Dr. Gero, it is true that Kratos wouldn't care to hide the blades, but he didn't make them. It's something Hephaestus added as an extra, and Hermes was the one to tell Naruto about it. Besides, as you will see this chapter, the mark of Kratos is always there, even when the blades are hidden…
Ketsy, that sword is called the Blade of Artemis, and no Naruto won't get it… but that doesn't mean he won't get other skills and weapons…
VFSNAKE, no, Naruto won't have those tattoos. As cool as they would look on him, only a total zealot would go to such effort to look just like his god, and Naruto isn't one. He might mimic them in facepaint for special occasions. Also, the city-state Kratos hails from is called Sparta, not Sparda. And why would Kakashi hate Naruto?… Okay, there are plenty of reasons why he might, but he didn't in canon, and he won't here.
never give guns to chimps, what do you mean Naruto should be stronger? He was in exactly one fight so far, and he won. And exactly what does I "made the gods a little AU" mean? Do you mean OOC?
P.S. No. Three is enough.
Oh, right, and I forgot this in the first chapter. Disclaimer: I own two things: Jack and Squat, and Jack left town.
Chosen of OlympusChapter Two: A Deadlast Moving Forward
OOOOOOOOOO Last time OOOOOOOOO
His only warning was the growing heat the chains and blades were emanating before he collapsed, writhing in agony, as a horrible burning spread across his arms and back.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Oh, right, the wracking spasms of pain. I forgot to mention that. Sorry." Hermes didn't look sorry at all.
"Aaauugh… guh… gah… wha… what was that?…" Naruto slowly rose to his knees, still nearly nauseous from the pain. He grunted in exertion as he managed to reach a sitting position on the floor. "It hurt almost as much as when I first got these… things?" His question trailed off as he finally noticed what was missing. The chains were missing from his arms, only the spiraling burn scars left. A glance over his shoulder revealed that the blades themselves were gone as well, but there appeared to be a red tattoo shaped like the crossed blades across his back. "Where did they go?"
"The Blades of Chaos have been drawn within your body. It's something new Hephaestus came up with a little while back. He has yet to work out the fine details, though… like the unbearable amount of pain caused the first time you use the feature."
"Oh, really?" Naruto shakily rose to his feet, his voice raspy and panting heavily. "I hardly noticed."
"Tough little man, aren't you? Well, you'll be happy to know that the pain lessens every time you summon or dismiss the blades. Eventually, it just becomes a dull ache that goes away in a few seconds… or so Hephaestus assures me."
"Um… that's reassuring… sort of. Do I bring them out the same way I put them in?"
"That's right. Oh, and I almost forgot… special delivery!" And with the final word, Hermes rammed the scroll in his hand forward, slamming into Naruto's gut with incredible force… but rather then double the boy over in pain, the scroll simply vanished.
"…Okay, do I even need to ask?! What did you do now?!"
"I put the scroll into the seal. Now, it can never be stolen or lost, and the demon can read it and instruct you. As you reach new plateaus of skill, more will be revealed on the scroll."
"Really? So how do… uh-oh. I'm late! Class starts in ten minutes, and the Academy is halfway across town!" Naruto tore around his apartment, searching the mess for his shuriken pouch, his textbooks, and his left sandal. Hermes watched in amusement as the boy finally finished getting ready, and reached for his customary orange jacket. "What the… aw, no, I forgot!" He fingered the burned, frayed edge of the sleeve, which was now just beneath the elbow. "It got burned last night, and this was my favorite jacket!"
"Personally, I think it's an improvement. I think you should burn the rest of it too. But I'll tell you what, since it's partly my fault you're running behind, I'll give you a lift to this school of yours."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"EEEEEYAAAAAAAHA-HA-HAAA!!!" Naruto couldn't decide whether to be terrified or thrilled by the trip to school, so he settled for what he would later call "thrillified." He had, as Hermes instructed, grabbed the messenger god's wrist, and Hermes had held onto Naruto's, which made for a more secure grip then simply grasping hands. And then suddenly, without warning, they were moving. Out the window, and straight up. And up. And up. They stopped and hovered a few hundred feet off the ground, which put them about twice the height of the Hokage Monument. After Naruto finished gawking at his god's eye view of the village, he had pointed out which building was the Academy, and they were off.
They were moving at speeds even ANBU couldn't match, as swift as a falcon and nimble as a dragonfly. Their ballistic dive pulled up just shy of the pavement, and they zipped down the streets and through back alleys without slowing. They were passing within feet of civilians, who noticed nothing more then the wind of their passage. ANBU on patrol simply dismissed the fleeting glimpses they caught of the boy and the swiftest of the gods as tricks of the light. And after the most exhilarating thirty seconds of Naruto's young life, they came to a dead stop. Bam. Snap. Period. No skid, no slide, no such thing as momentum, nothing.
They were in an alley a block from the academy, and Naruto was leaning against the wall to steady his shaking legs. Hermes smiled at him. "Enjoyed yourself?"
"I don't know whether I should scream or throw up. Let's go again!"
"Don't you need to get to class?"
"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot, we get assigned to our teams today! Thanks for the ride, Hermes! It's nice to see not everyone up there is as uptight as Kratos!"
"And I'll be sure to tell him you said that. It was my pleasure, kid. I think I'll be seeing you around." And with that not-at-all obvious bit of foreshadowing, Hermes darted away, vanishing from sight almost instantly. Naruto ran from the alley, hoping he could get to class before Iruka did.
Neither of them noticed the petite girl with dark blue hair near the entrance to the alley, as she tried to understand what her pale eyes had just seen. "N-Naruto-kun?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naruto raced into the classroom, and was happy to see that Iruka wasn't there yet. For once, the blonde was on time! However, his elation lasted only a second before he realized that all conversation had died upon his entry into the room. The blonde jinchuriki wasn't sure why everyone was staring at him, so he just stared back. There was a silent standoff for almost half a minute before Nara Shikamaru, the laziest kid Naruto had ever met, spoke up.
"Hey, Naruto, why are you here? Only graduates were supposed to come in today. And what happened to your arms?"
The blonde smirked at him, before reaching up and tapping the metal plate tied to his forehead. "I didn't get this in a cereal box! I took some extra credit and passed! And what about my arms?" It wasn't until those words had passed his lips that Naruto realized that, without his jacket, he was only wearing a black T-shirt, and the scars along his forearms were clearly visible. "…Oh. Those." Naruto had already decided he wanted to keep his new weapons a secret, until he learned to use them properly.
'A little help, fox?'
'You're own your own for this one, brat.'
"Well, uh… those are… it's kind of a… I… Look, a three headed monkey!" Obviously enough, the distraction ploy didn't work, but Kratos' champion was saved from needing to explain by the sudden arrival of two more classmates. Ino and Sakura, once again racing to see who would get to sit next to Sasuke, blew through the door neck-and-neck. They didn't care what collateral damage they caused in their rush, which led to a fair amount of commotion as they raced through the room. This was a mixed blessing for Naruto, as it distracted the class away from him… but also left him picking himself off the floor with a number of shoeprints on his back.
'Saved by the stampede? That's a new one to me."
"A-ano… Naruto-kun? A-are you alright?"
Naruto looked up. Standing in the doorway with her ever-present blush gracing her cheeks was the only person Naruto knew who was quieter than Shino: Hyuuga Hinata. "Oh, um… yeah, I'm fine! Just checking that the janitor cleaned the floor properly." He pointed to a corner of the room. "He missed a spot over there."
Hinata's blush deepened a bit as she tried to stifle a giggle at her crush's antics. "Ano… N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto climbed to his feet and dusted himself off.
"Yeah?"
"Um… wh-who was that w-with you earlier?" Naruto froze mid-brush, his smile plastered to his face. "In the a-alley… I thought it l-looked like he was… flying… a-and his chakra was g-gold…"
Naruto glanced around, but no one else had heard what Hinata had asked. "Oh… you saw him? Well… that was Hermes. He's… a friend, I guess." It was at that moment that Iruka arrived, and called for everyone to take their seats. "I can explain at lunch, but please don't mention it to anyone?" The girl blushed again, and managed a small nod before moving to her customary seat at the back of the room, but inside she was ecstatic. 'I talked to Naruto-kun! He's going to share a secret with me! Oh, I hope I'm on his team…'
Iruka ran through a much-abbreviated roll call, as only the graduating members of the class were present. As he reached Naruto, he paused, eyes wide, as he saw that those weapons he'd been so sure weren't removable were gone as if they had never been. The only sign that they had existed at all were the scars on his arms. Iruka mentally vowed to ask about it later, and resumed the attendance report. After that was done, he began his prepared speech that he gave to every graduating class, the one about duty, honor, and the fact that upon becoming genin, they were adults in the eyes of the village, and that they should act as such. While his mouth recited the words on autopilot, his mind wandered. This was the most bittersweet part of teaching at the academy: sending his students off into the world. Knowing that he was at least in part responsible for molding these children into the proud shinobi they would one day be was wonderful… but that thought was also a reminder that these were indeed children, and they would soon be warriors thrust into a dangerous world. Iruka could only hope his teachings were enough to help them keep alive.
"And now for what you've all been waiting so patiently for… the team selections." Everyone sat up a little straighter at this, even the perpetually slumped Shikamaru. As the teams were read off, varying degrees of cheering and cursing were audible from different seats, as the students expressed their (dis)satisfaction with their teammates. "Team Seven… Uzumaki Naruto…"
Naruto perked up. 'Lucky number seven! I hope Sakura-chan is on my team! Anybody but Sasuke…'
"… Haruno Sakura…" There was an exultant shout from one side of the room, and a "Why me?!" from the other. Iruka pointedly ignored both.
"… And Uchiha Sasuke." A fair approximation of all hell broke loose in the classroom as Sakura squealed with delight and Naruto (along with Sasuke's fangirls) roared with outrage. Iruka ignored these as well. He continued reading off the list until the last teams were done. "You now have an hour for lunch before your new jounin senseis will arrive. I suggest you spend it getting to know your team better. Good luck, all of you." Iruka left. He'd take Naruto out for ramen later and find out what was going on then.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naruto and Hinata sat on the academy roof in silence. She was blushing and nervously tapping her fingers together, as she always was, as she patiently waited for the boy she so admired to collect his thoughts. He was currently begging his inner demon for advice on how to handle this situation, but was getting little help. 'What do I say? What can I tell her?'
'That's your problem. It's not like it's a big deal, just don't tell her about me and you'll be fine.'
'But what if she thinks I'm crazy? Or tells the rest of her clan about me?'
'She saw Hermes herself, so if you're crazy, so is she. For the other problem, it all comes down to trust. Now say something before she thinks you've fallen asleep.'
"So… Hinata… um… have you ever heard of the Olympians?…"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
They were sitting in silence again, this time while Hinata collected her thoughts. It was a lot to take in. "S-so you work for K-Kratos now?"
"Yeah…"
"And h-he is one of m-many other gods?"
"Right."
"This is… i-incredible."
"So… you believe me then?"
Hinata blushed even deeper. "O-of course I do, N-Naruto-kun."
Naruto, for once, had a genuine smile on his face.
"… N-Naruto-kun… m-may I see these w-weapons he gave y-you?"
"You want to see them? Okay… like I said, this is supposed to hurt less each time I do it, but I've only done this once so far, so don't panic if I look like I'm in pain." Naruto stood up and took a position a few feet in front of Hinata. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and raised his thumbs to his mouth. Once he had a decent blood flow going, he quickly drew his blood across his arms before the wounds healed.
Hinata gasped as Naruto dropped to one knee before her, and smoke rose from his arms and back. He was growling, biting his lip in an effort to keep from screaming. There was a sizzling noise, like cooking meat, and chains seemed to grow out from the scars on his arms. With a rather horrible wet ripping sound, first one, then another bronze hilts shot up from Naruto's shoulder blades. Naruto reached up and grabbed them, pulling the blades out of his body. After a few seconds, the pain had faded enough for the Chosen of Kratos to stand. "It did hurt a little less that time. And it didn't even rip my shirt! Hephaestus really is a genius…"
Hinata didn't know what she found more amazing: the appearance of the weapons from Naruto's body, the story of how he got them, or the fact that despite that his skin was audibly frying, Naruto hadn't cried out from the pain. No one should be that used to pain… "N-Naruto-kun…"
"So, pretty neat, huh? I still need to learn to use them, but once I do, I'll be unbeatable! I'll be made Hokage for sure!"
She smiled for him, her worries, fears, and stutter momentarily forgotten. "I'm sure you will, Naruto-kun. You'll be even better then the Fourth was."
"Yeah! My face will be right up there on the mountain next to his, and everyone will know he chose the right one to hold…" Naruto trailed off as he looked up at the Hokage Monument, pure determination etched on his features.
"The Kyuubi?" Hinata supplied.
"Yeah. I'll show 'em. I'll show them all I'm no…" Naruto stopped and whipped around, eyes wide with fear. "How do you know about him?!"
Hinata was wide-eyed as well as she realized what she had just said aloud. "I-I… I… I can see it. In you."
"You can what?! How can you see him, he's sealed, he's hidden, you, you… you have that special eye thing. You can see his chakra?"
She nodded, very hesitantly. "The Byakugan. T-the seal i-is part of your chakra system, and there is a t-tiny point of red chakra in the c-center. I s-saw it long a-ago, and worked out w-what it meant. It w-was the only way to e-explain why so many people are m-mean to you… N-Naruto-kun? You… y-you aren't m-mad… a-are you?"
Naruto gazed at her in wonder. "You know about the Ninetails… but it doesn't bother you?"
"You are N-Naruto-kun. Y-you were before I f-found out, and you w-were after. N-nothing changed."
He gave her a small smile. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me. It is weird, though… you knew about him for so much longer then I did, and I'm the vessel."
"R-Really? When d-did you find out?"
"Last night." He said it so casually, like it was no big deal, but Hinata was horrified.
"L-last night?! You w-were treated so p-poorly for t-twelve years and didn't know w-why until last night?! Oh, Naruto-kun…"
Naruto was astounded that someone he knew so little of could not only be so accepting, but that she would show such concern for him. He decided that the Ninetails was right, it was all a matter of trust, and Hinata was quickly proving herself to be someone worth trusting. "Hinata-chan… there's one more thing to all this… but not even the old man or Iruka-sensei know this part…"
She blushed again. He trusted her that much? And he called her Hinata-chan?
"If you know about the Ninetails… and about Kratos… then you deserve to know this…" He swallowed nervously, his mouth felt so dry… "Kratoscutadealwiththeninetailsandnowhe'sgonnatrainmetousethebladesandhownottobeanidiot."
The Hyuuga heiress blinked. "Ano… what?"
Naruto sighed, hope warring against fear, knowing that if anything would make Hinata hate him like everyone else, this was it. "Kratos cut a deal with the Ninetails and now he's gonna train me to use the blades and how not to be an idiot."
"You're… l-learning from the N-Ninetails?"
Naruto cringed. "Yes. Or at least I will be soon." Here it comes…
"What's he like?"
"…What?"
"W-what is the N-Ninetails like? Is he m-mean?" The blonde looked at her, astounded once again by her instant acceptance of what others would have him killed for. He smiled, and began recounting his few interactions with the fox so far. Before long, the hour was up, and they had to return to class. Naruto sealed the blades within himself again, and was happy to note that this time the pain wasn't even enough to drop him to his knees.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
As the graduates came back to the classroom in their twos and threes, Iruka was startled to see Naruto return at Hinata's side. Had they spent lunch together? Did this mean Naruto had noticed her obvious affections for him? Was he getting over Sakura? Yet more to ask about when they went out for ramen later. A few minutes later the jounin began arriving, and before long, only Team Seven was left waiting. Iruka frowned deeply. "I should have expected this. Team Seven, you may as well settle in and get comfortable. Your instructor has a tendency to… let's be nice about it and call it 'lose track of time'. He'll be here eventually. However, there is some paperwork regarding the graduating class I need to finish, so I'm afraid I can't wait with you. Good luck, to all of you."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"WHERE IS THIS GUY?!" Sakura screamed. When no one answered her question, she sat down in a huff and began to sulk. It had been almost two hours since Iruka-sensei had left, and still no sign of their Jounin instructor. After the first half-hour had passed, the three new teammates had idly speculated as to what might be holding him up. Even Sasuke had participated, suggesting two or three fairly-plausible possibilities. After an hour had passed, Sakura had taken a break from cooing over Sasuke to berate Naruto for something, possibly breathing in her direction, and to grill him about how he graduated and where those scars had come from. Naruto, with a little prompting from his inner demon, managed to deflect her questions and change the subject until she decided that further inquiry wasn't worth the effort. For the last hour, Sakura returned to trying to get Sasuke to talk to her, and Naruto put his head down and, as far as anyone else could tell, slept. He was actually asking the Ninetails about when, where, and how his training would commence, and what "super-cool moves" were described in the scroll.
A few minutes later, the classroom's sliding door began to open. All three students perked up as their new instructor stepped into the room. He certainly was an odd one, if his appearance was any judge. Spiky gray hair, a mask covering everything from his nose to his neck, and his Leaf Village Hitai-Aite tilted over his left eye like an eyepatch. His style of dress was normal enough- black fatigues and a jounin-pattern flak vest- but the little orange book he was so casually reading from had a big, obvious "Adults Only" warning on the back.
He stood there, reading his smutty little novel, while his students simply sat and stared, waiting for him to… do something. After a moment passed, the new arrival marked his page, tucked the book into his kunai pouch, and finally turned his attention to his new wanna-be shinobi. He spent a long moment sizing them up one by one, analyzing what he knew of them and what he was observing.
Uchiha Sasuke. The only survivor of the Uchiha Massacre of five years ago, except for the traitor who slaughtered the rest. Self-proclaimed Avenger, as emo as they come, and constantly pursued by a horde of members of his fan club. Graduated at the top of his class, with the best practical and second-best academic scores. Spent his life from the Massacre to the present being told he was a prodigy, the best shinobi around, and Kami's gift to girls. It would be fun breaking down that ego of his.
Haruno Sakura. First shinobi from her family in generations. As such, she had no training from relatives or family techniques. Overcame those handicaps through diligent study, giving her the highest academic record in the school. Practical scores were a bit under par. Judging by her appearance, she was highly concerned with looking pretty. While that wasn't really a bad thing, she should really be focusing on gaining power and skill first. An active member of the Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub… and on the same team as Sasuke. Great, she would probably be more interested in asking Sasuke out then training, which would interrupt the Avenger's training as well.
Uzumaki Naruto. Oh, geez… Worst grades in class, even worse then the people who failed the graduation exam, which was why he was put on a team with two of the best. Vessel of the Nine Tailed Fox, as well, and nearly universally hated for it. Looks so much like Arashi-sensei it's painful. Total clown, and always seeking attention. Understandable, considering his status, but not a great attitude for a spy or assassin. Apparently there had been some major changes to his situation over the past twenty-four hours, but Hokage-sama was being quite close-lipped about them. Those rather horrific scars on his forearms might have something to do with it… There was no explanation for chain-pattern burn scars that could possibly be good.
"My first impression of you guys… you're all idiots." Three sets of eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. "Meet me on the roof." With a swirl of leaves, the jounin vanished. Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other, and leapt for the window, scrambling to get to the roof first. Sakura simply sighed at the male species in general as she calmly headed for the stairs.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Alright, I think it's time for some introductions. Tell me about yourselves. Pinky, go."
Sakura looked at him blankly. "Um, sensei, what do you want to know?"
He made a dismissive gesture. "Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, hopes, dreams, fears, shoe size, anything you feel like telling us."
"Shouldn't you go first, since we all know each other?"
"Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like many things. I also dislike many things. My hobbies… (giggle)… I have hopes and dreams. And I fear circus clowns."
"Really?"
"No. Pinky, your turn."
She stared at him for a moment. 'All we learned was his name?'
"Today would be nice," Kakashi prompted.
"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" she trailed off and looked at Sasuke with a blush. "I dislike…" she trailed off again and glared at Naruto, who looked hurt for a second before brightening up again. "I guess my hobby would be studying. I hope and dream to one day…" she looked at Sasuke again, this time with a dreamy smile. The Uchiha was beginning to look a bit uncomfortable.
Kakashi rolled his visible eye, it was as bad as he feared. "Okay, Laughing Boy, go."
Sasuke glared as fiercely as he could at the poor excuse for a jounin. It was the fiercest glare ever seen in Konoha, or any of the Hidden Villages for that matter. In years to come, ballads would be sung of the fierceness of that glare… but in the short term, it simply made the Uchiha prodigy look like a petulant child. "Uchiha Sasuke. I like very few things, and dislike a lot of things. I have no hobbies, unless you count training. My dream… no, my goal, is to… kill a certain man. And I fear nothing."
"A real tough guy. Okay, sunshine, your turn."
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, and Sakura-chan, and my friends Iruka-sensei and Hinata-chan,! I dislike the three minutes it takes ramen to cook, and uptight jerks like Sasuke! And my dream…" Naruto stood up, striking a heroic pose. "I will be the Hokage, and get everyone to respect me!"
Kakashi gave a barely perceptible nod. The blonde runt was excitable, but surprisingly he had the most normal introduction of the three. The other two had borderline obsessions or cryptic ulterior motives, but Naruto seemed to be a pretty straightforward guy. Didn't change his lack of skill or intelligence, though.
"Alright, you three have passed the academy final. Now it's time for the real work to begin. Do you all know where training field seven is?" He received three nods in response. "Meet me there tomorrow morning at six. You will be having a little survival training."
Sakura tried to protest that they had already gone through that, but was shut down. "This is different from the academy training. This time you'll need to deal with me if you want to make genin. See, the test you just took the other day only weeds out those with no chance of surviving as ninja from those who might. Anyone who fails tomorrow's test gets sent back to the academy to retake the last year." Kakashi paused to savor the looks of horror he was getting from… well, two of the runts, at least. "And by the way, this test has a failure rate of sixty-six percent." Sakura and Naruto were straight-out gawking as Kakashi turned on his heel, pulled out his little orange book, and walked away. "Oh, right… don't bother eating breakfast unless you enjoy throwing up."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Half an hour later, Naruto sat at the base of a tree in training field seven. The Ninetails had told him to find a secluded spot to begin his training with the Blades of Chaos, and pointed out that it would be worthwhile to get a look at the site of the next day's test. It seemed straightforward enough, it was mostly forest, with a few big clearings. The biggest open space was bordered on one side by the road, another by the bank of a small river, and on the other two sides by trees. There were three wooden training stumps off to one side, and just beyond the training area's edge was some old statue Naruto had never really paid attention to.
"So what do you think the test will be?" Naruto thought, directing his words to the fox.
"Could be any number of things, it's impossible to tell. This teacher struck me as the sort who enjoys getting a rise out of others, so it will likely test your patience, among other things. And about his advice about breakfast… I wouldn't completely disregard him, but you should definitely have something light. Cereal, or some fruit maybe… you do have something other than ramen, right?"
"Well, I… uh… are you sure I should eat? Kakashi-sensei said we'd throw up, and I don't want to disobey his first order…"
"If you eat a big breakfast, you might, but if you eat nothing, you will be slowed and weakened by hunger. Now that I think about it, that's probably his point… Don't worry about it now, just get some apples or something on the way home later. For now stand up and find an open space. I've been reading through the basic movements listed in this scroll, and I feel confident that I can teach it to you. Don't get your hopes up about using them in your test tomorrow, there's too much to learn to really become proficient enough in one night."
Naruto walked out into the field, so that the nearest trees were almost ten meters away, and summoned the blades again. The pain faded very quickly this time, and was much less intense then before.
"Now, the blades can be used two ways. They are excellent weapons in close-range hand-to-hand combat, and you should make use of them as such. Their true strength, however, is the great reach they grant the wielder when you use the chains. This is what we'll be working on. Draw one blade… now thrust it forward, like you're impaling the target. Good, now when I tell you, do it again, but release your grip as you do. Go."
Naruto threw the blade forward, and flame engulfed it as it reached the end of the chain and dropped to the ground. "How does it keep lighting on fire like that? Is it magic or something?"
"Sort of. Jerk your arm back, like you're elbowing someone behind you… good. That returns the hilt to your hand and spools the chain back up your arm. You see, the blades use their wielder's chakra to keep the fire going, siphoning it down the length of the chain. It only requires a very small amount, though; even the weakest of humans could allow the fire to burn for hours without significant drain. Now thrust again, but let go sooner this time. Grab the chain just before it reaches full extension, and pull back… you're doing fine. Doing it this way makes the attack a two-stage motion, the release and the return. We're now going to combine those into one smooth motion. In this next try, I want you to lean into the cast, and as the chain reaches out move your arm in a small arc, like you're waxing a table. No, no, still too jerky. It needs to be one smooth transition from pushing the blade out to pulling it in… excellent. I must admit, you seem to be getting the hang of this more quickly than I expected."
"Really? Do you think I can try one of the advanced techniques tonight?"
"Not even close. Now, try the same motion using your left arm… good. Now keep doing it, alternating between arms. Establish a steady flow of thrusts, right, left, right, left… now reduce by half the length of the chain released. Feel the difference? Much less range, but much greater speed. You'll be experimenting with this later." They practiced for another hour before moving on to swinging the blade in a wider arc, to make use of the edge rather than the point. The swinging motion required less finesse to do properly, and it only took half-an hour to get basic control of. The magic of the blades ensured that the leading edge stayed in front, rather then letting the weapons twist on their chains mid-swing.
The next set of movements involved swinging the blades vertically, either in an uppercut motion that would knock the target off his feet, or swinging downwards to smash him into the ground. As the Ninetails explained, these sort of strikes were most often used to finish a combo, or to set up for a more advanced technique. Hours were spent practicing all three attacks using one blade, the other, or both, and eventually how to move from one attack to the next smoothly. The sun was setting by the time the Ninetails called for a stop. "You're doing very well. I'm surprised you picked up the basics so quickly, it's like you've been doing this for years."
"Do you think I should show them to Kakashi-sensei tomorrow?"
"I think that depends on what kind of test he pits you against. Now, before we finish up for the night, I have a test for you myself. On your way home, I want you to review for me what we discussed earlier, about the Five Rules I explained to you."
"Rule one: 'Fighting honorably' is for fools and samurai. A ninja's honor comes from success. Rule two: Strength is useless if it's slow. Speed is useless if it's clumsy. Grace is useless if it's weak. Rule three: Even your opponent's weapon can be your weapon. Rule four: The environment is a tool that can be used by you or against you. And Rule five: The greatest art is the art of deception. Did I get them all right?"
"Good, very good, you successfully memorized them all. Now, put them in your own words. I want to be sure you understand why these rules are so important."
Naruto had left the training fields behind by this point, and was heading for Ichiraku's for his nightly ramen binge. He squinted as he thought, trying to organize his jumbled mind. "Well, uh… rule one means don't worry about fighting fair, because winning is what counts."
"Good. Next?…"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
At six the next morning, three shinobi hopefuls were waiting in training field seven.
At seven, three shinobi hopefuls were sulking (well, two were sulking, one was brooding) in training field seven.
At eight, three shinobi hopefuls were downright pissed in training field seven.
And at nine, Kakashi finally strolled up, reading his book like he hadn't a care in the world.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura both screamed at him.
"Terribly sorry," The jounin said without looking up from his book of smut, "I got lost on the road of life."
There was a moment of silence at this announcement. Naruto finally spoke up. "Lost on the… what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Kakashi ignored him, instead choosing to tuck his book away and produce two tiny bells and an alarm clock. He tied the bells to his belt.
"Now then, the test. I'm setting this alarm clock for noon. You have until then to take one of these bells from me by any means at your disposal. Tools, traps, weapons, jutsus, there are no restrictions. In fact, none of you will stand a chance if you don't come at me with intent to kill."
Sakura looked up at him wide eyed. "But sensei, won't you be hurt?"
It was hard to judge their teacher's mood with so much of his face covered, but it looked like the thought amused him. "No, no, you three couldn't cause me serious harm if I was asleep, drugged, and suffering from chakra exhaustion. Academy fresh rookies don't stand a chance against a jounin on their own. That's why all you need to do is take a bell. Simple enough, in theory."
"But… there are only two bells… and three of us."
"Mmm, and that would be a problem, wouldn't it? This means that at least one of you will go back to the academy, if not all of you. Oh, and also, only the ones who get a bell can have one of the lunches I brought along. Anyone without a bell gets tied to a post while I eat your lunch in front of you." The jounin set the bento boxes and the clock on the foot of the monument. Sasuke's and Sakura's stomachs chose that moment to rumble fiercely, as if in protest to Kakashi's harsh decree. Naruto, on the other hand, was mentally thanking his inner demon for his foresight.
"You're burning time, so I think you'd better save the questions. Test begins… now."
The genin scattered and vanished into hiding, prepared to observe the target until a plan of action could be readied…. Well, at least two of them did.
"You know, Naruto, most ninja would conceal themselves at this point."
"Yeah, well, I'm not like most ninja, Kakashi-sensei! I'm taking those bells right now!" A groan echoed from the back of Naruto's mind.
"You truly are a fool, aren't you? Were you even listening when they covered the shinobi ranking system in class? Jounin are considered the village elite for a reason, idiot."
"Hey! I can take him! I just gotta summon the Blades of Chaos, and I'm gonna kick his ass!"
"And exactly how long have you spent training to use the blades?"
"Umm… half a day?"
"That's right. Half a day. And he has been a jounin for how long?"
"How should I know?"
"That's right. You don't know anything about him. So what makes you think you can match him?"
Kakashi cocked his head to one side as he watched Naruto. The boy's eyes were glazed, as if his mind was somewhere else, and his expression seemed to indicate that he was arguing with himself. "Uh… when you said 'right now', you did mean today, right?"
Naruto snapped out of it for a second. "Be patient! I'll come over and kick your ass when I'm good and ready!"
"Well, fox, should I back down, if you're so sure I can't take him?"
"No, no… backing out now would be cowardice, and that's worse then foolishness. Besides, I think seeing firsthand exactly how outclassed you are may cool that impulsive streak of yours. Go for it, and try not to be humiliated too badly."
"Ha! He'll be the one humiliated when he gets beaten by a genin, and you'll be eating your words, furball!" Naruto charged at his teacher, fully confident of his success. The jounin didn't bother looking up, instead flipping a page of his book.
"Lesson one: Taijutsu."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naruto drifted along beneath the surface of the river, having been launched there by Kakashi's so-called "Supreme Taijutsu Technique." He was clutching at his aching rear, trying to figure out how long it would be until he could sit without flinching.
"Ow… that was… that was not right."
"Do you get my point now? He wasn't even pretending to try. He was reading a damn book while you flailed around like an idiot. Incidentally, that would have been one of the funniest things I had ever seen, if it wasn't so pathetic."
"Stupid furball… so what now?"
"Actually willing to listen to me this time, hmm? Well, your options now are to keep under he surface and swim away to make a plan, or launch another attack. He's expecting the latter, so we take advantage of his low opinion of your skills. Show him what he expects to see, to distract him from the true attack. But do it soon, before you need to surface for air and give away your position. And you may as well draw the Blades. You'll need every advantage you can get."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Kakashi studied the water with interest. Naruto should have surfaced by now, screaming obscenities and vowing payback. The jounin really hoped he didn't need to explain to Sarutobi that Naruto had drowned, of all things… But it was then that the surface of the river roiled, and a small squad of blondes leapt from the water and charged. The one in the middle hung back a little, and shouted "You're going to pay for that, Kakashi-sensei! Nobody does that to the future Hokage and gets away with it!"
The Copy-Ninja didn't bother hiding his smirk (his mask took care of that for him), as he calmly watched the horde of Naruto fast approaching. Exactly as I expected… well, except for the clones. Those are surprising. I wonder if this is the change Sandaime-sama mentioned? He took a slightly more ready stance as they got close. Still, he was dumb enough to announce which one is real, so it isn't all that major a-
Kakashi's danger-sense, honed by years of conflict, screamed a warning just in time. The jounin threw himself bodily to one side as a pair of flaming… somethings flashed through the spot he had just been occupying. Was one of the other genin taking advantage of Naruto's distraction? Probably Sasuke, Sakura was unlikely to know any fire techniques.
As he landed, Kakashi got a better read on the situation, and found himself mildly impressed. He was now bracketed by a group of clones to one side, and what had to be the real Naruto on the other. He left some clones in position, then swam down river to flank me. Not bad. The lone blonde had in his hands a pair of rather wicked looking weapons, which had a chain connecting each to his arms. Where did those come from? I've never seen anything like them, and he didn't have them when he arrived here. This is getting more interesting by the minute.
"Ready for a beating, sensei? I'm gonna get you back for that stupid technique you used, and then I'm gonna burn that stupid book of yours!"
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. No one threatens Icha Icha Paradise. He was so caught up in deciding how best to humiliate his subordinate that he almost didn't notice the clones behind him sneaking forward. Almost.
That sneaky little… he found what buttons to push, then got me mad enough to lose focus. Almost was enough, too. I suppose I'll humor him. The clones leapt into action, one latching on to each leg, another putting Kakashi in a full nelson. Kakashi knew he could escape their hold easily enough, but he waited to see what the brat did next. The original Naruto shouted "Take this!" and thrust his sword thing towards the cluster of clones and their 'prisoner', and Kakashi was surprised to see it hurtle forward like a razor-edged meteor. Okay, I definitely need to look into those weapons. Deciding he'd humored the boy long enough, he used the old standby escape: Kawamiri no Jutsu.
Naruto panicked as the Blade sank into Kakashi's belly, but was both relieved and confused when the man disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by one of the Shadow Clones. The clone disappeared, as did the one that had been gripping him in a submission hold, as the blade continued forward. "Hey, where'd he go?"
Naruto and his doppelgangers whipped around, searching in every direction for the teacher. They all began shouting at once.
"It was Kawamiri! He swapped with one of us!"
"Did anyone see where he went?"
"He must have run off!"
"Did anyone get a bell?"
"Sorry boss, I nearly had one, but he swapped out just before I got it!"
The real Naruto sighed before releasing the jutsu. "We'll just need to do better on the next try. It's gonna be hard to surprise him again, though."
"Even if you didn't succeed, you did very well, brat. You certainly exceeded my expectations, as well as the one-eye's. Now do you see the benefit of a little planning, as opposed to charging straight in?"
"What planning? I was making that up as I went. I just thought, 'Hey, I could use clones to distract him, and go around behind!' Then I thought, 'Hey, if I have one clone pretend to be the real me, it'd be more convincing!' And then I thought 'Hey, I bet if I act as a second distraction, a clone could get a bell!'"
"… That is planning, you freaking dumbass. The fact that you came up with it on the spot doesn't make it any less of a plan. Now just go find him, and be ready to make a new plan when you see what he's up to."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Kakashi stopped a short distance from where Naruto had almost spitted him. Curiouser and curiouser… The Kyuubi vessel had suddenly switched from a mindless assault to a well thought out plan that nearly worked. He'd also suddenly acquired a set of rather… interesting weapons, the likes of which Kakashi had never seen before. He had been a bit tempted to use his special eye to record Naruto's attack for later consideration, but if it had gotten out that the famed Copy Ninja had used his Sharingan against an academy fresh rookie who had barely passed the graduation test, he would be a laughingstock. Gai would have never let him live it down…
Well, time enough to worry about that later. For now, he could sense Sasuke hiding less then ten meters away, and from the way his chakra was spiking, he was mad about something. Probably saw Naruto's little display, and was jealous of him having those obviously powerful weapons. May as well have a little fun with the Uchiha heir.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naruto's search brought him past the monument statue, where the alarm clock and lunch boxes were still resting. He paused. Well, Iruka-sensei always was pounding that saying into our heads. 'A ninja must see underneath the underneath.' So if I can't get a bell…
He was reaching for one of the lunches when his inner demon spoke up, rather forcefully. "Freeze. While I can see why you think this is a good idea, think about it for a moment. In a mission, is your objective to do what the client is paying you to do, or is it to be paid?"
"Uh, to complete the mission, of course. But what does that have to do with…oh. Lunch isn't the objective, it's the payment for winning. Dammit, I thought I had figured out the trick to this test."
"Trick to the… yes. Yessss… I understand now. It is a trick. The whole test is a trick! Oh, that one-eyed lecher is a crafty one, all right. You'll learn a lot from him, once you pass."
"What the hell are you talking about, fox? What trick?"
"Think about it. How big are traditional shinobi teams?"
"Uh, I think Iruka-sensei said four. He said that was the perfect balance between speed and stealth, and combat strength."
"And genin are formed into teams of how many?"
"Three… but the jounin sensei makes four."
"And they balance the teams so that the grades of the team members average out. They put the worst with the best and the second worst with the second best, and so on. Am I correct?"
"Yeah. Where are you going with this?"
"Why would they go to such painstaking efforts to put together well-balanced teams, then immediately split them apart? Especially in a manner that all but guarantees that the bottom half of the graduating class will be on the outs?"
An expression of wonder dawned on Naruto's face as he grasped what the fox was trying to tell him. "They wouldn't! Kakashi lied about one of us getting sent back! It's all or nothing!… But then, how do we pass?"
"I think you need to figure that out. But here's a little hint. What is the point of the rules of this test?"
Naruto sighed, and flopped down at the base of a tree to think. "To tell us what to do… except that the rules lie. So… the real mission is the opposite of what the rules say. So we need to not get a bell? But that would prove nothing, so that can't be it. What the rules make us do is go after Kakashi fast, because we need to get a bell before they're both gone. But none of us stand a chance on our own, Kakashi-sensei was just toying with me and no way Sasuke-teme will do any better!"
Naruto shot up straight. His eyes widened as everything fell into place. "The rules pit us all against each other! We're supposed to work together!"
The vessel could hear the laughter of his tenant echoing around the inside of his head. "Good! Much faster than I expected. That lump of gray pudding you keep in your skull is more useful than you let on! Now hurry. You have little time, and much to do if you're going to pull this off."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naruto walked into a clearing, Sakura unconscious in his arms. He had reassumed his search, now looking for his teammates, when he heard the girl scream in fear. He bolted for her location, but when he arrived, all he found was Sakura laying on the ground, uninjured. As near as he could tell, she had fainted. And now, as he carried her limp body in search of Sasuke, Naruto stumbled upon what had to be the funniest thing he'd ever seen.
Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the famed Uchiha Clan and Rookie of the Year, had been buried far enough underground that only his head was visible. Naruto barely managed to keep from dropping Sakura, as he shook with laughter. As it happened, the shaking of his body was enough to wake the girl in his arms, and when she saw who was carrying her, she punched him in the face, and he did drop her.
"Naruto! What the hell did you think you were- Sasuke-kun! No!"
The prodigy glared at his teammates, the idiot was rolling on the ground laughing, and the fangirl was sobbing for some reason or another. "Sakura. Shut up. You're too loud."
Sakura shrieked with joy as she realized her beloved Sasuke wasn't decapitated, and began desperately clawing at the ground trying to get him out. Naruto finally regained a little control, and sat up to watch. After a moment, he spoke up. "Hey, Sakura-chan. Sasuke-teme." They gave no sign of having heard him. "Hey! Guys! It's important!" They still had no interest in what he had to say. "Kakashi lied to us!" That got their attention.
"What are you babbling about, dead-last?"
"Yeah, Naruto! Just because you couldn't beat sensei doesn't make him a liar!"
As Naruto struggled to explain what he had worked out with the fox's guidance, Sasuke finally managed to get an arm free, and was able to pry himself out of the ground. He ignored Sakura's tittering, fought back the surge of jealous anger when he again saw those bizarre, but obviously strong weapons Naruto had hanging from his back, and interrupted the blonde's chain of logic. "I don't need teammates. I don't need your help. All I need is to grow stronger, and you two are holding me back."
Naruto sneered at his arrogant teammate. "Oh, right, me and Sakura are the reason you were enjoying a gopher's-eye view of the world. Kakashi kicked your butt just as much as he did mine!"
Sasuke turned away with a snort, dismissing the blonde's statement (because he didn't want to admit he was right). Sakura's response was less restrained.
"Where do you get off talking to Sasuke-kun like that! He's a better ninja now then you could ever be!"
Naruto sighed. Times like this he had trouble remembering what it was he liked about Sakura. "Look. If I'm right, we all win. If I'm wrong, we still have the bells. And if only two of us can pass… well, I guess I could get the most out of another year in the academy. I'll take the fall."
The other two stopped and stared at him.
"Here." Naruto pulled a pair of apples out of his bag. "I had a few before I came to the meeting. They may not be ramen, but they aren't bad. We need to be at our best if any of us want a bell."
After a second's hesitation, Sasuke wordlessly took an apple, and Sakura mimicked his action. After the fruit had been reduced to mere cores, Sasuke shot Naruto a look. "What's your plan, dobe?"
The Champion sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Uh… I don't have one yet. I was more worried about getting you guys to help first."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Kakashi meandered back toward the clearing the test had begun in, nose buried in his book. He hadn't heard a peep from any of his students for a while now, and there were only about ten minutes left. Such a shame, really… if Kakashi ever did take on a team, this one seemed to show enough potential to make it interesting. Still, if they couldn't figure out the bell test, then they weren't worth his time.
He ducked under a low branch, stepped over a fallen log, and neatly sidestepped out of the path of one of Naruto's fiery chain weapons as it thundered by. In the next second, the blade's owner leapt from the undergrowth and began chaining together strikes that could have removed a man's limbs if they had connected.
If they had connected. Kakashi had his attention on Naruto, wanting to get a better idea of what he could do with these oh-so interesting toys. He kept leaping backwards, giving ground as Naruto swung in wide arcs and long thrusts. Kakashi could feel the heat from the flames running along the blades, and he noted that the blaze seemed to be chakra-fueled. One swing sheared a branch from a tree, slicing through like a hot- or rather, a flaming- knife through butter. There were a number of other oddities about the ways the blades moved, allowing them to be used in ways that ordinary chain weapons couldn't. Something to check out later…
Naruto was using the Blades of Chaos as swiftly and skillfully as he could, which meant that so far he was successful in keeping Kakashi on the move. The Ninetails was talking to him as he fought, speaking in low tones so as not to distract the boy. "Remember what I told you. Certain patterns of attacks can be used in place of hand-seals to use a jutsu from the blades. Left thrust… right thrust… Now bring them both behind you and over your head and push some chakra down the chains!"
As Naruto brought the Blades crashing down at Kakashi, Naruto cried out the name of his new jutsu: "Plume of Prometheus!" Where the double-strike landed, a small fraction of Hell seemed to force its way to the surface. A geyser of molten rock, three feet wide and twice as tall, erupted from the ground beneath Kakashi's feet, and only a swift Kawamiri saved him from third-degree burns. As the lava flow stopped and instantly cooled, Kakashi reappeared a short distance away. No sooner then had he landed that he was forced to spring clear again, a massive volley of shuriken and kunai peppering the ground beneath him. A second volley was launched, forcing another Kawamiri. Kakashi reappeared on a branch this time, hoping to get a better view of the situation, but he caught a glimpse of a blue blur darting toward him, and suddenly the bells were gone.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
They had all gathered in the original clearing, where Kakashi turned off the alarm clock. "So you all worked together to get the bells. Naruto kept me busy, Sakura threw me off balance with a pair of traps, ad Sasuke, being the fastest of the three of you, snagged the bells. A simple plan, but a good one."
"Yeah!" Naruto cheered. "We got the bells by working together! And that was the point all along, right sensei? So I bet all three of us pass now!"
Kakashi allowed a small grin. So, the one who's supposed to be a dummy figured it out first. Better make sure the others get it too. "And where exactly did you get that idea?" Naruto's expression changed from excited to fearful.
"But… But…"
"Now…" The teacher turned and gave them a hard look. "Sasuke has both bells, so he gets to decide who passes." C'mon, Uchiha, live up to your reputation as a genius, not your reputation of being a cold-hearted jerk…
Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was sighing dejectedly, then at Sakura, who had a pleading look in her eyes. Hs resolve hardened. "Neither. Teammates are a waste of time and would only hold me back."
Sakura dropped to her knees, fighting back the urge to cry, while Naruto roared with outrage. "You lousy back-stabbing jerk! You wouldn't have gotten any bells if it wasn't for us! Now you give Sakura-chan one of those bells like we agreed right now or so help me I'll…"
Kakashi hid his disappointment in Sasuke, but was a bit confused by Naruto's outburst. Why is he so intent on behalf of Sakura, but not himself? Did he volunteer to take the fall? Well, if I really was able to pass one or two of them, Naruto would definitely be one of them. Let's see if we can't get two out of three.
"Alright, if Sasuke refuses to choose… Sakura. You choose. Which two of you pass?"
The girl with the bubblegum hair looked up suddenly, unshed tears moistening her wide eyes. "M-me?" She looked at Sasuke, who was spitting her with a death glare. She looked away, toward Naruto, who was alternatively looking at her and at Kakashi-sensei, an unreadable expression on his face. Sasuke will hate me forever if I don't choose him… but Naruto deserves it more! We never would have made it without his help… I can't believe I just thought that about Naruto. Ohh… I need to choose Sasuke, but if I don't also choose myself, I lose the chance to be on his team forever! Sorry, Naruto…
"I pick Sasuke… and…" She looked downcast as she said "…myself."
Kakashi sighed. Close, Sakura. If you'd picked Naruto and Sasuke, or even Naruto and yourself, you would have passed. Still… she knew what was right, it was only her infatuation that stopped her. If she spends long enough around Sasuke, she might get over it and become worthwhile. Sasuke… If he goes back to the academy, he'll become even more bitter and not learn a thing from this. And when he graduates next year, whoever is assigned to him will overlook his faults like so many others do. He glanced at Naruto, who had sat down on the ground looking both sad and resigned to his fate. Besides, Naruto passed fairly and with flying colors. He may be a good influence in that respect. And I do want to learn more about those chain blades… Fine.
"Alright then, I've decided. I've tried a lot of genin with this test over the years, and I've never passed a team. But I've also never had a team like this."
The genin looked at him curiously. "Sasuke, I have never seen a genin fail this test worse than you did. You should be cut from the ninja program all together, in my opinion. " The Uchiha's eyes lit up in rage. "The entire point of this test was to gauge your teamwork and ability to put the needs of the group above your own. You betrayed your team's trust for selfish and idiotic reasons. Sakura, You did better, but not by much. You were selfish in choosing yourself and Sasuke. Even if you'd picked yourself and Naruto, that would have been better, as he had deserved it more." She at least had the good graces to offer Naruto an apologetic look. "Naruto… you saw through to the true purpose behind this test, and was willing to put their needs and desires above yours. If anyone here would pass, it would be you. But like you figured out, it's all three or none at all. So… you all pass."
There was a moment of silence. "…Huh?"
"You all have potential. I'm going to bring it out. And besides," He said with a shrug. "You did get both bells, which is more then any other team assigned to me has ever accomplished, and Naruto passed the real test. Three passes total."
Before they could properly digest this news, Kakashi turned and began to walk away. "Meet at eight tomorrow morning at the bridge down the road from here. Dismissed."
He hadn't gone more then three paces when a pair of joyous shouts broke the stillness behind him. Kakashi smiled. Maybe teaching these brats wouldn't be so bad… and hey, if the Sasuke learned from today, that meant soon he'd have a protégé strong enough to make Gai shut up about his.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Woo! Two and a half weeks and 18 pages later, chapter two is born! There was less action then I'd hoped for, and I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the bell test, but things should begin heating up soon. What I really can't wait for is the end of the Chuunin Exam Arc, obviously, but it's a long road to get there. Anyway, you can expect the beginning of the mission to Wave Country next chapter. Blood will be spilled copiously by the end of that arc, you can be sure. What with all the expendable nameless mercenaries with a cheapskate employer, and all.
Also next chapter you may see the introduction of Ino as something other than a fangirl used for comic relief.
One more thing: I want to just state now that I don't intend to demonize or bash Sakura or Sasuke… at least not much. Sakura simply is that bitchy in the beginning of the series, remember, and Sasuke… well, is Sasuke. And don't get Kakashi wrong; he'll definitely be playing favorites like he did in canon. He annoys me too much to be entirely innocent in Sasuke's betrayal.
Jutsu Library
Kawamiri no Jutsu: The substitution technique, known by practically all ninja. The user appears to be hit by an attack, then disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a replacement. This often takes the form of a log, or a rock. Though a genin-level jutsu, it is still commonly used by jounin.
Greek Archive
Plume of Prometheus: Prometheus was the Titan who stole fire from the gods, and gave it to humankind. This technique also offers the target the gift of fire, but in a much less friendly manner. Upon finishing the move, a gout of magma shoots out of the ground, blasting the target off their feet and burning them badly. It's a first-level Blades of Chaos move found in both GOW games, and is activated by using square, square, triangle.
Until next time!