a/n- It's been a long while... Since I've updated... And I'll tell you all about it at the end of the chapter... We've come a long way... To the 10th chapter... Oh I'll tell you all about it at the end of the chapter... at the end of the chapter...
Konoha's Orange Maelstrom
Chapter 10
Naruto was feeling a bit nervous now... What he was about to do now would probably be the one of the hardest things in his life yet...
After his meeting with the Hokage, Naruto actually got back to the academy pretty early. In fact, he made it back with 8 more fights still left between his classmates. It turns out that Mizuki returned pretty late after he set off to 'find a medic', and Iruka couldn't start the matches without a proctor. This way, a lot of time was wasted, which was a good thing for Naruto, since he didn't miss much of the action.
When all the matches were done and dusted, Naruto was getting really excited, knowing that Iruka would declare what the next stage would be pretty soon... Only for Iruka to announce that the next stage was... The lunch break...
Coming back to the present, Naruto was now sitting under the shade of a tree in the academy grounds, with a half-full stomach. It is not really a good idea to eat too much when you are about to do any strenuous physical activity... which would most probably be involved in the next part of the exam. The sun was at it's peak now. Naruto was sweating, not just because of the heat, but also because of the nervousness he was going through.
'OK, I have to do this sometime or the other, so I better get this over with, right here, right now! Go!' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes and journeyed deep into the seal that held Kurama...
When Naruto arrived, he was faced with a Kurama who was lying down, eyes closed, with an annoyed expression on his face.
Kurama gave no visible response when Naruto arrived, and this was making Naruto feel bad. He was at least expecting to be yelled at.
Naruto, who was still uncertain as to what to say, asked- "Oi, Kurama... You still mad at me?"
Kurama gave no response.
'OK, this is not going to be easy...' Naruto thought, and then he said, trying to sound as reasonable as possible- "Look, Kurama. I was just too angry go make sense of stuff at that time, and I am really sorry about what happened."
"Sorry for what?" Kurama finally responded, still wearing that annoyed expression on his face.
Naruto took in a deep breath, as he prepared to speak- "Sorry for calling you a backstabbing son of a bitch."
"And?"
"A bloody ****ing monster."
"And?"
"Madara's pussy cat."
"Really, Naruto, what sort of books do you read when I am asleep? I never remember anyone using phrases like the ones you used in front of me." Kurama said, who had dropped the annoyed look on his face, and he now looked more like a concerned parent.
Naruto was glad that Kurama was not going to be angry with him anymore. Initially, he thought that he was at risk of losing one of his few friends. Naruto really didn't want to lose his friendship with Kurama, which was why he was worried. But it looks like everything would be back to normal now. Anyway, he had to answer a question that Kurama asked...
"Oh, umm... I uh... actually heard stuff like this when some grown ups got drunk and they, y-know, act all weird when they get drunk, and then... eh eh! The 'Madara's pussy cat' one is totally my creation though!" Naruto said with a grin while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well, those profanities you learnt may come in useful when you need to taunt an enemy, provided that you do not get ticked off by the enemy first... However..." Kurama said, his face becoming more serious- "...there are more serious issues to discuss, Naruto."
On hearing this, Naruto dropped his grin and he adopted an expression like that of a soldier listening to the debriefing of his mission.
Glad to see that Naruto was taking things seriously, Kurama spoke- "You may be aware that the only reason you are still alive now is because you were able to draw into my chakra in large quantities, thanks to the weakening of the seal, as a result of my fantastic plan." Naruto coughed. Kurama continued- "As you have seen today, drawing into my chakra vastly improves your regenerative capabilities. However, these are not the only things it does- using my chakra gives you enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes. Not only that, but almost all of your senses become more acute, which means better vision and much better sense of smell and hearing. However, your sense of taste and touch becomes worse, which means less pain for as long as you use my chakra. However, this is not always a good thing. If you don't feel pain, your body won't know which part it has to send chakra to regenerate itself, so the healing factor could be wasted if you can't feel your wounds. Got all of that?" Kurama asked.
Naruto nodded his head. Except for the first part, Kurama had repeated this lecture almost every week for the past 2 years. Kurama kept saying that he repeated this so that these things were hammered into Naruto's mind, so that he remembers this in the heat of battle. So Naruto just shut up, because he didn't feel like arguing with Kurama.
Kurama continued his lecture- "I know that I have told all of this stuff to you before, but I never told you this- even with the seal loosened, the seal will only allow less than one tail of chakra to seep through at a time right now, and that too, only for a certain period of time, like, 2 minutes, before you have to wait for a certain period of time before you use my chakra again. So, don't go around using my chakra like it were your Kekkai Genkai. You never know when you will really need it."
Naruto winced at this information. He was hoping that he would be able to use Kurama's chakra all the time, and become the kickass ninja he always wanted to be. Apparently, he was still a bit away from achieving that...
Just as Naruto was about to complain about this, Kurama spoke up again- "Naruto, there is also another reason for not using my chakra too much... unless you learn to control it, my chakra consumes your mind, changing it into that of a beast who has only one thing in it's mind- to destroy. The less chakra you use, the slower this process is, and if you use large quantities of my chakra, like 4 tails or something, you will lose control of yourself. However, after this state subsides, you will regain control over yourself, but there will be a higher destructive tendency within you. So, until you learn to control my chakra, use my chakra only in small quantities.
Naruto felt even more let down by this. First, he can't use Kurama's chakra for any long period of time, and then, he can't use them in large quantities until he could control Kurama's chakra. Speaking of which...
"Hey, but how do I learn to control your chakra?"
"Ah, I was expecting that question sooner or later. Well, you see, the first stage of your training has already commenced. Remember all of those times I told you to keep cool and calm?" Kura asked.
Naruto nodded to entertain Kurama. He very well knew what Kurama was going to say... Over the years, Kurama had opened up more and more to Naruto. However, when you are literally inseparable, and you chat everyday for more than 2 years, sooner or later, you will run out of stuff to talk about, and the conversations start to get a bit... Repetitive...
Kurama continued- "You see, it was actually part of your training, because, as I have told you countless times, to control my chakra, you have to get rid of all negative emotions from your heart, which means no anger as well."
Naruto then said- "No, I already know that, I was talking about, like, the next phase of this training."
"Patience Naruto, I was coming to that..." Kurama said, a bit annoyed that he was interrupted- "The negative emotions in you is significantly lower than when you started, and for now, I think this is as good as things can get. Though I would have preferred that you got rid all of the negative emotions in your heart, it is easier said than done, and I would say that it is an impossible feat for humans to do..."
"Oh yeah? I will make the impossible possible dattebayo! I will get rid of every ounce of this 'negative emotions' from my heart!" Naruto yelled.
Kurama groaned. He was half-expecting this. Even though Naruto had changed a lot in some things, old habits die hard. However, in his mind Kurama was smirking- 'And, something tells me that you can do it... It's all a matter of time... But for now, starting with the second phase would be best...'
Kurama then spoke up- "Yeah, yeah, good luck with that. Anyway, for the second part of your training you must..." Kurama paused cruelly as he watched Naruto jumping up and down in excitement.
"...get used to using my chakra."
Naruto got really confused by this- "Wait a minute! Didn't you just say that using your chakra will turn me into a beast that just wants to destroy? How can I train like that then?"
Kurama did not expect this question. He said- "Good to see that you have a brain in there." Naruto was about to retaliate, but he just kept quiet. After all, he was the one that needed the answers. "Well, I think it is safe to say that you have got rid of enough negative emotions to use really small portions of my chakra over extended periods of time without suffering any increase in negative emotions. So... hey, Naruto, I can sense someone approaching you... You better go back."
"OK, bye Kurama!" Naruto said as he left the sewer seal.
When Naruto opened his eyes, all he saw at first were the blue sky, the ground, a few trees, and, of course, the academy. He saw no one approaching him... until a hand grabbed his shoulder...
"Boo!"
"Gaargh!" Naruto yelled as he turned around to face whoever surprised him... only to find out that it was a very amused Iruka...
"Hahaha! That will teach you to scare me!" Iruka said, laughing his ass off.
Naruto felt really insulted now. It is not everyday that the master prankster of Konoha gets pranked on... He will get Iruka back for this... In time... But first...
"Iruka-sensei! You came here just so that you could give me a jump-scare?" Naruto shouted. Of course, due to the time spent with arguably the most intelligent being in the shinobi world, Naruto was smart enough to know that Iruka was not the kind of person to play pranks, so he had come for some other purpose, most likely...
"Oh, yes! Naruto, you need to hurry up! The next stage of the exam is about to start! Come on let's go!" Iruka said as he extended his hand to Naruto.
"Oh, thanks Iruka-sensei!" Naruto took Iruka's hand and used it for support to get up, and then followed Iruka to the venue of the next phase.
Naruto was now standing among his classmates, in the academy target practice ground, waiting for Iruka to tell them what the next phase was going to be about... but the venue itself was a dead giveaway as to what the next phase was going to be.
There was some whispering going on among the to-be-genin. Naruto could swear that he heard his name being spoken by the crowd from time to time, though he didn't show any visible reaction to this. Apparently, the mystery surrounding him and his 'Kekkai Genkai' was still the hot topic among the academy students.
"OK, everybody settle down!" Iruka said calmly. The crowd instantly went silent. He continued- "The next phase is going to be the accuracy test. In this phase, you will be throwing 10 kunai, or shuriken, depending on your choice, at any of these targets, again, depending on your choice..." Iruka pointed towards 3 wooden circular targets one foot wide, one about 20 feet away, the next one at 40 feet, and the last at a distance of 60 feet from a white line drawn on the ground.. He went on- "...you will get points for embedding your weapon on the target. Moreover, you will get more points for hitting a farther target. You have to throw your weapon from behind that white line over there. Failure to do so will result in a penalty. Any questions?" Iruka received no response. "OK, so let's begin this phase, and, best of luck!" Iruka said cheerfully.
Naruto was now grinning maniacally. As soon as he found out that he was allowed to use kunai for this phase, he knew that this one would be in the bag... after all, with all the training he did with the kunai Kawarimi no Jutsu, he was pretty sure that he was one of the best in class when it came to kunai-throwing, though shuriken were a completely different story. Naruto didn't really bother with shurikenjutsu, but he did have passable aim with shuriken, so, it was not really a big problem.
'This is going to be a piece of cake!'
Sarutobi Hiruzen was having a really good time reading his student's book in his office... until a certain crippled old man, about as old as Hiruzen himself came along...
"Danzo! It's been a long time since I saw you! What brings you here?" Hiruzen asked with a smile on his face.
"Hiruzen, you know very well what I have come here for. I was able to sense the fox's chakra some time ago. Tell me, what happened?" Danzo asked, concern evident on his usually emotionless/pissed-off looking face.
"Guess there is no point in hiding anything from you... You would have found out sooner or later." Hiruzen said with a sigh. The truth was that several of Hiruzen's ANBU were able to sense the escape of the Kyuubi's chakra, and he was pretty sure that some of the Jounin, and most, if not all sensory types in the vicinity would have sensed the same. So, it was not a big surprise for Hiruzen that Danzo found out about this 'incident'.
For the moment, Hiruzen had convinced most of his shinobi that the seal was still intact, though a few were still very concerned about this.
Hiruzen explained the whole situation to Danzo, and Danzo listened, carefully. After all, the safety of the village may be at stake with this, and there is nothing Danzo would not do to protect his village.
"Hiruzen, you are soft as ever... Don't you think that you must have the seal inspected again?" Danzo questioned, after listening to the whole narration. Although he sounded dissatisfied, he was pretty happy that the seal had loosened, especially since they had a cooperative bijuu, and that too, the Kyuubi itself. What more can you ask for?
Hiruzen replied to Danzo's question- "The truth is, no one alive know more about the Hakke no fuuin shiki (Eight trigrams seal) than Jiraiya... So, I have sent for him to have the seal inspected."
"Well... that looks like the best thing you could do... though you may want to tell him to increase his pace... that pervert takes forever to get here!" Danzo said, with a ghost of a smile on his face. He continued- "I shall inform of this development to Homura and Kotarou... And when do you plan to inform of this to the clan heads and the civilians?"
Hiruzen said- "I have already called up a meeting of the clan heads for discussing this issue, and to discuss our plans for this year's graduates... As for the civilians, I think it is best that they do not know of this."
"I see..." Danzo said as he got up from his seat. "...I shall get going now, Hiruzen." and he proceeded to leave the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen was now left alone to process his thoughts. Though he had sent for Jiraiya to get the seal inspected, he was pretty sure that the seal was still intact. He had faith in the Yondaime's seal. Besides, Kurama had already proven his loyalty to Naruto, and there was no way Naruto would betray Konoha, so, even if there was anything wrong with the seal, there should not be anything to worry about... The real reason for summoning Jiraiya was to get the lonely boy some time with his godfather... Naruto lost both of his parents during the Kyuubi's attack, and his clan was virtually extinct, because of the destruction of Uzushiogakure... and it would be unfair that he didn't get time with his only 'family' because the smut writer had to keep spying (both in the bathhouse and other nations).
Besides, he needed to know when the next book will be released. (giggles perversely)
Naruto was really anxious now, standing in front of Iruka and Mizuki in a classroom, with a table filled with brand new shining hitai-ate on it. He was going to complete the last stage of his graduation exam and become a shinobi.
Earlier, in the accuracy test, Sasuke had scored a really well, using shuriken. He used his first shuriken to nail the nearest target, then, he used the next three shuriken on the second target, and he used the rest to hit the furthest target, 5 out of 6 times, and successfully embedded 4 of them on it. He scored 95 out of 150. (5 points for the nearest target, 10 for the next, and 15 for the furthest.)
Shuriken may be easy to throw, but they lack the momentum (and penetration) that kunai have.
This was exactly what Naruto thought as he proceeded to throw his kunai. He aimed his first kunai on the second target and... hit it! He proceeded to throw the rest of his kunai on the target. Pretty soon, he was left with just one more kunai.
That was when disaster struck. He missed the very last throw, by just one inch, resulting in 90 points, instead of 100, which meant that he was beaten by Sasuke by 5 points!
The sort of frustration Naruto went through was unbelievable. This was his chance to surpass his rival for the first time, and he blew it! It was like, you just... Y'know what? What Naruto went through was an indescribable pain that no one should go through.
After this, Naruto went out of sight (courtesy of the Kawarimi no Jutsu) and vented out his frustration by punching a poor dummy. (A real dummy, not a stupid person)
On getting back, Naruto found out that the accuracy test was already over, and the next stage was... the ninjutsu stage.
Which brings us back to the present. Naruto was worried. In the Ninjutsu test, he was to perform a ninjutsu chosen at random by Iruka or Mizuki. And out of everything, they asked him to perform the one Jutsu he didn't really bother to train with- the Bunshin no Jutsu.
'Ok, here I go...' Naruto thought to himself as he yelled- "Bunshin no Jutsu!" with his eyes closed, as he performed the Jutsu...
'Please let it have worked, please let it have worked...' Naruto thought as he opened his eyes to find... Two perfect clones standing in front of him!
Naruto jumped for joy as he jumped onto the bunshins to give them a hug... only to go straight through them and fall on his face.
'Oh, yeah, that's right, bunshins aren't material objects... I can't touch them... I am such a dumbass...' Naruto thought to himself as he got up and rubbed his nose.
Iruka had the biggest smile on his face in his lifetime. He was very happy that Naruto, his favourite student, had passed... He had just one more job to do...
He took a hitai-ate from the table and walked up to Naruto in slow-mo and said- "Naruto, please close your eyes."
Naruto let go of his aching nose and did what Iruka told him to do, with a huge grin on his face. The grin got wider as he felt a fabric tie around his head...
"Congratulations on passing, Naruto..." Iruka said, still maintaining that smile on his face "... You are now a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato."
"Hurray!" Naruto said, as he jumped and hugged Iruka.
Iruka returned the hug, and said- "How about we get some ramen after this is done, Naruto? Treat's on me!"
"It's a deal!" Naruto shouted. He was not one to say no to ramen.
"OK, then, wait outside, at the academy gates. Get going now, There are a few more students who are to take the test! I'll be there as soon as we are done here." Iruka said, and watched Naruto release the hug and run outside, after saying "see ya later!", all the while keeping that huge grin on his face.
Inside the seal, Kurama was smiling (slightly), lying down with his eyes closed. 'Of course you passed, gaki... I knew that you would pass...' Kurama thought to himself... However... his smile was short-lived... He could sense the hatred emitting from a certain silver-haired academy instructor... This was not good...
Mizuki was having a bad day today. First, the demon brat survives the incident in the morning, and now, he passes! This was not how he planned things... Now he had to ...take drastic measures... To kill the demon once and for all...
Naruto could barely contain his joy. He was maniacally grinning away as he swung away on the swing in front of the academy gates. He could see a lot of students outside the academy gates with their parent(s), who were also very glad that they passed... however, the adults were giving dirty looks for Naruto... after all, they were not too happy that the demon brat had passed... and Naruto didn't give a shit. He was too happy to even spare a second to think about the looks he was receiving... He was busy planning out his shinobi career...
'I'll become a Chuunin within a month, a Jounin in six months, and then, before the year ends, I will become the Hokage!'
It was in the middle of this that Iruka joined Naruto.
On seeing Iruka, Naruto's joy was supercharged. After all, for today, Iruka = (free ramen + happiness)^2!
"Iruka-sensei! You are here! Now Let's go get some ramen!" Naruto excitedly shouted.
However, Iruka did not have a smile on his face... Not because he was worried about his poor wallet... but because of something else... He said- "I am sorry Naruto, but we can't do that now..."
Naruto's smile turned into a frown. He was looking forward to the ramen. He asked- "But why?"
"Well, some of the council members are concerned about the 'incident' which happened during your fight with Sasuke..." Iruka said grimly. "...so, I have to take you to them to have you... inspected..."
Naruto groaned and facepalmed. 'Of course they had to ruin my day... Well... At least they allowed me to participate in the exam...' Naruto thought to himself. He had been half expecting something like this, because, after all, the Hokage didn't check the seal or something...
"Now, follow me Naruto... This won't take too long..." Iruka said, his face smiling again.
"Alright Iruka-sensei..." Naruto said without any enthusiasm.
This was going to be really boring.
If only he knew how wrong he was...
Naruto was feeling really nervous... Something was really off... Iruka was acting really weird ever since they set off to meet the council... Something just felt... off... and even more worrying was their current location- In the middle of the forest. When Naruto asked why they were going to a forest, Iruka said that the forest had a secret meeting place for the council...
Presently, 15 minutes into their journey, he was right behind Iruka, walking at a brisk pace... When all of a sudden, Iruka's kunai pouch fell to the ground, scattering it's contents on the grassy forest floor.
"Oops! I am getting really careless nowadays" Iruka said as he knelt to pick up his equipment. He then said- "Naruto, why don't you walk on ahead? Just walk straight, and I will catch up to you in no time!"
All of Naruto's instincts were screaming at him to stop... but what could he do? If he stopped, he would be confirming that he was suspicious of 'Iruka', and then, 'Iruka' would surely do whatever he was planning to do, on that instant... and something told Naruto that whatever he had planned wasn't anything good... So, he decided to walk ahead...
He walked and walked, first 5 feet, then 10, then 15... all the while listening to the 'cling-clang' sound of metal, as 'Iruka' picked up his equipment... and then, when Naruto was about 30 feet from Iruka... the sounds suddenly stopped... And he heard a distinctive 'poof' sound...
Naruto's heart was on overdrive. Adrenaline rushed through his systems. Whatever 'Iruka' was going to do, it was going to be now... Naruto prepared to Kawarimi...
All of a sudden, Naruto heard the sound of something flying towards him...
He then yelled "Kawarimi no Jutsu!" and he was instantly substituted with... 'Iruka'.
The object that was flying towards him was a fuuma shuriken... which was now embedded on 'Iruka's' back. All of a sudden, 'Iruka' was covered in a cloud of white smoke, accompanied by another 'poof'.
When the smoke cleared, Naruto was able to see who 'Iruka' actually was...
"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto yelled. He could instantly recognise the silver hair and the bandana on his head.
Mizuki slowly turned around. He wasn't gravely injured. Apparently, Chuunin vests offer some serious protection to your torso. Mizuki then said, with a weak voice- "Well, well, looks like the demon has mastered the seal-less Kawarimi... Good... It will make killing you all the more satisfying!"
Naruto was feeling extremely tense... He was up against a Chuunin! Although Mizuki was injured, Naruto also had a handicap- that Kawarimi cost him a big chunk of his chakra...
'Wait! Why am I even worrying about chakra when I have a chakra powerhouse in my stomach?' Naruto thought, as he began drawing out Kurama's chakra.
Naruto's eyes turned red, his nails and teeth grew big and sharp, especially his canines, and the whisker marks on his face became thicker, to give him a really feral look.
"I see... Living up to your name there... Demon!" Mizuki taunted. He may appear to be real brave on the outside now, but inside, he was pissing in his pants. After all, he knew how powerful the Kyuubi was... And judging by what he was seeing, Naruto could already use the Kyuubi's power by will.
Mizuki was actually hoping that what happened during the taijutsu round was a fluke, and he was trying to kill Naruto before he got too strong... but apparently, he is too late...
"Say goodnight." Naruto said before he threw a kunai at Mizuki.
Having a really big fuuma shuriken lodged on his back, Mizuki was not able to move fast... But he saw that the kunai was not going to hit his head anyway, so he didn't even bother to dodge.
Mizuki then said, as the kunai was flying past his head- "Haha, you mis-" Mizuki was cut off by a really painful punch to the left side of his jaw.
'How did he... Oh... Kawarimi...' Mizuki thought as he fell sideways to the grassy forest floor.
And before he got up Naruto was already on him and... Well, let's just say that the end result was a battered and unconscious Mizuki.
As Naruto, who was now out of the chakra supercharged mode, was preparing to carry Mizuki back, to the Hokage, when he saw a figure approaching him...
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted out, as he jumped up to him and gave him a real tight hug.
"Naruto..." Iruka said, looking at the blond, and he also saw the battery Mizuki lying on the forest floor. "I am glad that you are all right." He said, smiling.
"Where were you, Iruka-sensei? You won't believe what happened here! Mizuki-sensei came to me disguised as you and tried to kill me, but I taught him a good lesson for messing with me!"
Iruka, who was just really happy, now that he knew his favourite student was still alive, said-"I knew that you would Naruto... As for me, I was caught up in some paperwork..."
He was literally caught up in paperwork. Mizuki had somehow managed to trap him with a lot of fly paper (a/n- don't ask me how. He somehow got caught in it. End of story.). (No, no, no! The story isn't over yet! There is still lot's to come!)
"Alright Naruto, why don't we go get some ramen?"
"Hooray!"
"...after we turn in Mizuki."
"Aww..."
Phew! Chapter complete!
And now, I will answer some questions...
1-Why the **** were you so late?
A-Well... Umm there are quite a few reasons... my vacations are over, I've got a lot of work to do, I've got to catch up with me anime... and above all... Laziness no Jutsu... (T-T) Well... At least I improved the chapter length...
2-How the **** can Naruto perform the Bunshin no Jutsu?
A-Due to better chakra control, due to the tree walking exercise, and, years of training to perform a Jutsu seal-lessly
3-What happened to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?
A-Well... No spoilers! Muahahahaha!
4-How did Iruka find Naruto?
A-The same way he did in cannon.
5-What came first? The chicken or the egg?
A-Hmm... I think it's the egg... Wait a minute! This is really off topic! Q/A session over!
And now, it is your turn to answer the questions, dear reader! Now tell me...
1-How was the chapter?
2-How is the story so far?
3-Did I forget something? If yes, what?
4-Do you have any suggestions? If yes, what? (No promises that I will introduce it though:P)
5-Why did the chicken cross the road?
Stay tuned for the next chapter!