Chapter 8: Gradual Improvement

Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato (1 Week Later)

A steady stream of chakra was gently emitted from Sakura's hands. After one week of practicing the basics, she was finally learning how to use the Shōsen Jutsu to resuscitate a fish from its near-death state. She frowned at the subject she was testing her technique on; the moment it can "breathe," it will begin to flop around energetically, in a vain attempt to get into a body of water. Essentially, she will be reviving a fish, just so that it can return to its near-death state. She disapproved of this method, but Tsunade easily disregarded her arguments. This style of learning was used with all medic-nin apprentices, and nobody had thus far complained about it. In any case, the world that they lived in did not have the luxury of pursuing animal rights. That concept did not even exist.

Regardless of what she felt, the chakra was flowing into the fish's tenketsu, revitalizing organs and providing the fish sustenance for life. The way that the Shōsen Jutsu works is similar to that of a blood transfusion. The user transfers his or her own chakra into wounds or chakra deprived locations in order to reinvigorate chakra production within the body. However, the body reacts very violently against foreign chakra. If too much is used, the victim may go into relapse, burning chakra faster than he could possibly handle. If used too little, the chakra transfer is void and useless. This is the primary reason why medical ninjutsu require high levels of chakra control. It's a very pinpoint subcategory of ninjutsu that requires utmost precision and care.

The fish began to flop around uselessly. Sakura did it; she revived her first fish. Tsunade couldn't help but be impressed with her new apprentice; Shizune took three weeks to learn the Shōsen Jutsu, whereas Sakura took one. Sakura wiped some sweat that accumulated on her brow. Performing the technique was not taxing, as it did not mandate a large reserve of chakra, but it was very intensive, requiring the highest amount concentration. After her success, Sakura was completely beat around the bush. She just wanted to lie down and fall right to sleep.
Of course, Tsunade would not give her that luxury. She clapped twice, and two apprentices, one holding a cage, walked into the room. One of the apprentices took the fish from the surgical table holding tightly on to the fish as it struggled vainly to get away from her grasp. The other apprentice placed the cage on top of the table and removed the contents onto the surface. A small cat limped onto the table, a deep gash on the right side of its body. Sakura observed with slight shock in her eyes as the cat continued its pained stride towards no particular destination. Meanwhile, the fish on the other apprentice's arms stopped flailing and went lifeless. She quickly left the room, presumably to toss the corpse into a waste disposal.

"You have a great grasp on the Shōsen Jutsu." Tsunade praised Sakura. "I must say I am impressed with the time it took for you to learn the technique. It was near prodigal for a rookie such as yourself."

Sakura blushed. She still was not used to the praise she would receive from Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage. It was too much for her, considering how little self-esteem she actually had.

Ever since the mission to the Land of Waves, Sakura had doubted her own abilities. Kakashi told her that she had the best chakra control in the group, but she was left behind the dust by the progress of both Sasuke and Naruto. Both of her teammates came up with unique and effective utilities of the Tree Climbing exercise and used it during their battle with Zabuza and Haku. She may have been a natural at chakra control, but she was not an innovator. She couldn't use what little she knew and apply it in the field of battle, like Sasuke could. Nor could she recreate it into something wacky, yet oddly efficient, like Naruto.

She was especially frustrated that she couldn't surpass Naruto. He was the dead-last of their class, yet he improved so rapidly it was baffling. He knew B- and A-rank kinjutsu (Kage Bunshin and Tajuu Kage Bunshin respectively), had insane chakra reserves for no apparent reason, and was crafty and cunning. If Naruto was properly taught while he was in the Academy, he probably could have been on par with Sasuke; he could have even surpassed him. That thought completely frightened Sakura. Sasuke was an intelligent young shinobi and quite talented with the ninja arts. Just the thought of Naruto potentially exceeding Sasuke…

As she watched her teammates' progress faster and faster, attaining newer and farther heights, she was putting her own life into perspective. What sort of talents can she exploit to bring her back to par with her teammates? Nothing. While Naruto and Sasuke were completely confident in themselves at the start of the Chuunin Exams, Sakura continued to wallow in self-pity. All she thought about was how much of a nuisance she was to her compatriots, and how little she was doing to rectify that. She was not training harder or seeking Kakashi for advice. She was not taking advantage of the newfound resources provided for genin like her and she did not investigate what potential careers fit someone with her skillset. Hell, she did not even fix her diet. That alone probably would have boosted Sakura's stamina immensely.

Then Sasuke was kidnapped by the Sound Four, shortly after recovering from his coma. She could do nothing but cry in agony as she begged Naruto to bring him back to Konoha. She lamented every day the fact that she was ill suited for a rescue mission like this. She was a part of Team 7, yet she could do nothing but stay home while others risked their lives to save her comrade.

With this mindset, she was not used to receiving praise. She did not think of herself as capable of learning such a sophisticated branch of ninjutsu like medical ninjutsu. The only thing she thought about was how to better herself so that she can be more reliable for her teammates.

"T-thank you, Hokage-sama…" She stammered, refusing to make eye contact with her sensei. She was proud of her achievement; she just did not know how to express her sense of accomplishment.

"Now, I know that you are tired. You've been standing there for 15 minutes trying to revive a fish. But don't think for a second that I'm going to relent on your training. We are moving on to the next phase." Tsunade said, patting Sakura on the back.

Although Sakura said not a word, she was grateful for that pat. It boosted her confidence slightly.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." She said. She was tired, but she wasn't going to start complaining. She asked for this apprenticeship herself, and the last thing she would want was to complain about how exhausting it was.

"Now then…" Tsunade said, putting a finger on her chin. "You've learned how to use your chakra to reinvigorate chakra within unconscious or near-dead subjects. For the next step, you are going to learn how to use the Shōsen Jutsu to heal wounds. Observe."

Tsunade walked up to the injured cat. The cat, suspicious and untrusting, reflexively took several steps back, but because it was badly injured it couldn't go any further than it did. Tsunade reassured the cat by petting it on the head. Sure, these animals were strays with no home and possibly disease-stricken, but she did not mind petting them. They had suffered a lot throughout their lives, much like she has, and all they do was continue the fight. Suicide was not an option for these animals.

Besides, she was the foremost adept at medical ninjutsu and pathology. Should she, by any chance, catch something, she could heal herself with no problems. Tsunade had not been sick for over 23 years. She was not going to stop now.

Her hands glowed with a vibrant green hue. She gently placed it over the cat's injury. The light was rather soothing for the mammal, and it grew docile and compliant within a few seconds.

Sakura could not help but watch in awe as the Shōsen Jutsu worked its magic. The wound began to rapidly heal, closing itself off, almost as fast as Naruto's healing factor. She watched him heal himself after a kunai accident several months back. Though the Shōsen Jutsu did not heal quite as fast as Naruto did, it was still pretty impressive nonetheless.

The healing was quick and painless, as evident by the cat's apparent ecstasy-ridden face. It looked as though it was swimming in a river of catnip. After 3 minutes, the cut was fully healed. Sakura couldn't believe Tsunade's handiwork. The cut was completely healed and did not have any scars. It was as if the cat never had a deep gash to begin with.

"Alright," Tsunade said, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, in order to heal cuts and other wounds, you need to excite your own chakra."

"Excite?" Sakura asked. She did not know chakra could get excited, much less have feelings.

"Yeah, excite." Tsunade repeated. "When you excite chakra, you are basically charging your chakra with an added dose of energy. To revive near-dead people and animals, you need to provide them with a steady, smooth stream of chakra to refresh their own chakra system. From there, their chakra repowers their vital organs, and the feeling of life returns to them."

Tsunade paced back and forth as Sakura gave her undivided attention. She was definitely like a toddler, eager and curious about the world around her.

"However, we are not trying to do that here. All the chakra must be directed at a central location, in other words the wound, cut, abrasion, etc. A slow, steady, and static stream of chakra is not enough to promote cellular growth or the formation of platelets in those areas, however. That's why you need to excite your chakra. Do you understand?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." Sakura answered. If anything, Sakura was capable of grasping concepts easily. More so than Sasuke and even Shikamaru, despite the latter's high IQ. Tsunade liked that about Sakura. Unlike Jiraiya, Minato, and Kakashi after him, Tsunade never had the opportunity to teach a prodigy. Well, Sakura was not a prodigy by definition, but she certainly was very bright.

"Excited chakra stimulates cellular growth and activities in the applied area. Skin cells undergo mitosis exponentially faster, and clots are formed at an accelerated rate. It's similar in procedure to my Sōzō Saisei, except healing wounds via Shōsen Jutsu does not decrease the life span of a human significantly. The Shōsen Jutsu does promote accelerated cell growth, but at a controlled and manageable rate. Sōzō Saisei should only be used for dire situations; that's only if you ever learn how to use it."

Sakura nodded her head. She studied the basic concepts of medical ninjutsu for the last two weeks, so she understood the effects it had on the human life span. Medical Ninjutsu fell under the category of Yang Release ninjutsu. Yang Release breathed life into form, and was the result of the physical manifestation of chakra. Chakra was the conjunction of physical and spiritual energies molding together within the body's tenketsu. Yang Release was composed of the physical aspects, while Yin Release, which created realities based off the imagination, comprised the spiritual aspect.

While all forms of ninjutsu fit under Yang Release (and had their own subcategories like Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning Release), Medical ninjutsu was the very definition of Yang Release, as the user used their chakra to physically reform or stimulate the body. Yin Release, on the other hand, required intense spiritual chakra, and all forms of genjutsu, as well as the dōjutsu of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga were under this category.

With a basic understanding of Yang Release (books and scrolls of the properties of Yin and Yang Release were pretty difficult to obtain, and Sakura had to research the topic using ancient texts from before the Shodai Hokage), Sakura was able to utilize everything she learned into her work. From this, she was able to blast through Tsunade's lectures easily.

Yet, she felt uneasy. Exciting chakra while simultaneously controlling the flow to the wounds and injuries felt sounded like too much work. She wasn't sure she could do it. Tsunade saw the look of apprehension on Sakura's face as she began to contemplate the difficulty of the next step.

"Sakura-chan." She said endearingly. "Sakura-chan, I've seen your progress over the last two weeks. I've commented on how impressed I've been on your improvement. It's phenomenal, and I couldn't be more proud of your growth. I certainly can't wait for the next couple of years." She smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "However, you need to have more confidence in yourself. You need to look at a challenge with your head held high and eyes brimming with determination. This stuff? This stuff is cake work. As we continue on with my curriculum, the course load will get even more intensive and demanding. If you look at the future with doubt in your eyes, you won't get far as a kunoichi."

Sakura looked into Tsunade's eye. She understood what Tsunade was trying to say, but she just couldn't do what she said. It was easier said than done.

"You care about that Uchiha brat, right?" Tsunade asked.

"His name is Sasuke-kun!" Sakura corrected almost autonomously.

"Right. You want to protect him, don't you?"

"Y-yes…"

"Well, if you want to protect him, you need to first better yourself as a person. You can't protect him if you're dead, right?" Tsunade said bluntly. Sakura nodded hesitantly. "You need to focus on your growth first, Sakura-chan. By focusing on you and you alone, you will undoubtedly become stronger than you ever thought you were. Sakura-chan, you are a strong girl. I see a lot of myself in you. Your resolve is just as strong as mine back when I was a genin, except there is one fundamental difference."

"What is that, Hokage-sama?"

"Your drive is far stronger than my own. You've got not one, but two people you wish to protect."

Sakura was confused at Tsunade's proclamation. She had two? Was someone as important in her life as Sasuke?

"I know you have a strong desire to protect Naruto-kun as well." Tsunade said. "It may not hit you at the moment, but Naruto-kun is someone precious to you, just like the Uchiha brat. Naruto-kun managed to worm his way into your heart, and you are holding him dear to you. You already know who your most valued comrades are. At your age, I did not share the same sentiments about my own teammates…"

Tsunade looked saddened as she admitted that fact. It was true. Jiraiya annoyed her to no bounds, and his perversion and socially unacceptable interests kept her from forming a serious bond with the Toad Sage. While they are good friends to this very day, they didn't have the same bond that Naruto and Sakura shared.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, was creepy and asocial, preferring to stick to himself instead of mingling with the rest of his teammates. He had a weird habit of reading scientific journals and ninjutsu scrolls, and often experimented on wildlife that were dying or were already dead. He had a senseless fascination with morality and was desensitized with the death of enemy shinobi altogether. Orochimaru discomforted her, and she was more than happy avoid contact with the snake Sannin. Tsunade was ashamed to see how that turned out. Often times, she wonder what could have been if she opened up a little more to her wayward partners.

Sakura had the chance to rectify all the mistakes Tsunade made in the past. Unlike Orochimaru, the Uchiha chose to stay in Konoha, more concerned with the wellbeing of his teammates than with the pursuit of power. If Sakura channeled her desire to protect Sasuke into a need to grow stronger, she undoubtedly would surpass even Tsunade. Tsunade, although having just met the girl only 2 weeks ago, had absolute faith that Sakura would be the one to pass on her legacy.

Tsunade chuckled, confusing Sakura a bit. It was funny, but Tsunade never thought about what she was going to leave behind for the future. Ever since Dan and Nawaki's deaths, she merely drowned away her sorrows, hoping that the Shinigami can one day come and snatch her away. Now, she was more than ever determined to protect the village her grandfather, sensei, brother, and lover all fought and died for. This time, she was not going to have regrets. So she was going to make sure Sakura lived her life with no regrets.

"Alright, I've said enough." Tsunade said. She proceeded to clap her hands, and the same two apprentices reentered the room, both of them holding cages. The first apprentice returned the healed cat to his cage, probably to be returned to the street. Shinobi, unless you were an Inuzuka, an Aburame, or Hatake Kakashi, did not have the time or luxury to take care of animals and pets. Pets belonged to civilians or retired shinobi who did not have to deal with life or death situations on a daily basis. Med-nin recommended pets only to active shinobi struggling with PTSD or other stress related mental disorders that inhibited combat abilities.

Once the cat was secured and sent off to whatever destiny awaited it, the second apprentice brought a small gerbil with a minor cut on its nose. The gerbil, irritated with the cut, was scratching on its cut. The gerbil did not know any better, but it was not helping its own chances by opening the small wound further.

"You know what to do, Sakura-chan." Tsunade said. Sakura nodded with a little more confidence, and turned to her new objective with renewed fire burning in her eyes. She wasn't going to let Tsunade down.

She wasn't going to let Naruto down.

She wasn't going to let Sasuke down.

Most importantly, she wasn't going to let herself down. Not anymore.

Ichiraku's Ramen, Konohagakure no Sato

"One order of miso pork ramen, mega sized!" Naruto exclaimed, slamming his earnings on the table as hard as he could. Though Naruto claimed that saving Sasuke was his highest priority, the money for the "Sasuke Retrieval" Mission had finally came in, and was it a hefty sum. Tsunade had decided that, despite the mission being accomplished by a group of genin and a green chuunin, she would make this an S-rank mission. The damage that they have unknowingly dealt to Orochimaru's war efforts, as well as thwarting his plans for the Sharingan, easily gave leverage to the significance of the mission. When Naruto went to Tsunade's office to receive his paycheck, he swore he had never seen so much money before in his life.

Naruto wasn't the kind of person to splurge his earnings in a single day, in spite of his…healthy… appetite for ramen. Instead, he focused the majority of the day practicing the Rasengan with one hand. Training by himself was a lot more difficult than he had imagined. Every time he went training, there was either a sensei or Sasuke and Sakura around to help him uncover his flaws. Jiraiya was in the hospital, being treated for wounds that made even Naruto wince in horror. Kakashi was called out for another S-rank mission, merely two days after he returned from his last S-rank mission. Sasuke was still recovering from his broken arm, and he was doing his own individual training (to Naruto's irritation), and Sakura was undergoing an apprenticeship with the Hokage. Naruto was very jealous of Sakura at the moment; he never had the chance to go through with one on one training with Sarutobi Hiruzen while he was still alive.

Naruto expression went down at the thought of his Jiji-chan. He shouldn't have died during the invasion. He was supposed to be the strongest…

Regardless of Hiruzen's status, he still had to train alone. Unluckily, Naruto was absolutely confused as to what exactly he should do to learn the Rasengan one handed.

He decided that he should probably redo the training exercises that Jiraiya taught him. It seemed like it would be an obvious choice to start from the very beginning instead of creating your own training regimen.

So Naruto returned to Konoha. As he walked down the active streets, he managed to pass through Ichiraku's Ramen. His stomach coincidentally began to grumble and Naruto decided to indulge himself with a little lunch. Teuchi was rather startled at Naruto's brash slamming of his table. He must either be in a good mood, or extremely drunk. Teuchi convinced himself it was the former. Besides, Naruto didn't seem like the type of kid who'd drink. He was far too optimistic for those kinds of urges.

"Ah, the usual eh?" Ichiraku Teuchi asked Naruto. "You want 'em to keep on coming?"

"You already know, old man!" Naruto bellowed. "This time, I'll be paying on my own! No Iruka-sensei or Ero Sennin to help me out!"

Teuchi was proud of Naruto. He can finally do business on his own. He usually had to rely on others to pay for his ramen. He must have gotten a really good mission if he were able to pay on his own. He probably doesn't know how expensive his orders get, so he'll definitely need that wake up call.

And who exactly was this "Ero Sennin" character anyways?

It took about 5 to 7 minutes, but Teuchi served up the first of presumably 6 to 7 bowls. The bowl was massive. Probably 8 inches in diameter and a height of about 6 inches. But that was just the way Naruto loved it.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto shouted as he snapped his wooden chopsticks in two and dove straight into the food. Teuchi was used to the speed and precision in which Naruto grabbed his noodles and slipped them into his mouth, but it never ceased to amaze him just how exactly he does it. He dipped his pork into some soy sauce before devouring it whole, and moved onto to slurp all of his broth down in one gulp. It was as if ever time he ate ramen, he was eating for his very life.

Naruto held out his hand once he finished with the first batch. Instantaneously, there was another bowl, of a similar size within Naruto's palm. He mechanically began to devour this next batch of noodles.

"Wow kid, you sure know how to eat fast?!" A new voice said, interrupting the Zen that Naruto held as he methodically consumed his ramen. A tic mark appeared on Naruto's forehead. No one interrupted his ramen. No one.

"WHO THE FUCK DO YA THINK YA ARE, HUH PRICK?" Naruto shouted at the heathen. How dare he, this weird, masked man, disturb the tranquility of his ramen consumption? He worked on this for years, and not even Jiraiya tried to stop him when he began eating.

Then he took his time to observe the man's features. He had short, spiky black hair. His entire face was covered in a mask, with an eyehole on the right side of his face. The eyehole was the center of attention, as the mask's unique spirals swirled out of the hole. It seemed to invite people into wondering what lies underneath the mask.

The man wore the oddest shinobi attire. He had a long scarf covering his neck and a large obi covering his abdomen. He wore a thick long sleeve shirt with bolts down the sides of his clothing, something you don't normally see every day. Everything about this man just screamed weird.

"Geez Louise! Cut a guy some slack!" The man cried out. "I was just complimenting on your food eating habits!"

"Oh…uh…thanks, I guess?" Naruto said, continuing his slurping. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have exploded in front of the stranger. That wasn't a way to make good first impressions, even for somebody as weird as he was.

"Forget about it, bro." The masked man. "You're like a living legend!"

"Bro? Excuse me, but have we met before? I don't recall allowing anyone to call me 'bro'…" Naruto grumbled.

"Pft, get that stick out of your ass. What are you, emo?" The masked man asked.

"That's it!" Naruto yelled as he launched himself at the masked man in a frenzied punch.

It happened so fast. Naruto could have sworn his fist made contact with the man's face. Yet, just as he was about to crack that stupid mask and make him regret saying stupid things to Naruto, his fist went right through the creepy masked man. He tumbled on himself, totally not expecting to go right through the man, and fell flat on his face. The masked man immediately turned his chair around and began to worry about the blonde jinchuuriki.

"Oh are you alright? Sorry, that kinda sorta happens every once in a while. And by every once in a while, I mean when lunatic blondes try to punch me to kingdom come for no apparent reason…"

Naruto lifted his index finger, pointing at the masked man. The finger was trembling uncontrollably, and Naruto's face went white.

"Y-you…you couldn't p-possibly be a g-g-g-g…" He stuttered.

"A g-g-g-g? Nope. I don't even know what such a thing is…"

Teuchi looked at the whole ordeal with a gaping mouth. He couldn't believe what just happened, either. He was too flabbergasted to even be angry at Naruto's blind rush into the potential consumer.

The masked man grabbed Naruto, snapping him out of his stupor long enough to stare into that eye hole. The man's had pupilless onyx eyes, sort of similar to Sasuke's. It really made Naruto want to see more of the face hidden behind his eyes.

"Kid. What is wrong with you? You coulda hurt yourself!" The masked man worried. "Here, let me pick you up." The man lifted Naruto and put him on a chair adjacent to the man himself. Naruto took the time to think about what just happened. The man touched him. There was no way a ghost could touch people. Not after all the movies he saw that featured ghosts and other scary monsters.

But how? How did Naruto go right through this man? Was he a half ghost Hanyou creature thing?

"Dude, stop staring at me like that. It's kinda weird and creepy…" The masked man told Naruto.

"Oh…right" He turned around and flushed. He wasn't even aware that he was staring at the masked man. He was so caught up with his thoughts to consider that.

Teuchi kindly brought Naruto's ramen to where he was now sitting. He was still wary of the masked man, who, because of the mask he could not see his expression, seemed to be smirking at Naruto's flops.

"So, like I said before. It's totally awesome to, like, meet a living legend!" The masked man told Naruto.

"Whatcha talking about?" Naruto asked. He was flattered at the praise, but he's done so much in the last couple of months that he wouldn't know what exactly the masked man was talking about.

"During the Chuunin Exams, man!" The masked man told Naruto. "Like your fight with that Neji jerk. Dude you were totally awesome there!

"Hehe, yeah I guess I was, wasn't I?" Naruto said, rubbing his index under his nose in "humility."

"Dude, it was totally epic when all that orange chakra, like, exploded out of you and you were, like, a bazillion times faster. It was crazy bro, sick!"

"And stronger too!" Naruto continued. "Did ya see that finishing uppercut? Prob' lifted him up like 4 feet in the air!"

"Yeah, that was the highlight man! The way you exploded out of the ground and nailed that Neji jerk in the chin was classic gold! I coulda sworn you were using a Doton technique!"

"Nope. All me." Naruto exclaimed proudly. He had to admit, even though Neji was so much more skilled then Naruto was, he used his quick wits and unwilling tenant to seize the moment. It was a victory well earned. His fight with Gaara, on the other hand, was much more of a show of his skill then the bout with Neji.

Naruto suddenly thought about his conversation with the masked man. He mentioned something about orange chakra. Did he know…?

"Hey," Naruto called, grabbing the masked man's attention. He was swerving his hands about wildly, reenacting the entire fight with Neji. "Ya mentioned my orange chakra. Ya know, right? And you don't hate me for it?"

"Orange chakra?" The masked man. "Orange chakra…orange chakra…orange…OH! You mean that orange chakra! Pfft." The masked man waved his hand back and forth, dismissing the whole concept entirely. "Yeah, so what? You. Blew. My. Mind! That was still an epic battle bro!"

"Really? Ya don't hate me for that?"

"Hate? Dude, I'm so jealous right now! I wish I had what you got. Kinda would make my life a bit easier." The man answered honestly.
"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Let's just say it would make my job a helluva lot easier."

Naruto did not understand the hidden meaning behind the masked man's words. He just merely shrugged it aside, preferring to keep the conversation with the man going. It was always nice to meet someone that did not stigmatize him for the tenant he was holding within himself.

"Hey…that's a nice necklace you got there kid." The masked man observed. In order to prevent any potential broth from spilling on his jumpsuit, Naruto unzipped and removed the jumpsuit, leaving a black shirt with a cinnabar spiral at the center. Hanging proudly from his neck was Tsunade's necklace. She gave it to him after he managed to learn the Rasengan within the allotted time they betted for. It was a symbol for his ability to go above and beyond the expectations of everyone he met, though Naruto himself did not think of it as such. He liked the necklace because it had a mystical feel to it. It was simply enchanting.

"Hehe, thanks!" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. He had a tendency to scratch the back of his head whenever he was overly praised and he did not know what to do about it. The masked man may have interrupted his ramen consumption, but he was quickly growing into an alright guy in Naruto's book.

"Hey…you mind if I, uh, touch it?"

"Touch it…HEY!" Naruto screamed. "You wouldn't happen to be a closet pervert, would you?! I don't roll in that direction!"

"Nonononono!" The man repeated, waving his hands over his face in denial. "Bro! I dig the chicks, man. That's not what I meant! I meant, like, you know, closely examine it and stuff like that. Yeah, that's it."

Naruto eyed the masked man up and down. Not for the first time did he wish he can see under the man's mask, to get a look at his facial features. Then he would have a grasp on the honesty of the guy's request. But the man's voice seemed rather sincere. Besides, he did not look to be a hostile, and he did not hate Naruto for harboring the Kyuubi in his navel. Naruto supposed he could trust the masked man.

"Alright I guess…" Naruto mumbled, removing the necklace and giving it to the masked man.

"YAY!" The masked man cried in glee. He removed the glove from his right hand, and for the first time, Naruto managed to get a look at the man's skin. It was so inhumanly pale and deathly white, almost as pale as Orochimaru's skin. There were strange wrinkles all over his hand, making Naruto wonder just how old the man was exactly. He sounded like he could be a teenager, but he was definitely as tall as Kakashi, so he couldn't possibly be Naruto's age. Just looking at the man's skin reaffirm everything that Naruto had originally thought about the masked stranger: He was a total creep and weirdo.

The small crystalloid necklace began to glow a pulsating green color when it made contact with the masked man's hands. Naruto watched in awe as the necklace shined brightly, something he never saw happen before. He thought it was amazing how the necklace could do that, and its cool factor went up several levels upon the fading of the radiance.

"Wow!" Naruto shouted in amazement. "Wow, I didn't know it could do that! That's so sweet!"

"Dude. This necklace glowed bro. THAT WAS AMAZING!" The masked man agreed. "You think I can hold on to it?"

"Hell no!" Naruto responded. "No, I won this necklace, it's mine!" Naruto snatched the necklace from the masked man's hands, and he put his head down in sadness. Naruto was tinkering with the necklace, trying to make it glow like the man did before him, but everything he tried failed to revitalize the radiant glow. "Well, this sucks…" Naruto grumbled in defeat. He moved the necklace over his head and it hanged proudly down his torso again. Naruto was rather frustrated that the necklace would not light up like it did with the masked man, but complaining about it would not benefit him in the slightest.

"Thanks man!" The masked man said, getting up from his seat. "Hey, Teuchi-san, one miso pork ramen to go please! Double XL, thanks!"

Teuchi blinked twice at the familiarity in which the masked man referred to him. He swore that he had never met anybody like the man before in his life, so why call him by his first name?

Teuchi thought about the man again. Now that he thought about it, his mannerisms reminded him of his first customer. He wanted to say he doesn't forget a customer, but it's been 14 years since he last opened Ichiraku's. He doesn't even remember the customer's face or name anymore, which disappointed him slightly.

Nevertheless, the man was a paying customer, as he brought out his wallet (with a stack of ryo that made both Naruto and Teuchi pop their eyes in amazement), and slid the proper price down the table to Teuchi's hand. His ramen was readied shortly afterwards, bagged up and brought to the man to go.

"Thanks, Teuchi-san!" He turned to Naruto, who just stared in wonder at the masked enigma. "Hey, Naruto-kun, you are the coolest kid I've seen man! Thanks for letting me look at your necklace!"

"No prob!" Naruto replied, grinning. "We should meet up again sometime!"

"Don't you worry your little orange self. We'll meet again. Someday." For a moment, The masked man's onyx iris transformed into a deep crimson, before changing back to its normal color. However, Naruto did not pick up this subtle hint, as he closed his eyes when he grinned at the masked man.

"Oh, by the way," Naruto asked before the masked man turned to walk away. "What's your name? You already know mine, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm gonna be Hokage one day, you better believe it!"

The masked man chuckled. "Yeah, I'll believe it." He scratched the back of his head, wondering how to introduce himself. "I go by many names." The masked man gave Naruto an eye smile that was reminiscent of Kakashi's typical eye smiles.

"But you can call me…Tobi."

Uchiha Clan Compound, Konohagakure no Sato (Later that Night)

Sasuke's eyes opened abruptly. He sensed a presence in the clan compound, and it did not bode well for the young avenger. His danger senses were ringing wildly. There was an intruder that was disturbing the sanctity of his clan's estate. Such blatant disrespect for his deceased family and friends could not be tolerated.

Quickly pulling on the cloak next to his bed, Sasuke dashed out of the bed. He learned how to sleep with his cast on, so he did not need to take his time to apply it on his rapidly healing arm. Besides, there was no time for such trivialities. The intruder needed to be dealt with, immediately.

He rushed outside of his family's home. The full moon was reflecting its lunar light radiantly across the Uchiha estate, lighting it in a serene glow that transcended the natural beauty of the compound. Running further in the estate, there was a small pond that elegantly mirrored the moon on the surface of the water. Ripples of water from the activity of the wildlife living in the pond gave the moon's reflection an eerie appearance to it that still somehow managed to look graceful and majestic. On the edge of the pond sat a sole man, with an outfit entirely dark in design. It was difficult to see the man with the limited light reflecting off the moon, but Sasuke had his three tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly, and the man was wearing a bright orange spiral mask that also reflected the lunar light well.

"You are trespassing on Uchiha territory." Sasuke told the man in an authoritarian voice. "State your business. What are you doing here?"

"Oh? I merely came back to see the sights and visit my family. Except, this place is entirely deserted and you are the only one remaining of my clan. You and your brother, of course."

Sasuke was stunned. What this man was implying… Could he possibly be…?

"Who…who are you…?" Sasuke asked, afraid of the answer that would come.

"I go by many names." The masked man told Sasuke as he stood and faced the genin. His single onyx eye morphed into a three tomoe, fully matured Sharingan that rotated wildly, enticing all to its gaze.

"But you can call me…Uchiha Madara."

Sōzō Saisei - Creation Rebirth

Shōsen Jutsu - Mystical Palm Technique

Hey Y'all!

Guys, I apologize dreadfully for my lack of updates for this story. I suddenly came up with a burst of writer's inspiration, and I've been focusing on a new story Phact Phantasia. When I completed a week's worth of material, that was when I started work on this chapter. But then, something happened. I realized that I did not have the same fervor of writing like I did when I first started writing Fan Fiction. I actually expected to write at least three to four chapters, but I ended up writing one.

The first thing to do when a problem is facing your direction is to acknowledge the problem's existence. So, yes. I am currently undergoing what is known as "writer's block." Well, its not writer's block persay; when I sit down to write my works, everything comes out so fluently and without problem. But I've been suffering from a lack of motivation that comes from the sudden burst of inspiration dying down. I'm not totally unmotivated, but that means there are going to be schedule changes.

True Paths to Power and Finding Conviction will be released on a biweekly basis, as opposed to a weekly basis now. They will be in rotation. Which means that this week was True Paths to Power, but next week is Finding Conviction. It will be like that from here on in, even as I go back to the University. This was the planned University schedule, but I am going to have to go through with it now.

Release from Pain will be released from its painful state on a monthly basis now. At the end of each month, you can expect a release from your pains with an excellent read of Release from Pain. You should not expect a release from these painful puns. Only if you find me as a convict.

Phact Phantasia will be released on the First and Third Saturdays of every month, along with an update on my Speed running status (for those who may or may not be interested). I am looking forward to the next release next week.

Now, time for the story. Focused a little on Sakura's development. She's going to grow out of her shell and become a fine member of the party, no longer a nuisance and useless for anything. Now, I'm not gonna do the whole Kishimoto thing where she suddenly grows a seal and becomes as useful as Naruto and Sasuke after relatively little personal growth throughout the entire manga. While she will not be as powerful as Naruto and Sasuke, her growing skills and intellectual abilities will make her an invaluable part of Team 7. They will not function as well as they could without her assistance.

Naruto has met Tobi. Sasuke has met Madara. How exactly will these meetings affect them in the long run?

Update 8: 36 Favorites, 48 Reviews, 56 Follows, 2 Communities, and 4,861 Views! I get the feeling that next update will surpass 50 reviews and 5000 views! I'm looking forward to that!

Now time for the sole question.

Q: Are you going to do one for Sakura? (Refers to character development)

A: Yes. I will be developing the characters of all major characters in the story. That includes, but may not be limited to, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Tobi/Madara, Kakashi, and my OC. Other characters will play a role in some form or another, but I am not like some authors who could switch perspectives around on a whim and focus on 17 different characters at once. So characters like Shikamaru and Ino will probably receive some development, but not as focused or well-detailed like the mains that I listed.

Well, that's it for this week. See you again (hopefully) on the 25 of July!

-Blackrazgriz 7/11/2013 12:12PM EST