Naruto
Heart and Soul
Angel of Death
It would be a real bother to ask how Makoto and Kinoko managed around the Haruno residence now that they had two troublesome kids to take care of and feed. As promised, Kakashi and Kurenai came by to visit a couple of times to check on Naruto, and were really tempted to ask that question by the way the yellow haired runt and his new roommate were running around with so much energy to spare. But by the way the entire family was organized, and how well they lived and worked together, you could immediately tell that they were a well rehearsed shinobi team.
As stated, the four members of the main Haruno household worked hard and well, and basked in the rewards that followed. Everyone had a chore assigned to them, which made everything both efficient and fair. Secondly, the four of them were easily able to keep the roof over their heads without it toppling over due to stress or pressure. Makoto had a lot of chores assigned to him, which included ninja missions, meetings, most of the bills, expenditures and making sure the grass was cut. Kinoko shared her chores around the house with Naruto and Sakura, asking them to help her keep the garden maintained, as well as the interior of the house itself. This included cleaning, washing the dishes, clothes and making sure everything was kept in its rightful places.
For the next year or so to follow, things were pretty much the same as it was last year, save for the fact that both Naruto and Sakura had grown. As it turns out, the two children had a lot of their priorities and future prospects set out for them. Sakura wanted to become a shinobi just like her father, but wanted to extend her abilities more into becoming a medic ninja. She saw she was smart enough for that, and so did Naruto and her family. Furthermore, she set herself a goal to become the best medic ninja in the village. Naruto however, was a lot quieter about his future prospect, but made it clear to the family that he wanted to become a shinobi, the strongest in the land, just like his father before him. His past family promised him that life, and his new family expected that of him.
Seeing that Naruto was so intent on becoming a shinobi, as well as his own daughter, Makoto opted to train them both. Sakura was already in her training stages to becoming a ninja, but the adults were unsure of Naruto's experience. Therefore, some tests and basic training was required. Kinoko also volunteered to help train the two, being a fellow shinobi of mid-level Chunin; she felt that she could help out a lot. So, when both Naruto and Sakura were eight, for the following months, Makoto and Kinoko took turns in training the youngsters, following through the same exercises they were pushed through. Before and after schooling hours of course, Makoto or Kinoko would pull aside the two of them and make them work on their fighting skills, as well as molding them into shape.
It was noticeable that Sakura had to work hard in the exercises to the satisfaction of her parents, but Naruto seemed to be enjoying it more then crying in sore despair. This made Makoto wonder more about the child and his abilities. True he was the son of the Forth Hokage, and that he was the host to the Nine-Tailed Fox, there were however a lot of mysteries surrounding him. It was Makoto's underestimating of the child that gave him a real shock one Saturday morning…
Loud thuds of fists and feet impacting against a boulder could be heard echoing throughout the surrounding air. Accompanied by grunts of effort, and the huffs of sharp intakes and outtakes of breath, the noises eventually led any onlookers to its source, which turned out to be Makoto pumping iron. The white haired male was dressed in only a pair of pants with wrappings around his arms and legs, was bare feet of course, and had no top or headband. He was hard at work at the moment, physically training his body to keep himself in perfect shape and form. What he was doing was, of course, no surprise to any of his fellow ninja.
Following his routine training schedule, the Jonin was busy working attacks away at the massive boulder that sat in the middle of the Haruno Backyard garden. Well, to call the place a garden was an understatement. The Haruno estate is presently, one of the largest estates in the village. The residents of this household were blessed with a wide open reserve, with a small forest, which they maintained and used for their own training exercises. Aside from these large patches from topography's point of view of course, the small family did have a rather remarkable garden. Blossom trees were planted all over the place, accompanied by bamboo bushes and trees, roses, sunflowers, and other exotic plants a lot of people in this village haven't seen, including the beachside coconut tree. A cobblestone footpath weaved through the garden in the back, crossing the small river that flowed through here, and the fish pond, which was all built around a central shrine, which was lit up on special nights. It was truly magnificent.
Not only was the Haruno estate one of the largest areas in this local area of village, but the family also had one of the most well tended gardens to date. However, aside from the magnificent shrines, and the spa sitting beside a beautiful foliation of plants, and the steam-room set in another corner, there were some other strange things lying around. An example, being the boulder that Makoto was hammering away at.
This stone structure stood out like a sore thumb, and was becoming a sorry sight as well. The number of times this thing was used by Makoto was beginning to show through the massive dent in its side the young adult was constantly punching and kicking. His lethal combinations were so strong they were visibly chipping away pieces of the boulder. If that weren't enough, skid marks on the ground in front of it showed the pivot movements of feet that were initiated in order to unleash the attacks upon the beaten up stone.
Louder thuds were heard, this time much more rapid, as Makoto picked up the pace in his combinations. His fists and kicks were mere blurs as he moved around the stone, initiating dodges and blocks in the exercise, and countering them. More chips off the boulder flew out, as his solid and bruised limbs peppered away at its surface. For the next minute or so, he continued this, his combinations growing more fierce and complicated. Then, after unleashing a final blow, which was meant to be a lethal one aimed for a particular spot, he ended by straightening himself, and breathing in and out to relax his pounding heart. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the topless man stretched out his arms, and turned his back towards his punching bag.
"Ahh…that was good…a nice morning breather…" Makoto groaned, cracking his neck from left to right.
The Jonin was about to proceed indoors, when he unexpectedly saw Naruto standing outside, in front of the doorway, looking at him through curious, innocent eyes. It gave the head of the household quite a jump, since he didn't even hear the door slide open. But here he was, dressed in a white T-shirt, orange shorts, and his scarf around his neck with his swords sheathed behind him, without any sandals or headband, was the young, quiet child of the house.
Makoto blinked in surprise, and Naruto blinked back, both of them now standing in an awkward and still silence, where neither moved an inch for fear of disturbing the balance of nature. But one of them eventually moved, and that move was made by Makoto. The white haired Haruno grinned and waved at the boy.
"Hey there, Naruto," he exclaimed casually. "Up for some training, are we?"
Blinking a couple of times as a first response, Naruto then smiled and nodded his head enthusiastically. Earning a chuckle from his Jonin-be-home sensei, Makoto then gestured for the boy to follow him, which he did. Trotting forward to walk beside the head of the Haruno family, Naruto was slowly lead into the wooded area, where he had been through several exercises in the past. After five minutes of walking straight through the region, they eventually stopped at a large tree stump, the largest in the area, showing that whatever tree that had once been growing here must have been the oldest of the lot.
Stretching out, Makoto turned towards his yellow haired student and grinned at him. "Okay then, Naruto! Seeing as that you're up and looking for a workout, why don't I test you and see how strong you really are!" The boy just stared at the man silently, expression showing his puzzlement. The white haired Jonin chuckled and stretched out his back. "Don't worry; it's nothing harmful. It's just going to be a friendly spar. Heh. Over the past year, I've noticed that the training Kinoko and I have been giving you has been everything but an exercise for you, Naruto! Therefore, I've decided to initiate this little exam: a one on one match between you and me!"
Smiling brightly, Naruto nodded excitedly. With a smirk and a serious fighting face coming into play, the boy back-flipped and, once assuming the correct distance, dropped into a fighting stance. The readiness shown in his stance was all Makoto needed to settle his question. Grinning, the adult slammed his right fist into his left palm, and nodded firmly.
"Excellent! Okay then, son! Show me what you've got!" Standing there casually with his fists at his sides, the white haired Jonin waited for the boy's attack. He didn't have to wait long.
Bringing his left hand behind him, Naruto suddenly through it forward across then back in a two-sweep motion, a cluster of kunai knives suddenly flying through the air straight at Makoto at speeds he did not expect. The Jonin gasped and stepped sideways to his left, turning in a full 360 degree motion at the same time. He was able to avoid the first few knives that flew past him, but had to bend back a full 90 degrees, resulting in him supporting himself on his left hand to avoid the last six. He was barely able to get under it, much less avoid the whole bunch. His eyes shot off in the direction the kunai went flying, where he heard the rustling of leaves at the disappearance of the flying weapons.
Makoto looked back at the boy who had thrown those knives after a few seconds of composing himself, eyes wide and mouth agape. Standing in the same place where he started, he saw Naruto smirking at him, using a personality expression he had never seen before. The Jonin immediately knew that the boy meant business, and that got him grinning a moment later. He pushed himself up to a proper standing position, and fixed the straps on his right arm.
"I see…you've got some skill…" Makoto exclaimed, lowering his arms. "But let's see how good you are at hand-to-hand combat!"
Crouching low, Naruto suddenly sprung forward, pouncing like a wolf onto its prey. Faster then a flying kunai, he charged at Makoto, and flung his left fist straight at the man's face. The Jonin stepped back in surprise, just in time to avoid the punch. He brought his left arm up, blocking the right roundhouse kick that came flying through the air straight at him. The force caused him to lean in the direction away from the impact, and the ringing of the blocked blow nearly made his arm go numb. Holding place there, Makoto then threw Naruto off of him, the boy back-flipping and skidding to a stop about fifteen feet away. Glancing at his arm, Makoto stared at it, only to see it suddenly develop goose bumps and shake as if his limb had a seizure, and that freaked him out. Now that was some serious numbness.
Before his opponent could take further action, Naruto leapt at him, and with a loud growl of anger, sent a punch straight across Makoto's face. This blow knocked the ninja flying back over the large tree stump, and into another large tree. The crash to follow created a nice dent of wood and splinters, a clear imprint from the impact carved nicely into the tree's base. Naruto touched down on the ground, and when he did, he flicked his left hand out to his side. At this action, five ninja stars suddenly appeared in between his fingers, a grin forming on the boy's face. Leaping to his left, the boy landed against the side of another nearby tree, pushing off sharply with his feet so that he was once again airborne, and drew his throwing arm back. With a shout of effort, Naruto threw the ninja stars at his opponent, who was recovering from the sudden, but powerful blow across the face. The knives curved through the air as they flew, and their sound catching the attention of the Head-shaken Jonin.
Looking up, the white haired man let out a yell of shock and, gripping the trunk he was lying against, pushed himself up into a 360 degree back-flip, and landed on all fours against the length of tree. The stars struck the imprint where he was once stuck in, causing the man to gulp at how close he had come to being skewered.
"Whoa…" Makoto exclaimed, a smirk crossing his features as he looked up towards the boy, crouched in a rather advanced fighting stance on top of the large tree stump. "This is getting exciting. It's been a long time since I've come up against such a young, skilled opponent like you. Even though you're still young, Naruto, you're showing a lot of promise!"
Naruto grinned. Taking that as his initiative, Makoto pushed off the tree he was crouching against and leapt straight at his opponent. His flight through the air only took a split second, and when he reached the area above the stump, through a powerful, right fist straight at his opponent. Naruto side-stepped to his left while grabbing the flying fist by the wrist with his right hand, and turned in the direction of the punch. Making an elaborate twist, the boy attempted to get a lock on his opponent, but Makoto managed to twist out of the boy's vice grip, and land safely. Getting back onto his opponent, the adult sent a left hook curling through the air at his opponent, only for Naruto to duck under it, spin on his axis, and sent a right elbow into his opponent's stomach. Makoto chopped down with a double palm strike, causing Naruto's attack to lose its forward momentum when the direction of force was intercepted. Makoto continued with a right kick straight upwards, Naruto leaning back, and also leaping back to keep distance. The Jonin brought his leg back down in a axe kick, only for Naruto to leap to his right, and perform a commando roll across the stump. Makoto's kick struck the stump, and dented it with a loud bang of force.
Quickly getting back into a crouched position, at the same time Makoto spun around to face him, Naruto lowered his stance before leaping straight at his opponent. With a shout, the boy sent a right hook through and while in mid-air, followed by a left round-house kick, a right follow-up backward round-house kick, a left straight-up kick, then a right over-head punch, which brought him straight down like a falling meteor. Makoto avoided all the attacks, and was no less then a little stunned at the boy's ferocity and advancement in taijutsu. Withdrawing his fist from the small dent he made in the stump, Naruto clenched both fists and brought his right leg back. With a yell, he struck out with a side kick at his opponent's legs, Makoto moving it around and out of the way to exit his opponent's range of attacks. Naruto continued by slamming both hands onto the surface of the stump and swiping at the ninja's feet with a left lily-sweep kick. Makoto had enough time to crouch down and push off into the air before the kick could hit, which allowed him to escape the attack's range.
Performing a variety of flips as he soared straight up through the air, Makoto eventually directed himself downwards, then plummeted straight down head first. Bringing his right fist back, the man swiftly shot at his opponent with a powerful punch, the attack cracking the stump and sending a cloud of dust and debris in every direction. The extraordinary crash of force was enough to scare the daylights out of some nearby birds, but not enough to stagger his opponent.
Naruto had managed to jump out of the way and off of the stump in the nick of time, and when he did, was now standing in an attack position about ten meters out from the cloud of smoke and dust, which was the result of his opponent's attack. Just as the boy was glaring into the cloud of debris, he suddenly became aware of a light ping of metal on metal, followed by the grinding of small weapons as it was drawn back. By the time he was able to see the shadow of his opponent through the dust cloud, he could hear the knives being thrown. As expected, Naruto saw an entire cluster of a dozen kunai flying straight at him, which prompted him to crouch low, and then leap off of the ground straight up into the tree tops above. The kunai missed him, and the yellow haired boy vanished into the leaves of the canopy. Silence fell.
Fanning away the dust, Makoto turned his sights skyward, in the direction his opponent went, but couldn't see him anywhere. So, putting energy into his legs, the Jonin followed after him into the treetops above. He shot through the leaves, emerging into a unique, open area above the ground, within the trees. He landed atop of a thick, moss covered branch, sticking out of one of the surrounding redwoods. Makoto stood there, arms at his sides and looking from left to right through the darkness of the thick growths. It was like he was trying to find a mouse, and that mouse happened to be a surprisingly dangerous boy, capable of unleashing very accurate attacks. It worried and amazed Makoto at the same time, who was beginning to feel a lot of pride towards Naruto.
As he continued searching for him through the greenery, he began to speak.
"You're really good, Naruto," Makoto exclaimed. "You're strong, you're fast, and you are incredibly skilled. Minato and Kushina have taught you well…" A rustling in some nearby branches and leaves caught his attention, and he turned towards them with a serious expression in play. "The key to being a ninja is his or her stealth, able to hide away, and camouflage their presence like a leaf insect. But if the predator becomes aware of the ninja's presence, then all hope of a surprise attack is lost. You must focus more on being invisible." Makoto slowly approached the said branches, reaching into the pouch behind him, and drawing another kunai knife. He brought it behind him, readying to strike. "I guess you've already learned that lesson…"
All of a sudden, the branch beneath his feet suddenly disappeared as it crumbled into a dozen pieces of a log, as if it were sliced up into pieces by some invisible force, and Makoto felt himself falling. Growling, in his fall, the man reached out and grabbed the nearest thing he could, which turned out to be one of the overhanging vines. Like Tarzan, he used it to swing himself onto another branch, but that vine too gave way as a yellow blur suddenly shot by, and cut it. Using the force he had gained from the swing, Makoto back-flipped forward and landed on the said branch he was aiming for. When he did, he spun around, and watched as his opponent landed on the branch of another tree across from him. There, the two of them stood in opposing fighting stances, glaring each other down with a ferocity only seen in real combat.
For a minute or so, the two stood in silence, glaring at each other as if they were equal in combat. Then, as if the bells of the tower were struck, the two of them broke off their glare, and then sprinted off down the length of their tree branch. Naruto broke left, and Makoto broke right, so that they were running opposite of each other. They leapt from branch to branch, both of them drawing a cluster of kunai and shuriken, and then drawing them back. One after another, for every branch they landed on, the two fighters threw their weapons at the other. Like bullets whizzing through the air, the two ninja began exchanging attack after attack, with every single blade missing the other, due to their high reflex actions and speed. It was then, after tossing attacks down to their last kunai, the two of them then changed direction, and flew straight at one another.
Crossing paths through the air, the two fighters exchanged strikes, a loud clang going out as they passed each other. Landing against opposite trees once again, the two of them pushed off and flew at each other again, once again exchanging kunai strikes, which let off another loud clang. The two of them repeated this mode of attack again and again, while keeping on the move down the line of trees they were using as the mainstay for their attacks. Then, after a minute or so of continuous jumping and quick strikes, the two of them eventually stopped, and threw their kunai at each other. The knives struck in mid-air, and plummeted to the forest floor below.
Makoto, standing a top of another branch, watched the knives fall till they disappeared, and when they did, glared back up at his opponent. Spotting Naruto's own eyes, the Jonin reached up with his right hand and ran it through the lock of his hair. When he withdrew it, three kunai knives suddenly appeared, flashing into view and giving Naruto warning of the coming attack. Smirking, Makoto drew his hand back, dropping into an attack stance with his weapons at the ready. However, he was to get one hell of a surprise.
Around the time Makoto drew his knives, Naruto had slipped on his fingerless fighting gloves, which were tightened and secured for his next move. Holding his hands at his sides, the boy then stretched out the fingers on his left hand, cracking them in their new confines, and clenching his fist tightly. Then, with a silent crack of energy, he extended his fingers, and a sudden strand of blue wire suddenly curled out around his arm and outwards, catching Makoto's attention. Before he could react however, he suddenly caught sight of the same strand of blue wire flash past his head, and after watching it flicker a few times, became aware of its effects. Out of the corner of his eyes, he suddenly saw the three kunai held lose their blades, so that he was only holding their handles. The blades fell from the canopy and towards the ground floor below, leaving him with blunt-ended weapons that resulted in his eyes widening in disbelief.
He stared directly at Naruto as he placed his right hand behind him and motioned his left hand through the air, the invisible wire flashing blue withdrawing into his fingertip gracefully. The boy was smirking at Makoto, the yellow haired ninja sending a chill down the Jonin's spine.
"Ninja threads," the man whispered, blinking in surprise with sweat trickling down the sides of his face, as he relinquished his hold on his blunt kunai handles. "I didn't know you could do that?"
"They're not ninja threads, Makoto-sensei," Naruto exclaimed childishly, the delight in his voice indicating that he was responding to the man's praises. At the same time, the boy tightened the glove on his left hand. He reached up with the fingertips of his left hand to his teeth, his jaw seemingly biting down on his tips as he pulled them back, a network of the same blue threads suddenly appearing. They flashed into view, weaving between Naruto's fingers and teeth with a deadly aura surrounding them. "They're high-velocity monomolecular wires, created through the combining of strongly bonded molecules in the air, and heightened in strength using chakra. Using these…I can cut through any metal, liquid or solid in existence!" This information did not sit too well with Makoto.
"W-Where did you learn to use those," the man asked, blinking in shock. Naruto smirked, bringing up his right hand and lacing it through the wire as well. He extended both arms outwards, the wires expanding as well and beginning to weave through the air around him. Lacing through the trees, the boy prepped them up for his next attack.
"My mother taught me," Naruto replied.
Makoto nodded, a smile forming on his face. "So…Kushina Namikaze taught him that ability. As expected, I knew the Angel of Death would pass down her most dangerous ability to him. Guess he wants to show it off…" Grinning, Makoto reached for his hair and ran his right hand through it. When he pulled it out, he drew along with it, three kunai knives, and strands of what looked to be ninja threads along with them, which stretched and stretched on as he brought his hand back down to his side, his kunai blades sticking from his hand. "Well then Naruto, if you're going to be using such a dangerous technique, then I have no restraints in showing you why they call me the Snare Ninja of Konoha! You ready?"
Naruto nodded. Grinning, Makoto brought back his right hand and threw it forward and across, tossing the three kunai blades straight at his opponent, the invisible threads lengthening at the same rate the knives were. These threads seemed to emerge from the man's very hands, but were actually laced around and connected to his head in some way. Naruto saw the kunai come flashing towards him, and acted, ducking low to avoid the first one! Reaching back, he drew his sword, using the half-drawn blade to block the next one, then fully drew it as he stood up, and slashed it at the third, knocking it back. Taking the sword into two hands, he then split it into two separate blades, and prepared himself for battle.
The kunai knives came flying back to their owner, whom controlled them using his special ninja threads. Clenching on them with his fists, he swung the three blades around him expertly, maintaining his stance and balance. Before long, and after several swings made by his knives, he tossed them at Naruto one after the other, beginning a combination attack. Naruto was prepared, using his swords, he pushed himself into defensive mode and, while walking across the length of branch, began blocking the knives coming his way, loud clanging sounds echoing around as Makoto continued honing his assault. His kunai were acting as if they were attached to elastic wire, being with drawn and thrown back at rapid speeds, their energy staggering even Naruto. The boy growled as he slashed at the incoming attacks, twirling his Dao blades in his hands in order to block and move around some trick strikes made by the still distant Makoto.
Grinning, Makoto began operating himself on autopilot, using his right hand to continue making signs through the air, directing his three kunai on the attack, and using his left hand to reach for a new weapon. Flicking his wrist, five ninja stars suddenly appeared in his hand, each of them tied by invisible strands of thread. With his right hand commanding the kunai, the Jonin then suddenly threw forward the five shuriken stars, watching them zip through the air, curving around in different directions to confuse the boy. Naruto saw it coming, and leapt backwards through the air, bringing his swords to bear and blocking the incoming stars one after another. The bombardment of kunai became overly stressing for the boy, seeing as Naruto was visibly gritting his teeth as he dodged and blocked the incoming blades. Landing on yet another tree, he suddenly had to leap swiftly to his left to avoid a full barrage from every single blade in the Jonin's arsenal, all of them impaling the branch with resounding thuds.
Tracking the boy, Makoto grinned. Bringing his hands about, he laced the threads around him through the air, before suddenly bringing them down to his chest, placing them together in what looked to be a hand sign. What was to follow was a whole series of hand signs; the threads laced through the man's fingers artistically, but did not restrict his movements. Once he finished his hand signs with a Tiger hand seal, Makoto then extended his fingers outward, shooting more strands through the air, which moved with the wind through the trees. Naruto had no idea what was coming to him, till he was forced to dodge another attack of thread tied kunai.
The attack forced him to jump backward, which proved to be his biggest mistake when he ended up caught in what he thought was a web, when it was in fact a network of chakra threads, laced through the trees like web. Tangled in the threads the moment he entered the air space's proximity, the boy attempted to get himself out of his predicament, but unable to move either of his swords, since they too were sewn down, the boy could do nothing but match as his opponent called back his kunai and ninja stars back into his hands, and prep himself for his finishing move. Slapping his hands together and forming another series of quick hand signs, the adult shinobi smirked and stretched out both his arms outwards, before bringing them both in, in one swift motion.
"Ninja Art: Maiden Snare Jutsu!"
Suddenly, Naruto's ears caught the sound of kunai whizzing through the air, thousands by what he could tell, coming in from all around him. So, glancing through the tree tops surrounding him, Naruto suddenly became aware of the full capacity of the jutsu the man was using. In a blink of an eye, thousands of ninja blades tied to threads came flying through the trees and branches, through the air from every single direction. The attack literally filled up the air a great deal as it shot towards its bound opponent right in the center of all three dimensions. Makoto, knowing the deadliness of the attack, however, slowed down the rate of kunai flight in hesitation, but got the shock of his life as he saw Naruto smirking at him through the mass of knives still flying towards him, giving clear indication that he was going to be fine. Makoto, therefore, pulled them all in full force, and the wave upon wave of kunai began pummeling Naruto's bodies, the threads tightening as soon as they were lodged into their target's body.
Within seconds, Naruto's body looked like he had been run over by thousands of hedgehogs, the kunai stuck in him striking every vital and nerve point, rendering him paralyzed. His body laid limp where it hung, tied down by the threads crisscrossing through the trees, as well as the web of kunai tied threads. Makoto breathed out, blinking in shock as he stared at the lifeless body of Naruto. He couldn't believe that he had done what he did, and shook his head in disbelief, eyes tightly shut. It was then when he opened his eyes, and looked back at the webbing of threads, he got the shock of his life when all he saw was a log resting in the middle of the net, impaled by the thousands of kunai. Blinking, the man glanced around him, trying to find out what had happened to his opponent. But before he could say a word, he suddenly felt his arms snap to his sides, and his body be thrown off its feet. A split second later, he found himself tied up to a tree, invisible strands of wire wrapped tightly against his chest and upper body, glittering in the sunlight that shone through the treetops.
Struggling against these bonds, Makoto looked up, only to be introduced to the sight of a untouched Naruto standing on the same branch he had once been standing against, arms crossed over and hands open, his fingers clearly showing the sight of wire strands escaping the tips, and curling upwards around him to unknown areas of airspace. The white haired Jonin blinked in surprise, noting the cut across Naruto's left cheek, as well as the light bruise on his forehead. Otherwise, the boy was unharmed by the kunai barrage. After a moment or so of analyzing each others' situation, Makoto let out a chuckle and shook his head.
"You're doing well, Naruto. Your parents would be very proud of you," Makoto exclaimed. Naruto smiled, that innocent look crossing his expression again as he replied to his sensei's kind words.
"My parents taught me everything I needed to survive, Makoto-sensei!" Naruto said, lowering his head and grinning a second later. "And I learned how to survive…"
"If that's the case," the Jonin began, looking up with a smirk. "Then I should recommend you to the academy now!" In a blink of an eye, Makoto's form suddenly disappeared in a puff of white smoke. When that cloud dispersed, the once full body of a flesh and blood ninja was replaced by a log, just as Naruto had done.
Frowning, Naruto then leapt backwards fast and far, just as a bombardment of over a dozen kunai came falling from the tree tops above. The moment Naruto made that move and found himself still flying backwards through the air and decline in altitude, the boy brought the two fingers on both hands together and formed a 't' shape with them, and with a small output of chakra, initiated his next technique.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted. That moment, five or so other Naruto's appeared around him in puffs of white smoke. One after another, the shadow clones broke away, heading in totally different directions in the form of yellow blurs, vanishing into the forest beyond. This left Naruto with only one shadow clone for himself. The shadow clone above him reached down with his hands, and Naruto grabbed them, and sing the momentum in Naruto's descent, the Shadow Clone replica tossed the real Naruto up into the tree tops. The yellow haired boy went flying straight up like a flung kunai, the shadow clone he had used dispersing in a cloud of smoke.
Shooting through the thickness of trees, Naruto emerged into yet another canopy level wide and expanded from the last one. Losing momentum, the boy then landed on yet another tree branch and crouched low, his eyes scanning from left to right for his target. He didn't have to search for long, when he suddenly heard a zip of kunai suddenly come from his right, and he skidded back, drawing a kunai of his own from his pouch and getting into a stance. Three more kunai came from his twelve o'clock, and the boy twirled his kunai in his hand and brought it in front of him, expertly blocking them with excellent proficiency. When the kunai were dealt with, Naruto had to almost instantly leap to his right, across to another branch when Makoto suddenly plummeted from the tree tops and kicked straight at the spot where he used to be. The Jonin's powerful kick literally broke the branch he had been standing on, causing him to back-flip onto the remains of the branch still attached to the tree and take a defensive stance.
Naruto landed on yet another branch just then meters across from the last one, and when he did, he immediately pushed off and flew straight towards his opponent at an amazing rate. Unsheathing his sword, Naruto immediately began lashing out at Makoto with relentless, advanced strikes with such speed and strength that the Jonin was forced into a quick retreat. With his own kunai, the white haired ninja began blocking and dodging the attacks as best as he could, while at the same time falling back from branch to branch. Naruto proved himself an excellent swordsman, causing Makoto to sweat with every mind-boggling attack he made.
Landing a top of a really big branch, the two of them continued battling it out, Makoto unleashing some of his own strikes upon the boy, who placed himself into defensive mode the moment he saw it. The yellow haired boy spun his sword around him using various parries to block the thrust and slash actions from his opponent. Ducking under a kunai stab, Naruto slashed upwards with his sword, striking Makoto's wrist with the side of his blade, knocking the kunai out of the man's grip and into the air. Naruto then pivoted forward and side-kicked with a powerful right leg. The blow caused a loud bang to ring out, and sent Makoto flying back into the tree-trunk the branch was attached to. Sheathing his sword, Naruto brought both his hands back behind him, cuffing them, then throwing both of them forward and up, a series of invisible wires shooting forth from his fingers. The wires curled through the air, and wrapped around the tree trunk area above Makoto. The Jonin shook his head and glared up, only to become aware of the flashes of blue wire surrounding him. He looked up, where he saw the wire quickly wrap around the tree.
With a grin in play, Naruto tugged on his wires, the threads cleanly slicing through the trunk, and bringing down the entire treetop above the cutting points, down on his opponent. Makoto growled and leapt to his left, avoiding the incoming, collapsing logs, which crashed down onto the branch he had been standing on, causing it to break as well. Naruto chased after him as the branch beneath him gave way, and pursued his opponent leaping through the trees. The chase was on, with Naruto bringing out his monomolecular wires to bear. Motioning his hands forward, the wires flashed into view, whipping forward with lighting fast speed and curling around a couple of trees standing on both sides of him up ahead. Then, tugging on his wires, he used the energy he put behind it to fling him forward. This sent him hurling through the air, right above the retreating Makoto. The Jonin glanced behind him to check if anyone was following him, and was surprised to see that no one was following him.
Flipping through the air fifteen meters above his still retreating opponent, Naruto directed himself so that his upper body was facing the ground. Now flying through the air at a controlled rate, the boy unleashed his invisible wires again, fling them through the air downwards, and capturing the upcoming branches Makoto was planning on using. Also wrapping around tree trunks surrounding these branches, the boy pulled on them hard, slicing up the branches the moment Makoto touched down on them. When he did, the man wasn't able to kick off fast enough when the trees surrounding him started to cave and collapse. Makoto fell with the plummeting branches and logs, looking around him for something to catch onto.
Before the Jonin could fully adjust to his new situation, at that exact moment, Naruto came flying into the falling debris, arms crossed over him, fingers locked and extended and monomolecular wires whipping around him. The boy parted his crossed arms, slicing through several of the opposing logs and throwing four of the big ones he had wrapped around straight at Makoto. The falling Jonin growled and reached up, running his right hand through his hair and drawing three kunai. Using these, he immediately threw them up at the logs thrown towards him, which immediately stopped them, accept for the one, which slammed into his stomach and sent him falling at a much faster rate. It was at that moment of impact, the form of Makoto suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced by a different log, thanks to the unlimited supply around them. Naruto frowned, knowing what had happened.
Before the boy could change his situation, he was suddenly attacked from behind by a series of kunai attached to threads coming out from behind a cluster of falling debris. When they wrapped around his body, they immediately tightened, and sliced through the boy. It was then, Naruto's body suddenly exploded into a cloud of white smoke, indicating that he had been one of the shadow clones produced. Only three remained.
Makoto growled, curling up and beginning to forward flip-spin through the air. Using this method to control his fall, he landed on an outstretched branch, which caught him about thirty meters above the ground. The white haired Jonin glared down towards the forest floor as the mass of branches and logs crashed with mind-boggling force and weight. Frowning, the man contemplated on how close he had come to becoming a pancake. But then, sounds of an incoming presence caused him to be pulled from his thoughts, and with a gasp of shock, the man leapt off of his branch and out of the way as a familiar yellow haired boy came crashing down through the branch, sword drawn. Growling at having missed his opponent, the boy split his weapon and sent one of them into the side of the tree opposite him. Slamming his feet against it, he skidded to a stop down its length, sword held in place as assistance.
Glaring upwards, the boy was about to push off, when he was suddenly overcome by various kunai attached to threads flying right at him. The weapons shot passed though, but the threads over-lapped the trunk he was standing against. The threads struck him, and the kunai wrapped around the tree upon trapping their target. However, the moment the series of kunai and threads had their target tied to the tree, the Naruto within it vanished in a puff of smoke, surprising the white haired Jonin perched on the branch ten meters above.
Makoto frowned, looking up just in time to see another Naruto flying straight at him. He pushed off, leaping backwards through the treetops to avoid the slash of a dao blade made by his young opponent. However as soon as he did so, another Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him, and sent a powerful left side-kick straight into his stomach, which sent him straight into the trunk of yet another tree. Shaking off the surprise attack, Makoto looked up in time to see Naruto throwing his invisible wires straight at him. The wires wrapped around the tree trunk he was imprinted against, and sliced right through. Another two wires then pulled at the trunk attachment he was against, and threatened to send him packing. But not when he was still in the game.
Leaping up, Makoto crouched against the section of tree being pulled towards his opponent, and when he did, pushed off and flew at the Naruto controlling the wires. The boy saw this, and grinned, jumping and flipping over the man just in time to see him fly passed. In doing so, the yellow haired boy tugged on his wires, and threw the log he had snagged right underneath him, in the same direction Makoto had flown in. The white haired Jonin glared behind him, growling as he saw he log flying straight at him. Reaching up, the man ran both his hands through his hair, before drawing a series of kunai knives, about a dozen of them, each attached to a flowing strand of ninja thread. With his weapons secured, he then flung them outwards, the threads whipping out, tightening, and creating a wall of web between him and the incoming log. Landing a top of another branch, the man watched as the log crashed into the network of threads, and got sliced to bits.
Makoto glared, continuing to bring out kunai by the dozens, and began dispersing them, throwing them in every direction possible so that they curled around several nearby trees and branches. However, just as he was about to set himself ready for his next defensive maneuver, Naruto suddenly came bursting in through the thread netting in front of him that he used to block the log. With both swords in hand, the boy flew at him, ready to strike. Makoto was not going to let that happen, and as soon as Naruto landed in front of him, the man drew a kunai and flung it at him, Naruto side-stepped under it as it passed, and struck out with his sword, right for the man's neck. It all happened at once.
Within the entanglement of threads and monomolecular wires unleashed by both fighters, was Makoto and Naruto locked in their attack positions, paused to stop themselves from killing the other. Naruto had his black blade held in his left hand placed against Makoto's neck, whereas the sword in his right hand was held back by ninja wires unleashed by the Jonin. Makoto on the other hand, had a kunai knife pointed directly at Naruto's neck, held back from finishing the strike. However, monomolecular wires produced by Naruto which were wrapped around his neck and striking arm would have sliced him to bits before he hit Naruto. A similar production went for Naruto, who had ninja threads wrapped around his neck and striking arm, and a rigged attack plan Makoto had cooked up for him. A kunai hung suspended behind Naruto's head, ready to hit him if he had continued with his sword strike to the man's neck. Over all, it was a stalemate, both fighters smirking at each other, with similar cuts from kunai blades on their right cheeks.
Suddenly, chuckling from a familiar presence emerged from the shadows, as a second Makoto walked out behind the tree trunk behind the other Makoto stuck in the stalemate with his opponent. With his arms folded the second Makoto nodded towards a second Naruto, who was perched on a nearby tree branch, right on its tip with his arms folded over his chest.
"Well done, Naruto!" Makoto exclaimed. "You did spectacularly. But…maybe we overdid it, don't you think?" The boy just shrugged, watching as both their copies suddenly dispersed into clouds of smoke. With their rigged attacks also disappearing, the two fighters could now rest easy. "Tell me something, Naruto; were you actually taking it easy on me?"
"It all depends!" Naruto exclaimed happily, the grin on his face showing his cheeky side. "I know you were…"
"Heh…you got me," Makoto said, raising both his hands in surrender. "Good exercise though. Congratulations Naruto, you've passed the given exam! Come on! Let's get back before Kinoko comes out here to look for us!"
With a nod of agreement from the yellow haired boy, the two fighters leapt from the tree tops to the ground floor below. As Naruto and Makoto walked back home to the garden, where Sakura would definitely be waiting for the two, the white haired Jonin took a long look back at the battle that had taken place, taking note of all the scars and destruction around him. The pile of chopped up trees, the slash marks and kunai lodged into tree trunks, Makoto realized how good of a ninja Naruto was going to become. Smiling, the man continued on, following Naruto's footsteps to the garden.
"Though I have to admit, he nearly had me on the ropes there. Guess I underestimated the kid…" Touching the cut at his cheek, the man looked at the drops of blood that were on his hand and analyzed it. "Maybe I shouldn't have held back that much. Naruto would have seriously injured me…or worse…killed me if I didn't have my guard up…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
