Disclaimer: I would love to own Naruto, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I shall simply have to be content to own this story, without owning any of the character in it.

Chapter 2: Training Begins

Naruto woke up for his first day of training with Jiraiya at 7am, but that was okay, as he didn't need to be there until nine. So he took his time getting ready.

By 7:30 he was actually awake and hungry so he started his breakfast, which of course was ramen. By 7:34 he'd finished his first bowl and decided to have another, but what should I have? Chicken is good, but then there's shrimp…he thinks a moment, and gets an idea. Why not just have both? And with that predictable answer to his 'which ramen should I have' question, Naruto gets a bigger bowl out and starts 'the wait.' Honestly, how can these people live with themselves? They call it instant ramen, yet they make no attempts to shorten the time it takes to make it! He wasn't really angry of course, but he really hated waiting the required 3 minutes.

So, after his second breakfast and a few other less important things like getting dressed, gathering his kunai and shuriken, and some paper bombs, Naruto was ready to go. Only problem was it was only 8am, gah! Why did I get up so early? Shrugging Naruto grabs some bath things and, just in case, some bathing trunks and heads out.

When he arrives at the hot springs he looks around to see if Jiraiya is anywhere to be found, but no luck. So he goes in, pays, and gets changed, but when he comes out on the men's side he hears some low perverted giggling coming from the wall that hides the ladies side. When he really looks he sees none other than Jiraiya peeping through a hole in the wall.

"Ah! You really are a pervert!" Naruto shouts with one hand raised pointed at the Toad Sage. From the other side of the wall comes screams and splashes as all the girls quickly get out of the bath and run to the changing room.

Jiraiya sighs, turns to Naruto and says, "Lesson 1 kid: when peeping never shout out the word pervert."

"I don't want lessons on how to be a pervert! You promised to train me to be a better ninja!" Naruto says indignantly.

Jiraiya just shakes his head muttering about how he knew he should have been around when the kid was younger, but gives a put-upon sigh and walks over to one of the baths. "Okay, the old man recommended we start with water walking, so do as I do," here he puts his hand in the ram seal. "Now focus your chakra into your feet like you would for tree-climbing and walk out on the water. The difference between the exercises will be obvious, but just so you can't complain I'll tell you that the trick is to alter your chakra output to match the shifting water."

With that he walks out on the water and Naruto quickly goes to follow, but he must not have paid much attention, because a moment later, "Ahhhhh! That's hot!" he screams and jumps right out of the water.

Meanwhile Jiraiya is rolling around on the surface of the water laughing his ass off while staying completely dry. Between wheezing laughs he gets out, "Kid you're great! Don't ever change!" and, "It's so much fun watching you screw up!"

Naruto is so mad at this he marches straight out to Jiraiya without realizing what he's done, "Stop laughing!"

Jiraiya does, looks at Naruto standing on the water like it's no big deal and points to Naruto's feet. When Naruto looks down he looks elated for all of three seconds, then promptly falls in causing Jiraiya to burst out laughing again and he walks back to shore leaving Naruto to make his own way out.

Once Naruto is back on shore and Jiraiya has regained control of his mirth he says, "Now then, your lesson for today is to figure out how to stand on the water and, once you have, to stay there as long as you can. If you feel like it try walking around a bit, but I'm also going to leave these two books for you to read," he holds up a orange book titled 'Icha-Icha Paradise Vol. 1' and another that has no title, just an all black cover.

Naruto looks about to protest reading the smut book, but Jiraiya stops him, "Both are important research for your future," at Naruto's disgusted look Jiraiya laughs. "Really, they are! I know you think the Icha-Icha series is all smut, but the first volume really isn't, and it didn't sell as well as those that are so believe me, there is a difference. The black book is a basic book of tactics that all prospective chunin should read, and while not as entertaining as my book, it really is a must read."

Naruto's face scrunches up at the idea of reading the Pervy Sage's book, but takes them both and sets them aside for the moment.

"I recommend you alternate every other chapter, one book to the next, just so you don't get bored. Also, try to read them while standing on the water, it'll be a distraction, and you need that because the goal is to get to the point that nothing can make you fall in. I will be giving you a test tomorrow to see if you read them," and with that Jiraiya starts to wander off.

Naruto shouts, "Aren't you going to stick around to train me!?"

"Kid, I just told you what I want you to do for today. There's no point starting to train you in anything until your control is up to snuff," and Jiraiya leaves.

Naruto fumes and grabs the Icha-Icha, "He can't complain if I fall in with it."

"I heard that," comes from the distance and Naruto mutters something derogatory about how he always thought hearing was supposed to be the first thing to go, and Jiraiya proves him wrong by laughing at that.

So ends the first day of training.

XXXXX

The next day goes much the same, and Naruto passes his test about the two books, although he blushes furiously when Jiraiya has him recount some of the more mature scenes from the Icha-Icha book.

Jiraiya asks, "So what did you think about the two books? Mine was a lot more fun to read wasn't it?"

Naruto scowls, but looks thoughtful a moment later, "The black book was interesting. It made me really think about all the battles I've been in so far."

"And what was your conclusion?"

Naruto thinks a moment before responding very hesitantly with, "I think…that I'm lucky to be alive."

Jiraiya nods and then a smile blossoms on his face, "So now that you've actually read one of my books tell me what you think."

Naruto smiles and says, "I think they're…smut!" Causing Jiraiya to face-fault with fake tears pouring from his eyes, which in turn makes Naruto laugh, but then admit, "I really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." This 'praise' makes Jiraiya stand tall again and beam at the boy, "but I'd never want to read it in public like Kakashi-sensei," Naruto concludes.

Jiraiya just laughs at that before saying, "There's hope for you yet my boy! Now, on to more serious matters, get on the water," Naruto does, and Jiraiya nods his approval. "Good, now how long could you stay out there yesterday?"

"Well it took a little while, and I left for a bit to have lunch, but after that I started reading on the water until the sun went down, then I went home to finish the two books."

Jiraiya looks very pleased at this news, but says, "I have one more thing I want you to do before I start training you in anything," and he motions for Naruto to come back off the water. Once Naruto is standing next to him he hands him a bag, "Put those on. One on each wrist and ankle and the big one around your chest."

Naruto looks in the bag, "What are they?"

"A special kind of chakra weight set that is just for this kind of training."

Naruto nods and quickly dons the bands, "Now what?"

"Now look at the display on your left wrist and channel chakra there until the display reads 1."

Naruto does so, but looks confused until suddenly he lurches to the side, "What happened?"

"You now have 50lbs. That will randomly shift from one band to another, or sometimes divide between two or more, though never equally. It's perfect for mastering water-walking because the water already required you to adjust your chakra flow and the shifting weight will make it that much harder. Also, those weights only go up to setting 5, but at that level 250lbs. will be shifting around. That's your goal for the end of this week, and until you can stay absolutely stable on the water at the third setting I won't teach you anything else.

"Oh come on Pervy Sage! That's not fair! I only have this month to prepare for the final stage of the chunin exam and I haven't learned anything yet!"

"Trust me Naruto, those weights were designed by your father, and once you can master them you'll be a lot stronger than you think," and with that Jiraiya starts to walk away but turns back after a few steps. "By the way, have you looked at the scroll from your mother yet?"

Naruto looks down and mumbles that he hasn't and Jiraiya nods and says, "In that case, after you go to lunch I want you to go home and check it out."

Naruto nods, still not looking up, and goes about trying to master this new level of water-walking.

XXXXX

After lunch Naruto decides that he might as well do as he was told and goes home and starts reading his mothers scroll and finds that it's a letter to him that reads:

Dear Naruto,

If you're reading this then one of two things has happened, either I died giving birth to you as the medic-nins' said I would, or we're reading it together. I certainly hope it's the latter and we can have a good laugh at how much of a worry wart I was being, but if it's the former know that I love you, and that I loved you from the moment your father and I found out I was pregnant.

As I'm writing this I am trying to imagine what you might look like. Will you look like your dad, will you take after me, or will you be some combination of the two? Your dad and I discussed this and we had fun thinking of all the trouble you could get into if you looked like your dad, but acted like me, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life as I did at that image. Oh well, the only important thing is to know that however you turn out your father and I will love you with all our hearts and souls.

Now then, for the serious stuff. A few days ago your father received a report about the Nine-Tailed Fox, and it suggested it might be coming toward Konoha. I hope not as, after some thought, your father concluded that there would only be one way to stop it. I worse does come to worse, my hope is that you wont be born yet, because I know your father, if you are he'll use you for his process. I know it's selfish, but I don't have the faith in this village your father does, and I wouldn't wish that fate one my own son

Enough doom and gloom though, even if the worst happens I'm sure Sarutobi will be there for you, and you really can't ask for many stronger supporters than the former Hokage known as 'The Professor.' It also occurs to me that in that case it's possible no one ever bothered to tell you about how we chose your name. Your father's sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin, has recently become an author, and his first ever book stars none a character named 'Naruto' who, through many trials and tribulations, goes on to be a great hero by the end.

I'm afraid that book didn't sell too well so he's started a series he calls Icha-Icha something, the first book is out and its' gotten some very good reviews, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I really liked his first book so I'm sure I'll like this one as well, but it'll have to wait for now.

Here Naruto smiles and wonders what his mom would think about the Icha-Icha series, and he cries a little thinking about how his parents had loved him and wanted him, but knowing what had happened in the end. One tear landed on the scroll and more appeared:

You have now broken a seal I placed on this scroll, and that means you have obtained your legacy: the Wakarugan.

And with that Naruto sat up with renewed interest and continues to read.

If Sarutobi knows that you have activated your bloodline then he probably told you all that I told him about it, but let me assure you that was only the tip of the proverbial Iceberg.

The Wakarugan bloodline produces several effects at different levels, but even if it never activates it grants the person massive and nearly uncontrollable chakra reserves. To give an example, if the Nine-Tails attacks and if I could, I'd probably be able to hold it off alone for at least 3-4 hours. Of course, I have built my natural reserve up, but the second strongest person in the village (your father) would be lucky to manage 1-2 hours.

Now, since it has activated in you, I'll describe the three natural stages and the rumored ultimate stage. In the first stage your eyes will change for about 24 hours, showing a swirl pattern emanating from the iris. After this 24-hour time period your eyes will revert to normal, but from then on the Wakarugan is constantly active, yet draws almost no chakra. At this stage you will gain a near perfect defense against the bane of our family: Genjutsu. From this point on only a Genjutsu Master will have any chance of successfully affecting you. At this stage you will also begin having a very basic understanding of seals just by looking at them.

At the second stage the swirl will reappear, this time for no more than 12-hours, and the formerly pure black swirl will have traces of silver mixed in. From here, an S-rank genjutsu might affect you, but not for long unless your opponent is willing to put massive amounts of chakra into it (nearly Kage level required). Beyond that genjutsus will not stick to you. This can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing, as it means your transformations and hiding genjutsus will cost a bit more chakra (though, unless you've been completely lazy it's unlikely to affect your reserves). As a result, all transformations will become physical, and not just illusion. Also, your understanding of seals will go up and you will gain an ability any Seal Master would die for: the ability to place or dispel any seal that you can get a handle on, that is that you can understand. Some seals will be easier than others will and dispelling a seal on another will be virtually impossible unless that individual TRULY wants it gone.

I've befriended several branch family members of the Hyuga in my time in Konoha, and to each I've offered to remove the cage-bird seal. Each agreed to let me try and each failed. The lesson here is that sometimes no matter how much someone says they don't want a thing, part of them does.

Now then, at the third stage, the swirl becomes completely silver, but it fades within minutes. It's actually quite possible to miss that you entered this stage as by this point you have probably already gained a certain understanding of seals, but here you have essentially become an instant seal master. Almost nothing in that sense is beyond you, and you maintain the ability to set or dispel seals by visualization and touch.

Imagine one of the simplest of seals: the paper bomb. At the third level of the Wakarugan you could easily give any surface the same effect as a paper bomb

You'll also be able to change existing seals to suit your needs at this level.

The catch is that before you can reach this level you will probably need to be at a near Seal Master level already, so the end effect is simply at increased set of abilities from stage 2.

Supposedly, there is a forth and final level of the Wakarugan, but as far as I know no one has ever achieved it. If you do decide to seek it, I ask only that you remember this: with great power there is often great cost, and always great responsibility.

There are two final points to be made about our family bloodline my son. One is that the nature of the Wakarugan is defensive, whereas most bloodlines are offensive. The second point is that the Wakarugan hides itself for a reason, be very careful about telling anyone about it.

Here the scroll returns to its' previous state and all the words Naruto just finished reading vanish, leaving no trace but a blank space, and the letter continues.

Your father and I have each left a scroll for you, but while your father left instructions for his jutsu's I have left you 4 scrolls sealed at the bottom of this letter, each containing one of the taijutsu styles that the Uzumaki were known for.

Each style is unique, and used properly, the ability to shift mid-battle between them can produce devastating effects. To give you an idea, whenever your father and I have ever spared with only taijutsu I have always won, even though he is physically stronger and faster than I am.

The 4 styles were gathered by one of our distant ancestors who traveled the world before the Elemental Nations were formed. He settled in the Land of Whirlpool, as it would eventually become known, and passed the styles on to his descendants as I now pass them on to you. Hopefully, you're getting this scroll while you're still young, and your Godmother Rin has come back to teach you. If not I recommend you ask Sarutobi which style you should start with.

These are the styles:

Tai Chi: Which focuses on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization.

This style will help you learn to use your Wakarugan to its' fullest in regard to seals.

This style will be easier to learn if you tend towards a defensive style.

Hung Gar: Which focuses on firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes.

This style will be easier to learn if you are well balanced between offensive and defensive styles.

Northern Shaolin Kung Fu: Uses strong arm and leg movements.

This style will be easier to learn if you tend towards an aggressive style.

Ba-Gua: uses dynamic circular movements and quick directional changes. This technique uses centripetal force to generate power, and nearly constant circular movement to create angles between the combatants.

This style will be easier to learn if, when in battle, you prefer to keep your opponent off balance.

Start with whichever style you see fit, but continue with only one until you reach the intermediate level. At that point pick another and start it, and so forth, until all four are mastered. Each is selected by wiping a bit of your blood across the seal next to the name of the form you desire on this scroll.

One last thing, our family has always been firm believers in hard work and determination, so even if you should ever learn of ways to speed up your training, be very careful or take the long way, as that will only seldom lead you the wrong way.

Know that your parents always loved and wanted you.

Sincerely,

Your Mother,

Kushina Uzumaki – Namikaze

With that Naruto decided to roll the scroll up and wait for Rin to help him choose which style he should start with. He was also curious about her suggestion that there might be a faster way to train, but figured that unless Rin told him whatever that may be he would honor his mothers' wishes and learn the old fashioned way. Hard work has always been my style for learning things anyway, and with that thought firmly in mind Naruto, fell asleep with a large, true smile on his face.

Author's Note – This chapter came to mind when I read some reviews requesting that I not make Naruto too strong too fast and I hope it sets that fear to rest. Yes, Naruto will be stronger than he is in the canon, but he will not automatically shift into a Kage-level ninja either. Also, for those wanting Naruto to learn seals, he will, and the Wakarugan will make the use of them easier, but until level 3 it won't make learning them any easier. As for the 4th level, well, I intend to get Naruto there eventually, but probably not for a long time (especially as I haven't decided what a 4th level would do or what kind of cost it might require from Naruto before he can achieve it). Actually, Naruto is going to be at level 2 for a while too, since he kind of by-passed level 1. By this point, you should realize that the Wakarugan is closely based off of the Sharingan in levels, but a 4th level here will NOT involve Naruto killing anyone close to himself.

Author's Note 2 – The taijutsu styles are the styles used in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' and I thank for the basic description of each. No there will be no bending in this story, I just always liked that each nation got a real style of fighting to use in the show. Also, if anyone disagrees with my little side-notes that give Naruto hints about which style he should start with, please remember this is my story and I can pretty much do as I like.

Last A/N this time around – No Anko this chapter, she'll make appearances from time to time, but she is six years Naruto's senior in this story so for now interaction will be minimal. Expect her to help him train at some point, maybe even go on the training trip with them (which I'll be doing, I think, but it definitely won't just be Naruto and Jiraiya). Rin should make it into the next chapter, and her job is to teach Naruto his family taijutsu styles, which means any lessons with Jiraiya will be interspersed with those from her.