Chapter 6: Releasing the Floodgates
Exotic Waterfall, Outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato
Naruto charged at Jiraiya, fist clenched and ready for the opening haymaker. His eyes widened, however, when he felt the strong blow to his gut. He did not even see Jiraiya move; there was a fist to his stomach just as quickly as Naruto blinked.
Naruto clenched his stomach tightly, trying to comfort the sudden and strong pain he was feeling at the moment.
"C'mon, you can do much better than that." Jiraiya said. "One punch? Damn, you are one sorry excuse for a disciple."
"*cough* Well, I didn't *cough**cough* come here unprepared." Naruto said, before puffing into smoke. It was Jiraiya's turn to be thoroughly surprised. Usually, shadow clones dispelled immediately after taking a powerful hit. Yet this one survived for several seconds before dispelling. In fact, it seemed to be agonizing in pain before it dispelled. There can only be one reason behind the improved fortitude: Naruto is giving the shadow clones more chakra.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu evenly distributes the users chakra among the clones. The less clones one uses, the more durable the clones are. One clone holds half of the chakra of the user, whereas 3 clones hold a quarter of the chakra. The more clones the user creates, the more at risk the user is to succumbing to chakra exhaustion.
However, there is a way to circumvent this minor mishap. If the user of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu held a Bijuu, their chakra reserves are increased exponentially. In addition, the user could use the Bijuu's chakra to assist in creating shadow clones, therefore reducing the amount of chakra the user need to output for the clones. It happens to be the case that Naruto had the Kyuubi no Kitsune as his Bijuu. Jiraiya smiled. This meant that Naruto is actively using the Kyuubi to fuel his shadow clones.
"I'm impressed, gaki." Jiraiya said, stroking his nonexistent beard. "Still, you'll have to do better than that if you really want to beat me."
Three Narutos burst out of the leaves above. All of the Narutos were holding on to each other's arms to expand the range of their collective knee strike. Jiraiya merely sidestepped the attack, but Naruto's counter was rather impressive. Upon recovering from the fumbled knee strike, the left most Naruto began to spin the group, building momentum for another attack. Once enough momentum was built, the leftmost Naruto flung the other two Narutos. The two Narutos grabbed on each other's shoulders, and was soon a spinning mass flying rapidly at Jiraiya.
'This kid sure is creative with his shadow clones, ain't he?' Jiraiya thought as he bent his back backwards to dodge the spinning attack. The two shadow clones disengaged and used their hands to push each other out of the way for a safe recovery.
The third Naruto was rushing at Jiraiya, trying to, once again, land the opening haymaker. Jiraiya grabbed the clone's arm and twisted his body, dislocating the clone's right shoulder. He then kicked the clone towards the other two. The kicked clone landed on one of the clones and dispelled on impact. The other clone managed to dodge the incoming clone and launched some shuriken at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya tossed some of his own shuriken at the clone. The barrage of shuriken collided in midair and fell to the ground. Jiraiya barely had time to note the incoming Rasengan from behind him, and he jumped into the air to avoid the spiraling sphere of death.
The clones would not let up their offense. The second clone (the clone that was knocked backwards by the dislocated shoulder clone) attacked Jiraiya midair with a flying kick. Jiraiya forced himself to spin in order to dodge the inbound kick, and using his newfound momentum performed his own spin kick at the clone. The clone was sent tumbling to the clone that attacked him with the Rasengan, and the force of the impact caused the two to dispel. There were only two clones left in the battlefield.
"Hmph," Naruto exclaimed. "Not bad Ero Sennin. This battle might actually cause me to work up a sweat."
"Don't get cocky, brat." Jiraiya said. "This ain't even a warm up. All of your attacks are feeble and straightforward. I haven't even been forced to use any of my jutsu yet."
"Well then," Naruto said slapping a smile on his face. "Let's see you deal with round 2!"
The clearing was filled with Narutos all of a sudden. Every other Naruto held a Rasengan in hand. There were probably 50 Naruto clones charging at Jiraiya.
"Rasen Chō Tarengan!" All of the Shadow Clones shouted simultaneously. The Naruto clones smashed their barrage of Rasengan at Jiraiya, who leapt into the air to avoid the onslaught. However, the clones were already prepared for Jiraiya's countermeasure.
Some of the clones bent backwards, becoming stools for other clones, with Rasengan in hand, to jump on. This leverage allowed them to jump higher and be more aerodynamic when trying to catch Jiraiya midair.
'Shit, I might be unlucky over here!' Jiraiya thought. There were at least 20 Narutos in the air, each trying to slam a Rasengan to his chest.
"Katon: Endan no Jutsu!" Jiraiya shouted as a massive fireball engulfed the incoming clones, ending their attempted Rasengan barrage. Jiraiya tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but he did not get the chance to when he narrowly avoided a Fuma Shuriken. The ground clones began to bombard him with shuriken and kunai and Jiraiya had nowhere else to go. He did a very rapid substitution with one of the ground clones, and watched as that clone was pelted brutally with shuriken and kunai. On the inside, Jiraiya winced a bit. He knew that Naruto was going to feel that.
"OVER THERE!" one of the clones shouted, alerting the other clones to the presence of Jiraiya. 'Damn, Naruto really isn't holding back, is he?' Jiraiya thought as he reengaged the clones in a confrontation of direct taijutsu. Jiraiya dispelled a clone using a high kick and dodge a kunai swipe from another clone. He dispelled the kunai clone by grabbing onto his arm and tossing him at an incoming clone. He proceeded to flick out two shuriken from the air using his fingers, and tossed them back at their throwers.
He purposefully allowed one of the clones to slash him on his right arm before dispelling that clone with a palm strike to the chest. Gliding his thumb along the wound, Jiraiya went through several hand signs before slamming his palm on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Jiraiya shouted as a massive puff of smoke appeared above the group of Narutos. A large toad, the size of a well-endowed bull crash landed on the group of Narutos dispelling them upon impact. The toad croaked once in annoyance before unsheathing its blade and reducing more Narutos to puffs of smoke.
The Narutos were in a complete disarray at the moment. Many of them stumbled upon each other trying to get away from the toad that was killing clones left and right. Some tried to be brave and retaliate against the juggernaut, only to be dispelled in an embarrassing poof of smoke.
"Guys!" One of the clones said. "Why are we so scared of a toad? Boss is really gonna have our asses for this…"
"You know what?" One of the clones responded, dodging a slash to his face. "Naruto is right! We ain't need to be scared of no oversized bull toad!"
"YEAH!" A chorus of Narutos cried simultaneously, before it was silenced by the cacophony of poofs.
The first clone was shocked silent at the widespread destruction of his brothers-in-arm. "I say we give him a taste of his own medicine!"
"YEAH!" A crescendo of Narutos applauded at their "exalted" leader's recommendation. 10 Narutos bit their thumbs together and smashed their palms on the floor, screaming "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" As the clones dispelled following the successful summoning, the large toad was surrounded by 10 smaller, battle-ready toads, eager to prove their worth to their sempai.
'Geez, this kid is really gonna force the toads to fight each other?' Jiraiya thought, sidestepping another attack from the clones before reacting with a vicious backhand to the face, dispelling it immediately.
The large toad was having a tough time holding back its juniors as they attacked just as coordinated and precise as the Naruto clones. When the large toad dodged an attack from one of the smaller toad's weapon, another toad would cease the newly found opportunity to pressure the large toad. At this well-oiled initiative, the large toad found itself heavily on the defense, blocking and parrying attacks instead of pursuing the rapid demise (or dispersion) of its comrades.
"See, now he's on the defense!" The lead clone announced. "Press onwards gentleman! The war has yet to be won!" With an uproar of battle cries, the Naruto clones charged at Jiraiya eager to at least knock him down and win the bet.
'Geez, what does Naruto think this is, a warzone?' Jiraiya thought, disregarding the enthusiasm of the clones. Weaving through hand signs quickly, Jiraiya hit the floor with the palm of his hands.
"Doton: Yomi Numa no Jutsu!" A massive quagmire appeared under the feet of charging Naruto. The quagmire trapped many of the Narutos in its thick mud, leaving them immobile and susceptible to Jiraiya's attacks. Still, the rear Narutos used their fixed comrades as stepping stones to approach Jiraiya.
Jiraiya found himself dodging two spin kicks from some of those Narutos. When that attack failed, more Narutos jumped from the backs of the kicking Narutos and tried to attack Jiraiya with ax kicks. Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest and took the brunt of the attack. He released his arms, and the force of the release made the Narutos tumble and fall back on even more incoming attackers.
The sun blocked out for a second. Jiraiya looked up to see what caused the blackout, only to find a large pile of Narutos descending on his position.
"Hari Jizō no Jutsu!" Jiraiya screamed. His hair began to elongate and sharpen. Any of the clones that fell on top of the Toad Sennin dispelled. Jiraiya started to rotate and extend his Needle Jizō technique, eliminating any and all clones within the 3 meter radius.
"Gamapucha!" Jiraiya screamed, grabbing the attention of his toad summon. Gamapucha avoided a thrust from one of Naruto's Toad's rod and jumped high into the air. Jiraiya followed suit, and he was on top of the toad. "Gamapucha, give me some oil!"
Gamapucha complied with his summoner's demand. Soon, his mouth bulge to at least 3 times its previous size. Likewise, Jiraiya rapidly went through hand signs.
"Now!" Jiraiya screamed as Gamapucha released all of the oil he gathered up inside his mouth. "Katon: Gamayu Endan no Jutsu!" The massive flamethrower Jiraiya released from his mouth intermingled with the highly flammable toad oil to produce an enormous inferno. Everything in the ground was instantly incinerated. It was difficult to see the puffs of smoke, indicating the dispelling of the shadow clones, but Jiraiya could hear it very well despite the cackling of the flames.
The toad summons could not handle such intense heat, so they cancelled their own summons. Gamapucha and Jiraiya landed safely on the ground, surveying the area to see the damage they caused. It's a surprise that nobody bathing in the waterfall nearby actually came to stop their battle so far.
Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest and began to laugh. "Ha ha ha ha! See gaki, I told you that you were no match for the Gallant Jiraiya! You might as well have wrote your will before starting such a foolish fight with me!"
"Yeah, not bad Ero Sennin." Naruto said finally coming out of the woodworks. Jiraiya and Gamapucha turned to face the young, headstrong genin intending to finish this little bet. Jiraiya really wanted Naruto to halt his shenanigans and see the bigger picture.
"So, are you here to admit you're wrong and come crawling on to my side?" Jiraiya asked. "Well, if you gonna do it, might as well crawl while you are Naruko heh heh heh…" A perverted grin appeared on the face of Jiraiya, worrying both his summon and Naruto.
"Ew Ero Sennin. Such a fucking perv…" Naruto said, closing his nose and waving his hands in disapproval. "'Sides, I'm not about to give up." There was a huge surge of power surrounding Naruto. He was engulfed in a shroud of red chakra, and his features subsequently began to change.
"NO MATTER WHAT!" Naruto roared as his eyes changed to a crimson color with slit pupils. The whisker marks on his face thickened and his nails lengthened, giving Naruto a more feral appearance. Naruto bent his knees and tensed his palms in a stance similar to that of the Inuzuka style of taijutsu.
'Ah, so Naruto is finally going to use more of the Kyuubi's chakra…' Jiraiya thought. "Well gaki, its time to remove the kiddie gloves. Let's get started on round three!"
In a flash of blood red, Naruto impaled Gamapucha in the chest. He did not hit a vital area, because he did not want to kill a toad summon, but he really wanted the toad summon to leave. This was a battle between master and student, and no one was going to interfere with it.
'So the kid is much faster when using the Kyuubi's chakra eh? Interesting…' Jiraiya noted. Gamapucha dispelled in a puff of smoke to tend to his wounds. Naruto made a mental note to apologize to the poor summon later.
Once again, in blinding speed that no normal genin could hope to ever achieve, Naruto closed the distance between him and Jiraiya. He delivered a harsh right hook that Jiraiya tried to block with all his defensive mark. The punch was thrown with such force that Jiraiya actually stumbled backwards a bit before regaining his composure.
'So his power is increased drastically too…It's still not at my level but it's still pretty impressive for the gaki.' Jiraiya thought.
"So, what'd ya think?" Naruto said after collecting himself from the attack. "Let's just end this whole shebang and you lay down and say I win, ok?"
"Yeah, why don't I just throw in the red towel and kiss your feet now?" Jiraiya responded sarcastically. "Better yet, why don't I just hand my title over? You can be known as the Gallant Naruto! Sorry kiddo, the real world doesn't work like that. You still haven't knocked me down yet. You got some pretty smooth moves, but you're still a gaki compared to me." Jiraiya got back to his stance. "Come on, runt. Let's finish this."
"Likewise!" Naruto said, dashing at Jiraiya. Jiraiya, due to all of his combat experience and skill, evaded the punch and threw one himself straight at Naruto's face. Naruto was knocked back several paces, crashing on the floor violently. Jiraiya really did mean business now. There's no point in holding back.
Naruto rushed at Jiraiya. Jiraiya was expecting another foolish punch, but was surprised that Naruto resorted to a sliding kick. Jiraiya leapt out of the way and at the last minute saw Naruto's most familiar hand sign.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as two clones materialized in a poof of smoke. Both clones immediately kneed the midair Jiraiya, forcing him to block his torso yet again. Unlike other enemies, Jiraiya is a lot more aerodynamic, so he was able to retaliate with two kicks at the clones chests.
The clones were knocked back, but they did not dispel. 'These clones are far more sturdy then the previous batches.' Jiraiya thought. 'Plus, they have the same boosts as the original. I'd better be careful. Naruto can actually hit hard this time around.'
The original Naruto joined his clones on their position. Grabbing one of the clones by the back of their orange jacket, Naruto spun his clone around rapidly before flinging him to Naruto. At that, he and the other clone jumped high and towards the Toad Sannin.
Jiraiya avoided the Naruto bullet and subsequently grabbed him mid-trajectory. He tossed the clone at the airborne Narutos. Both Narutos avoided the clone bullet and balled their fists together for a large hammer fist. Jiraiya was not hoping to earn another bruise on his arm, so he jumped back to avoid the attacks. The hammer fist impacted the earth and left a very serious dent.
The clone bullet actually substituted with the second clone and followed up the failed hammer fist with a rising knee strike. Jiraiya grabbed the clone's knee to slow the attack and thrust his palm at the clone's chest. The clone flew back several paces, but recovered using his arms and legs. It proceeded to dash in a very feral manner, passing the original Naruto, who hopped on his back to gain height and attack with a heel drop.
The boost did not slow the clone in the slightest. It continued to move at a fast pace and attacked Jiraiya with a full body tackle. Jiraiya countered the tackle with a hard kick to the clone's face, actually causing the clone to dispel.
The original Naruto came crashing to Jiraiya with the added force of gravity enhancing his heel drop. Jiraiya knew that this Kyuubi/gravity enhanced heel drop would be fatal, even for him, so he quickly formed a Rasengan on his left hand, dodge the kick altogether, and smashed his spiraling sphere at Naruto's torso.
The Rasengan was meant to be nonfatal, so the rotation was reduced dramatically. The pure power contained within the condensed sphere of chakra was still potent enough to launch him several meters away. Naruto landed where the substituted clone was at, and the clone went immediately to work forming a Rasengan imbued with the chakra of the Kyuubi. The Rasengan glowed a brilliant vermilion color, and the rotation was faster and more controlled than any other previous Rasengan Naruto had formed thus far.
"Give it up gaki!" Jiraiya shouted. "I already know what you want. You want us to form simultaneous Rasengan and have them collide. The force of your Rasengan would obviously outmatch mine, and I would be knocked out by the concussive force."
Naruto stopped forming his Rasengan upon hearing his sensei's deduction. "Aw, Ero Sennin why do you have to be such a buzzkill?"
The rustling of the leaves above alerted Jiraiya of the presence in the trees. A group of 10 Narutos, each holding vermilion Rasengan came falling on the Toad Sennin.
"How do you like that?" The real Naruto shouted. "I call this one 'Shui Rasen Chō Tarengan!'"
The noise of destruction and clones echoed the horizon, as birds began to fly from their perches to find safer grounds.
Konohagakure no Sato
Sasuke was busy exercising his body under the severe conditions he was suffering. Having an unusable left arm was more of detriment than Sasuke could have imagined. It hindered his taijutsu training and almost altogether halted his ninjutsu training (since he did not have two hands to form hand seals and thus mold chakra efficiently). Doing normal exercise, such as push-ups and sit-ups became much more strenuous than it originally was. Overall, Sasuke was having a difficult time maintaining his previous training regimen with this 'disability,' and Sasuke was not happy about the mishap.
His ninjutsu training has been shifting because of the injury, however. After realizing that he could form seals with one hand, as demonstrated during his battle with Kimimaro, Sasuke has been focused on trying to relearn all of his current ninjutsu with one handed seals. Difficult would be an understatement for these attempts. The sheer amount of concentration when attempting to mold chakra with one hand was so taxing that often Sasuke would be rendered unconscious from the mental stress. Sometimes he wondered how the hell did Haku perform one-handed seals so efficiently.
Not only was it mentally taxing, but the amount of chakra focused on the hands increased as well. With two hands, there was a sort of equilibrium when chakra flowed to the seal. That's what made the formation of a jutsu relatively easy. In essence, it's possible to perform jutsu without the need for hand seals and signs. However, the sheer amount of mental concentration necessary to mold chakra with no seals is nearly impossible to handle with many ninja these days. It's completely doable with lesser rank ninjutsu, such as the Kawarimi no Jutsu, Bunshin no Jutsu, and Henge no Jutsu. But the mental capacity for higher ranked ninjutsu increased exponentially. Seal-less D-rank ninjutsu is difficult as is, but S-ranks is practical an existing impossibility.
One handed seals are much, much easier to handle than seal-less ninjutsu. But it requires an overhaul of any and everything a shinobi ever knew about using ninjutsu. Chakra flow is much more different with one handed seals than two handed seals. The act of making one handed seals becomes more difficult (it's easier to form a Ram or a tiger seal with two hands than with one). It helps to visualize the second hand so that forming seals become a tad bit easier. Yet it does not eliminate the difficulty entirely.
Sasuke started from the very first jutsu he performed with one hand: Chidori. Chidori was a simple, three seal ninjutsu that heavily focused Raiton chakra on the hand. This actually made performing one handed seals with the Chidori a little easier than, say, Goukakyuu no Jutsu. Still, Sasuke noticed that the amount of Raiton chakra radiating from his hand was lesser than using two hands. He concluded that he was not pushing enough chakra into the Chidori to bring it on par with his normal two handed variant.
This made some sense. When using two hands, Sasuke knew exactly how much chakra he needed to mold in order to get Chidori to work. With one hand, he was subconsciously using the same amount of chakra that two hands would use. This meant that Sasuke needed to push more chakra towards his right hand to equal that of a two-handed Chidori.
Sasuke lamented this fact greatly. He was happy that he finally realized what was wrong with his one-handed Chidori, but upon gaining this knowledge Sasuke hit yet another dead end.
Pushing more chakra to use Chidori meant placing more of a strain on his body. The more chakra he used, the more susceptible he was to the influence of the Curse Mark. Not only that, it increased the limits he can actually use the Chidori. Originally, he could only use Chidori twice a day. That was when he used both of his hands to form the seals. Now, he could only use Chidori (at normal power) once a day. Using one hand doubled the input for chakra necessary to use the Chidori. He could still use Chidori twice a day, but it would be less powerful.
Still, Sasuke was also interested in one more thing about Raiton. During his battle with Kimimaro, he cloaked his kunai with the Raiton energy of his Chidori. Sasuke dubbed this newly found ability "Chidori Kunai," and was quite pleased with the brand-new long range form of Chidori. However, new ideas began to sprout in Sasuke mind. What if all metallic weaponry could conduct Raiton chakra in the same was as that kunai?
Yes, Sasuke was currently going to learn the Gunbai Uchiwa as his new primary weapon. However, that did not mean that he should limit himself to only learning the Uchiwa. Besides, the Uchiwa did not mix with his elemental affinities well at all. It's difficult to conduct Raiton chakra, because of the material it is made of, and it primarily utilizes Fuuton chakra for its attacks. Sasuke has absolutely no knowledge of Fuuton manipulation (something he'll need to discuss with Kakashi when his arms get better), so he couldn't use the Uchiwa to the fullest potential.
That did not mean that Sasuke could not learn Fuuton. Kakashi had an elemental affinity for Raiton, but he could use Katon, Suiton, and Doton. It's possible that the Sharingan made learning newer elements easier, but it's still possible for a non-Uchiha.
Still, Sasuke should also focus on finding and learning a weapon discipline that could make the most of his Raiton affiliation. Using Kunai can only go so far. It's a short range mêlée weapon with long range throwing capabilities. But against an enemy that is quick and constantly moving, it would prove rather useless. Sasuke wasn't interested in learning the art of the Katana either. It was far too long for his tastes and could possibly throw off his center of gravity. But the idea of kenjutsu was rather appealing to him. A short sword he could use in conjunction with his Uchiwa. Fascinating.
Sasuke was lying on his bed, thinking about the things he's just learned today. He couldn't use a full power Chidori with one hand without the looming threat of the Curse Mark interfering with his attempts. He wanted to use secondary weapon that could work in conjunction with his Raiton affiliation. His injured arm interfered with a lot of potential training and exercise.
It seemed that the only thing Sasuke could do was increase his chakra reserves through intensive chakra control exercises. He was interested in improving the time he held the Sharingan; his goal was to maintain an active Sharingan for an entire day without feeling the exhaustion that comes with it. The mini leaf exercise he did in the hospital actually was pretty useful, but such a simple exercise can only go so far.
Sasuke needed to focus on improving his chakra control. But he could only go so far with water walking and tree climbing exercises. He has yet to work on waterfall climbing, but where exactly is he going to find a waterfall in the middle of Konoha?
There was a knock on his door. That's odd. Normally, people avoided the Uchiha Clan Compound, afraid that it may have some lingering spirits or other superstitious excuse. Sasuke was totally fine with the isolation. He did not personally enjoy being in the company of superficial people and people that did not try hard enough to relate to him. Yet, here he was, now having a guest.
Sasuke ignored the knocks, but it persisted after several minutes. He reluctantly got out of his bed to answer the door and subsequently drive out the prick that bothered to interrupt his thoughts.
"Get the fu-oh." Sasuke stumbled when opening the door to find Sakura on the other side. "Um. Hi Sakura. What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to wish you a safe recovery Sasuke-kun." Sakura said.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He said sarcastically. "I really did need to be reminded for the seventy-fifth time. That's so helpful."
Sakura pouted. "Sasuke-kun, why do you have to be so mean?" She asked depressed.
"I'm not mean." Sasuke said in a manner-of-factly tone. "You're just annoying."
"And you're more blunt than a plank of wood." Sakura teased back. "What are you doing right now?"
"Thinking." Sasuke said, surprised at the length of their conversation. They actually managed to go farther than 30 seconds talking. This must either be a new record, or Sasuke really is changing.
"'bout what?" Sakura asked, putting a finger under her chin.
"Stuff." Sasuke replied, clearly not interested in discussing his personal thoughts and opinions to the pink-haired kunoichi.
"That's pretty darn specific." Sakura replied sarcastically. Sasuke really was rubbing off on Sakura. After a couple of seconds of awkward silence Sakura spoke up again. "Um, do you mind if I come in?"
"No." Sasuke said, slamming the door on Sakura's face. A large tic mark appeared on her forehead, and she bashed the door with multiple hard fists.
"OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screamed, annoyed that her beloved teammate just slammed the door in front of her face.
Sasuke finally relented and opened the door to the vengeful Valkyrie. "Wow Sakura, I've never heard you scream at me before. Must've pushed a nerve, did I?"
Sakura blushed heavily, embarrassed at her loss of control and ensuing anger. This was the sort of rage she would unleash on Naruto after he would tell people that he and Sakura were "going steady." She was always a polite, submissive, and willing girl in front of Sasuke. To drop the façade all of a sudden really shamed her immensely.
"I…I…sorry…" Sakura shyly said.
"Hn," Sasuke replied in his usual grunt. "Don't worry about it. I actually liked that little outburst of yours."
"R-really?" Sakura asked surprised.
Sasuke merely turned around and put his hands in his pockets. "I hate girls that chase after me blindly. They don't know me, so why should I care about them?" Sasuke said honestly. "Only a girl I respect is worthy of my affections, and so far I have yet to meet one."
Sakura looked bummed out. From Sasuke's revelation, it appeared that he still does not respect him. But, at the same time, a beacon of hope was lit up in Sakura's heart. As long as she can earn Sasuke's respect, she could (potentially) be his girlfriend! 'Shannaro! Guess who has the upper hand now, Ino-pig!' Sakura thought, fist in the air under the guise of victory. Sasuke was completely confused at Sakura's sudden feeling of triumph, but he shrugged it aside as something of a nuisance.
Sakura recomposed herself and turned to face Sasuke. "So…um…w-would you like to e-eat with me, Sasuke-kun?" She twiddled with her index fingers in the same manner as Hinata. Apparently, when around the object of her affections, she turns just as shy as Hinata, as opposed to her confident demeanor she exudes around Naruto and Yamanaka Ino.
Sasuke actually took some time to think about Sakura's proposal. In all honesty, he would rather run as far as his legs could carry him. He was seriously weighing that option, too. However, Sasuke would also like to bond more with his teammates. He's gained a newfound appreciation of them following Naruto's revelation. He did not want to go back to his darker self and shun his teammates for his pursuit of power. Besides, he could not do much in his precarious position.
Biting his lip, he spoke up to Sakura. "F-fine." Sasuke said. "We could go and eat somewhere…"
"Aww, okay." Sakura said in defeat, oblivious to what Sasuke just said. "I guess I'll just try…wait, what?"
"Don't make me regret my decision." Sasuke said coldly. "And DON'T treat this as a date. This is merely team building. Nothing more, nothing less. Do I make myself clear?"
Sakura exploded in bliss. "YAY!" she shouted out to the heavens. "I get to eat with Sasuke-kun!" She was dancing happily, ecstatic about her most recent victory. Sasuke could not help but palm his face. This is the perfect time to regret every and all positive compliments he gave to the pink-haired kunoichi.
"Hey!" Sasuke shouted. "I said this was NOT a date! Don't let it get into your head!"
Sakura grabbed onto Sasuke arm, expecting him to lead the way. "C'mon Sasuke-kun! Take me to where you want to eat!"
'Tch.' Sasuke thought. 'Women. Now I know what Shikamaru's problem with females is…'
Exotic Waterfall, Outskirts of Konohagakure no Sato
All of the debris and dust from the Shui Rasen Chō Tarengan blew up into a massive cloud. Visibility was reduced drastically as a result of all the dirt that drifted through the air. Naruto was panting hard; the battle against Ero Sennin was far more difficult than he originally anticipated. Jiraiya made the bell test look like a casual jog through the Academy's gymnasium.
A wind blew through the battlefield, clearing all the debris that hung around in the air. There were multiple craters littered throughout the area, stemming from the overwhelming power of the Kyuubi-enhanced Rasengan. It seemed that nothing was left of the poor Ero Sennin, which worried Naruto. He never meant to kill his sensei, but he probably took it too far.
"Ero Sennin!" Naruto shouted, improving his voice through chakra and giving it a more bestial tone to it. "Where are you? I know you could've easily survived that attack. Stop playing around and let's get back to the bet!"
There was no response. Naruto scratched the back off his head and walked to the crater zone. He searched around the premise for any sign of the poor pervert. Unfortunately, after several minutes of searching, nothing popped up.
"Dammit, maybe I did kill him…" Naruto said worriedly. "Shit, what am I gonna tell Tsunade-baachan?"
Just as Naruto pondered that thought, a fist connected with his cheek. To Naruto, it seemed like time slowed down as the fist exploded across his face. It was delivered with a sheer amount of force, and Naruto can feel fragments of his teeth chip off from the impact. As time flowed normally for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, he was blown violently across the clearing, crashing through multiple trees before decelerating.
Naruto wearily rose up. He was a little dazed from the powerful punch. He truly did not think that Jiraiya sensei was capable of such a punch. This punch was on par with that of Tsunade and Sakura, and the mere memories of being hit by those two ladies sent shivers down his spine.
"So you honestly thought that I was KIA, did ya?" Jiraiya said, shaking his fist. He put as much power into that punch as possible. "You gotta remember one thing in your life, gaki. The Gallant Jiraiya doesn't kick the bucket easily. He kicks ass before he kicks buckets!"
"Heh." Naruto chuckled, wiping some blood from his mouth. The Kyuubi was already healing the minor chips from his teeth, reverting them back to their original forms. "I honestly thought I did kill you. DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!"
"Kid, it's your fault for being so overconfident." Jiraiya said. "At least you managed to check before making conclusions. You just didn't check everywhere?"
"How-"
"I substituted with the Naruto right next to you. You were so enticed with your 'new' jutsu that you didn't even notice my presence right next to you. I swear, I could've closed that gaping mouth of yours and you still wouldn't have noticed."
"You mean-"
"Yep. You killed a shadow clone. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't even noticed it yet. Do you block out everything when you fight?"
"What do you…forget it." Naruto said, frustrated. "Dammit, I was played for a sucker again! Kakashi-sensei did the same thing during our bell test!"
"The bell test, huh?" Jiraiya said in a reminiscent tone. "You guys took the bell test too?"
"Uh…yeah?" Naruto asked confused.
"Wow. I can't believe it's still going!" Jiraiya said. "My sensei gave me our team the bell test, and I gave the bell test to the Yondaime Hokage. To think that Kakashi would give the bell test to his kids…" 'And to think that the son of Minato would pass it too…fate plays some cruel jokes indeed…' Jiraiya thought on the side. It was just far too many coincidences that the practitioners of the bell test would lead such similar lives. If only the Yondaime Hokage's genin team were to survive to this day, Jiraiya was certain that they would turn out just like his team.
No, probably better. Kakashi may have been a little cocky and arrogant as a youngster, but he wasn't as malicious, cruel, or power-hungry as Orochimaru. Fortunately, Sasuke was able to walk away from the temptations of power, and by extension not become a miniature Orochimaru. But all these coincidences were just too frequent. If fate could be defined as a series of frequently occurring coincidences, than the bell test would surely fit under that category.
"Wait…Kakashi-sensei took the bell test, too?" Naruto asked amazed. "How'd he passed? What'd he do?"
"Woah woah woah, slow down!" Jiraiya said, astonished by the kid's sudden insight. He didn't directly said that Kakashi indeed took the bell test. But Naruto managed to correctly infer that point. 'The brat is brighter than he looks.' Jiraiya said with a smile. Of course Naruto was smart. His methods of learning the Rasengan were nothing short of brilliant, and he managed to learn it in less than a month, much better than Jiraiya's 3 months or Minato's 3 years. And that was without the added training benefits of shadow clone training. One day, Jiraiya is going to have to teach shadow clone training to Naruto. It's only going to benefit him in the long run.
"Yeah. Kakashi did take the bell test." Jiraiya said. "And he did pass. He was in my previous protégé's genin team. Well…" He scratched his head. "Well, he was a Chuunin in the Yondaime's genin team."
"WOW!" Naruto exclaimed. "Kakashi-sensei's much cooler than his pervy books make him look!"
Jiraiya stressfully pinched his eyebrows. Obviously, Naruto could not possibly appreciate the art of fine literature!
"Okay, enough with the past." Jiraiya said. "Naruto. Just give it up, kiddo. Not every battle can be won. You gotta understand that sometimes a tactical withdrawal can be a better solution to outright defeat. Hell, I'm already packed and ready to go."
"Ero Sennin, how many times do I have to tell you?" Naruto replied. "I don't give up and I never go back on my word!" As Naruto said that, Jiraiya felt the blonde's chakra spike suddenly. "If you wanna get me to go with you to that stupid training trip of yours…" The already feral and bestial features of Naruto's body were becoming more defined. His claws were lengthening further, his whisker marks were becoming bolder, and his eyes changed from crimson to bloodshot. "YOU'LL HAVE TO BEAT ME TO A BLOODY PULP!"
The pressure of demonic chakra exploded outwardly from Naruto. It was so intense that Jiraiya felt himself being pushed back quite a bit. All of the pressure stopped being exerted, and started to gather around Naruto's body. He was developing a unique crimson chakra cloak in the shape of a…fox? His cloak had one tail and long fox ears. The cloak surrounding his hands and feet looked more like paws. He even changed his battle stance, getting on all four in a manner resembling a fox ready to pounce on its prey. 'Naruto is using more of the Kyuubi's chakra. Just how much chakra can this boy actually use?' Jiraiya thought in astonishment.
Naruto released a bloodcurdling roar. If any bird or wildlife did not vacate the area during his and Jiraiya's bout, all wildlife within the 5 mile radius began to scurry away from the battlefield. Birds flew from the trees and headed south and squirrels and rabbits ran into caves and hollow trees. Even the fish began to swim downstream in an attempt to remove themselves from the battle.
Following the roar, Naruto faced his sensei with determination in his eyes. "Let's go!" He growled. He charged at Jiraiya with all fours, attempting to tackle his sensei to the ground and end this battle.
Konohagakure no Sato
"So then Ino-pig began to scream 'No, it's not fair!' and I was like 'Well, you bet on it, and you lost!' and we got into this argument about-"
"Sakura." Sasuke said, stopping Sakura's pointless rant. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. "The only thing I'm feeling is your nice biceps and-"
"I told you for the seventh time to get off me!" Sasuke shouted, shrugging Sakura off his arm. Yet, Sakura was immediately attached to the arm again after several milliseconds. "…Why are we eating together again…?"
"Team building!" Sakura answered enthusiastically. It may be 'team building,' but Sakura was going to make the most out of the time she was going to spend with Sasuke.
"…Forget it…" Sasuke sighed in defeat. Never again. "So, you sure you didn't feel that chakra?"
"Um…" Sakura thought carefully. "Yeah, I think I did feel some odd chakra coming from outside the village. It was only for a couple of seconds though…"
'Hmm…' Sasuke thought. 'That chakra…It felt just like the time we were in the Forest of Death! Could this be Orochimaru's chakra? No. It's much more…malicious. This can only be…!' Sasuke began to rush off towards the source of the chakra.
"Sasuke, where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"We'll eat some other time!" He shouted, still heading to the source of the chakra surge. "I'll take you out to eat sometime this week, okay?" After a while running, he disappeared from Sakura's sight, leaving her dumbfounded.
Wait. He said he would "take her out…" Does that mean?
"YAHOO!" Sakura shouted in what appeared to be her third victory shout of the day. "Take that Ino-pig!"
"Take what exactly, Forehead?" Ino suddenly said, scaring Sakura.
"I-Ino!" Sakura said in a stutter. She recomposed herself. "Sasuke said he was gonna 'take me out' to eat this week! Hah! I managed to score a date with him before you did!"
"No you didn't!" Ino shouted back. "Obviously Sasuke would never go out with a girl who's forehead can fit all the Hokage like the monument!"
"What did you say, Miss Oink?"
"Forehead!"
"Ino-pig!"
"Forehead!"
"Ino-pig!"
Tsunade was completing paperwork from Shikamaru's recent border patrol of the Sound/ Fire border. She was still not used to the sheer amount of paperwork of a Hokage. It saddened her a bit that the most powerful ninja in the village must resign to the fate of bureaucratic labor. She would much rather be gambling and drinking sake than filling out the paperwork for "Capture Tora #935."
She turned to face the Hokage monument, looking at the face of Namikaze Minato. It's such a shame that he died far too early in his life. He had the potential to surpass even her grandfather and sensei as the Yondaime Hokage.
Just as she was thinking about Minato, she felt the sudden surge of demonic chakra. 'So, Jiraiya. You're teaching the brat how to control the Kyuubi huh? It's about damn time, though I would've preferred if you did that outside the village.' Tsunade thought before turning back to the mountain of paperwork she needed to complete before the day's end.
Kakashi was resting under his sheets, reading Make-Out Tactics, Vol. 5. He was getting rather comfortable, and was preparing to "relieve tension," when he felt the surge of chakra pulsating from outside the village. 'This chakra…it's similar to the chakra I felt back at the Land of Waves! So is Naruto finally learning to control the Kyuubi? Sorry Kiyoji-san. I guess tonight I won't read about how you seduce Ayako-chan with a broom and two carrots…' He thought in disappointment...
Unknown Location, Land of Fire
A young, orange-haired female was sitting on the top of the highest tree in the lotus position, meditating. She has been in this position for several days, searching for something. Rather, she has been monitoring the positions of certain individuals from Konoha.
She felt the massive chakra spike, despite being more than 50 miles away from the village. She abruptly opened her eyes. This was important information she needed to deliver to her Boss.
"Zetsu-chan!" She shouted as loud as she could. "Zetsu-chan, were are you?"
A humanoid suddenly spawned right next to the female. Half of his body was completely black and the other half of his body was white. The white half of his body had more definitive, humanlike features, such as a mouth, sclera, ears, and other body parts. The black half was absolutely void of any distinctive body part, with the exception of his ominous orange eye. Even more odd, his shoulder had a weird, Venus flytrap-ish plant surrounding the head, giving the person a more exotic appearance.
"I told you not to call me that!" The creature known as Zetsu said. "I'm not a she! I'm a…I'm a…what exactly am I, again? Last I check, I don't think I have a penis…"
The young girl blushed at the mention of the male reproductive organ, but she regained her composure. "Zetsu-chan! I need you to report something to Boss!" She said excitedly.
"What is it that you require of us?" Zetsu asked, in a different voice from his previous statement.
"I felt it! The Kyuubi's chakra, I felt it!" she said, bouncing up in down in glee. "The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki has finally started using the Kyuubi chakra!"
"That is indeed dire news." Zetsu commented. "He needs to be notified immediately."
"Who?" The young girl asked, putting her index finger under her chin. "Leader-sama? Boss?"
"Um, I think it would be the Boss who needs to know this." Zetsu answered. "Leader-sama doesn't need to know this information right now. How many tails did you feel?"
"Well, considering the distance we are from Konoha, I can't give an exact estimate…" The girl replied in a melancholy tone. "I…I guess that it would be…um…one or two tails at most…*sniff*"
"One or two tails? Leader-sama does not need to concern himself with such trivialities." Zetsu commented with his darker voice. "If it were four or more tails, he would probably need to know. For now, we'll just give this information to the Boss and see what he has planned. Any information about the other VIP?"
"No." The young girl sniffled. "My jutsu could only detect relative positions and chakra spikes. So far, he hasn't left the village at all, nor has he been surging chakra out. I felt some Raiton chakra occasionally, but that's the most he's actually used."
"So nothing to report on him, huh?" Zetsu asked. "Very well then. We'll update the Boss on the Kyuubi's current predicament. I'm sure he'll head to Konoha himself to get more of an in depth analysis, so continue to monitor the situation." With that, Zetsu disappeared into the tree, leaving no trace of his being there.
The young girl faced the setting sun. "Kyuubi, you're exciting and all, but I really wanna play with my lyre again…" A soft tear trickled down her face before she wiped it off. "No, I have to do this! Boss trusted me with this job, and I won't let him down! I won't fail his dreams!" She resumed her meditative stance and continued to observe the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki under the glow of the crimson light.
Hey Y'all!
Hope you guys enjoyed the First Special of True Paths to Power. Hope you are also enjoying your Memorial Day (If you are American) or your average May 27th (If you are not an American).Now we can return to your regularly scheduled mayhem. Or not. I have an important announcement to make.
Good news everyone! I finally got a job! Or, rather a paid internship. Now work Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10AM to 4PM. As such, I will not be able to make it to the library in time to update True Paths to Power or Finding Conviction. Because of this predicament, I have moved the update days to Tuesday and Thursday consecutively. From here on in, True Paths to Power will update on Tuesday, so do not expect anything on Monday.
This fight scene was very difficult to write. Primarily because of Naruto's lack of jutsu he could use. There is a slight possibility that Naruto may (or may not) know Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu, but I am going to assume he does not know the technique and just purely powered through the earth with his almighty Kyuubi chakra (and subsequently delivered that awesome ass uppercut to Neji).
So, I had him learn Rasen Chō Tarengan. How can he learn Rasen Chō Tarengan this early, before the three year time skip? Well, why not? He knows Rasengan, and he knows Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Combine the two and BOOM: Rasen Chō Tarengan. That still wasn't enough to counter the amount jutsu Jiraiya knew. If Naruto knew some long range ninjutsu, I could have extended the fight by at least 5 or 7 more pages. Alas, that is not the case.
Welcome, mysterious OC! She makes yet another appearance in this story, this time 50 miles away from Konohagakure. I hope you guys are curious as to how she can monitor the movements of Naruto and the "VIP." It's not a special bloodline or anything (she doesn't have a bloodline). She isn't a sensor type, either. Oh the mysteries! We don't even know her name yet. All will be revealed soon, however. All.
I hope that I pulled off Sakura's character. I imagine her as a shy girl in front of Sasuke but exuding in confidence in front of everyone else.
I think I should start giving romanizations of the jutsu I introduce in the chapters. So, here we go!
-Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique
-Rasengan: Spiralling Sphere
-Rasen Chō Tarengan: Ultra-Many Spiralling Serial Spheres
-Katon: Endan no Jutsu: Fire Release: Flame Bullet Technique
-Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Technique
-Doton: Yomi Numa no Jutsu: Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Technique
-Hari Jizō no Jutsu: Needle Jizō Technique
-Katon: Gamayu Endan no Jutsu: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet Technique
-Shui Rasen Chō Tarengan: Vermilion Ultra-Many Spiralling Serial Spheres
-Kawarimi no Jutsu: Body Replacement Technique
-Bunshin no Jutsu: Clone Technique
-Henge no Jutsu: Transformation Technique
-Chidori: One Thousand Birds
-Goukakyuu no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
-Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu
Wow, That's a lot of techniques. I'll be romanizing these techniques from here on in, as well as answering questions.
Stats for Week 6: 27 Favorites, 40 Reviews, 41 Follows, 2 Communities and 2,546 Views! Guys, please check out the communities for True Paths to Power. There is 'Sasuke is a good guy' Fics ( community/Sasuke-is-a-good-guy-Fics/107124/) and Teamwork ( community/Teamwork/93414/)
Also, ladies and gentlemen, this story officially got its first flame! Thank you 4 for your positive words of encouragement (YOU SUCK! GODDAMN XP). I'll keep that in mind as I continue to impress and entertain the people that do enjoy this story.
I am currently reading Sinister Chakra by williams5505. It's a fan fic about Madara being sealed inside Naruto along with the Kyuubi. There seems to be hints of NaruHina, but Hinata is not the same Hinata. She was a orphan adopted by the Hyuuga. She's actually a Senju. It's a nice read, I recommend it.
No questions for this week, but I can see progress with this Fanfic. Thanks guys for sticking with me. Remember: Tuesday is True Paths to Power, Thursday is Finding Conviction and June 1st is Redemption. See ya next week!
-Blackrazgriz 5/27/2013 4:24PM EST