Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Naruto or any of its original characters, Kishimoto does duh!.
Blah….normal narration/ character talking
Blah….normal narration/ character thinking
Blah…. Kyubi/summon talking
Blah…. Kyubi/summon thinking and Jutsus
Chapter 7
It has almost been a month since Naruto had started his training. He has continuously pushed himself to his limits and had undergone a training regime as severe as when he had been creating Fuuton: Rasenshuriken. Apart from his training his life in this old Konoha has been pleasant to say the least. Even though he was a total stranger people did not shun him as opposed to his childhood days. He spoke cordially with other ninjas and civilians he encountered and they responded in kind. He knew that Shikaku was his minder but still he felt relaxed as he gave away nothing. Be it a coincidence, sheer luck or maybe Hokage's orders not once he had come in contact with his father or mother till now. He had so many emotions running through him as he anticipated meeting them in flesh that he couldn't describe it in words.
The thing he found most strange was the presence of so many Uchihas in the village, since they were all extinct in his timeline baring Sasuke and Itachi, of course the masked bastard was one too. He had not been confronted by Mikoto directly but he sensed her following and monitoring him on more than a few occasions. He actually had fun dodging her, however he let the other ANBUs trail him till he disappeared in the forest of death. He couldn't possibly let them see his training. He was playing a few cards too close to his chest and he wanted it to remain that way. Once he has become a proper shinobi he will reveal his secrets as per the requirement of time. Till that time some things are better kept secret. Meanwhile at forest of death….
"Fuuton: Daitoppa".
"Take this you bastard Katon : Endan". The eerily silent clearing of the forest of death rang out with the shouts and bangs of jutsus being thrown about.
"Raiton : Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"
"Oh so that's how you want to play take this Fuuton : Seppuken"
Fuuton: Tatsumaki Rendan
Katon : Zukkho…
The surprising thing about this scene….it was a number of identical shirtless ninjas clad in black ANBU pants that were fighting amongst themselves. As the fighting continued the numbers continued to dwindle till there were only three left.
"So it is down to us three now huh." One of the ninjas smirked at his other copies.
"Hey you two better give up now before I kick your blond asses." another called out as he huffed to get his breathing normal.
"Now boys give it up because we all know I am the best." the third ninja taunted.
As one the other two replied "Heh, I will never give up. I never go back on my word…that is my ninja way."
"Enough talking now lets roll." With that proclamation the ninjas began clashing with each other in a bout of taijutsu.
15 minutes later….
One Uzumaki Naruto lay panting on the ground in a state of near exhaustion.
'Well, that went well.' he thought to himself. 'Lets see, I have got about 25 new jutsus in my arsenal, my taijutsu has improved significantly due to fox sage's training, I am now able to detect genjutsus while I still can't cast them as effectively and finally the basics of fuinjutsu are also done. Too bad I can't use Rasengan openly since dad has not invented it yet.'
Suddenly there was a small eruption of smoke beside him and a small fox emerged from it.
"Greetings Naruto-sama" the small fox wished Naruto.
"Hey there Fuku (name of the fox). What's up? Is everything alright?" asked Naruto.
"Yes Naruto sama. The great sage simply asked me to relay a message to you." Fuku replied. She proceeded to answer as Naruto cocked an eyebrow and signalled her to convey the message. "The great sage asked you to acquire a good quality sword as he would like to begin your kenjutsu training. He says that you are doing well in genjutsu and fuinjutsu while you have a significant ninjutsu arsenal. So he thought it would be best if he concentrated on areas of your weakness while leaving you to nurture your strengths on your own."
"Hmm, it's a good strategy. I will acquire a decent sword as soon as I can. I know shadow clones speed up my training but we will still have a bit of a problem. I mean I will have to do missions for the village so please ask him to postpone the kenjutsu training for now so I may finish genjutsu and fuinjutsu first. We can pick up kenjutsu lets say in about 6-8 months. Will it be alright?" Naruto thoughtfully concluded his remarks.
"I will convey your message Naruto-sama. I am sure the great sage will agree with you." Fuku bowed her head in acknowledgement.
"Oh and say hi to Akira. Also tell her I might require some help in carrying out pranks later on." Naruto bid his farewell on that cheerful note. Fuku grinned and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Hokage Office…..
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his office puffing on his pipe as a couple of his shadow clones did the paperwork. Ever since he learned the trick his life had become mellowed as opposed to the previous hectic one. Many things ran through his mind especially the possibility of an upcoming war. The previous war had cost him his sensei as the world saw him become a strong ninja and leader finally ascending to the title of Hokage. His musings were cut short when a voice called out to him.
"Yo sensei." He turned to see a white haired man, wearing a red open vest and a hitaiate with a kanji of oil on it sitting on his window sill. This man was his student Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Jiraiya jumped of the window into the office much to the ire of Sarutobi who chastised him in a stern voice "How many time do I have to say it Jiraiya use the damn door."
"But sensei entering through window is much better." Jiraiya replied.
There was a knock on the door following which another person entered the office. This ninja was a standard konoha chunin vest over his navy blue ninja clothing. He had sturdy built, bright blue eyes and blonde hair with bangs framing his face. He was Minato Namikaze, apprentice of Jiraiya and the future Yondaime hokage of konoha.
"I already told you didn't I Jiraiya sensei that hokage sama would not appreciate you climbing through the window." Minato said in a sincere tone.
"But but…." Jiraiya almost pouted like a child. "Damn brat he should be supporting me instead he sucks upto old geezer" he grumbled under his breath causing Hiruzen and Minato to chuckle in amusement.
"I see you finally found the way to defeat your enemy hokage sama" Minato pointed to the shadow clone completing the paper work.
"Yes I did or rather someone duped me while the answer was right under my nose." Hiruzen replied a little grumpily.
"You mean to say someone else conned you and gave you the answer to your problem." Jiraiya had a grin etched on his face. "I would like to shake the hand of the person who pulled one over you sensei."
"Well you will meet him soon enough. Though I must tell you he is rather a surprising character, mysterious too but till now he doesn't appear to be a threat or spy. I had Shikaku as his minder and he had given him the green flag citing that this particular ninja would prove to be an excellent addition to the village." Hiruzen explain to the shinobis who were filled with curiosity.
"So who is this mysterious ninja?" enquired Jiraiya.
"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. He was found in crater by the ANBU who were on patrol duties. How he came into the village boundaries in still not known. He claims to have no idea how he arrived here." Hiruzen then proceeded to give the remaining story.
"So, if I am to understand" Jiraiya began after listening to Sarutobi's story "He is an Uzumaki, resembles Minato a lot, is an orphan who grew up with his godfather who is now dead, has surprisingly large chakra reserves, isn't listed in any of the bingo books and you want him tested then placed in shinobi ranks."
"Yes, you summarised that rather well." replied Sarutobi.
"And I suppose I am the one who will be testing him?" asked Minato.
"Yes, you will fight him in 2 days. I hope you are not too tired after your mission?" asked Sarutobi.
"No I am ready to go Hokage sama." Minato answered.
"Well get yourself rested and give it your all in the fight. He will prove to be a good opponent. He has been busy training for the entire month." Sarutobi cautioned Minato. "On a lighter please spend some time with your girlfriend. She has been pestering me about your whereabouts for the past week. Also Kushina has not met Naruto yet, which I believe might be due to Mikoto's interference."
"Umm what do you mean hokage sama?"
"You see Mikoto actually confronted Naruto the very first day he came to my office. Mikoto believes Kushina might be hurt in some way on coming in contact with Naruto. I am hoping being the last of the Uzumakis they may find kindered spirits in one another." Hiruzen explained.
"Don't worry I will introduce them to each other. I am sure Kushina will be glad to meet somneone from her clan and its no news that Mikoto really cares about Kushina's well being so her being conscious of Naruto is a given." Minato told politely.
"I believe I will be there at the time of the spar. I want to see the results of the training I have given to Minato. Do you know sensei that you have a new toad summoner in konoha?" Jiraiya casually conversed.
"That's a good news. Kami knows we need summoners since we lack major firepower like those." Hiruzen said thoughtfully.
"Well if that's all we would like to take your leave sensei. I have some research to do." Jiraiya took his leave grinning lecherously at the thought of peeping in the hot springs as Sarutobi and Minato sweat dropped.
Naruto was on his way back to the Nara compound when his eyes met a nostalgic and pretty familiar scene. He had decided to relax in the hot springs after the day's hard work to soothe his aching muscles when he spotted his perverted godfather spying on the women in the hot springs. Naruto was struck with nostalgia as he remembered all the memories of the times he had spent with Jiraiya in his dimension and the sorrow he felt at his departure.
He silently walked over to the hiding spot where Jiraiya was peeping and formed a tiger seal as he silently cast his jutsu "Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goroshi". Emitting a cry of great anguish Jiraiya was sent rocketing into the female side of the hot springs. A series of surprised shrieks were followed by shout of righteous feminine fury as the angry kunoichi pummelled the toad sage mercilessly. After a brutal beating Jiraiya was flung over the walls and he came to rest on the ground with a piteous moan.
"I think that was a suitable punishment for your actions wasn't it ero-jiji?" Naruto taunted Jiraiya as he poked him with a stick to check if he was alive.
"Why the hell would you do that you damn brat? I don't even know who you are though you closely resemble an apprentice of mine." Jiraiya slowly rose to his feet as he gently nursed his injuries.
"Well you see I am not a fan of perverts which you are so you sort of deserved what you got." Naruto shrugged as he casually responded.
"Now listen here brat, first you should know who I am. I am the great toad sage from Mount Myobokuzan, the handsome and gallant Jiraiya." he boasted doing his usual jig.
'Heh he is always the same' thought Naruto while on the outside he simply sneered "So you are basically a pervert who likes the sound of his own voice.
Jiraiya face faulted at the blunt response but suddenly stood up and proclaimed "I am no pervert you arrogant brat I am the super pervert."
"Yeah yeah so you are also a moron. Well since you are wasting my time I will be on my way." With that Naruto departed leaving behind a flabbergasted Jiraiya.
As soon as Naruto left him a silver haired ANBU appeared in front of Jiraiya.
"So you met Uzumaki Naruto Jiraiya sama." he commented.
"Yeah in a manner of speaking. He is something else Sakumo. He managed to sneak up on me and I wasn't even paying attention to the women for that matter." Jiraiya replied in a serious tone.
"Well from what I have observed and the report given by Shikaku, he is becoming a fairly competent and strong shinobi and if we take into account what we know about him he will prove to a warrior surpassing even the Hokage." Hatake Sakumo told the toad sage.
"I don't see a problem with that if he remains loyal to the village. On that note I don't sense any animosity in him. Keep an eye on him but I have a feeling that he is our ally. I am going with my gut on this one Sakumo, lets hope my hunch proves to be correct." Jiraiya was solemn and thoughtful.
With that the two legendary shinobi took their leaves and went on with their business.
Naruto felt a familiar presence trailing him as he walked back to the compound quarters.
"Please come out from your spot Uchiha san, you are not fooling anyone." Naruto called out.
"How did you know I was trailing you?" Mikoto was annoyed at being spotted.
"Lets just say I did. So will you tell me why have you been stalking me? I believe it has been what almost a month and I hope you have found out whatever you wanted to know about me or is it something else?" Naruto enquired with a cocked eyebrow.
Mikoto looked slightly abashed before she put on her cold and aloof mask "I don't trust you Uzumaki, its as simple as that. I don't know your motive of coming to Konoha but I find it highly suspicious. Combined with your mysterious homecoming, with untraceable background does make you a suspicious character."
"I know how my life had been till now and as I told hokage sama I have no idea how I came into this village. Last thing I knew is I was in a fight, an ambush to be precise. As for my motive well it was my godfather's plan to settle down in a peaceful place and since I happen to arrive in Konoha right now I want nothing more than to settle down here. Does that answer all your questions?" Naruto was now a little irritated. He knew that some paranoia was justified but it still called forth some of the worse memories.
"Well they will do for now. But if I see you hurt someone especially Kushina I will kill you with my own hands." Mikoto threatened.
"I see, point duly noted. See you later then." Naruto waved a hand as he turned and walked back.
Fuuton: Rasenshuriken : Wind Style: Spiralling Shuriken
Fuuton: Daitoppa Wind Style: Great breakthrough
Katon : Endan Fire Style : Fire Bullet
Raiton : Kage Bunshin no Jutsu Lighting clone jutsu
Fuuton : Seppuken Wind Style: Whirlwind fist
Fuuton: Tatsumaki Rendan Wind Style: Tornado barrage
Katon : Zukkho Fire Style: Intelligent hard work
Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goroshi Hidden Leaf village Secret Finger Jutsu: One thousand years of death
AUTHOR"S NOTE: Hey guys how you doing? I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. I know I know you are looking for more action well the next chapter we will have Naruto vs Minato plus I am really looking forward to create a good introduction of Naruto and Kushina. I just can't seem to find a right setting. Yeah some of you may also say that Mikoto seems a bit harsh as opposed to what was depicted in some of the anime/ manga but really we literally don't know anything about her past so don't judge a character based on stereotypes. Yes there will be some changes to the personalities of the characters but hey its fanfiction right…lemme have some sway okay? Well enjoy your reading and please don't forget to review…..cheers!