Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Well here I am again, back with another chapter of Indestructible Titan. Read all of my reviews, thanks to all those fantastic people that reviewed, and decided to respond to them in case somebody has a misunderstanding. Now to address the issues stated.

Why is this not in the crossover section: I believe that a genuine crossover involves the protagonist crossing over completely into the next universe, thus ranking it as an official crossover. I just have Greed being sealed into Naruto, he will not have an actual impact or interaction with the story at all except through Naruto's actions.

Looks similar to Titan of Defence: Yes, Twin Silver Dragon was one of my friends within the author community and he had bounced ideas of me before regarding his story. This is my own take on the story with a more realistic approach, the story are not similar in any way except for Greed's skin hardening ability.

Harem: The reviews actually reminded me that this is GREED I am sealing into Naruto, obviously it would be a harem. I actually face-palmed myself after reading those reviews, can't believe I had forgotten. So as for the harem, I'm pretty sure the below mentioned ladies will be in.

Guren

Yūgao

Hanabi

There might be further additions, unsure as of the moment. Well enough from me, let the story take over from here!

Chapter 1: Ultimate Shield

Orochimaru observed the sample of blood underneath the microscope, his scientifically-trained eye recording the findings as he quickly scribbled down the observations. The pale-skinned male had changed little over the course of five years, his waist-length black hair had been trimmed to a more manageable length and he had forgone his usual Jounin attire for a plain black sweater, slacks and a white lab coat to complete the ensemble.

Letting out a quite sigh, the man leaned back in his chair and removed the pair of black spectacles from his face to wipe away the beads of sweat that ran down his forehead. He had been up since the previous night trying to discern the abnormalities within the blood sample on the paltry dish, there were minute differences but no clear distinguishing factor had been isolated yet. Also the person whose blood rested in that dish was none other than his very own adopted son, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

The young boy had indeed been told of his biological parentage as well as his status as the holder of the most powerful of the Bijū (Tailed-Beasts), the Kyuubi no Yoko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox). Orochimaru believed that keeping any sort of vital information from the boy was a terrible way to form any sort of bond between them, so he had deigned to inform his foster son on his fifth birthday. Which just so happen to have passed the day before.

Flashback (Previous Evening)

Orochimaru's Lab

The Snake-Sannin sat calmly at his desk, opposite which sat a slightly more fidgety blond-haired boy. Rolling his eyes at the pent up energy within his adopted son, the man placed two folders onto the sleek wooden finish of the desk's surface. Each of which was labelled with a bright red 'classified' stamp, which was actually a blood seal in disguise.

"What are these Tou-san?" Naruto inquired with a curios expression on his face, small hand reaching out to grasp the folder towards his left.

"These are the documents containing information on your birth parents." Holding up a hand to indicate silence, Orochimaru continued. "Before you say anything, know that the information within those files are highly dangerous if they fall into enemy hands. So anything you read inside there, I want you to promise… really promise that you will not tell anybody."

Eager at the prospect of finding out who his birth parents were, the young blond had no problem with the stipulated demands. Easily recognising the disguised blood seal, in part due to his training under his foster father as well as his Uzumaki lineage, he bit down on his thumb and smeared some blood across the seal before channelling a minute amount of chakra into it. The seal pulsed with a glow as it sampled the crimson liquid, finding a correct match, it then faded away and unsealed the folder.

Peeling it open slowly, he was greeted with a picture of blond-hair and deep blue eyes. At first thinking he was looking at a picture of an adult version of himself, his mouth inched open in shock as he slowly recognised that the man he was staring at was none other than the famed Yondaime Hokage. Namikaze Minato, the man responsible for single-handedly wiping out hundreds of Iwa-nin during the Third Great Shinobi War and apparently the man who fathered him as well. At least it explained why he was not around, since he had died defending the village from the Kyuubi exactly five years ago.

Reading further down the file, his eyes widened further before he dropped the folder in shock. 'My father… did not defeat the Kyuubi by killing it… he sealed it… inside of me? Does that make me the Kyuubi?'

Predicting the thoughts that were running through the boy's mind, the Snake-Sannin reached across the table and flicked him across the nose. This succeeded in knocking the blond out of his self-imposed shock and back into reality, where he saw his foster father's serious visage staring straight at him.

"I know what you were thinking. You are not the Kyuubi. The fox is merely sealed within you, very much like how a sealing scroll works. You and the Kyuubi are two separate beings, it was only through the unfortunate circumstances during your birth that you were stuck with it." Orochimaru explained slowly, making sure that each word sunk into his son's brain. "You can choose to look at this as either a burden or as a blessing, this reservoir of untapped power sealed within you. If you wish to learn how to harness the power of the beast within you, first you have to learn how to accept it and control your emotions."

"I… I don't know…" Naruto sighed as he pulled his knees up and hugged them to his chest, his eyes staring aimlessly at the wooden surface of the desk. Orochimaru let a brief flutter of disappointment flitter across his face before it was masked by his serious mask again, no point dwelling over something that was not meant to be so instead he pushed forward the next folder.

"This folder contains all the information on your mother, note that she was not of Konoha birth but brought here from Uzushiogakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides). Do you recall what I have taught you about your clan?"

"Uzumaki clan, descended from the Senju clan, which are the people carrying the genes of the younger son of the Rikudou Sennin (Sage of the Six Paths). The Uzumaki chose to branch off from the Senju, though still maintaining strong ties, when they discovered that certain members started exhibiting similar traits. Deep red hair, an instant innate understanding of the most complex Fūinjutsu, larger than average chakra pools, increased longevity and ability to shape and manipulate raw chakra into constructs." Naruto instantly recited off the top of his mind, actually gaining a small smile from the Snake-Sannin.

"Excellent, please do go ahead and open the file."

Giving a nod of acknowledgement, he wasted no time in disabling the seal once again and glanced through his mother's file quickly before reading it slowly the second time around. Uzumaki Kushina, brought from Uzushiogakure to Konohagakure as the best candidate for the Kyuubi's resealing as she exhibited similar chakra to that of Uzumaki Mito. Rose to fame for her beauty, usage of her Chakra Chains, Fūinjutsu and Kenjutsu skills, she was able to fend off an attack by all seven of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist) and repel them without even resorting to using her Bijū's chakra. Thus earning her the moniker of Konoha no Shinku Megami (Crimson Goddess of the Leaf).

"Kaa-san…" Naruto whispered as tears slid silently down his whiskered cheeks, his fingers ghosting over the picture of his mother. 'She didn't abandon me… I had parents who loved me… they sacrificed themselves for me…'

Orochimaru looked on emotionlessly on the outside, however on the inside he could feel his own emotions churning in turmoil. As a fellow orphan, though he did have his parents for a short period of time, he could understand what the blond-haired boy was going though. Every child, no matter who or under what condition, will always want to know the love of a parent. The same could be said for every orphan who lost their parents, they want the closure of knowing why they had to lead a parentless life.

Fortunately for the pale-skinned shinobi, he had found that love from the man who had taken him in and trained him up to the shinobi that stood above all else. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had all but raised him from the moment his parents had died in a border skirmish. And he had been grateful to the man but his discovery and a further explanation of a piece of skin from a white snake had led to the man being obsessed with Kinjutsu (Forbidden Techniques) that would allow the possibility of rebirth.

Thankfully his obsession did not fully take hold, possibly due to the fact that he had suddenly found himself dealing with the troubles of solo parenthood to a hyperactive Jinchuuriki child. Without a doubt the man was still interested in Kinjutsu, even sharing his ideas with his son. The response that he had gotten had caused something within the usually sadistic shinobi to change, the child had told him that his goal was noble as he wanted to save people from dying. Never had the man thought that his research could be used for something other than granting himself immortality, it shook him to the core.

It was from that point onwards that a rather profound change seemed to settle over the Snake-Sannin, nothing to major though he seemed less cold around his fellow shinobi. He had even started venturing into medical Ninjutsu, taking the time to pour over the notes that he had used to help Tsunade create her Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth) technique. Though useful, he had never been interested in it as the technique shortened the duration of the user's lifespan as cells can only split a certain amount of times in a lifetime. Though it was through his foray into the subject that the scientist-shinobi had discovered a way to simulate the effects of the technique through a complex seal, which operated on medical chakra. This discovery had helped in the saving of many Konohagakure shinobi lives, resulting in a proud Sandaime and a sulking Toad-Sannin.

"I understand how you feel Naruto, I too was an orphan as I have mentioned to you before… I can't say that I know exactly what you are going through as I had known my own parents before they were taken from me but…" Orochimaru trailed off, honestly at a loss of what to say to comfort the blond-haired child in front of him.

"It's alright Tou-san… you have been a great dad but… I think that I have to sort this out on my own. At least for now."

Understanding that his son needed to be alone for the moment, the Sannin, though reluctant, had allowed the boy to go for a walk so as to clear his head. Returning to his current research of Natural Chakra and its applications, the man hoped that Naruto did not wander too far into the village as it was getting dark soon.

With Naruto

Seated cross-legged atop the head of the Yondaime Hokage, who just so happened to be his birth father, was the form of one Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. His eyes closed in meditation to help calm his raging thoughts, all of which centred on the fact that he now had the knowledge of his parents. His extremely powerful and famous parents.

'I have to be careful with this information, one slip up and I will have assassins after me faster than Kaka-nii dashing to the bookstore to buy his new books. However I am glad that Tou-san trusted me enough to choose to share this information with me, I promise not to let him down… or my birth parents too.' Naruto thought before bringing his clenched fist up to his chest and thrusting it out towards the night sky, eyes snapping open and glinting with a deadly focus.

'I will train harder and become stronger, strong enough to beat Tou-san… and strong enough to become better than the Yondaime too! I won't stop there too, I will become the strongest shinobi in the world! That's my dream!'

'Hahaha I like your style kiddo!'

"Woah!?" Naruto exclaimed in shock as he scrambled to his feet and looked around, narrowing his eyes when he found no trace of an individual. "Who said that? Show yourself!"

'Stop talking aloud kid, people might start thinking you're crazy or something hahaha!'

"Aloud? What do you-" He stopped mid-question as a thought occurred to him before settling back down and closing his eyes. 'Are you… the Kyuubi?'

'Sharp little kid aren't ya? Unfortunately, or is it fortunately, I am not the giant demon fox stuck in your gut.'

'Not the Kyuubi? Wait then… who are you and how are you talking to me inside my mind?'

'How about we chat face to face, just concentrate on the seal and allow it to pull you in.'

Doing as the man said, Naruto felt a slightly disorientating feeling before the sound of water dripping greeted his ears. Opening his eyes, he found himself in an old-fashioned boiler room that seemed to be located in the middle of a sewer-like area. Walking towards the large metal gate, he could see two figures seated on each side of the gate and they appeared to be playing chess. Though the man on the inside of the cage seemed to be materialising some sort of crimson energy, through the gate, into a hand to move his pieces.

As he approached the duo, the blond-haired child took in both their appearances. The man on the outside wore a black leather jacket with a fur-rimmed collar over a dark-grey muscle shirt and a pair of matching black jeans tucked into black combat boots. His black hair was held in a ponytail and his bangs fell towards the right, obscuring the top portion of the right side of his face. His eyes were rather squinty which gave the man a shifty look, a closer look revealed that his eyes were wine-red in colour. When he moved his left hand to shift a chess piece, it revealed a strange tattoo on the back of it.*

The man within the cage was more feral in appearance, wearing nothing more than a pair of red hakama pants and a strange black choker around his neck. His dark-orange hair fell untamed down his back with a few stray strands hanging over the left of his face, which had deep whisker-like markings on both cheeks. The man had crimson eyes with a slit-like pupil, fangs could be seen when he yawned, claws on his hands and nine bushy orange tails that formed some kind of large futon that he laid on. This clued the boy in that apparently the Kyuubi had a human form, which happened to be right in front of him.**

"Is somebody going to explain to me why the Kyuubi is playing chess with a stranger inside my mind? Not to mention the giant demon fox had a human form?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, causing both persons to look over.

"Oh you're here already, honestly thought that would take longer!" Black-haired man stood up and dusted himself off.

"I don't have a human form brat. The seal allows me certain… privileges within the mindscape, one of which is to manipulate how I want my form to be perceived. Hence I chose a human form as it would inconvenience me greatly should I choose to play chess in my original form." Kyuubi explained with a snort as he gazed lazily through the gates, not bothering to move from his comfortable position.

"Well I guess it's only fair that I introduce myself… you may call me Greed. Greed, the avaricious at your service!" Taking an exaggerated bow, the man glanced up to see a scrunched up look on the face of the boy.

"What does… avaricious… even mean anyway!"

Sweat dripped down the side of Greed's head as a sheepish laugh escaped his mouth, "Hahaha, with how mature you act sometimes. Not to mention how fast you are learning things under that snake-like parental figure, I forget that you are only a child. Well it means that I am just like my namesake, avaricious means that I am very Greedy. I want power, fame, wealth and women! Anything that the world has to offer!"

The glint that passed through the boy's clear blue eyes at the mention of power did not go unnoticed by the pair, a smirk crept onto both of their faces. "I see you have the desire within you… the greed for power! Power to place you above everyone else!"

"Hai! I don't know what you are Greed-san but if you can grant me that power…" Naruto dropped onto both knees and bowed his head towards the surprised Homunculus. "I promise to be the best student ever!"

"You're an eager one aren't you? Don't you care that you could effectively be selling your soul to a pair of demons?" Kyuubi chuckled deeply from within his cage, only to feel his eyes widen at the response.

"I don't care if you're both demons, I don't care that you're the Kyuubi that destroyed Konoha! That only proves how powerful you are… I need that kind of power to protect my precious people. And once I get stronger… I will find a way to release both of you from this seal! Then we can have a real battle!"

"Gyahahaha! You want to battle the strongest of the Bijū eh? You've got guts kid… I'll hold you to that promise." Kyuubi said before sighing and facing the black-haired man. "Looks like you were right about him… it's definitely going to be an interesting route from here on."

"What'd I tell ya? The kids got potential! Now Naruto, let me show you the first thing that you will be learning under me. My old group used to refer to it as… the Ultimate Shield." Greed held out his hand, allowing his carbonization to crawl its way up from his fingertips all the way up his arm.

"Sugoi! What kind of jutsu is that!?" Naruto exclaimed with wide eyes and a hungry expression, having gained a fixation for Ninjutsu from his time under Orochimaru.

"Wrong! It's not a Ninjutsu! More like a kind of Kekkei Genkai that you will gain from having me sealed inside you, I just unlocked your innate ability to do this so from now onwards it should be second-nature to you."

"A Kekkei Genkai huh… So it looks awesome and all but… what exactly does it do?"

"Listen closely kid, I'll only explain this once and it is rather hard to understand so I will go slowly and try to simplify it for you…" Sighing, Greed ran a hand through his hair as he prepared to explain his innate ability. "Basically this is the ability to carbonize atoms within your body and control those carbon atoms… you can make your skin as hard as diamond, which is super hard carbon or soft like pencil lead, which is very soft carbon. Of course we turn into diamond for battle purposes, basically our skin becomes extremely hard to damage."

"So I become almost immune to damage?"

"Yes and no. You will be impervious to almost all forms of weapons that can't cut diamond, but certain chakra natures like wind might be able to put a dent into our armour… we will have to test that out to be sure. Also we are immune to lightning based jutsu as our skin will have the structure of diamond, which doesn't conduct electricity. Blunt force trauma will still affect us, things like getting hit by a large object or water, earth and wind Ninjutsu. We won't take as much damage as a normal human will though."

"Awesome…"

"Hahaha yeah, awesome indeed…" Greed smirked as he grabbed the young blond by the head. "First lesson, I will train you in activating the ability as fast as possible. I want you to be able to transform in a split second by the time we are done with this training hahaha!"

What followed could only be described as inhumane torture that will not be described for the sake of every party involved.

Later that night

Imagine Orochimaru's surprise when his son came home sweaty and panting, as if he had just finished running the perimeter of Konoha several times. Now quadruple that reaction and you will get the outcome of his face when Naruto activated his carbonization process and turned the skin of both of his arms into a matte-grey finishing. What stood out were the dull red lines that ran along the length of his arms in a strange pattern, though he barely registered them due to his shock.

"H-how did you do that?!" Orochimaru rushed over to the grinning boy and grasped both of his hands, closely examining the phenomenon and feeling out the texture of the transformed skin. 'It's hard like metal yet the texture is nearly not smooth enough, some form of hardened mineral exoskeleton?'

'Kid remember what we told you, don't disclose any information about us! Even your father has been telling you that a shinobi's greatest advantage is deception.' Greed reminded his student.

"It just activated Tou-san! I was training after I had decided to become the strongest shinobi ever! So I was punching a training post until my hands were injured, suddenly it transformed when I punched again! And I cracked the post! Isn't it awesome?!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

'An innate Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit)? Impossible! Neither Minato nor Kushina had shown any manifestation of any sort of Kekkei Genkai beyond the standard Uzumaki abilities and Kushina's chakra chains… could it be… Kyuubi? Why would a Bijū want to help a human though? I need to investigate further…' The Snake-Sannin deduced this in a matter of seconds before smiling at his son. "Naruto-kun, I think you just unlocked a new Kekkei Genkai. Do you remember what I explained to you?"

"Hai! They are special abilities that are unique to the respective shinobi clans, like the Sharingan to the Uchiha and the Byakugan to the Hyuuga!"

"Indeed, so I need to take a few blood samples from you to see what kind of changes your body is going through. Just think of it as a check-up at the hospital, can you do that for me?"

"Of course, I'm not afraid of no stupid needle!"

30 seconds later

"Noooo get it away from meeee!"

Orochimaru face-palmed with a sigh as he witnessed the sight of the blond-haired child struggling within the grasp of two of his Boa Constrictors that he had summoned just to hold the boy down. Admirably he could still put up a fight and struggle within their powerful grasps, though the snakes were not even using half of their full strength to be fair.

"Naruto-kun, I thought you said that you were not afraid of needles?"

"That's a giant ass needle!"

"It's still a needle…"

"I don't wanna!"

"I'll burn down your ramen cabinet…"

"…you're evil Tou-san."

"Kukuku I try… now are you going to calm down so I can draw your blood without accidently killing you?"

"NANI?!"

"Kukuku just kidding, you won't die even if I miss."

"…fine."

Having finally succeeded in convincing him, Orochimaru proceeded to draw several vials worth of blood before placing the lot inside a holding case and storing it inside a fridge.

Flashback End

Orochimaru sighed again as he jotted down more notes into his journal, he disliked the fact that the elusive properties of the Kekkei Genkai seemed to be mocking his genius. Closing the small book, he placed it aside and walked into an adjacent room where his usually energetic son was sitting absolutely still with his eyes closed.

"Did you find anything Tou-san?" Naruto inquired as he opened a single eye to look at his father.

"No, your Kekkei Genkai seems to be rather uncooperative… which doesn't surprise me since it came from you after all." Orochimaru smirked at the annoyed expression that appeared.

"Asshole…"

"So how much control of your ability do you have? What is the maximum coverage of protection that you can currently call upon?" He asked, back into scientist mode as he snapped open his journal with a pen at the ready.

Standing up, Naruto pulled off his orange t-shirt which left him in a pair of black boxers. This revealed that he had an extremely toned body for a five year old child, a combination of unlocking his chakra early, light training since a year ago, proper diet and experimental enhancement drugs that he had allowed his father to use on him. Concentrating, the boy called upon his new gift. His skin slowly shifted from the original tanned pigment to the dull grey associated with his Kekkei Genkai, starting from his fingertips all the way up to an inch below his shoulders. The skin on his feet up to his knees were also converted into the armour-like properties of his Kekkei Genkai.

"This is as far as I can go at the moment. Although I don't have to focus on maintaining the transformation once I've shifted, it still is rather unfamiliar to me." Naruto said as he flexed his arms, showing that he still had full motor control despite the different properties of his skin.

"From what I have gathered from tests on your skin so far, it seems to be comprised of compressed and hardened carbon atoms. Your Kekkei Genkai allows you to, speculatively, transform and control your body cells into carbon. Thus giving it the dull-grey appearance and compressed to the point of being as hard as diamond. It is truly fascinating…" Orochimaru explained as he casually struck out with a lightning-fast kunai, the weapon bouncing harmlessly off the transformed arm. "Completely immune to regular weapons…"

"Asshole! That could have injured me!"

"But it didn't."

"Grrr… so what am I supposed to do now?" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms and glaring off to the side.

"Well there is only one thing to do… time to run more tests!" The Sannin chuckled at the horrified face that appeared on the face of his son.

Test 1

"Okay Naruto-kun, we will be testing if your carbon skin is capable of conducting electricity."

"What?"

"I'm going to test if you can be hurt by lightning jutsu."

"Oh I see… wait how are you going to do that?" Naruto asked, worry seeping into his tone.

"Don't worry, it is perfectly safe. All you have to do is grab the two poles in front of you, simple right?" The man gestured to the two metal rods standing up vertically, seemingly harmless in appearance.

Seeing nothing wrong with the instructions given, the blond-haired boy walked forward and grasped onto both of the poles. A few seconds passed without anything occurring, he let go with a shrug and saw his father scribbling down into his journal. "So what did that have to do with lightning jutsu?"

"Oh, there was a strong electrical current running through the circuit. Since nothing happened when you grabbed the conducting rods, you won't be affected much by lightning jutsu. If you could be hurt by lightning jutsu then you would have gotten badly electrocuted by the test, nothing fatal though." Orochimaru explained as he walked towards another door. "Kukuku on towards the next test!"

"…" Naruto glared silently at the retreating back before heaving a sigh and trudging along behind the man.

Test 2

"Please activate your Kekkei Genkai and then place your hands into the holes Naruto-kun."

Naruto observed the contraption in front of him with an air of wariness about him, it seemed to be some sort of oblong shaped device with two circular holes for him to place his hands through. Seeing nothing overly suspicious with it, the boy went along with his instructions and placed his transformed arms into the designated holes.

"What is this test for Tou-san?"

"Kukuku… this test is to determine how well your carbon skin fares against heat." Orochimaru replied before tapping a button.

"I don't understand… is it just me or is it getting kind of warm in here?" Naruto asked as he felt the temperature staring to rise a little, along with a slight tingling feeling from his hands.

"Ah that would be due to the amount of fire being generated inside the device that you are using."

"I see…" The blond nodded in understanding before the words suddenly registered inside his head. "Asshole! What kind of father asks his son to stick his hands inside a furnace?!"

"Well you know the saying, if you don't play with fire then you would not know if you would get burnt." Orochimaru stated logically as he scribbled down this newest development.

"Isn't it 'don't play with fire if you don't want to get burnt'?" Naruto asked as he closely inspected his hands, making sure that his skin had not been singed off by his crazy father.

"Hmm is it?" Somehow the offhanded reply seemed to piss off the blond-haired kid even more. "Well no need to worry, I seem to have acquired the data needed for the moment."

"So?"

"Well in conclusion, it seems that your new ability renders your skin impervious to damage from piercing and slashing. You are also immune to lightning jutsu as your armour does not conduct electricity and fire jutsu will probably deal a lot less damage than it is supposed to." The Sannin read aloud from his impromptu report. "Based on all that, the only reasonable outcome is that you have the ability to turn your skin into a kind of carbon compound just as hard as diamond. This will definitely boost your taijutsu prowess with the right style, I might have to pull a few strings…"

"Huh? I thought you were already teaching me your Inshō-Hebiken (Striking-Snake Fist) style of fighting?"

"Of course, but with this recent development. My style of fighting will not benefit you the most, however you can incorporate aspects of my style alongside whatever other style you learn and develop your own form of Taijutsu. Something that will take advantage of your durable skin." Orochimaru said before shivering a little, he could not believe that he would have to ask a favour of that man. 'Kuso, Sarutobi-sensei and the brat so owe me for this…'

"Awesome! I can't wait to meet my new sensei!"

He would soon come to regret those words.

Following Day

0700

"Who the hell meets this early in the day?!" Naruto cursed at the sky, stifling a yawn in the process.

The blond-haired boy had been awoken by his father at this ungodly hour, only to be told that he would be meeting his new taijutsu teacher at Training Field Nine in five minutes time. He had leapt out of bed, changed into his training clothes and sped off towards his destination, all the while spouting random curses about insane father figures.

Taking a look around, he noted that Training Field Nine seemed to have a taijutsu focus with all the wooden posts situated around the field for practicing. The well-worn surfaces of the wooden posts suggested that they were in constant use, since it could not be that a wealthy village such as Konoha would neglect to replace their training equipment. Seeing as his new teacher had not arrived yet, he decided to practice the few steps that his father had taught him in regards to the Inshō-Hebiken style.

'Relax your posture. Keep your hands held loosely by your face. Legs spread shoulder-width apart. Bounce lightly from foot to foot.'

The principal of Inshō-Hebiken laid in blindingly-fast strikes and a flexible form, allowing the user to strike fast and hard whilst bypassing any feeble guard the opponent might raise at the short notice given. Regulating his breathing, the blond proceeded to throw several quick jabs at the wooden post in front of him. Taking pleasure in the sting of his knuckles and the sound of his fist impacting against the post, he threw a succession of jabs followed by a sudden burst of kicks ranging from low to high along the post.

"That's the Inshō-Hebiken, I'd recognise it anywhere! For someone so young to have already seem so fluent, your flames of youth burn brightly in this rising sun!" A sudden voice shouted out, breaking him from out from his concentration.

Turning to face the voice, he immediately regretted his decision and wished that he could rewind time and decided to not even climb out of bed this morning. For the man standing in front of him was dressed in the most absurd clothing that he had ever laid his eyes on, a one-piece green jumpsuit that covered him from top to bottom. Over which laid the standard Konoha Jounin Flak Jacket, his hair styled in a bowl-shaped cut and his caterpillar-sized eyebrows along with his gleaming white teeth displayed in a grin was forever cemented in the young boy's memories.

"Who the hell are you?" Unfortunately the Snake-Sannin was not exactly the most sociable of characters, thus leading to a lack of etiquette in the boy he had raised.

"Forgive me! I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself! I am Maito Gai! The beautiful Green Beast of Konoha!" The eccentric Jounin announced with a grin and a thumbs up, somehow producing an aura of the sun beaming around him.

Deciding that it would be better for his psyche if he chose to ignore that, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, son of Orochimaru the Sannin."

"Ah so you are young Naruto-kun! I am the taijutsu specialist that your father had asked a favour from, I apologize for being late! You see I had awoken early this morning to do my standard 100 laps around Konoha, but then I met my hip rival who had just returned from a mission and challenged him to a duel! However he refused to partake in our time-honoured tradition so I tried to convince him to-"

The rest of whatever Gai was saying seemed to fall on deaf ears as Naruto had stopped listening after the revelation that this weird person in front of him was to be his taijutsu teacher. Sure the man seemed nice enough, he was a certified Jounin too but he was just way too eccentric. Not to mention his hideous sense of fashion.

"Wait… you're saying that you are the renowned taijutsu specialist that Tou-san was talking about?" Naruto did not bother hiding the tone of disbelief from his voice, though the man did not seem to take offense.

"Hai! I will be instructing you in the ways of the Goken (Strong Fist) style that my very own father had developed and passed down to me, it is a style that focuses on speed and heavy hits. It is different from the Inshō-Hebiken in the way that where Orochimaru-sama's style is flexible, my style is rigid and stiff. So do not be disheartened if you find it hard to adapt at first, the two styles are almost polar opposites after all." Gai explained, his voice taking on a serious tone.

"So why bother learning this style if it is so different to my own?" Naruto asked, though he was inwardly relieved that his new sensei had a serious side.

"Well your father had not mentioned anything to me but I can guess his intentions… I would say that he is hoping that you would be able to incorporate the two different styles into something that would be more fitting for yourself. A new taijutsu style so to speak." Gai paused for a moment before his usual grin appeared. "Orochimaru-sama is definitely wise to start you this early, creating an original taijutsu style is no easy feat and would take years to accomplish. However seeing as you have two base styles to work from, it should not take as long as creating one from scratch."

"I understand Gai-sensei. I look forward to learning from you!"

"Yosh! Let our flames of youth burn brightly Naruto-kun! For starters, give me 50 laps around the training ground followed by 200 push-ups and 200 sit-ups which will be followed by 200 squats!" Gai pumped his fist in the air as he ranted on, completely missing the look on the face of his newest pupil.

Somewhere deep inside his laboratory, Orochimaru allowed a brief smile to flitter across his visage when he heard the scream of rage that echoed throughout Konoha.

'Kukuku… you will thank me eventually Naruto-kun…'

Well that wraps it up for this chapter! As you can see, Orochimaru decided to entrust Naruto with all of the secrets that surrounded his life. Also we see the first meeting between Naruto, Greed and Kurama! Naruto will be under the tutelage of Gai, who has yet to meet Lee so he has the time to spare in instructing our favourite blond in the ways of the Goken!

As always please drop a review letting me know what you think about the story!

Ja ne!

*Greed-Ling wearing an imitation of the original Greed's choice of clothing, the Ouroboros tattoo marked on his hand.

**Imagine Hagoromo (Rikudou Sennin) with all those added features. That is how I envisioned Kurama to look in this story.