A/N:

Sorry for the wait, but I hope you like it!

I don't own anything :(

~One Year Later~

Naruto woke up in his room. He had moved out of Tori's room at her insistence, proclaiming her own need for personal space from the rambunctious six year old. His training was going almost unnaturally well, and the boy found a knack for traps and pranks that rivaled his mother's. Consequently, he felt the need to lay traps all around the room he and Tori had shared. After an incident involving ninja wire, balloons, and paint, Tori put her foot down.

Naruto, in the short year he had spent with the ANBU, was completely caught up on everything included in the Academy curriculum with the exception of the bunshin. Like his parents, Naruto, due to his inhuman chakra stores, found it nearly impossible to make a stable clone. In an attempt to teach her pupil how to do a normal clone, Tori taught him the more challenging exercises: water and tree walking.

His teachers became anyone who had spare time. Ame gave him a wakizashi (A/N: for those who don't know, a wakizashi is in between a tanto and a katana in length with a curve like a katana's) for his sixth birthday, as well as a promise to teach him basic kenjutsu. Kakashi took to teaching taijutsu and basic ninjutsu. Anko, to the shock of many witness, named herself as Naruto's genjutsu teacher.

Tori, regardless of Naruto's complaints, forced him to improve his abominable chakra control so she could teach him basic medical ninjutsu. It was only after Kakashi had pointed out to the young boy that, the better his chakra control was, the stronger his other jutsu would be did Naruto really begin to launch himself into the exercises.

Naruto's progress was slow at first but he quickly became used to the early mornings, late nights, and exhaustion that went hand in hand with a strict training regime. Once he was accustomed to the schedule, his progress increased in leaps and bounds, impressing the ANBU passing through the HQ. It became a point of interest to determine his latest improvements, often leading some of the older ANBU to bet on how long it would take him to complete certain tasks or lessons.

All of his progress went unnoticed by the village. The only difference outside of the HQ was his stealth and the subtle change as he switched out his hair dye and foundation for a perfect henge.

Shaking off the remaining weariness, Naruto stood from his bed and quickly got dressed. To Tori's surprise, he had grown a good deal. The constant release of chakra and three balanced meals a day were having their effect. The additional inches called for a change in clothes and Naruto happily accepted the ANBU uniform offered to him.

He strapped his wakizashi across his back and left the room in search of Hyuuga Tori. The woman had remained his most trusted teacher and caretaker, and it just so happened that his daily training regime began with a lesson in medical ninjutsu and anatomy.

"Tori-sensei," he nodded, grinning at the woman who had healed him so long ago. He respected her immensely and loved her as an brother would love his older sister.

The woman in question looked up from the ANBU operative she was currently examining. She sighed in her charge's general direction before turning back to the operative, who's tenketsu had just been unsealed.

"Now you know not to piss off any Hyuuga," she counseled the operative. The man lowered his head in embarrassment and Tori grinned. "Alright, you're done. Naruto-kun, I'm having you practice water walking some more before we get to healing. Don't give me that look; you and I both know that your chakra control is in need of help."

Naruto let his pout fall of his face.

"Hai," he said.

"Good. Now, I have some more work to do around the base, so Kakashi is going to watch you today and send you back when you're done. He said to meet him in Team Seven's Training Ground."

Hearing Kakashi's name, Naruto perked up. While he trusted Tori the most, Kakashi was a very close second. Not to mention that lessons taught by him were generally more interesting. In fact, as far as teachers go, Kakashi was probably Naruto's favorites. Unlike Tori, he wasn't afraid to push Naruto to his limits, which is what the young boy needed most of the time. Anko wasn't afraid to push him either, but her training often involved potentially deadly situations. As a six year old, running from thirty foot long snakes was not a healthy practice, especially when said snake was hungry.

"Who knows? Maybe Kakashi will teach you a new jutsu," Tori said, knowing how to incentivize the young boy into hurrying. Naruto nodded excitedly before running from the medical room.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, jumping down from his vantage point in the trees to tackle his teacher. It had became a game of sorts between the two; if Naruto could catch Kakashi off guard, Kakashi would treat Naruto to Ichiraku's. Kakashi didn't need to throw the game as often as he'd like. Thankfully, Naruto wasn't very good sneak attacks.

Easily stepping to the side, Kakashi watched as Naruto crashed into the ground. He sighed at the six year old's antics.

"Honestly, Naruto, if you're going to attack someone, don't alert them. It ruins the element of surprise," Kakashi said tiredly. Naruto only grinned, picking himself up from the grass and brushing the dirt off of his clothes. A Henge was already in place; his hair was a nondescript black, his whiskers were gone.

"But if I don't tell you, you might think I'm an enemy!" Naruto said energetically. Kakashi paused, thinking about that. It was true, but had never occurred to him.

"I guess," he shrugged before pointing at the pond behind him. "You know what to do, kid."

Naruto sighed dramatically, emphasizing his boredom of the exercise. He stepped onto the water's surface, barely causing a ripple, before starting the familiar routine.

As a way to improve both his chakra control and his physical strength and speed, Naruto was taught to combine warm-ups such as push ups, sit ups, and laps with water walking. He was also forced to learn how to expel chakra from his back, hands, arms, and legs to do some of the warm-ups without falling into the water. It had taken him a while to figure it out completely, but now he could do it in his sleep.

When he was finished, he looked expectantly to Kakashi, only to find him reading a book. Tori had warned Naruto about 'the book', and Naruto knew better than to question his care taker's judgment, so he avoided the little orange book like it was the plague.

"Sensei?" Naruto called from the water. Kakashi looked up, his one visible eye filled with boredom.

"Finished already?"

"Uh huh," Naruto nodded vigorously. "Can you teach me a cool jutsu now?"

"What do you know so far?" Kakashi asked, yawning. After all, he couldn't be late to this- he missed the couple of hours of sleep he usually got before meetings and debriefings. Tori would have killed him.

"Henge, Kawarimi, Moguragakure (Hidden Mole), Shinjuu Zanshu (Headhunter/Double Suicide Decapitation), and Shunshin," Naruto reported energetically. Kakashi thought for a moment before speaking.

"How about a Wind technique?" he asked the young boy. Naruto grinned, giving Kakashi all the answer he needed. "Okay, this one is called Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The seals are Tiger, Ox, Dog, Rabbit, Snake," Kakashi instructed, going through the seals slowly so that Naruto could see. Naruto copied him carefully, repeating the seals to memorize it.

Kakashi turned to the nearest tree, his hands flying through the seals.

"Futon: Daitoppa!" he shouted, taking a deep breath and expelling the chakra-laced air. The released wind grew into a fierce gust that barreled into the old tree, knocking it down almost effortlessly.

"Cool!" Naruto shouted from the other side of the clearing. Kakashi let himself smile before sitting back down.

"You try," he ordered the energetic boy. Naruto grinned determinedly, his hands going through the seals.

"Futon: Daitoppa!" he shouted just as Kakashi had, taking a deep breath of air. The resulting burst of wind shot away from Naruto, stripping the closest tree of a number of branches, and most of its leaves. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

I guess he has a wind affinity too... Like father, like son... You'd be proud, sensei, he thought to himself as he watched Naruto cheering on his accomplishment.

"Not bad for your first try. Keep at it," Kakashi encouraged. Naruto stopped his shouting, suddenly very serious as he turned back to the tree, determination in his cerulean eyes.

"Alright, Tori should be done by now," Kakashi announced, trying to spare the trees some pain. The clearing, thanks to Naruto, had grown in size. After his fourth try, he could control the jutsu well enough to knock down some of the younger trees. Combined with his naturally large chakra resources, Naruto was relentless in his training.

The young boy looked up from his hands, standing proudly amidst a fallen tree's branches.

"You heard me; get back to base. You better not get chakra exhaustion; Tori's already annoyed I taught you Shunshin."

"Hai!" Naruto shouted, already running back to the ANBU HQ. Kakashi sighed before returning to his book.

A/N:

I'm trying not to rush Naruto's growth, but there will be some things that he learns early on. Such as various jutsu.

Please review, they make me happy :)

^.^ Susie ^.^