Chapter 4: Essence of Mu

Welcome to October everyone.

I want to thank everyone for their reviews, I'm glad you all like the story.

Now there are a few things I would like to mention:

You Earthbound, or Mother 2, fans should recognize some elements of this chapter. Right now Naruto is using dark blue versions of "Interdiction", Xemnas' signature weapon. I don't know if I will have him use other sets or not.Kurama will tell Naruto his name after the Scroll incident. I'm hurt that no one commented on the Xaldin messing with Hiashi story idea, well, not really, but look forward to that story at some point.

I don't own Naruto, or anything really, I know I haven't done that in a while but I don't know if it matters after Chapter 1 or not.

When Naruto woke up he noticed that the Kyubi's estimate was off. It was indeed morning, specifically 3:00 am, Great the Academy doesn't start for four more hours, I guess I could meditate and see if I can summon those blades again. With that Naruto got into the lotus position and started to meditate. This time it was much easier but he made no progress with the Ethereal Blades.

"You haven't reached Mu yet, you won't be able to summon the blades outside of your mind," a gruff voice said in Naruto's head.

I should have figured, but at what point does one reach Mu? Naruto asked Kyubi.

"I think the old man explained it once, you have to ignore everything around you."

Who is the old man?

"The Rikudō Sennin, obviously."

I suppose he would know, but that doesn't sound too hard.

"There is more to it than that. It is meditation but it isn't like normal meditation, either this world does not seem to take kindly to being ignored, or Nothing is protective of its territory."

The second part of that statement makes no sense, does Nothing have a consciousness?

"I don't know, this is just what I've heard, it didn't make sense when the old man said it either." The Kyubi said getting irritated.

Sorry, but this is confusing.

"It's fine, but if I am correct, once you achieve Mu you won't need to meditate to use Mu release, you could just will your Ethereal Blades to appear. You shouldn't need hand signs for Mu jutsu either, but that is just speculation based on what I know about Yin and Yang justu."

Okay, want to meditate with me?

"No, but I will keep quiet while you do it."

Alright, I guess I should get ready for class.

With that Naruto shut off his alarm clock, since he wouldn't need it, and began his morning routine. After a breakfast of cup ramen he set out for the Academy.

I don't think I've ever gotten here this early, Naruto thought as he entered the classroom. He was used to it being more crowded when he arrived but right now the only occupants were Hinata, in the back, and Sasuke in the corner near the front. Seeing his partner for his after class lessons Naruto made his way up to Hinata to tell her what they would be doing.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!' the energetic blonde exclaimed.

He called me Hinata-chan, thought an elated Hyuga heiress, "Ohayo, Naruto-kun."

"Did your father tell you what we would be doing after class?" Naruto asked the shy girl.

"Yes, but he did not say where to meet Ichiro-sensei," Hinata managed to get out as color rose in her cheeks.

"We have to go to Training Ground 7 after class, I can't wait," Naruto told his classmate.

By this time the rest of the class had begun to enter the room so the two decided to get ready for the lesson. When all the students arrived Iruka and another man entered. This man had bluish-white, shoulder length hair, had the same build as Iruka but had much paler skin.

"Class today we have a new instructor joining us, this is Mizuki-sensei, got it memorized?" Iruka told the curious students.

"Hello, as you now know my name is Mizuki, I hope you find me to be as good of a teacher as Iruka-sensei," the now identified Mizuki greeted. While he did this he scanned the room, when he spotted Naruto his eyes hardened briefly, but Iruka managed to catch it.

I was afraid of this, I better keep an eye on this one, Iruka thought. He then mentally sighed; I thought if I became a teacher I could escape the icky jobs.

"Great lesson today Iruka-san, see you tomorrow," Mizuki said as he left the classroom.

"Yeah, you too Mizuki-san," Iruka said. After he was certain Mizuki was gone he collapsed into his chair. "Anko-chan, you can come out now," Iruka said to the hidden Snake Mistress.

"And here I was hoping to surprise you," Anko said as she pouted. She then jokingly asked, "Since when do you need an assistant?"

"That's what I was hoping you could tell me, I know you saw the whole lesson," Iruka said with a small smile. He then said, "I know it's a fantasy of mine but I don't think you should play hooky on the off chance an opportunity may present itself."

"We've been slow at T&I today, but I didn't come here so you could have some T&A, at least not while the gakis are here," Anko said playfully. Getting serious she then said, "I actually came to stake out and warn you about Mizuki."

"I had a feeling that something was up, I remember Mizuki from when we were kids and he's always had this dark air about him."

"Well yesterday he was suspended from active duty because he is under suspicion of murdering a fellow shinobi while on a mission," Anko said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'm not sure I understand," Iruka said.

"One of his teammate was injured and never made it back, but according to the other member of that squad the injuries were not fatal, but it made movement impossible for the now dead member of the squad," Anko explained.

"So the obvious course of action is to suspend the possible murderer and put him around children, that makes sense," Iruka said, his tone heavy with sarcasm and worry for his students.

"I don't like it either, but he told a sob story to the Council and the civilians decided he had to take care of himself somehow while the investigation is carried out."

"It's not your fault this happened Anko-chan; and I have a pretty good idea of why they put him here if his piss poor attempts to 'help' Naruto are any indication." Iruka said. He then continued, "But two things don't make sense to me: why would Hokage-sama allow this; and more than half of my students are from civilian families shouldn't the Civilian Council be more worried?"

"The Academy is kind of a gray area, you know better than I do that those enrolled are enjoy dual-status as civilians and ninja, at least to some degree," Anko explained. She then went on, "The Professor or not, Hokage-sama can only handle so much legalese, and the lawyers on the Council know they can take advantage of that. They exploited every loophole they could to get Mizuki here."

"And I suppose someone told him the charges would disappear if he 'took care' of Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"It's purely speculation at this point, but I have no doubt that you're right Iruka-kun," Anko said.

"Well, unfortunately Mizuki isn't dumb enough to do anything rash, so I can't get rid of him and I suppose the only evidence of wrongdoing is the conflicting mission reports?" Iruka said, thinking out loud.

"That's right," Anko said. She then asked, "What do you think he is trying to do?"

"From what we both saw, I would say he is trying to sabotage Naruto and then he will probably try to offer private lessons, you know, away from witnesses," Iruka reasoned. He continued, "Fortunately, I made sure Naruto would remember the proper taijutsu form as well as how to throw kunai and shuriken."

"I know, you said 'Got it memorized?' so often I was thinking of creating the Umino Iruka Drinking Game," Anko joked. Getting serious she warned, "Just be careful, I think Mizuki is going for a long con."

"I don't doubt it," Iruka said. Then smirking he said, "Now, I think we have something else to discuss."

"Oh, whatever could you mean, Iruka-sensei?" Anko asked, playing along.

"We need to discuss your actions during class, Mitarashi-san, and of course take the appropriate measures," Iruka said slyly.

"I'll do anything Sensei, please don't tell my parents," Anko said continuing with Iruka's game.

This is going to be fun, they both thought.

At Training Ground 7, Naruto and Hinata found Ichiro waiting for them. "Ah, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, I am glad to see that you made it," Ichiro greeted.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything Ichiro-sensei," Naruto said.

"I am looking forward to this as well, Ichiro-sama," Hinata managed to get out.

"I am glad to hear that because we only have a few days before my colleagues and I must leave for Iron County," Ichiro said.

"You'll be back though right?" a visibly worried Naruto asked.

"I cannot say for certain Naruto-kun, but our monastery is not far from Konoha, you are always welcome to visit," Ichiro answered sadly, he had grown so fond of the young blonde.

"I guess," was all Naruto could say.

"It will be alright, Naruto-kun," Hinata said in an attempt to console her crush.

"You're right, and I'll still have you Hinata-chan," Naruto said with a smile.

"R-r-right Naruto-kun," Hinata said fighting back the urge to faint.

"Now let us begin," Ichiro said, coming to Hinata's rescue.

"Hai!" his young charges said while getting into the lotus position.

"Now remember, Mu Training is a special form of meditative martial arts training. It involves the ability to ignore everything around you. If you can make your minds blank you will succeed," Ichiro explained. Continuing he said, "I have told Hokage-sama what we will be doing so you two should not have many interruptions."

"Hai, sensei," the two academy students said.

"Now I have an errand to run, begin once I leave and I should be back by the time you two are finished, assuming you two succeed," Ichiro said. He then took his leave to run his errand.

The two meditated in silence for a few minutes, but soon the world around them seemed to grow louder. After a while the atmosphere of the training ground changed. If the two had opened their eyes they have seen Ko and Iruka appear from nowhere.

"Hinata-sama, you father is asking for you, you must stop your meditation at once and come with me," Ko said.

"Naruto, what do you say we head to Ichiraku's for some ramen, my treat," Iruka said.

The two ninja in training ignored them as "Ko" and "Iruka" faded from existence. The atmosphere changed again two figures appeared before them, not that the two kids noticed. Had the two opened their eyes they would have seen two men: one was the Rikudō Sennin in his prime; the other was a man with Byakugan eyes. He was a tall man dressed in armor not unlike the Shodaime's; He had a long face with a broad chin and pronounced cheekbones; long black hair, which reached to his lower back, and thin eyebrows; well-kept mutton chops which connected with a mustache, but was otherwise clean-shaven. It was the founder of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiro.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" the Rikudō Sennin began, although only Naruto could hear him.

"Hyuga Hinata…" Hiro started in a voice only Hinata could hear.

"…I am the progenitor of your family line," the two apparitions continued. "To complete your trial, I am going to break your legs. You will lose the use of them. Do you accept this?" the two asked their respective descendants. Upon receiving no answer the two broke the children's legs.

Naruto and Hinata felt intense pain but kept meditating as though nothing had happened.

"So, you cannot walk as your legs are broken. Next, I will tear your arms off, do you accept this?" The apparitions asked the students. Once again no answer was given and pain exploded within the children's minds, but still they ignored the torture.

The spirits continued, "Now I shall cut your ears off. You don't mind losing your hearing do you? Do you accept this?" Once more the two were ignored and once more they made good on their word, but Naruto and Hinata managed to keep meditating through it all.

"Now, Naruto…" the Rikudō Sennin, started.

"Now, Hinata…" Hiro began.

"No legs, no arms, no sound, by floating words through the air, I must ask, do you care if I take your eyes? Do you want to live in eternal darkness? I shall steal your sight, do you accept this?" the two asked, not that either child paid any attention to them. With that the two felt as if their eyes were destroyed. The spirits then continued directly into the children's respective minds.

Now my child, I can only communicate directly with your mind. Your mind is all you have left. In the end I will take your mind too, but you probably don't want to allow that do you? You cannot answer can you? You cannot even move. Are you sad? Are you lonely? If you lose your mind you will also lose any feelings of sadness. Do you accept this? I will take your mind child; know that I will possess it. Naruto and Hinata persevered through even this as everything went blank.

Without knowing how much time had passed the two opened their eyes simultaneously, and they saw Ichiro. "Congratulations you two you have passed your trial and should now understand the essence of Mu," the monk explained.

"That was intense, Ichiro-sensei," Naruto stated as he got up and went to help Hinata to her feet.

"It felt so real," Hinata added.

"That is why so few complete the training, the world around us creates illusion to prevent us from understanding Mu, and when that does not work it is as if Nothing seeks to scare us off," Ichiro explained. He continued, "I had no doubt in my mind you two could do it, though."

"Why is that Sensei?" Hinata questioned.

"I just have a feeling that the two of you are very special children," Ichiro said simply. Changing the subject he said, "Naruto-kun your birthday is coming up, is it not?"

"Yeah, but it's not like anyone celebrates it," Naruto said sadly.

"Well, I have something for you, consider it an early birthday present," Ichiro said as he handed Naruto a package.

"What is it?" Naruto asked as he opened the package. Inside the package was a coat of an unusual design: it was black and white split down the middle, white on the right and black on the left; it was decorated on the bottom with a flame motif, blue flames on the black side and red flames on the white side. It also had long sleeves and a hood and one long zipper. "Wow, this is the best present I've ever been given," Naruto said as he felt his eyes mist up.

"A present for the future Hokage and creator of the Mu release," Ichiro said.

"I'll make you proud Sensei, and I'll become someone worthy of this coat too!" Naruto proclaimed as he took off his jacket and replaced it with his new coat.

"I think it looks good Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

"I concur, you look quite dashing," Ichiro added.

"Thank you, both of you," Naruto said, at this point tears of happiness were streaming down his face as he hugged Ichiro and went to hug Hinata.

Must not faint, must not faint, Hinata thought as she returned Naruto's embrace.

"Oh, yeah there's something I want to show both of you!" Naruto said excitedly. With a bit of concentration Naruto summoned his Ethereal Blades.

"Naruto-kun, what are those?" Ichiro asked the question on both his and Hinata's minds.

"These are Ethereal Blades, blades of pure nothingness," Naruto explained proudly, "I managed to use them last night but I couldn't hold them for long."

"I see, well now I know that I was right, you are a special child Naruto-kun," Ichiro said.

"You're amazing, Naruto-kun," Hinata added.

"Thanks Sensei, Hinata-chan," said Naruto as he dismissed the blades.

"Well it is almost time for dinner, and I cannot teach the two of you anything else at this point, so with that I dismiss you both and wish you a pleasant evening," Ichiro stated.

"Good night, Sensei," his students said as they made their way back to the village proper.

It is a shame I must leave at the end of the week, I am curious as to how they will progress, Ichiro thought as he made his way back to his lodgings. Oh well, I will be sure to come back as often as I can to see them, and with that though Ichiro met up with his fellow monks to discuss the day's events.

Another chapter finished.

There are some things that I think I should explain:

For those who caught it, yes I did bas Hyuga Hiro's design off of Juha Bach from Bleach. For some reason, when I try to picture the first Hyuga, that is what I get, but I think it works.Naruto's coat is a cross between Minato's haori and the Organization XIII coat only it stops at the shins for the sake of mobility.For you fans of Earthbound, I used their Mu training idea for this chapter, it was all I could think of but I think it works.

Until next time, read and review.