CH 18
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
There was fifth component to Nen Jutsu and was the one that he'd yet to find information on. It is called, 'In'. It's usually used in conjunction with Ten. Ten is the power to hold your spirit, aura, chakra, whatever you call it inside. 'In' are the words of power and is fuelled by activating Ten.
It's like the 'wishful thinking' that some cultures have under various names like the 'Kotodama' in Japanese culture. The theory is that stating something with conviction and maybe using some form of spiritual energy or power, make whatever is said or declared to come true. He's already used it a couple times, but only when he told people, 'I will become the Hokage of Konoha'.
Still in studying the books and scrolls, he hadn't come across much information about 'In'. But he was still eager to learn the next step, that meant finding his 'Hatsu' or perhaps it's better known as his hidden power. It takes accumulated study of In, Ten, Ren, Gyo, to finally be able to call forth Hatsu.
"Hatsu," Naruto breathed. He used Gyo in his eyes and released his Ren at a glass filled to the brim with water, which had single leaf floating on top. The channelling of the Ren in this way will affect the water and leaf. It is what will determine the path that his Hatsu will take. Once that's figured out, it'll only be a matter of figuring the ratio of subdivisions of the six Nen Jutsu elements or skills.
Hatsu is the technique, which cumulates the sum of the Nen Skills. Hatsu can further be divided into six categories, which are: Emission (projection of aura), Transformation (ability to change the properties of the aura), Reinforcement (gives more physical strength or increases the efficiency of an object), Manipulation (ability to manipulate inert material and living material), Materialization (aura is materialized, solidly) and Specialization (strange aura that doesn't fit in any other category).
The book further explained that Nen abilities are linked to the individual character of a person. Everything has a beginning and in the case of Nen Jutsu the first aptitude is one that is related by the circumstances of a person's birth. The second aptitude or next determining factor is by the path taken during the course of a person's life.
Right now the blond was seeking to learn how the Nen Jutsu or Nen Aura would form from him, when he used his concentration. He knew that it had been Materialization from his past life. This allowed him to mix a couple of elements like using earth or ground materials and his Nen ability in order to make the glass kunai, which he'd been fond of using because they'd been made to specifically shatter inside his enemies.
This time he'd studied the Nen Jutsu from the beginning. He kept his mind on the form of his new life, his personality and the current path he'd taken. The water in the glass slowly started to overflow and it dripped onto the floor. He paused and then on a whim he tasted the water. It tasted kind of sweet too.
'So I still have the Materialization, but now I have the Reinforcement,' he thought. 'I believe that I can work with both of these.'
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
One thing was certain now… Sasuke was more vocal because of Risa, the ninja-dog and the fact that he could spar in with four people that had very different Taijutsu forms. He also had one Kenjutsu equal in the form of the Jinchuriki of Konoha. He was still looking for his mother's notes on the Kenjutsu Style that the old blacksmith had been talking about.
He used his Sharingan whenever the team was released for the day. He even had his blond teammate over from time to time to help him detect traps and to find the secret compartments or storages that his family seemed to have favoured ranging from the youngest to the oldest Sharingan user.
His other teammate had taught him how to make simple bombs. He'd even successfully managed to test most of them by setting some of them off in the Shinobi Barracks with wet dye inside them rather than smoke or fire. His teammates knew that it had been him and they'd already congratulated him on the success of his first official prankster mission because of the evidence from the day they'd been re-assigned as a cell together, becoming Team Seventeen.
"You do know that many think that it was me that pulled that prank," Naruto had told him.
"Not my fault," Sasuke said with his nose in the air.
Risa laughed and so did her dog, in his strange dog-like way. "Well," she'd asked. "What do we do next?"
"Naruto," the black haired boy turned to the blond. "Could you make confinement Seals to prevent destruction of an area?"
"Yes," Naruto replied without hesitation.
Sasuke turned to Risa and asked, "How big of an explosion can you make without destroying underground pipes or plumbing?"
"That'll depend on the purpose," Risa said. "If it's to take down one building there are ways to get it to fall in on itself rather than explode outward. What do you want to do?"
"I've finished exploring some of the outer buildings," Sasuke said. "They need to come down."
Risa's eyes lit up with an inner gleam. "Bombs," she sighed. "Let's go check it out and I'll let you know what you need."
"You should also consider that some of the wood, floors or panelling could be salvageable," Naruto said as he followed them, in a flicker-flit that they'd gotten used to using.
"These four," Sasuke pointed to the buildings.
"Ah, never mind then," Naruto said. The buildings in question were the ones in danger of collapsing anyway and nothing was really salvageable from them.
"I figured that if the explosion occurred in a way to shatter the wood, then maybe the splinters can be buried into the soil to give the soil a new source of nutrient," Sasuke then stopped as his train of thought disappeared. He looked at his teammates and shrugged.
"You know this could be a good opportunity for me to use my wind to call up a dust storm to scour the wood clean of paint," Naruto said. "I could practice using it."
"I could prepare the Earth," Risa had suggested and the pulled out one of the C-Level Earth scrolls. "Mid-size Terraforming, it works in a ten by ten foot square to alter the underlying Earth. It renders it completely healthy and ready for plant growth."
"If Naruto scours the paint with wind, what happens to the paint particles?" Sasuke asked.
"You can burn them," Naruto had said. "That way they don't go anywhere. The explosion can shatter the cleaned wood to be used in terraforming. The pipes can be smelted down with your strongest fire and sold by weight. All windows can also be melted down and reformed into other objects too, if you want to do that or can sold by weight too."
"Doing this together we can help each other improve how we work with our elements," Risa said. "I could use help with Lightning."
"Taijutsu," Sasuke said holding out his hand for the girl to shake on the deal.
The Uchiha had learned of the 'quid pro quo' rule of that Team Eleven had used years ago. He fell into it by accident, but it was the best thing that had happened to him. Team Seventeen helped him to locate hidden books, journals, scrolls, which helped him to create a family listing. This listing allowed him to remember 'all' the members of his clan, rather than just his immediate family. It was way better than the bloody mass of bodies that haunted his, less frequently, reoccurring nightmares.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
Team Seventeen were passing through the gates coming home from their ninth successful C-Rank Mission. C-Ranks usually consisted of capturing animals, clearing mines, clearing roads from storm debris or aiding small villages with large scale repairs to town buildings or things like their walls or water wells.
This last mission consisted of helping to clear a mine that had had several minor cave-ins. The miners of the area didn't know the cause of those cave-ins and had requested aid in clearing the boulders, but also in trying to figure out the cause. The team continued their personal training and had practiced most of the E and D Level elemental spells that were actually useful to the miners.
It was Sasuke that had discovered the reason for the minor cave-ins when he fell through the floor of the cavern they'd just cleared. The mine that the men were working in had natural underground caverns that were tunneled by water throughout the years. The Uchiha had caught a cold from falling into a cold pool of water. At least the pool had been deep enough and the cavern had several unformed precious stones that the team had been able to take away with them with permission from the men working in the mine.
After that Naruto had learnt a D-Level Water spell to douse for underground water pathways, while Risa mapped the areas following him. She used a D-Level Earth density spell to note the thickness of miners' tunnelled floors.
Both Jounin-senseis were impressed with the way the three had meshed quickly and efficiently, as a team. They were careful in their reports to ensure the team could be underestimated, but not by much if this was their ninth C-Rank mission in the shortened timeframe that they'd been officially named Team Seventeen.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
On one of the last nights of the latest C-Rank mission, the Jounin were having a discussion about the team and if they should be nominated for any upcoming Chunin exam or wait until the following one.
"They train on their own a lot," Tokuma-sensei noted.
"Not always on their own," Kakashi-sensei said. "I do give them scrolls to study with."
"But you're not doing anything with them," Tokuma replied. "We're going to need to schedule independent training for all three in their areas of specialization."
"What would those areas be," Kakashi asked. "Their current levels are about mid-Chunin. Classroom instruction does not seem to suit Naruto or Sasuke."
"I'll admit that Risa is the same as the boys," Tokuma said. "When I had first introduced them to report writing, it was the girls that had a problem with it. Naruto's writing was impeccable and I can only attribute that to his interest in being a Seal Master one day."
"So the Chunin exams," Kakashi-sensei said. "I think that they may be coming up soon, what do you think their chances are?"
"I think that they'll pass the first two phases with little difficulty," Tokuma said. "In the third phase they'll have that one month to do supplemental training."
"I was thinking of taking Sasuke and Naruto to Zabuza for that," Kakashi said. "I don't want the girl to feel left out, but I know that they'll be pushed further and faster by him. They need to work on their Kenjutsu more."
"Hm," Tokuma said. "Who would be a good trainer for Risa and her pup?"
At this time Naruto walked up to them and collapsed near the two senseis, "Training in what?"
"In working together and giving them the time that they've been missing because Akoba is still very young," Tokuma explained. "They're growing by leaps and bounds, but in comparison to the other Inuzuka..."
"So don't compare her to them," Naruto snorted.
"It's not that," Tokuma-sensei said. "Clans that are linked with creatures or have bonds like the Inuzuka... well they actually need time to forge stronger bonds between the animal and the human, away from the influence of other humans and animals."
Sasuke joined them from the room he'd been staying in to recover from his cold. He said, "Dobe, you ever notice the time that Kiba was away from the Academy for about six months and when he came back he had that mutt of his?"
"Risa hasn't had enough time with Akoba," Naruto said. "Is that what you mean?"
"We're doing fine," Risa said, not wanting to trouble her teammates with this minor problem. The bond she had was strong, but there was still that missing bonding time.
"Risa," Naruto looked at her seriously and said, "Problems for one member in the team..."
"... can cause problems for all," she finished with a sigh. "I just didn't want to bother you guys because it will resolve itself soon."
"Pah," Naruto said and then he bit his thumb, did the summoning hand signs and placed his palm to the ground calling for one of his foxes. "Nami, we need consultation."
A red fox appeared with the same three little ones she'd had when they met about a month ago in the Land of Waves. "Yes, Naruto," the mother fox said settling down in front of him and dropping a kit in his lap. "How can I help?"
"Risa..." Naruto looked to the girl and said. "You explain."
"My clan is different in that we form bonds with ninja-dogs," the girl said. "This is my bond-mate, Akoba. Due to an accident I'd been disabled for a short time and in that time I was able to bond with him. However I'm also a Kunoichi, training in many of the same things that Naruto and Sasuke do. I couldn't take the time needed to strengthen our bond, which is usually done in supervised seclusion."
"I see," the mother said. "How long does the seclusion usually last?"
"Anywhere from three to six months," Risa replied truthfully.
"How long have you been bonded," Nami asked.
"About three months," Risa answered.
"Watch my kits," the mother said as she popped away to consult with 'Uncle Whitey'. The three kits were curious bundles, but they were able to converse with Akoba and get a greater understanding of the bond.
Kita popped out of Naruto's stomach much to the surprise of one of their teachers and Risa, who didn't know about this development. "Kita," Naruto said grabbing the small fox and hold him up nose-to-nose with him. "You know you're not..."
"But Papa, Nami's kits are out and I wanna play," Kita said with a cute pouty tone.
"Yeah, but now I have to explain who you are," Naruto said, giving Kita to Sasuke far away from Kakashi-sensei's surprising kunai or from Tokuma-sensei's Byakugan vision. "Sasuke, take them all to your room."
The black haired boy held onto Kita and picked up one of Nami's kits, ushering the rest with gentle pushes of his feet and with Akoba's aid. "Come on you guys," Sasuke said. "I have balls in my room that you can chase."
"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said in a tone that indicated irritation.
"Ah, um..., don't you remember the kit?" Naruto asked Kakashi and then looked to Tokuma-sensei and said, "So maybe I didn't do really kill it." He rubbed the back of his head with a sigh.
"Naruto," Kakashi barked out startling the girl and the other Jounin with the tone that he used. The blond Genin only turned to look at the man that had once been taught by the Yondaime, Naruto's father.
"Yes sensei," the boy replied.
"Is that what I think it is," Kakashi's voice took on a dangerous tone, because back in the Land of Waves, the kit had been so much smaller than this one.
"That'll depend on what you actually think it is," Naruto growled out. "If you think it's a demon fox, you could be correct."
Kakashi stood up and zipped to the doorway of the room that Sasuke had been staying in while his cold was being treated. The blond moved faster and had his sword out to prevent the man from killing the innocent fox kit. "However, if you think it's Kurama, then you'd be wrong. I'll not let you kill him."
Kakashi blinked at the fact that the sword was pressing against him. His student was preventing him from...then the words filtered in. "He's not... but he's so much bigger than the tiny thing from the Wave Country"
"No, it's not the nine-tails," Naruto said, but he never relaxed his stance until his sensei returned to where he'd been sitting. Then he'd only put his sword away and remained standing guard at the door. "He grew up some when the summoning scroll was finally activated."
"So what is he," Risa asked gently, knowing that this was a very sensitive subject for her younger friend.
"He's a young summon," Naruto said. "He was leashed in that pot with a chakra draining collar that about killed him. He's the reason I made the summoning scroll to begin with."
"What summoning scroll," Tokuma asked.
Nami popped back into the room and said, "The FOX summoning scroll, of course." She sat down and stared at the men. "A contract scroll only needs one creature to begin with, before more are added. I believe the boy was told how the first summon scroll was made. Do you wish to know?"
Risa asked because she knew that her senseis were still thinking about the little fox. "How was the first one made?"
"I don't know the creature, but I do know that it was one of the offspring of a Biju," Nami said. "The Biju were released in the world ages ago and had mingled peacefully for many years with others of their same nature, meaning fox with foxes, cat with cats, etc..."
"The offspring of Biju and regular animals often resulted in stronger, smarter creatures that humans were often afraid of," she told them. "A long time ago, an unscrupulous human who was a master of Sealing Techniques and one of the first creators of Written Jutsus, created a holding scroll. It was specifically made to bind a Biju Child or one of the stronger offspring. The scroll was actually a prison for that child. However, whenever the human called it up in order to use its strength, there was a terrible price in blood that had to be paid."
"That's awful," Risa said with a shudder.
Nami nodded her russet head and said, "There are many similar tales, but eventually some summon scrolls were decisions agreed upon by kinder humans and more understanding creatures. Biju children needed the time to grow up just as much as the original Biju did. I do know that the scrolls with the more difficult summons are the ones that are older."
Kakashi was still wary of the blond Jinchuriki with good reason. This was classified information that shouldn't have been divulged.
"Kakashi," Naruto said without using any honourific or title. "They already know. The Hokage has already given me permission to tell who I want to tell. My teammates had a right to know about the Kyuubi no Yoko within me."
"How long have you known," Kakashi-sensei asked. "I wasn't told that you knew about being the container for the nine-tailed fox."
"It really didn't take much to put two and two together, when the common civilians chased me as a mob and called me the demon fox," Naruto said with a huff. "It was after Mizuki attempted to rob the Hokage's office that Jiji-sama told me that I could tell whomever I trusted."
"Mizuki what," Tokuma-sensei asked.
"The twerp tried to steal the Scroll of Sealing," Kakashi-sensei told the other Jounin. "He is still in custody and will be for a long while because it was discovered that he's actually a traitor to Konoha and has been working for Otogakure."
"Oh," Tokuma-sensei said. "So that's why Umino Iruka has been put in charge of the Academy and is overhauling then entire ninja education system."
"He's cool for a sensei," Naruto commented.
"So the reason you didn't tell me," Kakashi-sensei prodded.
"Frankly, it just never came up," Naruto said. "Everyone here knew because it came up in natural conversations. We've never talked about anything related to the fox or the Yondaime, so there was nothing to tell you."
Kakashi knew that he was going to think about this at a later date, but he did have to ask, "But your Seal…"
"It's fine," Naruto said. "Did you want to see it?"
"He can do that later," Nami said. "The solution to your dilemma young lady is Uncle Whitey." The female fox gave the blond Genin a pointed looked and then went into the room to gather her children. But before she left, she said. "You'll have to call on him sometime kit."
"Argh," Naruto huffed.
"Who's Uncle Whitey," Kakashi asked.
"He's the first fox in the FOX summon scroll," Sasuke said walking back into the room with a sleeping Kita and Akoba in his arms. "He's a winter fox with two-tails and he found us when we were training with Zabuza." He handed the dog to his bond mate and continued to hold on to the sleeping fox for a bit longer. He did sit next to Naruto so that everyone could that the blond was feeding chakra to the fox kit.
Risa had a small smile on her face and then looking closer, she noted the chakra drain. She grinned a little wider and had to ask, "Is that why he called you Papa?"
Naruto shrugged and grinned sheepishly. Everyone chuckled which woke up Kita who stood up. "Kita stand proud a moment," he said. "Look at his size and height," the kit looked at him after they had and then faded back into the blond's body after receiving the okay to go. "He was the size of my longest finger when he was released from the pot that we'd taken from Suna. He was dying too."
He held out his hand to show how truly tiny the kit had been.
"But surely," Tokuma-sensei began and then stopped. He sighed and continued, "That Palace had been buried for about seven hundred years. One of the Suna Chunin told us about it, while we were waiting for word about any team that was in there. It had been periodically excavated, but they'd never opened or found all the rooms because they claimed that the walls shifted."
"Oh yeah," Risa said with huff. "We know about that. We couldn't leave the room we'd found those pots in because our way was blocked after the walls had shifted yet again."
"At least we figured out that there was a pattern to the shift," Naruto said.
"You did?" Tokuma asked. "From what I heard from the others, there was no way to tell."
"Well, that just means that you needed Team Eleven," Naruto said with pride. "I bet Team Seventeen would have figured it out too, since Sasuke has the Sharingan." He looked at the other boy, who just looked back and blinked with the dark blue eyes that he'd taken to using to hide his Kekkei Genkai, whenever they left the village.
"All right enough of this," Kakashi-sensei said. "Go do your training routines and get ready for bed after that. We leave in three days and the day after tomorrow is the day that you've been given approval by the miners to hunt for more precious stones which you are permitted to keep one out of every five you dig up. They've even agreed to allow you to use what low-level spells you think will help you to dig them out."
The three Genin took off and then he turned to the Hyuga and said, "Tell me what you can about him and the fox. Anything he's told..."
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
The Chunin guards watched an exhausted Team Seventeen plod through the gates from their ninth C-Rank mission in less than a month. Their senseis marched them to the mission office in order to turn in their report and then dismissed for them next two days.
"Meet at the regular place and time Thursday," Tokuma-sensei said and he had a nod from Kakashi agreeing to the small break.
"Thank you senseis," they said and went their separate ways.
Kakashi didn't even wait one day before tracking down Naruto with one of his nin-dogs. "Why do you want to see the boy," Pakkun asked. "Give him a break."
"I have question that only he can answer," the man said. An hour later the dog found Naruto climbing up to his favourite plateau. The blond had thought he'd be alone for at least twenty-fours this time.
'Maybe I have to find another place to train on my own,' Naruto thought, as he crested the ledge and came nose-to-nose with the pug dog.
"Pakkun, what are you doing here?"
"Kakashi wanted to speak with you," the dog said.
"Then Kakashi will have to come here," Naruto said. An hour after that, his run was interrupted by his grey haired sensei, when he felt the man's chakra nearby. He turned back, noted that the man was reading his book by the smoking fire that was slow cooking several of the fish that the blond had caught earlier. "Are you staying long?"
Kakashi looked up and noted that the boy was only wearing his ninja sandals, shorts and what looked like weights on his wrists, elbows, ankles and knees. "I just wanted to see the Seal," the man said. "I was worried."
Naruto tilted his head and then approached. He stood there for the man to look at the faded Seal. The Jounin then wondered what it would look like if the boy drew on the fox's chakra. The boy sighed and then asked, "Do you want me to do it?"
"What," Kakashi said.
"Do you want me to draw on the chakra belonging to the nine-tailed fox," Naruto asked again.
"How did…"
"You have a look," the blond said. "Besides you're not doing this to be malicious or anything. I believe that you're genuinely curious to see what would happen. I'd never do this if anyone else asked me to."
"Why not," Kakashi asked. "Not even if Sasuke asked."
"I don't know about that," Naruto said. "That would have to depend on when and why he's asking."
"The others," the Jounin questioned and then confirmed. "Not the others."
"No one else," Naruto told him. "They don't really have a connection to the history of the nine-tails like you do because you were the Yondaime's student and he knew to trust you."
Kakashi had to look away at that. He'd never been able to bring that poor child into his home because he'd just been a child himself when that horrible event occurred. Those sky blue eyes were just too direct and honest.
"My father understands," Naruto said, earning him the rare privilege of a whiplash look around by his Jounin sensei. Something he'd never seen before. That man may wear a mask, but his body gives away a lot if you know what you're looking for. "I told you, Jiji-sama has talked to me. Not just about the fox, but a bit about my parents' lives too."
"I'm sorry," Kakashi said looking down. A tear he couldn't prevent, fell. "I couldn't…I wanted to…but I… just couldn't…"
Naruto leaned forward and allowed the man to bury his face in his stomach and on the last Sealing Technique that the man's beloved sensei had done in his life, all for the good of the village. The blond boy petted the white-grey hair of his troubled and obviously lonely sensei.
They stayed like that until the man pulled away and the boy moved to rescue his supper. He handed one of the fish on a stick to his teacher and they ate them in companionable silence.
"Neh Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said and paused until he knew he had the boy's attention. "Am I ever going to get my sensei's last testing bell?"
Naruto looked at him incredulously and then laughed.
Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old
TBC…