A Monk's Tale
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Kyuubi
Scene Change
Chapter 2
Ninja Academy (Day of the Genin exams)
"Naruto Uzumaki I will defeat you!" Sasuke shouted
"Every day we go through this, and every day I win. What makes today any different?" said Uzumaki asked. Rather than answer the last Uchiha threw a haymaker toward Naruto's head. The blond twisted the side avoiding the blow. With a sigh Naruto launched a series of nerve strikes, paralyzing the raven haired prodigy.
"Once again Sasuke you forget what we've been taught" the blue eyed boy hadn't changed much over the previous year, save for a black gi an orange cloth belt in place of his gray ones.
"Why does he keep trying?" Ino asked Hinata. The two had become friends. Bonding as Ino had attempted to improve as a kuinoichi after Naruto's causal dismissal of the Uchiha. 'Honestly I'm glad Naruto did that, I spent so much waste time trying to impress Sasuke because he seemed so cool and hot. Only to find out that he was just different' The young mind walker thought with a smirk.
"Naruto just has that effect on people." The heiress answered with a small smile.
"Well that was pointless." The black clothed boy said.
"So ready for the exam today?" the blue haired girl asked
"Sure thing Hinata-chan" the blond boy said happily
"Sama, Hinata-sama you idiot" the heiress said, she would get him to call her sama one day.
"But Hina-chan" the jinchuruki whined
"Don't call me that" the pale eyed girl said angrily she hated that nickname
"You two" Ino said shaking her head "Sometimes I think you have a thing for each other"
"What? No I just like bugging Hinata-chan. She's like a sister" the whiskered boy said his eyes wide as dinner plates.
"I could never like an idiot like Naruto" the heiress denied the implication as quickly as Naruto had.
"You keep telling yourself that." The blond girl said with a smirk.
The trio walked into the academy. Naruto gave the place one last look, truth be told he had originally planned to leave as soon as Jiraiya arrived. Except that old hermit was nowhere to be found. So now he Naruto Uzumaki had a choice, either fully accept being a ninja and forget all about being a monk or ignore his responsibilities as the jinchuruki of the Kyuubi and return back Mt. Shaoshi. 'Sometimes I really hate that Master Wu beat responsibility into my head so much. No choice at all really' Naruto thought with a sigh, he had just been killing time and now his heart had started demanding that he stay. Stupid things emotions, but they had power. They had power enough to change anyone given time. 'And I like an idiot allowed my guard to drop. So I have even more reason to defend the village' Naruto's thoughts were masked well to those around him with the exception of Ino.
'He's got that far away look again as if he has to do something he doesn't want to...but what would that be?' the young mind walker found her fellow blond extremely irritating at times like these. So open yet so closed. Even she only picked up on the subtle cues because of the training from her father. Having made their way into the class room the two girls sat down. Naruto ducked. Two blunted kunai came from the doorway missing the former monk completely.
"Almost had you boss!" a goggles wearing 8 year old said pouting.
"Kono if you're going to sneak attack people you have to learn to not flare chakra all the time" the blond said frowning.
"Ebisu never senses it!" the brown haired boy retorted angrily.
"Ebisu doesn't know the meaning of chakra sensing. If you can get to the point where you can sneak up on me then you'll be good at stealth" the blue eyed boy said good-naturedly.
"I will get you one day boss!" Konohamaru shouted.
"Better run Kono, Ebisu's coming." The jinchuruki said with a chuckle.
"Thanks Boss" the scarf wearing boy said smiling as he disappeared
"Why do you encourage him?" Hinata asked disapprovingly
"Someone's got to keep Iruka on his toes after I get out of here" the whiskered boy said with a grin.
"Has anyone seen the honourable grandson?" Ebisu asked bounding into the room.
The class pointed down the hallway Konohamaru had run down.
"Alright now that we have our daily interruptions done time for the genin exam!" Iruka said shaking his head at Ebisu. The genin exam always consisted of three parts: a written test a tai-jutsu and weapons portion and the nin-jutsu portion. The written exam was passed out, Naruto groaned he could do bookwork but it was like dragging a kunai across his skin. Still perseverance saw him through.
Two hours after the test Iruka called "Time"
There were a few groans as the teacher gathered up the tests from the students. Iruka handed them off to a pair of chuunins who would mark and grade the tests objectively. In theory at least but not in practice generally those of 'important' background were graded easier and better than those without famous names. That wasn't to say that they graded no names harder but they gave less lee way.
"Hmm Uzumaki, that name sounds familiar any idea why Sesshu?" One of the chuunin asked looking at the paper
"Hell if I know. Seems he knows his stuff alright. Not as well as some but better the most" The chuunin said glancing over at the paper.
"Yeah but I can't help but feel that I've heard that name before." The frowning chuunin said. Both shrugged and went back to work
Outside at the target range, Naruto had just barely passed the throwing weapon portion of the exam.
"Dam, Naruto you can take down any chuunin with ease but you can't throw a Kunai straight" Ino said with a giggle
"Hey, I'm trying!" the young jinchuruki retorted hotly
"Naruto, you've passed this portion now you have to last five minutes against me or hit me using either a melee weapon or tai-jutsu" Iruka said with a smile. No matter how hard the young blond tried he just couldn't get the hang of throwing kunai, he could do it after a fashion but not very well and not during a fight.
"Alright I choose melee weapon combat" the blond said smirking. Iruka produced his favoured fuma shuriken as the blond whipped out a collapsible metal staff. The two went into the training circle that served as the arena for spars in the academy.
"Ready sensei?" the whiskered boy asked using chakra to reinforce his staff.
"Always Naruto....Now try to hit me" the scarred academy teacher said with a chuckle.
Naruto using his staff as a spear began a series of light jabs to test the defences. Iruka blocked easily 'Alright Naruto what are you up to? This is too obvious to be your main attack' the scarred teacher respected his student's skill and took him seriously.
"Alright sensei...here it comes"the blond called sliding into a back stance. Iruka raised an eyebrow. That was a new stance a new stance meant new attacks which meant... Iruka mentally swore as Naruto sent a barrage of strikes at him. Catching the middle part of the shuriken with his staff Naruto flipped it around disarming Iruka. The young jinchuruki then used the force of his earlier pivot to hit the chuunin
"Very good Naruto" the teacher said. The blond smiled and bowed as he left the circle.
Iruka grabbed his shuriken and motioned for the next student to come into the circle.
"So new move Naruto?" Chouji asked munching on chips as always.
"No, I just made a variant on an old one" the whiskered boy said
"Really how does the old one go?" Shino although still quiet was fairly vocal around Naruto for some reason.
"Well first you knock the legs apart, bring the staff upward and then flip the person over your head into the ground. I like Iruka-sensei too much to do that to him." The blond said with a smile
"So all that's left is the nin-jutsu portion right?" the mind walker asked.
"Yes, troublesome blond." A lazy answer came from a half asleep Shikimaru.
"I am not troublesome you lazy bum!" Ino shouted and was about to beat the pineapple haired genin when.
"Duck" Hinata called, as Iruka flung one unfortunate boy out of the ring towards the group. They all did except for Shikimaru who was on the ground sleeping.
"That was kind of sad..." the blond girl said looking at the boy.
"Well Iruka doesn't go easy on us" the Hyuuga heiress replied with a shrug
"So what teams do you think we'll be on Shino?" Naruto asked changing the topic
"Most likely specialist teams, traditionally there is one tracker/reconnaissance team, and investigation/infiltration team, a heavy combat/assassination team and one general purpose team." The bug using ninja answered.
"Hmm so you, Hinata-san and Kiba would be the tracker/reconnaissance team. Ino, Shikimaru and Chouji would be the infiltration team that leaves me with.... Oh kami why? Why?" Naruto began shouting.
"What's with him?" the rotund Akimichi asked
"Chouji think about it given that a general purpose team needs one hand to hand, one nin-jutsu and one gen-jutsu who do you think Naruto's going to end up with?" the Hyuuga heiress said feeling sorry for her friend.
"Sakura and Sasuke the two people Naruto doesn't get along with" Ino answered with a sigh.
"Why Kami haven't I suffered enough? Why?" the blond jinchuruki was on the ground rocking back and forth.
"Naruto it's not that bad." The pale eyed girl said shaking her head at the former monk's antics
"I know, just had to get that out of my system" the blue eyed boy said seriously. It felt good really to act out, hadn't done much of it back in the monastery.
"....weren't you a monk?" Chouji asked disbelievingly. The boy had grown confident and more self controlled with Naruto's example only to see his friend act like this.
"Hey you think about dealing with those two for the next four years and then tell me how to feel" The blond said without much force.
"He has a point there, Sasuke hates him and Sakura follows the Uchiha's example." The heiress pointed out.
"True but still, we're going to be ninja he should have a little self control" the purple clad girl said
"Ino-chan, don't worry about it, just nervous tension that's all" Naruto said with a fake smile. Truth was the Kyuubi had been a bitch about his chakra last night and Naruto hadn't had time to do his real meditation and so had less emotional control then he normally did.
"Uh-huh, I might believe that Whiskers if I hadn't seen you stare down my Father after that incident in the Hyuuga compound" the pale eyed girl said.
Flashback (6 weeks ago)
"Stay away from my daughters" Hiashi said with cold fury in his voice. The Hyuuga head had caught the boy in Hinata's room with the two girls teaching them the finer points of how to change styles at the drop of a hat. Hiashi knew who the boy was on sight. Having concluded that it was the boy's fault that Hinata had started to subtly change back to her old self of the 4 years previous decided to get rid of the boy. Except Naruto wasn't backing down and returned the clan heads gaze with a sort of amusement.
"I think they get to make their own decisions" the blond replied
"Your corrupting them you little demon" Hiashi said doing his best to set the boy on fire through willpower alone. The jinchuruki smirked as if he had heard a joke.
"You think that do you? Tell me have you seen the flaw in your Jyuuken yet?" Naruto said still amused
"The Jyuuken is unstoppable" Hiashi said automatically. True it was propaganda but no way could the blond idiot in front of him know that.
"The Jyuuken has a massive flaw in it one that I think you know" said blond was having trouble to keep from grinning.
"How?" the clan head said his tone low.
"Like every other bloodline clan in existence you forgot the purpose of a bloodline. Bloodlines are supposed to be your ace in the hole but none of you do that instead you rely on a gift. You are useless without the bloodline and getting around it isn't that hard" the blond said unflinching from the intensity of Hiashi's glare.
"Ohh and how do you get around the byakugan?" Hiashi asked
"Flash powder, chakra exhaustion, underground attacks, and speed all of these can be used either to get around the byakugan or blind it outright" the blond answered. Hinata and Hanabi looked at the boy no one stood up to their father ever, yet Naruto was.
"I see.....what would happen if I forbid you from seeing my daughters?" the clan head asked, he knew the answer already but wanted to hear it.
"I would ignore it and you would probably set them against you. When you don't have many friends you will fight for those you do have Hyuuga-san" the blond said intentionally not using sama
"Sama" Hiashi said reflexively
"It's no use father he doesn't call anyone sama" the Hyuuga heiress said.
"Why doesn't he?" Hiashi was used to people respecting him automatically
"That is something you must earn, I have no doubt that you are a skilled shinobi but you retired and so..." the blond boy said with a shrug. Hiashi cracked a small smirk this boy was different all right.
"Very well provided you do not make any untoward overtures to my daughters then you will be allowed to see them" the clan head said getting his emotional mask back in place.
"Alright then" the whiskered boy said smiling
Flashback end
"Oh yeah .....um I got nothing" Naruto said.
"So what's really bothering you?" his fellow blond asked
"I had a rough night?" the whiskered boy said rubbing his head sheepishly
"Right you who slept through Anko's explosive demonstrations" the blue haired girl deadpanned.
"It's not my fault I was tired that day" the blond boy whined.
"It woke people out of comas!" the purple clad girl snapped.
"That's just a rumour" Naruto said.
"Chouji Akimichi!" Iruka called for the final portion of the exams.
"See you guys" the large boy said putting away his chips.
"So who wants to draw on Shikimaru's face?" Naruto asked happy to get the girls off his case. He liked them but...honestly there fussing was beginning to get difficult. How much longer could his status as a jinchuruki remain a secret?
Ino looked at Naruto and decided for now to let him off the hook. Giving Hinata a glance the heiress shrugged as if to say that Naruto would tell them when he's ready. As Naruto doodled stars and stripes on Shikimaru's face the Shino returned as silently as he had left.
"How do you do that?" Ino shouted just noticing the bug user.
"I am a ninja" the shade wearing boy said.
"Probably from his bugs" Naruto chimed in.
"What?" Ino asked she didn't really like the bug boy but on the other hand he seemed alright except for his bugs.
"His bugs act as an early warning system allowing him to sense things that would give him away quickly combine that and his natural gift for silence well it's pretty easy to disappear if you know how" the other blond answered nodding sagely.
"You just made that up" Hinata said.
"Maybe...." the whiskered boy said half serious half joking
"Despite Uzumaki's wild conjectures, he is essence correct due to my insects I am more aware of my surrounding and being silent comes naturally to me" the bug user decided to take pity on his friend. Still wasn't used to that idea of having a friend. Due to his Kikai, Shino was mostly alone in the academy but Naruto had thought the bugs 'cool' and started to hang out with him during class. From there Hinata and Ino had started to talk to him and so had the rest of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"Hinata Hyuuga" a chuunin called.
"Good luck Hinata-chan" the blond jinchuruki called as the heiress left.
"Don't call me that" said heiress said forcefully, from the exam room entrance
"Well it's no fun drawing on Shikimaru anymore so what now?" the former monk asked.
"I thought monks were supposed to be peaceful and calm so why are you a hyperactive, joker?" Ino asked trying once again to figure out the strange dichotomy that was Naruto Uzumaki.
"Well it was different in the monastery all we did was eat, meditate and train until our limbs felt like they were going to fall off. Here I'm not as exhausted and so act differently. That and Iruka-sensei has nothing on Master Wu when comes to getting people to settle down." The jinchuruki said with a small smile at the memory. Chouji had returned and over heard part of the conversation,
"What training did you undergo Naruto? you never talk about it" the Akimichi asked.
"Well it was sort of like your guys tai-jutsu training only about a thousand times more intense, doing it on the water platform was fun though." The blond answered.
"Water platform?" Ino asked having never heard of the concept.
"Yeah you do forms and spars on this, platform on the water, thing is that it's designed to move every time you do. Does wonders for balance" the whiskered boy said still smiling.
"Shikimaru Nara" Iruka called. Ino kicked the lazy boy who groaned got up and made his way to the exam room muttering about troublesome blonds
Hinata returned by now. The group fell silent lost in their thoughts. Well most of them Naruto was catching up on his meditation.
"Naruto Uzumaki" called a chuunin.
"Alright guys wish me luck" Naruto said as he made his way to the exam room.
"Alright Naruto this is the final test pass and you become a genin of Konoha" Iruka said calmly.
"Hai, what's the test?" the former monk asked.
"Use the three academy jutsus and one unique jutsu for extra credit" the teacher answered.
"All right" the blond said concentrating. Hardest technique first he decided and started to make a bushin. 'Still too much chakra, can't reduce it to just three....have to up the number, just a little less chakra!' Naruto was concentrating hard as he made a dozen bunshin.
"There, not the three required but I think its good enough." The blue eyed boy said sweating.
"That's more than enough but why can't you make three?' Iruka asked surprised. Usually students had trouble making three but this boy had made a dozen, with effort but still impressive
"To much chakra, it overloads the jutsu can't make less than a dozen." The whiskered boy answers, dismissing the bunshin.
"So then all that concentration was to reduce the number of bunshin not to make them." The scarred teacher says to himself.
"Henge!" Naruto calls transforming into a picture perfect image of Iruka. The teacher smiles and nods at the boy to perform the last technique. Again Naruto preformed it flawlessly.
"Guess the monks gave you some good chakra skills didn't they?" the teacher said smiling.
"Yeah but I still don't understand gen-jutsu at all and my nin-jutsu is just passable." The jinchuruki says with a half smile.
"Really? With your chakra and control I would have thought you would be good with both." The scarred chuunin says in surprise.
"Kurenai-sensei says that my mindset isn't right for gen-jutsu, and none of the techniques I have access to seem useful enough to go through the effort of compressing my chakra to make it usable." The blond replied unconcerned.
"Alright do you have a unique jutsu?" the scarred man asked.
"Not really I can harden my skin with chakra but that's not really a jutsu." The jinchuruki answered.
"Well Naruto all things considered you pass, here's your hitai-ate." The teacher said smiling it had been an interesting year with this class. The blond boy broke out into a grin as he left the room.
"So you made it, so the last one of us is Ino." Chouji said causally
"Troublesome blonds" a semi asleep Shikimaru muttered.
"Shikimaru's still angry for me drawing on him?" The blue eyed boy asked with a smile.
"I think so he just keeps say troublesome." The Hyuuga heiress answered. Truth was you never could tell what exactly Shikimaru was feeling it was too troublesome to show such things.
"What are you guys doing to celebrate?" Chouji asked wanting to keep the conversation going.
"Nothing much, probably a ramen feast." The jinchuruki answered.
"I have a clan ceremony", the pale eyed girl answered.
"So do I" the stoic genin chimed in.
"Troublesome...small get together with the other families, you know that Chouji" the pineapple haired boy said still half asleep.
"Hey guys I passed and almost tied Hinata for top Kuinoichi!" Ino said running over to them
"What?" the Hyuuga heiress asked angry so much work to be better than anyone else and she still almost failed.
"Now now Hinata-chan I'm sure you're still better" the whiskered boy chided
"Idiot, don't mock me" Hinata retorted.
"Never dream of it." The former monk said with sarcasm.
"Naruto that's half of what you and Hinata do mock each other...the other half being dancing around your feelings for each other" Ino said with a smirk
"FOR THE LAST TIME IT ISN'T LIKE THAT!" the two shouted.
"I got some things to do see you guys tomorrow." The jinchuruki said visibly getting a hold of his emotions. With a wave the blond boy ran towards the Ramen stand.
"Seriously Hinata why don't you just make a move on him?" the mind walker asked
"Ino-san me and Naruto are friends and rivals, but we have nothing to offer each other that way. I see him as an annoying brother more than anything. Why do you insist otherwise anyway?" the blue haired girl asked
"I think you two would make a good couple." The purple clad girl said with a shrug
"Ino, odds are that I'm going to be placed in an arranged marriage. Romance has no place in my life." The heiress said with a sigh.
"That's kind of sad." The blond girl said with a frown
"It is my duty nothing more or less." The pale eyed girl said without thought.
"Do you know what Naruto's hiding from us?" Ino asked changing subjects.
"No, only that it isn't something he'll reveal willingly. Everyone has secrets Ino-san he'll tell us when he's ready" Shino answered for most of them.
"I guess but it's frustrating..." the blond girl said irritated.
"I have to return to my home" Hinata said and turned to leave
"Come on Ino our folks are here" the large boy said. The group made their way from the academy.
Briefing Room (Hokage Tower)
"Alright we have 9 genin left and three teams to fill out who wants what?" The old Kage asked of the remaining Jonins.
"I would like to create a heavy combat team, with Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto" the one eyed jonin said.
"That's just cruel Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke don't get along at all and Sakura isn't much better." The genjutsu mistress said.
"So you want Naruto then?" the masked man asked quirking his visible eyebrow.
"I'll admit he'd be an asset for my team but I can't teach him." Kurenai said frowning.
"What do you mean?" Genma asked he traditionally took the infiltration teams. Wasn't sure why he was here though.
"Naruto can't cast gen-jutsu to save his life. He's immune to lower type ones and it's tricky to get him caught in upper level ones. I really don't see what I could teach him." The black haired woman said with a shrug.
"So essentially we have a tai-jutsu powerhouse with more chakra then me, but no idea how to use it externally?" Asuma thought out loud.
"Indeed which means logically he should be given to someone with high Nin-jutsu and tai-jutsu to bring him along." Kakashi said.
"Normally you would be right, but I believe that the time has come for a combat infiltration team." The Sandaime said calmly.
"We haven't had one of those since the second war!" the bearded jonin shouted.
"Combat Infiltration team?" Kurenai asked she was still relatively new as a jonin.
"A team that specializes in deep territory raids, they go into heavily fortified areas and then do as much damage as possible before leaving. They along with the Nidaime were the main reasons we won the second war but the causalities were so severe that the concept was retired." The silver haired jonin answered helpfully.
"The concept was not flawed, merely it execution. Thus Genma you will be taking Naruto Uzumaki, Shino Aburame, and Ino Yamanaka and teach them how to infiltrate. When you deem them ready find appropriate teachers to educate them in their weakness." The old man said.
"Hokage-sama, I'll admit they all seem to be exceptional but they don't have abilities that mesh at all."
"Naruto-your close combat specialist, teach him, a few defensive nin-jutsu and give him some experience and he can take down anyone one on one. Shino-long range specialist depending on training could possible rival the clan founder for long range take downs. Ino-support specialist has the ability to be an excellent gen-jutsu and espionage specialist. Together I think that these three can take just about anything." Sarutobi said lighting his pipe.
"You can't be serious breaking up the Ino-Shika-Cho trio? That team's been around for generations." Asuma said almost whining, he had really wanted that team.
"Yes they have, and you don't think our enemies are developing strategies to counter them? No if we need them the trio again we will reform it but for now this is my decision." Sandaime said no hint of give in his voice.
"Hai Hokage-sama" the collected jonin said in defeat.
Naruto's apartment
Ino had finally given in to her curiosity. Tonight while Naruto slept she would walk inside his mind. 'I Hope he can forgive me for this. 'The girl thought as she snuck into the bedroom. It furnished but there was no real indication besides the clothes that anyone lived here. Looking around she saw Naruto in a meditation pose sweat pouring off him. 'What could make that happen it feels like there's a war going on, from the chakra in the room' clearing her head Ino made the hand signs for the Shintenshin no jutsu.
Naruto's mind
"What the?" the blond girl asked out loud. Ino hadn't mind walked often but she knew how they were suppose to look. Buildings and outdoor areas were the norm. This was just a blank room. Naruto formed in front of her.
"You should not be here I do not have the skill to protect you and hold back the demon, leave now!" The blond boy said harshly.
"Demon, what demon?" the purple clad girl asked confused. A large 8 tailed fox demon appeared behind him.
Uzumaki you will die
"No help for it, Ino leave now! I can't end the link until you leave" Naruto said grabbing the girl and throwing her out of range of the Kyuubi.
"I'm trying" the young mind walker was doing everything in her power to leave.
"Heavenly Wave!" the blond boy called sending a wave of chakra forcing the demon back.
I'm going to kill her Uzumaki and taint all that holy chakra of yours
"My father did not give into you, I shall not either!" the former monk said summoning a monk spade to aid him. Ino watched as Naruto did battle with the fox demon it was terrifying and at the same time comforting. The former monk hit the fox demon in one of the tails
"Ino try it now!" Naruto called. Ino nodded and made the release sign disappearing from the mindscape
"Well Kyuubi-san we'll have to continue this day" the blond said cutting the link and returning to the real world.
Real world
"What the hell was that?" Ino shrieked. As Naruto followed he took deep breaths calming his body and pondering how to answer the question.
"That Ino-chan was the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Now promise me you will never do that again." Naruto said calmly.
"The Kyuubi? But its dead." The mind walker girl said in shock. She still nodded that she would never do go inside his mind again.
"No it isn't humans do not have the power to kill such things the best we can do is to seal or purify them. I was the one chosen for the sealing" The former monk said with a sigh.
"But all the books said..." the blond haired girl said trying to wrap her mind around it.
"Tell me Ino what would have happened if people knew the truth? Do you think for one moment that in their anger and grief they wouldn't try to kill me?" the whiskered boy asked in a chiding tone.
"I guess, that's why you left right? To get away from people hurting you." Ino asked in a defeated tone.
"No Master Sarutobi kept me safe for the most part. The ninja's were mostly indifferent or loyal enough to not attack. The villagers despite their hatred had enough fear to not do anything normally. Even though they did not hurt me they didn't help either. I was virtually alone and so when a kind man came and offered me a place where I wasn't alone I took it." The boy moved quickly to correct that misconception.
"So why did you come back?" the mind walking girl asked.
"I found out about the Kyuubi nearly six years ago, three years ago I began to purify his chakra much quicker than the seal was designed to. Yet the seal was beyond us it was decided that I would go to Konoha and have the Sandaime and Jiraiya inspect the seal to make sure it wasn't being damaged by my efforts. Jiraiya wasn't there and Master Sarutobi convinced me to join the academy. From there you know what happened" Naruto said with a shrug.
"Will you leave again?" the Yamanaka girl asked almost afraid of the answer.
"I doubt it...I have come to care for people in this village and will fight for it. Besides I still haven't had Jiraiya look at the seal." The former monk said with a smile.
"Good because I don't think any of us want you to leave" the mind walker said in relief.
"So you're not afraid of me?" the whiskered boy said a bit surprised.
"You're too nice to be the Kyuubi besides I saw you fighting it." Ino waved off his concerns.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. I have to ask you not to tell anyone, Master Sarutobi's law prevents this secret being told by anyone other than myself or the Hokage." The former monk said getting serous again.
"Alright...you should tell the others though." The purple clad girl acknowledged the law but didn't like it.
"It isn't something you or anyone needs to know, by my life or death I will destroy the demon. That is my duty there's no need to burden anyone else with it." The blond boy said causally.
"Death? You're going to kill yourself?" Ino said in a panic. Why she didn't know but something told her that she couldn't let him die.
"What no, the seal links us so that if I die the Kyuubi dies. That's all I meant" the jinchuruki said frantically.
"Okay, I don't want you to die Naruto, I'm sure Hinata and the rest don't either." The blond girl said with a sad smile.
"I have no intention of dying, Ino-chan but I'm aware of the possibility." Naruto said slipping into the monk's role without meaning to.
"So Ino-chan, are you ready for the future?" the blond asked, curious.
"What?" Ino had seen Naruto's philosophical side before but he rarely asked questions.
"Tomorrow things will change for all of us. A few years maybe less and we will all have our first kills, people we care about will die and we will become hated by some, loved by others. Are you ready for that?" the former monk said judging his friend's reactions.
"I think so..." the mind walker said, she knew about that but hadn't really thought about it in depth.
"Good answer. Now go home and get some sleep Ino-chan" Naruto said as if Ino had passed some test.
Ino nodded and made her way from the apartment. The jinchuruki watched her leave and sighed. Things were about to get a lot more complicated he just knew it.
Next day (Jonin lounge)
"Alright you two are going to help me figure out what to teach Naruto. I know in general the Yamanaka and Aburame abilities and they have families to help out. Naruto doesn't. Asuma you've trained with the fire monks, Kurenai you've trained the boy so..." Genma motioned towards the two jonin to tell them to start.
"Well I'll go first then." The bearded jonin said taking a long drag on his cigarette.
"Monks train differently than we do that is a fact. However even I know only hearsay when it comes to Naruto's order. The monks of the Divine Path are warrior monks in every sense of the term. According to rumour their history stretches back to the Old Empire. All I can say ask him what he did at the monastery and work around that." The chain smoking jonin finished.
"Alright not as helpful as I had hoped. Kurenai if you would." The senbon chewing jonin asked.
"As Hokage-sama said Naruto's tai-jutsu and bo-jutsu is chuunin level if not higher. He has an immense store of chakra and decent control for the size he works with. However Naruto has trouble performing jutsus lower then c-ranks they take a fair bit of concentration to perform. And like I said last night the boy can't use gen-jutsu to save his life." The gen-jutsu mistress said with a shake of her head.
"But he is immune you said?" the brown haired jonin said.
"Only to ones that directly affect the body. If you know what you're doing you can still mess with his mind. Tricky though the boy has spatial awareness down to a science" Kurenai said with a frown. Even she found it challenging to trap the boy in a genjutsu
"That's actually pretty common for monks particularly for the warrior type, they know their bodies to well to be fooled and the way they fight involves honing their senses to fine edge to see things almost before they happen." The bearded jonin said taking another long drag.
"Well that helps a little, thanks. Still can't believe that Hokage-sama wants me to create a combat infiltration team. "The bandana wearing jonin said as he got up and left. Kurenai started giggling.
"Something funny Kurenai?" the chain smoking jonin asked.
"Naruto has a few odd quirks and enjoys annoying people. I think he's going to have fun with Genma" the black haired woman said smiling.
"This is for what he said during the party last month isn't it?" Asuma said, wondering why Genma had to hit on women all the time.
"Maybe" the red eyed jonin said giving an enigmatic smile. Asuma shook his head, woman were crazy.
Still he wondered just what his old man was thinking with these teams on the other hand he didn't have to teach so it all worked out.
Konoha Academy
"Team seven will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Shikimaru Nara. Your jonin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake" Iruka said in a monotone ignoring Sakura's and Naruto's cheers.
"Team eight will consist of Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Chouji Akimichi. Your jonin sensei is Kurenai Yuuhi. Team 9 is still in circulation from last year. Team 10 is made up of Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka and Shino Aburame. Your sensei is Genma Shiranui" the scarred teacher finished.
"Alright you guys have two hours to get to know each other, be back here by noon to meet your senseis. Before you go I just like to say I'm proud of everyone here. I know you'll make fine shinobi of the leaf" The teacher said smiling. This class had a lot of potential, now it was time to see what they could do.
Ichikaru's Ramen Stand
"This has to be an illusion. It just has to" Ino said in disbelief as she watched Naruto eat bowl after bowl of ramen.
"If it is my Kikai cannot detect the illusion." The bug using genin said. Despite showing nothing on his face internally his mind was screaming that this was a trick of someone.
"No illusion. Naruto just really, really likes ramen." The ramen waitress said with a nervous laugh.
"So he does this a lot then?" the blond girl said in surprise.
"No he only does this once or twice a month......something about being unable to resist temptation." Ayame said with a hmm look on her face
"Kami-sama, forgive me for being weak." The former monk said as he finished the last bowl.
"Weak?" The stoic genin asked.
"Although I am no longer a monk I still strive to live by their virtues, one of them is moderation in eating. However I cannot control myself when it comes to ramen." The blond jinchuruki said with a sigh.
"So all of you are on the same team then?" Ichikaru asked having come out of the kitchen.
"Yeah we aren't sure why though, none of our specialities really mesh" the purple clad girl said.
"Hello I assume your team 10?" a voice called from behind them.
"We are and you are shinobi san?" Shino said still in the creepy monotone he used with outsiders.
"I am Genma Shiranui. I am going to be teaching you three the fine art of infiltration and later combat." The senbon chewing jonin said.
"I thought we were going to meet at the academy Genma-san" the jinchuruki said.
"Kid I'm pretty laid back but I am your sensei and you will call me as such." The brown haired jonin said with a little irritation.
"If you say so Genma-san." The blond boy said with a perfectly innocent expression.
"He's going to be difficult isn't he?" the bandana wearing jonin said with a sigh.
"Naruto's just trying to gauge your temperament Genma-sensei. Depending on how you react over the next few days will tell him how to act toward you." Ino helpfully explained.
"So he tests everyone this way?" Genma asked he didn't need this.
"Naruto only tests people in authority except the Hokage for some reason." Shino said calmly.
"Alright might as well get the meet and greet out of the way. Monk boy tell me a bit about your skills, dreams and anything else you consider interesting." The senbon chewing jonin said.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am fairly skilled in tai-jutsu and bo-jutsu. However my nin-jutsu is merely average and my gen-jutsu non-existent. My dream is to finish something my father started when I was born. I like ramen, my friends and Master Sarutobi. I dislike people who assume superiority over others and refuse to deal with their past." The jinchuruki said.
"Good, bug boy you're up." Genma said causally
"My name is Aburame Shino. I am skilled with the use of my family Kikai bug jutsu. I am considered average in other areas. My dream is to become the greatest Aburame there is. I like bugs, my team mates and family. I dislike people who hurt bugs unnecessarily and those who judge based on what one has rather then what one is." The bug user said his monotone unchanged.
"Alright, blond girl you're last." The jonin said pointing at the last member of the team.
"My name is Yamanaka Ino. I'm fairly good with my family techniques. I'm honestly more of support specialist then combat so my tai and nin-jutsu isn't that great. I know a few low level gen-jutsu. My dream is to help my friends and become as famous as my father. I like my friends, flowers and learning my clan techniques. I dislike people who lie to me and those that are cruel for no reason." The mind walker said.
"Okay then guess it's my turn. You know my name already. I am what they call an infiltration specialist; unlike most I do have a fair bit of skill at combat. I prefer the use of senbon and long range tactics, but I can fight at close range. My current dream is to teach you three fast as possible so I can get back to doing what I love. I like my friends, learning new techniques and going on missions. I my dislikes aren't important. Now I'm to turn you three into the first combat infiltration team Konoha's had since the second war. To do that I'm going to push you each to your limits, Naruto you remember the training at the monastery?" Genma finished. The whiskered boy nodded.
"Good because starting tomorrow you three will be doing part of that routine every day. We will also be doing infiltration, and jutsu training. When I consider you ready we'll start doing missions." The senbon chewing jonin smiled at Naruto's expression, the blond was surprised that Genma would do that.
"Sensei training that way will improve us all no doubt...but perhaps I should tell them what it consists of first?" the blue eyed boy asked. Genma nodded towards the boy.
"Training will be hard; first you will both have to choose a style. Every day you will practice the katas for that style on various environments. Balance beams and solid platforms at first but as you improve we'll add wire walking, wall walking and water walking as well. In addition to this we will also use gravity, resistance seals. On top of all that we will have to complete all the katas in a set time as well as do physical training." The former monk said eyeing his team mates. They thought it was going to be easy for the looks of it.
"So Naruto given your tai-jutsu expertise what styles would you choose for them?" the brown haired jonin was surprised at the intensity of the training the boy had described.
"Hmm... Shino fights non-linearly but relies on hard single strikes to defeat his opponents along with his Kikai to set them up for the strikes. For him I would recommend Wing Chun. Ino fights a more linearly but relies on quick successive strikes to bring her opponent down, she's very fond of kicking combos so Tae Kwon Do would suit her well. However I don't know enough to teach either of these styles." The former monk finished.
"Well fortunately for you those styles do have scrolls in the library and worse comes to worse I can always ask Gai..." Genma said suppressing a shudder.
"I understand the concept but why were we chosen to make a combat infiltration team?" Shino asked.
"Simply put the Hokage feels that each of you can excel at multiple roles. Naruto he says you can become a close range specialist that can defeat anyone in single combat, add in some of the more advanced clones and jutsu we create a one man wrecking crew. Shino your Kikai abilities and intelligence mean you can fulfill the long range role as well as team strategist/tactician. Ino your abilities and will eventually allow you to be the perfect support specialist as well as the espionage specialist of the team." The senbon chewing jonin explained.
"Master Sarutobi expects great things of us doesn't he?" the former monk said rhetorically.
"Yes he does, normally we're supposed to test the genin to see if they had good team work but you guys need more than a day to come up with that so I'm not going to bother. Meet me at training ground 10 tomorrow and we'll start training." Genma said and shushined away.
"I have got to learn how to do that." The blond boy said.
"It appears that the next few months are going to be difficult." The bug user commented.
"We'll get through it together right guys?" the purple clad girls said enthusiastically. Both nodded, Naruto giving a smile.
A/N: Well another week another chapter. Anyway thanks for the reviews and story alerts everyone one! It's probably going to be a few weeks before I post anymore chapters. (School sucks sometimes.) Also my beta disappeared on me so sorry about the problems in this chapter. (If anyone wants to beta send me a PM). Lastly will someone take my story challenge? Please? Check my profile for info and rules.