Naruto the Sharingan Wielder
Chapter XII: Training Regiment Begins
In the last chapter, Naruto and Sasuke are now teaming up to battle against Itachi since they both agreed that they will not rest until the former konohashinobi and brother they loved so much is defeated once and for all. Furthermore, both friends must go through a series of tough training tasks in order to accomplish their goal. So today, Naruto and Sasuke are refining their skills at the academy before they move on to more advanced skills later on. With their skills refined, it could prove helpful to them to defeat their foe, thus easing their village's suffering.
The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke gathered up their equipments as they prepared for the first day of training at the academy in order to show what they learned so far from their parents. But this was not going to be an easy task for them since Naruto was discharged from the hospital after having a major surgery to fix the broken bones inside of his body. Naruto's friends already know that the injuries he sustained were the work of ItachiUchiha, but they were glad that he survived that fateful massacre. Although Naruto still has a few scars on his body and some bruising, he was still able to walk like normal.
"Naruto, are you sure you're able to start your training now? I don't know if your body is able to handle it or not. I am sorry about what happened to you, but I really want you to take it easy since you are not ready for the heavy work yet. At this point, we might all be worried that you will not be able to pull through this." Said Sasuke. He was carrying Naruto by his arms as they headed toward the academy.
"Sasuke, don't worry I will be fine. These injuries are nothing. Besides, I didn't deserve this sort of harsh treatment from your former brother, I really don't. But I think I might start off easy for a while before moving on to the more advanced training regiments as Kakashi had said. I know it will be hard but trust me; I've been in tougher situations than this. If I can get through this training, I can survive anything." Commented Naruto as he continued his way to the academy doors with Sasuke following close behind him.
Once they entered, they are approached by a couple of jonin-level shinobi guarding the hallways. "Is there something I can help you with, gentlemen?" one of the guards asked.
"Yes, my name is Uchiha Sasuke, and I am here to do some training in the academy as instructed by the Hokage himself." Said the raven-haired boy.
"I, Uzumaki Naruto, am also here to do some basic training as well. Please show us to the training facility." The blonde added.
"Uh...… Yes, right this way, boys. Iruka-san is expecting you." Said the guard as he leads the boys down the hall to the training arena. Once they got there, the boys are pretty surprised at how the room was set up with the dummies, the weaponry and the like. "Wow! Now this is what I wanted to see: a large training room with state-of-the-art equipment, especially when it's this beautifully decorated and neatly cleaned. That's what I like about this place." Said Naruto while folding his arms.
"Well, I am glad to know that you are starting to like this place. Welcome to the academy training field, gentlemen. Didn't I meet you guys before?" asked a voice from behind them.
Naruto turned and he was surprised to see Iruka in the room. "Iruka-sensei! It's really good to see you again! I am just happy to be out of the hospital and getting back to my normal self."
"Yes, I can see that you are starting to make a full recovery now thanks to Tsunade-sama's healing abilities. I was so worried about you! I thought we had lost you forever! But anyway, how's your body doing?" said Iruka.
"Well, the healing process is slow, but the pain has been reduced though. Although my body is still a bit sore and tender, I will be able to pull through this. But to be honest, I am just lucky to be alive. Now that I am back, I should probably do something to speed up my recovery process to help keep my bones and muscles relaxed." Replied Naruto as he picks up some ninja tools and weapons from the room to start his training.
"Wait, Naruto! Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want you to get hurt or anything, but if you start this training now, you will not be able to speed up your recovery process." Warned Iruka.
"I am fairly certain that I can go through this. Although I know it's a risky move to take, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to get myself stronger. So let's get started with the training." Chided Naruto as he took his fighting stance while tossing out some shurikens and flung them at the dummies in front of him. The air inside the dummies started to hiss as holes pops up one by one in each of them. Soon, naruto took some Kunais and started ripping holes into the dummies as he goes into stealth mode. This surprises Iruka and Sasuke as they watched him beat the crap out of the dummies. Once the dummies were finished off, Naruto was about to unleash more attacks against the other dummies, but Iruka stopped him from exerting force inside of his body.
"Stop!Naruto, that's good enough. I don't want you to use full force just yet. You need to give some time for your body to recuperate. On the other hand, I am surprised that you are this persistent to get back into action. But I highly recommend that you take breaks in between your training so that your recovery can continue." Put in Iruka.
"Yeah, he's right. I wouldn't mind you train with me, but your health is far more important than your training right now. Besides, I've already seen how good you are when you trained with me for the first time. So why don't you take a rest and let me handle some of this stuff?" added sasuke while setting naruto down on the bench.
Naruto looked at them for a moment and said, 'All right then, but promise me something." He then paused to take a sip from his water bottle and continued. "As long as I don't exert too much force, will you promise me that no matter what happens;we will put an end to that Uchihaitachi together right? As I said before, his betrayal will cost him dearly if he does manage to return again. And somehow, some way we will settle the score with him."
"Naruto, I understand that you are frustrated about the recent events, but you have to let it go. I know how hard this must be for you and believe me; I don't want you to go through those horrible memories again because we are worried that if you exert too much force from your body, you won't be back to your normal self." Commented iruka with a look of nervousness in his eyes.
'Yes, I know that Iruka! This whole thing was my fault; it should have been me to take the fall, not Sasuke's parents. But it doesn't matter now. We'll deal with him when the time is right and besides, I can't stand around feeling hurt every day, can I? As far as I am concerned, I have one goal in mind: stop the Akatsuki and keep my own home safe from harm. Sasuke and I are doing this for our family and for the people we love. Therefore, we will not let some akatsuki creep stand in our way!" said naruto with a determined look on his face.
"That knucklehead is really persistent. I am starting to think that if he keeps this up, naruto will become a great asset to our village and I do believe he has what it takes to be a shinobi." Thought Iruka with a smile across his face while crossing his arms. At this point, Iruka would promise to give Naruto his blessing as he prepares to get himself stronger and take down the traitor of Konoha once and for all.
Elsewhere, in the Hokage's office, the medical teams are having a meeting with the leader to discuss about their autopsy report regarding Fugaku and teiyakiUchiha. From the report, it appears that the victims were brutally beaten first before being slaughtered like pigs. There were also indications that both victims were likely tortured on the day of the murder. But the killer was fully intact from the waist up except for the color eyes he had, especially the robe being the size of what Batman would wear during night patrol.
"These mug shots of UchihaItachi should give you a few leads on his whereabouts after the murders. From what we can gather on the crime scene photos, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The house wasn't robbed and the entire place was clean and quiet except for the victims' blood spatters. We have a lot of clues here and our hunch is that Itachi probably killed them for something else other than just lack of attention." Said the medical examiner.
The Hokage looked over at the mug shots. "Gentlemen, we have some very solid leads to this brutal crime." He then paused to take a sip of tea from his cup. "But we should leave the hunches to the anbu forces because they should be able to track down the traitor-we will follow the evidence to bring the killer to justice."
"Did Itachi ever have an alibi for the night of the murder?" asked the medical ninja.
"Well, from what UzumakiNaruto told us, Itachi didn't provide an alibi, he was home alone and didn't venture outside of konoha. Everyone said that he didn't even bother to stop by for food in the streets nor taking a walk. He didn't even go to the Ninja Academy to pick up weapons or any ninja tools either." Continued the Hokage. "It's strange that he does not go outside for some fresh air since this place is so huge. After all, there are so many sights to be seen here."
"That's beside the point, Hokage-sama! Of course Itachi could have visited everything around her but he chose to be lazy and prohibited himself from going outside. With that being said, Itachididn't even wantSasuke to visit Naruto at all just because of that thing inside of him. You can imagine how hard this must be for him and Naruto did mention time will heal all his wounds. However, he is still haunted by itachi's threats to this day. I am sure everyone feels sorry for what Itachi had put him and Sasuke through." Commented the medical shinobi.
"Yeah, but not everyone here feels sorry for what happened to the kid, some even thought that itachi had done the right thing for his own village by killing his family. But from my experience, I don't think Fugaku and TeiyakiUchiha posed any sort of threat to konoha and they are not an enemy to this village. But our case against itachi seems to be a lot better since we gained some new information regarding his dark past. Now we just need to convince the villagers to put away that culprit so that we do not have to worry about it anymore. This whole thing should never have happened. So therefore, it was itachi's own fault to put naruto and Sasuke through such a traumatic experience. I should figure out a way to help naruto get through this without putting him in harm's way." Said the Hokage as he stood up from the desk and heads over to the ninja academy.
Back in the academy, Naruto was preparing for the next stage of his training involving hand to hand combat with rubber balloon dummies. While he was working his best not to exert too much force, he managed to pop several holes in the dummy while landing a few kicks to end the session. Meanwhile, Sasuke used speed and stealth to destroy the dummies which could help him improve his chance to take down his former brother once and for all. Iruka was pretty surprised that Sasuke had such powerful strength and knowing him, he can see hatred in the raven-haired boy's eyes, including a look of determination as well. "Sasuke must have been affected the most from this ordeal because from what I can see, he won't rest until his brother is completely defeated. He must be feeling the same way as I am when my parents were killed, but I would never blame naruto for that. Honestly, I just want both of them to live a normal life here in Konoha." He thought to himself while watching Sasuke continuing his kicks and punches on the dummies.
Minutes later, the Hokage arrives at the academy training grounds and sees sasuke training while narut was fine-tuning his weapons. "Master Iruka, I can see that your two pupils are already hard at work preparing for the fight of their lives. From this moment forward, I will leave you in charge of both Naruto and Sasuke since they seemed to have a strong student-teacher bond with you. Although I do wish that Itachi would show his brotherly bond with Sasuke but it seems that he never cared about his own brother. Do you get what I am saying?"
"Of course, hokage-sama! I am sure Naruto feels the same way about what Sasuke went through. After all, if this child is planning to get stronger, he has to endure a series of training maneuvers here in the academy. Now I know this may not be easy for him, but ever since he had sustained those injuries, I fear that the akatsuki will definitely be taking the power away from his body. There is no telling what might happen to him after the recent tragedy plaguing our village. Sometimes I even lose sleep thinking about it."Iruka looked crestfallen after that reply.
"When I make a mistake, I would lose sleep too. This will only bring more trouble to our village as we know it. If itachi is found not guilty of murder, he will only bring more pain and suffering to us. We cannot allow this treachery to go on any further and as the Hokage of Konoha, I will do everything in my power to keep Narutosafe. As long as I am still here, I will not allow some akatsuki scum to come and tear this place apart, not while the Anbu are here. If anything,Itachi should be admonished for the work he has done here. We cannot let him off the hook for the pain he caused to all of us. I was foolish to let naruto stay with itachi because none of us realized that he was turning into a homicidal maniac. But now, I must focus on how to keep naruto out of Itachi's reach." Said the Hokage with a dignified look.
"Hokage-sama, you are not to blame for what happened to Naruto-san. These things happen, people here sacrifice their lives to let us step up and keep the village safe. Life as we know it has been tough on all of us, but I don't want naruto to shoulder the burden all by himself. He has been through too much already and I think he has a hard time accepting the loss of a family. But I think I can help him get through this as best as possible. Besides, everyone already knows what's inside of this child and they are not helping him by just shunning him and putting his life in danger. Sometimes I just wish that this village will treat the kid with more respect rather than just tossing him out like a dog." Commented iruka while crossing his arms.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Iruka. But you already know the situation that Itachi brought upon us, don't you? Now, I know it's not in your nature to question my judgment, but how else can we keep Naruto safe from those thugs? This child has been extremely vulnerable by anyone that comes near him. As I said before, he doesn't pose any sort of threat to anyone. Some people need to realize that they should not fear a child just because his father sealed that thing inside of him. Sometimes I just wonder if putting him up for adoption will put him at risk? I am starting to feel that if any harm befalls upon our new hero, everything we've done up until now won't mean diddly squat." Continued the Hokage. He then turned around and heads back to the office, but not before Iruka stops him.
"Hokage-sama, I can understand what you are saying but you are not responsible for endangering the child. I am sure that some people here in the village are not used to him yet. But try not to worry about it too much, okay? As long as Naruto can regain his full strength as a shinobi, he should have no problems in combat skills, I can guarantee that. Why don't you save yourself the burden and let me look after him for a while? I think I can help Naruto get stronger and offer support when it's needed. Besides, you were right about one thing: Naruto needs to be respected more in this village. However, the child seems to be hated more than being loved. I just wish that the council members will gradually accept him as the hero he is and not treat him as a bad guy. This constant delay of him being placed up for adoption will only put more strain on us. Besides, I would like to see him being set up into a clan that respects him more and learning to put more faith in him." Finished Iruka.
"I will see what I can do, master Iruka! In the meantime, keep up the good work in getting Naruto stronger. I am already seeing some good results from that child, besides there is no need for us to worry about him since he is feeling well enough to start his training session with you. Personally I think that the child will be well suited to about one to two hour training sessions in the academy so that he is ready for the next step. Only time will tell if thfromthe at child is ready for the test of his life." With that, The Hokage returns to his office to finish up his paperwork.
As night falls, Naruto and Sasuke wraps up their training and placed everything back where it belongs without making a mess of things. Despite their hard work, most of the mannequins and other rubber items had holes in them from the kunai knives and the shurikens being tossed into them. "Looks like we made quite a big mess out of those dummies didn't we, nee-san?" said Naurto.
"With all those holes in there, it's a big mess that we won't have to clean up for the rest of our lives. As I said before, I expect no less from you. I want to see you get back in the game because I plan to beat any skilled shinobi that has less potential. Besides, you seem to fit the bill. Furthermore, I have the utmost respect for you based on your performance here so far." Said Sasuke.
"That is probably the most wanted compliment I heard from you thus far. I just wish that other people would say the same thing to me so that I would feel more appreciated. You are already a total power house, Sasuke. As long as you improve your speed and movement, I will no doubt catch up with you. This is my chance to improve myself and work my way to the top and become Hokage myself one day." Said Naruto with a proud look on his face.
"If you are going to be Hokage, you have to work hard to get to the top. Make sure you are fully prepared for the assigned tasks to improve your basic skills. I am confident that you can handle the tasks that are presented to you. Take your time with them and be sure to listen closely to what is being asked of you. I don't want you to rush through everything so be sure to think about the purpose of your training." Continued Sasuke.
"Of course, I will give it everything I got. Besides, I got plenty of time to prepare myself for the real thing. As long as Iruka teaches you, or shall I say we, the basic principles necessary to make us stronger, I am willing to take this test. Anyway we should get some rest, See you later Sasuke!" called Naruto as he heads over to his apartment to get some rest. His training had sufficiently paid off after the injuries, but he was being reminded not to overwork himself due to his body not being able to handle such force. However, Naruto has his own ways to conserve his strength to prepare for the upcoming battles ahead of him. At this point, All Naruto can do is take it easy on himself. After all, everything that the kid had done made him into what he is today. Without him, the village wouldn't be as normal as everyone thought it would be. His life had touched some, but worried other people.
Once Naruto was in bed, he had thought about what Iruka had told him and how it would help to improve his skills as a shinobi. "He wanted me to be strong, but after my sudden near death at the hands of that monster, I don't know if I will even get any stronger. But no matter; I will not need to disappoint anyone. Its my life that everyone keeps asking about all these years and it does tend to get annoying at time, but still, I like my life as it is, why should I change who I am?" he thought to himself before turning off his light for the night.
By the next morning, Naruto does his usual morning routine before going outside for his jog. He tries not to think about the near destruction of his own home at the hands of Itachi Uchihha, but the more he thought about it, the more he wants to plot his revenge against that traitor. But it is not known what prompted the murders to occur. At this point the Hokage can only pinpoint that Naruto's safety will be his concern since Itachi's doing was no longer an interest. After the events around here, everyone seems to be less interested in hearing about what the protégé had done since they don't want anything to do with him. Everyone knows that Itachi acted alone when he committed such atrocious crimes against his own people. But the blonde remembers little about the events since his mind went completely blank. At this point, all Naruto could think of was getting himself stronger as stated by Iruka.
Over at the Uchiha compound, Sasuke was also planning to make his former brother pay for his atrocities while the villagers are still searching for answers in this deadly massacre. But so far, no one knew where to look for answers since all the evidence leads to that protégé. It will be up to Naruto and Sasuke to hunt that guy down and avenge their family. Everyone knows that both of these kids have a huge responsibility ahead of them. They know what's at stake here despite thorough investigation being conducted here in Konoha. Both brothers are willing to put everything on the line to save whatever is left of heir precious village.
As Naruto and Sasuke finished their business, they decided to head over to the academy to practice what they have learned so far since their first day here. Although their rivalry remained vigilant, they still maintained a strong friendship bond together and would help each other when it's needed. The Hokage looked through his crystal ball and smiled. He was impressed at how well the boys had worked together after meeting each other face to face for the first time. "I am very happy at how well these two have progressed and I hope that they continue to improve their skills. I think the academy has become better suited for them." He thought to himself while reading the paper. Although he was still deeply affected by the tragedy, he didn't take it too hard as long as the perpetrator can be stopped.
"As long as I am the Hokage, Konoha is still my territory and I would oppose against any enemy that dares to step in here. I will take whatever drastic measures to defend this place. Only I have the free will to oppose any traitorous acts being committed here. And if anyone violates this, I have no choice but to send them to solitary confinement for the rest of their lives so that they can learn their lesson the hard way. How could I have let this serial killer to walk free? If I only could have let him surrender in peace, I would have prevented a large catastrophe here. But it does not matter to me now, that child is better off living with a family that acknowledges him more. It must have been a waste of time for me to send Naruto living with Itachi. But the bottom line is this: tracking down Itachi is far more important than any other matter encountered so far. The less we worry about Naruto's case, the better we can focus on capturing the protégé." He said to himself
Back in the academy, Iruka was going over Naruto and Sasuke's training records and was also impressed by how well both boys had worked together yesterday, but he was worried about Naruto using very little strength yesterday after his encounter with Itachi since there was little that he could do to help the child. "Naruto, after what you have been through, I honestly don't know how to help you, but I will try my best to make you stronger. Although this will not be easy, we will try to make it as simple as possible. Hang in there, buddy." He thought while looking over at the papers. Moments later, Mizuki, a long time friend of Iruka's, arrived in the classroom and sat down next to him.
"Iruka, I do believe that Naruto will get stronger as his training progresses. About Sasuke, I think he already met the requirements to be a strong shinobi, don't you agree? I am sure Naruto will catch up to him in due time. Besides, I think there is plenty of time for the child to do some additional work." Said Mizuki.
"Yes, I was considering that very possibility. But I would recommend starting Naruto off with something easy before moving on to more advanced stuff. We don't want to overwork him because he has not regained his full strength yet. I am sure you are already aware of his ordeal with Uchiha Itachi right? I am sure that you know what the traitor did to his own family recently?" replied Iruka honestly.
"I am well aware of what's happened to Sasuke's family, Iruka, but we cannot force ourselves to keep talking about this situation. We need to focus on getting Naruto back to full strength. Talking about that traitor won't bring his family back, and it won't ease the pain for Konoha either. Right now our job is to ensure that every single shinobi here get themselves well prepared for upcoming battles against other enemies that threaten Konoha. I sure hope that you understand why I am telling you this, old friend." Continued Mizuki.
"Well, if you put it that way, then okay. But you must know that Naruto-kun already has been through a lot after the recent events. However, my goal is to make him stronger as you suggested. But the Hokage requests that Naruto should be put under observation for while and as long as I am watching him, I think he should be fine. At this moment, I should probably go have a talk with him and see what he thinks of your plan. I will be back later." Replied iruka as he leaves the room.
Mizuke looks on while smiling at Iruka, but his evil glint starts to rise as he thought to himself, "You may have what it takes to save Naruto from the darkness, but I have a plan of my own to end his life. Just wait, I have a few surprises in store for you, kid. Once you are out of the picture, Iruka won't be able to help you at all. You are already being hated by everyone here so just give up on being respected. Besides, your attacks will not work against me. I already know your every more before you even make them." He then disappeared into a puff of smoke from the classroom.
Meanwhile, in another section of the academy, Naruto and Sasuke were busy reading up a book regarding their basic training when Iruka showed up and said, "Good to see you boys here once again, you guys did well on your first day here. Let's see if you can keep it up. Despite the difficulties you have encountered thus far, I don't think you both will have any trouble defeating real enemies after you pass your training here. Now I want you both to apply what you have learned so far since you first arrived here. You both know how to make replicas of yourselves right? Naruto, why don't you come up and try it just for practice. I think it will help you to improve your skills."
Naruto walked up to the front of the classroom and made a few hand signs before dispelling out a few clones. Iruka was pretty surprised, but he was not impressed at the clones he made. "Well, not a bad start Naruto, but you might need to work on the hair lines a bit more and the body needs to be stretched out a bit, but not too far. If you keep working at it, eventually you will become better and better at it. This technique isn't necessarily hard since almost everyone can do it, don't give up okay? As long as you practice enough, you should be in good shape. Go ahead, give it another go. I might keep one of these voodoo dolls as a souvenir." He then walked over and picked up the Naruto voodoo doll and placed it in a bag in his backpack. As Naruto continued working on making replicas of himself, he found out he wasn't making better progress, but he said he would continue working hard to make these clones perfect since he want to show the world his true skills as a shinobi. So he promised himself he would make himself stronger before fighting his true foe. All along, Naruto wanted to become the best of the best just like Sasuke since he refuses to be another one of those lackeys back in the orphanage.
"Iruka, what could you possibly want with a voodoo doll figure of me?" asked Naruto with a weird look.
"Well, I might keep this in memory of you, Naruto. After all, I need something to remember you by, don't I? You should go back to practice, I will be back in a little while, okay?" replied Iruka with a smile as he left the room.
"Why would he need a voodoo doll of me? That's not like Iruka at all." Through naruto as he continued his practice.
Elsewhere, in the hallway, Mizuki heard everything from Iruka and thought, "So you want to keep something from Naruto aren't you? It's a good sign because pretty soon, I will be erasing all traces of your bond with that child. The powers inside of him will be good as mine! Once you have been taken care of, Iruka, I will personally dispose of the demon child myself and no one, not even the Hokage can save him now!" He then laughed with an evil glint on his face as he preps for his plan of exterminating Konoha's hero. Unknown to Iruka, he fears that if Mizuki gets his hands on Naruto, all the things that he worked so hard to achieve will be destroyed.
Naruto's life rests solely in Iruka's hands now because he would never go anywhere without him and if anything happens to him or his teacher, the child will ensure that no one stands in his way and he would use whatever force necessary to eliminate any threat that occurs here, even if he or she is not from here. The Hokage was counting on Naruto to protect everything that is precious to him to ensure that no foe dares to step in. However the villagers could care less what they think of Naruto since he is still a threat to them. But Naruto was not about to be threatened as he continues his training. He still has a long way to go to reach his ultimate goal: become Hokage and eliminating Itachi Uchiha.
Stop…. I do believe that's the end of this chpter. Although this one took a while to finish due to some repetitive lines, but it's not a problem, I had to get the plot of Mizuki introduced since he will be plotting something against Naruto very soon since Itachi tried to get rid of Naruto a while back, but he failed to do so. So in the next chapter, more of Naruto's training is introduced and we might see what Mizuki will have in store for the child. What will Naruto do to prevent Mizuki from destroying the bond between him and Iruka? Tune in next time to chapter 13. Untile then read and enjoy.