Chapter Six
Five days later reveals the surviving Genin Team have all passed the Second portion of the Chunnin Exams, when Mitarashi Anko had, after signed waivers, released all teams into Training Ground 44 aka The Forest of Death. Nothing much happened, except Naruto had stolen a metal iron shield used by Iwa-nins during the Second Great Shinobi War. It was surprisingly a perfect fit for Naruto, however he was going to have this shield melted down and remade with his own style, since the metal made for the shield could only be found in Iwa (and getting imported metals from Iwa was very expensive). There was also the incident between Team Seven and Orochimaru, who attacked them, and bit Sasuke on the neck, burning a Cursed Seal on the boy. Naruto was out cold, yet managed to hold back Orochimaru. Skills alone however can not compete against experience.
We're now at the sight of the Third Exams, which is basically a two stage event. The first stage was to hold an Elimination Tournament, to weed out stragglers, and then in one month, host a second tournament in front of the entire village, and visitors from all around the countries. Naruto was standing on the balcony, in between Tenten and Hinata, watching as Sasuke finally won against his opponent. After Hayate announced Sasuke as the winner, Kakashi had Shunshin away, taking the boy with him. Anko had warned Sarutobi of Orochimaru being in the village, so security was up. What made it worse was that the Council still saw Sasuke as someone of royalty, and did not wish to lose the boy to anyone else. They never knew about the Cursed Seal, but Sarutobi did, and which is why Kakashi took Sasuke away; to have it sealed with a Suppression Seal.
After several matches, the next lineup in the selection was Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba.
"Alright, time to kick Naruto's ass!" Kiba leaps over the railing, and lands on the ground. Naruto joined a second later, across the field, "you know, you may have been a Jinchuuriki, but even your improvements won't match up to my strengths, Naruto, and I'll prove it, fox boy!"
Naruto smirked. His scent is still that of ramen, and for some reason, a kitsune.
Naruto, use the heavy blade.
Naruto took off the scroll, and unseals it, now wielding Zubuza's weapon. He smirked, lifting it a bit, and holding it steady. "Come at me dog breath!"
"Hajime!" Hayate announced, and then went into a bit of a coughing fit.
Kiba charged at Naruto, but then immediately jumped back when Naruto swung the heavy weapon into the ground, channeling chakra to send a ground shockwave. Kiba cursed, as he had almost gotten caught. Then he grabbed Akamaru and jumped away when Naruto came at him spinning wildly. He used the weapon's heavy base as an anchor to swing around. He stopped himself, and had gotten a bit dizzy as a result. Kiba took this opening and landed a kick to Naruto's back, sending him buckling to his knees. Naruto Kawarimi away and appearing elsewhere flung several Senbon. They all missed.
You idiot! Get rid of the dizzy spell!
Naruto had finally gotten rid of the dizzy spell, and held the blade up when Kiba appeared with a punch. The dog boy howled as he backed away, shaking his aching hand. Naruto took several Senbon, and flung them. He had learned how to aim for pressure points, since Midna has good memory. Also, the medical books helped in the last two days before the exam started. Kiba was pushed aside by Akamaru. Naruto seals the heavy blade away, took out some Nin-ombs, and threw them at Kiba. They all exploded, sending the Inuzuka and his animal companion flying back.
"What the hell?" Kiba coughed, as his nose was assaulted by the burning smell of black powder.
"They're called Nin-ombs. Tenten's grandfather created these, and I bought the only small stash he had. Try and find my scent now dog boy!"
That's the spirit Naruto-kun! Kick his ass! Midna yells.
He revealed a pack, which Kiba realized held his smoke bombs.
"You thief!" How the hell did he have time to steal them!?
Naruto snickered. "Kitsune are noted as mischievous pranksters and thieves." He grabbed the hand full and threw them randomly into the air. Each one that strikes the ground released a large cloud of smoke. Soon, the entire floor was bathed in gray clouds that everyone on the railings of the second floor can't see into the smoke.
We're under cover, help me out Midna.
Midna formed, this time in the physical realm, and flew through the smoke. Naruto ran through the clouds as well, forming several Kage Bunshin. Midna found Akamaru and grabbed him with her hair, and flung the dog high into the air, where the puppy crashed against the wall next to Anko, knocked unconscious. Midna disappeared when the smoke began to dispel slowly, and now Kiba found himself on the end of Naruto's fists, which he called Uzumaki Naruto Rendan, a series of timed punches and kicks at joints of the legs, arms, and the final punch right towards the jaw. Hayate raised his hand, and gave the victory to Naruto. Naruto was pulled to the side by Sarutobi, after he had returned to the balcony. All the Konoha ninja had noticed Naruto was carrying around a shield on his back which on its surface shown Iwa's iconic symbol.
"Naruto, where did you get that shield from?" Sarutobi asks.
"I stole it two days ago," was his reply, "that guy was pretty angry when I stolen this shield from him, after of course I nailed him in the balls with a fist-sized rock I picked up in the forests."
"What do you plan to do with it? You can't obviously carry that around since we have some ninjas who have fought in the SGSW."
"Going to have Tankou-jijii melt it down into my own shield style... once I manage to draw up how I want it of course."
Sarutobi nodded, finding it as a good enough excuse. "Just make sure there's a henge or a Genjutsu on that shield so it does not show Iwa's symbol. I don't want you to get in trouble with ANBU." Naruto nodded. Kurenai volunteered, and she had changed the shield so it no longer showed Iwa's symbol.
The next few matches were mediocre at best, but Naruto felt that Temari did not have to brutalize Tenten like that. Ino and Sakura both knocked each other out in the end. The girl Kin from Oto, Naruto was intrigued by her, however in the end, she lost to Shikamaru. The next match, which Kakashi by then had returned with Sasuke resting in the hospital on ANBU Watch, was Hyuuga versus Hyuuga. Naruto gave Hinata a comforting hand squeeze, before she joined her cousin Neji on the floor.
"Give you. You can not win, fate denies your victory."
Hinata shook her head, shifting the Jyuuken. "I cannot. I have to prove myself that I can fight... I will not fail my wisdom."
Midna looked at Hinata, seeing as her Triforce piece was glowing softly for a moment. Naruto smiled softly.
"Don't cower out Hinata; remember you have the knowledge of wisdom! Use it!"
Neji scowled. "You are foolish."
"Hajime!" Hayate announced. The two rushed in, and fought.
Throughout the match, both were using the family Kekkai Genkai, and the fabled Jyuuken Family Art. Neji's style was rigid, while Hinata's flowed like water. However, Neji held hatred towards Hinata due to her being of the Main Branch, and he was but of a lowly servant with the Caged Bird Seal hidden behind the hitai-ate he wore. Neji finally managed her in, and unleashed the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou (Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand). Then, it happened. As Neji dashed in with his fingers poised to strike her in the heart, Hinata's Triforce flowed.
"Hinata no Ai (Hinata's Love)!" She yelled, as she generated a lavender aura that had completely surrounded the injured kunoichi. Neji's Heart Strike failed to penetrate the barrier, and it had only sent him flying back, where he was now held down by the various Jounin, and a sad looking Gai, ashamed that his student would dare use a killing blow on a fellow ninja. The aura slowly dispelled, and she collapsed right into Naruto's arms. Midna formed out of Naruto's shadow, invisible to all but the two teenagers.
"I... I used my wisdom, like you said, but it was not enough..."
"It's okay... you did your best, it's all that matters, Hinata-chan."
She was suffering from the injured placed on her from the last attack, and then her energies flowed out into a protective barrier that had saved her from getting murdered in cold blood by Neji. Naruto wiped a bit of Hinata's blood that trickled from her mouth, and glared at Neji, who was glaring with hatred at Hinata and him.
He traced Hinata's blood upon his forehead after throwing off his hat. In his forehead was the kanji for Avenge. "With her blood, I will make you pay for your actions of attempted murder, Hyuuga Neji." Naruto was never more serious than ever. Neji however scoffed and walked off.
"A loser, Jinchuuriki or not, will always be a loser, just like her."
"Teme!" He was about to attack, but Kakashi grabbed his hand, and simply shook his head. Naruto was still angry, but he lifted Hinata up and carried her out, leaving behind his hat. Kakashi had picked it up, seeing Naruto ignored everyone else when he sprinted out of the building, and back out to the forest. He knew he was going to take her to the Konoha General Hospital. Midna had by then warped away, and had appeared next to Naruto, stopping him in his tracks.
"Stop it Naruto, look, without the Twilight Portals, I can't teleport far distances, however I can help you get out of the forest."
"Do it Midna... she needs help." Midna concentrated, forming a Twilight Portal in the ground, where she awaited him. Naruto joined her, and together they had vanished in waves of twilight as the portal dissolved away.
They reappeared at the gate entrance. From there, she merged back into his shadow as the blonde ran to the hospital to get her treated. It was two hours later, that Hinata was finally resting well, and he ignores the doctors and nurses by staying at her bedside. He heard the door open, and in stepped Kakashi, who simply tossed Naruto his hat he left behind.
"How is she?"
"She's fine... had she not use that last jutsu, she could have been killed by that strike that prick was going to use."
"He would have been stopped regardless," Kakashi told Naruto.
"Still, doesn't give him the right tot blankly murder someone."
"I agree with you on that Naruto. And the Hokage had reprimanded Neji on that matter before sending him on his way. Anyway, since you weren't around, I drew your and Sasuke's numbers for the second portion of the Third Exam. You're facing Hyuuga Neji in the first round, and Sasuke will be facing the boy from Suna, Sabaku no Gaara. Sadly I won't be able to train you; however there was one person who had taken an interest in you. He was the Proctor for the fights earlier, Gekko Hayate."
Naruto didn't like that Kakashi was not going to train him, but he asked away. "Is he any good?"
"He's a Jounin like me, and the best Kenjutsu specialist in the village. He wants to train you, and see if you are worth enough of learning his special technique, the Mikazuki no Mai, Dance of the Crescent Moon. Once Sasuke is healed enough, I'm going to train him myself. You weren't around to see Gaara's match with Lee... Lee was crippled by the boy's affinity for sand, effectively questioning Lee's future career as a ninja."
I don't like it, but if he is a sword user, you could learn a thing or two from the guy. I would see that Hayate person if I were you.
"Fine..."
Kakashi nodded and poofed away. Even if he had changed for the better, its still Sasuke who's treated like a king... in fact, the entire village still kisses the prick's ass.
"Any clue to what she had just used?"
Midna forms, and looks over at Hinata. "I would guess it was the power of the Triforce, her Wisdom, as you told her to use. Whatever it was, that technique of hers had shielded her from getting hurt, but it also used a bit of energy not unlike your chakra use... still..." she picks up the clip board showing her health status, "she's still out of it because of that chakra exhausting thing... what it says here anyway."
Naruto stood up, and looked at Hinata. He still had her dried blood written on his forehead, when he vowed to beat Neji. He would get that chance in a month. He soon left, Midna in his shadow once again, as he stopped by the shop he now frequents, and left the shield for Tankou to melt down. He stuck by however for a few minutes, and with a scroll, sketched up how he wanted the shield to reveal on its surface. There was three gold triangles on it close grouped, and etched on the background was the symbol of the Leaf. The top triangle however had a spiral symbol in the triangle, which he told Midna in thought that it symbolizes him holding the Triforce of Courage.
It was going to cost Naruto some hard cash, and so Naruto managed to have it paid in advance, which left him with only 1,200 ryo. With that money left, he bought some ramen at Ichiraku, talked a bit with Ayame and Teuchi, and then headed to his apartment where he just simply collapsed into his bed, boots kicked off, and fell asleep. Midna had taken off his belt and the sword, setting them on the table, where she joined him on the other side. No they're not sleeping, but can't blame a girl for wanting a soft bed to sleep in.
The next morning, Kakashi had left the village with Sasuke. Sakura was given some scrolls that she could practice her chakra from, but that was it. In the apartment of Uzumaki Naruto, we find a slight humorous scene. Naruto was sleeping, and in his arms, was Midna, who snuggled up next to the human. Since Naruto was only at the position of five feet and some inches past 3, due to his new food diet (and only snacking on ramen once and awhile), well, Midna was at a chibi height while in her cursed imp form... you do the math. Smaller girl, in taller boy's arms. What can happen?
Well, Naruto's hand sliding around to caress the small of her back is one thing, causing a light blush to form over the sleeping imp's cheeks as she moaned softly and leaned closer, her helmet on the bedside table. The alarm clock goes off, stirring the two awake somewhat. Midna's hair formed the hand, and it smashes yet another alarm clock that will need to be replaced. The author of this story would let this scene continue but unfortunately the Goddesses and other deities of the world interrupted by having Hayate knock on Naruto's door, now completely waking Naruto up, and revealing to him that he was cuddling Midna.
Midna turned in her sleep, rolling the covers up as Naruto got out of bed, a bit of a blush on his face, as he opened the door.
"Naruto?" Hayate coughs.
"Yeah, that's me."
Hayate noticed Naruto's red face, and immediately thought he was intruding on a private intimate moment. "I'll return around lunch. I can see you're busy." He poofs away before Naruto could reply. He closes the door and locks it again. He wondered how his life could get so complicated without the fox around. He strips off his clothes and his other leather-based items, before grabbing the towel and heads to his bathroom to take his morning shower.
=0=0=
Midna was laughing it away inside Naruto's mind. Assbrellas? Honestly! Sure umbrellas have been used at times in the past, but still... I have never seen such a thing with the photo of someone's rear art worked on its surface!
I would say someone has been watching too many comedy sketches from Luna Jen, Naruto thought, as Midna kept giggling over the name assbrella.
I don't even wanna know where the handle goes.
Midna! Naruto yelled, trying hard not to laugh for no reason. It'd make him look like some schizophrenic.
"How many people would buy those things?"
"Tousan!" Ayame yelled. Naruto dropped by at Ichiraku, only to see the same umbrella which Teuchi had bought half an hour ago on his break.
Well, so far one person, Midna said with a cheeky grin.
"What! It was for five ryo! I couldn't pass up on a good deal!"
"It has the image of a giant ass on it!"
Now Naruto couldn't help it. He and Midna cracked. The father and daughter duo heard Naruto crack up laughing, as the old man grinned. "See, Naruto thinks I made a good deal."
"He's probably laughing over the fact you wasted five ryo on a simple umbrella that has the artwork of someone's rear end on it," Ayame huffed, "put it away before some mother with a child sees that thing." Teuchi folds it in and puts it in the nearby closet, and returned to making ramen.
"Hey old man, when using an Assbrella for sun protection, be sure to apply sun tan lotion of at least SPF 30 to both yourself and the ass."
Assbrella... I wonder what that seller was drinking to come up with such a thing, Midna giggled.
Teuchi shakes his head, wondering why Naruto and Ayame couldn't see what a great umbrella he bought. Naruto was bored, so he grabs the newspaper while his bowl of miso ramen was being prepared.
"Oh boy, now this is murder waiting to happen. I can imagine many women taking offense to this..."
"What, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asks, heading over.
Naruto points to the ad in the Want Ads section of the Konoha Times.
"Free women's clothing, fat, medium fat, fat fat. 1 Article per person. Appointment only."
"Oh, now that is just freaking rude," Ayame muttered.
I know, I mean, what kind of irresponsible guy would dare put that in the newspaper?
As if Midna's question was answered, a guy rushes by, followed by a crowd of angry women both civilian and kunoichi. Naruto, Ayame, and by proxy Midna, blinked twice. So, during the time Naruto spent eating his ramen, he and Ayame were going through the ads finding things that looked odd or out of place. Naruto found one article. "Huh, look at this Ayame-chan. Box of Twinkies, ten years old, two missing, rest have cream filling sucked out. Five ryo." By the time he finished he was starting to laugh, "Oh my, who in the right mind would buy used Twinkies... and the way it describes the rest of the contents. Oh boy."
Ayame was giggling, but over another ad. When Naruto looked at it, Midna howled with laugher over the one letter misspelled in "duckie." After Naruto finished his twelfth bowl, he left the small restaurant stand and headed off. He was minding his own business when he heard perverted giggling. Both he and Midna saw a man with long white hair, wearing red kabuki clothing, and he was peering into a peephole near the bath house springs of the women's side of the lot. Naruto thought this was a perfect prank, and he transformed into Naruko. Midna growled, when Naruto used that technique of his, as Naruko gently tapped on the man's shoulder.
"Excuse me sir, but what are you doing?" she asks in a low sultry voice. Naruko thought the man was about to have whiplash by the way he spun around so fast. There, in all her nude bound glory, was Naruko-chan. Jiraiya's nose busted into a nosebleed, before Naruko smashed her foot against his crotch, and henged into a clothed female. "You pervert!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. It had the desired effect, as women from all around suddenly swarmed the whimpering Sannin and began assaulting Jiraiya for being a peeping tom on the women in the hot spring, which were kunoichi. Once Jiraiya had finally stopped screaming like a little girl, he was black and blue, with bumps and bruises all over. Before he had unfortunately passed out with the crowds now gone, he had seen Naruko poof into smoke, revealing a young blonde haired teen wearing a green tunic cackling like mad. He, as well as everyone else, did not see Midna appear next to Naruto, bash him over the head for using the Oroke technique, and then vanish back into his shadow.
=0=0=
In the end of the day, Hayate had found Naruto, and immediately sparred with him, to see where Naruto was in the realm of sword use. At best, it's average but only because Naruto knows a defensive Kenjutsu technique he had never heard of before. Tomorrow, Naruto would report to the same Training Ground for lessons on basic stance in offense and defense. Right now though, he had just won about 7,300 ryo after overlooking Asuma playing cards with some other Jounin, Ibiki, Kurenai, and Anko. Needless to say, Kurenai caught Naruto watching them, and invited the boy over. Anko, despite the others saying otherwise, dealt Naruto a hand while dealing the other cards. Asuma had twenty. Anko, Ibiki, the unnamed Jounin (Naruto believed was one of the past ninjas who would try to kill him when he was younger if the slight glares sent his way was any indication) folded while Kurenai folded her hand of eighteen. Naruto got back up, revealed twenty one, and collected the dough, having cleaned the pot with one hand. Now, a certain blonde Sannin would have been extremely jealous of Naruto for winning that much cash in a single dealt hand.
"You need your rest. Despite being sick, he is a bit of a driver in teaching," Midna warned Naruto, who was finishing an apple and tossing it out the window.
"I know," he yawned. Half an hour later, he fell asleep with Midna sleeping next to him as usual. This time, Naruto had changed into orange PJs with white spiral marks polka dotting the pants and buttoned top. This was the scene Hinata stumbled upon the next morning. She had been released from the hospital, but despite orders, she did not return home, but instead headed to Naruto's apartment, after of course she had asked the Hokage of where Naruto lived. It was small, yet cozy enough for the boy.
She could see the damage that was done to it, which was repaired overtime. Of course how she got in... Sarutobi handed Hinata a key and made her promise not to tell anyone else. She did keep that promise, but was in all smiles now that she would have a place to disappear to whenever things got too rough back at the Hyuuga home. She tiptoed to Naruto, finding him cute sleeping that way, though with the way he held Midna, she also felt... jealousy? If there was one thing she liked was sticky buns. If there was one thing she could well in terms of baking, was chocolate chip cookies, her deceased mother's recipe.
The scent of cookies lifted the air, as Naruto and Midna followed the aroma, seeing Hinata having just turned off the oven, and there was a stack of cookies on one of his plate son the table. "Good morning Naruto-kun, Midna-hime."
Eh? Why is Hinata here?
Naruto sat down at the table, as did Midna.
"Uh, how'd you get here?"
"Well... I was released just two hours ago this morning, but I didn't want to go back home, so I asked Hokage-sama where you lived. He gave me a copy of your house key so I could come see you. I couldn't wake you up this morning so I decided to bake my kaasan's cookie recipe. Go ahead, try it."
She had also poured three glasses of ice cold milk, which Midna looked at the edible, taking a small bite of it. Naruto took a bigger one.
"Wow, this is really good, Hinata-chan," Naruto praised her. She blushed, smiling softly.
"I have to agree. I never had anything like this before."
Naruto smirked. "Don't eat too much Midna, or you could get a stomach ache form too much chocolate."
"Oh, tell me about it. The last time I had this chocolate was years ago, before Link and I would tackle that problem of finding a way to the mirror shard that was high above the land in the clouds... back then, chocolate was in a bit of a bulk item, and was much more concentrated in all that sweet sugarness..."
"Well, this chocolate is semi-sweet with less sugar," Hinata says.
After the threesome had their fill, Naruto sat back in his chair.
"So, are you just going to stay here today, Hinata-chan? I never did have house guests before... well, other than Ojiisan."
Hinata smiled softly. "I'd like to stay Naruto-kun."
"Great. Listen, I have to get going and meet Hayate-sensei. He's teaching me how to properly wield my sword so I can be a better Kenjutsu specialist. Midna can keep you company." Before Midna can respond, Naruto left, soon got dressed, nabbed two more cookies, and left with just the Master Sword. Midna can be by herself away from Naruto... it's just... what could a Hyuuga Princess and a Twilight Princess talk about?
=0=0=
No matter what, indifference and prejudice still exists today, especially since Naruto is still seen as the demon fox incarnate, or the Kyuubi in the guise of a human. That includes several council members such as Sakura's mother, Sarutobi's old team mates, and Danzou who still sees Naruto as but a pawn to take control of the village. Proven fact when a twenty eight year old woman named Tsubaki glared at him as he passed the local mart area to get to the training grounds which Hayate told him to meet him at. Upon arriving, he heard the draw of the blade, and brought the Master Sword out and up, blocking the attack. Hayate leaps back, coughing a bit.
"Excellent, reaction time seems to be better than yesterday. Now then Naruto, time to practice..."
The village through the rest of the day has gone uneventful, except one of the Oto Genin, Zaku, was killed by Gaara when his sealed demon reacted to the night of the full moon. And of course, in the following three days, Hayate when he doesn't hack or cough would drive Naruto into the ground to perfect his stance. Naruto had adopted Link's stance of swordsmanship, though Midna who was always like a second shadow to his ancestor, and with the acquiring of his new shield, it helped him well. However, it's a Thursday afternoon, on the second week of the month; mind you all, when Naruto was given a break from his training.
Naruto learned from Midna that Hinata was teaching the Twilight Princess about the main language of this time, and Midna was a good learner. So, she had in essence three languages: Hylian, Twilight, and now Japanese. Naruto of course remembered this one rainy night that Hinata came to his apartment, wishing to stay over because her father was being a bastard to her due to failing the Chunnin Exams. Not to mention getting death gazed glares from Neji had also irritated him. He sighed to himself, as Midna was being particularly quiet today.
Ever since we heard of that murder happen... things have been beefed up around security points. Plus, a lot of lords and ladies, and various other people form around the Elemental Countries have been flocking like sheep.
Naruto was almost complete with Hayate's training. Tomorrow, his test was to see if he could effectively wield the Kenjutsu technique. But right now, Naruto was bored out of his green hat. He had managed to get a metal plate replacement, one that was green, ironically enough. He just never knew that you could add food coloring into metal to change it into a specific color, though silver is the most used color in headband plates. So, his hat really IS green, and not green with an ovalish plate of silver on the front. He suddenly falls back down after bumping into someone. Midna, who was idly floating by him, invisible of course, watched as her Naruto got back up, only for them both to realize who they had bumped into. It was that white-haired pervert who screams like a girl when getting assaulted by angry women.
"You!" Jiraiya yelled, "You got me in a lot of trouble last week with those women!"
RUN NARUTO!
And run he did. He felt something rush him, and on instinct leap over the tongue that flew back into the closing mouth of a large yellow and white toad like creature. At the nearby Moonryo Café (Naruto version of Starbucks... oh shut up), Sarutobi was out of his stuffy office, enjoying his special blended coffee, when he heard a commotion occur. One of the Fire Lord's horses was snagged by...
Naruto!?
"Get back here you gaki!"
That was a familiar voice. Naruto snapped the reigns, and the stallion whinnied as it began to gallop fast down the path, civilians and ninja alike all jumping out of the way. There was Jiraiya, as he gave chase, on the yellow and white toad with the red vest armor.
"Naruto must have met Jiraiya," he mused, taking a sip. The Fire Lord, who was sitting next to him, said nothing, except enjoy his tea.
"I hope the boy returns my horse."
Okay, maybe one word...
A/N: Listening to Hyrule Field (Orchestral) would fit this small portion of the story.
The two guards stared in shock as a horse came barreling out of the gates, leaping over the crowd of visitors, followed by a yellow and white toad with the Toad Sannin, giving chase to the Genin wearing the green tunic. The crowds unfortunately had to get out of the way or get flattened. The guards, Biggs and Wedge, both wondered what the hell was going on. Midna was laughing merrily as she clung to Naruto. Naruto never in his life had any experience riding horses, and yet, here he was, riding a horse he nabbed earlier to get away from the crazy white-haired man. The stallion he took had a beautiful coat of brown intermixed with crème white, while the animal's eyes were a rich cerulean blue. He begged the horse to go faster, and it neighed, following Naruto's command for some reason.
"Gaki!" Jiraiya yelled, "Go faster, Gamarudo!"
"I'm trying!" the summoned toad replied.
Naruto saw a path diverge off, and took a quick turn Jiraiya and the toad almost went the wrong way but had corrected and continued the chase. Naruto came up to a fallen tree, and he snapped the reigns.
"Hiya!"
The horse whinnies and jumps over it, not faltering in speed. Up in the trees, ANBU were watching this happen, especially a woman with purple hair wearing a neko mask. She had recognized the Genin wearing the green tunic as Uzumaki Naruto, the boy her boyfriend Hayate had taken an interest to and was currently training him. She knew that tomorrow Hayate would teach the boy his Mikazuki no Mai technique, to see if he was worthy of learning it. What confused her and the other ANBU was Jiraiya. The Toad Sannin was accusing Naruto of causing him of something, which now led to this chase. She had to admit it, for a boy who had no experience with animals he was doing very well with this horse, even if he had indirectly stolen it from the Fire Daimyo.
"Let's go!" She heard the boy announce.
She and the other ANBU watched as Naruto made the leap over a wide gap in the ground of a small chasm with mud within said hole, and Jiraiya had nearly fallen in had Gamarudo not lash out with his tongue around a tree to climb out of the wide hole. Naruto of course had already gotten a good lead ahead of his pursuers, both known and hidden.
"Oh wow, this is wild!" Midna yelled with excitement bubbling in her voice, "It's been so long since I last been on a horse ride with anybody."
"Well, hold on, because that perverted man is catching up."
Damn good and no experience in horse riding, Midna thought, as Naruto took another path, one which led to a quiet meadow field. And so, this chase had gone on well into the rest of the day running through various paths, where at one point they had rushed through a nearby small civilian village. As the sun was setting, Team Gai had heard the cry of a stallion, and had to jump out of the way as one come barreling up the path towards the village gates.
"Naruto-kun!?" Tenten gasped.
"Get... back... here... you... idiot!" They heard another voice.
Hopping past was a tuckered out white and yellow toad in red armor, and the rider, who Gai recognized as Toad Sannin Jiraiya. And then Gai heard the tall tell of ANBU following in the trees. Tenten had by then gone rushing off to see Naruto. And so, Gai and Lee followed, and so did Neji to an extent, though he held indifference on his face. As Naruto entered the village, he spotted Hinata, and nabs her off the ground and into his lap.
"Hey Hinata-chan."
The poor girl broke into a blush. Naruto continued riding as many people got out of the way, and he was now pursued by several Hyuuga Branch members who were nearby when Naruto "kidnapped" the heiress. As the sun was slowly disappearing, and the stars began to emerge into the slowly darkening sky, Naruto halted his advance in front of his apartment. There waiting for him at the front yard, was Sarutobi and the Fire Daimyo.
"Did you enjoy your ride?" Sarutobi questions Naruto, who helped Hinata to her feet.
"Uh..."
"I was enjoying a cup of coffee on my break, and imagine my surprise when I see you stealing one of the horses of the Fire Daimyo."
"Oh, gomen nasai," Naruto apologized to the Fire Daimyo, when the man, who looked to be in his mid forties, simply raised a hand to silence Naruto.
"It is quite alright. It was an action that was made out of haste. Never before have I ever seen my stallion accept another ride with such ease other than me." The man chuckles softly, "Epona really doesn't take kindly to strangers... yet she seems to accept you very well."
"Oh, so that's..."
"Her name, yes," he clarifies to Naruto.
Crash! The toad collapses after one final hop, and then more people shown up. Tenten, followed by Lee and Gai, Neji, five Hyuuga Branch members, and ANBU led by Neko.
Sarutobi chuckles, and holds a wide smile. "I say Naruto; you always seem to bring out the best in the village..."
"What the hell are you doing?" Tenten yelled, nabbing the boy by his ear thus pulling him off the horse. This only caused the two men to laugh even more, as Sarutobi walks over to Jiraiya, who had sprawled onto the ground off the exhausted Gamarudo.
"Jiraiya... nice to meet you again."
"Hello sensei," he mutters.
"I take it you met Naruto..."
Jiraiya hops onto his feet, dismissing Gamarudo, who gladly disappeared to rest his poor froggy feet. "Wait, is he?" Sarutobi only nodded. Jiraiya couldn't believe it. He never noticed it until now. As he got a closer look, the girl with the buns was still chewing out his grandson.
Minato's son... I was chasing his son all day? What the hell...
"Hokage-sama?" Neko spoke up.
"You're all dismissed... though I would like a report on Naruto's little misadventure on evading Jiraiya here." He held a smirk as Jiraiya made a frown appear with a hint of a groan at being outraced by his grandson. Neko and the others nod and poof away. Sarutobi then turns to the Hyuugas.
"Go home as well... everything is fine here."
They didn't reply, but soon after they too left.
"Yosh, such an excellent youthful boy Naruto is," Gai exclaimed.
Sarutobi nodded.
"So I take it you have just returned from your mission? Very well then, meet me at the tower Gai."
"Hai. Team Gai is dismissed." Gai then disappears. Neji immediately walks away, glaring at Naruto as he made his path onward to the Hyuuga Lot. Lee was sprouting about youth as he too left for home. Only Tenten and Hinata remained, as the two girls were now looking Epona over. They were impressed by the majestic stallion that Naruto had ridden so efficiently.
Midna, watching all of this, now from Naruto's bedroom window, thought that some sort of fleeting memory of his past life was coming forth. Then again, she wasn't much of an expert on this sort of thing; only knowing stuff about what had happened, and how Naruto was now involved in all of this and the business with the Triforce. Don't forget, centuries ago, Midna was learning everything about Link, Zelda, and their connection to Ganondorf via the Triforce during the whole adventure of saving the world from evil's grip.
Well, Link has sixteen years getting used to riding his horse. Odd enough both his and that man's horse share the same name, she thought, Naruto-kun had no experience whatsoever in riding animals, much less a horse, and yet he outmaneuvered that perverted man with the white hair all afternoon.
She heard the door close shut, and floated out of the room into the living room area.
"What happened?"
"Well, the Fire Daimyo would like to have me take horse back riding lesions, just to be sure I can handle his prized stallion. He's even thinking about releasing Epona to my care..."
Midna blinked. "Really?" she asks, her accent slipping into Twili for a brief moment.
"Hai, really."
Link had Epona, and now it looks like Naruto would as well... what is it with blondes and being heroes? It was around midnight when Naruto was looking outside his bedroom window, that he saw Kabuto leaping across the rooftops in the distance followed by three others. He found this as suspicious, and so he left and investigates. Upon arriving, he blocked a kunai thrown by Kabuto, as Orochimaru had just sealed Zaku away, and was in the process of sealing Kin away as well.
"Well, a snooper? I didn't think you would be curious Naruto-kun."
Naruto held the Master Sword up, glaring at the traitor. "And what are you doing consorting with a Nuke-nin from our own village, Kabuto?"
The glasses-wearing ninja grinned. "Why, serving Master Orochimaru, of course..."
Naruto growled, as Orochimaru knocked Kin out cold when her screaming felt was attracting attention. Kabuto had better hold off that annoying pest long enough for him to escape again.
"Well, Naruto-kun," the traitor hissed, "we meet again. How is Sasuke doing?"
"You..." He attacked, and Kabuto produced his Chakra no Mesa and fought back. Naruto however blocked Kabuto's attack, and countered with Gokumonken. Kabuto took a step back, however dodged the Senbon that Naruto flung. Naruto Kawarimi when Kabuto struck his produced Kage Bunshin and Naruto appeared on a flag pole top.
Orochimaru appeared, his task complete. "We're going," was all he said, before vanishing.
Kabuto smiled grimly, and followed his master. Naruto leapt back onto the ground and ran off sheathing the sword again. He got to the warehouse which Kabuto was blocking his path from, and smashed the door down. He heard banging on the coffin lid, which was in the process of getting the surface cracked. He hacked away at it, before managing a stronger large crack. Inside, Kin punched her way through, but with the seals applied to the coffin, was draining her strength, making her very sleepy. She however passed out when Naruto had managed to crack a large enough hole, to drag her out.
=0=0=
The door opens and slams shut, waking up Midna form her sleep. She groaned, and wondered what the hell was going on. Investigating, as a shadow, she saw Naruto. She floated over, and struck him over the head.
"Idiot, what the hell is the big idea?" She then saw Kin on the couch, looking a bit pale, as if she was being drained of all her energy, which wasn't far from it... Midna immediately went to grab a wash cloth and wet it, while Naruto got a pillow and a blanket for the poor teen.
=0=0=
"Hm... time for yet another interference..."
=0=0=
"Again!"
Insert minor cough, and a scowl from Naruto, as he summoned yet another wave of shadow clones.
"You must focus on the tactic of the movement, Naruto. If you do not, your opponent can easily pick you out and nail you down."
Naruto and the others held the Master Sword as the blade itself was slowly lit in a cool mesmerizing blue aura, as they began to circle Hayate, waving their swords about. However, Hayate still managed to pick Naruto out from the wave of clones, due to mis-synchronization.
"Pathetic," he says. Naruto picks up the Master Sword, as Hayate now noticed a new person entering the grounds, "Hello Jiraiya-sama."
"Hayate-san, I need to talk to Naruto for a moment."
Hayate looked at the sky, and nodded. "Go, besides, he could use a break to cool off his head."
Jiraiya nodded, nabbed Naruto, and poofed away, leaving Hayate alone. Outside the village, Jiraiya and Naruto were near a flowing yet gentle river along a private strip of brownish light sand and small pebbles. Naruto looked around, before turning to the pervert.
"Where am I and who the heck are you?"
Jiraiya simply shifted through hand signs, and summoned a large toad which expels with its tongue a scroll which surprisingly was not drenched with saliva. He unfurls it.
"Here, sign this in your blood..."
Naruto blinked twice...
[Naruto obtained the Summoning Contract for the Toad Clan... but why?]
"And what would be the point of this?" he asks, after he had finished signing in his blood, and memorizing the hand seals.
Jiraiya rolls it back up, and shoves it back into the toad's mouth, which promptly vanishes. "Because brat, whether you noticed or not, outrunning me for an entire afternoon is no easy feat, considering I am one of the Sanin of this village."
"If you're a Sannin... then how come I never heard of you?"
Face plant.
"Idiot! I am Jiraiya! I am the Great Mountain Toad Sage!" Insert pointless yet cheesy humorous intro plus that background music, and we switch to a view of Naruto and Midna in shadow form sweatdropping.
"I also have been asked by Sarutobi-sensei to have you sign the contract for the Toad Clan. He felt that you deserve it. Also... because I am impressed by you... You have already by now known about the fox, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, part of the seal work was all done by the Fourth Hokage, and only I know of its workings, that is until I had learned from some of my contacts that some unknown person used a type of jutsu technique, and completely ripped the fox's chakra right out from your body, which has in an ironic way, lifted you from the cursed life of a Jinchuuriki. That also means that you won't be hunted by this group who call themselves Akatsuki."
"Eh?"
Jiraiya sighed, thinking he was saying too much. "They hunt down Jinchuurikis like yourself, well, your former self, and steal the demons they capture. However, since the term Jinchuuriki means Power of Human Sacrifice, the human host dies when the demon is taken away. However, you're still alive for reasons unknown. Lately, one of my contacts has started calling you the Boy Who Lived."
Midna sweatdropped. Boy Who Lived?
"... Wha?"
Jiraiya shakes his head. "The guy was reading too much Mahou no Hari (Naruto version of J.K. Rowling's famous book series)."
The two wisely kept quiet.
"Now then... I hope you memorized the hand seals. You just need to draw some blood, make the signs, and then summon the largest toad you can."
This is going to be a pain...
=0=0=
Naruto was tired, battered, and aching all over. However the pain was worth it, he was able to perfect the technique, and thus was taught his second Hidden Skill, Mikazuki no Mai. Oh, and Naruto was on the verge of perfecting yet another Kenjutsu-styled Ninjutsu technique called the Rasengufuu (Spiraling Tornado). Upon arriving, he saw Kin was sitting upright, snacking on some sandwiches he has prepared beforehand but left in the fridge. He gently closed the door, catching her attention. She calmed down seeing Naruto though.
"You okay?"
"No I'm not," Kin says.
Naruto frowned, and taking off his boots at the door, walks to the couch and sits down.
"Want to talk?"
"Why? I'm an enemy you know..."
"Yeah, but not if you were shoved in a coffin that was draining your energy away to the point of death... I was looking out the window when I saw Kabuto roof skipping... I followed..."
Kin looked at him, a frown on her face. "Why? You should have just ignored it and left me to die. I failed my mission, and Orochimaru will kill me if he finds out I escaped that coffin with outside help."
Now it was Naruto's turn to frown. "Not unless I protect you from him and anyone else from this village..."
Kin blushed a bit at the blonde's sincerity. However, deep within her heart, she felt that she could trust Naruto. And so, she did not complain when Naruto offered her his bed to sleep in later that night while he took the couch in the living room. Midna didn't like that she had to sleep on the couch as well, but did not complain much only because Kin was now going to be going through some rough times, since she is now considered a Nuke-nin.
The next morning, Gekkou Hayate was found murdered...
The fight of Orochimaru vs. Team Seven during the Forest of Death scenario is the same, just, Naruto does not get separated, still gets his ass handed to him, no Five Pronged Seal. Sasuke still gets the snake hickey. Plus, by the way things are going, this could be a harem type situation for Naruto, plus Kin is still alive.
Hidden Skill) Mikazuki no Mai / Dance of the Crescent Moon: Naruto generates multiple Shadow Clones during the initial charge towards the enemy. The real Naruto during the confusion emerges from the blind side and attack with his sword. Taught by: Gekkou Hayate
-- Naruto's Status --
Collection: [Men's Wallet - 1,200 Total Ryo] [Midna's Headgear] [Naruto's Ninpod]
Sword: [Kubikiri Hocho] [Master Sword]
Shield: [Konoha Shield]
Costume: [Hero's Clothes]
Ninja Inventory: [Ninja Pack - Kunai x20] [Ninja Pack - Senbon x30] [Ninja Pack - Nin-ombs x06] [Toad Summon Contract]
Other Inventory: [Relic Spinner]
Hidden Skills Learned: [Gokumonken] [Mikazuki no Mai]
Jutsu Skills Learned: Kage Bunshin, Sennen Goroshi, Kawarimi, Oroke, Harem, Shougekiha, Uzumaki Naruto Rendan, Fuuton: Rasengufuu