reigned for several moments and Naruto seemed to be the first to begin to slow his breathing.
Kakashi nodded at this and spoke," No Jonin commander is required to take a team, and, as such, often test their genin to see if they have what it takes to be shinobi of this village. According to Konoha's charter, a genin team should be able to take on a Jonin. Let's see if this is true. Come with the intent to kill, or you won't even have a chance to pass this test."
Naruto stood up quickly and got into stance, just in time to receive a hard right hook to his face. He stumbled passed his teammates to his sides and Kakashi flew between them to kick Naruto in the stomach. His cloak whipped off with the force of the kick and before he hit the tree he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Scatter!" he shouted to his teammates, standing where the cloak had been fluttering to the ground, half a second ago. This seemed to pull his shocked teammates back into reality. Kakashi only spared them a glance as they sputtered and fled to the trees. Three shadows came into existence, one to each side of the original and the third crouched on Naruto's back. The one on Naruto's back jumped off as hard as he could as Naruto detached his weights. He sped at the Jonin and before his face met the Jonin's palm heel, the shadow that had jumped off replaced with him. The shadow stalled in the air just out of the palm strike's reach and whipped out a kick. The Jonin ducked, pivoting into a round house kick. A small whiff of smoke and the shadow was suddenly dropping under the kick punching out at the man's crouch. Kakashi pulled in his kick, leaning forward to save his manhood. He continued the spinning motion to roll away from the shadow, whom was suddenly launching forward with a rising kick too quickly for Kakashi to believe.
Kakashi popped up, out of the roll. Another wisp of smoke and the kicking shadow was replaced with one throwing a fist full shuriken. Kakashi batted them away, closing in quickly. He feigned a right hook to see the shadow replaced with one leaning away and quickly kicked out. The shadow dissipated leaving little smoke behind.
Three shadows circled slowly around Kakashi moving through different forms. A whistling sound caused him to lean to the side to avoid a kunai, which exploded by his face, leaving a cloud of smoke.
One of the shadows was kicked into smoke a moment later. The other two arced around the cloud of smoke to engaged Kakashi, but he was gone by the time they could see each other. A back fist came out from the dissipating cloud and ended one of the shadows. The other started back paddling, but Kakashi was in front of him in a blink of an eye. The shadow's head band flashed brightly and Kakashi was caught off guard by the light erupting from Naruto's head band.
From the forest a net burst out and wrapped around Kakashi. A moment later Ino darted out to stab a log. Kakashi burst out from the ground grabbing her ankles, and a shadow was in her place neck deep in the ground. She dropped from the sky with a kick and Kakashi blocked the kick with his arm, to have her replaced with Naruto, slapping some device that latched onto his wrist and began draining his chakra.
Kakashi's replacement failed and he paled at the thought. He could feel a kunai press against his inner thigh and Hewit spoke. "Gottcha."
Kakashi burst into a puff of smoke and Hewit blanched looking over the see Naruto getting beat down by Kakashi. His defenses where bat aside and the fatigue was obvious. Ino launch at Kakashi and, after kicking Naruto away, was given her own treatment. Hewit whipped out a small lance – like – dagger, attached to a wire, and tried to wrap it around Kakashi with a throw just off to his side. Kakashi caught it while punching Ino in the gut. She doubled over giving a long grunt in pain. Kakashi quickly looped the rope around her neck and sent lightning down through the wire. Hewit and Ino went stiff as the electricity tightened all of their muscles. The electricity stopped after a moment and they collapsed to the ground. Hewit was fighting to remain conscious, when he heard Naruto's voice. He looked over to see Naruto on all fours.
"I'm sorry Sensei, we'll do better next time."
Naruto's limbs were shaking with the effort of keeping him up and Hewit could hear Ino moaning softly.
"We'll see next time. This is training ground seven and it will mold you into fearsome shinobi. You will pay it in liters of your blood, sweat and tears, for the next year or so. If you live that long. Congratulations on becoming ninja of team seven. I'll see you all at 5 am tomorrow. Be ready to pay."
And the man was gone. Hewit heard Naruto hit the ground with a soft thud and closed his eyes.
A/N: Big thanks to, SamusOlderBrother, AvidReader, and NightWithMoon for taking precious time to review my story. You guys help keep me writing, I can't say thanks enough.