Authors Note: So far, the poll has not gotten very many votes, but it's still up. Results so far:
Naruto x Umi: III
Naruto x Harem: I
Naruto x Canon Character: I
Naruto x Random: I
No Pairing: I
Remember! Write reviews and provide feedback to give me a chance to better the story and myself.
Sorry for the late release, been extremely busy with school-work…
Chapter Twelve: Sword Training
'Today, I start training with my sword.'
Finishing up with preparing, he grabbed a glass ornate mixing bowl, musing as he remembered how he got it. Some drunk villager decided to throw it away two days ago, and Naruto, being a scavenger, kept almost anything that would be helpful, and now, it's time for the bowl to be useful. Grabbing a bag of flour, he scooped a cup and a half into the bowl, followed by 3 and a half teaspoons of baking soda. Stirring them up quickly, he added one teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of sugar. Stirring them up to satisfaction, he added milk, cracked a egg and poured it in, and mixed some melted butter. Stirring yet again until it became smooth. Grabbing a frying pan from the cabinet below, he placed in on the counter while grabbing a stepping stool for the stove. Placing the iron pan on the stove, he raised the temperature to 250, and poured almost perfect circles of mix onto the pan. "It should be about 7 minutes Umi," said Naruto, embarrassed and amused that both their stomaches growled at the same time.
"Ok, Onii-chan!" she said happily.
'Onii-chan eh? She thinks I'm her brother.' thought the blond, smiling warningly at the girl laying on his bed. However, he did not watch the time, and smelled something burning. 'What's that smell, something's burning?' thought the blond, wondering.
"Onii-chan, it's burning!" said the worried girl, seeing as some flames extruding from the frying pan.
"AHHH!" said the blond, turning off the stove, grabbing a cup of water, and splashing it onto the now black pancakes. "Well that's just great… Sandwiches for breakfeast." said the now frustrated blond.
"YAY!" shouted the girl, her eyes shined longing.
"Wha? You really like my sandwiches?" said the blond, stupefied that the girl actually liked his sandwiches.
"Yeah Onii-chan, their the best in the world!" the girl exclaimed to her brother figure.
Chuckling at the girls exuberance, he sighed as he went towards the fridge to make a sandwich for the both of them. "Would you like what you had yesterday?" questioned the blond.
"Hai!" the brunette replied quickly. She watched as the blond cut up some lettuce, sliced one or two tomatoes, and brought out some ham slices. Placing them all within two slices of heaven. (*cough* bread) Handing the hungry girl the sandwich, he mused as she held it as if it was solid gold, until she literally demolished it within the minute.
"You must've been hungry. Now, I'm going to leave soon, so remember what I said, stay here at all times, and never answer anyone. Got it?" said the blond, in a serious tone that meant business. Seeing the girl nod quickly, his face lightened into a warming smile, "Thanks… nee-chan. Now, I'll see you later tonight." he finished, as he grabbed his sword and the kenjutsu book. When he walked out the door, he did his daily jog to the grounds, and as always taking the long way their. After twenty minutes, he arrived. He noticed a genin team their again. Shrugging, he dropped his backpack against a tree, unzipped it, and took out the book. 'Alright, Heres were I left off…'
…Turn to page seven to begin to feel for your sword…
Naruto sat down against the tree, next to his backpack, turned the page to seven, and began reading the text.
For any swordsman, or at least one who wishes to become adept at the profession, must feel the sword physically and mentally. Physically you must be able to move the weight around with ease as well as do the katas. Mentally you must feel the sword to be an extension of yourself, rather then a tool. If you don't have these two, then you will not be proficient. If you were to have the physical part, but not the mental conditioning, you will be easily out-maneuvered, and only have strength behind the blows. If you have the mental part, you will be able to block and attack efficiently, but your hits will be sloppy and the damage inflicted will be less then what is wanted. If you have both, the two will combine in harmony, and your ability to fight with a sword will almost be unrivaled by any other.
For now, we will begin with the physical portion. This is the first step towards mastery. On the next page, a basic style of your sword will be illustrated to you. I want you to work on this, mastering the basics is a major step in mastering it all.
Naruto turned the page, only to find multiple detailed drawings of figures wielding a sword. Activating his Sharingan, he implanted the images into his memory, and went into the clearing to practice. Drawing his sword, he swung his first move into a valuable skill…
At the Apartment
"Man, even though onii-chan has only been gone for three hours, I am bored!" said the girl, laying on the bed, a bored expression on her face. She decided to look around for something to do, looking into the closet. She found a practice target, about a foot and a half in diameter, with a pattern of white and red, ending with a red bullseye. Seeing a nail lodged in the wall, she hung the target by the strap. Moving back, she grabbed a shuriken from the box, and flung the piece of metal at the target. Amazingly, she was able to hit it, and get five inches from the center. Smiling, she grabbed another, threw it, and hit two inches from the center. 'Heh, this is easy.' thought the girl as she threw shuriken time and time again…
At the Training grounds
'Left, left, right, block, jab…' thought the blond as he fought imaginary opponents. '…I think I am done for today…' thought the blond, panting heavily. Sheathing the sword, he went to his backpack. Placing the book inside, he hefted up the backpack after he zipped it. He paced off towards the apartment, taking a faster pace, as it was going on dusk. The golden sun shone across the horizon, leaving a lake along the way a mixture of blue, yellow and orange, mystifying the water. 'So beautiful…' Taking his mind off thinking as he entered the cities market district, following the path to his apartment. The market place was settling down from it's daily boom. Merchants closing down, ready to go home to their family. 'What is it like to have a family?' the blond sadly thought. Interrupted by a tackle, he tensed up, ready for a fight, but relaxed when he recognized the person.
"Onii-chan, you're home!" thought the brunette, glomping the blond.
"Oh sorry nee-chan, I took a bit longer then expected." said the blond, smiling at the girl on top of him.
"Ok, I want some more sandwiches. Without you it was boring!" said the brunette mock glaring at her 'brother.'
"H-hai." replied the blond, trying to pry himself from her. Walking up the staircase, he looked to his left to the door with 15 embedded in bronze above a small peek-hole. Opening the door, he noticed multiple indents on the wall, as well as a battered up target. "Nee-chan, what did you do while I was gone." said the blond sternly hoping she didn't do anything too dangerous.
"I-I was bo-red, so I-I decided to pr-practice throwing the star things?" said the now nervous brunette.
Sighing with relief, his face softening, "Good, but when you are practicing, please be careful…" said the blond, care laced into the words.
"Hai, Onii-chan!" exclaimed the brunette, happy that she could practice more.
Picking up the target, Naruto examined the dents left, and was quite impressed, many of the dents were located within 6 inches of the target, which was quite extraordinary for a five-year old with no training. "You have quite the aim, you haven't thrown these before?" said the blond, holding up a shuriken.
"No, this was the first time." said the brunette, blushing lightly at the praise.
"Tonight before we go to bed, show me how you threw them, I'll train you in throwing." said the blond, thinking that it would be a good idea to teach the girl to somewhat be able to protect herself.
"Hai!" said the brunette, ecstatic. Watching the blonde walk towards the kitchen, her stomach growled, and she drooled thinking about the magical sandwiches that he makes. Five minutes, she was still daydreaming until she was interrupted.
"Oi, you're drooling nee-chan! And the sandwiches are done!" said the blond, waving his hand in front of her face. Grabbing a small handkerchief, and wiped the drool emanating from her mouth. Chuckling at her embarrassment, he handed her a sandwich. "Dig in!" they said in unison as they gobbled the sandwiches. Watching as the brunette ate the sandwich, he smiled. 'Family…' thought the blond.
"Oi! Onii-chan!" Umi said, waving a hand in front of his face, attempting to wake him from his daydreams. "Wake up!"
Obviously the attempt was successful, as he jumped and fell off the chair. Next thing he heard was the laughing a girl next to him. Muttering something about 'annoying brats,' he got up and replaced the chair. Looking at the girl as she yawned, "Time to get to bed, tomorrow it's time for you to get your own." said the blond, yawning himself as he paced towards the chair, that was temporary his bed now. Laying back, watching as the brunette yawned cutely, "Good night nee-chan…" said the blond in a soft voice.
"Night, onii-chan…" mumbled Umi in the pillows. Soon after, the two drifted off into a blissful sleep.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE - CRASH!
"Aughhh…" groaned the blond, after literally obliterating the alarm clock. 'Damnit, that's the third one this week. Grabbing the remains, he placed them into the trash can by the door. Noticing that she was still asleep, he wrote a note, and prepared to train some more.
Time-Skip: One Month
Over the past month, Naruto worked endlessly on developing his own style for his sword, taking into account every slash and hack that he took. Three weeks in, he developed his own style, which he labeled "Gorudenfokkusu." This style is largely based on using a persons cunning and surprising aspects of a person into the sword. Using feints and quick attacks allow for dominance against larger blades and taijutsu users. So far he has developed five dances, each based on fighting a different blade. These styles are however very undeveloped, and he has yet to develop it a satisfactory level.
Along with his kenjutsu, he worked every night on his chakra control, being able to hold the leaf for an entire hour, which means you have mastered the technique. He began reading the "Tree Climbing Exercise" scroll. He remembered when he first tried doing it too.
Flashback no Jutsu
'Hmm, Tree climbing exercise huh? Sounds easy!' thought the blond as he unraveled the scroll.
Self-Learning Scroll
Level: I
This exercise is an extremely useful technique as it allows you to have an advantage on the battlefield, as well as increasing both chakra control and size. In order to do this technique, gather chakra to the bottom of your feet using the ram seal, and attempt to walk up the tree. If needed. Try running up the tree to give you a headstart.
'I knew it would be easy!' thought the blond, somewhat overconfident that this was easy. Following what the scroll said, he gathered chakra at the bottoms, and ran at the tree. Right when his foot collided with the tree, his foot went through it. 'What the hell?' thought the blond, who's foot was now stuck. Forcing his foot out of the tree, he stumbled backwards on his rear, as he tried again. This time with much less chakra. He tried again, only to slip and fall. 'Grr… this isn't easy…' thought the frustrated blond.
'Well, did you expect everything to be easy Naruto?' said the voice in his head.
'Grr… I guess you're right, maybe I'm becoming more like those self-righteous asses of the Uchiha clan, maybe it flows through their blood.' thought the blond, laughing at his own joke, to be joined in by the Kyuubi.
For the next three days, he ran up and down the tree, attempting to master the technique.
Flashback no Jutsu - End
With the new level of control, he was finally able to complete the storage scroll technique. After showing the Hokage what he could do flawlessly, Sarutobi handed four more scrolls, labeled "Flash Tag, Heat Tag, Chill Tag, Weight seal, along with a book containing many basic theories on fuuinjutsu. So far, he was able to complete the flash tag and the heat tag flawlessly. (Flash Tag is much like a flash bang, while a heat tag allows for heat to be emitted on the object as chakra is being added.)
He is able to perform the Henge and the Kawarimi proficiently, and trying to get it down without hand seals. The Bushin is something he cannot do, no matter how hard he tries. He believed that it was due to the large amount of chakra that he has. He was going to ask the old man soon if there is anyway to help him with it.
Umi, along with Naruto's assistance and some books, she was able to become proficient in throwing projectiles such as shuriken and kunai, and was working on throwing knifes and smoke bombs. Naruto also decided to buy her a wakizashi, and help tutor her in it. He allowed her to borrow the book when he wasn't using it, so she was slowing developing her own style as well.
With the help of Umi, he was able to furnish the apartment and get her own bed, even though occasionally she sleeps with him. The relationship between the two grew quite strong after the incident. Umi being the little sister that Naruto always wanted, and Naruto being the big brother that she always wanted.
Itachi has met with Naruto a few times, chatting about gossip, as well as trying to put some emotion in the stoic Uchiha. A smile here and there meant that their was still hope yet. The Uchiha clan has been becoming more busy internally, they are cutting back on luxuries and saving up for what they believe is to be a coup d'etat.
At the end of the month, Naruto decided to see the old man about something that he thought would be a good idea. Walking up the stairs, he walked into the Hokage sleeping sounded on his desk, drool dripping slowly from his mouth onto the paper. Sweatdropping, "GET UP OR I'LL BURN YOUR ICHA ICHA!" shouted the blond, hopefully trying to wake up the sleeping kage. For the beginning he didn't even twitch, but at the mention of 'Icha Icha' he snapped up, pale as a ghost, and searching franticly for the offender.
"Seeing the blond in front of the desk, "What would you like Naruto?" asked the aged man, colour slowly returning to his face.
"I would like to…"
Techniques/Jutsus
Gorudenfokkusu (The Golden Fox): Developed by Naruto, he bases his entire series attack on the cunningness of a fox, and the unpredictability of Naruto into a effective style. There are five sets of attacks "Gorudenfokkusukuro (Golden Fox Claw)" is the first and most offensive style. Using the sword for quick diagonal attacks and quick jabs.
"Gorudenfokkusudifenda (Golden Fox Defender)" is like the name says, is made for a quick defense and counter attack, and can easily switch between stances. "Kyusokuna Gorudenfokkusu (Rapid Golden Fox)" is a style developed entirely on speed. Instead of using it on stength, he bases it on quick slashes on vital areas to take out an opponent. "Gorudenfokkusubasaka (Golden Fox Berserker)" is a stance based entirely on strength. Instead of using speed, the user uses pure strength to overpower the target. Often leaves the person open, but is an amazing offence if used correctly. The final kata is "Erementarugorudenfokkusu (Elemental Golden Fox.)" This kata is untested, as Naruto has yet to find out his elemental affinity, yet train it. What this stance does is maximize both the offensive and defensive abilities of the sword by flowing elemental chakra into the blade.
Authors note: Remember the poll is still up, go to chapter eleven to find the choices that can be voted on. Remember review so I can get better! Ja ne *vanishes in poof*