Ch 4 Time for some author notes:
I would like to say that I am going to use my rights as fanfic author and canceling the second question of the poll since I am going to use Hanabi as a 'sister'.
I know I suck at Japanese. I am using the freedict online dictionary to translate so have mercy, I'm doing my best!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto related stuff and characters!
Previously on Naruto of the Shinsougan
"Really that boy turned my life upside down, but all for the better. He has the guts to do what I always wished for and more. I swear I would adopt him if I could but I must still follow some rules!". The way Hiashi said 'some' made Haruko giggle but a 1000 watt light bulb appeared over her head.
"You know honey… there is another way for the boy to join the family!" she giggled.
[…]
"No! No! NO! I will not have my baby leave me! The moment she brings a boy, even Naruto-kun I will…"
"Honey!" Haruko stated in a calm sweet voice but with a graver tone.
[…]
"I … I will stand aside and be happy for my baby!" Hiashi answered breaking into a cold sweat.
"I knew it dear!" Haruko smiled again with the figure peeking from behind her head.
Main story:
It had been a month since Naruto had faced the council and changed the future for any Hyuuga clan member. He was now walking towards the shinobi library with a paper slip in his hands accompanied by Hizashi and two other branch family members. He could still feel the cold hard glares that most of the villagers were giving him.
Of course the fact that those glares were met back by Byakugan enhanced eyes did help. The Hyuuga guards near the boy did justice to their reputation as masters of emotional control since inside they felt like Juken spanking everyone who dared even think bad about their hero.
Yes, HERO! The use of the forehead seal stopped and word got out of who was to 'blame' for this. Well anyone with half a brain could figure it out. The branch members were now practically worshiping the ground where the boy walked much to his own displeasure.
He didn't want to be worshiped or even thanked for his actions. He did it out of love for his 'adoptive' family and the fact that they were happy and safe was all that he needed. Living with nobody to care for you and to care for nearly five and a half years made him thankful for the little that he got. Of course that didn't mean that he didn't dream for greatness, but he also understood that nothing came without sacrifice and hard work. He didn't let the 'worship' get to his head although he did like the fact that he could walk the streets without fear of being mauled at every corner. And all he had to do is bluff the council. That's right, I said bluff.
*Flashback, two days after the Hyuuga council*
Hiruzen was sitting in his office chair looking out the window while two Kage Bunshin were signing and sorting the paperwork. Ever since Naruto pointed out this method he could enjoy the little things in life like watching the sunset, drinking his coffee and reading his Icha Icha book (much to the displeasure of his female ANBU guards) while giggling like a perverted school girl. But today he was in too deep a thought to consider anything like that.
A knock on his door broke the silence and lifted him out of his thoughts.
"Come in!" approved the Kage.
The doors opened slowly and the figure of a man gracefully entered followed by a small child.
"You summoned us Lord Hokage?" the man asked.
"Indeed Hiashi, please both of you have a seat!" smiled the man pointing to the couch.
Hiashi complied and was soon followed by the preteen.
"Hiashi, I heard some wonderful news coming from one of your clansmen and I called you here to confirm or negate them." The old man paused and looked at the Hyuuga head who was now smirking. "Is it true that your family council finally gave you full power concerning the sealing process of your clan's branch members as you desired for a long time?" Sarutobi was wearing his serious face but slipped a smile in between his words.
"No! I'm afraid not Hokage-sama!" answered Hiashi making the old man frown in sadness. Hiashi then smirked again and continued. "The council lost nearly all its political power, the sealing included!"
This nearly gave Hiruzen a heart attack. "Really? How did you accomplish that? Hiashi you have to tell me!" the Kage prayed that Hiashi would answer his pleas since maybe it could help him with his village council.
"I didn't do anything lord Hokage!" answered Hiashi cryptically making Sarutobi frown. It seemed to the old man that the Hyuuga wanted this to be kept secret much to his chagrin. Hiashi saw the Kage's reaction and continued after mentally smiling evilly. "Truth be told, all credit goes to this little bottomless pit of surprises … and eating" he answered, whispering the last part.
Hiruzen sweat-dropped as he never expected that the mighty Hyuuga councilors would bow down to the workings of a child, but then the old man remembered who this was and that the unexpected should be expected when coming from the boy.
"Really?" he asked again. "Naruto how did you manage to make it happen?" the Kage questioned the boy with large eyes.
"Well ... I'm … not supposed to tell!" the boy answered sheepishly glancing to the shadows in the corners.
Hiruzen got the point and waved his hand. As soon as he did that, two poofs came from the said corners. The boy then activated his Shinsougan and looked all over the room for a couple of seconds making sure that there were no connections to the outside world. He then deactivated the jutsu and took a deep breath.
Sarutobi waited nervously while the boy checked the area. He knew about the jutsu and truth be told he wanted his office checked for bugs. When Naruto finished and inhaled he hoped that the boy would start talking but first of all he had a different surprise when from the boy's feet shot seal arms that covered the walls and the doors. The Kage recognized the seal as the one he showed the boy unwillingly and was absolutely amazed that he did it seal-less as this jutsu required more than twenty hand-seals.
"Naruto, how did you do that?" the Hokage blinked.
"I saw it from you Hokage-jijii!" the boy chirped the answer.
"No, I mean how did you do it without hand-seals?" Hiruzen asked again.
"What are those?" the boy asked causing both men to face fault into the floor.
"Hand-seals are those positions of the hands to make jutsu, like these" Hiruzen proceeded to show the boy the Kage Bunshin seal as well as Tiger, Ox and Ram.
"WHAT? They make jutsu work? I thought that they were cool poses. I never did them seriously! I don't even use it for the Kage Bunshin anymore. I just make my chakra move like I see it in the people that do jutsu though it usually takes me about a week in general before I can use them properly using Shadow Clone."
The boy's words made the men facepalm themselves while thinking. 'Kami! If he does jutsu without hand-seals like that, I don't even want to think about this kid's talent!"
"Umm… no Naruto, they make jutsu work more easily but every shinobi wants to do jutsu seal-less and most do with years of practice." the professor answered.
"So making them seal-less is better?" the blond asked.
Both men nodded making him smile.
"Listen, come back here in a month. I will have a permit for you to use the shinobi library! I would give it to you now but the council would eat me alive." The Hokage told Naruto then looked at Hiashi who nodded.
"Okay Hokage-jjii!" the boy smiled a half toothy smile (His baby teeth are still being replaced)
"Good, now tell me how you managed to convince the Hyuuga council!" the old man asked.
The boy looked at Hiashi who smiled and nodded. He then turned to the Hokage and told him the whole story.
After listening to the story the Hiruzen pondered a bit but then, after realizing that Naruto is now safer than ever, he popped a laugh that made both the blond and Hiashi smile.
"I can't believe that you did that!" said the old man. "You really took them for a ride!"
"Yeah, I can't believe how scared they were! I mean Kurama-nii-san trained me to fight KI and I didn't even give out a small part of his and they almost passed out. And you should see their face when I showed them a recording tag that doesn't work." He said laughing but caused the men to freeze in their places.
"What do you mean it doesn't work?" asked Hiashi worryingly.
Naruto took out the tag and gave it to Hiruzen. After the man examined the tag he broke into a laugh again.
"What is it Hokage-sama?" Hiashi was getting restless.
Hiruzen stopped laughing and passed the slip to the Hyuuga man who after looking at it, put his hand to his forehead.
"See what I mean Hiashi? That tag is a little better than a baby's scribbles when drawing." smiled the Hokage. "But that doesn't mean it didn't do its job as an intimidation device. That reminds me Naruto, where did you learn how to make that tag and to use it in such a manor?"
"Oh, the tag I learned from a ninja that had the kanji 'NE' (root) on his hitai-ate (forehead protector). He tried to stick it on me but I saw him with my Shinsougan and then asked a branch member to what this tag was. He then said it's a recording seal and can tell you what you talked about in the past and showed me how it works. He asked me where I got it. I told him and then he looked very angry and burned the first one and told me to stay away from those ninja with 'Ne'. Then I tried to make my own from what I remembered but it just didn't seem to work for me!"
Hiashi and Sarutobi cringed and tightened their fists "That branch member was right Naruto! You must stay away from them! They are shinobi that work for a very bad man!" Hiashi told the boy.
"Okay!" the boy answered. Even though he was curious he decided not to ask when he saw the angry looks on the men's faces.
"You still didn't tell me where you learned to intimidate people like that." the Hokage told the boy.
"Oh, that I learned by watching the scary Oji-san (Uncle, old man) and Onee-chan (sister) who live in the basement of the big building that looks like a hospital that had a sign on the wall that says 'Konoha's Intelligence Division'." chirped the boy.
The men felt their hearts rush out their chests and beat the fuck out of them. They prayed that the people who Naruto watched were simple paper pushers with a little too much talent.
"Naruto, can you describe the two?" asked Sarutobi.
"Yup! Oji-san looks really scary, wears his headband all over his head and also has two scars on his face!" said the boy with a finger on his chin and looking up.
'Oh no!' thought both men.
"Onee-san has purple hair and is very pretty but she dresses like those girls in Hokage-jijii's book but has a white snake that is scary but very nice!" Naruto finished with a smile.
'Oh boy!' mentally sighed the grownups.
The Hokage then reached for the buzzer and addressed the secretary "Send for Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi!"
The interphone buzzed back "Yes sir!"
Ten minutes later both torture and interrogation specialists entered causing an immediate reaction in the boy.
"It's them! The scary Oji-san and Onee-san!" Naruto pointed in surprise.
Anko then burst into laughter. "Bwohahahaha! Oji-san?" she directed at Ibiki who's right eyebrow was now twitching at the woman and the blond. Anko laughed for five more seconds until a light switch clicked in her mind.
"Gaki, have we met somewhere?" she said with a wide grin that sent shivers down the men's spine but the boy looked unfazed and was smiling with all his might.
"Hokage-jijii it's really her! Onee-san is hebi-chan (snake with a cute suffix) with you?" he asked making the woman look dumbfound.
"What hebi-chan?" she asked keeping the same look.
"White hebi-chan that stays with you sometimes when you scare the traitors in the basement of the hospital-like building!" he said.
"Oh, you mean Miki-chan and… WAIT A MINUTE! How do you know about Miki-chan?" she asked looking even more confused. The men were no different.
"Well I play with her sometimes when I'm not scaring the traitors that give you problems. Can I come and see Miki-chan? Please! Please! Please! Please! Please…"
"Alright just stop nagging!" she yelled and bit her thumb doing a 'Kuchiose no Jutsu!'. Out of a summoning circle came a white cobra with sapphire blue eyes that was as big as Anko and as thick as an arm. It hissed and looked around the room finding Naruto. It hissed in surprise (with an equal look).
"Miki-chan!" Naruto chirped and started jogging to the snake.
The snake then took on a devious look and dashed towards the boy. Seeing this, the Hokage was about to jump to protect Naruto but was too late and the snake collided and coiled around the boy making him tumble two times. When they recovered they found a giggling Naruto with the snake rubbing the top of its head on the boy's right cheek with a smiling face looking very contempt.
"Ha-ha! Stop that Miki-chan! That tickles!" the boy was struggling to get the snake of him.
The adults in the room had their jaws wiping the floor with a crow 'singing' in the background. Ibiki quickly composed himself and then turned to Anko.
"Ahem, Anko… am I seeing correctly? Is Miki-chan … the summon you trained for scaring interrogation vict... prisoners… cuddling and playing with a little child?" he said with a little sweat forming on his face.
Anko just nodded and came to the happy duo and separated them. She then looked directly into Naruto's eyes and asked.
"Alright gaki, talk! When did you get buddy-buddy with my snake?" she asked with a scary but not dangerous expression.
Naruto continued smiling "Well, I first met Miki-chan a three weeks ago when I snuck into the hospital-like building! I found her scarring a man who attacked me on my birthday who was tied to a chair. She found me out when I tripped on her tail and bit me. When that happened, the ninja who was on the chair got up and Miki-chan attacked the shinobi. The ninja then grabbed Miki-chan and threw her into a desk and made the sharp things that were on it fall towards her who was still dizzy. I jumped and saved her after that I knocked him out… again. I met with her a few more times and we became friends." the boy finished with a sigh and a toothy smile.
Anko then got beady eyes and asked "Let me understand gaki! You snuck inside the Torture and Interrogation Department, which is probably the most secure place in Konoha, more than once, you stopped a breakout attempt, got bit by one of my most poisonous snakes and not only lived but you became friends?"
"Yup, if that basement is called that!" Naruto chirped.
It was Ibiki's turn to ask the questions. He approached until he shadowed the boy and grabbed him by the back of his orange silk robe and lifted him into the air. Looking straight into the blond's eyes he started to talk\shout (not quite shouting but still louder than talking).
"Gaki, tell me how you got inside my basement, NOW!" Before the boy could answer, the snake opened its hood and got up between the two looking directly at Ibiki's face with very angry eyes, an open mouth and hissed (from 4 inches away). "Umm… please?" completed the man closing his eyes and smiling while sweating a little. Miki then receded into a coiling position looking at the two.
Naruto smirked his patented foxy expression "Like this!"
The boy's outline started glowing dim white and then he slowly became transparent until finally he became invisible.
Hiruzen got up from his seat and began searching for the boy. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and started looking around like the other adults were. Even Miki was surprised and began searching for her friend but they just couldn't find him. They even tried looking for his chakra signature but still no luck.
"Naruto?" the aged Kage called out.
After a couple of seconds the man received his answer "Here!" , Naruto slowly phasing back to normal view high up on the ceiling standing upside down. (A/N Naruto mastered the climbing exercise) "Found this little trick while practicing Kaiten. I accidentally used Ranpu chakra instead of my regular one! It works by expelling the special chakra from my skin Tenketsu! I call it 'Kagamiiki' (Mirror Breath)" he chirped.
"Wha? How? Who? I couldn't find him even with my Byakugan!" Hiashi stuttered.
"Even Miki-chan couldn't find him and she can sense heat!" Anko continued pointing at the snake that was happy to find her friend safe. (Look up facial pits in snakes)
"Even his chakra signature was gone!" Ibiki added.
Naruto decided to add his two cents. "Well for the first two parts, remember that my Ranpu chakra controls ALL forms of light, even infrared, x-ray and chakra!" he said causing Hiruzen and Hiashi to facepalm themselves. "As for the other one, when you run from angry mobs led by shinobi for the better part of your life, you pick up on some tricks!" he answered matter-of-factly after he jumped down from there. (A\N In my fanfic chakra energy is different from chakra radiation)
The Hokage then said "Naruto that is a very nifty trick but that basement is no place for a child!"
"Why?" the kid looked confused.
It was Anko's turn now "Whadda ya mean 'why'? Didn't cha' heard the screams in that place?" she asked very perplexed.
"Yeah I did and it was scary at first but then I heard some ANBU talking about that the people who screamed are traitors and enemies and that they deserved it! I also saw Hokage-jii-san walking in there a couple of times and the screams didn't stop so I thought that they were right. Also remember that's where the guy who tried to kill me is so that added to the equation." Naruto answered thankful for all those language lessons with Haruko.
"But still Naruto-kun , didn't you found it disturbing what the people there did to the prisoners?" asked a worried Hiashi.
"Of course I did and I was a little sad for them!" the boy now looked at the floor but then looked to the two T&I specialists. "But Oji-san and Onee-chan here were not that mean to them, so either those guys were very sensitive or were just cowards!" he said wrapping his arms together and nodding.
This gave Anko a 'are-you-serious' look together with a tick mark.
"Whadda ya mean 'not that mean'? Gaki last week I nearly cut off a guy's pinky finger before he told me where he hid those docu…!"
"ANKO!" Hiruzen screamed not wanting to introduce the boy to the wonderful art of torture.
"Really? I bet that hurt!" said Naruto looking away, a little disturbed, making Anko smirk.
Hiashi took over the conversation "See Naruto-kun! That place is definitely not a place a child should be! It is commendable that you understand that what happens there is for the good of the village but it is not good for you to take part in them."
Naruto then answered "Big deal! I've been through worse than most things there! I mean onee-san has to keep most of them alive!"
The two special Jounin were surprised until Sarutobi explained the boy's situation and life before his admittance in the Hyuuga compound.
(A\N: I know I am kind of overusing the whole difficult childhood thing but … well … this is how my fanfic is going to be! Besides most people like drama)
The story had a different effect on each adult. Ibiki looked in admiration at the 'brat' but it did not mean he wasn't pissed off. Miki was standing in attack position hissing loudly. Anko on the other hand was a little furious but was more confused.
"Gaki, why did he do this to you?" she asked.
Naruto then looked at the Hokage who nodded and then turned to the woman. "Well I first thought that it was because my parents were some kind of traitors or that I actually did something wrong, but later I found out the real reason. Let me give you a hint he is furry, red, is as big of the Hokage Mountain, and is sealed inside me." he said smiling.
Both T&I specialists looked at Hiruzen who nodded and said "It's okay, he knows!".
"The Kyuubi!" answered Ibiki gaining a nod from the boy.
By now, to say that Anko was seriously pissed would be the understatement of the millennia. After all it was the same thing that happened to her because of her traitor sensei Orochimaru. She generated so much KI that was close to rivaling Kurama's and the fox had centuries to build up. But just as it started, Anko pulled it back and then dropped on one knee and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. She then smiled and told the boy.
"Ga… I mean Naruto-kun, if anybody even looks at you the wrong way you come and tell your Onee-chan, ok?" she said deceitfully sweet.
Naruto saw through the nice mask that Anko had adorned and nodded furiously.
Meanwhile Ibiki was thinking 'This kid is a natural at infiltration.' "Gaki, I have to hand it to you for staying awake through that. The shock from the pain alone could have killed a civilian adult."
"Well I have been through worse than that! I guess that I got used to it." Naruto answered plainly, like it was a normal thing.
This made the two special Jounin curious but noticed the Hokage waving at them not to ask.
"Naruto-kun, it's getting late so we have to get back since I'm sure that Hinata and Hanabi will through a tantrum if we delay any further." said Hiashi making the boy back away, looking a little scarred. He knew from experience that if Hanabi would get mad it, all hell would break loose. Last time that happened it was when she had to take a standard vaccine for children. It took Naruto and Haruko two days to repair the relation between father and daughter, since it was Hiashi who took her to the doctor.
"Okay!" the boy answered before lifting the privacy seal. He was about to walk out of the room when Miki coiled herself around the boy as if saying goodbye.
Looking at the two, an idea flashed through Anko's head.
"Naruto-kun, why don't you keep Miki-chan for a little while? I've been pretty busy these days and she got a little bored, so I think she will be happy."
The boy then looked at Miki who happily hissed and nodded, and then turned back to the woman.
"That would be great Onee-chan but, wouldn't she scare the other people in the compound? I mean she is a pretty big snake."
"Oh I don't think that it would be a problem." Anko smiled and gave a mental command to Miki by looking her way.
The snake understood what she meant and began shrinking until she was about as small as a shoelace.
"Cool!" thought the boy who picked her up gently in his hand.
Anko then saw the worried look on Hiashi. "Just so you know, she is a summon snake and is a lot smarter than common animals. She knows who is to be trusted but you can also tell her that somebody is a friend and let her get their scent and she will never attack them unless you command her. But just in case, here is the antidote." she handed both Naruto and Hiashi each a vile of the counter-poison. "Oh and if you need more, come and find me!" she said with an evil grin.
This action relaxed Hiashi and made him accept the offer and the snake.
Then both of them left the office.
*End flashback*
Naruto snapped back to reality to notice that he was getting close to his destination and took to looking around, memorizing the route so he may come back later. He then noticed a shinobi store to his left and a strange looking scroll in the window of the said shop. He found it unusually alluring and intriguing and went to look at it closer.
"Does that storage scroll interest you Naruto-sama?" branch member 1 asked and the boy nodded in response.
"What is a storage scroll?" the boy got curious.
The Hyuuga guard then smiled and told him to wait there. He then went inside the store and after a few minutes came out with a copy of the one in the window. He then knelt to the boy and told him.
"These work like your armbands but have a greater storage capacity. Both use Fuuinjutsu to create a 'big pocket' if you will. Hiashi-sama showed you how the seals on the bands work, right?" he explained to the blond earning another nod.
"Ano, what is Fuuinjutsu? I heard Hokage-jii-san use that word a couple of times." Naruto asked earning a deadpan face from Hizashi (not that the boy noticed).
'You use an A-rank, 25-seal Fūin (Tomb of Secrets) seal-less and you don't even know what Fuins are?' thought the branch head.
Branch member 2 decided to step in "Well Naruto-sama, Fuuinjutsu is a shinobi art like Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. It is the most difficult one to use as learning it takes time and hard work. In fact Konoha now has only one (Fūin) Seal Master. He is Jiraya-sama, the Yondaime Hokage's sensei." he said with pride.
"What does it do?" the boy became even more curious as he heard about his dad.
Hizashi took over "Well, it can do anything you want provided that you know the seal formula and you have the skill to apply it. To know a seal formula or to create your own you have to study a lot of Seal Theory and to have the skill you have to practice. Understand?"
"Yep! But one more question, what is a seal formula?"
Member 1 then opened the scroll to reveal a strange pattern, like a star with a circle in the middle. "See the marks on the scroll? This is the seal formula." He then hand the scroll over to the boy to look closer. "You may keep that scroll! It is reusable and it has a preservation addition to keep things from going bad." the Hyuuga smiled.
"Thank you!" the boy answered.
They then walked until they got in front of the library. While for any adult it looked like a normal public building, for the boy it looked like a castle … or prison. He was a little afraid of entering since everywhere else people would throw him out the minute he stepped in, calling him hurtful names.
(A\N: We interrupt this fanfic for a special announcement! After I finished this part of the chapter I read the original manga 590 and I just want to say FUCK YOU DANZO! DAMN YOU TO MANGA HELL! I WISH IT WAS YOU SUFFERING AN ETERNITY IN THE SHINIGAMI'S STOMACH NOT MINATO! It was always you who did stupid things that led good guys do bad things Nagato, Itachi, Sai and many more! Ah that felt good. Expect serious Danzo bashing later on! Question is how? Meh, I'll figure it out eventually! Now back to the story!)
He stood there for a few seconds until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards the location and traced the arm that was attached to his body to find Hizashi's reassuring face nodding at him. He let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding and stepped towards the large gate like wooden doors. He took the door knob in his hand and turned it at the same time a knot was slowly making its way up his throat. He then reached for his inner pocket that was close to his heart and feeling the contents he recovered his nerve.
Slowly walking inside the short corridor he reached the main part of the building. The first thing he noticed was the huge wooden desk that had a small personal computer (think 80s computers) and with a small quantity of paperwork and official documents stacked on top of it, nowhere near what was on the Hokage's desk.
He immediately noticed the smell of old and new books in the dry conditioned air that was similar to the Hyuuga library he used to go when searching for techniques or when Haruko sent him to bring either books or scrolls for his social and compulsory education like math and sciences. Mastering the Shadow Clones and his Soujin Seishin helped him learn everything there almost by heart. But here the air was so much thicker that he was used to.
Naruto understood why when he turned his head admiring the four story bookshelves lined up in rows that looked like supermarket aisles with a main corridor wide enough for ten people to walk side by side or in this case for long tables to be placed with seven chairs each, leaving enough room for only two people on each side.
The place had very few windows as sunlight could be very harmful for books or scrolls so the place was lit mostly by neon lights with almost unnoticeable seal arrays placed on them as filters. What can I say? These people took their knowledge seriously.
Hizashi motioned the boy to keep moving bringing him out of his tourist like state. The boy obeyed the man followed closely by the two Hyuuga branch members. The path was shaped as such that all parties going in or out would have to pass the check desk (A/N: Sorry, don't know how it's called in English). As the blond got closer he noticed a woman in her early 30's. She was dressed in a simple black and blue kimono with a white sash, had her hair tied in a top bun and wore glasses.
When Hizashi passed her, the man received a bow followed by a smile. He responded with a small nod and continued on his way gesturing lightly to Naruto.
The woman caught this moment and looked curiously towards the motion's direction. And that's when all hell broke loose.
She saw Naruto and immediately snarled and snapped.
"What the hell are you doing here you trash? Get out before I throw you out!" she screamed at the boy ignoring the most sacred volume rule of a library and giving the cue to the Hyuuga guards who shunshined towards the librarian Byakugan ablaze, one in front and one to her rear. The later one grabbed her shoulder and hand twisting it uncomfortably to her back in a lock while the former stretched his right hand at her neck simulating a knife or a sword staring in her eyes with murderous intention and releasing his KI.
"You will retract your words and apologize to Naruto-sama!" the Hyuuga ordered in a very angry tone.
"It's okay Isamu-san, Mamoru-san!" shouted Naruto.
"But Naruto-sama she…" Isamu tried to protest.
"I said its okay, please!" the boy resumed.
Both attacking Hyuuga glared at the woman and then released her shunshining back to the blond's side but this time much closer.
Meanwhile the woman who just saw her life flash through her eyes relaxed enough to breathe again.
Hizashi leaned over the desk.
"In case you are wondering we are on official business here as an escort for the boy as ordered by Hokage-sama. And as a little extra information, even if it was not a mission most Hyuuga branch members and even some of the head family would protect the boy with his or her life!" the man whispered the last part making the woman's eyes widen with curiosity and fear. She responded by a simple and slow nod.
"Naruto-kun, come over here and give her that paper from Hokage-sama!"
"Hai!" the boy whispered loud enough to be heard but still good enough to respect the rules. He got a course on library conduct from Haruko and the boy soaked it up like a sponge.
The blond then reached in one of his sleeve's pocket and pulled out the official note.
"By order of the Sandaime Hokage,
Uzumaki Naruto is to be given unrestricted access to all theoretical and instructional material and access to the jutsu library below C-rank.
This is a low B-class secret punishable by two weeks of intense torture!
Sarutobi Hiruzen"
She read and reread the note over and over again checking the seal for authenticity. The woman could not believe that a child who was not even an academy student was allowed in the shinobi portion of the library, even if it was only just D and E rank jutsu. She then lifted her head from the paper to find a large bouquet of yellow roses (A/N According to info I found on Wikipedia, yellow roses can mean friendship and apology among others) where the boy's head was, surprising the librarian a great deal.
"Umm… These are for you ma'am! I realized that I would be coming here a lot since I love to read so I wanted to apologize for being a bother and thank you!" said Naruto with a small smile that almost radiated.
To say that the woman was surprised was like saying that Jiraya accidentally peeps on women. She then slowly reached for the flowers and picked them up shakily. The librarian then stared at Naruto with a look that put Isamu and Mamoru on guard. They were expecting her to throw the flowers back at the blond. But what happened next surprised everyone close by. She lifted her hand to cover her eyes as a couple of tears trickled down her cheeks meeting on her chin before dripping down.
"Are you okay ma'am? Did I upset you?" the boy asked full of concern for the woman.
The woman then whipped her tears and removed her arm allowing the boy to observe her facial features and notice two things: sadness and regret.
"No Uzumaki-san, you didn't do anything wrong! You never did and I just followed the voice of the village like an idiot and called you names thinking that you were a monster! I'm the one who should apologize! I'm sorry!" she said bowing at the boy.
"It's okay, I get that a lot! Kyu really hurt and scared people that night!" the boy replied. He knew that he shouldn't talk about Kurama in the open like that but all of the people in the library evacuated as soon as the two branch Hyuuga lunged at the woman. He also felt that he could trust her.
"Wha? How did you...?" she asked, frightened by the turn of events and the mention of the fox by the boy.
"You mean how I know about the Kyuubi no Yoko?" the boy asked a clarifying question.
The librarian nodded in return.
"Well I kind of met him a while ago. His name is Kurama and he is actually a nice guy! I call him Nii-san. That night when he attacked he was under a powerful genjutsu that made him go berserk. I can't go into details about it sorry but I have to say that it was him who came up with the flowers idea! Oh and by the way this is supposed to be a secret, A-class! Only me and the Hokage are allowed to talk about this. And please call me Naruto." he smiled at the end of his statement.
This was a lot to take in for the poor woman but being used to high amounts of information and knowledge made her recover surprisingly quick. She then asked a very good question.
"But the feel that the Kyuubi gave when… he… attacked was that of pure malice and that can't be formed through genjutsu!"
The boy looked trapped and worried. He started fidgeting and put a hand to his chin, getting into a thinking pose. After a few seconds he gave up and looked at the woman with slight regret … asking her "Ano, what does 'malice' mean?" with a smile earning face faults from the adults.
"It means the desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another." she answered smiling with a small sweat-drop.
"Oh! That was because of human stupidity!" the boy answered with a little anger showing on his face. "He and his eight other brothers just wanted to live their life in peace but over the centuries they have been hunted and sealed inside one person after another! I think that that would make anyone want to kill everybody since most Jinchuriki don't have control over their seal projection and they end up somewhere like a sewer or a dark, boring place that would make you go crazy!" he said matter-of-factly.
The woman widened her eyes at the boy's answer. It made a lot of sense and then some. Now she wasn't like the uneducated rabble that refused to see reason. No, years of living within a vault of knowledge opened her mind to the unknown. So an hour later and a couple of slaps and a glass of water poured over her face and she woke up and showed to the boy the right sections of the library and presenting herself as Chizuru.
Naruto felt like he was a kid in a candy store with almost unlimited coupons. He created a couple of shadow clones in a hidden place and had them go invisible using Kagamiiki. In ten minutes he had the layout of the library memorized. He started going through many bookshelves finding what he wanted. He found five thick books on chakra theory and nature, 152 books (using Kage Bunshin) on education from pre-school to doctorate level including math, literature, social studies, history, biology, physics, chemistry, electronic and computer sciences, logic, psychology, a lot of novels and instructor books on finer arts like music and painting. He also got two books on jutsu creation, a couple of lesser forms of taijutsu scrolls, basic medical jutsu scrolls, and all Fuuinjutsu books and scrolls he could find that he had access to. He thought about Genjutsu but decided against taking information for them since he knew that his chakra wouldn't let him do any normal genjutsu. Even his normal Bunshin had similar make-up as the Kage Bunshin except that they didn't have chakra systems and his Henge was solid. He found out that it was the small addition of Kurama's chakra to his own that caused this, since the fox's chakra had a cohesive property (so much so that even when it dies it just reforms in time) and was much denser and more potent. He decided against Ninjutsu for the same reasons as well as the fact that he wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps and create his own cool jutsu but still took a couple of useful D-rank elemental jutsu that could be useful for starting campfires or filling water bottles.
When he noticed how many books he had gathered he saw that the stack was five times taller than him and twice as wide. The boy pondered the problem of getting them to the check desk but remembered the storage scroll in his pocket. He pulled it out and sealed the books and then went towards Chizuru.
"Chizuru-san, I would like to check these out!" he said with a smile and unsealed the scroll burying the woman's desk in books.
She sweat-dropped and then parted the pile in the middle and told the boy with a shaky laugh "Umm… Naruto-kun, I'm afraid you can check-out only three books any single time."
Naruto's smile dropped. He really did want to take those books with him to read at a later time. "Really?" he said in a sad tone.
"I'm sorry but those are the rules! You can copy them with that machine but it will take a lot of time to do so since you have to do it page by page!" she said pointing to a copy machine.
The blond didn't like the sound of that "Ungh! So I guess I got to either come here really often or I have to copy them on th…" Naruto stopped rambling as an idea lit his face. "Wait! Copy? I got it!" he smiled as he put his hand on the stack of learning material. The books started glowing a light bluish-purple as the boy charged them with chakra. Naruto then focused a little and said (not shouted) "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Book Version!" A second later another pile of books, identical to the first one appeared next to the boy. He then quickly sealed the cloned books and went off to put the originals back in their place leaving three dumbstruck adults and one chuckling Hizashi Hyuuga.
"Is it okay now?" he asked the woman.
"I guess so but that many books means I will not see you in a long time." Chizuru admitted being a little sad.
"Yeah, I guess three weeks is a long time." Naruto admitted.
"Wha? You have about two hundred books in that scroll! It will take you years not weeks!" she lashed back.
"Nope! I usually read around ten books a day! I call it 'shadow reading'!" the boy grinned foxily.
Chizuru put an arm in a horizontal position in front of her neck and said "Eeeeh?" (Anime style surprise). She then looked at Hizashi who smiled and shook his head and told her:
"Don't ask! He read the whole Hyuuga library and reread some books and scrolls more than once in four months memorizing most of them down to the dot!"
The Hyuuga party then checked out after an exchange of goodbyes.
Naruto felt like he was on cloud nine. He was so immersed in thought imagining the cool things that he could learn from the books that he didn't even notice when they got back to the compound.
As soon as they entered Naruto saw something that made him smile in a warm fashion. Hinata was coaching Hanabi in the basics of the Juken and by the looks of it, the older sister was a slave driver as Hanabi was about to pass out from exhaustion but still kept her cool. This scene reminded the boy of the time he did something similar with Hinata.
*Flashback - One year ago*
Hiashi and Haruko were returning from a short walk through the village. They invited the kids to come with them but they said that they wanted to train a little together and Naruto made a fresh clone to accompany the woman on her trip just in case.
After changing their clothes the Hyuuga head and his queen together with the clone were slowly making their way to the family dojo to check on the young pair. They slowly opened the door just enough to peek through and saw an exhausted Hinata standing on her hands and knees with Naruto perfectly straight standing just a little to her right, on his shoulder holding a foam bat as wide and long as he was. There were also twenty of his clones, each holding a bag filled soft water-filled balls around them.
"Hinata-chan get up!" the boy commanded with a steely expression.
"Hai!" she panted and slowly wobbled in a vertical position. She then got into an unfamiliar stance that looked like it was based on the Juken but looked more flexible. She then focused as Naruto retreated letting his clones form an uneven circle around her.
"Begin!" the original shouted. The clones then began to mercilessly throw the balls at the tired girl. Everything from here was in slow motion. As the balls got closer she inhaled and drew her boundary semi-circle with her left foot bringing it from the front to the back of her right one. She then looked frozen as the spheres were inching closer to her skin. When the forward most ball was a few millimeters from her skin it seemed to pass right through her as did most of the most other water filled containers that came towards her that were not deflected by the girl's hands and feet. The barrage continued until Hinata lost the tempo and deflected a ball with little too much power and lost her balance getting hit in the Byakugan blind spot by another and falling on one knee.
She panted a little before receiving a smack in the same spot from the original boy's bat.
"I thought I told you this a couple of times by now, no force! Only speed and timing! The Ryuusei (Spirit Style) uses only the opponent's power and redirects it so it causes no harm. To do that you must reduce your defense to a thin layer around your skin and you time it to the last second! Do you understand Hinata-chan?" he said with the same expression as before.
"H-Hai!" she said a little deflated trying to get up and earning another smack to the same spot sending her crashing to the ground.
By now Hiashi couldn't take more from the boy and wanted to barge in and Juken bitch-slap Naruto but Haruko saw underneath the obvious and paralyzed her husband with a chakra strike to a pressure point making him turn into white jelly and holding him so that he could see what was going on.
"No you don't!" he growled a little. "The Ryuusei's greatest strength is also its major weakness. The fact that you shrink your defense to that level surprises the opponent into thinking that they found an opening but it also gives you less than a second to react in case it goes wrong. You are weak! That last ball could have been a shuriken or kunai and you would be injured or worse! Never underestimate your opponent unless you clearly know that you are at least five levels above him or her or you could die!" he told her with a slightly angry look on his face.
By now Hiashi was expecting that the girl would run out crying since it was more abuse than all the training sessions he did with them combined but then got the shock of his life.
Hinata slowly got up without a tear or otherwise. If anything she looked more determined than ever, standing straight without even blinking.
"What is our nindo?" asked Naruto.
"Never break a promise, never give up, never run away, always do your best and protect your precious people!" she said without stuttering once.
"Yosh! Our word is our honor! If we are weak we can only get stronger! If we are cornered we will still push forward! If we are scared we will find our courage! And we will do this while giving it our all because people will be counting on us!" the boy lectured military style.
"Hai!" she spoke.
"I didn't hear you!" Naruto looked at her.
"Hai!" she shouted.
"What?" the blond faked again.
"HAI SENSEI!" she yelled.
"Alright! Then let's get to it! Get ready!" he commanded as the clones finished gathering the balls and got into position and began to throw again.
This time she avoided beautifully moving like a flower in the wind, gliding past the projectiles and even directing some of them back at the clones. Naruto and the adults couldn't be more proud although Hiashi had flames in his eyes since he should be the only one his baby calls sensei in this house but Haruko noticed this and the man felt a finger tap his shoulder. He then looked in that direction and saw his wife smiling sweetly but behind her the dark figure smiled and waved at him making him loose the color in his face.
"Good job Hinata-chan! I knew you could do it!" Naruto threw the bat and hugged her sticking her face to his chest. (A healthy lifestyle and diet made Naruto taller than her by a head) She smiled and blushed (noticed also by her mother who giggled a little) and whispered "Thank you!"
"You deserve it but there is still a lot of work to do! Want to go at it again?" the boy smiled looking down to her.
Before she could answer her mother opened the door and entered. "Naruto-kun is right Hinata! You did a great job but that does not mean it can't be improved!" she smiled but then noticed the glare from the two kids. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"And since when have you been watching us Kaa-san?" Hinata asked lifting an eyebrow.
"Since about ten minutes before the hug." she said emphasizing the word 'hug' and getting a blush from both kids.
The woman giggled and then told them "You can continue this later but now it's time for dinner!". She then turned around and started walking towards the door. Once there she grabbed her husband's clothes and started dragging him with her.
"What happened to Hiashi-sama?" the boy asked.
"Hmm… let's just say that excitement got to him!" answered Haruko with a smile receiving the same thing from the children.
*End flashback*
Now it was Hinata's turn at teaching as the blond instructed her since he thought it was a good way for the sisters to bond.
Hanabi noticed his return "Naruto-nii-chan plwease save me fwom this mounster (please save me from this monster)!" said the panting toddler hiding behind the boy and glaring at Hinata.
The boy than broke into a good laugh with Hinata giggling a little. "What's funny?" the little girl asked.
"Is she really that bad Hanabi-chan?" Naruto asked lifting Hanabi into his arms like she was a leaf.
"Yeah, she is! I want to twain with nii-chan! (train)" she said keeping the glare on Hinata until she felt a shiver going down her spine. She then snapped her neck and gazed at the boy's face who now looked like completely black with a murderous smile and shiny white eyes (A/N: Think a theatre mask that shows comedy opposed to that that looks like crying or is sad) before going back to his kind expression.
It was Hinata's turn to laugh only hers was softer.
"What's funny?" a worried Hanabi asked.
"Well Hanabi-chan, Hinata-chan is laughing at your silliness! She was much kinder with you than I or Hiashi-sama was with her!" Naruto explained.
"Rweawy? (Really)" the little sister cocked an eyebrow.
"Yup! A month ago I made her dodge two hundred bamboo sticks lined with poison ivy that were tied to trees in the forest outside." the blond explained with an almost sadistic smile getting shivers from both girls (for different reasons).
"Why did you dwo dat nii-chan? (do that)"
Naruto then put Hanabi down and looked at her with sad eyes making the girl worry.
"Because Hanabi-chan, Hinata-chan and I want to be shinobi and they are in a lot of danger! We want to become shinobi to protect those who we love like your tou-sama, kaa-san and you, but there are others out there who get stronger so they can hurt people who are kind and did nothing wrong! Don't ask me why they do because I don't know but I do know one thing and that is we train to beat those people and if you want to get stronger you have to do it until you can't stand anymore because that means giving it your all! That is our nindo, our ninja way!" he told the girl. "So, do you want to train with me?" he grinned and the toddler paled while shaking her head violently from side to side. She then dashed to her sister's side and started practicing the katas making everybody else laugh like there was no tomorrow.
Naruto then returned to his room (which was the size of a small ball room) where he was greeted by a very happy and stuffed Miki (Apparently the compound was full of rodents and Miki loves hunting and eating mice) and activated his privacy seal. He then changed and took out the scroll and unsealed the contents. He wanted to start with chakra theory but that was in the middle of the pile so he pulled it out and then the whole top came crashing down on him. He dug himself out, torso still deep in learning material when an orange book hit him on the top of his head and landed in his hands.
"What's this?" he asked himself as he didn't remember taking that book. He then opened the book and read a few lines before blood rushed to his face thermometer style and when it reached the top he blasted out a huge quantity of blood out of his nose. He then got into a throwing position for the book but just couldn't bring himself to throw it away so he resealed it.
He then made a few shadow clones that cleaned up, recharged (with chakra) and sealed the books that weren't needed. Naruto then picked five books and placed them in his clothes. He then created a thousand clones that were even standing on a ceiling due to being crowded. He gave them the order to pick a book and a page and start memorizing it. As soon as they were finished they had to read the rest of the pages after the one they selected. The original then went to sleep.
*End chapter*
A\N
As some of you may have noticed the Spirit Style (Ryuusei) is based on the Ryuusei Seikuuken from HSD Kenichi for which I state the disclaimer that I do not own anything from it.
Also I will not make Naruto into a pervert like Kakashi but the book will prove a source for funnies.
Also after reading this chapter I think that it will turn into a Sannin-like academy graduate Naruto after all.
Poll info so far. Some people didn't vote for all questions so there will be a slight imbalance. These are counting the PM votes
Y-13/N-19
*Canceled*
Y-21/N-11
Y-12/N-18
*Secret*
L-22/S-2
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
