Burning Cherry Blossoms
By
Ragnorokrising
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Chapter One: Shikai
Naruto sat in front of the Hokage the next morning. "Now Naruto, give me back that sword and we can be done with it."
"No."
"Naruto−"
"Senbonzakura will only work for me. And it was in a seal addressed to me so it's mine by right." Sarutobi sighed and put some tobacco in his pipe.
"Naruto, it's a sword, not a person."
"He's a living being trapped in the sword. And because of him, I was able to kill Mizuki." Naruto shuttered at the memory. Seeing what was left of Mizuki was horrifying and he'd been awake for several hours, trying not to sleep to keep the nightmares away.
"I'll tell you what Naruto. I'll give you a month to prove the sword is alive and if not, you give it back." Naruto nodded and stood up.
"Oh, and can I ask for one more thing?"
"What is it?"
"Could you buy me some new clothes? This orange jumpsuit is not really suited for being a ninja." the Hokage chuckled and he tossed a huge wad of bills to Naruto.
Naruto walked around the village, looking for the one store that didn't kick him out. He finally found it and walked towards. Unfortunately, Kiba, Ino, and Sakura were there. "Hey dobe, this is a ninja only store. You can't come in." he pushed Naruto and took Senbonzakura from his back. "Nice sword loser. Why do you have it?"
"Give my sword back to me or else." Kiba snorted and started to draw Senbonzakura. A pulse of pink energy exploded from the small amount of metal and sent Kiba sprawling across the ground. Naruto picked the sword up.
"What the hell was that?"
"That was my sword, Senbonzakura, refusing to let you wield it." he strapped the weapon to his back. "And incase you haven't noticed, I am a ninja." he pointed at the headband Iruka had given him after he had stopped shaking the night before.
He walked into the store, kicking Kiba in the side as he went. Ino and Sakura stared in surprise as Naruto went in.
"Hey metal head, where are you?"
"Right here blondie!" someone yelled. Naruto ducked as a girl in a pink shirt and blue pants with her hair in two buns flew over his head. She landed on the ground. "When did you get a sword?"
"Last night." he told her about finding the weapon in the scroll and what happened to Mizuki.
"And you killed Mizuki?" Naruto gulped and nodded, right as his classmates, Sasuke, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, Shino, Choji, Hinata, and Shikamaru, came through the door.
"I didn't really kill him; so much as brutalize his body. The Hokage has made that area off-limits. They're still trying to find all the pieces of his body."
"You have got to be kidding me." Naruto turned towards Kiba. "You can't even make a clone, let alone kill a Chuunin."
"Can't make clone can I?" they all turned around to see ten Narutos standing behind them. They stared in shock as one of them walked up to Kiba, looked him in the eyes, and slammed a fist into his stomach. Kiba's breath hitched.
"My clones are substantial and much more powerful then your illusions." the clones disappeared and Naruto turned back to the girl. "So, Tenten, I need a new outfit. Can you help me out?"
"FINALLY!" Naruto glared at Tenten.
"Don't be too excited. It's only a new outfit." Tenten smiled and grabbed his arm, hauling him away. The other new Genin stared in shock.
(Thirty Minutes Later)
Naruto walked out of the store, waving goodbye to Tenten. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. Naruto had a pair of black cameo pants and a black shirt with a trench coat the color of dried blood on. The inside of his coat had eight scrolls, four on each side, of sword styles and techniques. His sandals had been replaced by steel toed boots and Senbonzakura hung at his side.
He walked down the street to the Academy, counting all the money he had left. He tucked it away and walked up the stairs to his classroom. Everyone stared as he came in.
"Sorry I'm late Iruka-sensei, I had to get some new clothes."
"No problem Naruto. You're just in time. Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno." every one looked around. "Speaking of Sakura, where is she?" suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Iruka," the door opened and the Hokage came in. "I'm sorry to inform you that Sakura Haruno will not be with us any more. Her parents have pulled her out. The new member of the team will be a girl named Soifon."
"Also, I need Naruto Uzumaki. I have some people here to see him." Naruto stood up and walked out of the classroom. Sarutobi lead him down the hall and up a flight of stairs to a conference room. When he went inside three people were sitting in chairs. "These are friends of your parents."
"My parents?"
"We met your father when he found your sword." said one sitting off to Naruto's left. She had a pair of black pants and shirt, with a white jacket on. Her black hair came down in two braids to a sword hanging horizontally across her waistline. She was his height as well.
The next person was a guy and he sat in the middle of the two females. He had a white and green striped hat that showed blonde hair. He wore a green jacket and a pair of wooden sandals. He had a cane lying across his lap.
The final woman had long purple hair. She wore an orange long sleeve shirt and black pants. The main thing Naruto noticed was she had HUGE boobs.
"Who are you people?"
"I'm Soifon." said the first woman.
"I'm Kisuke Urahara, but you can call me Mr.-hat-and-clogs." said the man, pulling out a green fan and waving it in front of his face.
"And I'm Yuruichi." said the final woman.
"So why are you guys here?" Naruto asked.
"It isn't obvious?" said Urahara. He pulled a sword out of his cane. "Scream, Benihime." the small sword changed into a new weapon and back to the small sword, which he slid back into the cane. "We're here to train you. Us and a few friends. Read the scroll that came with the weapon and ask Soifon will take you to us."
They all stood up as one. "Now you two get back to class and wait for your sensei." said Yuruichi. She, the Hokage and Mr. Hat-and-clogs all burst into laughter, leaving Soifon and Naruto confused.
"I guess follow me Soifon." she crossed her arms and tilted her head arrogantly.
"Yeah, whatever blondie." Naruto glared at her. 'Oh great. She's an arrogant prick.'
Naruto led Soifon down to the classroom, where only Sasuke was waiting now.
"Where did everyone go?"
"Their senseis came and took them away. Who's she?"
"I'm Soifon, your new teammate. And where's our sensei?"
(Two Hours Later)
Sasuke and Naruto laughed silently and capped the black markers. Soifon had fallen asleep an hour ago, and Naruto had found some black markers and thrown one to Sasuke. Together they had started drawing on her face and arms.
"Hello is any one here?" the door opened and a man walked in. He wore his head band over his right eye and a face mask covering his nose and mouth. His silver hair seemed to defy gravity. He wore blue ANBU issued pants, a Jounin vest, and a blue shirt with bleu gloves that had a plate over the knuckles.
"Are you our sensei?" said Soifon, suddenly awake. Naruto and Sasuke struggled to keep the laughs in. Kakashi stared at her in shock.
"Um, yeah, I am. Why do you…"
"So now what sensei?" Sasuke said, stopping Kakashi from telling Soifon about the marker.
"Meet me on the roof." he disappeared and Naruto and Sasuke ran out of the room. Siofon put her hands in her pocket and followed after them.
Once they were on the roof, Kakashi started to introduce himself, sorta.
"My name is Kakashi Hatake. My hobbies are none of your business, my likes are on a need-to-know basis, and I have many dislikes. My dreams are, well, I'd rather not say." Soifon jumped at him and slammed both feet into his face.
"All we learned was your name!" once Kakashi regained consciousness and they all stopped laughing at the twin foot marks on his face.
"Well, I'll go next. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My hobbies are training, being with my friends, and playing pranks. My likes are ramen, training, and recently swords. My dislikes are arrogant pricks, fan girls, and perverts. My dream is to be Hokage."
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have few hobbies, my likes are my friends Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata, and my dislikes are fan girls and people who murder their families. My dream s to kill my brother and revive my clan."
"In that order?" Naruto asked.
"What'd you mean 'in that order'?"
"Well, you're brother was an ANBU captain at your age. Wouldn't it be smarter to revive your clan first with a strong wife and then go kill him? That way, should you fail, your clan will survive and you'll have reinforcements?" Sasuke looked at him in stunned silence. Soifon cleared her throat.
"My name is Soifon," she said impatiently. "I have no hobbies. My likes are my teacher Yuruichi, and training. My dislikes are idiots who enjoy fighting way to much and fat people. My dream is to see my teacher come back to the throne from which she was pushed from."
They all stared at her.
"Well," said Kakashi as he stood up and stretched out his arms. "Meet me at training ground forty-seven tomorrow at eight. Oh, and don't eat breakfast." the he disappeared in a burst of smoke.
Naruto opened the door to his apartment. He found a man in there with a knife in his hand. Naruto sighed. "Die Kyuubi filth!" he yelled. He ran at Naruto.
Slish!
Naruto pulled the sword out of the man's stomach and flicked the blood off of the metal. He jumped onto his bed and pulled out the scroll that had come with Senbonzakura.
Dear Naruto,
This is your father. My name is Minato Namikaze, and you are my first born son. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, and I, are both watching over you as you read the Forbidden scroll. We are in a place called Soul Society, where the dead go. But down to the point.
The sword I sent you is called Senbonzakura. I think you can activate Senbonzakura, even though I couldn't. This sword is very special because the captain of the Sixth Squad of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Byakuya Kuchiki is teh previos owner. He fell during a great war that ravaged Soul Society and sent Senbonzakura to me with a scroll similar to this.
Senbonzakura has a special ability that allows it to change form into one thousand small blades that catch any light and look like cherry blossoms. This is called its Shikia. Senbonzakura will instruct you on how to reach this soon. After Shikia, there is a form called Bankai, the most powerful form of a Zanpakutou. A Zanpakutou is the official name for one of the swords you now wield.
Senbonzakura has a Bankai like no other. At one point before my death, Senbonzakura activated its Shikai for me when I had three thousand Shadow Clones battling with me. Every single one of the Senbonzakura my clones had also activated Shikai. I talked to Senbonzakura after the battle and he said that that wasn't even an eight of the amount of power his Bankai has.
At the bottom of the scroll is a storage seal is a storage seal containing several scrolls on Shikai and Bankai. I've asked my friend Kisuke Urahara, former captain of the Twelfth Squad, Yuruichi, former captain of the Second Squad, and Soifon, current captain of the Second squad, to come to Konoha and train you. Urahara will help you reach Shikai, Yuroichi Bankai, and Soifon will teach you in sword fighting, Kido, and Taijutsu.
We both will always love you Naruto. And by now, you probably know that I sealed Kyuubi into you. I had no way to defeat the beast, and you were the only child I could use that would survive. The village has scorned you instead of acknowledging how much of a hero you are to them. But I have no doubts you'll prove them wrong.
Love,
Mom and Dad.
Naruto wiped the single tear off of his cheek. He unrolled the scroll to the seals and wiped his blood on them. Four scrolls came out of the first one. Out of the second one came a large scroll that said 'Uzumaki Clan Scroll' and from the final seal came an equally large scroll with the words 'Namikaze Clan Scroll' and two smaller scrolls that said 'Flying Thunder God Technique' and 'Rasengan'. He sealed all of them but a scroll that said 'Gaining Shikai' back up and put the scroll away.
Looking up at the ceiling, he said "Mom, Dad, thank you so much." then he unrolled the scroll he kept and started to read.
(Two Hours Later)
Naruto put the finished scroll back in the seal. He stood up, stretched his muscles and an out of the village as fast as he could. About ten minutes outside the village, the three people he was looking for landed on the dirt road in front of him. "I read the scroll. And I want you to teach me Shikai."
Soifon snorted. "It takes a maximum of three days for Urahara's Shikai training to work. We have to meet Kakashi tomorrow. You think you can get your Shikai by then? And there's no way of know if the weapons any good."
"I activated Shikai once before and the sword's name is Senbonzakura. Besides, I can get Shikai quickly and easily. I have to if I'm gonna be Hokage." they all looked at each other. Yuruichi nodded and disappeared. Someone chopped the back of Naruto's neck and he hit the ground.
(Thirty Minutes later)
Naruto groaned as he woke up. He was in some kind of rocky terrain. "Where am I?"
"You're under a candy shop of course." Naruto rolled backwards onto his feet and pulled out his sword. Kisuke waved his hands in front of his face. "Just relax. This is my secret training ground."
"Am I gonna learn Shikai or what?" Urahara smiled and tapped the ground with his cane. A giant hole opened under Naruto and he plummeted to the ground. Soifon jumped in after him with a smile. She punched him in the rib cage and a chain appeared on his chest.
From the top of the hole, Urahara said "When your chain is destroyed, if you haven't unlocked Shikai then we destroy you." then small gay mouths appeared on the end of the chain. As soon as they started eating the chain, they turned red and their eyes slitted. They started eating three times faster, and Naruto blacked out.
(Naruto's Mindscape)
Naruto sprang up from the sewer water. Right in front of him was a giant gate with what looked like a sleeping fox the size of the Hokage tower. Hundreds of roots from a Cherry Blossom tree wrapped around the metal and a tree the size of the gate stood on front of Naruto.
"Naruto, I wondered when you would get here." a man swung down from a tree branch and landed next to Naruto. He wore the same outfit as Siofon, only the jacket had a six on the back. His hair was long and black and he had a white hair clip segmented in three pieces.
"Are you Senbonzakura?" the man nodded.
"This isn't my true form. I'll reveal that to you when you get Shikai. Right now, I'm in the form of Byakuya Kuchiki, my previous owner. I'm here to administer the test that will let you activate my Shikai. But we have to hurry, because Kyuubi made the demons eating your chain accelerate their speed by three."
"What'd I have to do to win?" he pointed at the tree.
"Get to the top of the tree and grab my sealed form." he raided his hands and the sword on Naruto's back flew into his hand. He jumped all the way to the top in one move. "BEGIN Naruto!" he yelled down.
Naruto jumped onto the first branch and jumped for the next. However, it moved and slammed into him, sending him to the ground. Naruto jumped back up to the first branch and considered this new information. He jumped up to the second branch and curled into a ball.
The branch sent him up into the air and slammed him against another branch that didn't move. He grabbed onto one of the vines and it wrapped around him. He pulled a kunai out of his pocket and slashed the vine. He started to climb up the vine to the next level of the tree. A set of spikes exploded from the bark. Naruto danced through exploding spikes and grabbed onto one that took him up to the next level.
He repeated the steps for several hours till he could see the sword. He started for it when the branches formed into a a dragon and rushed him. He ducked under the dragon and jumped for the blade. However, the dragon snapped his foot in its mouth and tossed Naruto out of the tree. A giant spike of wood shot through the air and pierced Naruto through the heart. The dragon roared as Naruto fell.
Senbonzakura appeared on top of the dragon's head. "To bad, he had potential." he looked on as Naruto's body hit the ground.
Pop!
Senbonzakura turned to look at the sword. The real Naruto grabbed the sword and pulled it out. The blade exploded into pink cherry blossoms. "I win."
(Real World)
Yuruichi drew a sword and prepared to kill Naruto. Soifon had gone to the training field at eight, so Kakashi would be there in twenty minutes. The chain disappeared and Naruto shot into the air in a red blur. She jumped out of the pit and waited for the smoke to clear.
Naruto had a strange mask in the shape of a black fox with ruby red eyes. Nine tails of hollow material flowed behind him. Then Senbonzakura exploded into it Shikai form and the hollow material disappeared. Yuroichi and Kisuke smiled as Naruto disappeared, running to the training field.
(Training Field)
Kakashi held up a timer. "If Naruto isn't here in ten seconds, you all fail." he clock ticked down to one second. Then suddenly, a shuriken whizzed through it and pinned it to a tree. Naruto jumped down from a tree.
"Shall we begin?"