The Prep Work
Okay people that's the 10,000 views reached so the next chapter will be a question answering chapter so if any of you have any questions pop them in the review section or PM me with the questions.
Kurama talking/ other bijū
sounds
'thoughts'
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The next day Sakura met up with the Jōnin who was a bit odd, Might Gai. As usual he was doing his daily 500 laps around the village when Sakura had, literally, bumped into him and skidded back along the street.
"Oh! Are you alright young one? I apologise I was very unYOUTHful in not seeing you." Gai announced as he helped Sakura up off the dusty road.
Sakura just began dusting herself off with the occasional look up at the beaming bowl cut sensei. "I had to stop you somehow, although I should have planed it better." she said with a sigh.
Gai looked puzzled for a second before he remembered what he had told her yesterday. "Ah I remember now. I told you to find me to begin your training in your physical strength. Okay follow me and we will begin your YOUTHFUL start in strength training." and with that he walked off towards the training grounds that was owned by his team.
Meanwhile
Ino had made her way over to the Nara compound and chapped on the door. While she waited she couldn't help but twist her longer strands of hair in her fingers. A woman opened the door she was wearing a pink blouse and a darkened skirt that matches her long brown hair that was tied back in a pony tail.
"Hello Mrs. Nara is Shikamaru up yet?"
"I told you to call me Yoshino. And I highly doubt it he's the spit of his father, the lazy bastard."
"Is it okay if I go and wake him up. I WILL wake him up." Ino said as a half smile creeps onto her face making Yoshino smile in turn before taking a step back and allowing Ino into their house. Taking her shoes off she instantly headed to the furthest room from where the sun could sneak into the house. Reaching the door Ino gently pushed the door open and walked into see the black haired boy lying in the bed. Cracking her knuckles Ino stepped forward and jumped slightly while arching her arm back before drawing it down and into the boy's gut with considerable force to wake him instantly with a cough.
Laughter could be heard from the doorway Ino half turned to see Yoshino smiling at her before giving her a thumbs up before leaving. Shikamaru was struggling to get up because of the fresh pain now in his system.
"Why..." Shikamaru coughed out.
"You're an hour late that's why. Chōji is next." Ino said with an innocent smile. "Next time I will aim lower...so hurry up Shika-chan." and with a small wave and a blown kiss she left the room.
"Mendokusē (How troublesome)" Shikamaru said quietly with a cough.
"I heard that!" Ino shouted from outside the room. Shikamaru quickly got dressed and headed out to meet Ino before she came in and dragged him out.
Back with Sakura
Sakura had a had time trying to keep up with Gai as he began to run to the training ground. "Are you using chakra to increase your speed Gai sensei?" Sakura chimed in as she was falling behind.
"No I am not using chakra. I have very little so I can't afford to waste it like that. What you see is pure muscle related strength." Gai said as he turned his head to face Sakura while running forward only to see her stop and stare at the man. "Is something wrong?"
"I just... how strong are you?" Sakura splutters out.
"I don't know how strong I am." Gai spoke in a completely serious tone while looking up to the sky. "No one has ever warranted me going full on with them. Not even Kakashi, rival or not."
Sakura slowly looked down at the ground. 'Is Naruto like this? Not knowing how strong he is? Is that why he fought Lee on his grounds?' Sakura mused to herself. Looking up she had a new determination in her eyes. She WOULD get stronger so Naruto wouldn't have to worry about her, she WOULD make sure she was a worthy team mate if all goes south in the exams... well not for Naruto he's well Naruto.
"Shall we get going then?" Gai says dragging Sakura from her mental ambition after he sees the flames shine in her eyes. With a grin he turns then jogs to the training ground that is very nearby.
Over with Ino
As Ino dragged Shikamaru to the Akimichi compound to get Chōji they couldn't believe what they saw. Chōji was sitting waiting at the gates of the compound with nothing in his hands or mouth but when he seen them coming he beamed at them and ran over to them with a wave.
"What took you so long to get me?" Chōji asked as he looked Shikamaru dead in the eyes who didn't get to respond.
"The ass didn't wake up," Ino cracks her knuckles "I woke him up though." she said as a smile crept onto her lips. Chōji took a step back at the sight of that look. It wasn't a pleasant one.
"So shall we go train now?" Ino chimes gleefully and skips off towards their place of training.
XXXXXXXXXXX -Day 4-
Sakura stood sweating and panting as lee stood next to her with his hand on her shoulder holding her up. Gai had given her some weights that Lee had been using before and he was helping her with some basic training in Taijutsu.
"Thanks for this Lee-kun," Sakura said in-between pants "these are quite heavy."
"You don't need to thank me Sakura-chan and they will be for now but you will soon get used to them soon. After all you are already progressing in your Taijutsu so with that you should be impressed!" Lee announced while smiling at her.
"I have to ask Lee-kun are you and Gai-" Sakura was cut off then by Lee who shook his head.
"No I'm not related to Gai-sensei as many do think as we look alike." Lee said as he cast a glance up to the sky above while resting both his hands on his hips. "Want to continue on with training?" he said as he looked down with his eyes. Sakura nodded and then straightened up and dropped into a stance and waited for Lee to do the same.
With Ino
Ino looked around her surroundings the sun was setting and she sure as hell wasn't going into the forest with the shadow's that was Shika's territory while open spaces was Chōji's. Covering herself in a small Genjutsu then darting to the nearest tree to calm down and scan the area. After all she was just hunted by a Shikamaru controlled Chōji. Closing her eyes Ino concentrates on the chakra signatures. 'The large one, Chōji, is north-west of me while the smaller one is... oh shit!' Ino quickly dodges and throws a senbon at the direction the shadow was coming from whilst in mid jump realisation donned on her Chōji was behind her and in an instant something smashed into her back, to her enemies surprise she poofed and disappeared.
"What happened?" Chōji snaps at Shikamaru who had pulled himself from the nearby bush.
"How should I-" Shikamaru was cut off as Ino dropped from the branch above and forced Shikamaru to the ground with a kunai to his throat while both her feet are on top of his hands. With her other hand she half forms her families Mind swap seal.
Chōji shocked as he was seeing Ino drop from above and pin his team mate to the ground then half form her families jutsu sent him over the edge 'She can't be able to do that! Can she?' he thought to himself quickly.
The Ino clone quickly leapt down on Chōji kicking him in the back of the knee dropping him to the ground before withdrawing a kunai and copying the same as the original by placing the kunai at Chōji's throat.
Both Ino's smirked seeing the faces of the captured shinobi. Slowly she sheathed the kunai and pulled the boys to their feet. "You both made me think about my moves thanks." Ino smiled as she said this and breathed a sigh of relief.
Both boys put a hand to their necks and gave each other a wary look before smiling themselves.
XXXXXXXXXXX -Day 10-
Anko had been going through their captured shinobi making them spill every single drop of information that they knew, even down to the colour of their bed sheets -not that she cared. Today she had a very interesting interrogation to do. The man in question was a captured accomplice to her old sensei Orochimaru. Before she entered the room she took an extraordinary amount of time choosing her utensil of choice.
As she ran her fingers over the various weapons and torture implements her fingers rested on a short blade only two or three inches in length but it was sharp, the hilt of the tool fitted nicely into the palm of her hand. Smiling she walk to the door raised her left leg and kicked in the door.
Kabuto's head shot up at the sudden blast of light into the dark chamber "hello there, Mitarashi. Konoha keeping you busy?" he said with a sneer only to be greeted by a smile then a stab to his inner thigh. He strained to keep a yell from escaping his lips but in turn glared at Mitarashi.
"You're going to tell me why he's came back and his plans." Anko accentuated in a rather sickly sweet tone making Kabuto go slightly rigid. Seeing him not comply Anko slowly began sliding the tool up Kabuto's thigh waiting for the breaking point. She could taste the pain and she was enjoying it to no extent. After all he did have something to do with her ex-sensei.
"I wont say," Kabuto spat out and did in fact spit on Anko which caused her to bring the tool out and into the top of his knee, this time however he couldn't keep his voice silent and yelled out in pain. Panting his eyes told the tale that 'when he got out- and he would- he would hunt her down and kill her' this however made Anko's sick smile broaden as she twisted the handle in her hand as she saw Kabuto squirm.
"Oh you will say Kabuto I have no intention of going back on that," the smile broadened even further as she pulled a copy of the tool that was in use and plunged it into the soft piece of flesh just above the hip causing him to wince slightly while keeping his composure however his breathing was becoming faster.
XXXXXXXXXXX -Day 15-
Sakura was running at least two laps around the village now due to the sheer stamina that she now had. Honestly it was quite scary at how quick she was able to do it. It shouldn't be able to happen.
Sakura slumped into her home and kicked her shoes off and dragged herself to the living room couch and fell down onto it. A loud creek came from the couch and Sakura let out a small moan.
"Sakura is that you?" came an effeminate voice from the other room. With a smile Sakura turned to face the ceiling.
"Yeah mum I'm fine," Sakura half shouted back before her stomach growled at her and everyone who could hear it. "well maybe I'm a bit hungry."
"That was the sound of someone who hasn't eaten since breakfast." Mebuki said as she started walking into the kitchen.
"Mum I'll make myself something." Sakura complained as she started to get up. With a sigh Sakura began to undo the weights that adorn her legs. Taking them to the front door Sakura set them down next to her shoes and headed to the kitchen to at least help out in making some food.
Stepping into the kitchen Sakura was shocked at how quick her mum was moving and cooking. It was staggering how skilled she was especially with the knifes that she used butchers cleaver slipped into the meat and clean out of the other side and it was then balanced on the blade before it was flipped into the nearby pot. Carrots, onions and even potatoes all met their end under the careful blade work of Mebuki. All the food soon disappeared into the pot and in a swift movement the lid returned to it and it was ready to boil. Mebuki didn't even notice that her daughter was standing in the doorway.
"Is everything alright dear?" Mebuki asked seeing that Sakura was quite pale and focusing on the knives that she had been using.
"I.. how are you so good with knives?" Sakura asked forgetting her mothers concern for her. "That was exceptional skill."
"Thanks dear it's just years of practice with using a knife if you like I can show you how to use it correctly and how to prepare decent meals that are delicious and good for you." Mebuki replied with a smile as she began twirling the blade in her hand as if it was a coin.
"I'd like that a lot mum." Sakura replied and hugged her before heading back through to the couch.
XXXXXXXXXXX -Day 19-
Ino was sitting atop the Hokage mountain looking down at the village below the people you could hardly see if it weren't for the sheer number of them. She could also see a number of shinobi jumping from roof to roof in order to get to their destination more speedily. One group caught her attention more then the rest. A group of Naruto's heading to the local ramen stand. A smirk grew on her face she hadn't seen her team mate in so long surely one of them was the real Naruto. Standing up Ino dusted herself down then leapt off of the mountain bouncing off of random roots that jutted out of the mountain before landing perfectly right in front of the Hokage tower.
"Wow," came a voice from right next to her "that was awesome!" the voice came from a young civilian boy with a smile Ino ruffled the boy's hair before jumping off to catch up with Naruto.
Ichiraku's was booming with a loud voice that could only be Naruto's, or one of his many Clones. Stepping in to the stand Ino saw the same three Naruto's as before all with about six bowls to their left- all empty.
"Naruto?" Ino said casually as the three stopped talking to face her. Before speaking they all glanced at each other before deciding that the one on the left should talk.
"Hey Ino how are you?" Naruto said before hearing the two others begin slurping the ramen down their throats. He quickly gave the others a glare before turning back to Ino.
"I'm good. Are you the-" Ino was cut off by Naruto who held his hand up to stop her from carrying on.
"No I'm not the real one I was made before he went to wave so that was the last I saw of him. How's he doing anyway?" the Clone asked with interest. Not seeing the boss in roughly a month had him some free time that he liked to spend in the stand.
"I don't know how he is, not seen him in roughly half a month now I was hoping you were him or at least a new one." Ino replied with a sigh before turning to leave. A hand found Ino's shoulder while a different Naruto stood up and smiled at her.
"Let's go do a mission." he said as he dragged Ino to the mission office.
-Mission office-
"Hey Jiji give me another mission I have Ino with me too." Naruto said as he burst into the room.
His eyes instantly landed on the clan head of the Hyūga, Hiashi Hyūga. They both began a to glare at each other subtlety while Naruto was waiting on getting a mission.
"There is only one mission left Naruto." Hiruzen began knowing which one it was Naruto wasn't going to take it.
"I don't care if it's Tora give me the mission." Naruto retorted quickly and snap at the end.
"Well it is the Tora mission Naruto and mind who you're talking to!" Hiruzen said as he threw his pipe at Naruto who caught it and crushed it in his hand before walking off.
"You really need to teach that 'thing' lessons lord Hokage." Hiruzen glared at Hiashi for calling Naruto a "thing" but before he could act Hiashi was on the ground clawed hand at his jugular with Naruto breathing down his neck.
"I'll advise you, if you're going to talk about someone make sure they cant hear you." Naruto whispered into Hiashi's ear before getting off of him and walked out of the room.
-local street market-
The two of them walked in relative silence before they reached the market.
"Okay Ino I want you to get a fish." Naruto instructed her before sitting down on a nearby bench. Stunned as she was she just stood there until Naruto threw a small bag at her. She caught it and could feel the money in it. Sighing she decided to go and buy a god damn fish.
With fish in hand Ino returned to Naruto and threw it at him, he caught it and quickly sat it down on his lap and reached into his quick pouch and withdrew a syringe and injected the contents into the fish. Calling on his Inferno Hand Naruto eviscerated the syringe before walking off. "Coming?" he called back to see Ino quickly jog after him.
-In the forest, somewhere-
Ino was directing Naruto to Tora's location and with him found they set up in the tree's. Naruto turned to Ino and smiled, threw the fish down to where Tora was. They watched him jump back but curiosity quickly overcame him as he began nibbling on the fish.
He quickly fell to the ground not moving.
Naruto then jumped down and picked up the fish as well as the cat. Ino jumped down and for once sniffed the fish "Paralysis venom. That was what was in the syringe wasn't it." Naruto nodded and smiled before throwing the cat into Ino's hands.
"You can cash it in if you like I'm going else where 'He's' probably still there and if he is I might kill him." Naruto said before jumping into the tree's and disappeared.
XXXXXXXXXXX -Day 29-
Naruto sat in the centre of a demolished field panting he turned to his Clones as they were practising some of the new techniques that he had dreamed up, and were very dangerous to boot. Just looking around Naruto couldn't help but smile as he looked down gripping his hands in enjoyment.
"Chief how's it going?" Naruto called out to his clones with happiness ringing clear in his voice.
"Section one is complete in there task commander. Section two is roughly fifty-five percent complete in there task. Unfortunately one of the clones in Section three blew them up working on 'That'" with a shake of it's head the clone looked back at Naruto with a smile "I had a team set up on working on something and they tell me it's done."
"What's done chief?"
"The team I sent away has lets say 'improved' your Inferunoāmā no jutsu (Inferno Armour No Jutsu) to an insane extent." the Clone then began smiling before breaking into a laughing fit. "I'll tell one of the clones to dispel so you can understand how to activate the jutsu."
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And that's the chapter sorry it's late but I now have a job YEAH. I am a Apprentice Biomedical Scientist. So yeah this chapter was a pain in every part of me I literally restarted it about six or seven times now. Okay here are all the new members of our stories family starting with nbop, champp6, wert32167, GrimNights, TooManySecrets, greywolfe1701, blueleafytree, Bunnywillruleall, ShiroFurse, Father Anime.
Okay peps listen up I WANT to do a special with all of you that means I want as MANY questions as you can give me I don't care what they are just ask them and the next chapter will be an answering chapter. If you ddon't then you have all missed out on something. Just saying.
Ja Mata Ne