Naruto looked suspiciously at Danzo, curious as to the older man's goals. Danzo had, after the test, brought him to a Spartan home and asked him to sit down, making tea to drink as they discussed. That didn't stop Naruto from testing it for poison.
The two settled in, sitting on opposite sides of a more traditional table, whereas most shinobi had turned to the newer tables from the West. The two observed each other for a moment, the tea sending curls of steam up into their view.
Danzo took a deep breath before beginning, savoring the scent of the herbal tea. "I set Root to attack you as a test." He started, pulling out a Bingo book. Naruto grew confused as Danzo held it out to him. "Page ninety-seven." When Naruto made no movement to open the book Danzo said "Go ahead, you will be surprised." Naruto opened up the book, going to the page.
Uzumaki Naruto: Konoha's War Hawk
A-Rank Konoha Shinobi
Bounty: 75,000 Ryu- Iwa
95,000 Ryu-Kiri
Bounty Plus 60,000 if information on KubikiriBocho
Skills:
Taijutsu: Unknown
Genjutsu: Chunin Level
Ninjutsu: Chunin Level
Kenjutsu: Jonin Level
Other skills unknown
Defeated Momochi Zabuza and his Apprentice the Hyouton user Momochi Haku
Skills mostly unknown-Approach with caution
Naruto was stunned for several moments. He scanned the entry again, breathing a light sigh of relief that whoever listed his name was unaware most of his skills, and understated others. They also were unaware of the Kyuubi, and of his elemental nature. His eyes snapped up, meeting Danzo's brown eye.
The man nodded before continuing. "Because of my…status, in Konoha, I keep a rather close eye on up and coming shinobi. So, naturally, when I found out that a Genin had entered the bingo book, and less than two months after graduating, I grew a little concerned. Now I have been briefed on your entire mission as you and Kakashi reported it to the Hokage, and I decided to set up a little test."
The man paused to take a sip of the now cool tea; Naruto did the same, merely to avoid seeming rude. The longer Naruto spent around this man the more he got the sense that this Danzo was not someone he wanted to offend. It seemed like Danzo was a rather influential person if he already knew the entire mission.
"This test was, as you have probably figured out, to discover if you actually are an A-Rank ninja. The result was…disappointing. At best, you are a B-Rank ninja." Naruto's cerulean eyes narrowed. He knew he was no A-Rank, but the fact was he had taken out several of those testing ninja.
"I will admit that my standards are a bit higher than most, but I have good reason. Now, I will make you an offer. Sarutobi has prevented your sensei from being able to teach you, and now he has ensured that you will be unable to advance any farther. I am well aware of your self-study, and I know that you are aware that there is only so far you can go without a trainer. I am willing to help you get experience and additional training."
Naruto's eyes narrowed further, becoming quite suspicious of the elder man. In fact, he even prepared for another attack. In his experience, when something sounded good, it wasn't. Danzo, seeing the boy preparing for a fight, moved to explain further, in his own way.
"Don't get me wrong Naruto. The only reason I am even bothering to train you is because you are the jinchurriki of Konoha. You are a weapon for the village, and by this point I cannot train you the way I wish to, I will be able to ensure that you will reach your potential. By the time the Chunin exams occur I will have you at the A-Rank level."
Danzo's eye held both of Naruto's during the speech, an icy fire lit inside them. He sincerely hoped that the blonde would choose to let Danzo train him, as now that he was out in the world, he would be targeted. Especially by Kiri. They had always been quite eager to regain the blades of the famous swordsmen.
Naruto began talking in a slow, apathetic tone while his eyes bored into Danzo. "Who are you, and how do you know all of this?" Danzo sighed, perhaps he had been expecting too much. After all, the boy hadn't lived this long by trusting strangers.
"Alright, I'll give a proper introduction. As you know, my name is Shimura Danzo, and I am the head of Root. Root is a group of elite ANBU, and was originally the group that took missions that even the ANBU could not take. I pioneered the idea after a terrorist attack right after the first shinobi world war, taking control over the organization.
Outside of the council room, I am commonly referred to as the "Yami no Shinobi (Darkness of Shinobi)", and I was actually the original War Hawk of Konoha because of my summons." He watched the boy's eyes lit up in understanding after hearing his first title, but hardening in suspicion right afterwards. He held up a hand, cutting off any potential attacks on his character.
"Judging by your expression, what you have heard of me is not that flattering." 'I had might as well play to his knowledge of me, he will find out what I really am before too long, provided he accepts.' The old man thought, trying to word his statements so that Naruto would join. He needed backup for his Root force; otherwise he would not risk his entire organization to help the boy when he was doing perfectly fine by himself. 'Damn shadow games, if I didn't know better I would say Hiruzen set this recent set of movements up just so I would be unable to help the boy properly. As it is I'll have to send him into battle without more than three days of heavy training. At least the boy knows Kage Bunshin.'
"However, regardless of what you have heard of me, the fact remains that the shinobi I train become strong. You need not fear that I may, what are they calling it now…ah yes, condition you to become an emotionless tool. You are too old for that to be completely effective. Besides, you have already developed a battle mode, as proven by your lack of emotion when you injured my Root members." 'That surprised me quite a bit, as while those four were not my best, they were in the upper echelons, and to take down three of them, two while injured, ins no small feat. It shows that the boy is an even better shinobi than I expected, and the training I will put him under during these months will make him even better.'
Naruto was on the brink, understanding that he needed this if he wanted to survive the suicide missions the council would put him on, but reluctant to trust this man. He decided to get more information about the potential gains and problems before committing himself. "What will you be training me in, and what will I be expected to do while I am under you?"
Though he did not show it, Danzo was quite pleased that the boy was not rushing into things, as he knew everyone else his age would have leaped at the opportunity. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he began in his emotionless monotone that sent shivers down the spines of most ninja.
"For the first month, I will be focusing on extreme taijutsu, kenjutsu, and using what jutsu you have at the slightest provocation. You have a great deal of chakra, it's time you learned how to use it. In the next three days I will make sure that it will take a fully developed Sharingan to see even a few of your hand seals, and the number needed for each jutsu will also be cut down. After those three days, you will be sent to a territory where you will accomplish a number of missions, allowing you to gain experience. Be warned, these missions will be a matter of life and death, and hesitation will wind up in your destruction."
Pausing for more tea, as well as to ensure that Naruto was absorbing that and had no questions, he continued after a minute.
"By the time those missions are over, provided you survive, you will have learned when and how to use your skills to kill, and not fight pathetically like most genin do. My Root organization will be teaching you various tricks and assassination techniques, and anything on stealth you do not already know. Finally, they will be the ones to increase your pain threshold, taijutsu, kenjutsu, and general knowledge.
After that, you will be trained into the ground in your elemental manipulation while also working on a new set of weapons and jutsu. While your kenjutsu is good, even a ninjato can have problems in tight spaces, and it is nowhere near designed for assassination, which the weapon I will give you will be. This will be the second month, and by the end of it I guarantee that you will be able to complete the third level of Earth manipulation."
Hearing that part, Naruto thought briefly 'So he was the one to place those general knowledge books as well as the advanced books in my apartment. From what little I have seen of Root they are more than capable of infiltrating my home. I will have to upgrade my traps again.'
"After that will be speed and fuinjutsu training, with the Kyuubi's advanced healing, a proper diet, and a strict schedule I should be able to bring you up to elite ANBU speed naturally, pushing mid-Kage speed with chakra. I am a master in fuinjutsu, so you will be studying directly under me for the duration of the month. Third month will be over.
The fourth month, and possibly most of the fifth, will be ensuring you keep your edge and chakra training. By the end of this time I expect you to be able to control some of the Kyuubi's chakra, and you will know the names and skills of every other nation's jinchurikki. What is left of the time until the chunin exams, which you will most likely be entered in, will be spent on more experience training.
On a side note, you will most likely be sent on missions during your entire training, and I fully expect you to be elite jonin by the time I am done with you." Naruto spoke up now for the first time in a while, cutting into the man's speech for the first time.
"That's impossible. With the level of difference between myself and Kakashi, it would take years to reach that level. Mid-Jonin maybe, but that is pushing it." Danzo finally moved out of his blank face, showing a sadistic smirk.
"Believe what you will, but I assure you that by the time this is over, you will be able to match Kakashi when the two of you are going all out. You might not win, but with the Kyuubi's chakra I believe that you would be able to." Naruto thought it all over for a few minutes as Danzo enjoyed his tea. 'It's always the little things in life that have the most impact. It's like this tea, an ocean of calm and tranquility in an otherwise troubling day. He will accept, and we both know it.' The head of Root thought, knowing that Naruto would accept. 'After all, he had no other options.'
Naruto was backed into a corner and he knew. It was either accept training under someone who had obviously had him watched for years, and grow stronger, or refuse and most likely wind up being assassinated once the Third finally accepted that he would be unable to convert him to the village. 'I had better go with his option. It will allow me to grow stronger and gain a better understanding of how the darker side of a village works, hopefully putting me closer to my own goals.'
As was inevitable, Naruto said yes, sealing the deal and putting him in for five months of pure hell.
AN: North Carolina, one of the only states to do a graduation project. Between that and a new story that's clamoring to be released, I won't be updating as often for the next month or so. Sorry.