Edo Tensei: My Resurrection chap 2

And here's the next chapter! Thanks to those who reviewed/followed/favorited/etc. A note I would like to make, to those who know that the resurrected have dirt, not ash, heal their wounds, I know of this. I decided to change this, as ash just seems more interesting than earth.

I wish to thank HaPPy2901 for being the first ever reviewer on this story. Thank you! (And don't think I do not appreciate the rest of those who reviewed. I love each and every one!)

Disclaimer: Connor is mine, the plot is my brainchild. The universe it resides in, however, belongs to Kishimoto, Dattebayo!

Enjoy.

The Demon Cat, Tamed!

Chapter 2

My hand clamped down on the ringing alarm clock and I felt immediate animosity to the inanimate object. It probably had to do with the fact that I had set the cursed thing to wake me up at 8:00 AM, and it read 6:00. I wondered if the Anbu had changed it while I was asleep for whatever reason. Wow, not even a ninja yet and already paranoid. Perfect!

"We are not going to be very good friends, eh, Clock-san?" I didn't much care that the Anbu were more than likely listening in on me and questioning my sanity. They lived in the same village as Maito Guy and, eventually, Rock Lee. They would survive my small eccentricities.

I took a quick shower and took some time to observe my features in the bathroom mirror. I saw that I had kept my short, black hair and my bright blue eyes. The whites of my eyes, however, were more of a gray color. Orochimaru's tampering with Edo Tensei wasn't perfect, it appeared. Maybe people would mistake the color as a trick of the light going through my glasses? If not, whatever. People here were used to the Byakugon and Sharingan.

I couldn't find any cracks on my skin, like what the resurrected had in the show. I was thankful of that. My height, as far as I could tell, stayed at its towering 6'2''. While I had no abs to speak of, I was pretty thin. The lean kind of thin. I was a runner on my high school's cross country team in my other life and that kept me in nice shape.

Too bad that meant absolutely jack crap in this life. I knew I would be working my tail off, and then the workout would actually begin. I just prayed they never assigned Maito Guy or some other craz- overly enthusiastic person to train me. I doubted that I could survive that, despite the inability to die. I wondered if seppuku could put me out of my misery?

I shook the thoughts from my head and got dressed before walking out into the living room.

"Anbu."

A different Anbu, one with a bear mask, appeared.

"Will you please direct me to the library, if the Hokage does not require me to do anything as of now?"

"Hokage-sama has yet to direct you anywhere, but does leave this for you." He pulled an envelope from a pocket and deposited it in my hands. He then gave directions to the library and was gone.

I opened the envelope and found what I assumed to be ryo-or whatever their currency is called-held inside. I didn't know how much it really was, so I grabbed about an eighth of the wad and stuck it in my pocket. I stored the rest in my pillow case until I could find a better location. Preferably, some kind of bank.

I then grabbed my key, locked up my apartment, and set out for the library.

As I was walking, I noticed several stares coming from the villagers that were on the street at the time. They would typically look away after I matched their stares with my own half lidded eyes. I had a record of being passively hostile in my past life, and that carried over in certain instances.

My clothes probably had something to do with it. I had yet to see anyone wearing jeans or a long sleeve shirt in the same style as mine. The stares really didn't affect me much, but it was an irritant nonetheless.

I noticed a clothing store that looked to lean heavily to serving Shinobi and decided to step into it. I saw the usual pants that I had seen the Anbu wearing and some bland shirts with very few designs to take note of. I noticed that there was no trace of any real unique styles and wondered if those had to be custom ordered or bought elsewhere.

"Can I help you?" an employee asked from behind me and I nearly jumped, lost in thought as I was.

"I was wondering," I said as I turned around to the man, "Can you make customized clothing upon request?"

The man smiled and said, "You've come to the right place as we can do exactly what you are asking for. What do you have in mind?"

I thought for a moment and asked, "Do you mind if I draw what I have in mind down and bring it in some other time? I'm really bad at describing things."

"It's no problem at all. Just bring it in and I will see what I can do. Is there anything else you need to ask?"

"Yes. How much are these?" I held up a pair of shoes that looked to be my size and he named off a price. They were what most ninja wore, aside from odd cases such as Jiraiya, and looked to be comfortable. They seemed to be cheap as well, and I really needed some shoes.

I exited the shop, clad in my recent purchase, when Anbu Bear-as I decided to call the Anbu members with animal masks-appeared in front of me.

"Hokage-sama requests your presence."

I blinked and said, "Understood. Which way?" I was too new to the village, and had yet to figure out where to go to get to certain places. Or anywhere, really.

"Actually, he's asked me to bring you there, as your current method of travel is slow."

I placed my hand over my heart in a dramatic manner and said, "Ah, you wound me with your harsh words, Anbu-san."

"Hold still." He grabbed me across my waist and I felt the world blur by. A moment later, we stood outside of the Hokage building.

He let go and I stood still for a moment, not trusting my legs with how unbalanced I felt.

"Was that Shunshin?"

"Yes. Are you able to walk?"

The feeling passed after a moment and I pushed my glasses up with one finger and nodded while stepping to the door.

I nodded at the secretary on the first floor as we passed by, Anbu Bear leading me up the stairs and outside the Hokage's office.

Anbu Bear knocked on the door and an, "Enter," was heard.

He opened the door and waited outside while I walked in. The Hokage sat behind his desk and I walked forward until I stood a couple yards away from the paperwork ridden desk.

"You called, Hokage-sama?"

He nodded and said, "I have found you a teacher-"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door, and the secretary walked in with a small, but impressive, mound of paper and placed it on his desk.

"Just got these in. They need your approval and they need to be filled out by the end of today."

And without another word, she turned around and left the room, all the while holding a small smile.

I looked at the small mound and whistled at how I didn't even notice its addition to his already mountainous looking desk.

"How do you even get that much paperwork done?"

He scowled and said, "Practice. Lots and lots of ink-stained practice."

I gave him a pitying look and said, "I think I may have a method of making it a bit easier. I'll tell you just as soon as you tell me what you were going to say before."

His eyes lit up in interest and he said, "Here is your teacher."

A familiar Anbu 'face' appeared out of nowhere. His shock of white hair made me nearly groan out loud. Instead, I said, "Why him? I mean, I'm not complaining, but why him? Is it because you want to keep my 'status' under wraps?"

Hiruzen's nod confirmed my belief that he wanted me to keep everything I knew under a tight lid.

"Very well." I turned to Anbu Dog, who was actually Kakashi, and said, "I am pleased to be learning under you, Anbu-sensei."

He spared me a glance before saying, "Meet me at training ground eighteen today at 1:00. Be on time." He then walked out of the door and I snorted after he left the room. Him. Telling me to be on time? Oh how the tables will turn.

Hiruzen gave me a raised eyebrow, to which I waved my hand to and he dropped it.

"Now what was that method you were referring to earlier? The one about helping me with this." The last word almost came out as a hiss, and he glared at the pile. I think I actually saw it grow slightly in the last few minutes.

"Well, there's the good ole fashioned Katon jutsu, but I have a feeling that some of that is pretty important."

His eyebrow twitched and I had the feeling that he wanted to torch me along with the paperwork, so I got to the point.

"You do know Kage Bunshin no jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique), correct? Just have them work on the paperwork and give you their memories upon dispelling."

The whole room, hell, the whole village seemed to pause for a moment. I felt the signs of KI leaking off of Hiruzen and took a few steps back. Thankfully, it was not directed at me.

"Namikaze, you bastard! That's how you got it all done so quickly!" He pointed an accusing finger at a picture of the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze and began spewing out a string of curses and various forms of torture he would perform on him in the next life.

Can one even dunk a person in the center of a volcano without getting burnt themselves? Is that a feasible form of torture?

Seeing as the esteemed Hokage's rant had gone on for five minutes straight, with no signs of stopping, I coughed loudly to catch his attention. The KI was beginning to get a bit much.

"I will take my leave then, Hokage-sama?"

He paused and coughed lightly, regaining his composure before speaking again.

"Yes. I look forward to seeing your progress."

With that, I left the Hokage tower and went to the library.

"Excuse me," I interrupted the woman scribbling something on a scroll.

"One moment." She finished whatever she was writing and looked up to me with a smile. "What do you need?"

I smiled back and said, "Can you point me to the section regarding chakra control? I need to do a bit of research."

Her smile faded slightly and she said, "That's on the second floor and for Shinobi only. Do you have permission?"

I looked behind me and said, "Anbu?"

Anbu Bear dropped from the ceiling, eliciting a jump from the librarian.

"The Hokage has permitted him to level two access."

The woman stuttered, "O-of course, Anbu-san."

I turned back to the woman and waited.

"Up those stairs, third bookshelf you pass."

"Thank you." I walked through the ground floor, past a large amount of shelves filled with books, and up the stairs.

I went to the shelf the woman directed me to and searched until I found one that sounded right.

"'Chakra: How to harness and how to use'. This aught to do."

I spent the next hour or so reading that book. I skipped some sections that held information that I already knew or warnings that didn't apply to me. Really, I seriously doubted that chakra exhaustion would affect me. If I somehow got hurt with overpowering a technique, I would heal right up.

After my third hour, and seventh book, of reading, Anbu Bear walked up and said, "It is 12:00. I suggest you get moving if you wish to be early to your training." I heard a hint of warning in his tone and chose to heed it.

I finished up the page I had been reading before remembering its number and standing.

"Thanks for the warning. Give me a minute." I put the books back in their correct locations and followed Anbu Bear as he led me to training ground eighteen.

I arrived at about 12:45 and found Kakashi sitting on a stump, waiting for me.

Anbu Bear nodded to Kakashi before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Were all Shinobi drama queens? Ever heard of this thing called Walking? Or did you skip it and Running to go straight into Smoke Emitting Ninja Transportation?

I bowed to Kakashi and said, "I hope I am not too early, Anbu-sensei."

"You are not. Continue to be this early from now on." He stood and came closer to me. I had to hold back the urge to note that I was much taller than him, though it wasn't difficult. I knew he could kick my ass six (thousand) ways to Sunday.

"Tell me what you know of chakra."

"It's the spiritual and physical energy inside all living things and Shinobi use it to do Ninjutsu. It said that chakra is essential for life, but I'm not sure about that part."

"Why?"

"Where I come from, there is no such thing as someone tree hopping or walking up walls. Everyone is basically a civilian. But I'm not sure if the Hokage wants me to go into details about my past, so I'm going to stop there."

He nodded and said, "First, we are going to test your reflexes. I want you to do your best not to get hurt, but because of your 'condition' I am not going to hold back the impacts very much. Just my speed."

I didn't get out an, "Oh Shit!" Before he moved forward with a basic punch to my midsection, which I deflected with my arm at the last moment. He came from my left with a kick and I crossed my arms to block the attack. I heard a small cracking sound in my left arm and jumped back a few feet to give my arm time to heal. It hurt like a mother, but only took thirty seconds. Meanwhile, I was focusing on dodging the various punches and kicks that he threw at me.

Some, I was successful in getting out of the way of. Others, not so much. I believe he cracked my ribs several times over, broke my arms three times, fractured my skull once, and broke my jaw. After five minutes of this, I collapsed from a broken leg and, after cursing under my breath, got back up.

I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of giving up. Not so soon, anyways. After two or three more skull fractures, maybe.

He waited until I stood back up, my leg healed enough for me to do so. I raised my arms in a defensive pose to shield my face and throat and waited.

"Enough. I've seen what you are capable of regarding Taijutsu. Sit."

I had enough control not to collapse, and sat down gently. While I wasn't physically tired, shockingly enough, I was beginning to feel some mental fatigue. The sharp pain from the breaks and fractures did hell on one's mental state. Especially when you could heal right up and experience it fresh again. You know what they say, it's the first cut that hurts most.

"Try and feel your chakra. Theoretically, you should have near infinite chakra, so I think it should be simple for you to contact it."

I nodded and closed my eyes, knowing that meditation was the easiest way to feel chakra from my reading earlier. I began trying to feel any sort of alien presence in my system.

I didn't feel anything.

After ten minutes of silent meditation, I opened my eyes and said, "Nothing. I can't feel anything abnormal in my body. Well, I think it would feel abnormal to me."

He began going through hand signs as he said, "Attempt to escape."

I didn't know what he meant until something immensely wrong seemed to fill my veins and an equally odd, but not altogether unpleasant, feeling pushed the wrong feeling back.

The Kakashi that began to turn into a demonic figure suddenly reverted back into his regular form and the wrong sensation was gone.

With it gone, I noticed that a rather sluggish feeling in my veins that hadn't been there before, I think. Whatever it was, I latched onto it and tried to keep a hold on it.

"I think I feel it. What did you do?"

"I put you in a Genjutsu. Apparently your chakra rose up and pushed it out as a defensive mechanism. It was a weak Genjutsu, so I am not sure if it will do this every time. I want you to focus in on that feeling and tell me what you can tell of it."

I closed my eyes and scrutinized the feeling. I had a mental image of a volcano. The lava was blue and bubbling slowly. I guessed that the stuff was my chakra and was shocked at the amount I felt. It felt as though there was even more below the surface, ready to use at a later time. But only after the amount in the volcano was used. Perhaps this is what it felt to have near infinite chakra. Now, if only I could use it.

I told Kakashi what I saw/felt and he stood.

"You have a lot of chakra. This will make your control very bad. Perhaps I should begin with a higher technique than the usual Academy three."

I waited while he thought and tried to mess with the chakra I could feel bubbling under my skin. I moved the fizzing feeling back and forth on my arm and nearly shivered at the sensation. It was like I had my own personal heater under my skin.

"I will ask the Hokage's opinion before I teach higher level jutsu. Stand and watch me."

I did as he said and he made the Ram seal with his hands.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" A perfect copy of himself appeared next to the original Kakashi.

"This is the clone technique. You make an intangible clone of yourself that can distract or confuse enemies." He then went on to explain that I had to focus my chakra into a specific shape, size, and color. He was a very direct and textbook teacher. I could have pulled out an instruction manual and followed along as he quoted from it.

I held my hands in the Ram seal, he corrected it slightly, and I tried to pump the sensation that I associated chakra with into the technique.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" A large amount of smoke, almost ten times the amount his clone emitted, appeared. When it cleared somewhat, my eye twitched when it found the large blob of flesh laying on the ground.

"Rather pathetic. The color of your skin and your left hand are the only things you managed to create correctly. Again."

The blob vanished in a puff of smoke and I tried again.

When the smoke cleared, I smiled and said, "Yes! Got both the legs!"

"It's the wrong color. Again."

I pouted internally for a moment before doing it again. I continued doing that same one technique for almost three full hours before Kakashi had me stop. I was honestly shocked by the amount of patience Kakashi held.

"Good enough for right now. The pupils are smudged and one of your ears are misshapen, but we will move on."

I got out of the Ram seal I had been in for the past hour and stood in a slightly more relaxed manner.

Before he could continue, I asked, "Can you teach me the Kage Bunshin no jutsu? I think it would be easier for me due to my large reserves. That is, if you know how to do it?"

He stared at me for a moment before suddenly dispelling in a puff of smoke.

"...it was a clone... the entire freaking time... sneaky bastard."

My eye twitched when I figured it out and I sighed. I was tempted to relax until he came back, if he came back. But I knew he would not appreciate it, and instead continued working on the Bunshin no jutsu.

By the time the Dog Masked Anbu agent came into the clearing an hour later, my Bunshin no jutsu was at near perfection.

Two of myself faced Kakashi and grinned.

A kunai flew straight into my shoulder, making me lose concentration and the Bunshin vanished.

I pulled the blade out with a wince and said, "What clued you to the real one?"

"The hair. Some strands were waving when there is no wind or body movement to cause them to do so. Otherwise, a few other minor things."

"Are you another Kage Bunshin?"

"No."

"Will you teach me that jutsu?"

"I will speak to Hokage-sama and confirm that it is allowed. Later. We are done with training for today. I suggest you practice the Bunshin no jutsu until you can create at least three perfect copies. When you can do that, I will consider teaching you the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. Be here at 1:00 tomorrow." He departed with that challenge and I knew what I had to do.

I nodded and put my hands together in the Ram seal. I noticed how the sky was beginning to darken and sighed.

"This is going to be a long night. Bunshin no jutsu!"

The only reason I had been able to continue training last night was because of the full moon and the light it gave off for me to see my attempts. That, along with my near literal infinite reserves and immense desire to learn the Kage Bunshin no jutsu, allowed me to keep on going.

It helped that I did not feel any physical fatigue that the lack of sleep would have normally brought on. I saw that the sun had risen somewhat in the sky and decided that a break was well deserved.

It was early in the morning. Around six or seven AM if I guessed correctly. As I was just walking around, seeing the sights, I noticed a clan sign that I knew on sight.

It resembled a fan with a line curved through its middle. It was the sign of the Uchiha.

The sign was on the back of this black-haired lady and my eyes widened a little when I connected the dots.

The Uchiha massacre hadn't happened yet. Itachi hadn't slaughtered his clan and scarred Sasuke yet.

And I had the possible ability to change all that. I wasn't a baby, like in some stories I had read, and helpless to change the outcome. I was old enough and could actually provide proof that it would happen via a visit to a Yamanaka.

The question was: why should I?

It sounded cold and heartless,yes, but it was logical. I didn't know what would happen if I simply stopped the massacre. If I allowed it to happen, then I knew with some measure of certainty that I knew how the future would unfold.

I considered the pros and cons of each decision and unconsciously let my feet lead me without really thinking about it.

"Excuse me." I blinked and saw the smiling face of a man who was obviously a part of the Konoha Police Force. And thus, an Uchiha.

"Er- yes?"

"Why exactly are you wandering through the Uchiha district?" He was flanked by two other Uchiha. One was obviously hostile and glaring at me. The other seemed vaguely bored at the situation.

I blinked and looked around. What did you know. My feet had taken me into the very heart of the people's whose fates I was pondering. Just perfect. Guilt tripping much? And by my own feet!

"Sorry. I was just walking around and got lost on my train of thought. I'll be on my way," I waved my hand as I turned around and realized that I had no clue where to go.

I rubbed the back of my head and said, "I hate to be a bother, again, but would you give me directions to get out of here?"

The angry member of their group suddenly activated his Sharingan and fixed them on me. I froze and wondered what I had done to piss him off.

"Follow this street until you see the house with the red flowers. Turn left there and it's a straight shot to the gates."

I nodded my thanks to the smiling one and began walking with a final backwards wave. Good riddance to that angry one. The smiling guy was friendly enough and the indifferent one was... indifferent. That made him okay in my book.

I found my way out if the district with little problem. There was the occasional glare from its inhabitants, but no other activated Sharingan like that other member had done.

This time I paid attention as I walked and shelved the massacre issue for a later time. If all else failed, I would give the Hokage some information he was bound to already know so as to tell him that I knew what was to come. If I held back information like this and he found out, he wouldn't hesitate to seal me away and I knew this.

A glorious scent interrupted my thoughts and I inhaled deeply to try and pick up on as much of the smell as possible. Though I couldn't actually feel hunger, I knew that my stomach would be rumbling viciously if I was still alive.

I continued walking and found that the smell was getting stronger. Eventually, I saw a place that which was almost as well known as Naruto himself.

I smiled and pushed aside the hanging cloth as I walked in and took a seat.

The man, who looked to be leaning towards the elderly side, smiled and said, "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen. What will you be having?"

I considered the options the menu presented and declared, "I think I will have Miso pork with extra eggs and pork, please."

"Coming right up. Ayame!"

A girl who looked to be around ten or eleven came from the door the led out back and smiled when she saw me.

"Miso pork with extra eggs and pork. You get the noodles, I'll handle the eggs and pork."

"Gotchya!"

I was surprised at how the man and his daughter worked so efficiently and found my ordered ramen sitting in front of me in no time.

I nodded my thanks to them and did something I never thought would ever actually have to be used in real like before.

"Itadakimasu!" I then broke the chopsticks for use and thanked my Otaku friends from my past life for teaching me how to use chopsticks properly.

Let's just say, it was some damn fine ramen.

As the last bit of the delicious broth went down my throat, I set the bowl down with a content sigh and said, "This is the best ramen I have consumed in my life." It wasn't a lie.

Teuchi smiled while Ayame beamed at the compliment and I asked, "So how much is it?"

Teuchi said, "This is your first time coming here, correct?"

I nodded in answer.

"Then the first bowl is on us, as a welcoming gift. We hope you please come again." I stood and bowed as I responded with, "I sure intend to. Hope you have a nice day."

I left the shop feeling contented. Even if I couldn't actually feel being full, the taste had been a nice experience.

I continued walking and found a sort of general store that sold a variety of things. I thought about what I had said to the clothing store shopkeeper and purchased a few pencils and some scrolls to draw on. Just for the heck of it, I also got some brushes and ink. Who knew, I might enjoy drawing with ink better than pencil? No hurt in trying it.

I had Anbu Bird, who replaced Anbu Bear at some point, point me back to where my apartment was and sat down at the table in my living room. I wasn't a half bad artist in my past life, so it only took about five or six tries before the picture in my head was recreated onto the scroll in near perfect detail. I finished a front view of the outfit I had in mind and worked on the sides and back so the guy would have plenty of detail to go off of.

I looked up at a nearby clock and saw that it was nearly 11:00 when I was finished putting all the specifications on the scroll, next to the pictures.

Once I finished that, I gathered almost half of the money the Hokage had given me and went back to the store I had visited before. He asked some questions about the materials I wanted to use, the colors, and other details before agreeing and setting a price.

I left the shop with a good deal of that money gone, but it was so worth it. I walked into a random flower shop and admired the flora within. I did this mostly to kill some time.

"Good afternoon," a man's voice came from behind me and I nodded at him with a smile before leaning in to sniff a purple flower that looked nice.

"That means indifference, if you are planning to get that for someone I would suggest something else."

The flower actually smelled kind of nice, despite its meaning.

"Thanks, but I'm just looking around. Don't have anyone to give flowers to quite yet. I'm kind of new to Konoha. The name is Connor. Your shop is very nice."

"Inoichi Yamanaka. Thank you, we work very hard to grow the finest flowers and herbal plants. What brings you to Konoha?"

I tensed up at his name, but a sneeze a moment later justified the reaction.

"I just sort of dropped in and now I'm here to stay."

Inoichi was interrupted by Anbu Bird who informed me that it was almost twelve.

I thanked him and apologized to Inoichi. "Sorry, Yamanaka-san. I must be off. I hope to speak to you some other time."

He waved as I left and I made my way to the training ground on my own. I was starting to learn some landmarks.

I expected to see the usual dog masked Anbu member waiting for me. Never in a thousand years did I expect to find what I did.

"Aha! You have finally arrived! You must be ready to fan your flames of YOUTH!"

It was Maito Guy. I was tempted to curse Murphy, but doubted he even existed in this universe. His thrice-damned laws, however, were most definitely here and in full swing.

My eye twitched at the sight of the green spandex wearing, Taijutsu prodigy, and youth enthusiast before me. And his eyebrows! The legends spoke true! They rivaled caterpillars in bushyness!

I gave a low bow and said, "I hope to learn much from you. But where is Anbu Dog, if I might ask?"

He grinned and said, "On a short mission. He asked me to take over your training while he is away. I am Maito Guy, Green Beast of Konoha!"

I grinned and shouted, "And I am Connor! He Who Was Impaled On Tree!"

Guy's grin flickered at the name, but said, "I can see you are quite Youthful about this! Let's get started with our Youthful warm-up! Twenty laps around the village sounds about right!"

My enthusiasm died around the second lap and was was going through rigor mortis on the fifth. Even though my physical energy didn't waver, and I felt no fatigue, it was demeaning to have him finish when I was on my sixth. Lifelong training notwithstanding.

He began keeping up with me, running on his hands, and asked, "Have you not learned how to use chakra to bolster your muscles?"

I nearly slapped myself in the head when he said that, but instead attempted to move the bubbling sensation to my leg muscles. I thanked him afterwards for that.

Energy coursed through me and I was soon done with my twentieth lap. It was indescribable how much stronger your muscles got once you applied chakra to them. I felt as though I could jump from building to building as easily as I walked. (Which, if everything went as planned, I would be doing.)

When we were finished with the run, Guy had me do one hundred push ups and three hundred tree punches. He corrected my punches when he found slight mistakes in my stance and form, but otherwise he hung from a tree and did curl ups.

Once I was done, and be completed his curl ups, he said (shouted), Now on to Taijutsu! I am going to attack slowly at first, then gain speed as we progress. You are to dodge as many as possible and attempt to hit back. Go!"

His punch came at normal, for me, speed and I managed to divert it to my right and retaliated with a straight punch, still at normal speed.

I dodged it and attempted a kick to his ribs. He simply grabbed my leg. His hand didn't even move back when he did.

"It is a bad idea to give a sloppy kick to a tougher opponent. After this, we will improve by doing one-thousand side kicks!"

I hopped away, pulling my leg with me and I decided to do something incredibly stupid.

"And if I cannot do that! I will do five-hundred push-ups!"

He grinned and pumped his fist. "Yes! Why don't we start that right now?"

My grin faltered and I nodded, cursing my attempt to be funny.

An hour and a half. That's how long it took to do one-thousand side kicks. Five-hundred for each leg. At the end of it, both my legs were numb and I was taking a short break while Guy did a few hundred more. I didn't know that humans could dent freaking wood with their legs after only ten or so kicks!

His leg warmers slipped and I saw that he was wearing weights underneath.

"Yo, Guy-sensei!"

He paused in his kicks to look over at me.

"Can you point me to a place that sells weights? I think those are my best chance at improving the fastest while still working hard."

His smile increased and he said, "Of course! I will show you there myself! Let's go!"

I didn't realize he had grabbed my arm and was running until one of my arms hit a tree and broke with an audible snapping sound. I guess it was a mistake to get him so excited. Now I know.

He immediately stopped and I winced at the stinging pain. I focused on straightening my glasses, which had been jolted, to ignore the brief pain. I also turned my body to hide the healing appendage.

"Connor! I-I didn't mean-"

I raised my good hand and said, "Relax. I'll be fine. How about you lead the way, and I'll follow?"

"But- your arm!"

"It's okay," I held it up and waved it back and forth to show its unbroken state.

"It sounded worse than it really was. So let's go." I was really not wanting him to find out about my 'condition' if he did, he would probably pull out all the stops. Let him think what he wanted, but don't let it lead to even more insane training!

He turned after a moment and began running at a pace I could follow, with chakra enhancements. He stayed on the ground and weaved around and over various obstacles and people. I left apologies in our wake to a few who were startled by our passage. Most ninja roof-jumped, so we were a little unexpected.

Guy brought me to the shop he bought most of his Shinobi supplies from, including his weights. He managed to get me a good deal on a pair of weights that fit snug around my arms and shins. They were controlled by seals and had a maximum weight of three hundred pounds each.

Guy currently wore some that were five hundred each. And they were maxed out. I was beginning to doubt that he was even human.

I spent the last of the money I had with me, which was half of the amount the Hokage had given me, to get those weights.

After fixing them so they put twenty pounds of weight on each limb, we exited the shop and spoke outside.

"Thank you, Guy-sensei. I would not have been able to afford them if you did not vouch for me." I gave a low bow to the teenager, who was about the same height as Kakashi, before straightening.

Guy was in his 'Good-Guy' Pose with his thumb raised and arm extended towards me. His teeth gave off a gleam despite the sun being at his back, I swear it by all that is shiny.

"I am glad to have helped you, Connor! Shall we re-"

"I'll take him from here, Guy." I jumped slightly at the new voice and saw Kakashi with his Anbu mask approaching us.

"Anbu-sensei." I bowed in greeting. Wow, there was a lot of bowing in this culture.

"I have gained permission to teach you the jutsu requested. Meet me tomorrow. Same time." He was revealed to be a Kage Bunshin a moment later when he turned into white smoke.

"So hip," I heard Guy mutter before I looked back at him.

"I have to ask, is he always that professional? Or is it the mask?"

He frowned. "He has been very standoff-ish lately. But he has always been a closed individual. Do you feel well enough to train some more?" He gave a glance to my 'broken' arm, still not buying that I was okay.

"I actually want to train with the Bunshin no jutsu. Anbu-sensei says I have to make three perfect clones for him to teach me the Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

Guy's face showed his surprise at my words like an open book.

"That is a very useful, and costly, jutsu. Are you sure you should learn it?"

I couldn't blame his caution. The only reason Naruto could spam the Kage Bunshin no jutsu was because of his enormous chakra reserves, courtesy of the Kyuubi. I just hoped I would be the same.

"Don't worry. I have big chakra reserves. And anyways, I need that in order to learn as quickly as possible. I can train my body while my clones train my mind."

Guy couldn't argue when I brought some passion of Taijutsu into the equation, and wished me the best of luck with another 'Good-Guy' Pose.

I went back to the training ground and practiced the Bunshin no jutsu. I didn't stop as the sun left the sky and the moon was my companion before bidding me goodbye.

I was there when Kakashi flickered into view and saw a group of eight copies of me looking at him.

"The one to your direct right is missing a fingernail. Two are missing glasses. One has a crack on the frame of its glasses. The rest are acceptable." Three exactly!

I pumped my fist and dispelled the clones.

"So have I earned the right to learn the technique?"

"You have. Watch closely." He held his fingers in a seal and forcefully said, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" A puff of smoke later had a copy of the masked Kakashi next to the original. I reached out to poke the Kage Bunshin, but he slapped my finger away. Yup. Tangible Bunshin.

"My hands go like this?" I held my fingers in the cross seal and the clone silently fixed my mistakes.

"Here it goes. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" I felt a good deal of chakra flow out of me and a enormous explosion of smoke filled the general area.

We had to wait for it to clear to see the perfect copy standing next to me, holding a katana bristling with electricity and emitting a dragon made of purple fire that put Amaterasu to shame.

Yeah, no. It was about as successful as Naruto's attempt at the Bunshin no jutsu in his graduation exam. A dead looking clone twitched on the ground and I twitched in sympathy. He looked like crap.

"Dispel and try again." I wasn't sure how to remotely dispel tangible Bunshin, so I kicked it into dispelling. Thankfully, I didn't get that one's memories. They must only come when I do it properly.

I tried again. This one didn't look as dead, but still pathetic.

"Again."

And so I kept on going.

It took three weeks before I made a Kage Bunshin correctly.

Three. Weeks!

It had taken Naruto an hour! I felt mild disappointment at how I would be outdone by a kid in the future, but felt jubilation at my success. At least I was able to learn a few other, minor, jutsu as I attempted the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. Kakashi had begun to teach me tree walking, and exactly three trees had fallen from my explosive overuse of chakra before he gave some advice. Only one more fell after that. Progress!

The moment I succeeded with creating two clones at once, I was called to the Hokage's office.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama."

"Evening, Connor-kun." It still felt odd to have that honorific attached to my name. Kakashi never bothered with honorifics when it came to me and Guy probably didn't call me that because of my age.

"Why did you summon me?"

He smiled at the question and said, "I have heard good things about your progress. You recently performed the Kage Bunshin no jutsu correctly, right?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Can I see a demonstration?"

"Of course. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Two Connors appeared and bowed to Sarutobi.

"Has my suggestion regarding this technique helped in your battle against paperwork?"

He gave a wide smile and nodded. "I thank you for your suggestion and task you to speak up if you have any other tactics to aid me."

I grinned and began to speak.

"No, Katon jutsu do not count. My secretary has assured me of this." It was funny how a great leader like him could have a pouting face.

I snapped my fingers. "Well drat. Alas, I have no other methods to help you except the suggestion that the more Kage Bunshin, the better."

He chuckled and nodded. "I will keep that in mind. Now, let's get back to why I called you here."

I straightened and the extra Connors dispelled themselves.

"I think you are ready to take on the responsibilities of a Konoha Shinobi." He opened a drawer and place a headband on his desk, the leaf symbol denoting its origin facing me.

"Do you, Connor, swear your allegiance to Konohagakure? To perform the duties assigned to you as a Shinobi loyally, and to the best of your ability. To uphold the Will of Fire until the agreement you have made comes to completion, and even beyond, if you decide."

I bent down on one knee and gave my answer. "I agree to all the conditions you have put before me and swear my allegiance to Konohagakure."

"Then take your hitai-ate and wear it with pride."

I took it from Hiruzen's extended hand and tied it around my head, taking great pleasure when I pulled the knot holding it up tight. My efforts had borne fruit, after so much work.

"You are now a Shinobi of Konoha. Congratulations. From now on, you will have to take on missions and earn your income through that."

I changed my expression to a overly dramatic face of mourning and groaned, "Ugh, wooorrk. The horror!"

Sarutobi chuckled at my antics and said, "Remember your own advice when you take on the D-Ranked missions." I brightened after that and nodded with a grin.

"Thanks, Sarutobi-sama. I will take them on eagerly. Though will I continue to learn from Anbu-sensei and Guy-sensei?"

"From Anbu Dog, no. He has requested that he be transferred back into the mission roster as soon as you no longer require his tutelage." I couldn't help but frown a bit at that. Had I been that bad of a student? I learn pretty fast and never truly wavered. Perhaps the occasional joke and quip I let out had irked him?

"As for Guy-kun. As long as he is in the village, there is nothing stopping you from sparring with him. I've never known him to say no to anyone who asks to spar or train. Then again, I've never known anyone to ask more than once." My mouth quirked up in a smile at that and couldn't blame them. Only my ability to regenerate all wounds, and near endless stamina, allowed me to somewhat keep up with Guy's insane methods. I was glad I could gain muscle and improve in the physical department. I wasn't sure if reanimated people normally could do that, but hey, I wasn't complaining.

"Understood. I will keep that in mind. I do not know when I will see Anbu-san again, so please thank him for his tutelage when you see him again."

"I will. Also, remember to get your registration papers from my secretary outside. Bring it to me directly and we will worry about your registration picture some other time. Good evening, Connor-kun."

"Good evening, Hokage-sama." I left the tower after grabbing the papers and headed to the clothing shop I had been to before. I managed to arrive there a few minutes before he closed up.

"Here you are, sir. Five sets, as requested. Would you like to try them on in the back?"

I examined them, making sure everything was perfect.

"That will not be necessary. I have enough trust in the measurements you took and your expertise."

He smiled at the compliments I doled out and bowed. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you. Please come back if there are any problems that you have with those or if you need anything else."

I smiled and picked up the pile of clothes. "I sure will. Good evening."

I made my way home and set my new clothes in the dresser in my room next to the others, regular, clothes I had bought to wear under my new custom made clothes. After admiring them for a minute more, I did the paperwork I had been given. Once I was done, I immediately went to sleep to make the next day come faster. I was ready to begin my Shinobi career.

So this was the description and minor training chapter. I'm going to say again, Connor is NOT a Gary-Stue. Next chapter will cement that for certain. I will also introduce the clothing Connor has had made for himself. Let's just say, it's from a popular game series in real life (Not Naruto) and leave it until the next chapter. Needless to say, I'm excited to tell you all. And I do not think I will set a specific amount of reviews this time, as I had to rush to finish this chapter when I saw I had reached five. Though let it be said that I meet my own deadline.

What is your opinions on how Kakashi taught Connor? Did I do well in how Kakashi interacted with him and all? I'm just about certain he was still in Anbu(though I'm probably wrong) at this time. Please tell me if it is otherwise.

Last thing, I wish to thank whoever put my story in the community, The Archive for Self Inserts and Original Characters. It's always an honor to be added to a community.

Any and all suggestions, questions, or remarks are welcome via review or PM. Until next chapter!