Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Naruto took a deep breath of the foggy morning air as he stepped out of Tazuna's home. He had gotten up early, eaten breakfast with Yuri and Kakashi, and was excited to get started on training. His fight with the trench-coat wearing Katsutoshi Nagashi had shown him where he stood in the world of shinobi and he had a long ways to go before he was able to stand beside Yuri or Kakashi in a battle. For now, he would only prove to get in their way and he understood that.
He took a deep breath and concentrated on creating some kage bunshin. He could make them easily enough with the hand seal and saying the name of the jutsu but Yuri had urged him to start practicing making them without either and it was far more difficult than Naruto had thought it would be. He paid special attention to the flow of his chakra and the amount he was using as he formed the jutsu. It was slow going and ten minutes later he heard the satisfying pops of clones appearing and opened his eyes. Thirty clones had been created, ten less than what he was going for, and he closed his eyes again to concentrate. Ten more minutes passed and this time he made nine of them.
He huffed and quickly made another clone with the hand signs and then gave them their assignments. Ten would work on chakra control by walking on the water while holding a leaf on their forehead. It sounded like an easy exercise but having to split one's concentration from keeping a continuous flow of chakra in one place and constantly changing it in another made it very difficult to do. Twenty more would be dedicated to perfecting his form with both his taijutsu styles. Since that was all muscle memory he could use his clones to learn it but he would be taking care of the physical portion of the training while they worked. The last ten he had work on fine-tuning his reflexes which was done by nine of them throwing kunai and shuriken at the odd clone out.
He watched the clones go about their tasks and started to stretch his muscles. He had complained to Yuri when the man first brought up stretching. With his healing ability he didn't have to worry about hurting himself too badly but the man had sat him down and explained that stretching would help him become more flexible. He had grumbled afterwords but now never failed to stretch before working out.
He had just pulled his right arm over his chest when someone behind him asked, "Mind if I join you?"
Naruto turned around and was surprised to find Ino walking down the dock towards him. The mist had cleared somewhat and the sunlight that managed to pierce through made her hair shine a brilliant gold. Her blue eyes were focused on him and a pleasant smile graced her face.
"I'm going to be doing some physical work, you sure you're up for that?" Naruto asked as he pulled a little more on his arm.
Ino pulled her arm over her chest and shot him a confident smirk. "Try to keep up, Blondie."
Naruto tilted his head and commented, "You know you have blonde hair too, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
He smiled and shook his head. The duo stretched in silence for the most part with only a few moments of explanation on how to correctly do a stretch. It was nice to have another person to train with, even if there was no talking going on.
They finished stretching fifteen minutes later and Naruto looked at Ino and asked, "Are you ready for a run?"
Slight confusion entered her eyes and she asked, "A run? Can we really run far enough to get anything out of it?"
"Ah, I forgot. You don't have training weights, do you?" She shook her head and he said, "Go ask Sakura if you can borrow her's for the rest of the workout. She'll get you set up with the proper weight and everything."
Ino nodded and went inside. Naruto took the opportunity to wonder why the blonde girl had taken the sudden interest in training with him. He barely knew the Yanamaka and she him and as far as he remembered she was into Sasuke. Yet, she had been the one to come to him so she must have wanted something that involved him. He thought about that and realized that she more than likely wanted to talk to him about his protecting her during the battle two days ago.
The door opened and Ino came out with the addition of training weights strapped to her forearms and legs. The weights were flattened metal that could be added to leather bands that were wrapped around the arms and legs. The leather was black and the bands were made to not get in the way or inconvenience the shinobi that wore them and as such the bands were made very thin.
Ino lifted her arms a few times and asked, "Sakura really trains with these things on?"
Naruto smirked and waved for his fellow blonde to run with him. He ran along the shore for a few minutes and turned into the forest. The course he was running was the one that Kurenai had shown the Genin the previous day. It wasn't the longest thing in the world but it was safe and Naruto planned on doing about ten laps. He emerged from the forest near the house and turned down the shore once again.
He was impressed with Ino and her determination. It was her first time working with the training weights but she managed to get through five laps before she started to slow. Her breath was coming out in quick breaths and Naruto kept an eye on her as he slowed his pace. Kakashi had given a lecture on not pushing one's self too hard in physical activities because of the risk of overdoing it. He said that the typical results were extreme muscle pain the day after or pulling or tearing a muscle or tendon but the most severe of results was oxygen deprivation. If the body wasn't conditioned enough for the activity that was being done then it would demand more oxygen than the lungs could provide. If this happened then the person would suffer from something similar to an asthma attack. Struggling to breath, the feeling of suffocation, and panic were common symptoms.
Naruto took in Ino's condition and called for a stop. She hunched over, her breaths were quick and short, and her face looked pained. She went down to a knee and brought a hand to her chest as she tried to suck in a breath but ended up coughing it out. Her body was demanding oxygen and she couldn't get her breathing under enough control to provide the needed air efficiently.
"Foolish girl," he muttered and hurried over to her.
He sank down next to a tree and pulled her back to his chest. He brought in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Copy my breathing, Ino."
In. Out.
"You need to calm down and take deep breaths."
In. Out.
She leaned heavily into his chest and struggled to gain control of her lungs. After her third attempt she managed to get a nice long breath in and coughed it out a few seconds later. Another breath and this time no coughing as it came out.
The two sat together for a few minutes and when Ino was confident that she had her breathing under control she asked, "What happened?"
Naruto explained and the female Genin looked down as he spoke. Naruto was sure Ino felt embarrassed that something like that had happened to her and he said, "Don't punish yourself over this, Ino. Take it as a lesson. Your body will tell you when it has had enough and you just need to listen to it. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you need to take a quick break from time to time."
Ino nodded and didn't say something for a moment. After about five minutes she finally asked, "Why are we sitting like this, Naruto?"
Naruto smiled and said, "It was something that Yuri-sensei told my team and myself to do if something like this were to happen. If there is nothing else that can be done then hold the person who if having trouble breathing with their back against your chest and breath the way they should. It will act as a tell for the person's body and will help regulate the other's breathing."
"Huh," she grunted. "To think you, of all people, would actually learn something."
Naruto chuckled. He hadn't seen Ino since the graduation so he couldn't expect her to think of him any differently but he did get the feeling that she was just teasing him.
He looked up at the trees around them and asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
She stiffened and then relaxed. "So I've been found out. How long did you know that I wanted to talk to you?"
"When you were in getting Sakura's weights," he answered. "I figured that since we barely knew each other in the Academy then there could be only one reason you would want to train with me, you wanted to talk. Going off of that it was easy to figure that you wanted to talk about the battle."
He felt Ino nod. "Yeah," she muttered. "I...wanted to thank you. Choji told me what happened and I can't help but feel responsible. I mean, I didn't even do anything. All I did was pass out from this strange pressure coming off of one of the enemy shinobi."
"The pressure is called killing intent," Naruto said, "and you shouldn't feel bad about passing out from it. I've gone under training to increase my tolerance to it and I still had a hard time dealing with it. I imagine that it was your first time feeling it and every person reacts differently."
"But my passing out put you and the rest in a bad position."
Naruto frowned and said, "True, but it can't be helped. Don't think about what could have been in the battle. It has already passed and there is nothing that you can change, what has happened has happened. Instead, use the experience as motivation to never be helpless in a battle again."
The birds started to sing their songs and the two Genin went quiet. A few minutes passed and Ino said softly, "Thanks, Naruto."
He smiled and stood, helping the other blonde up as he did. They started walking back and Ino started to complain about her muscles burning. He laughed and replied, "I'm not surprised. You overworked yourself and now are feeling the repercussions. Explain what happened to Kurenai-sensei and ask if you can rest while the rest of us are doing our physical exercises."
"What about you?" she asked. "You ran the same amount as me so you have to be in some kind of pain."
"I've been working out regularly for about two months now," he explained. "For that and another reason it will take a heck of a lot more for me to start to feel any burn in my muscles."
"Oh, right. Your healing ability. You mentioned that it was more of a curse for you than anything earlier, what did you mean by that?"
He thought about how to answer Ino's question. Her curiosity was innocent enough but if she knew what she was asking him than she might have thought better of asking the question. He had known about the Kyubi for about two months now but the knowledge of him containing the great beast hadn't gotten easier to handle. He couldn't talk to anyone else about it because they wouldn't have any idea what he was going through. As much as he wanted to talk to Yuri or Kakashi about his burden he didn't want to worry them nor burden them with his problem. Besides, neither of them could understand what it was like to house a monstrous demon inside them.
"It's...complicated," he muttered. "I'm sorry but I really don't want to talk about it."
"That's fine," Ino said cheerfully, unaware of his thoughts. "I think it's really cool, that's all."
They exited the forest and Naruto saw the other Genin, Kurenai, several of Yuri's clones, and Kakashi outside the house. He waved and his masked sensei gave a short wave back even though his nose was stuck in one of his books. Ino said that she was going to go explain to Kurenai what happened and he split off to speak to his sensei.
"Kakashi-sensei," he said and the man lowered his book. "Is Yuri-sensei at the bridge already?"
"Yes and he took Hinata with him. He wanted to teach her something he started yesterday while the knowledge was still fresh in her head," the man explained.
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Yuri watched carefully as the young Hyuga worked through the kata of the Yugana Suteppu. She almost had it down but he stood by what he had speculated the previous morning. Just because Hinata knew the kata didn't mean she knew the style. It would take her several days worth of practice with the taijutsu before the movements became as flowing as they should be, were performed with no hesitation, and could be done almost without thinking.
He corrected the small errors that the girl made and when she had finished the kata for the fifth time he raised a hand for her to stop. Her chest moved quickly as she sucked in air.
"Walk around," he said. "It isn't good for you to just stop after such hard work. Your blood is carrying more oxygen than it usually does and if you just stop you will become light-headed and possibly nauseous."
She did as told and also put her arms on top of her head.
"You did very well and, so long as you are aware of what you are doing, I give you permission to practice this taijutsu on your own. You should do so for the next few days and when it becomes as easy as the Juken you will know that you've mastered it."
He allowed the girl to catch her breath but he spied a pleased smile on her face. She walked around a little longer and then over to him when she was ready.
He leaned against a tree and said, "I think we have done enough for now. Rest until Tazuna-san is ready to return and we will be on our way."
Tazuna finished soon after and came over to them with a large smile on his face. "Everything is going super," he informed the two shinobi. "I've given the others the rest of the day and the morning tomorrow off since I've been working them ragged these past few days but with the progress that we've made we can afford the break."
The three returned to the bridge builders home and Yuri busied himself with training the Genin. Sasuke was still having trouble with the water walking exercise but he was keeping his cool and was making good progress. The other Genin were working hard on the exercise as well and each of them except Choji were walking slowly along the surface of the water. Choji and Sasuke appeared to have become kindred spirits and both sat next to each other on the dock as they practiced the exercise.
Lunch was served around one and the Genin chatted happily with each other while Yuri and Kakashi discussed their plan to draw out Sasuke's blood line. It was going to be interesting but the idea was sound. The Sharingan came out only when the person with the blood line was under extreme emotional or mental stress and what better way of stressing the boy than having him suffer the killing intent of two Jonin. The plan held risks but it was better to have have the boy develop his kekkei genkai in a safe environment than in the heat of battle.
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Sasuke sat down at the edge of the dock and set his feet on the water. He took Yuri's advice to heart and stayed calm as he practiced. He was happy to find that Choji wasn't getting the exercise either and the two talked as they practiced. He found the Akamichi to be a very pleasant person and always ready to suggest a break if Sasuke started to get frustrated.
He smirked when his feet stayed on the water and he started to add his weight. He could stand for about ten seconds consistently now and he felt that it was getting easier.
"Sasuke," Kakashi said as he stepped out on the house.
The Uchiha fell back to the dock and turned to look at his silver-haired sensei. "Hai?"
"Come with me," Kakashi said. "Yuri and I would like to try something and it involves you."
Sasuke followed the Jonin away from the house and into the forest. They traveled a short ways, taking a little longer due to Kakashi's slow, measured steps. The man had managed to start walking unaided that morning and had spent the rest of the day walking around to loosen his muscles.
Kakashi stopped, turned around, and a sickening feeling washed over Sasuke. The air felt sticky and his heart started to beat faster than was necessary. Killing intent. His sensei was sending killing intent at him and not a small amount either. Sasuke fell to one knee. His arms were paralyzed and images of blood and death flashed before his eyes. He had been trained to handle killing intent but the amount that Kakashi was sending at him was vastly more than he had ever felt before.
Another wave hit him and his heart started to hurt as fear gripped it tighter. This wave came from behind him and was so sickeningly thick that he could almost see a fog form in the small clearing. His arm moved slowly and he clenched his heart. Breathing became difficult and the thought of death entered his mind. Primal instincts took over and dread filled him to the brim.
He didn't know how long this went as seconds felt like years and every strangled breath he took felt like his last as his throat constricted. Then, the world became clear and the killing intent vanished. He collapsed to the ground and the smell of dirt and earth entered his nose. He sucked in a breath and flipped over to his back. He looked at the trees above him and marveled at the clarity that he could see them. He could see every leaf in perfect detail and he watched, mesmerized as one fell and slowly drifted down to rest on his chest.
"You alive?" Kakashi's familiar voice asked.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he rose himself with one arm. He glared at the man and snapped, "What the hell was that for?"
"It was a plan," came Yuri's voice behind him. Sasuke looked at the man and Yuri said, "And it looks like it worked. I must say, Kakashi, for a second there I started to doubt that it would."
"You were the one who told me that Sasuke would be strong enough to handle it," the silver-haired man accused casually.
"Yes, well, I had to put a little more umph into it at the end there."
Sasuke growled and asked darkly, "What are you two talking about?"
Yuri sat down next to him and held out a kunai. "Your eyes, Sasuke-san."
He took the kunai from the man and looked into the polished blade hesitantly. In the reflection he saw his face and his eyes. His breathing caught. His eyes were red with a single comma in each. It was the first stage of the Sharingan. He almost couldn't believe it and he didn't move for a long while.
"Do you think we broke him?" Kakashi asked after three minutes.
Yuri scratched his head and replied, "I'm no-"
Sasuke whooped louder than he ever had in his life. He jumped up and shouted his joy into the air. He rushed to Kakashi and hugged the man taking the Jonin completely off guard. He did the same to Yuri and then looked between the two, a twinkle of boyish glee in his red eyes.
"H-how did you-What did you-" he paused and shook his head. "How did this happen?"
"The Sharingan only emerges when the person with the kekkei genkai is under an extreme form of stress," Kakashi answered. "Yuri and I combined our killing intent to put you under such stress in hopes that the Sharingan would emerge. I would have told you of our plan but we didn't want to risk your foreknowledge effecting the outcome."
Sasuke nodded slowly and the hurt of betrayal dulled greatly in his heart. "Thank you so much," he said.
"You're welcome, Sasuke-san," Yuri said with a big smile on his face. He cleared his throat and continued, "However, with the unlocking of the Sharingan you have gained a new tool and also a heavy responsibility."
Sasuke gave Yuri his full attention and took a deep breath to calm himself. He was glad the two Jonin had taken him into the forest as he would never have lived down the teasing the other Genin would have given him for his outburst. He thought about what Yuri meant by responsibility but didn't remember any time when his father or any of his clansmen had told him of a responsibility that came with the gaining of the kekkei genkai. However, if Yuri said that he had a new responsibility than he took great care to listen.
"The Sharingan is a powerful tool," Yuri said, "but it is just a tool. Never become too reliant on it and become lax in your skills. As for the responsibility...the Sharingan, as you know, has the ability to copy ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu just by looking at the jutsu being performed. The responsibility that you are now charged with, whether you like it or not, is to respect others privacy and not copy the abilities of allies unless you have their express permission."
Sasuke nodded slowly. "I think I understand. If I were to train with a friend and use my eyes to copy their skills then I would be taking advantage of them and also disrespecting the amount of work that they put into gaining the skills. It would also destroy the trust that they have in me and none would ever wish to train with me."
"Good," Yuri said. "You understand. The Sharingan is only a tool, Sasuke-san, and cannot replace hard work. When you are in a battle you are allowed to copy jutsus and skills but if I ever find you copying the skills of allies without their permission I will rip your eyes out myself. The greed for power will only bring about evil and you lost the choice of walking that path the moment you met me. Kakashi and I helped you unlock those eyes so it is all three of our responsibility. Am I understood?"
Sasuke thought about what Yuri said and found that he agreed with the man. He wouldn't have his family's eyes if not for his two sensei so he owed it to them to be responsible with them. He also knew that if he did use his eyes for selfish needs or the pure desire of power then his sensei would also be responsible. He sent a pulse of chakra to his eyes, causing the Sharingan to disappear, and said, "I understand, Yuri-sensei. I know that the ability to copy jutsus comes with the third comma and when the time comes that I unlock that level I will act responsibly."
Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and when the Genin looked up at the man he saw that the man had a pleased look on his face and pride in his eyes. "Let's head back, shall we?"
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
The next day passed quickly for the Konoha shinobi. Morning training consisted of a difficult physical workout that Kakashi lead the Genin through and Asuma finally emerged from the house for the first time since he was brought there. There were significantly less bandages but his movements were slow and stiff as he went through his own workout.
That evening, Yuri took a surprised Choji to the bridge. He ran the boy through the ropes and found, as he expected from an Akimichi, that the boy's taijutsu was extremely strong for a Genin. Choji also had a huge chakra store, third only to Sasuke and Naruto, and his knowledge of the shinobi life was more focused on the finding and preparing of food than on anything combat related. This wasn't a bad thing as having a shinobi who could find food was a great boon for the other shinobi around as they would alway be well fed.
For all the good things that Choji had going for him there was one glaring weakness that the boy had and Yuri meant to help fix.
"You have absolutely no ranged attacks whatsoever," the black-haired Jonin said bluntly.
Choji shook his head and plunged his hand into a bag of potato chips. He crunched down on a few and said, "My clan specializes in close combat and I'm not ready to learn the one or two ranged jutsu I can think of."
"Ah, yes," Yuri said. "However the jutsus you speak of are only mid-range attacks as the Akimichi have no long-range jutsu that I know of. Also, don't speak with your mouth full."
The chubby boy swallowed and tilted his head. "How did you know that my clan has no long-range attacks?"
Yuri knew that bit of information from talking to his Choji as the two had spent several days working on remedying the problem. They never got to fix it though. Choji had died before they could. However, before he died, he had thought of something and had told Yuri about it since he had no idea how to go about creating the jutsu. Yuri banished the ache that had began to form in his heart and cleared his throat. He owed it to his Choji to pass on the jutsu that might have saved his life.
"An old friend told me," he replied. "Of all the Genin that I have trained, I have only taught Naruto a jutsu. Most of the time, Genin are lacking too heavily in taijutsu to benefit from a ninjutsu but that isn't the case for you, Akimichi-san."
Choji beamed with pride at the compliment and Yuri allowed the boy his moment of glory. From what Yuri remembered, Choji was a very self-conscious boy and had a low self-esteem. If he drew pride from the compliment that Yuri had given then so be it but the Jonin also wouldn't let it go to his head.
"Don't forget that you lack completely in long-ranged attacks so don't let that pride cloud your caution."
The boy smiled sheepishly.
"Now, the jutsu I want to teach you isn't an elemental jutsu. I'm afraid that you are still a ways from learning those. The jutsu is called, Chakra Parusu, and requires no hand signs to perform." Yuri rose his arm and pointed his hand toward a tree. "It is a relatively simple jutsu but takes a large toll on the users chakra reserves. With the amount that you have I would say that three uses is your max right now."
A slightly blue glow appeared in the center of Yuri's hand and he explained, "To perform the jutsu you must concentrate chakra into the smallest point you can manage at the center of your hand. The smaller the point the farther the jutsu will go. Allow the chakra to build up," the blue glow got a bit brighter, "and when you have enough you send a rush of chakra down your arm to act as the firing mechanism."
The Jonin's hand bucked back slightly and a blue light flashed across the clearing and into the tree that Yuri's palm had been facing. When the blue light connected with the bark it exploded and a fist sized chunk was taken from the tree.
"You can use this from any part of your body but, for now, only do it from your palm as it is the easiest place to do it and holds the least chance of blowing a body part off."
Choji's eyes widened and his face went white. "Why would I want to learn a jutsu that could blow my hand off?"
Yuri smiled and replied, "You would have to build up a massive amount of chakra to do that but the possibility stands that it could happen. Trust me, the pain of the built up chakra would force you to use the jutsu or disperse the chakra well before it came to that. For now, practice with a small amount of chakra and fire it at a leaf tied to a piece of string. It will take you some time to learn but I have a feeling that you will get it."
Choji practiced the jutsu and asked Yuri dozens of questions until Tazuna came to them. It was the end of the third day and the man was starting to become anxious for the next shinobi attack. Yuri calmed the man and explained that the enemy shinobi wouldn't be able to attack for at least two more days and that they, the Konoha shinobi, would be ready for them by then. Kurenai and he were in fighting shape and Kakashi and Asume would be ready by the next day as the only thing that was slowing them now was stiff muscles and minor injuries.
They made it to the house just as the sun set and the moon become the dominant light in the sky. The smell of cooked meat wafted from the house and the low buzz of people talking came from the door. Yuri enter the home and it appeared that Tsunami had prepared a feast. Everyone was crowded into the kitchen with the Jonin sitting on chairs and the Gennin finding any surface that wasn't taken to set themselves.
Choji laughed happily and started in on the food. When he had filled his plate he sat down next to Shikamaru and said a word to Sasuke as he passed the other boy. The other Genin were in good humor and the moral of the group was at a peak.
Yuri snatched a few things from the virtual buffet and leaned his back against the wall closest to the other Jonin. Kakashi looked more alive and the crutch that the man had been using was nowhere in sight. Asuma also looked good after being at near death but the care that Kurenai and Hinata were providing seemed to have help the man get back into fighting action. The young Sarutobi still had a bandage here and there but his movements were fluid and unaffected by his existing wounds.
The Jonin passed the time talking about the training of the Genin, the things that still needed to be worked on, and slightly touched on preparing for the future battle with Zabuza and his shinobi. Yuri smiled at something Asuma said when he noticed the small boy, Inari, standing at the entrance to the kitchen. He had a dark look on his face and it was then, like cold water splashing onto his brain, that Yuri remembered what the boy had done when he had gone on this very mission all those years ago.
"You're all going to die," the boy said quietly and almost instantly the talking in the room died.
"Inari," Tsunami gasped.
The boy sent a dark glare at everyone in the room and repeated, "You're all going to die."
Yuri sent a glance at the boy and the look in his eyes told a tale of pain and sorrow. Inari's tale was one easily told and so often found. Bullied since a young age, he had none to look up too until everything changed with the actions of one person. That man was Kaiza, a true hero. He had openly defied Gato and paid the ultimate price for it. His death had been brutal as he had been made an example of but even in his end he stood strong and held to his beliefs. However, when Kaiza died so too had Inari's hope for a hero. Any hero.
"Where do you get off saying that, you brat?!" Kiba barked.
Inari rested his withering glare on the Inuzuka and said, "The weak die and the strong rule over them. That is how the world is."
"And we are weak, right Inari?" Kakashi asked quietly but his voice still filled the room.
He nodded. "You should leave before my Grandpa gets you killed. There isn't anything you can do against Gato. Heroes are only good for one thing and that is dying."
Asuma nodded slowly. "Then," he said, "I guess we're going to struggle and die."
"What?" the boy asked, confused and angry.
"We are Konoha shinobi," Kurenai answered, "and while shinobi from other villages might run we stand and fight."
Inari turned his glare fully to the female Jonin and asked, "You're going to fight and die. Why, what's the point?"
"We were hired to do this mission," she answered. "If we were to run it would look bad for Konoha."
"Not only that by our insufferable pride would never let us," Asuma added.
"You just don't get it!" Inari yelled. "He already tried to save us and he died like all heroes do. Gato is stronger than you and he will kill all of you. The ones that don't die in the fighting will be publicly tortured and executed to warn everyone in the village and everyone outside the village to not interfere with him. You all don't get it. You all haven't suffered under Gato's men. I bet none of you have suffered a single day of your life!"
"All the world is full of suffering," Yuri suddenly said and everyone turned to look at him but he barely noticed as all his attention was solely on Inari. "To think that you are unique in this pain is a foolish notion of a brat who doesn't understand the workings of the world. Loved ones die, jobs are lost, and people suffer under the hands of evil men. I ask you, is this not suffering? Is suffering only unique to Inari Ito who has lost someone he loved dearly?"
Yuri paused but Inari didn't say anything and he continued, "Your silence is your answer. The world is full of suffering and pain but it is also full of overcoming and courage. Everyone suffers, Inari, and few ever find the strength to truly overcome it but for the ones that do, well, they will be the ones to stand strong in the face of opposition and pain. They are the ones who will lead others out of the darkness of sorrow and suffering and into the light. I wonder, are you strong enough to overcome your suffering and step into the light?"
Inari stared at Yuri and ran away without saying anything. The atmosphere of the group was broken and everyone started to leave for bed. Kurenai took the first watch, Kakashi wanted the second, and Yuri volunteer for the third since he was going to the bridge in the morning anyway.
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist before he left Kiri. Yuri gazed over the forest slowly as he thought about the enemy shinobi that he and the others had fought against four days ago. Zabuza was the strongest of the group and the black-haired Jonin placed him at Kage level. The man was strong enough to plan a coup, fight against the fourth Mizukage, and escape with not only his life but the lives of the others that traveled with him. He would be the hardest to take down.
Haku, the masked hunter-nin, was Jonin level with his strongest ability being surprise. Only Yuri knew of his ability to use Hyoton jutsu and he couldn't tell the others otherwise he would risk questions about how he knew about it. He could say that the boy had used some jutsu against him but the other Jonin would have noticed if someone was throwing around ice as jutsu.
The Smiling Man was Jonin and had the ability to mold his killing intent in such a way that he could make even Yuri feel its effects. He was Jonin in the rest of his skills but with his apparent kekkei genkai he was better than most Jonin in a fight. He was limited, however, in its use when his allies were around as he had stopped using his killing intent when Haku had entered the battle to help him.
The female enemy shinobi was highly skilled in ninjutsu but was far less physically strong when compared to her Jonin counterparts. She, instead, focused on flanking attacks and drawing attention to her with the use of ninjutsu. Yuri suspected that she had a fire affinity as she seemed to have a preference with those types of jutsu but he didn't doubt that she knew jutsu from other elements as well.
Finally, there was the swordsman, Katsutoshi Nagashi. Mid-Chunin in his skills and more than a handful for any of the Genin that were in Konoha's group. Even Naruto would be destroyed by the man if it came to a one-on-one fight. Even if he or one of the other Jonin could take this man out at the beginning of the battle it wouldn't do much to help them but then, they had the advantage as it was.
Yuri looked down at the water and saw a fish jump out. He looked back to the trees and continued his thoughts. He or Kakashi could fight Zabuza and the one who didn't could fight against the woman. Kurenai would be the best suited to fight against the Smiling Man as she would notice what was an illusion and what wasn't better than the rest of them. As for Asuma, he could fight Haku and the Chunin. His Futon abilities would put a stop to Haku's ultimate jutsu and he was more than a match for the Chunin.
With the limited information that Yuri had on the enemy shinobi he was forced to make several assumptions on the skills of the enemy. When he had done this mission it had only been Zabuza and Haku and he could only guess how his presence had butterflied into there being more shinobi with the swordsman. No doubt it would be an interesting story if it could be told.
Yuri nodded slowly. That was the best plan for Konoha because as the Jonin kept the enemy shinobi busy the Genin could kill any bandits that show up at Tazuna's home or the bridge. None of the Genin had their first kills but they had been lectured on it ever since their first Academy class and none of them would hesitate if it meant their or a friend's life.
The biggest issue for Yuri was the analysis of his own abilities. With the loss of Kurama he was no longer a jinchuuriki and couldn't rely on the ancient being's aid. He had formed a weird relationship with the being, not a friendship as it was impossible for a human to understand the workings of a being that was above morals and looked at humans as nothing more then ants but it was more of an understanding. A mutual respect. Of course, none of that mattered any more since Kurama was gone, ripped from him several years ago.
The loss of the chakra being had been quiet a blow to his abilities but he still had Sage Mode to turn to, well, that was until he appeared in this new timeline. He had not been lax in his own training since he had arrived and worked himself to the bone with the use of kage bunshin and his own physical training. However, he had found out the hard way that he could no longer use natural chakra and with the loss of that he had also lost Sage Mode as well. He had tried entering it during the second month of being in the new timeline and it had been a painful experience. The chakra had flowed into him just fine but when it was in him it had started to attack his chakra system and damaged his internal organs. If he hadn't had his healing ability he would have died from the single moment exposure to the chakra.
The only explanation he had for why the natural chakra attacked him was that it looked at him as a foreign body in the timeline he was in. He compared it to the human body and white blood cells. He was an alien body in the timeline and the natural chakra was acting like white blood cells as it tried to remove him from the timeline. He wasn't sure how accurate his comparison was or if his thoughts were even right but what he did know was that he couldn't use natural chakra any more, not in this new timeline at least.
With the loss of Kurama and Sage Mode he was far weaker than he originally was but even with just his own abilities he was still a force to be reckoned with. If he had to guess he would say that he was in the same tier as Minato Namizake was before he gave his life to seal Kurama but even at that level Madara was still a monster to deal with and there was still a score of other shinobi to boast the same abilities. Hell, his Kakashi had been at that level before he fell in battle.
He sighed. If he hadn't just gotten done running for four days straight with little to no rest and using his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu multiple times on the way to Wave he would have wiped the floor with the Smiling man and Haku but as it was he had been exhausted physically and even his massive chakra stores had been stretched due to constant use over the four-day journey. But, he was rested now and, even if he couldn't use his full power for risk of unwanted questions, the battle wouldn't go the same as last time.
The only one that could hope to fight him was Zabuza but even if the man was Kage level Yuri was still in another tier entirely. It would take two Kage level shinobi to push him to his limits in battle and he mused over the similarity that he held with Minato in that. The Fourth Hokage had once fought against two Kage level shinobi during the Third Shinobi War and had reported that if the retreat hadn't been called he might not have won the fight.
When one got the to the level of Kage power began to take on a new meaning as it was no longer measured in speed, strength, or chakra but in cunning, deception, and a bit of luck. It didn't really matter if your enemy was faster than you because the simple use of an area jutsu brought the advantage to the other side. Honestly, there was nothing like a battle between two Kage level shinobi.
A door opened and Yuri watched Inari come out of the house. The boy had disappeared after Yuri had said his piece. He smirked when he thought about how he had reacted to the boy in his timeline. He had blown up that him and explained how he had felt suffering and pain. He shook his head. He had been so immature as a child.
A minute after Inari come out of the house, Naruto exited. The blonde took a deep breath of the cool, moist air and stretched. He looked to his left and noticed Inari sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling in the water.
Yuri didn't move when Naruto walked over to the boy and sat down next to him. Curious, he listened to what Naruto said to the child.
"Tazuna told us about Kaiza," he said. Inari flinched but didn't respond. "He was quite the hero and a man who could easily be looked up to."
"He was a weakling," Inari muttered.
Naruto turned his head to the boy and replied, "Really? From what I heard he was actually pretty strong."
"Not strong enough to fight Gato. He acted the hero and died for it. There is no such thing as heroes so you should just leave."
Naruto nodded. "I would but I'm no hero." Inari looked at the blonde Genin. "The others and myself were hired to protect Tazuna. A hero wouldn't protect someone for payment but would do so because they thought it was the right thing to do. I'm a shinobi, Inari. Little more than a mercenary in all honesty and I couldn't become a hero even if I wanted to. We stay because we were paid to protect your grandfather, not become we want to."
"I don't get it," the boy said, confused.
The blonde smiled. "Yeah, same here. It's hard to describe but all I know is that I'm no hero. The real hero is Tazuna. He fights his own way and goes to that bridge everyday with the understanding that it may be his last ever time. If that ain't courage then I don't know what is."
"But if he dies then it doesn't matter," Inari mumbled.
"I get it. You're worried about him and us. There's no use in denying it as it is as clear as day to me. You want us to leave because you think that we will die if we don't but we are not so weak nor is Tazuna." Naruto looked at the water and sighed. "I'm not as good at this stuff as Yuri-sensei."
The two didn't say anything for a few minutes until Inari asked, "What does it mean to be a hero?"
Naruto rubbed his chin and answered, "Some would tell you that to be a hero you have to be strong. Others would say that you have to lead the people to a better tomorrow. And still more would say that being a hero means that you have to be kind to everyone. Personally, I think it is far more simple than all of those. A hero, as I see it, is just someone who holds onto their courage just a little longer than others."
"Naruto," someone called from inside the house and out walked Ino. "Do you mind if I join you and Yuri-sensei at the bridge this morning?"
Naruto looked at the girl and asked, "Why?"
She flicked a strand of hair and answered, "Choji and Hinata have both trained with him and have changed slightly, like they're more confident or something like that. I want to see what he can help me with is all."
"Well, I don't care. Ask Yuri-sensei if you can."
Yuri dropped to the dock and said, "It's fine with me, Yamanaka-san."
Ino jumped and twisted to face him. "Kami, don't do that!"
Tazuna came out soon after and the four started toward the bridge. Naruto messed up Inari's hair before he left and Yuri noted that the boy was lost in thought and didn't notice the blonde's show of affection. Naruto's talk had been odd and could have been explained a little better but he had done well and it appeared that the boy had heard something that made him think.
Naruto and Ino talked as the group went to the bridge and Yuri let them. He was watching the forest and there wouldn't be anything that either of the two Genin would notice that he wouldn't. Tazuna made small talk with him and mentioned that the bridge was getting close to completion which was why he wanted to go to the bridge earlier than usual. He wanted to inspect the structure and look at the supplies that were left. He thought they had enough but he laughed and mentioned that he was getting old for worrying about silly things.
Yuri tensed when the group emerged from the forest and saw the bridge. It was covered in a thick mist, thicker than the usual mist. He held his hand up for the group to stop and the Genin immediately stopped talking. Yuri scanned the bridge and took a step toward it.
"Naruto, Ino," he said seriously, "take Tazuna back to the house as fast as you can. The enemy is here."
-A Testament of Things that Never Will-
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-Unbiased Abyss