Review Responses!

inversered: Correct! I'm mostly choosing Sages from other fictions that could fit the timeline. Also, your large review made me sploosh, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much!

fura6: I've actually read this one before! Nice find :) For Fortune Favours the Fox, however, there are no "quick" ways to knowledge or power for Naruto – he earns everything he learns, even when the people who love and protect him end up paying the cost.

roll2: There's a lot to address here – while I feel that some of the fanon that currently exists does so because it's either humorous, or fills in holes, I will readily agree that much of it can pretty disagreeable and cliched, especially when used stand-alone and without context.

I would like to assure you that Fortune Favours the Fox will provide context for every smoking gun introduced, either through internally consistent exposition or by buying out a lampshade factory. If you have a ffnet account, or want to message me at chrisrrawr at hotmail dot com, however, I would appreciate feedback on things you find distasteful about my fiction, and any suggestions on where I can improve!

MBScavenger1498: Thank you :) I hope to get more out soon! I really appreciate your feedback and viewership.

Deathlord135: fuck man I don't know, I just threw all the yugimons I knew together. In other news, the Replicants figured out Magic. The Doctor stepped in to try and help but was assimilated in the process. Now they're battling it out with the Borg for the Energon crystals.

The Dimensional Reader: It's coming! IT'S COMING. The Shadow Clone Jutsu, not the end. Hopefully his acquisition of this notorious technique will delight and satisfy :)

"Normal Speech"
'Normal Thought'
'"Talking within mindscape"'

"Tenant Speech"
'Tenant Thought (rare?)'
*"Tenant Outside Speech (probably never, just setting precedent)"*

"You can fix anything if you just try hard enough.
Most people go through life giving up, or worse,
doing the bare minimum to get by.
Long ago, my closest friend truly Tried for me once.
The entire world is still recovering from it."

- Machine-Sage Yukari

First one week, then two flew by without pause. For Naruto during this time, rest became a precious commodity. Relaxation became impossible, and sleep became ever elusive – a double-edged blade to be drawn only when the blonde began failing basic tasks.

There was no stopping. The older Uchiha had become mechanical under his heavy regimine of medications – his movements robotic and stiff compared to the flowing grace that he'd exuded previously. He worked Naruto on drill after drill, seamlessly integrating the blonde's earlier lessons into new skills.

For Naruto, it was the perfect learning environment. Distractions were removed with extreme prejudice, and incentives to excel were basic commodities like food and using the bathroom without interruption. In his state of constant flow, he hadn't even realized he'd trained through lectures until Itachi began asking questions he didn't remember learning the answers to.

True sleep began to take him – only brief flashes of his mindscape interrupted his dreaming. His dreams would be sequences of information, bits of history and ninja lore, flashes of insight as his muscles twitched out of reflex and habit, his nerves and neurons wiring and re-wiring themselves to perfect the muscle memory he'd earned.

Despite this fatigue, Naruto would find himself in his mental fortress prior to true sleep and just before wakefullness. At first it was to the consistent background rumble, the kyuubi's rage and pain made metaphysical. But as October dwindled, as did the storm within him.

"Begin." Naruto was barely able to stand, but his arms snapped up into something resembling a guard. 'Mastery through perfection'. He altered his stance until the muscles in his calves burned, but there was no sway to his knees, no quiver or hesitation in his sliding step forward. 'Relax and let your muscles follow through.'

His lower lip had split in multiple places, his baby teeth were mostly missing, and he could barely see through the swelling around his eyes. Then again, his opponent – Uchiha Sasuke – had hardly fared much better.

Despite having been trained for far longer, by Itachi himself and by prominent tutors, Sasuke had sustained his own share of serious blows; Naruto's endurance was without equal, at least within his peer group. 'Survival will do where motivation is lacking.' It had taken him far too many days since his first insight into this lesson, too many failures before he really began to appreciate the meaning of that one simple sentence.

Since then, Itachi had beat him down furiously, destroying his hard-earned kata at every opportunity, forcing him to adapt the movements on the fly. The kata had been a lesson that had everything and nothing to do with his future as a ninja – that to be rigid and predictable would be as much a weakness as any other.

As the fight began, Itachi had to give a slight nod at the blonde's progress 'The seeds I've sewn here have taken beautifully - I only wish I could remain long enough to see them blossom, Naruto.' He knew he didn't have much time. Tonight, he'd been promised a world-shattering revelation – secrets and betrayal, information that could send the Elemental nations into all-out war. Everything was wound up in the ultimatum put forth by a masked man wielding powers no outsider should have possessed.

Over the past two weeks, the Jinchuriki had fast become the second little brother he'd never wanted. One punk kid asking for training had always been enough for him – but he would always love and protect both of his little brothers, in ways he hoped they would never have to encounter. 'Or at least, not for a long time yet.'

Itachi's eyes re-focused on the match. Sasuke was leading the tired Jinchuriki to the end of the fight, baiting the blonde into making a mistake with his unfeigned exhaustion. 'Naruto isn't the only person that can push himself beyond his limits – and the sooner he learns that, the better.' Still, Naruto knew better than to let his opponent put any distance between them – the Uzumaki would take a knee to the gut, lunge face-first into a jab, and generally throw self-preservation to the wind if it mean he could close ranks and continue the fight from inside the range of Sasuke's Intercepting Fist.

This didn't mean Naruto was allowed to simply brawl his way into a win – if Itachi's caught him slouching on his forms, the blonde would be subject to spend the rest of his day performing remedial lessons; Chakra control, maths, language, anything Itachi felt it was important for him to learn, and usually all at the same time – remedial lessons were most effective when they presented something to keep the Blonde's attention off of the fact that he was actually learning something.

Before the older Uchiha's attention could wander for a third time in as many minutes, he shifted his gaze to meet Sasuke's, his younger brother looking expectantly toward him. Sasuke had won. Naruto had eaten dirt, and Itachi had missed it.

With a nod, Sasuke bowed, and left – unable to hide his smirk at being proven superior yet again to the blonde. 'He may have been dead-last out of the gate, but now he's the only one worth measuring up against.' The young Uchiha had long since surpassed his age-group in all areas of measure – he was stronger, faster, smarter... He trained harder, trained better, he never made the same mistake twice – and rarely made mistakes at all, given that. His drive and improvement had teachers scrambling to evaluate his success, to study his habits and attempt to impose them on their own students.

To the young Uchiha, it was all laughable – a game he'd been good at since long before the Academy began praising him for it. His older brother's approval, his father's approval, the smile his achievements brought to his mother's eyes - those were all that mattered – and the only place it seemed he could gain them anymore was contrasting himself against Naruto. 'Winning isn't enough for Itachi anymore – what is he looking for me to get out of this? He's always happy when I get better... Have I not improved? Should fighting Naruto be easy for me now? Should I be able to see through his traps and deceive him readily with my own?'

'Or is it even about our fights? Should my kanji be more precise, my weapons sharper, my camouflage more complete? In what area am I lacking?' The only standards he had to go by were those his brother set – and for the past week, only the clash of battle had brought any response resembling pride from Itachi. 'I will crush him next week, then.'

The older Uchiha didn't even notice his brother's firm-set jaw as Sasuke stomped out of the clearing, back toward their sequestered clan grounds. Itachi left shortly after, Naruto now unbound from his seals and slung over his shoulder. He met Itachi coming from another training ground, and they joined Itachi from the library. "It's getting worse." Itachi and Itachi both nodded, knowing what Itachi meant. "I lost over seven minutes with him." Itachi indicated the sleeping blonde. Itachi and Itachi both nodded, knowing what Itachi meant.

One Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke as they began making their way back to the Academy. Two nosebleeds appeared. Shortly after, Itachi handed Naruto to Itachi, before disappearing himself. The remaining Itachi's nosebleed quadrupled, eliciting a grunt of pain and stopping him in his tracks. A moment's breather was all the Anbu allowed himself, despite the strain.

After dropping the blonde off in his bed, Itachi gave his final goodbye – a small but powerful scroll, full of of broken promises and painful memories. There would be no time to explain its contents - he trusted that Naruto would figure it out eventually, though if not, Jiraiya would weedle it out of the growing boy soon enough. The thought pained the Uchiha, that Naruto would never willingly show it to anyone – no one should have to grow up in such isolation, such constant paranoia. 'It'll disappear into one of his treasure holes, to be read reverently in the moonlight, far from watchful eyes.' Of that, he was certain.

Naruto woke guardedly. Someone had been in his room last night – Itachi's training had often began in the early minutes before Dawn, and he'd ensured that survival would do where motivation was lacking. 'And is it ever lacking!' The blonde had yet to finish digesting all the changes to his life, and was generally morose and withdrawn when he was alone. Not that he had much time to himself anymore, for thought or otherwise.

With a handseal masked by rolling over, the blonde swapped with a straw dummy he'd hidden on the side of his bed, opposite the door, and dropped to the floor on his toes and fingers. 'No feet, dust undisturbed for at least a few hours, door's closed...' None of the locks on this side were done up, which was the subconscious clue that had roused his paranoia.

'No, that's not entirely right...' The lock in the handle itself was armed – Itachi wouldn't have done that if he were still here. Naruto hastily scrambled over to the small table where his studies had piled up, shoving scrolls and ink-pots hastily out of the way to check his schedule. "The thirty first... leg day. And Jiraiya doesn't arrive until tomorrow – Itachi wouldn't have given me the day off just for that!' Although, missing leg day was a treat.

Oddly aimless without the hint of danger that normally spiked his mornings, Naruto took his time dressing and readying himself for the day. Without knowing what Itachi may be planning, he prepared for everything – or tried to, with his limited experience of just what "everything" could entail. 'Sweater, towel, flares, weights, change of clothes, rope, flashlight, wire, kunai, chalk, Gama-chan, random sealed note Itachi must have left when he dropped me off last night..."

"Itachi is going to kill me." The blonde sighed heavily as he dropped his bulging backpack, wincing slightly at the thump and clatter its bulk created. It was then he noticed the pressure around him, prickling against his skin and tense, coiled as if ready to pounce. The Jinchuriki's Chakra had been irritated and on-edge since he'd awoken, but only now was he conscious of it.

Naruto grabbed the note, eyes catching the delicate kanji in a brief moment of lucidity, before he settled back on the bed. 'I can't believe I didn't spot it right away... He could be waiting for me! I could be late!' Still, it wouldn't do to meet with Itachi if he wasn't ready for the lessons he would surely have in store.

Ten breaths calmed his Chakra, pulling the roiling, agitated energy back into his core. Ninety more soothed his trembling hands. His meditation stopped before the walls Itachi and Ionichi had helped him erect around his mindscape began to waver, and the young ninja-in-training allowed himself to read the note before him.

Peeling off the wax seal in-tact, he unfolded the delicate paper and took in the message as a whole before reading. He noted quickly the new ink at the bottom, the devolution from flowering script to hasty scrawl. There was at least one storage seal in the note, hidden by the folds – there may have been more, but none Naruto could make out with the methods Itachi had shown him.

His cursory analysis was interrupted when his reading comprehension caught up to the quick scan his eyes had brought him. 'Itachi is leaving?' Naruto focused entirely on the message, his confusion growing with each line.

'Most of the message is in code... uhm... Something something leaving... Something something strength to carry on... Something something don't show anyone... Something something something... Argh!' The blonde almost threw away the note in frustration, thinking better of it half-way through the motion.

Instead, Naruto folded the paper first into a square, and then a triangle, before scrunching two of the sides together, the result a rough tripod. He held it at a distance, squinted at it thought one eye, and – satisfied he'd performed the folds correctly – channelled Chakra into the Storage Seal. 'At least I don't have to worry about being late for anything!'

Naruto felt his Chakra catch at last, indicating there was something inside – Chakra smoke filled his immediate surroundings, as a long scroll popped out – easily a meter of dowel, around which was wrapped a heavy, durable parchment. The outside of the scroll was covered in yet more kanji, but bore no further fuin he could discern. It was built in a style he'd caught glimpses of in the library, piled high on shelves way above his head. It wasn't a new document by any means, but wasn't as yellowed and ancient-looking as the others he'd seen.

Quickly ensuring his door and window were locked and bolted, Naruto unpacked his flashlight and shut off the lights. He crawled under the bed and unrolled the scroll carefully on the floor, sniffling slightly at the dust that had settled from its earlier agitation.

"Naruto,

I found this for you during a search of my own.

I'm sorry I was unable to keep my promise to you,

Hopefully this makes up for it."

The ink had run slightly, leaving marks against the back of the parchment where it had been rolled. Diagrams of Tenketsu and Chakra Coils, hand signs, technical information, limits and effects – notes from the previous owners and borrowers were scribbled intermittently, helpful tips or inane babble depending on their mood and disposition. There were several small circles connected to each other by hair-thin lines, marks where the paper had darkened as if burned.

'It's a Justu scroll! But, that means...' Naruto had been bugging Itachi to teach him the Jutsu he'd been promised for almost a month now - he didn't want to dwell on the events that would lead to the Uchiha being unable to fulfil his end of a bargain. 'If he's leaving so long that he doesn't think he'll be able to teach me anymore, without even telling me, it must be a super-important mission... but then why all the secrecy about this stuff? Why not just let me learn about it from Jiraiya or Sarutobi?'

Again, he didn't have enough information, enough context or experience, to truly speculate on what was going on. Instead of focusing on things he didn't understand, Naruto allowed himself to dwell on the technique Itachi felt would make up for bailing on him. 'I bet it's a super-awesome explosion technique! Or maybe it's invisibility – or that neat 'melting into the shadows' trick he always pulls when Ayame comes with the bill?'

The blonde shook his head, both to clear his mind and to remove the hanging locks of hair from his sight – it had grown long without him noticing, something he'd rectify later. "Uzumaki Technique – Chakra Chain Maelstrom" The original word Maelstrom had been crossed out and replaced with "Fishcake" which in turn had been replaced by Maelstrom, which in turn... as if a battle between two borrowers of the scroll had ensued over many years. It ended, of course, on Maelstrom, with a chibi depiction of his mother standing triumphant over his father.

The sight brought tears to his eyes, as he studied the scroll again, seeking their writing styles in the remaining scribblings. 'It's... all of them." His parents had produced every additional marking on the scroll, working towards something called the "Rasengan" - the interconnected circles all pointed out different aspects of... Shape manipulation? Chakra pressure? Solid-state Chakra Storage?

There was too much additional content for him to deal with right now, so instead he focussed on the original technique – purportedly a variable-length chain of Chakra that rotated around the user in a circle, starting a short distance away; not enough to present a dead zone to anyone of moderate skill or less, but not wide enough to permit much mobilitiy within its confines. The height, rotation speed, and number of chains could all be changed by regulating Chakra output to the technique, and the techique itself was noted ass a precursor to the more advanced Uzumaki Chakra Chain techniques.

Naruto's eyes widened as he read through the training, requirements, and specifications for the technique; 'This is something I can do right now! I bet I could master it and show it to Jiraiya and he'll have no choice but to be impressed with me!' In his haste and excitement, he left Itachi's original scroll where it had settled after the unsealing, collecting his bag to find an unoccupied training ground.

A large, horned figure infiltrated the blonde's dorm shortly after, leaving no nook unexplodred, no possession unhandled. When the figure's eyes passed over the note from Itachi, he found them glazing over – and noticing his confusion, he pocketed the note carefully. It wouldn't do for his student to begin training with secrets, after all.

The only training ground willing to take him was number 11, where a father-son due of green, spandex-clad shinobi were sparring. Well, at least, they sparred in between ridiculous exercises – one-handed handstand pushups, complicated yoga poses while balancing on tree branches, laps run with extreme weights... Naruto was simply glad the pair was relatively silent most of the time, with only youthful cries of exuberance and exuberant shouts of youthfulness between spars and sets. Compared to the munching, groaning, and complaining of the last training ground he'd checked at, it was bliss.

'Alright Naruto, you've got this – just roll out the scroll, follow the instructions, and master the jutsu!' Understandably, the blonde was nervous – it was his first time attempting to learn a ninja technique on his own, his first time trying to learn an offensive ninja technique period, and possibly his last chance to impress Jiraiya tomorrow – he'd had less than no time to go over the forms and instructions from the sannin's book during the last two weeks, and didn't want to disappoint such a prominent figure.

He began with his usual meditations – deep breathing, a focus on the blue ocean swirling inside of him, the consistent cocoon of mental fortitude separating him from his mindscape and the kyuubi's unsettling rage – and reached deep for his Chakra. Even for him, this would be a Chakra-intensive technique – Kyuubi-enhanced Uzumaki reserves or not.

Two Tenketsu from his face and neck each to stabilize the intent of the technique, one from each palm to control its properties, one from his gut to give it form, and a final from his groin to anchor it to his presence. Too much Chakra to the groin or gut would create a large, sluggish chain instead of a cutting, whirling one. Too little Chakra to the neck and head would make the chain insubstantial, while too much would cause Chakra loss if the chain were to be damaged or severed. Chakra to the palms would alter its length, speed, shape, height, and even the number of chains that appeared and where. The Jutsu's hand seals automatically regulated this Chakra based on the amount given to the Head, Neck, and Gut – but it was up to the User to provide the framework in order for the seals to latch onto.

Characteristically, Naruto blew a load of Chakra out of every available pore as he formed the seals, causing a massive haze of Chakra to appear and not much else. From there it was process of elimination – he knew from the Kawarimi and Henge that he would be able to find the right Tenketsu – and the correct amount of Chakra for them – if he tried long enough. The first burst, however, had taken far more out of him than he'd expected – the Chakra he'd gathered for the technique was not only lost, but it had dragged more out of him in order to attempt to stabilize itself.

The morning disappeared quickly – between joining the older duo for the occasional fun-looking exercise (during which time he found that the younger of the two was not only not a Ninja, but closer to Naruto's own age than to graduating!) and expending enough Chakra to kill an adult Battle Tigerphant, the blonde had begun forming Chains – thick and sluggish, blunt and far too short to be of any practical use, but Chains none the less!

'It won't be long now! I'll show Jiraiya what I can do, and he'll have no choice but to teach me all his most awesome jutsu and ninja skills!" Less Chakra to the gut, more to the hands, a shift in intent; each iteration brought him closer to something that might be useful in a fight, each attempt costing less and less Chakra even as his reserves began to replenish and expand to accomodate a level of exertion they'd never encountered before.

A clone burst, and Jiraiya sported a dual nosebleed, just as his informant opened the door. "Not even paid for our services yet, hun, and you're already perving out? Sometimes I wonder if you really need us for this information, or if you just like the company." A wink and a smirk told the seasoned veteran that she was, of course, jesting – but he played the part of the super-pervert none the less.

"Dina my dear, I wouldn't be in the spy business at all if it meant I'd have to spend my time away from you and your lovely ladies!" A small application of medical Chakra cleared the blood and stemmed the blood, but could do nothing for the headache until his brain assimilated the information. His murmurred "Troublesome Brat" was cut off as Dina, and half the Nara clan besides, fell into a fit of sneezing.

Behind the closed doors of the small brothel office, Dina formed dozens of seals in sequnces of four, each corresponding to a different security feature within the room. Jiraiya reached out to embrace her, as her form melted away to reveal a smirking white face filled with fondness and compassion for his little brother. "What has the brat done this time, Jiraiya?"

'Of course he would know,' The giant sighed. "Time for that later Orichimaru, you would not even begin to believe the shit Konoha has gotten itself into since the last time I was here. Let me tell you about the Akatsuki..."