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Chapter 5: New Beginnings

Orochimaru tapped his fingers against the wood of the desk impatiently. He had returned to one of the first bases he had made decades ago when he still lived in the village. The lab equipment brought back many memories. There were still a few decomposing corpses and skeletons from a few of his more unsavory experiments. As enjoyable as it was to take a walk down memory lane, he still felt like he was wasting time. Orochimaru regretted listening to Kabuto and agreeing to lie low. He was missing seeing Sasuke-kun in action. Observation was one of the most important parts in experimentation. Hearing about it second hand was a weak alternative.

The sound of footsteps reached Orochimaru's ears as someone approached the door. A quick flash of chakra undid the lock on the door and Kabuto filled the opening.

"Orochimaru-sama," the gray-haired shinobi dropped one knee to the floor.

"Kabuto," the snake-sannin drawled, "What have you found out?"

"It appears they know we're here with the sound village, and that there is a plan to invade," Kabuto informed him.

Whatever Orochimaru was expecting to hear, it wasn't that.

"How?" He questioned flatly.

"I overheard a coded message. Konoha is preparing for an attack at the third round of the Chunin Exams. They already captured Kin, Zaku, and Dosu, but I disposed of them before they could be questioned."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed at the news.

"They are still unaware of the connection with Suna, correct?"

"Yes, and to my knowledge there is nothing that links the two."

"Then things will move according to plan," Orochimaru decided. "Suna will invade, assuming that sound will be there to back up; my presence as their Kazekage will ensure that. Due to this little hiccup, the sound will be missing. The Suna shinobi will be slaughtered. Their jinchuuriki should kick up a sufficient ruckus to distract the majority of the village, along with destroying a large part it. Most importantly, I will still be able to kill Sarutobi . . . So long as the barrier can be erected, then I think everything will go swimmingly." Better than swimmingly perhaps, because it would be fewer Suna nin after his life once they discover the double-cross.

"I will ensure it happens," Kabuto spoke solemnly.

"And the heaven's seal? What information have you gathered?"

"When I saw Sasuke in the forest of death there did appear to be something strange about the mark. I apologize Orochimaru-sama, I was unable to procure pictures." He had attempted multiple times to get close to Sasuke when he met up with team seven in the forest of death. His neck was clearly bothering Sasuke and he rubbed it often. But whenever Kabuto commented casually about it and offered to take a look, he was shrugged off and glared at.

He could have forced him, but for the sake of maintaining his cover, he didn't. If Kabuto had known it was already going to be blown then he wouldn't have bothered.

"Something strange about the mark?"

"There appeared to be another seal in place, though I do not know the specifics; I don't have an adequate understanding of the subject."

Which was reasonable considering fuuinjutsu was a dying art. Orochimaru was one of the few practitioners with any true skill. The lack of masters narrowed the field greatly as to who was the culprit. His old teammate, Jiraiya was talented but the snake-sannin heavily doubted he played a part in this. Kakashi, if Orochimaru recalled correctly, had some talent, taught to him mainly from his irksome teacher. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Kakashi would have interfered in the exam, but without any information, all he could was speculate. Orochimaru hated speculating. Despite that, he supposed things had begun to get truly interesting . . .

"While Sasuke-kun was not my primary reason for coming to Konohagakure, I don't like disappointment." Orochimaru spoke with a smooth, though dangerous tone.

"Forgive me Orochimaru-sama. I will rectify this mistake immediately," Kabuto replied subserviently.

"I doubt that. Kakashi and Sarutobi will most likely hide him until the third exam out of caution. Today is too immediate. Sarutobi could very likely assign a guard and you cannot to get caught right now. At the moment, your undercover work is more important," Orochimaru said, "We will have time yet to gather what we need. Killing Sarutobi though, is the top priority of our mission in Konoha. You have until the end of the invasion to procure photographs."

"Of course Orochimaru-sama."

"Dismissed."

Kabuto nodded before he rose and left the room. Carefully replacing the neko ANBU mask, he jumped away from the base and into the village.

The Sandaime exhaled a puff of smoke heavily as he set the photos on his desk. The pictures of the seal Kakashi had taken were disturbing to say the least. Almost as disturbing as the effects. Sarutobi had never heard of anything —seal or jutsu— that could create an emotional bond between people. The current situation was beyond unknown territory. They had broken new ground, except no one knew how it happened, nor, more importantly, how to undo it.

It was times like this he dearly wished Minato was still alive. Minato's clever mind and knowledge of fuuinjutsu would really come in handy. Beyond that though, the man had an uncanny way of finding the answers to the most complex problems with a clarity beyond his years. Yes, it was these moments when the Third really missed his successor

"So Orochimaru has returned to the leaf," Sarutobi mused. "And intelligence suggests he intends to invade along with the sound shinobi at the end of the third round."

"What Sakura and Naruto mentioned made it seem that way. Orochimaru's appearance is unsettling. He usually has grander plans in store and I doubt he came by the village just to mark Sasuke." Kakashi stood before the third, book tucked firmly away.

"This knowledge will help us greatly as we prepare." The Third nodded. "Onto the seal. So you believe that the red seal is blocking the heaven seal?" Sarutobi repeated.

Kakashi nodded.

"And as a side effect, for reasons unknown, it forces the members of team seven to be emotionally connected," he summed up.

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "It also seems that they are able to discern who is giving off what emotion, which could be something to consider."

Sarutobi hmmed to himself before sighing.

"It's clear they must have participated somehow. That is perhaps one of the more concerning problems." The Sandaime rubbed his forehead. "That means that whoever made the seal not only had access to Naruto and Sakura's blood, but their chakra." At least this they could explain. There were various methods one could go about obtaining chakra, especially from unseasoned genin. However, that implied the user was much more experienced.

"Sakura had clearly been placed under a genjutsu of sorts. She couldn't answer a single one of my questions and seemed entirely unbothered by that fact, not second guessing why that was at all. In addition, she displayed confliction about showing her mark," Kakashi reported.

"Hmm, a powerful jutsu indeed. Beyond a genin's power." Sarutobi tapped his pipe on the desk to resettle the embers. "Did Naruto display similar signs?"

"Not that I could see. He was clearly surprised to see the marks though."

"So maybe a memory jutsu in Naruto's case," the Third hypothesized.

"But why cast two different jutsu?" Kakashi wondered aloud. He sighed. This was becoming more complex all the time. "I think Inoichi would be helpful in examining their minds to see if we can find any more clues as to who did this. Maybe there will be a solution to their problem as well."

Sarutobi shook his head. "Inoichi should examine Sakura's mind, but Naruto's is completely out of the question."

Kakashi quickly made the connection. "Of course. I will bring her around to TI as soon as possible."

"There is nothing you can do to lessen the connection?" The Sandaime asked, "I know Minato taught you some of what he knew about fuuinjutsu."

Kakashi sighed. He didn't feel even remotely comfortable attempting to remove it or tamper with it until he knew more about it. Plus, if this other seal was indeed keeping the heaven mark in check, the last he'd want to do is undo it, even if it meant putting his genin through the emotional loops. Keeping Sasuke out of Orochimaru's control took priority. He doubted that his genin would fully understand his reasoning though, so perhaps he'd just keep it to himself. They didn't need to worry about such matters.

"No, there's nothing I feel confident doing," the gray-haired ninja said at length.

"I see." Sarutobi leaned back in his chair. "What do you imagine happened?" the third asked.

"The logical assumption is that Orochimaru had created some new kind of experiment, but at the same time . . ."

"You do not believe this to be the case?" the Sandaime asked perceptively.

"No," Kakashi revealed, "We expected that Orochimaru could eventually go after the sharingan. Granted, I don't think anyone thought he would attack this early," Kakashi said. "We know from the past that the curse mark of Heaven would have gotten him what he wanted, a vessel. From what I can tell, the seal placed over it captures and filters out Orochimaru's poisonous chakra, instead of allowing it to fester. Why would he do such a thing? It appears as though someone was purposely trying to seal the curse mark." He frowned. "Something no ninja has ever been able to do."

"So you don't believe is was Orochimaru."

"I don't know what to think," Kakashi said with a sigh.

"Does it appear to be stable?" Sarutobi asked the million dollar question.

Kakashi thought about it before nodding, "Yes the seal appears firm. The dark chakra is not leaking into Sasuke's system. Aside from the shared emotions, there doesn't seem to be anything awry." He exhaled heavily.

"And if I weren't a ninja, and didn't know better than to question every move an enemy made, I might see this as a blessing in disguise," the grey haired nin thought to himself.

"Very well," The Sandaime said eventually, "We will leave the seal alone and wait for Jiraiya. He will be more informed."

"It's probably about time for him to meet Naruto as well," Kakashi said distantly. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Naruto was his sensei's son.

"In the meantime though, I want you to carefully observe their reactions to make sure nothing too terrible is afoot."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"Oh, and by the way, congratulations on having all three of your genin pass. I'm looking forward to their third rounds," the Sandaime smiled.

"Thank you," Kakashi bobbed his head lightly. He was still a little shocked himself.

"Is there anything else?" The Hokage asked as he noticed the Jonin had not moved.

"Well . . ."

"That style, it looks like—"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow.

"But that's impossible." Kakashi sighed and said aloud, "It's nothing."

"Very well, you are dismissed then," the Hokage said, turning his head back to his paperwork.

The jonin quickly left the room, his thoughts mulling over what he had just heard. He wished there was something he could do to help, but the matter seemed out of his league. Kakashi doubted that there was much he could do beside wait and watch. He supposed the best thing would be to focus on the upcoming third round. He needed to find a way to train all three genin.

The three members of team seven had no choice but to train separately. If they ended up making it through the tournament, there was a chance that they would end up fighting each other. With that in mind, he also didn't want to make it seem as though he was favoring one over the other. Sakura in particular would take that hard on her confidence. He still needed to find teachers for her and Naruto. Although, he had a good one in mind for his female student, Naruto proved to be a tougher customer. All too soon, he arrived at the bridge. Perhaps he should go visit the memorial stone for a while. Then again it was nearing twelve . . . He sighed. Procrastinating, he sadly knew, wouldn't help.

"Yo," he greeted, pasting on a neutral expression as he meandered onto the bridge. His appearance made Sakura and Naruto jump up and point their fingers at him.

"You're late!" they exclaimed, both looking fiery. A quick glance towards the Uchiha, who had locked his jaw, told him that the feeling was unanimous.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized half-heartedly, "There was this endangered bird that hurt its wing—"

"Save it," Sasuke grit out, "Just tell us how we're training."

That was probably the most expressive Kakashi had seen Sasuke since the three had first told him about the seal. Sasuke continued to viciously resist expressing the sudden torrent of emotions (unlike his teammates, who were more likely to give in). Kakashi couldn't blame him; if he had been in their situation, he probably would have done the same thing. Despite that, he recognized from an objective standpoint that it would be very bad in the long run for the Uchiha to further bottle up his emotions. That was a powder keg just waiting to blow if he ever saw one.

"Well, my cute little Genin, I've decided that you all will train separately."

"Why Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura looked upset at the prospect of being separated from Sasuke.

"Because, what if all of you end up progressing through the tournament," Kakashi explained. "You might have to fight each other. We've been fortunate so far in that it hasn't already happened."

The three Genin exchanged hesitant looks. The sudden uncertainty in the air was palpable.

"Which is why all three of you will be training under different sensei. I will be training Sasuke," Kakashi said, "Because I don't think anyone else will be able to help with the sharingan."

Both Naruto and Sakura visibly deflated.

"What about me Sensei?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"I've found a special jonin to train you. He has excellent chakra control, quite like yourself, so I think he'll be well suited. He should be able to teach you jutsu for your chakra levels and how to maximize the efficiency of your moves."

Sakura nodded, looking a bit better about it.

"And Naruto—"

"Actually sensei, I was wondering if I could train on my own for a little while," Naruto spoke with unusual tentativeness.

The other three blinked.

"You want to train on your own?" Kakashi asked blankly. The psychological profile he received upon taking the team informed him of a simple fact about Naruto, one which would end up being confirmed repeatedly as they did missions. That simple truth was that Naruto did not like to be alone. If there was any way shape or form that he could spend time around an adult or fellow peer and have their attention, he would jump on it. Kakashi felt a little melancholy. This was most likely due to the fact that he had spent the vast majority of his life alone. Which brought him back to his confusion. Why would Naruto ask to be alone?

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura scoffed, "You need a jonin to teach you all the important things you'll need for the final exam. Not taking advantage of Kakashi-sensei's offer is stupid!"

"I have some stuff I want to try!" Naruto defended.

"Are you certain you don't want a jonin sensei?" Kakashi asked, "Sakura is right; Jonin are wonderful resources to have around."

At Naruto's firm nod, Kakashi thought about it for a moment. Technically, there was nothing wrong about Naruto's request . . .

"Very well," he agreed eventually, "If you change your mind, then let me know. We'll find you someone."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto beamed.

The gray-haired jonin just shook his head in confusion, still not understanding his blond student's motives. "Well, either way, you will spend a little time with a jonin," Kakashi said.

"What do you mean, Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I think it would be good if you and Naruto checked in with me every so often," Kakashi explained, "That way I can track your progress." And more importantly, he could track the effects of the seal. So far there had been no visible negative side-effects, but Kakashi had a feeling that this was a type of problem that would build over time. With that in mind, it was imperative that it was monitored thoroughly.

"Okay," Sakura said, looking happier. Maybe she would see Sasuke-kun during those sessions. "How often?"

"Oh, why don't we do every other day?" he proposed, "Sakura can have the odd days, and Naruto the even starting mmm today. So I'll see you Monday Naruto."

"Sunday too!? I have family dinner those days!" Sakura blurted. "Give Sundays to Naruto!" Her face turned red as she realized what she said. The faint wistful feeling coupled with the harsh bitterness she felt from her teammates. There was also a level of hurt that came from Naruto. She belatedly noticed that she had just shoved the fact that her blond teammate had no plans on Sunday like she did, no family dinner. Regret and guilt stabbed into her. Even if she didn't have an emotional connection, their expressions would have told her enough.

"I know your family wants to have their time with you, but you must understand Sakura that preparing for this tournament will probably be the most difficult thing you've done so far. The training will be intense. It will have to be, because your opponents certainly won't pull any punches," Kakashi warned. "Because of that, you are going to keep the Sunday meetings, if only as a reminder of that fact."

Sakura gulped. Her stomach settled quickly as through the bond she felt the bitterness flip over into fear . . . and excitement.

"Having said that," Kakashi continued, his face back into its normal mild state, "The meeting will probably only be an hour or two of catching up."

"Okay," she said, feeling foolish at having even complained.

"Alright, now why don't we start today then?" Kakashi proposed, "Sakura, come with me and we'll meet your new sensei."

"Right!" she said, trying to sound determined.

"Wait, Kakashi, what about the seal?" Sasuke asked. All three genin turned to Kakashi expectantly.

"There's nothing to be done about it," Kakashi spoke bluntly, "The best thing for you three to do would be to get used to it for now."

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed in irritation.

"It might not be so bad," Kakashi commented, "You all aren't thinking about this the right way."

The three shot him absolutely incredulous looks, no doubt supplementing each other's feelings.

"What d'you mean?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"I think I'll let the three of you figure that out," Kakashi said, "By the end of the month, I imagine you'll probably understand what I mean. I'll find you later Sasuke. Until then, let's go Sakura." With that, the gray-haired ninja leapt to the trees.

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried as she scrambled to catch up.

Naruto exhaled heavily as he watched the pair disappear. He had half-hoped that Kakashi would have found a solution to their problem, but apparently he didn't. It seemed more and more likely that a solution wouldn't be found. Fear suddenly jolted through his body as he realized they could be stuck like this forever.

"Dobe," Sasuke grit the single word out. The words 'are you okay?' still felt awkward on his tongue. If he could get his point across by other means he would do so readily.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto sighed, trying to erase the feeling.

The two sat silently for a few moments. It would be . . . odd, to be away from Sasuke and Sakura so long Naruto decided. They'd spent the last four days together constantly, and even beyond that, their regular missions ensured they saw each other often. Naruto knew he'd miss Sakura a lot. Sasuke could be okay sometimes on very rare occasion, so he'd maybe miss him a bit. Then again, with the link in place, he wondered if they would really be that far apart.

A thought suddenly struck Naruto.

"I wonder if the emotions won't be so strong when we get further away from each other," Naruto wondered aloud.

Sasuke turned towards his teammate with a hint of surprise. He hadn't considered such a possibility.

"Hopefully," Sasuke uttered, "Being tied to you to is the worst torture imaginable."

"Teme!"

"Don't you have training?" Sasuke asked, wanting Naruto to just leave already.

"Shut up," Naruto sniffed before a cheeky grin spread over his lips. "I'll see you at the finals!" His confidence swept over them.

"That idiot," Sasuke said to himself as the blond ran back towards the buildings. Despite his words, the smallest of smile spread over his lips. He'd be interested to see what the blond idiot managed to do in a month. He'd be nowhere near Sasuke's class, but Naruto would at least surprise him somehow.

The first thing Naruto did was go home and get back in his bed. He wasn't entirely sure it would work because it wasn't nighttime, but that shouldn't really affect it. Probably. It made sense . . . right?

He waited impatiently a few moments, trying to banish Sasuke and Sakura's emotions, (impatience and nervousness respectively,) and focus of his breathing. It took longer than he thought it would, but after fifteen minutes, he opened his eyes and saw the sherbet walls that were slowly becoming familiar. He glanced around until he saw a spot of green and navy lying on the floor.

"Hey, Dad!" He ran over.

The other ninja sat up, smile already forming on his lips.

"Naruto!" He accepted his son's outstretched hands to pull himself up. Minato patted down his cloak reflexively to get rid of the non-existent dust. "I wasn't expecting you back for a while, Naruto."

"Well, I wanted to ask you about training." Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. He spent so much time explaining to his father what happened at the preliminaries last night that he forgot to tell him about his excellent idea.

"Training?"

"Yeah, for the final round." Naruto's grin was bursting. It still hadn't even sunk in all the way.

Minato smiled. "I'd love to give you a few hints of course Naruto, but I don't want to do too much or I'll get in the way of what Kakashi is going to teach you."

Naruto's expression soured. "Well he isn't training me for the third round. He's just gonna check in."

Minato blinked before realization hit him. "I almost forgot that all three of you passed."

"Yeah," Naruto said sullenly.

Minato put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. He wished he could get angry at Kakashi for not giving Naruto the attention he deserved, but he knew that there was sense in his decision. Kakashi had probably decided to train Sasuke. He was the only one who could teach him about the sharingan after all, so logically he would have to train the Uchiha. As all of them passed, he couldn't possible train all of them.

"I'm sure that the only reason he isn't training you is because he needs to help Sasuke, that's all."

Naruto shrugged. He understood, but it hurt being looked over like that.

"It'll be even better when he sees how much you've improved when he checks in." Minato gave a wide smile.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered.

"Did he assign you a jonin sensei?" Minato asked.

"Well, I kinda asked him if I could train on my own for a while," Naruto said sheepishly.

Minato frowned lightly. "Of course I'll help you, Naruto. But wouldn't you like someone who can be there in person to guide you?"

"Nu-uh! I want you!" Naruto pressed, "'Sides, they'd start to ask questions about how I was learning other things they didn't teach me."

Naruto made a good point. He had a feeling that no matter if he had an official sensei or not, he'd draw attention to himself though. Minato needed to think of a good excuse for his son. For now, it surely wouldn't hurt to help Naruto perfect the basics. "Well, if you're sure—"

"Yatta!" Naruto crowed delightedly.

Minato couldn't help but smile. "If you change your mind, make sure to talk to Kakashi. It's important that you get as much help as you need," he said seriously.

"Yeah but you're like the greatest ninja ever!"

Minato flushed lightly and looked away. His son's unwavering belief in him always surprised him. He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I'm glad you think so, but I know one day you'll surpass me."

Naruto's eyes were bright and full of awe and excitement.

"Are you ready?" Minato smiled.

Inoichi pulled away from the unconscious kunoichi's mind. He closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to organize his thoughts and arrange what he'd learned into the context they were working in. Despite his businesslike demeanor, he was couldn't help but look over at the pink-haired girl with concern. She was Ino's age, and once was very close to his little girl. The fact that it could have easily been Ino that was mixed up in all this strange business distressed him beyond words. Thankfully it hadn't though.

He glanced to the side and noticed Kakashi reenter the room. Inoichi sighed; he wished he had something more substantial to offer.

"Did you find anything?" the gray-haired nin asked, getting straight to the point.

"High level genjutsu, no doubt about it. One I haven't seen before. Perhaps it's an original invention or a protected village jutsu." He shook his head. "Anyways, I tried to follow the flow of her mind, but it moved around in loops, never letting me get too close to the memory. Really, an ingenious design," he admitted grudgingly.

"Did you see anything at all that could be a clue?" Kakashi pressed.

Inoichi hesitated. "It wasn't anything substantial, although . . ."

"Although?" Kakashi echoed.

"There was a reoccurring motif. I think it might be a leftover signature from the user of the jutsu. I couldn't understand it. It's a very basic glimpse, and the full picture is probably somewhere in there, but that would take a considerable amount of time, and would muddle her for a few days. I don't believe that would be the best option, all things considered."

The grey-haired jonin agreed with his comrade's conclusion. "What did it look like?"

Inoichi pulled a pad of paper and pen from the inner pocket of his cloak.

"I only got the shape but it was something like this." He proceeded to draw a long line and two smaller lines branching off near the bottom on both sides.

Kakashi stared at the image long and hard, trying to divine some larger image from it. His efforts were unsuccessful. Despite that, he tore the paper out of the book and tucked it in one of his various pockets anyways, just in case he needed it.

He gave Inoichi a nod before gathering the unconscious form of his student and flickering away in a storm of leaves. He alighted on one of the rooftops and began jumping through the village.

Sakura would probably wonder why she had been sleeping; he hadn't bothered to put a terribly strong genjutsu on her. He hmmed to himself as he paged through his expansive collection of excuses. Perhaps he'd tell her she ran into a telephone pole. That seemed like a pretty decent explanation.

Naruto fell into the water with a large splash for the twenty-seventh time since he'd started the exercise. He surfaced, frustration coursing through him.

"I never give up!" he reminded himself, "That's my nindo." Naruto pulled himself out of the water again and stared determinedly at the shifting surface. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands in a handseal and tried to gather his chakra like his dad explained to him. The oscillating currents of his chakra were hard to catch hold of. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and stepped forward confidently on the water . . . and fell straight through.

"Argh!" he shouted to no one in particular as he got back on solid ground. He stared mutinously at the water. A sudden flare of irritation filtered back to him, and he sighed sheepishly. He probably wasn't helping his teammates in their efforts to train. Still . . .

"I never give up," he repeated. Getting help wasn't really giving up though, right? He needed to talk to his dad again. When it was first explained to him it seemed simple enough, sort of like tree-walking. That had taken him a while, but eventually he'd gotten the hang of it. He thought waterwalking might be like that, but he hadn't improved in the slightest from his first try! It was way harder in real life! He grunted as he settled himself against a tree and willed himself to fall asleep.

Half an hour later he found a light doze and drifted back into the orange room. His father was lying on his back on the invisible floor.

"Dad, walking on water is way harder than you said it was!" He complained by way of greeting.

Minato blinked and sat up. "What do you mean?"

"My chakra won't focus."

Realization dawned on Minato as he got to his feet. "Or course, we never did get around to fixing the problem with your chakra," he said thoughtfully.

"If we fix it, does that mean I'll be able to do the water-walking exercise?" the younger blond queried.

"You'll have a much better time with it," Minato smiled.

"How do we fix it?" Naruto asked eagerly. He wanted to get the water-waking down pack so he could fight on the water like Kakashi-sensei could.

"We'll probably have to remove Orochimaru's seal," Minato murmured, more to himself than his son.

Naruto's face paled dramatically. "Won't that mean you'll go away?!"

"Ah," Minato exhaled, noting the unhappy expression on his son's face. "That might happen," he spoke honestly.

"Then no way!" Naruto exclaimed.

Minato's heart swelled at how much Naruto cared. But he couldn't allow his son to cripple himself.

"Naruto, how do you expect to be Hokage if you can't control your chakra?" he asked sternly.

The younger blond opened his mouth before closing it again. That wasn't a fair question at all. His gaze fell to the floor as he bit back tears of frustration. Why couldn't he just have both? Why did he have to pick one or the other?

"Maybe I could try and alter it so it stabilizes the flow of chakra but still ensures part of it flows through here. Could that work and still make sure the chakra goes in the right direction?" he asked himself. The mechanics seemed to make sense, but he needed to theorize much further to create a solid hypothesis.

Naruto looked up hopefully.

"It's worth a shot, but I can't make any promises," he said warningly.

"What do we do?" Naruto asked attentively, ready to do whatever his father needed.

"Let me think about it for a while," Minato said, knowing it would take quite a while for him to contemplate the matter. "For now, let's get back to your training."

Naruto made a face but let it go. He wanted as much time as he could get, and if it was going to end soon, then he wouldn't waste a second. He brushed away the slight wetness in his eyes and the terrible thoughts away for the moment.

"Since water-walking is out of the question at the moment, as well as a lot of other things, why don't we work on your taijutsu?" Minato asked.

Naruto nodded, a little disappointed they couldn't get started on the chakra stuff right away. His father promised that if he learned to walk on water he'd show Naruto a new jutsu, but he supposed it would just have to wait. Taijutsu would be cool too.

"The style I'm about to show you is something I developed myself," Minato began. He slowly worked his way through a basic kata.

Naruto's eyes were already widening in excitement. After a showing him a few more motions so that Naruto had a taste of what was to come, he stopped and walked around his son analytically.

"It's designed to be very quick." Minato hmmed to himself, making Naruto fidget under his intense gaze. "Well, you're broader that I am, so we might have to make adjustments to it."

"But it'll work right?" Naruto pressed.

"It should," he smiled, "You'll have to work to make your body faster and more flexible though. Some training weights might be a good idea."

"Like Bushy Brows?" Naruto asked, remembering what Gai had said about Lee.

"Bushy—?" Minato got it after a minute, "If you mean Gai, then yes, something like that, but much lighter. He's a bit overzealous."

"He's got a clone my age named Rock Lee," Naruto informed Minato, who remembered hearing a lot about him from the previous evening.

"Why can't I do 'em like bushy brows?" Naruto asked, a whiny tone entering his voice.

"Because, if you build too much muscle you won't be as flexible. Gai may be very fast, he isn't limber, which makes the style obsolete. You'll have to reach that speed gradually," Minato explained shortly. He reassessed his son and thought about what the previous brawler style was like. "If you want to go with a taijutsu form, that focuses on more strength, we can look into another style, it isn't a big d—"

"No! I wanna do yours!" Naruto shouted effectively cutting Minato off. The older ninja smiled, before nodding.

"Alright, then I'll teach you a few exercises to make yourself more limber. If might take a little time, but if you do them every day, it'll pay off."

Naruto nodded steadfastly. His father smiled.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

Naruto met with Kakashi the next day by the bridge they normally met at as a team. Kakashi was typically late, so Naruto took the time to attempt water-walking again. Perhaps if he could prove to his father that he could control his chakra perfectly, then there would be no need for his father to have to mess with the seal. Unfortunately, he hadn't improved overnight. A couple hours later Kakashi arrived and looked at his sopping student with a smile.

"I guess I don't need to ask what you've been working on these past couple days."

"Water-walking is hard," Naruto muttered, a dour expression on his face. His chakra control still sucked, despite how he tried to tame it. His frustration was only worsened by the fact that it could mean the end of his brief relationship with his father . . . if only he wasn't so bad at it!

Kakashi, ignorant of the raging thoughts in his student's mind, smiled before he walked over and demonstrated for Naruto.

"It's important to keep the stream of chakra steady first, and then adjusting to the flow."

Naruto made a face, "I know, I know, it's just hard to get the amount right," he said flopping on the ground against one of the bridge's posts.

Kakashi blinked, "Of course, when you're carrying extra weight, that certainly doesn't help," he said gesturing to Naruto's ankle weights which were showing from below his orange floods.

"Cool right?" Naruto said with a grin.

"When did you get those?" Kakashi asked with a raised brow.

"Yesterday. Tenten gave me a good deal. She's actually pretty cool." A little mean like Sakura could be, but nonetheless she did give him a good deal.

"Taking Gai's approach?"

"No way!" Naruto said, forming an 'x' with his hands. "His are waay too heavy." Naruto had tracked down the Gai and Lee when they were passing by on a run through the village. On their hands. He asked the enthusiastic jonin about the training weights and received a stunning grin for his trouble. Gai let him see what the ankle weights looked like and even took them off so Naruto could hold them and look more closely.

He almost lost a hand.

"I'm just doing twenty pound ones."

Kakashi nodded, those were undoubtedly below Gai's range. He leaned against the red wood of the bridge.

"Are you going to work your way up?"

"Yeah, maybe a bit higher, but I don't wanna get too muscle-y 'cause then I won't be fast and flexible." Naruto replied.

Naruto's sage tone caught Kakashi off-guard and brought a smile to his face. His student's awareness surprised him. He thought Naruto was the type to get the heaviest weight possible to get stronger sooner rather than later. With his regenerative capabilities, he probably could have gotten away with some rather ridiculously heavy weights.

"Is that the style you're focusing on then?" Kakashi asked, receiving a nod, "I would have thought you'd go for a more heavy-hitting style. Do you want me to show you one I kn—"

"No! I'm sticking with fast!" he burst. Kakashi was momentarily taken aback by the proclamation, but let it go. Typical. When Naruto got an idea on his head, he tended to stick to it, no matter what anyone else said. He'd have to change his own mind, no one could try and do it for him. Though Kakashi was curious as to who had inspired Naruto to do the quick style. Naruto usually took got ideas from what he saw.

"Do you know any kata yet?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I'm just working on speed and flexibility first," he said stretching as he spoke.

Kakashi nodded his head. Once more surprised by the patience his student appeared to have. He would have expected Naruto to jump right into it instead of improving his core. Perhaps he had underestimated him. He was beginning to show the signs of a developing maturity— at least in how he decided to train. Perhaps Naruto had picked up reading as a hobby.

"It's a good idea." Kakashi agreed.

"Ne . . ." Naruto began.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked.

"How long have you kept Sasuke waiting?"

Kakashi blinked, he hadn't really been keeping track this time. He looked up at the position of the sun. By his estimate, he had left Sasuke waiting for just over three hours.

"Can you feel his impatience?"

Naruto nodded, looking away. It was still weird to talk about out loud.

"You don't seem terribly impatient though," Kakashi observed.

The jinchuuriki blinked. "I guess it's gotten easier to resist being pulled in, ya know?"

"Do you think that has to do with the distance?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke was the furthest from his other two genin, training atop a plateau a little ways from the village. While they weren't entirely aware of Orochimaru's intentions towards the boy in light of the confusing addition to the seal, it was safe to assume they were mal-intended. Thus dragging Sasuke away from Konohagakure had been the decision of the Hokage. Seeing as the Uchiha was miles away on a plateau, if Naruto were to something different about the bond it would be about Sasuke.

Naruto thought about it for a few moments before shaking his head. "No, I still feel 'em just the same, it's just easier to resist them I guess. If they're really strong though I get caught up it."

Kakashi hmmed. So the three were only adjusting to it; the distance wasn't a factor. After observing Sasuke, it was clear that the emotions were still hitting him, but they didn't seem to bother him as much. He supposed now he knew why. How disappointing. He'd rather hoped it would have been something else.

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, it's getting pretty bad," Naruto said, sounding a little tenser.

Kakashi sighed. He supposed he could go over now.

"Well, it seems like you're in a good place in your training," Kakashi said, moving away from the bridge. "Keep conditioning and I'll check up on you on Saturday."

Naruto nodded, smiling at the praise.

Then again, Kakashi thought, it was still a bit early, perhaps he should visit Rin and Obito. The gray-haired jonin leapt away from his blond genin, and towards the memorial stone. One more hour wouldn't kill Sasuke. If anything else, it would teach him patience.

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Thanks for reading!

About Naruto learning his father's style . . . even though Naruto is a bad ass bitch, he is not going to learn this over night. This will take him years to get, and even then, it won't be perfect. Minato views this as a long term investment. So no super!Naruto, just hard-working!Naruto.

Again, there is a poll for pairings. Both het and slash. If you want to see one or the other or none, you best vote! The relationships will never be sexual though. The poll should be up now . . . if not, wait and come back maybe?

Please direct any feels, questions, or thoughts to the review box :)