A/N: Hello readers! This is the last chapter to get your votes in everyone! If you don't know what I'm talking about, I have a poll on my profile that is determining how Naruto will be trained and whether or not he'll be trained solo or with a team! There's not a lot of variety but I didn't wanna mess with it too much!
I've had over sixty people vote! I appreciate it!
By the way! In case you didn't check the A/N at chapter one (I re-edited it ish.), Kurenai and Anko are currently 18 years old! It's moderately younger than canon but it's my fanfic so! By the time Naruto is 13, they'll be 21!
But don't worry, plots and twists ahead!
Word Count: 8k
To the Reviewers:
Aramus13: I know right? The Tibetan Mastiff is more like a lion than a dog… Crazy right?!
Umi No Suiro: Ah, sorry. That was my mistake, I meant the regular one. Thank you for pointing it out!
Bigfan22: Hm… the idea you're promoting intrigues me. I would like to incorporate your idea into the story but I'll have some research to do.
I apologize for all grammatical and spelling errors! I tried to get most of em out the way!
"Speech"
'thought'
"Jutsu: in use"
'Kyuubi/Summon thought'
"Kyuubi/Summon speech"
Disclaimer: Guess what! i Still don't own Naruto! Or the cover image for that matter!
Allow Me To Re-Introduce Myself
Chapter 4: Bark Bark!
X
"KIBA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"
Said Inuzuka boy looked up with tired eyes, "What the hell do you think it is dobe? It's a dog ya dumbass."
Naruto gnashed his teeth in annoyance, "I know that! What I meant was, WHY THE HELL IS IT IN MY ARMS!?"
"Cause it's yours now." Came a reply that sounded awfully like a yawn.
"The hell it is!"
"Well it is… soooo…"
"Why can't you take care of it?!" Naruto yelled.
"That my friend, is because that puppy is an absolute bitch (pun intended) And because of it being mixed with two dominant and alpha mammals, I can't take care of it. That's what my mom told my anyways… So I'm giving it to you."
"THAT TOLD ME NOTHING OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A PANSY TO TAKE CARE OF IT!"
Kiba's reply was to simply give a loud snore; signifying he was in a deep slumber.
Naruto gave a frustrated growl and returned his attention to the puppy. Naruto carefully placed the puppy on the desk and lowered his head so his face was level with the young canine. The puppy jumped forward and gnawed on the blonde's goggle. Disgusted, Naruto took off his saliva wrapped goggles and placed it on the desk so the puppy could continue chewing it. However, he couldn't help the small smile from stretching on his face.
The girls of the class walked forward with a blush on their face… 'Naruto really looks… different with his bangs down…'
No one wanted to admit how cute the young blonde looked without his stupid giant goggles attached to his forehead.
Especially Ino and Sakura.
Naruto paid the gathering crowd of girls around him no attention. The puppy was now sitting and waiting expectantly at the boy with his tail wagging happily. The pup tilted his head at Naruto.
Naruto mirrored the pup's action and also tilted his head the same way the young canine tilted his head in.
"KAAWAAAAIII!" the girls all squealed. They couldn't decide which was more cuter, the boy or the puppy.
"Eh?" The loud noise brought Naruto's attention to all the girls surrounding him and when the crowd of females noticed Naruto looking at them weirdly, they all blushed and retreated back to the front of the class.
Shrugging at their weird antics, Naruto returned his attention to the puppy. Making a decision, Naruto scooped up the puppy and walked to the front of the class. All the girls waited with baited breath and watched the boy approach. However, they all looked disappointed as Naruto walked past them and towards the door.
Sasuke shook with rage, Not only did the class dobe ignore him, but the blonde had somehow managed to rip the attention from everyone that he, a noble Uchiha, had deserved!
"DOBE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!?" Sasuke shouted with rage.
"SUCK MY ASS!" Came the reply of the jinchuuriki.
All the boys chuckled while the girls didn't know whether or not to laugh or glare after the recently discovered cute blonde.
While everyone was distracted, Ino walked to where Naruto was sitting before he left. She quickly looked around before grabbing the goggles Naruto left behind.
'I-I'm only taking it because the dog was so cute…'
At least, that's what Ino told herself as she stowed it in Kami knows where. Satisfied that no one had seen her, Ino went to sit down in a seat that was surprisingly not near her 'Sasuke-kun'.
Sakura frowned, 'Why did Ino-pig take Naruto's goggles…?'
X
Channeling chakra throughout his whole body, Naruto murmured a soft, "Henge!" A plume of smoke encased his body and instead of a orange-clad ninja and black puppy, A wild looking boy with red facial tattoos that identified him as an Inuzuka took place. The black puppy turned into that of a white one.
'Kiba Inuzuka' and 'Akamaru' Now stood in place of Naruto and his black pup.
'Kiba' grinned and petted 'Akamaru'. The disguised couple of pup and kid then headed towards Kiba- err… 'their' home.
'Kiba' reached the Inuzuka compound without trouble and nodded to the guards calmly. On the inside, however, 'Kiba' was nervous as hell, he had never done anything as risk as this.
He sighed with relief as the guards simply nodded back. Once reaching what seemed be the main house, 'Kiba' stepped in and took off his sandals. Once done with that, he called out, "Mom! I'm home!"
Tsume Inuzuka looked naturally feral. She had spiky, untamed brown hair, vertical slit-like pupils, elongated canine teeth and nails. To be honest, when Naruto had first seen her drop off Kiba, he had thought she had looked like a grown up version of Kiba with womanly curves.
A very disturbing notion indeed.
"Who the hell are you!?" came a very gruff female voice.
'Kiba' smiled nervously, "Whatddaya mean mom! It's me- OW, ITAI!'
Tsume Inuzuka punched her 'son' right in the forehead, successfully dispelling the Henge. In place of where her 'son' was standing, was an orange-clad boy on his rear nursing the firnubg lump on his forehead.
Immediately recognizing the boy as the jinchuuriki, she relaxed, "Come on in pup, and take a seat in this room." She gestured to a large living room right at the entrance.
Naruto nodded fearfully, 'How did she see through my Henge? Even jiji himself can't see through it unless I messed up somethin' in my speech-'
"Well, you just gonna sit there or are you gonna come in?" Tsume quipped with an eyebrow raised.
Naruto stood up abruptly with an "Eep!" and bowed quickly before scurrying past her. Tsume shook her head with amusement, the boy could be quite endearing.
Naruto took in his surroundings with an impressed look; the living room was pretty big. The floor was made out of wood and it supported several large sofas in a 'U' shaped pattern. In the middle was a very long table that was the perfect height for someone to rest their legs on.
Naruto smirked; he didn't really think Tsume would allow anyone to rest their legs on the table. Actually, he didn't really think anyone was stupid enough to do so. So he sat on his knees in a respectful position while waiting for Tsume.
Tsume amused expression became even more so when she saw how respectful the brat was being in her living room. As she walked by him, she picked him up by the collar of his jacket and threw him unceremoniously on the couch eliciting a surprised yelp from him.
"Alright spill it pup, what da ya want?" came the rather crass manner of speech.
Naruto sat up and gulped, "Uh… W-well, first, can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot."
"How'd you see through my Henge? Hokage-jiji told me it was pretty flawless."
"Truth to be told, I didn't even see anything; your Henge was damn near flawless. The only thing you had forgotten was how tired my baby boy was. Kiba hadn't slept well in a whole week cause of some rescue pup." Tsume chuckled.
Naruto face palmed, of course! How could he forget how tired the mutt was?! He sighed, "Well Tsume-sama, I came here- itai!"
"Tsume-san. I don't want that political shit here, ya hear?! Besides... it makes me feel old!" Tsume practically barked as she bopped him on the head.
Naruto sweat dropped, "Hai! Errm, Tsume-san, Kiba dropped me off a puppy today and I was just looking to return it."
Tsume looked surprised, "Why don't ya keep it? We have too much of a litter upkeep compared to the number of shinobis in our clan."
Naruto grinned nervously and scratched the back of head, "uh… I just can't?"
Tsume frowned, "And why is that? Do you perhaps… not like dogs?" she growled threateningly.
Naruto shook his head frantically, "No! No! I always wanted a dog and stuff but I don't know how to take care of a dog…" he continued softly while looking down, "plus… I don't think the villagers would like me being happy and they would kill- take him away…"
Tsume's heart shattered, the boy was in all honesty was just looking out for the puppy. Automatically, Naruto had earned respect from her just from that statement alone. She sighed, she truly wanted the boy to enjoy the experience of finding companionship and camaraderie in a dog but the young blonde was right; the villagers would most likely kill the puppy for circumstances that was out of the boy's control.
The villagers were truly despicable.
She sighed, "Alright Naruto, let me see the puppy."
Naruto looked up and beamed, "Thank you Tsume-san!"
Naruto brought out a sleeping canine out of his jacket and carefully placed him on the table.
Tsume's eyes widened when she recognized the puppy, "THIS IS THE PUP THAT KIBA WAS TALKING ABOUT?!" Tsume shot a glare at Naruto, "IT WAS YOU WHO RESCUED THIS PUP?!"
Tsume's face contorted into a furious expression, "WHAT IN KAMI- HE GAVE THIS PUP TO YOU?! WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING?!"
"H-H-Hai?" Naruto replied nervously.
The loud yelling stirred the pup from its sleep and as it took in its surrounding, when it recognized the scary looking lady when it had first been brought here by the look-alike boy, it growled.
Tsume groaned with frustration, "No wonder you wanna give it back, the dog is freaking impossible. It respects no one, it doesn't let anyone feed it, you have to throw food at it from thirty feet away, it pisses everywhere, it shits everywhere and on top of that, it has some big chakra coils; making it the perfect for a companion- but noooo, all that potential gone to waste-"
Naruto frowned not really understanding where she was going with her rant, "Tsume-san, why are you saying that about him? The puppy is actually really nice."
"Excuse me?!" Tsume asked incredulously, "No offense pup, but this canine is a Tsang-Khyi Tibetan Mastiff mixed with Gray Wolf. Those two breeds by themselves are super difficult to domesticate. So for you to say it's nice-"
"I'm serious!" Naruto cried out.
Tsume shook her head in a chiding fashion, "Listen pup, don't you think I would know more about this pup, I've spent a week with it and trust me when I say it lets no one near it, and I mean no one. Even me; the head of a ninken-partnered clan."
Naruto crossed his arms on his chest defiantly, "Well it played with me when Kiba gave it to me!"
The head of the Inuzuka clan chuckled, "yeah, and my family love cats." She snided in mirth-filled sarcasm. "Listen pup, go ahead and go home, we'll… take care of this problem." She jabbed a finger towards the puppy who bared his teeth towards her.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean you guys will take care of it?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh, we'll put it in the pound for several months and if no one wants it, we'll probably give it to a civilian family and if that don't work then...we're most likely gonna have to let it go."
'And by that, I mean we're gonna have to kill it,' Tsume grimaced, 'If it manages to grow up, it'll be too dangerous for it to live, especially without training…' She hated this part of her duties, but it just had to be done. Tsang-Khyi Tibetan Mastiffs were incredibly rare in the Elemental Nations. As far as she was aware, only one merchant sold them here and he only came once every decade from the very far east; somewhere where that no shinobi has ever been.
The fact that the pup was bred from a Gray Wolf added all the more danger to it. How the jinchuuriki even found the puppy in Konoha was beyond a mystery to her.
Naruto frowned, the puppy would probably die if was to be let back out. He really wanted to take care of it, but he just didn't know how. He was at a crossroads with himself; an impasse. Naruto growled in frustration before his eyes lit up with an idea.
"Tsume-san, what if I show you that it's nice?!"
Tsume gave a sad smile; the boy was earnestly trying his hardest to save the pup from suffering. It was very much endearing to her. She sighed, "Naruto, the only way that this pup would not chew anyone off is if they bonded to it. Sadly, it is only the Inuzuka clan that can bond with the more dominant species of canines."
Naruto ignored her and made way to pick the black Tibetan Mastiff up. Tsume, alarmed that the boy would do such a reckless thing, lashed out and grabbed the wrist of the jinchuuriki.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
Naruto rolled his eyes before attempting to shrug her hand off… only to find that the iron vice grip would not budge a single bit.
"Okay okay! I was just kidding Tsume-san! Can you please let go of me now?" Naruto pouted
Tsume relaxed and sighed visibly. She retracted her hands, "Phew, thank god. Kiba tried bonding with it that way and he got wrecked- OI!"
As soon as Tsume retracted her hands, Naruto closed the rest of the distance between him and the dog and scooped him up much to Tsume's horrification.
"Put him down this instance before he-" Tsume's stern pitch changed into that of a surprised one, "-before he licks you?!" Naruto giggled uncontrollably as the puppy ravished his face with licks.
A smile slowly drew itself on Tsume's face as she quickly retrieved a camera and-
CLICK!
Naruto and the puppy halted their actions with wide eyes. They slowly turned their head towards the source of the noise and-
CLICK!
"OI! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Naruto shouted while the puppy barked in agreement.
CLICK!
Tsume laughed as she held up a blue cube-like structure, "Haha! This is a polaroid camera! New technology from Sora no Kuni (Land of the Sky), apparently, it prints out a photo instantly! This is my first time using it so I don't really know- oh! There's a printer right here!" She waited excitedly as three strips of photos slipped out of the printer folds.
Naruto stared for a few brief moments before shrugging and returning his attention to proving the dog wasn't a rabid killer.
Tsume kept a cautious eye on the pup and the blonde; she just didn't simply believe that the rebellious dog she had rescued weeks ago was so… tamed. Yet, here they were with the alpha-bred pup was licking the blonde's face. There was one plausible answer even though it wasn't likely; especially since the blonde wasn't in any relation to a ninken-partnered clan.
"Say gaki," Tsume started off casually as Naruto looked at her, "What happened when you first met the puppy?"
"Oh! Uh… Hmm… where to begin… Well I was walking somewhere and I heard something…" Naruto then recounted his tale of saving the pup from three bigger dogs and how he waited for the better part of the day to feed the puppy before it passed out. He then explained that he went to Kiba because the villagers weren't really the best option for him.
At this, Tsume's eyes softened; she knew exactly why the villagers weren't exactly the… best option… and truth to be told, she couldn't really blame them. People in general were just simple minded, everyone used the poor jinchuuriki as an outlet for all their anger, pain, suffering, and sorrows for their losses. She didn't condone their actions but she understood why they did what they did and why they acted like they did. She didn't like it, but she understood well enough.
Hopefully, when young Naruto is revealed to the truth, he'll be accepting of this as well.
But if he wasn't accepting and decided to kill all the wrongdoers in his life and rampage in anger… well… he had every right to be. She knew of what had transpired the night of the Uchiha Massacre with the Uchiha, and quite frankly, it was one of the most horrifying things she and the shinobi council had even think of. Imagining that happening to Kiba made her shudder with fear and despair. To think that the blonde could still act this normal astounded her.
All shinobis ranked jounin and higher were told of what had happened to Konoha's jinchuuriki and most grimaced at the gruesome events retold. There were a few however, that took on a joyous expression at the gored expense of the child.
She gritted her teeth as she recalled how pleased the civilian council and select few shinobis seemed when the Sandaime recalled the brutal event in the counseling chambers. 'Those bastards need to get a reality check! I swear the next time I see Hokage-sama I'm going to give him a piece of-"
"Can I see those?" Naruto asked, effectively cutting off her train of thoughts.
Tsume was about to ask what he wanted to see when she saw him point towards the photos she had taken of him and the pup.
Tsume chuckled as she looked briefly the pictures that depicted happiness, shock, and mock anger. She handed them over, "You can keep those pup, and I think you should know something… the moment you saved the dog it bonded with you. Your actions must have struck a chord or something with the puppy because you helped her that day."
Naruto nodded in an understanding fashion, "Wow. So does that mean that the puppy is a ninken I can- WAIT! IT'S A HER?!"
Tsume smirked haughtily, "Of course it is! The female is of course the superior gender!"
Naruto nodded sagely; that made plenty of sense, Sakura and Ino were pretty damn bossy and no one dared to go against their wishes.
"Uhh… so… what does that mean? I still don't know how to take care of it and even if I did, the villagers would still probably try and take her away from me." Naruto scowled, "And I definitely don't want that to happen."
"First off, you need to name the dog; I'm tired of you referring to her as an 'it' and 'her.' Dogs should never be treated as an inferior being, they aren't beneath us; they are our equals. Understood?" she glared.
Naruto nodded without hesitation; he didn't believe any being was lesser than another. He certainly wasn't gonna treat this dog like that. Naruto stroked his chin and looked up. Tsume chuckled at the pose the boy struck, it was amusing to see a pondering expression on a ten year old boy who seemed to be thinking too hard for his own good.
"Hmm… Lets see…" Naruto murmured, "a name huh… what should I call you?" he turned his attention to the female pup whom was happily wagging her tail at him.
"How about I read you some female names gaki and you can go from there?" Tsume offered.
Naruto shot her a grateful look and nodded, "Yes please!"
Tsume immediately started firing off suggestions, "Alright! There's Miho, Tomoe, Aika, Aimi, Kohaku, Mari, Masa, Rei, Reiko, Setsuko, Takara, Yuriko…" She looked at Naruto to see if he had liked any of them.
Naruto chewed on his lip and contemplated each name before shaking his head, "I don't know… none of the names I like. Are there any more names you can suggest?"
"Shiori, Rin, Maiko, Kou, Kazumi, Kimiko, kimi-"
"What do those two mean? 'Kimiko' and 'kimi' I mean." Naruto asked curiously,
"Kimiko means empress child and Kimi means noble… ya like em? "
Naruto scrunched his face in a thinking manner, "Hmm… do we have to do this today?! I just don't know…"
Tsume sighed, "Although it's better to engrave the name into the pup's head early in its life, I suppose it's not absolutely necessary… But by the end of this week you'll be deciding on one. Understood?"
Naruto nodded, "Yes ma'am!"
"Good. Now wait here, I'm gonna go get some books for you to study up on."
Naruto groaned and received a love tap on the head.
And by love tap, I mean punched.
Naruto got punched.
Naruto looked up at Tsume with a pout, "Tsume-san! Why'd ya do that!"
Tsume felt a tic growing, "Cause gaki! Whether you like it or not, this dog has bonded with you. You absolutely need to learn how to take care of it. Now stay put or I'll neuter you."
Without waiting for an answer, Tsume walked off to wherever in the compound to retrieve her books. When she returned, she found Naruto lying on his back and playing with the pup. Tsume smiled as Naruto made engine-like noises and maneuvered the female puppy in the air. The puppy seemed to be enjoying itself if the wagging tail and tongue lolling out was any indications to go by.
"Alright pup, take these books and study up. Leave her– the pup – here until the end of the week. She still needs proper shots for various things so I'll take care of that. Make sure you have a name when you come back, alright?"
Naruto nodded, not realizing the full implications of the conversation. He furrowed his brows as the information sorted itself out in his head, suddenly, he yelled, "WAIT! SO! I'M GONNA BE THE ONE TAKING CARE OF IT?!"
Tsume sighed, "Why else would I be giving you information on how to take care of a ninken? On top of that, you are going to be returning here to name the dog. Why would I have you return and name the dog?"
Tsume looked at Naruto and her eyes softened; the boy seemed torn apart at the revelation that pup was now his. She could tell he was struggling with his wants of receiving a companion and his moral obligation to see the pup being protected.
"Listen pup, how about this, I'll babysit the pup until it can fend for itself. I don't want any canine to ever be mistreated. HOWEVER! THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN PERMANETLY LEAVE HIM HERE, UNDERSTOOD?!"
Naruto ignored her screaming and nodded fervently. He was both grateful and a bit irritated. Grateful because he was given an opportunity to receive a companion for life yet slightly irritated that the puppy wasn't going to be with him 24/7.
But he supposed that was a fair trade.
"Arigatou gozaimous Tsume-san!" Naruto bowed.
Tsume found herself chuckling once more, "Make sure that I don't regret this!"
Naruto's eyes gleamed, "Oh you won't dattebayo!"
"Good. Now scram!"
Naruto squeaked out an incoherent sound as he hastily scurried out.
X
Naruto poured all his attention to the study materials he received from Gai-sensei and the Inuzuka clan head. At one point, Gai-sensei had stopped by to check up on his student and endeavors for his youthful endeavors.
Naruto ignored Gai as the man rummaged through his friends screaming how youthful his stocked items were. As soon as the rant of how amazingly healthy and youthful the innards of his fridge was, he came over with a giant frown.
"Naruto-kun! I do not recall me giving you that many books! UNLESS! YOU REALIZED HOW MUCH YOUTH WAS CONTAINED IN THE INFORMATION OF THESE BOOKS AND YOU DECIDED THAT IN ALL YOUR YOUTHFULNESS-"
"Tsume-sama gave it to me." Naruto said casually as his eyes scanned another passage of information regarding chakra-enhanced canines.
Naruto looked up when he heard no response regarding 'youth'. He saw a depressed raining cloud overhead on his Taijutsu instructor. A humorously depressed and hurt expression on Gai's face appeared along with a gushing stream of tears.
"OH WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH AN UNYOUTHFUL ACTION MY STUDENT?! HAVE I FAILED YOU IN TEACHING THE YOUTHFULNESS OF MY WAYS!? FOR MY FAILURES I SHALL RUN TO SUNA WITH A NORTHERN COW ATTACHED TO MY CHEST AND-"
"Gai-sensei! Calm down! She's not training me!" Gai looked at his student with a glint of hope in his eyes, "well, she technically is training me but not really. I mean she is teaching me via these books…"
Hearing those words, Gai continued wailing. Naruto exhaled a forceful breath in frustration, "GAI-SENSEI! I AM GOING TO BE GETTING A DOG SO THAT IS WHY I WENT TO TSUME-SAN FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO TAKE CARE OF IT! SO WILL YOU PLEASE CALM DOWN?!"
Upon hearing those words, Gai's sullen demeanor quickly did a one-eighty and he struck his patented nice-guy pose. With a thumb up and teeth shining, Gai smiled and laughed boisterously, "HAHA! OF COURSE MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT WOULD NEVER ABANDON ME! FOR MY UNYOUTHFUL THOUGHTS AND ASSUMPTIONS, I SHALL RUN SEVEN HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE! BY THAT TIME, I EXPECT MY STUDENT TO FINISH AND RETAIN ALL THE MATERIALS GIVEN TO HIM!"
Naruto furrowed his brows, "How long will you take to run seven hundred laps?"
"THREE HOURS MY DEAR STUDENT!"
"YOU EXPECT ME TO FINISH ALL SEVENTY-TWO BOOKS IN THREE HOURS!?"
Gai cocked his head, "Whatever do you mean my dear student? This should be easy for you given that you have the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu at your disposal!"
Naruto peered at him suspiciously, "And what the hell- OW!"
"NONE OF THAT UNYOUTHFUL LANGUAGE!"
Naruto pouted as he rubbed the bruised that sported on top of his head, "Sorry! Geez! Anyhoo! What does the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu have to do with anything? Other than fighting, all it does is send me memories and I can't really do anything with that besides-"
Naruto's eyes widened, "Oh."
Gai exposed all his shining teeth in a bright smile, "INDEED NARUTO-KUN! I AM GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO COME TO THE CONCLUSION ON YOUR OWN!"
Naruto shook his head and smacked himself in the face for being so stupid, "Dang it! I thought I could use the jutsu sort of like that but I didn't think that anyone could've created something that useful! I only used it to spar with myself at this point!"
Gai frowned and his voice lacked its usual exuberance and in place of it was a seriousness Naruto rarely heard, "Naruto, who taught you the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu? I'm sorry to say that they didn't do a very adequate job of informing you of all the features to that jutsu."
Naruto rubbed his head nervously, "Actually sensei… uh… I sort of learned it by myself…"
Gai's eyes widened before it narrowed, that particular jutsu was an A-ranked kinjutsu, "Explain please."
So Naruto went into the general gist of what had happened… even Iruka-sensei's death. However, he did not mention that Mizuki had been killed by him; he didn't trust anyone but the jiji with that piece of information. It wasn't that he didn't trust Gai-sensei but he didn't the man he had come consider as one of his precious people to change about him.
When he had finished his story about the eventful night of the 'exam' Mizuki-teme gave him, he almost went on to telling him about the events that was shrouded with Itachi's involvement. He quickly caught himself though, it probably wouldn't sit too well with Gai-sensei- or anyone for that matter, that the village pariah was involved with the mass murdering traitor to the Uchiha clan. Regardless, Naruto knew it probably wouldn't have mattered if he had told Gai about the brutal torture he received the night of the massacre. Yep, the story with just Iruka-sensei would probably cause Gai to start crying waterfalls whilst hugging him.
Much like right now. Turning blue, Naruto managed to croak out a hoarse choke, "C-CAN'T BREATHE!"
Although Naruto didn't tell him, Gai already knew what had happened to him on the night of the massacre, as did every other jounin.
Gai immediately dropped his chokehold- err, hug and apologized with his same old exuberance, "OH YOUTHFUL KAMI! I APOLOGIZE GREATLY FOR UNYOUTHFULLY STRAINING YOUR ESOPHAGUS WITH MY LIMBS!"
X
"OH YOUTHFUL KAMI! NARUTO-KUN I APOLOGIZE GREATLY FOR UNYOUTHFULLY STRAINING YOUR ESOPHAGUS WITH MY LIMBS!"
Elsewhere, a 17 year old with violet/purple styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail haired female clad in a tan trench coat walked by. She had light brown, pupil-less eyes and she wore a fitted mesh body suit that stretched from her collar bone down to her thighs. The mesh body armor showed off her rather curvaceous figure. Her trench coat had a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side. Underneath her trench coat, she was wearing a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards.
Next to her was another female of the same age. Kurenai Yuuhi was a fair-skinned woman and she had long black untamed hair reaching her upper back, red in color outfit consists of a red mesh armor blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Bandage wrapping covered her upper thighs and nothing covered her long and rather attractive legs. However, the most prominent feature were her eyes; a vibrant red that held most men mesmerized.
Anko Mitarashi choked on her dango. She blanched and dry heaved as she recognized the voice, "Oh kami, I fucking knew he was gay!"
Kurenai frowned, "I'm sure there is an explanation for his… choice of words." Yet Kurenai couldn't help but think that the evidence was overwhelmingly in the favor of Gai playing for the other team, so to speak.
"Come on Nai-chan! He's a gay! Homo! Flaming flamingo! Take your pick; but you heard it loud and clear!" Anko cried out.
Anko looked at the sake bottle and cup in her hand and promptly threw away the cup that was used to pace the rate of consumption for said alcohol and downed the whole bottle in one go. She winced slightly at the amount of burning that followed after drinking the liquor but it had to be done, 'I've totally gotta forget about that shit. Never EVER do I want to hear anything sexual that involves or revolves around the bushed freak.'
With that thought, she procured another sake bottle from thin air and downed that one in one go as well, she closed her eyes as the alcohol hit her.
"FUCKING SHIT I BETTER GET DRUNK ENOUGH TO FORGET ABOUT TODAY!" She howled as she brought a third sake bottle to her lips.
Kurenai shook her head and rolled her eyes, sometimes Anko was such a drama queen. Kurenai pried the bottle away from a protesting Anko and said, "No getting drunk before a mission! Now hurry up, we don't want to keep the hokage waiting."
Anko pouted, "Who cares about the old coot! My mental stability is at stake here!"
Kurenai rolled her eyes once more, "I think you lost it long time ago."
"By 'it' are we talking about our V-card? Cause I know I didn't lose mine; in fact, I gave it away to a certain red-eyed chuunin." Anko leered at a blushing Kurenai lecherously.
"Anko! Don't say that aloud!" Kurenai hissed.
Anko pouted, "You're no fun!"
"Not what you thought a couple weeks ago." Muttered a still scarlet faced Kurenai.
X
Naruto took in deep breaths to refill the oxygen that was lacking from his lungs. He looked up to see Gai still crying about how unyouthful his actions were. He was screaming self-repercussions he was going to inflict upon himself while Naruto looked back down while shaking his head.
Sometimes, the man was an idiot.
And all the time, Naruto was an idiot for training with him.
He frowned as he thought he heard a female cursing the day as the bane of her existence or something but he just shrugged; The inhabitants of Konogakure No Sato could be extremely weird.
Example one: Maito Gai.
"-AFTER THAT, I SHALL CRAWL BACKWARDS UP THE HOKAGE MONUMENT-"
"Hey Gai-sensei."
"YES MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT?"
"Weren't you gonna go run around the village?"
"INDEED I SHALL DO THAT NOW! READY, SET, GO!" When his self-timer got to 'go', Gai sped off. Naruto sighed and shook his head with a slightly amused smile. He then turned his attention to the matters at hand. Forming the tiger seal, Naruto muttered a quick, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" several plumes of smoke appeared and dissipated to reveal twenty clones. Naruto cheerfully handed out all the books to the grumbling clones and went back to his own.
"Man! Why do we have to do this?"
"Boss sucks for making us do this!"
"Boss blows."
"He really is an idiot."
The real Naruto rolled his eyes, "you dipthongs, I am you guys and you guys are me! If I'm an idiot, then we all are!"
Silence met the ears of the original Naruto who had a satisfied smiled on his face, 'There! That sure shut them the hell up. Score one for the original Naru-'
"You still suck."
X
Surprisingly enough, Naruto finished reading the pamphlets and books of information in two hours. However, he found that he didn't really know a lot of the bigger and complicated words so he also took to reading some dictionary books. All in all, he felt that it was a pretty productive day. It was definitely better than learning nothing at the academy.
This time when he dispelled his clones, he made sure to do it at set intervals. His last experience with clones made him shudder with fear; the headache that came along with dispelling a massive amount of clones was most definitely not pleasant. So for the first set of dispelling clones, he dispelled two and found that the influx of information wasn't painful at all. He then dispelled three and found like the first dispelling of clones, it didn't hurt.
Feeling confident, Naruto dispelled five clones and also found, to his delight, that it didn't hurt. Now armed with an incredible sense of boldness, he dispelled the remaining ten clones and shouted with triumph after he sorted through the information that was retained in the clones.
Naruto frowned as he waited for a certain Taijutsu specialist to return to his abode; he didn't have anything to do so he wanted to train. It was that or go back to the academy for the remainder of class…
And he wasn't gonna do that.
"Man! Gai-sensei is taking forever; I'm never gonna be hokage at this rate!" the blonde demon container complained. He went to smack his forehead out of habit when it actually came in contact with his forehead. Usually his goggles were there to protect it so he could actually put some force behind his habitual self-inflicting frustrated forehead smacking.
"ITAI! WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE THE HELL IS MY GOGG- oh damn it! I left it back in the classroom when the puppy chewed it up! Ugh." Naruto raked his hands downward on his face as he let out a frustrated groan, "Kuso! Where should I go to get a new one?"
Naruto sat down criss-cross style with his arms folded on his chest as he tried thinking of how to obtain new goggles. "Damn it! I wish I had someone to help me with this! If only I could-" An idea flashed through his head, and he slapped his forehead again out of habit. "OW! SHIT! BUT DAMN IT! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!"
Quickly forming the tiger seal, Naruto cried out, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Three clones poofed into existence and sat with him forming a neat little cross. The clones raised their eyebrows in a questioning manner, "Why are we here boss?!"
Naruto nearly slapped his forehead again, "How do you guys not know?! You guys are me! We should have the same thought process!"
Drawing blank looks from his clones, Naruto pouted, "I need some help with finding a new set of goggles so getting this amazing idea" he gestured to the clones, "of forming a Naruto committee, I summoned you guys!"
One of the clones dispelled from slapping his forehead too hard; the clone didn't know if the boss was a genius or an idiot savant. The original Naruto narrowed his eyes at his dispelled clones thought. Naruto quickly replaced that Kage Bunshin and he turned to the clones now present, "Alright! I need ideas now!"
"You could have us Henge into a pair of goggles!" one of the clones suggested excitedly.
"No."
"You can go without the goggles."
"Not doing that either."
"You can draw the goggles on your forehead."
"Kami you guys suck."
"HEY! WE'RE YOU!"
"Hmph!"
The real Naruto took on a bored expression as his clones discussed in the most absurd way of how to acquire a new set of goggles. Eventually, Naruto stood up and shouted, "ALRIGHT ENOUGH! FORGET ALL YOUR STUPID IDEAS! EVERYONE IS GONNA USE A HENGE TO FIND AND BUY ONE!"
Immediately, all the clones protested this simple idea by shouting that their idea was better and more sophisticated. The original Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to control his anger. Face twitching with irritation, the original Naruto growled. Suddenly, another brilliant idea sprang to mind, "ALRIGHT! FIRST ONE TO BRING THE SAME STYLED GOGGLE WILL GET THE LIMITED EDITION CUP OF RAMEN!"
All arguments and protest ended with the clones stumbling and tripping over each other while they headed to the exit screaming passionately about their sacred and beloved ramen.
"Oi you bastards! When you're done, I'm gonna be at the training grounds!" Naruto yelled after them. The clones flipping him the bird showed that they had acknowledged his statement. Naruto sighed as he locked his door and left a note to Gai that explained he'd be at the training grounds.
'Man… disrespectful clones...' Naruto mentally grumbled.
"Yosh! Time to get out of here!" Excited at the prospect of training, Naruto dashed to his intended destination with eagerness.
X
From the trees, Gai stood on a branch with the side of his shoulder against the tree for support. He watched Naruto leave his apartment with a proud gleam in his eyes.
Gai sighed.
"I really don't want to give him to you… I have grown most attached to the youthful boy…"
"Maa maa, it's not like you won't see him again. Besides, I'm sure you'll be getting your genin team in the next year or so." Came the voice of one Hatake Kakashi.
Gai scowled slightly, "Even so, what happens if he wishes to pursue Taijutsu as his specialty?"
"It won't happen." Kakashi replied flatly. Seeing that Gai was about to argue, Kakashi quickly held his hand up, "But in the tiny whimsical chance that it does happen, he will be your main student. Regardless, I will help him better himself as a shinobi, no matter what."
Satisfied with the smile, Gai nodded, "Of course, that is in your right; seeing as to how the father was your sensei… you know, the boy reminds me greatly of our youthful comrade Obitio, wouldn't you agree my rival?"
Gai sighed as he didn't hear a response. However, this response (or non-response) was to be expected from his rival. Gai looked to his left at the now vacant spot where Kakashi had been with a sad look. Approaching the subject of Obito Uchiha with his youthful rival was obviously still a sore subject.
It was ironic really, Naruto was very much like Obito in both appearance and mentality. Both were rather loud and lacking in the academy, if someone were to dye Naruto's hair black, they would be hard-pressed to identify him if they were looking at him from the back. Now if you kept the dyed hair and replaced Naruto's blue eyes with the classic Uchiha eyes, you would absolutely be unable to tell the difference.
Of course you gotta remove the whiskers too.
He looked towards the direction that his young student had left in; hopefully Naruto could restore Kakashi's will of fire completely.
X
Naruto undid his Henge as he reached the training field he used to usually train with Gai. Standing in place, he stood on his tip toes and stretched his limbs towards the skies. Coming back down, he yawned and slammed his fist into an open palm, he grinned, "Alright! Let's get down to business!" With that being said, he formed the tiger seal and yelled, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Two shadow clones popped up and immediately went into the Goken (Iron fist) stance and faced the original.
Naruto grinned, "Alright you bastards! Sparring time! Bring it on!"
The two shadow clones immediately shouted battled cries before charging at him. Naruto smiled wryly, was he really that dumb? He realized that there was chance that he'd probably – Actually no, he actually would do that if it was a fight. His smile turned into a frown; he'd have to fix that mentality otherwise it'd become a big issue.
His musings was cut off as the Kage Bunshins sent a sweeping low kick and a punch aimed at his face simultaneously. Naruto smirked, although his clones' battle tactics were a bit flawed, he couldn't help but admit that the tandem in which his clones' attacked in was pretty dang good. Realizing that the attacks were about to land if he didn't do anything, he leapt backwards to avoid the blows and settled into his own Goken (Iron Fist) stance.
The excitement was palpable from his body as his gaze darted to and from between his two opponents. There was no panic for him because he's been in situations very similar to this.
Bullies and villagers always came at him in numbers. It was the only chance they had really, If it was one on one, he'd simply run away. He wasn't ever allowed to fight back but seeing as to how the villagers and shinobis were getting… bolder, so to speak, he had to learn how to take on multiple opponents.
Besides, you'd never know what would happen on the battlefield as a ninja. There'd probably be times in which he'd find himself outnumbered.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he analyzed his current situation and his next course of action. The Kage Bunshins, seeing the calculative eyes of the original, split towards two different directions. Trying to keep out of his line of sight as much as possible, the clones rested on the peripherals of the real Naruto.
Naruto smiled, Guess his clones actually weren't that dumb. He paused for a moment and frowned, he essentially just called himself dumb. He shook himself out of his musings as his Kage Bunshins came at him from both sides.
Just as the hits were about to make contact, Naruto jumped and sent his legs towards both sides, effectively stalemating the punches aimed at him in midair. Instead of letting his clones recover from their slightly shocked stupor, Naruto seized the opportunity and kicked off a fist of a clone that sent him towards the other clone that was still in contact with his foot. Latching onto the forearms and bicep with his hands, Naruto swung the foot that he kicked off of the other clone and sent it crashing into the clone's face he was currently latched onto.
Naruto smirked as the clone he had just hit dispelled. As soon as he landed, the clone he now had behind him came in with a kick of its own. The original Naruto having just landed, sensed that he had no time to dodge. So he did the next best thing you could possible do when a hit was imminent.
Gai-sensei had taught him that sometimes you couldn't escape a situation no matter how much effort you put into avoiding it. Sometimes- no, eventually, you will have to face the problem.
This could apply to every aspect in life; not just action-oriented situations, but tactics, politics, and definitely romance too. When Naruto had been told that, he nodded sagely, as if he understood everything that Gai-sensei had just said. He could've if he wanted too, but he didn't care about those things. Action was what Naruto was about, so he paid little attention to the other things Gai-sensei had lectured him on. It's not like he had to worry about any of those things anyways.
Yet.
But just because you had to face a situation head on didn't mean you go charging in and meeting it. No, Naruto knew from instinct that there were different ways to approach a situation. One way to deal with a situation was to simply, as the saying went, 'Roll with punches.'
So that's exactly what he did with his clone's kick rapidly approaching him.
He rolled with it. Going in the direction the kick would have careened him towards; he passed the solid contact as a glancing blow. It stung, but it wasn't nearly as painful as how it would have been had the kick made direct contact. He recovered in a one-kneeling position whilst caressing the right side of his face. He grimaced as he felt the slight swell on his jaw; that was gonna leave a mark.
The Kage Bunshin smirked and the original scowled, seeing arrogance on his pseudo-body irked him. 'Definitely don't like being cocky like the teme. Gotta fix that if it becomes a problem… confidence is okay, arrogance is not.'
Both clone and original Naruto shot off towards each other and engaged in an exchange of fists, kicks, elbows, and knees. Eventually Naruto managed to one up his clone by sending a fierce kick towards his clones knee.
Naruto panted slightly; his stamina was nothing short of amazing, but facing someone who was of the same caliber as you would wear you down. Shaking his head, he formed the tiger seal and formed five Kage Bunshins.
Everyone took their respective Goken stance and faced the original. Naruto grimaced, it was gonna be a long day.
X
A/N: ATTENTION READERS! I need some information regarding gravity seals and what not. If someone can give a crash course in the reviews, that'd be muchly appreciated. Actually fuinjutsu information would be pretty cool too- Actually, information on anything would be pretty cool lol.
By the way, any dog name suggestions?!
Actually, any constructive criticism is cool too.
Hell, I'll even take a flame.
P.S. I Dunno how a beta works so… info about that would be great too. Like do I just send a beta my document and he sends it back when it's all edited and blah?!
P.S.S: I need a beta!
Sorry ya'll! Thank ya much though!