Chapter Three – Control
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The dawnlight lanced through the window, hitting Naruto's face. Muttering under his breath, he slowly slid out from underneath the canvas sheet and stretched before trudging to the bathroom. Moving to the line of showers, he reached out to one, then froze, his hand a bare inch away from the taps.
"Ah heck, how do I do this without breaking it?"
'I would suggest carefully, and as lightly as possible. Don't grab, just place your finger and move it like you're drawing round the tap.'
Naruto followed the instructions and was rewarded with a spray of water. Reaching for the soap, he sighed as most of it promptly liquidised in his grip, some of it squirting out to decorate the shower walls.
"I guess I need to work on that." he sighed, ignoring the laughter echoing in the back of his mind. "Oh well, a quick scrub and then breakfast."
'Yes, that would be a good idea. Your new body will need food.'
Naruto nodded and rubbed the remnants of the soap into his hair, then used the resulting lather to clean the rest of his body. After a few moments of scrubbing, he let the shower wash him clean, then with as much care as possible, he shut off the flow.
'I don't think a towel will last... try to focus your chakra. Make a ram seal with your hands like this... yes, that's good, now focus on your chakra and push it into your skin.'
Naruto closed his eyes and a moment later, he was dry.
'Nice work, kit. Now, why not get dressed and grab some food, then we can head out and see if you can get some training in how to control your new strength.'
Naruto nodded as he walked over to the clothing. First, he tied on the special underpants, carefully knotting the ninja-wire-reinforced side-strings, then he slowly pulled on a pair of trousers and a new tunic. Donning the belt, he looked at himself in the mirror and, with a satisfied nod, moved to the kitchen where a bag of rolls was waiting for him.
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"A very youthful morning to you, young one!"
Naruto's startled jolt launched him into the air and he grabbed onto the first thing he encountered. As reality re-asserted itself, he found himself up a tree, with a somewhat-perplexed bushy-browed green-clad ninja looking up at him almost ten meters below.
"Ummm, help? I think I'm stuck."
"Of course! I do apologise, it was most unyouthful of me to suprise you like that. But that was a most amazing leap, are you already training in the way of the Shinobi? And if so, who is your instructor? He must be excellent to fan your flames of youth to such an extent."
Naruto blinked a few times as he tried to decode what the obviously-crazy man was saying, then he shrugged.
"Um, can you get a ladder or... no, a ladder wouldn't work, I'd break it... can you get me down? Please?"
"Of course I will, or I will climb every tree in Konoha!" the obviously-completely-insane ninja declaimed before he made a handsign and strode forwards. Reaching the base of the tree, he didn't pause, but instead strode up the trunk of the tree, much to Naruto's shock. Reaching him, the ninja reached out and gently plucked him from the branch, then turned and walked back down to ground level, placing him back on the ground.
"I am the Mighty Green Beast of Konoha, Maito Gai! Might I know your name, o one who blazes with the passion of youth?"
"Um, Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. What are you doing?"
Gai took a pose and Naruto blinked as the sunlight glinted from his teeth.
"I was merely performing my normal early-morning exercises with a brisk run around Konoha."
"Can I come too?"
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"Yes, Gai? What is it?"
"Hokage-sama, while on my early-morning jog, I encountered a young lad who has potential like nothing I have ever seen before! He was able to keep up with me during my morning training! During my talk with him, I learned that he has a Kekkai Genkai that grants him incredible speed and strength which he struggles to control, and he has no family to aid him."
Hiruzen blinked as he considered the energetic Jonin in front of him.
"Gai... would this youngster be one Uzumaki Naruto by any chance?"
"Yosh! That is indeed the name of the most youthful boy! You know of him, I assume?"
"I do." Hiruzen said. "His strength is quite destructive, so he lives in a bunker that should be strong enough to withstand him. What's your interest in him?"
Gai took a thinking pose and Hiruzen sighed at his dramatics.
"As you know, I have agreed to sponsor the son of a good friend of mine to the Academy in two years, even though he lacks the ability to use chakra, but it will be a while before I can truly begin his training. This Naruto needs help if he is to control the conflaguration of power inside him, with your permission I would like to oversee his training before he enters the academy. Once I have helped him learn how to control his power, I think he would make a great sparring partner and friend to Lee."
Hiruzen thought about it for a few moments.
"Have you seen where he lives?"
"Yosh! I have visited the family of my apprentice-to-be Rock Lee several times."
Gai's declamation was met by a blank stare.
"Hokage-sama?"
"I... was talking about Naruto, Gai."
"Ooooohhh! Then no, I have not seen the... did you say bunker?"
Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, the old bunker which was used by the second defence unit prior to Konoha's expansion. You should know it, if memory serves, you were genin to one of the Jonin who worked there."
Gai's face lit with recognition.
"Yosh! I do indeed remember that bastion of youthfullness! But to have a young boy live there alone... I have an idea! Hokage-sama, may I become young Naruto's guardian until he has control over his newfound conflaguration of youthful energy?"
Another blank stare was sent his way as Hiruzen tried to work his way through the request.
"Every instinct I have is going into red alert... Apart from exercises, what can you offer him?"
Gai dropped his 'nice guy' pose and turned serious.
"Hokage-sama, young Naruto is suffering from borderline malnutrition which is going to stunt his growth if left unchecked. I know how to cook, I learned since none of the restaurants could provide me with the food I needed for my training. I can also instruct Naruto in several styles of taijitsu that will teach him control and let him use his new strength to its fullest."
"...alright. I know that there are several spare rooms there, so if Naruto agrees, you can move into the bunker temporarily to keep an eye on him. However, I will be assigning someone else as well and you'll both be getting ongoing C-rank pay for this, along with a small stipend for supplies."
Gai caught the small envelope and glanced inside it before standing to attention.
"I understand, Hokage-sama, and with your permission, I will go and purchase the foodstuffs that I will need. And if I cannot do that, then I will..."
"Fine, dismissed!" Hiruzen barked. As Gai vanished, he placed his head into his cupped hands.
"Why do I suddenly feel worried... I really need someone to offset Gai's eccentricity... I have it!"
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Gai stared at the figure in front door, then reflexively dodged as Naruto barrelled through, forgetting his strength once again.
"Inu! It's good to see you! Why are you here?"
The Anbu laughed and pulled off his mask, revealing that he was wearing a second mask across his lower face as well as having his Hitai-ate angled across his left eye.
"The Hokage asked me to help look after you and teach you a few tricks." he said with an eye-smile at the excitable youth. "Gai may be the best taijitsu master in Konoha, but when it comes to ninjitsu, I'm the best. May I enter?"
"Sure, come in!" Naruto bubbled. "You already know Gai-sensei then? He's agreed to look after me and he cooks really nice food, it's almost as good as ramen!"
"He does indeed know me, my youthful apprentice." Gai said, recovering from his suprise. "Indeed, Hatake Kakashi is my eternal rival!"
"Did you say something. Gai?"
"Curse your hip and cool ways, Kakashi!"
Naruto giggled, then looked up at Inu... no, Kakashi.
"Are you staying as well, like Gai-sensei?"
"If you don't mind, then yes." Kakashi said with another eye-smile. "And while Gai helps you get your strength under control, I can help you with your chakra. I can tell you have a great deal of it, at least as much as a high-level chunin if not a low-level jonin, so you'll need to practice... and I think I may have an idea on that one, but I'll need to check with the Hokage first."
Naruto cheered and Gai lightly placed a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from launching himself into the ceiling.
"Now, my young apprentice, you remember the Kata of the Gentle River that I showed you earlier? Good. Head to the sparring hall and practice it while my eternal rival and I talk, then I'll teach you some more."
With another cheer, Naruto dived for the descending staircase. Both Gai and Kakashi winced as he bounced off the side of the stairwell and rolled out of sight. A laugh sounded after the final thud, along with an "oops", causing both men to relax.
"Thank Kami you're here, Kakashi." Gai said quietly. "I'm working on getting his strength under control and his reflexes balanced, but he needs more help than I can give him by myself. He doesn't even know how to read or write! I have no idea what that orphanage was doing, but it was most unyouthful of them."
Kakashi nodded, his gaze on the stairwell as he pulled a storage scroll from his pocket.
"I see. Once you're done with him for the day, I'll try to run him through some basic chakra-control exercises. Leaf-balancing won't work, so I'll have to start with tree-climbing. In the meantime, I have my stuff sealed here, so which room should I take?"
"Up the stairs. Naruto has the middle-left window-room, I have the leftmost. I'd suggest you take the one furthest on the right. Oh, and Kakashi, please make sure that those unyouthful orange books you read are out of his reach. He is much too young to be exposed to those things."
"Don't worry." Kakashi said as he ambled up the stairs. "I may be a pervert, but I don't corrupt kids. That would just be wrong. I did get a book that he might like, though. And don't worry, Gai. There's no smut in it at all."
Gai stared at him and Kakashi's visible eye widened as he thought through what he had just said.
"Romance! No romance in it at all! Besides, it's not smut, it's art!"
Gai shook his head and moved to follow his student.
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Gai stirred the pot as he glanced over to where Kakashi and Naruto were sat with Naruto slowly working his way through the green-covered book that Kakashi had produced. Snatches of the story drifted across and he grinned as he heard the character's name, it was Naruto.
"I must admit," he mused quietly, "I had my doubts, but The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi was probably the best choice for teaching him to read. Despite the fact that it's by the same author as that most unyouthful Icha Icha series. I may just get a copy for myself and one for Lee."
From the dining table, Kakashi looked up at him and gave a discreet thumbs-up before gently correcting Naruto as he sounded out the next word. Gai smiled and added some seasoning to the simmering liquid, then took a slight taste.
"Alright." he called out as he dished out the soup into two ceramic bowls and one tempered-steel one. "Put the book away, my cute youthful apprentice and my eternal rival, it's time to eat."
Naruto nodded and carefully placed a bookmark before allowing Kakashi to close the book and move it to a nearby shelf. Gai took advantage of the newly-vacated table to slide the bowls into position, then he grabbed the spoons, noting again with wry amusement that the one Naruto used was of incredible strength compared to the other two, and still had dent-marks from his accidental squeezes as he ate.
"Itadakimasu" they said almost in unison before picking up their spoons. Gai started to eat, then glanced across at Kakashi, who had somehow managed to already inhale a third of his bowl... without seeming to remove his mask. On the other side of the round table, Naruto was eating slowly but steadily, managing not to deform the handle of the spoon any more than it already was.
"This is wonderful, Gai-sensei." Naruto said between sips. "When I get my control good enough to not chop through the worktop again, will you teach me how to cook like this?"
"I would be glad to." Gai said, giving him a thumbs-up and a glinting grin. "And your control has improved to the point that I think you can help me to train one who will be my other youthful apprentice. He is a year older than you and has an unfortunate inability to use chakra, but his flames of youth are a match for yours! I believe that you will help inspire him to new displays of youthfulness! He is already training hard with weights and has a chance to reach through hard work the level you have achieved due to your Kekkai Genkai. In fact, I would not be suprised if you go to the Academy together."
Naruto grinned and Kakashi spoke up.
"You'll need to work more on your chakra control, but I've finally got permission from the Hokage to teach you something that could help. It's called the Kage Bunshin. With your reserves, you'll never be able to do a regular Bunshin, but Hokage-sama said any form of Bunshin would work. Using it, Gai will be able to help you with your physical control while I oversee your chakra control at the same time. That way, you'll be able to learn twice as fast, or even faster."
"Cool!" Naruto enthused, then he froze as a familiar clink sounded. Looking down, he sighed at the sight of the broken handle in his hand and the end of the spoon lying by the side of his bowl. "Ooops."
"Never mind, Naruto." Kakashi said, ruffling his hair reassuringly. "That one lasted a full two weeks, a new record. Wait a moment."
Naruto looked sadly at the broken spoon as Kakashi rose and retreived a new one from the reinforced cutlery drawer. Returning to his chair, he handed the spoon over to Naruto, who gingerly accepted it with a smile before resuming his meal.
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"Hello, are you Gai-sensei's most youthful student, Naruto?"
Naruto paused in practicing his kata and looked round. Seeing the one who had spoken, it was all he could do not to goggle. At the edge of the clearing stood a lad only slightly older than himself, but that wasn't what transfixed him.
Like Gai-sensei, the boy was clad in a green unitard with orange legwarmers wrapped around his lower legs. His hair was black and cut in a bowl-shape while his eyebrows were... were they really eyebrows? Surely no-one had brows that bushy.
Except for Gai-sensei, that was...
"Who are you?"
The boy grinned and took a thumbs-up stance so much like Gai that Naruto blinked.
"My name is Rock Lee, soon-to-be apprentice of the Sublime Green Beast of Konoha, Maito Gai! Gai-sensei told me that you are also studying under him, although he said that you were seeking to control the conflaguration of youthful fire you have gained in order to prevent damaging others with your flames of youth!"
Naruto blinked several times as he slowly worked his way through what the boy had said, his experience with Gai proving very useful.
"If I may," Lee continued, "May I ask what my wonderful sensei-to-be meant about your conflaguration of youthful fire?"
"It's easier to show you." Naruto said, moving over to one of the boulders surrounding the clearing. Sliding one hand underneath, he felt around for the balance point so that he wouldn't drop it, then he lifted it one-handed to over his head. Lee's already-wide eyes somehow grew larger.
"It's a Kekkai Genkai." Naruto said with a smile. "But it activated wrong, and now I have too much strength and not enough control. Gai-sensei has been helping me to learn to not use my strength. Heck, I still occasionally rip my tunic when I put it on, and Kakashi-sensei says it's tougher than ANBU armour."
Lee stared, a wide grin forming on his face.
"Yosh! You are indeed a most youthful person, Naruto-san! I hope to one day be that strong and thus prove that one can achieve through hard work what is gifted to others!"
"I'll be glad to help." Naruto grinned, enjoying Lee's almost-infectious excitement. "Lee-san, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship..."
