Please reader Author's note at the end of this chapter to get a bit of an idea on future chapters.
Also, I apologized for those who didn't notice the previous chapter being uploaded. I don't know what happened but didn't send an email a notification when I uploaded it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any abilities and techniques he used that are owned by their respective creators. Give credit to where credit is due.
Chapter 06: Education
It had been three days since the slaughter of Iwa's Rock Biter Brigade, well, except for one who Naruto spared due to the Hokage's intervention.
After the interrogation personally conducted by the Hokage, they found out that this was a non-designated mission, a personal vendetta by the leader of the Rock Biter Brigade to cash in on the huge bounty on the Hokage's head, as well as the potential backlash his death would have on the Leaf.
Since they were exhausted and wounded from the battle, they decided to move into the forest and recuperate after sending the armless Iwa shinobi back to his village with a message to the Tsuchikage regarding their actions and a request for compensation to an unprovoked attack on his person despite the ceasefire agreement they had after the Third Great Shinobi War.
The last of the Rock Biter Brigade didn't say no to the delivery since the Hokage threatened him with Naruto's intervention if he disagreed. Sarutobi clearly remembered the panic evident in the eyes of the Iwa-nin upon the mention of the blonde jinchuuriki. It would seem that Naruto's power scared the Iwa-nin more than angering the Hokage and the Iwa-nin have given Naruto a nickname after the slaughter.
The Hitokiri Battousai of Konoha.
Sarutobi didn't know if he was proud of Naruto for striking fear into the hearts of his enemies or worried that the boy was too young to merit such title. He predicted that the boy would be sporting his own entry in the Bingo Book in the future. Good thing the Iwa-nin didn't know Naruto's true name or the council in the village would be in for a shock.
Such was the case; Sarutobi sent one of his messenger monkeys to the Kazekage with apologies of their delay. He didn't mention why they were delayed though since it was possible that the power-hungry Sandaime Kazekage would take advantage of their weakened state and bring them out.
The three days they spent in a hidden clearing deep in the forest was spent mostly to rest. However, Naruto was busy making a grave for the Haruhi family and refused any help from the trio.
In truth, Sarutobi was worried of his surrogate grandson. The skills he displayed were uncanny and he couldn't deny the fact that taking down the Rock Biter Brigade was no mean feat. The boy's skill with the sword, as well as those various techniques he used was mind-boggling. The boy was powerful, he couldn't deny that. The question was…where did he get such power? He knew that Kyuubi had nothing to do with it since he didn't feel a smidgen of the bijuu's chakra during the battle so everything that Naruto used was his own.
Aside from the various thoughts swirling in his head, Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle at the change in the two Jounins that acted as his bodyguard. They were giving the blonde jinchuuriki looks of awe and respect, even addressing the boy as 'Naruto-sama' on occasion when they talked with the boy. In most cases, Naruto just gave them a few words as answers since the boy was clearly not in the mood to socially interact with them.
In truth, the death of the Haruhis scarred the blonde to the point that the warmth in his blue eyes was non-existent. Sarutobi was saddened that his favorite blonde had his innocence ripped away from his at such a tender age.
It was morning on the third day that Sarutobi made his way out of the clearing they set up camp and approached the make-shift grave that Naruto made for the Haruhis. In front of him were three gravestones that Naruto created from a large boulder, each with their respective names. The aged leader saw his beloved grandson kneeling in front of the gravestone with Misao's name carved on its face. He made his way to the blonde and knelt beside him, silence echoed across the clearing before Naruto spoke.
"Will the pain ever go away, jiji?" whispered Naruto as he eyed Misao's grave.
Sarutobi knew what Naruto was talking about and decided to answer truthfully, hoping against hope that his grandson's humanity was still intact.
"No." said the Hokage as he eyed the gravestones in front of him. "Losing loved ones will always be painful, Naruto-kun. Even today, I still harbor the pain of losing my wife, Biwako, during the night the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. I feel the pain when I discovered that she died in the hospital because of chakra exhaustion as she emptied her life energy to heal the wounded. The pain of loneliness I feel every day, even now."
"How do you cope with it?" said Naruto as his eyes started to produce tears as he remembered Misao's smiling face. However, it stayed that way and no tears fell as if they were held in place by his promise to never cry again.
"By living." answered Sarutobi as he placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "One thing you need to know, Naruto-kun, is that our loved ones would always want us to continue with life. The three days that you spent with them was enough to endear them to you. Live on, Naruto, live on for them. Let their memories be alive in your heart. Strive to live and not degenerate into an empty shell of a man."
Silence reigned as Naruto pondered his surrogate grandfather's words. He instinctively knew that everything the aged leader said was right. Life was fair; you love people and lose people you love. It was a cycle, a cycle of life and death. However, what made it bearable were the memories and experiences you have with the people you love. It cemented the decision he made while he digging the Haruhis' graves. No longer will he lose those precious to him. He would use his skills to make sure that the people he loved were safe and whole.
"Jiji, I want to protect the people I love. I want to become a shinobi." said Naruto with determination in his voice as he eyed the names on the stones in front of him.
Sarutobi inwardly sighed in relief, thankful that Naruto didn't degenerate into a path of hate that these situations always resulted in. He wasn't happy that his surrogate grandson would be entering the life of a shinobi at such a young age. Sure, he would become one in the future which would take place few years from now, enough time to learn the lessons that came with the career.
However, with Naruto's skill and determination, saying no would be detrimental to the boy's heart. To deny the boy would only push him to the path of darkness and he didn't want that to happen. It was better for the boy's skill to be put to use to protect instead of random killing. With the skills he displayed a few days back, slaughter would be the perfect word to use.
"I agree." said Sarutobi with a nod causing the blonde to look at him in surprise, as if expecting him to disagree with his decision. "Don't take me wrong, Naruto-kun. You're too young to be a shinobi. However, with the skills you displayed during the battle, I don't think that it would be good for you for me to deny this request. We will talk more after this trip to Suna when we get back home. After all, you owe me some explanation with the skills you showed."
Naruto gave him a sheepish grin making Sarutobi inwardly crow in happiness that his surrogate grandson's sanity was still intact.
"Thanks, jiji. I think I owe you an explanation as well. If I were to become a shinobi then it would only stand to reason that you know what I'm capable of, neh?"
"Indeed." Sarutobi agreed and clapped Naruto on the back before standing up. "I suggest we take our leave. It is three days travel from here to Suna though we could get there sooner if we speed things up and I know that you can accommodate traveling at a faster pace with the speed you showed me earlier, correct?"
"Easily, jiji." said Naruto with a smile as he stood up as well. He looked at the three graves and gave the Haruhis a smile before taking his leave with the Hokage mimicking his action.
When they arrived at the clearing where they set up camp, Naruto noticed that everything was packed and any evidence of their presence was professionally erased.
"Hokage-sama, Naruto-sama. Welcome back." said one of the Jounin in greeting when they entered the clearing.
Naruto sighed at the added suffix to his name. No matter how much he told the two Jounins to just call him Naruto, they wouldn't budge.
"Akido-san" said Naruto with a nod. "I guess we would be leaving now since jiji personally looked for me. Where is Yahiko?"
Akido gestured over his shoulder towards Yahiko who was sitting under a tree, clearly suffering from a fever due to his wounded shoulder. They were able to apply first-aid but the lack of supplies made it impossible to properly heal the wound. None of them knew medical techniques to stop the infection from spreading.
"He's suffering from a bit of fever and I don't think he would be fit to travel at this rate." Akido said solemnly.
"I agree. In this case, it would be best if we carry him until we can get him treated in Suna." said the Hokage as he eyed the sick Jounin in front of him.
"Don't worry about it, jiji. I'll carry him." offered Naruto as he walked towards the downed Yahiko.
"I don't think you're strong enough to carry him, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi warned but had to bite back a yelp of surprise when the blonde simply picked up the Jounin in a bridal carry without effort. It was weird to see an 8-year old boy easily carry a fully-grown man. "Nevermind. Are you sure you can travel at your usual speed with you carrying him?"
Naruto didn't say anything but simply disappeared from the spot and appeared a few meters away from the group. He gave the Hokage a cheeky grin.
"You were saying, jiji?" countered Naruto, grin still plastered on his face.
The Hokage had a resigned look on his face while Akido was looking at Naruto in awe.
"Fine." Sarutobi said in resignation. "We will go to Suna at full speed. Naruto, I know you're faster with that speed technique of yours so I suggest that you adjust your distance to ours. Make sure that you keep us in sight at all times, clear?"
Naruto nodded and took a step forward before disappearing and appearing on a branch in one of the trees a few meters away causing the Hokage to huff in annoyance before channeling chakra to his muscles and ran at full speeds with Naruto catching up to him easily via tree route. Akido was hard-pressed to follow the two powerhouses in front of him.
The group was able to reach Suna in one and a half day traveling at full speed instead of the assumed three days of travel.
Sarutobi and Akido were surprised at Naruto's speed as the boy kept up with their pace. In fact, they were flabbergasted when they reached the desert when Naruto kept to the high grounds, standing on air as if it was nothing.
Sarutobi vowed to interrogate the blonde when they got back to Konoha since the boy was displaying skills that bordered on impossible. Akido just stared at Naruto as if he was the second coming of Kami.
When they got to the gates of Suna, the Hokage immediately processed the necessary papers and asked to be directed to the hospital to get Yahiko healed from his wound and fever.
While the Hokage and Akido were in the hospital, Naruto checked out the shops and purchased a hunter-nin mask from one of the shinobi stores in the village to keep up the façade of being a shinobi. The mask was quite scary since it depicted a Hanya, or a demon with large fangs and horns.
Despite his age, he was at a respectable height of 5'3 thanks to Kurama's modification of his physiology so he could easily pass off as a young shinobi if need be.
When Naruto showed up with his mask on partially covered by his orange scarf, Sarutobi couldn't help but be impressed at the boy's aura when the mask was in place. He couldn't deny the fact that the mask itself was scary considering that it was a demon's mask. All-in-all, Naruto was a sight to be feared which was further given evidence when Akido almost pissed on his pants when they saw Naruto wearing his new purchase.
After they checked in into one of the hotels in Suna, the Hokage briefed Naruto on his 'job' and 'persona'. Sarutobi informed Naruto that he would be acting as his bodyguard for the duration of his stay so he would be present to all the meetings with the Kazekage.
Sarutobi warned Naruto to keep his eyes and ears open to make sure that no threats were present and to keep a close watch on the Kazekage just in case the man had something nefarious planned for them.
The meeting was boring for Naruto except for the times that the Suna shinobis, as well as the Kazekage, would eye him with a little bit of apprehension. Naruto couldn't help but grin behind his mask. He definitely liked his purchase. The blonde could practically see the Hokage's amusement to their reaction to his outfit judging from the twitching on the side of his lips when a random Suna shinobi would yelp in fear when he was present.
All-in-all, they stayed for a week in Suna and the conference with the Kazekage yielded positive results. Aside from the modification to the treaty, the Hokage promised the Kazekage that he would be having words with the Wind Daimyo regarding their concerns with the leader of Suna delivering the promised techniques to Konoha AFTER the missions were properly given to the village.
The Konoha group departed Suna for home in good spirits.
With Naruto being open with his abilities, especially his speed, they made it to Konoha in a span of three days. Of course, they had to set up camp every night and leave early in the morning after cleaning up. They didn't encounter any problems with the Chuunins guards and the Hokage dismissed the two Jounins and giving them a week off to relax.
Naruto blushed when Akido and Yahiko bowed to him and addressed him as 'Naruto-sama' in front of both civilians eliciting different reactions. Naruto groaned in resignation since he knew that the two Jounins would be spreading the word of his actions before the day ends if the gleam in their eyes were of any indication to their plans.
The two didn't wasn't any time and adjourned to the Hokage's office to start their discussion. After Sarutobi activated the privacy barrier around his office, the questions started with Naruto answering every single one not leaving anything out. In most cases, the questions were on Naruto's abilities and how he got them, as well as the various trainings he went through, including his night-time forays into the Konoha Library.
Also, the Hokage interrogated Naruto concerning Kyuubi, or Kurama in this case, to determine whether the bijuu had no harmful intentions with his surrogate grandson. After hearing the history of the bijuu as explained by Kurama, Sarutobi was content to leave things alone…for now.
The entire conversation took four hours to draw to a close leaving the Hokage looked at him with a frown.
"That's all of it, jiji. I hope I answered all your questions since we've been at it for four hours now." complained Naruto with a slight whine to his voice causing the aged leader to chuckle.
"I think you answered all my questions satisfactorily, Naruto-kun. Now, before we discuss your actual position in the shinobi ranks, there are a few complications we need to discuss." said the Hokage with a serious look on his face.
"Complications? I mean, you're the Hokage right? So it's only right for you to grant any rank to a person as long as they are capable and I am very capable." Naruto pointed out with a raised eyebrow, as if daring the Hokage to challenge him, which the old man did.
"That may be true but there are certain things in your training that you seriously lacked." He raised his hand up immediately to stall any arguments when he saw the blonde about to comment. "Let me put it this way, Naruto-kun. You have trained extensively with your Ki and Reiryoku abilities, not to mention your mastery over your sword style even if you said that you're still halfway through your training with it. No matter how strong you are, you still lack two things."
Naruto nodded in agreement and couldn't dispute the old man's words. However, the two things that he lacked made him look at the Hokage curiously. Sarutobi saw the boy's unasked question, continued.
"One, you lack the experience of being a shinobi. This could be easily solved by sending you on missions to gain the necessary experience on shinobi battles but that would be dangerous despite the abilities you have. The best way to gain this experience is to train with actual shinobis in a controlled environment."
Naruto nodded, waving his hand to signal the Hokage to continue.
"Second, you lack training in shinobi skills. As you said, the only technique you have at your disposal that uses chakra is Henge and that jutsu is considered an academy basic. If you want to survive in the shinobi world where skills and techniques are diverse, you need to arm yourself with shinobi techniques as well. After all, it is quite possible that you would meet an opponent that could counter your own. This includes chakra manipulation, elemental techniques, as well as a deep knowledge of shinobi fighting tactics."
"I agree with you on that, jiji, but I think learning all those would require a lot of trips to the Konoha Library, not to mention practicing the skills I learned one at a time." complained Naruto as he slumped on his chair. Sure, he was interested in learning the shinobi arts since he already started on sealing but studying the rest and practicing them would take a very long time. He wouldn't admit it but patience wasn't one of his strong points.
"True, but you forget that I'm the Hokage, Naruto-kun, and I can easily teach you everything you need to know about being a shinobi. However, I don't have the time to allocate to your training so I will be assigning you some teachers to help you along and get you started with the basic of shinobi arts."
Now this got Naruto's interest. True, he could learn everything he needed about the shinobi arts on his own but having an experienced shinobis to teach him the basics would be faster.
"Who do you have in mind, jiji?" Naruto asked curiously.
"In regards to learning the basic shinobi arts, I will be assigning Jounins Akido and Yahiko to teach you and give you a crash course on Academy basics." said the Hokage with a smirk knowing the going back to the basic would infuriate his intelligent surrogate grandson, not to mention leaving him under the tutelage of two people who worshipped the ground he walked on.
This caused Naruto to groan since those two developed a fan-boy tendency towards him after seeing him in action. Sure those two were fun but it was annoying being looked and stared at all the time.
"Not those two. I swear; Yahiko and Akido are acting like fan-girls when I'm around." Naruto whined.
"True, but you can never deny the fact that they respect you, Naruto-kun. Technically, you did save all our lives. Sure, we would have survived the battle using our own skills but the enemy that time was strong and we were vastly outnumbered." Sarutobi pointed out with a grin. "You even saved Yahiko by making sure that he got to Suna on time to get treated.
"Fine fine. I agree. Anything else, jiji?" Naruto gave in to the suggestion with a loud sigh. Despite his dislike of being treated like a god by those two, he definitely liked them. They were fun, if nothing else.
"Here is what I propose. You will be trained for a year before I can grant you a position, a position that would be hidden from everyone except for a chosen few that you would be working with. You will be given a rank outside the shinobi ranking system, a rank that only I can give and remain a secret. And no, I'm not telling you until after you finish your training." This caused Naruto to pout and the Hokage to chuckle when he saw the blonde's expression.
"Anyway, for the first six months, you will be trained in the basic shinobi arts starting from the education you would have received from the Academy. You will be starting with Chakra Control and Chakra Manipulation, as well as the various applications that come with it. You can read books on history during your free time since you will be mostly focusing on practical skills."
The Hokage paused for a bit as he wrote something on a scroll before continuing.
"Once you master the basics, you will be trained for the next six months by certain specialist to get your skills up to par for the position I have in mind for you. You will spend time with Gekko Hayate to hone your sword skills, Mitarashi Anko to be trained in stealth and interrogation, as well as some basics on poisons and antidotes. Another specialist that I plan to apprentice you with would be Yakushi Isshin, one of the doctors at the hospital who didn't look at you as the Kyuubi, to learn some basic medical techniques. From what you described me of Reiryoku and Ki, it is quite possible for you to develop your own healing 'spells' that would be of great help on certain missions. You will also be taking classes from Nara Shikaku, Konoha's lead strategist, to help you with battlefield and mission tactics; Maito Gai on physical training and Taijutsu, and Hatake Kakashi on elemental Ninjutsu. I would be bringing Jiraiya here to give you basic Fuuinjutsu lessons but he is currently busy with his spy network so you just have to learn the basics on your own."
Naruto looked at the Hokage as if he was crazy.
"That's quite a lot of subjects for me to learn in a span of one year, jiji. Sure, I could do all that considering the training I was under for a year and a half with Kurama and Kenshin but don't you think that you're stretching me a bit too thin?"
Sarutobi shook his head and gave the boy a pointed look.
"Don't get me wrong, Naruto-kun. I won't be suggesting this if you aren't capable of handling it. With your intelligence, it is possible to learn everything they can teach you in a span of one year. I'm quite confident that you would fit well with the lesson plan and not complain afterwards."
"Fine. If you say so, jiji." said Naruto with a huff though he was inwardly happy that his surrogate grandfather acknowledged his capability to learn with ease. "One quick question, jiji. Why can't you just give me a rank or something?"
"It is part of the Konoha Charter. All aspiring shinobis need to attend the Academy. If you want to attain a rank then you need to start as being an Academy student, pass the exams to become a Genin then work your way up in ranks. If I just give you a rank without attending school then that would spark a lot of questions you don't want answered." Saruto explained to the annoyed boy. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but its either you attend the Academy in two years to become a Genin or work with the plan I have for you. Besides, you can always quit in the future and attend the Academy to start working your way to the top if that is what you wish. The offer is open for you to take as long as your still within the required age of admittance."
Naruto gave the Hokage a resigned nod.
"Alright, old man. I agree with your plan. But you better make my position worth my while." demanded the Hokage with a glint in his eyes. The Hokage chuckled and gave the boy a warm smile.
"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. Once you're done with your one year of training, you won't be disappointed with the position I have in mind for you."
End of Chapter 6
Date Uploaded: July 6, 2012
Author's Note:
Hello my beloved readers. I hope you like this chapter or the story so far.
I received a few PMs (Private Messages) as to when the story would pick up where the Prologue left off. To answer that question, it would be two or three more chapter before the everything goes back to the present timeline.
In regards to Naruto's intelligence. I was a bit peeved at the fact that Naruto's creator made Naruto stupid. After all, learning Kage Bunshin in two hours, learning Rasengan in a month, and on-the-spot battlefield tactics should reflect intelligence but the creator of Naruto made him a hyperactive knucklehead instead. That didn't sit well with me so I made sure that my version of Naruto had something in between his ears, so to speak.
Anyway, the next chapter is currently in the works and hopefully I can have it uploaded within the day or early tomorrow.
Cheers,
Corruptmonk
PS: Please leave a comment or a review.