Hello FanFiction! This is pain17ification posting the next chapter of "Mai's Teacher"!

Please note: pain17ification doesn't own Naruto or Avatar the Last AirBender

AN1: Most of you are probably mad about me not updating for so long… I don't blame you in the slightest… However, the reasons are that I was moving and that my COM decided to be a bastard and die on me, making me lose a lot of files and spend a lot of money to get it fixed… Sorry for the lack of updates, but I hope the reasons are taken into consideration before you get too mad at me.

AN2: Someone, who will remain anonymous for now, brought it to my attention that Kamui works both ways no matter if you have one eye or both. Thank you for explaining that to me.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Higher Being Speech"

'Higher Being Thoughts'

"Jutsu"

(Technique Translations)

Scene or Time Change/Chapter Name

Chapter 4: Shinobi Way Year 2

"Things seem to be getting very tiresome out there," commented the fox as Naruto sat in meditation. It had been a couple weeks since Zuko's 'fight' with his father, and the teen had left the capital city with Iroh after being banished by Ozai. There was a chance he could return though; however the requirement was the capture of the Avatar. Naruto couldn't help but compare Ozai to his Uchiha ancestor, Fugaku. Actually, when he thought about it more, Ozai was like Fugaku with his extreme expectance for a 'perfect' heir, Azula was like Sasuke with her arrogance and pride, and Zuko was like Itachi with his heart and his reluctance to fight unless it was unavoidable.

'Indeed they are. Although, I am glad that Iroh was caring enough to follow his nephew out of the Fire Nation. Plus, Zuko will have plenty of opportunities to get a better hand at controlling his FireBending with Iroh's teachings.'

"While that is true, you can't deny that he has gained a negative aura about him ever since his father marked him as a failure."

Naruto sighed at the truth behind the comment and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. 'Yes the boy had negativity forming in his heart, but can you blame him? We just saw him get burned, disowned, and banished by the one he called father. Fortunately, the negativity seems to be birthed from the want to prove himself to Ozai; much like Sasuke wished to prove himself to his father.'

"I assume that you plan to put a stop to it if his anger gets out of hand?"

'What do you think? One Sasuke incarnate is bad enough with Azula… We don't need a second one.'

He was brought out of his internal conversation by Mai walking into the clearing. "Morning sensei," she greeted before sitting in front of him in a lotus position.

"Good morning. I believe that I have come up with a reasonable schedule for your second year of training." At her patient expression, Naruto continued, "The year will be divided into four segments. The first will be reviewing what you know and increasing you skills with the basics and simple battle tactics. To do this, I'll have you spar with a clone of mine."

"Do you really think I'll be able to keep up with you, sensei?" asked the girl with a deadpan stare.

"No, which is why my clone will not use any jutsu or chakra; only taijutsu. You will be allowed to use whatever you can at your disposal. Now, the second three month segment will be focused on teaching you how to use this," he said as he unsealed a small bow and a quiver of arrows. "I believe that you'll find this to be a very useful addition to your growing arsenal."

Mai slowly took the items from him and gave him a small smile in thanks. "So, we'll only focus on archery?"

"Of course not," he replied with a grin. "We can't let your other skills dwindle due to neglect, right?" She shook her head with a small smirk and he continued, "Your archery training will be after some morning exercises. Now, the third segment will be a focus on these."

Once again, he unsealed some items and handed them to her. They ended up being two scrolls with a symbol of a circle with a line equally dividing it on them. "What are these?"

"Those are my end of the agreement we made. They are the scrolls of the Nara Clan's history and their techniques. Simply put, they are your birthright, Mai."

Her eyes widened in shock before she stared back down at the scrolls in her hands. Her ancestral history was in the palms of her hands and it brought a small smile to her face.

"Thank you for these, sensei," she said gratefully.

"You don't need to thank me. It's as I said; they're yours by right. Alright, the final segment of our training will focus on the 'mission' aspect that shinobi and kunoichi go through."

She tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What do mean by that?"

He gave a small smirk and answered, "What I mean is that we will go on slightly dangerous tasks to have you get a better experience out in the field. We'll go after small rebel groups, everyday bandits, and a few wanted criminals that bounty hunters will be after. Sounds simple enough, right?"

She nodded and did a few stretches before Naruto sent her off to do her morning exercises. He left a clone with her to keep track of her progress while he went into the town square. There was something that he wanted the blacksmith of the city and he wanted them to get an early start on it.

Making his way there, he noticed that there were a few fliers for some sort of banquet in the governor's honor. Naruto was slightly interested since the governor was Mai's father and wondered if she would have to make an appearance for his sake. As he read the flier, he sensed Ty Lee's signature heading for his and merely waited for her to arrive.

It wasn't even a minute later before Ty Lee called out, "Hey Naruto! What are you reading?" Instead of a verbal reply, Naruto merely pointed to the flier and allowed the girl to read it. "Oh yea, the banquet… Apparently, Mai's dad is getting an increase in governmental control and the Fire Lord is throwing a banquet in his honor. It's strange though…"

"What is?" Naruto asked with a slightly raised brow.

"Well, Fire Lord Ozai never threw banquets for anyone else other than members of the Royal Family… So, seeing him throw one for Mai's dad is kinda strange…"

Naruto mentally agreed with the normally bubbly teen while the Kyuubi commented, "If that's true, then this has to have something to do with Mai learning from you. Since she'll need to attend the banquet, Ozai will probably call her out on her studies and 'request' a demonstration."

'And when she demonstrates, he'll see if what she learned will have any benefit to Non-Bender Soldiers… He'll probably have her teach what she knows to them to increase his military strength.'

"Exactly…" the fox said before it grinned. "However, what if you were to make a 'surprise appearance'?"

Mentally raising a brow, Naruto queried, 'And what good will my appearance do for Mai?'

"Think about it. With you there, you'll be able to keep her from backing herself into a corner by stating that she is not ready to teach; which you know is very true. Ozai is exactly like that old hawk Danzo from your time; using any means necessary to increase his militia. Using Mai, a fifteen year old girl, to pass on her hard-earned skills en masse is not beneath a man such as him."

Naruto mentally nodded in agreement with the fox's arguments. 'That is true… I guess I'll need to get myself some formal wear as well as what I originally wanted.' After cutting the mental connection, Naruto noticed that Ty Lee was staring at him with a smile and a small blush. "Was there something you needed? Or did you just want to enjoy my thoughtful expression?" he asked with a small smirk causing her to sputter in embarrassment.

As he gave a small chuckle at her sputtering, Ty Lee asked, "So, are you gonna go to the banquet? Mai's most likely going, Azula is definitely going since her father is, and I'm going just so that I won't be left with nothing to do."

"I haven't decided yet," he lied before he began heading into the city with Ty Lee in tow. "I was never one for social gatherings, but I might go just so that I could support my student's family."

Ty Lee seemed to brighten up at that before she grabbed his hand, slightly surprising the blonde, and began to drag him to a seamstress. "Well then if you're going, we need to get you some nicer clothes. You can't go in that!"

"And why exactly can't I?"

Ty Lee turned around and placed her hands on her hips while giving him a stern look. Naruto was vaguely reminded of a certain purple-wearing blonde giving him a similar look many millenniums ago. "You can't go in that because it makes you look like you're about to go to war or something." Naruto just gave her a blank look at that and Ty Lee looked confused by it before what she said and who exactly he was dawned on her and she gave him a sheepish look. "Well, you know what I mean."

Naruto shook his head exasperatedly before he complied. While he followed her, he silently made another clone and immediately dispelled it so that the clone with Mai would be updated on his whereabouts.

With Mai

While the Nara descendant was going through the last part of her exercises, the Naruto clone received the memories of the other clone and sighed at its creator's dilemma. He didn't think that the original Naruto would be doing something as mundane as shopping for formal wear but he wasn't going to argue about it. After all, it wasn't a bad idea to make a reasonable impression on the higher ups of the capital city.

He turned to Mai and saw her finishing up her final set of sit-ups before he stated, "That's enough for a while."

Mai took a few deep breaths to help ease her lungs and asked, "Why are we finishing so early, sensei?"

"The original me got dragged into shopping with Ty Lee for a banquet in your father's honor."

Mai sighed at that and turned away from her teacher. She sat on the ground with her knees brought up to her chest. "So you saw a flier?"

The clone raised a brow in confusion and felt her mood drop at her question. "Is there a problem with that? I thought you'd be happy for your father's success?"

She shook her head and replied, "I am happy for him, really… I just don't see why he always wants to work so much. He's never home for too long and when he is, he's still tired and busy. And with his new increase in influence, he'll be even busier."

The clone sighed at the girl's statement. Since Naruto grew up an orphan and alone, he never really had to worry so much about how much a family member worked or how long they were gone. He slowly made his way to the girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile when she turned to him. "Well, this is your chance to talk to him and spend time with him before he gets too busy again. And besides, the original me was planning on going as well, so you won't be alone at the banquet."

Mai gave a small smile at the clone's words and gave him a nod in thanks. When she stood up, she asked, "So, do you think you could take me to him and Ty Lee? I better save him before she gets too into shopping for him," she stated with a smirk.

The clone shook his head with a smile and wordlessly gripped her shoulder again before the two disappeared in a swirl of wind and static.

With Naruto and Ty Lee

Naruto sighed as Ty Lee brought him various articles of clothing to try on and mentally debated using his Sharingan to put her to sleep for a bit. However, his conscience kept him from doing so and he was left with a bubbly teen in a clothing store.

He was brought out of his inner misery by the arrival of his clone and Mai. The clone, seeing his job done, smirked before dispelling and leaving the original to his fate. Naruto's eye twitched at his clone's antics and he grumbled about 'stupid smart-ass clones', making Mai snicker since she heard him.

"I see that Ty Lee has kept you busy?" she asked rhetorically with a smirk.

He sighed and retorted, "Yea, she can really be a handful." He then stood up from his seat near the changing rooms and flagged down the owner/seamstress of the store. Mai couldn't hear them, but she was able to see that the woman was slightly surprised by her teacher's request. Still, she nodded with a smile which Naruto returned and headed to the back, most likely to get started on the custom order.

"What'd you ask her to make you?" Ty Lee asked when he regrouped with them.

"Now that would be telling, Ty Lee," he replied with a grin making her pout. "C'mon, I still need to continue Mai's training for the day. You're welcome to watch if you want to, Ty Lee." As he led them back to the forest clearing, Naruto sent another clone to make the order he had originally planned on making at the smithy.

For the rest of the week, Naruto had Mai go through routine exercises and had her practice with her basic jutsu and skills as much as possible. He wanted her to be able to perform the skills and actions necessary in a moment's notice, so he had her spar with a clone that used nothing but restrained taijutsu. At first, Mai held her own with many hits received against her. However, as the week progressed, she began to time her jutsu better and dodge more. She still received a couple of hits, but she was progressing steadily.

After the week passed, it was finally the day of the banquet. It was to be held in a lavish dining hall that was easily the size of a large two story home. Mai was there early with her family and had to miss training for the day. She was dressed in a black kimono with a crimson trim and had a seamstress sew the Nara Clan symbol on the back of it. Her hair was styled the same as her kunoichi wear and she wore a black choker with a silver pendant on it. The pendant had a Yin-Yang design on it.

It was about an hour and a few guests arriving later before Ty Lee arrived with her parents. The teen was dressed in a red kimono with a dark pink trim on it while her hair was in its constant braided ponytail. She spotted Mai and immediately went up to her.

"Hey, sorry we were late but my mother took a while to get ready. Plus, my sisters helping her slowed us down as well."

Mai nodded in understanding. It wasn't that much of a surprise that Ty Lee's five other sisters wanted to help their mother. She was still surprised that the woman was able to tell the sextuplets apart from one another.

Ty Lee looked around and commented, "Naruto's not here yet… I wonder what's taking him so long."

Mai looked around as well and her mood fell slightly when she didn't see the blonde. "Sensei doesn't have to come. My father's success doesn't concern him, so it's okay," she said, though Ty Lee caught the slightly sullen tone of her voice.

The girl tried to come up with a way to cheer her up, but she was interrupted by the arrival of Ozai and Azula. Everyone was informed of the arrival of the Fire Lord since he never left the Palace without a 4-guard escort. While he greeted people, Azula made her way to her friends.

"Hello girls. I'm sure you must be happy about your father's newest success, Mai?" greeted the princess casually.

Mai gave a small nod while she watched her father bow deeply to Ozai and offer his gratitude to the Fire Lord for the promotion.

Suddenly, many gasps were heard and the music played by a hired band stopped as a certain blonde stepped into the hall. He wore a dark orange kimono with a black trim, a black vest with the Uzumaki symbol on the back, and wore the Uzu Medallion on a silver chain around his neck. His hair was still the same but he still looked incredibly presentable and regal if the blushing faces of many women in the room were anything to go by.

"I-Is that Naruto?" asked a shocked Ty Lee who had a large blush on her face. Azula stared in shock as well since he emitted an aura of authority as he stepped into the hall.

Mai gazed at her sensei with a small blush and a slightly agape mouth. She had to admit that Naruto looked incredibly handsome, plus seeing him here greatly brought up her mood. 'He actually came,' she thought with a small smile.

Naruto stepped through the crowd and approached the surprised father of his student. Bowing low, he greeted, "Nara-san, it is my honor to be here to congratulate you on your newest promotion. I'm sure you'll do the Fire Nation and its people proud with your diligence."

The man slowly shook himself out of his shock and bowed back to him. "Lord Naruto, I thank you for gracing us with your presence and I thank you for your kind words." As they both stood up straight from their bows, the man continued, "I also wish to thank you for teaching my daughter how to better defend herself. I admit that I was skeptical at first, but I have seen that your teachings have done her well."

Mai's mother stepped forward and bowed as well. "I also wish to express my gratitude, Lord Naruto. Mai has never shown much interest in anything, but I see that she is putting her all into your teachings. Thank you for teaching her, Lord Naruto."

Naruto gave the woman a small smile and replied, "It is my pleasure to teach her. Mai is an incredible student and has learned a great deal already. You both should be proud."

Ozai internally smirked at this opportunity and stepped forward. "Yes, I have heard many things concerning your student Lord Naruto. Perhaps she could give us a demonstration of her skills sometime?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly before asking, "What exactly did you have in mind for this 'demonstration', Ozai?"

The Fire Lord hid his annoyance at the obvious lack of respect and offered, "I propose that at the end of this year, you have your student go up against a small group of my FireBenders. Seeing as how she is taught by you, whose skills are legendary, she should not have too much problems doing so." He then gave a small, challenging smirk and continued, "And besides, weren't the people of your time used to going up against forces that outnumbered your own on a daily basis?"

Naruto silently stood in thought before he turned to his student who was watching in slight worry. He had planned for Mai to get some combat experience, but not against actual FireBenders of Ozai. He silently beckoned her over and she complied, standing next to her sensei in front of the Fire Lord. "Your request will only be accepted if my student chooses to do so. I cannot speak for her, Ozai; it is her decision."

When her sensei turned to her, waiting for her answer, she took a calming breath and stated, "I believe that… I could accept the request made by Lord Ozai, sensei."

Naruto sent her a slightly worried glance before he nodded slowly. "Very well… My student shall demonstrate her skills against your FireBenders at the end of this year, Ozai."

Ozai gave a smug grin and replied, "Excellent. I will make sure to have my soldiers prepare for the upcoming event. In the meantime, let us resume the banquet."

With that last statement, the band resumed playing and the guests went back to their socializing; however, the main topic for discussion was the demonstration of the student of the Hero of the Flame at the end of the year. Many guests were discussing how they thought she would do and if she'd even survive against her FireBending opponents. Mai was growing more and more nervous as she heard the murmurs, but Naruto calmed her by placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

When she turned to him, he gave her a small smile and stated, "Don't let what people say get to you. All you need to worry about is making sure that your training goes well. But, training can wait since this night is for your father's success. Just enjoy yourself tonight and we'll resume training tomorrow." When she nodded n both understanding and thanks, he let go of her shoulder and made his way to the gardens outside. Tonight was a full moon and the ethereal glow of the lunar sphere always mesmerized him.

Mai watched her teacher head outside and was about to follow him before she was asked to dance. Internally scowling at being kept from talking to Naruto, she politely accepted the offer. She had to present herself as a 'perfect daughter' tonight since it was her father's night.

Out in the gardens, Naruto sat on a stone bench and gazed at the moon letting the light bathe him in its luminous glow. 'I still can't believe that the Juubi's entire body was sealed into the moon by the Rikudo Sennin… Does that mean that the one Obito tried to form would have been nothing more than a copy?'

"No… It would have been an entirely new Juubi. You forget that the other Bijuu came from the Juubi's youki, so if Obito had succeeded in his plans, he would have birthed a new Juubi."

'Is there another way to make the Juubi, Kurama?'

The fox dragged Naruto into the mindscape and narrowed its eyes at the blonde. "Why are you asking about things like that all of a sudden? You had better not be thinking of reforming the Juubi."

"Of course I'm not thinking of that! I would never recreate the very thing that Obito killed my friends for!" Naruto retorted while glaring at the fox. "I just need to know so that I can try to prevent it. If you know of any way that the Juubi could come back, I need to know now."

The fox sighed in both relief and slight exhaustion before giving its host a blank stare. "There is another way. In fact, I believe that the Avatar was made so that they could stop this other method."

"What is it? The Avatar is supposed to maintain balance in the world… So is the other method complete chaos?"

"Close… The final method to restore the Juubi needs three things. First, negative energy must fill the world with its influence, and the closest way to do that is…"

"…a world-scale war," Naruto finished. "So, Obito was actually closer than he thought at restoring the Juubi, huh?"

"Yes he was… In fact, that damned Uchiha was so close that I had extreme doubts that we'd be able to stop him in time. Anyway, the second thing needed is a container to hold that negativity. It can range from the Gedō Mazō to an empty shell of a human… The size won't matter since the container will change into the form needed."

"…And the final thing?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"…The final thing needed is a massive influx of youki that has the essences of the other Bijuu."

Naruto gave a small sigh in relief and asked, "So we don't have to worry right?" The fox remained silent at the question. "Kurama… Do we have need to worry?"

The Kyuubi sighed once more and gazed at its host in all seriousness. "Bijuu don't die, Naruto… When we are 'killed', we merely return to the Spiritual Realm in the form of energy used to stabilize it. However, while our energy stabilizes the realm, it can also be harvested and used for…other means."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and fear at the Kyuubi's statement. "So, you're telling me that the inhabitants of the Spiritual Realm have had about 5000 years to harvest the youki of the other eight Bijuu?"

"…Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you, Kit."

Naruto lost the strength in his legs and plopped down onto a piece of rubble in shock. "The world can't handle the return of the Juubi… It will destroy the world long before anyone has the chance to stop it."

"There is a bright side to this, Kit." When its host turned his gaze to the fox, Kurama continued, "The new host for the Juubi lacks my youki to fully stabilize it and make it whole. We have time to find the host and destroy it before the Juubi is reformed."

"But, we have no means to enter the Spiritual Realm… That means that…"

"…we need to find the current Avatar and prepare them for what's to come. If they cannot defeat the host, then we need to have them make the host go from the Spiritual Realm to the Physical Realm."

Naruto sighed at that before he gave a hollow chuckle. "Figures… I leave our time because I felt that there was no need for Jinchuriki and to escape the duties I accepted as the Child of Prophecy, only to find that the time we arrived to needs our help the most… Life sure is strange, isn't it Kurama?"

The Kyuubi chuckled as well and replied, "Indeed it is, Kit."

Suddenly, Naruto felt someone trying to contact him from outside of his mind and he nodded to the fox before leaving the mindscape. When his eyes opened, he saw Mai sitting next to him and gazing at the full moon. "You left me to deal with a bunch of troublesome people, sensei."

Naruto gave a small chuckle and questioned, "And what exactly made these people 'troublesome'?"

"They all wanted to dance with me just so that they could ask how to get on my father's good side. They see me as a connection to him so that they could move up in the world." She then sighed and continued, "They didn't even talk to me like I was my own person…"

Naruto shook his head at the selfishness of ambitious people and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "For what it's worth Mai, I see you as a strong, intelligent, and beautiful young woman that has the potential to become someone greatly respected and admired one day. I see you as Mai Nara, my apprentice and my friend."

Mai turned to him in surprise and saw him give her a warm smile. It warmed her heart that he actually saw her as a person and in her mind, she made a mental promise to show that what he thought of her would be proven true one day. "Thank you…Naruto."

Naruto kept his smile while he returned his gaze to the moon. "Don't mention it, Mai." From the inside, the two heard the band play a slow song that was perfect to dance to. Naruto's smile turned into a small grin as he stood up and offered a hand to his student. "May a teacher have the honor of dancing with his student?" he asked in a slightly joking tone.

Mai smiled to him while taking his offered hand. "Of course he may," she stated in the same tone.

The blonde led her to an open area of the gardens and took her left hand in his right while placing his left at her waist. She grabbed his right hand while placing her right hand on his left shoulder before the two began to slowly move to the rhythm of the music. They stepped with the beat, he spun her a few times, and he twirled her one time. Unknown to Mai, Ty Lee was watching them through one of the windows with a smile on her face. Naruto noticed her but paid the bubbly teen no mind.

After dancing for about ten minutes, they finally slowed their steps to a halt before Naruto pulled away from her and gave the teen a formal bow. "I thank you for the honor of dancing with you, Lady Mai," he said with a small grin showing her that he was merely teasing her.

Mai smiled back to him and played along with him. "I'm pleased that you enjoyed yourself, Lord Naruto."

Naruto then gave her a slightly serious look and said, "Tomorrow, we're going to step up your training a bit. We need to prepare you for your 'demonstration' at the end of the year." At her nod, he finished, "For now, just enjoy the time you have with your father. I'll see you tomorrow." The blonde then dissolved into a flock of ravens that disappeared into the night leaving Mai alone in the gardens with the moon shining down on her.

The Next Day

True to his word, Naruto had begun Mai's second year of training by increasing her weights and having her perform her exercises to get used to them. It took most of the morning before Mai was able to move at a decent level with the newly added weight. He then had her spar with a clone and she performed adequately. However, she was still letting herself get hit too much for Naruto's liking. Even with his clone lowering its speed to low Chunin level, Mai still had trouble holding it off. He hoped that she would see her mistakes and learn from them before they moved on to her archery training.

Three Months Later (Second Segment of Training)

It was the beginning of archery for the student of the last Uzumaki. She had just finished her morning exercises and stood next to her teacher who had his own bow and quiver of arrows. Away from them were three targets at distances of 10, 25, and 35 yards. The targets had three colors: a red outer ring, a black inner ring, and a yellow circle in the center indicating the bull's eye.

"So… I'm assuming the goal is to hit the bull's eye?" she asked him and he surprisingly shook his head negatively.

"No, the goal right now is for you to at least hit the target set at 25 yards. Getting bull's eyes will come later when you've gained more experience." He then pulled out an arrow from his quiver with his right hand and held the bow firmly in his left. "Now, archery is about finesse, not strength. You need to be calm and focused or else your shots will be wild and may hit your allies."

She nodded and watched as her teacher readied his arrow on the nock of the bow. He then grabbed the end with his pointer and middle fingers and used the butt of the arrow to pull back the string with the help of his ring finger. He pulled back slowly while his eye never left his target. During the draw of the string, she heard him take a deep breath in and heard him release the breath at the same time her released the arrow. The projectile flew through the air and hit the dead center of the target at 25 yards.

"You saw what I was doing the whole time, right?" At her nod he asked, "What was I doing?"

"You kept calm and your breathing was even throughout the shot. You also held your breath on the draw and released it when you fired the arrow."

"Very good… Now, I want you to try and get as close to the center of the 10 yard target. Take your time and be sure to stay calm."

Mai nodded and grabbed an arrow from the quiver. She then placed it on the nock and grabbed the end with her pointer and middle fingers. Using the bottom of the arrow, she pulled back the string with the help of her ring finger. She pulled back slowly while trying to maintain eye contact with her target. She took a deep breath in as she pulled and held it in while steadying the bow and arrow. As she released, she released the breath and watched as her arrow hit the middle of the red ring.

She gave a small scowl in annoyance while Naruto commented, "That was good. Much better than I had originally thought you'd do. You're off to a good start, Mai. You just need to practice more."

She nodded and readied another arrow to fire. This kept up for the rest of the day with her getting slightly closer t the black ring, but still remaining in the red ring. She kept up at it for three months with Naruto giving her pointers whenever he saw her struggling. By the end of the first month, she was able to get the bull's eye for the 10 yard target two out of five times.

The second month had her take a shot at the 25 yard target whenever she hit a bull's eye for the 10 yard one. Just like the first target, she started out slow with the second target and at the end of the second month, she was only able to get a 25 yard bull's eye one out of five times.

During the third month, Mai had progressed to the point of hitting a 10 yard bull's eye 4 out of five times and focused on the 25 and 35 yard targets. It was a slow and steady progress with some frustration from Mai at the difficulty, but she pulled through the month decently. At 25 yards, she was able to score a bull's eye three out of five times while scoring two out of five bull's eyes for the 35 yard target.

Third Segment of Training

Naruto had shifted the schedule for Mai for the next three months of her training. Since he was not a Nara and did not learn how to perform the shadow based techniques, he allowed Mai to go about it on her own with him giving her insight based on his experiences working with Shikamaru in the past. She still performed her morning exercises and trained in archery for an hour a day, but the remainder of the day was focused on the Nara Scrolls.

The Nara Clan used their techniques in accordance with both their shadows and the shadows of their opponents and surroundings. The shadows could hold a person still, strangle them, stab into them, or even be used like tentacles to grab objects. What interested Mai was the fact that the jutsu only used a single handseal, but the level of difficulty increased the level of concentration needed. The handseal was the 'rat' seal which had the user wrap their hand around the middle and pointer fingers of their right hand held in a half 'ram' seal.

The techniques on the scroll were Kagemane (Shadow Imitation), Kage Kubishibari (Shadow Strangle), Kage Nui (Shadow Stitching), and Kageyose (Shadow Gathering).

Seeing as almost all of the jutsu needed a human target, Naruto made a clone for Mai to practice on. The first month was focused on the Kagemane and the Kage Kubishibari. For the first two weeks of the month, Mai trained in extending her shadow and attaching it to the clone's shadow. It came easier than she thought it would to her since the shadow moved across the ground to her will. The last two weeks were harder for her since she was practicing moving her shadow from the ground to wrapping around another person. At first, it took all of her concentration to have the shadow merely wrap around the ankles of the clone her teacher made. Though as the weeks progressed, she was able to steadily decrease the amount of concentration needed until it took all of her concentration to completely wrap her shadow to about the upper torso of the clone. It was incredibly draining on her, but Naruto explained that it was much harder wrapping a chakra based technique against someone with chakra, let alone around someone with higher reserves than hers.

The second month was focused on the Kage Nui technique. It took the Kagemane a step further by having her shadow split into many different parts and become solid enough to stab into her target to hold them into place. For the first half of the month, Mai focused on having her shadow stay whole as she stabbed into a Naruto clone. Like the Kage Kubishibari, it was incredibly difficult for her to make her shadow change from a silhouette to a physical form. At the end of two weeks, she was able to make it rise and attempt a single stab before she lost focus and had her shadow drop back into the ground.

Seeing her have this much trouble with it, Naruto had Mai hold off on learning the Kageyose and spend the remaining month and a half focusing on the first three techniques. She easily saw the logic in the suggestion and complied. With her remaining time focused on those three techniques, she was able to bring them up to the level of a low Chunin Nara member.

The final segment of her training was once again focused on an overview of what she already knew. Naruto wanted her to get experience on simple missions, but he felt that bringing her skills up to at least mid Chunin level was the smarter choice for Mai since she'd be going up against experienced FireBenders.

The first month focused on her fighting tactics, the basic three jutsu, and physical training. The second month focused on her archery bringing up to the point that she increased her bull's eye count by one on each target. The last month was spent on increasing her Nara techniques to mid Chunin capability.

The year was up for Mai and now she was to show the fruits of her labor.

Outer Arena of Royal Palace

Mai stood next to her sensei, prepped and ready in her kunoichi gear while her sense stood next to her in something new to his attire. Over his clothes, Naruto had on black armor with a rust orange trim that was reminiscent of the ones worn by the samurai. The armor was constructed from numerous metal plates that were formed into multiple protective guards along his body. In particular, the armor focused on the chest, waist, shoulders and thighs but left his back entirely exposed (1). Over the armor was his Gama Sennin cloak while his Uzu hiate hung around his neck.

Ozai stepped forward from his seat to address the crowd waiting for the demonstration to commence. "People of the Fire Nation Capital, it is my privilege to present to you all this demonstration of the student of Naruto Uzumaki against a group of five FireBenders under my command. I hope you all enjoy what she has to offer you today."

The crowd cheered in excitement as he returned to his seat. Naruto leaned his head to Mai's ear and whispered, "Don't worry, you'll do just fine. You faster, craftier, and have many abilities that they can only dream of. Just do your best, Mai. I have faith in you."

Mai gave her teacher a confident smile and nodded before she turned to face her opponents. Naruto took a couple steps back and resolved to step in if he saw that his student was in overwhelmed.

The six combatants each got into ready stances and awaited the signal to begin. Ozai turned to the person that was to ring the gong and nodded. The servant nodded back and hit the gong with all his might initiating the start of the battle.

As soon as the gong rang, two of the FireBenders punched forward and released streams of fire at Mai who pumped chakra into her feet and disappeared in a small burst of speed. When she reappeared, she released a volley of shuriken at her opponents who all rolled out of the way.

Mai then flew through handseals and formed four basic Bunshin around her, surprising the audience. She then had her clones head for separate targets while she readied a kunai and ran for her own target. Like she predicted, the soldiers panicked and blasted fire at the clones, making them fade out of existence when the fire passed through them. The real Mai dodged the fireball sent her way and continued rushing her target. As he readied another Bending strike, she once again disappeared from his view. The next thing he knew was a blow to the back of his head before he fell unconscious with Mai standing behind his prone form.

The remaining FireBenders all shot flames at Mai and they hit home, shocking the spectators. Naruto smirked at that and it grew at the sound of many people gasping in shock at the sight of a completely burnt rock where Mai was.

While the FireBenders stared at the scene in confusion, Mai pulled out some smoke bombs and threw them from her position behind another large rock. When the bombs detonated, the smoke blocked the vision from them and from the spectators while Mai faded from view in it. The Benders slowly tried to make their way out of the smoke, but it was too thick to see through. After a couple of minutes, the smoke cleared and showed Mai and a FireBender standing over two more knocked out soldiers while the remaining two stood next to one another.

Unknown to them, the Mai the saw was another Bunshin that faded away while the real Mai had used Henge to transform into the FireBender.

"Damn it, where'd she go?" asked one of the real Benders.

"I don't know… Hey, did you see where she went?" the second one asked his 'fellow' Bender.

"Yea, I did," Mai replied in a male voice due to the Henge.

"Then where is she?" asked the first.

Mai simply crouched down with her hands in the 'rat' seal as her shadow stretched towards them and split into two streaks before latching onto their own, freezing them into place. She then released the Henge in a small plume of smoke and answered, "She's right in front of you."

The two soldiers tried to move, but their bodies were too frozen to do so. Mai smirked at that and took out two kunai. The soldiers' bodies made the same motion, but since they did not have weapon pouches, they merely grasped at air. The Nara then threw her kunai at them, but made sure that the ring-handled end would hit them. Once again, the jutsu forced the two soldiers to perform the same actions, but they threw nothing while the kunai smacked into their helmeted heads. When they hit, a loud ringing sound echoed through the helmet and disoriented them enough for Mai to know them both out with chops to the back of their necks.

As soon as the bodies fell to the floor, the arena was filled with silence until the sound of one man clapping broke through it. Naruto was the one doing so since he was incredibly proud of his student for her performance. She had used good battle tactics, showed her prowess in the basic jutsu as well as the Nara Clan jutsu, and she came out unscathed. 'Yes… I believe that she will most certainly go far in her life.'

The Kyuubi chuckled inside the mindscape and commented, "Yes, I think so too."

Once the spectators broke out of their shock, they began clapping and cheering for Mai and her impressive performance. The ones who cheered loudest were Ty Lee and Mai's parents. Naruto appeared next to his student in a Shunshin and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "See? I knew you'd do well, Mai."

Mai gave a small smile at the cheering and her teacher's words and took it all in proudly. She had accomplished something today and was slowly proving that Naruto's faith in her was not misplaced.

In his seat, Ozai smirked at the display from Mai and already had some plans for the teen forming in his mind. 'With an army of people like her, the Fire Nation will easily win the war! I have to find some way to make her teach what she knows to my soldiers… Either that or I find a way to have her beloved teacher do so… The only question that remains is how…'

Naruto tensed at the feeling of foreboding and turned his gaze to Ozai. His eyes narrowed at the man and he mentally promised to keep Mai out of Ozai's clutches.

And if Ozai tried to force Mai into something, he'd put a stop to it…no matter what.

(End)

1~ Think Madara's armor but in a different color scheme

And that was chapter four! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the future chapters to come! If you have any questions or concerns, PM me!

Again, I apologize to you all for taking so long to update. My COM is an ass...

Now please: Review! Review! Review!

Current ages:

Naruto: (physical) 26; (actual) 5115

Ozai: 44

Iroh: 63

Lo and Li: 80

Fire Nation Girls: 16

Zuko: 17

Aang: (physical) 12; (actual) 111

Next Time: Way of the Shinobi Year Three! One more year before the canon events begin! Stay Tuned!

-pain17ification