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"Naruto" – Speaking

'Naruto' – Thoughts

Naruto – Flashback

Naruto – Jutsu

Spiraling Comet of Konoha

A Story About a Salamander

Previously on Spiraling Comet of Konoha,

And so, a week has passed since that day at the remote training ground. And things were not bad, not actually good but not bad. The scars about Orochimaru ambushing the village and killing the man that was once called the 'God of Shinobi' and then there was the fact Sasuke was acted by his older brother and another S-rank criminal; the former bought his younger brother in a coma.

But everyone was taking it slow to get used to Sasuke acting like an innocent child again and saw that this kid was a good hider; got it all from Naruto himself. And speaking of whom, the blonde managed to get some respect among his peers, comrades and fellow villagers to the point they never insulted him or threw rocks again. But the stares were still there, that was the only problem Naruto had.

Right now, Tsunade was taking a little walk when she got her paperwork done early. But only for a good half hour before it is desk work again. So the Hokage decided to go to the same place that Naruto had asked for him to use reservedly; so no one will get in trouble during his training hours. And over the week, Naruto was always at the training ground at this hour.

But when Tsunade arrived, she felt like something was at his foot. Looking down, she saw a very old scroll just lying on the ground. Kneeing down to get a better look, Tsunade saw a label in Kanji on one side. And it read, "Salamander?" She said to herself and wondered what could be inside.

That is, until a memory that she had buried years ago had bubbled to the surface and won't go away. It was a bad memory of a time during a war she found herself fighting in; a lot of her fellow shinobi were killed. But this was a memory of a squad she was part of along with a certain two men of her age as the only survivors. Survivors against a certain foe from one of the warring villages, this one had rain all year long. This man was the ruling Shinobi and seemed to be undefeatable at the time.

But before Tsunade could try to cast this aside, she heard something faint but clear in the distance. It was definitely Naruto as the sound of chains were to be heard too. But that wasn't what froze the Hokage as she watched the blonde launch an attack at a wooden target; it was this,

"Hagama no Mai: Rakukō no Yaiba!" And just then, Tsunade felt like she saw a ghost. A ghost of a man. He was a rather muscular man of above-average height, with long blond hair reaching down to his back and a prominent scar on his right cheek. He had a dark hat on his head and his lower face was mostly obscured by a helmet-like respirator, which he used to keep his own poison at bay and that differed from the ones worn by other Amegakure shinobi she ever seen, as it was notably larger and featured two filter cartridges instead of the typical one. The upper portion of this mask bore the symbol of his village and was mirrored by four indentations on the part covering his mouth.

His attire consisted of a loose wetsuit-like outfit typical of his village, accented by bandages wrapped around his wrists and lower legs, a flak jacket with swirls on the chest-plate, standard shinobi sandals and a dark cloak that reached down below his waist. Underneath this wetsuit, he donned a dark, short-sleeved, midriff shirt which exposed his lower abdomen.

It was a long time before she seen such a thing. But this proves the scroll that Naruto had been studying and had shown her before this battle started. "Hanzō, you still live you bastard."

"Spoils of Shinobi, Sennin. Simple as that." As if the wind was speaking, Tsunade was sure to have seen the spirit of a man that she hoped to be dead.

"Am I really that much in trouble for practicing? Don't tell me that I didn't go on a mission you assigned Hokage-sama." Naruto said while in the Hokage Office, at the top most floor of the Hokage Tower. There, Tsunade herself was in her chair and in front of her desk was pretty much the entire Konoha Twelve.

"I just want to know something Naruto." Tsunade had this worried look in her eyes. "How is that you are in possession of scrolls that tell the secrets of Hanzo the Salamander?" That caused the likes of Jiraiya to widen his eyes.

"What!?" He screamed that scared the rest of the Konoha Twelve as well as confusing them even more. They never heard of such a name, not even in the academy. "Gaki!"

"Spoils of Shinobi Ero-Sennin, if you gain them then you keep them." Naruto said casually said. And this didn't answer any questions his fellow Shinobi had boiling in their minds.

"Excuse me but who is Hanzo the Salamander?" Sakura asked, a little ironic since she gained a reputation in the academy for being a 'know-it-all'. In fact, that was how she graduated, because she aced all her exams without a hitch. She even solved the difficult questions during the first part of the Chunin Exams.

"There is a long story to Hanzo the Salamander Haruno-san." Naruto finally answered, with Sakura wondering why he is still not addressing her by her full name. "A summary is that Hanzo was a warlord and a fierce Shinobi, one that even defeated the squad of Shinobi that the San Sennin of Konoha were part of during the Second Shinobi War."

"Hanzo defeated the San Sennin of Konoha!?" Shikamaru shouted, which drove some attention to himself. It was just the Nara seemed to never get scared or startled. "Is he really that powerful?!"

"He was. In fact, it was Hanzo that gave them the names of Sennin for being the only survivors." Naruto said and it took a few minutes for the second meaning to register in their minds.

"You say that he 'was' that strong? Does that mean?" Shino said that in a much more clam tone.

"That's right. Hanzo can't meet any of you personally. I got it all from the runaway that told me everything and even gave me his treasure. Hanzo had long been killed, assassinated." Naruto said and this time, it was Tsunade and Jiraiya that were startled.

"What the hell do you mean assassinated? Who is that powerful to do so!?" The Hokage herself shouted but everyone then saw Naruto's downtrodden look.

"It didn't matter how powerful the assassin was. The runaway told me about how Hanzo had lost his conviction and became nothing but a shell of his former shelf. A shell that even grew so soft that even a child can kill him." Naruto said in an encrypted tone that none of the Konoha Twelve seem to understand. But the two Sennin sure did and they looked the same as the blonde. "But to fully understand on how much I know, I will need to start from the beginning…"

XXXXX

Flashback Begins!

*Whew!* A familiar blonde had fell to the ground on his bottom, with sweat covering his skin and there were even some bruising and dirt too; all signs of training hard. "That's it. Any longer than I will just drop dead. Not bad for one day's practice." Naruto said, surveying the destruction of the very ground and any trees that were destroyed greatly. There were carving outs and swirls everywhere.

"I guess that I underestimated my eagerness once I figured out what I can do with my new technique. In fact, I am going to make it my latest, signature technique once I become Hokage!" Naruto continued, talking to himself before let out another sign and fell onto his back. "But first a little nap and then a meditation to get back that lost juice."

But a nap wasn't going to take long for someone as hyperactive as Naruto, even when heavily exhausted. And who would have thought that the mediation, which also lasted only for about two seconds, actually did the trick. "Alright! Back to business, the sun isn't setting yet!" Naruto yelled, body filled with energy again. But then training and practicing was lost from his mind when Naruto heard some rustling in the distance.

"Odd. I thought no one ever comes here…unless they have a good reason, like me!" Naruto talked to himself and decided to check it out. And the sight that beholden him was strange indeed; then there was this sense of déjà vu that somehow sneaked up his spine. It was a Shinobi, for sure by his headband, but he was hiding behind one of the trees while looking his shoulder. And in his arms were scrolls. Shinobi scrolls that all have the Kanji for 'salamander'.

"Something worth looking into and no time to let this be known." Naruto was able to whisper to himself, and thankfully it worked because that Shinobi didn't even twitched into his direction. And so, Naruto got as close as he could to hear the runaway Shinobi clearly.

"…man. What a cinch! This job was too easy, those guards were worthless and it was just begging me to have them!" He spoke with exhaustion from running in his voice but Naruto knew those words; they were of a thief who was proud of his deed. "These will surely give me a good buck and the best part is that none of those Amegakure Shinobi will ever think of following me through Fire Country territory."

Naruto now knew where the thief had stolen them from but wanted to hear more. What was so important and so valuable about a bunch of scrolls that just said 'salamander'? As in the reptile that was rumored to be born from fire. And he got his answer.

"And to think that Hanzo the Salamander, the one who defeated the Sannin of Konoha, had wrote everything there is gaining his power in this scrolls!" The thief spoke, "The strength! The speed! The Katon techniques! The Kusarigama techniques! And even the summon to his Salamanders that can eat boulders, poison entire villages and knock down forests!" Naruto was getting more and more interested, even though he could barely make out what the thief was saying until, "All these made Hanzo the Salamander as strong as any Kage!"

"Thank you." Naruto finally decided to move and alerted the thief that the latter had someone listening in all this time. "Those are valuable but it will be a waste to sell them to never be used. So…" When the thief tried to find whoever spoke to him, it was too late. He felt someone hit him in the neck, causing him to fall into blissful unconsciousness. "Am I glad that we finally got that old trick down?"

"Sure boss!" Naruto smirked to his small batch of clones, compared to how much he really could make while stressing his reserves. "Open them!" They began to chant and chant away which got Naruto to try and calm them down.

"Okay, okay. Let's see about this 'summon' and if it is anything like the Toads." Naruto said, trying to figure out which of the scrolls is the one he wants to try first. And after looking through the scrolls that contained content, tossing them away for later, he finally did. "Alright! Here we go!"

Naruto remembered that in order to get a contract with the Toad Summon Clan, you will need to write your name with your own blood and even leave a hand print in it. After all, a pint of blood is the least amount any summoner can give for any member summoned. It all depends on how much chakra pushed into the technique.

After finding out that the scrolls contained much less names than the Toad Summon Contract, Naruto filled in his name and handprint anyways. And when that was done, Naruto remembered the hand signs and went for enough chakra for a summon salamander that is slightly bigger than the palm of his hand.

And one did appear and looked up Naruto despite having no visible eyes, yet it could see the blonde looking down on it. Naruto waited for it to talk like Gamakichi of the Toads. But for a good ten minutes, the Salamander was silent until the ice was broken. "I am bored."

Now Naruto could get startled that a salamander is actually talking but this blonde was harder to shock nowadays. "Me too. Now can we get clear on me as your next summoner?" Naruto said, brief and to the point. Taking everything he learned about his first encounter with Shinobi Summon Clan for a better first impression.

The salamander in Naruto's hand then looked at the contract scrolls and saw the blonde's name there on the latest slot. "Looks that way but no one has become a summoner of us in such a long time."

"Well that wait is over so tell me your name, you already know mine to be the first one from the right." Naruto said and the salamander nodded.

"Okay, my name is Dokumaru and my dad is Ibuse, the clan chef!" Naruto smirked. This reminded him a lot like Gamakichi alright. "And I may be young but I can kill a squad of shinobi will my poison and my skin is so tough, kunai can't even scratch it!" Dokumaru could have went on until it was deflected from Naruto's hand by said weapon he described. Thankfully that wasn't a bluff and there wasn't even a dent. "Do you want to die!?"

"I want to be clear Dokumaru." Naruto said without a hitch or hesitation or even guilt for his slight doubt that led to one of his clones striking the representation of the Salamander Clan. "Now tell me what your relations are with the Toads…"

"Are you a summoner of them too!?" Dokumaru yelled, leaking something of a purple gas from openings in his mouth.

"Yes and I will not try to summon both at once. You told me enough!" Naruto said and Dokumaru had calmed down a little before safely inhaling his own poison. The wonders of being a Salamander Summon.

"Good because we can't stand the vanity and stubbornness of the Toads and they even tried to eat one of us!" Dokumaru said before he noticed Naruto picking him up only for the blonde to put Dokumaru on his shoulder.

"Let's change the subject and tell me about Hanzo, your last summoner. I need to understand the rest of these scrolls." Naruto said and Dokumaru nodded. The little salamander went on about how Hanzo really was a powerful Shinobi to be one of their summoner, they heard about how Hanzo has proven to be stronger than the average Kage-level Shinobi.

For every scroll Naruto went over and gave to a good portion of Kage Bunshin, Dokumaru will try his personal best to give more Intel on the subject. That includes the basics, exercises for greater strength and speed, the Katon trap and Kusarigama techniques, and even the tactics Hanzo used with the Salamander Summons. This includes the use of special Shinobi weights that can be adjusted for the amount of gravity on the body when used, how to actually use kunai and Shuriken, and then there was the Shunshin no Jutsu.

Naruto loved on how easy and convenient it was for pretty much any type of use. But the blonde didn't stop there, he learned inclusive techniques that Hanzo used that the late warlord put in his scrolls. Techniques named the Katon: Kibaku Enjin and the Hagama no Mai: Rakukō no Yaiba.

But since the first one was a Katon technique and the other needed the use of the Kusarigama, Naruto got to work on that too. It took a good couple of hours, even with Kage Bunshin working, to get the basics down. And Naruto still needed to make sure that he got a good supply of explosive notes to use the Katon: Kibaku Enjin.

Those were the easier stuff to do and Naruto was unsure if he could use the Katon: Kibaku Enjin at all. He just never considered that he could use Katon. Being able to use fire just reminded him of how Sasuke will always rub it in everyone's face that he already knew just to use an elemental Jutsu even before the academy years started. But Naruto was the type to keep at it because it needed to be done.

Of course, what made it hard was that Naruto was still part of the agreement. The one that he made with the washed up Tsunade that the blonde will master the a-rank Jutsu that Jiraiya had started to teach him before the week ended. And Naruto only had a couple of days left. The clones could take care of it but the problem was that Naruto can easily lost his focus when those clones blow themselves up trying to use even the basic of Katon.

Then came the day that Naruto was to see if he could win the bet. That was why he hid the scrolls away and joined the conflict which involved Orochimaru and Kabuto. It was a cinch to send a couple of clones to retrieve the scrolls while everyone else was looking elsewhere.

Flashback Ends!

XXXXX

"So now you are the owner of Hanzo's techniques and even his Summoning contract?" Tsunade asked to be clear. And when Naruto nodded simply,

"But you already have a summoning contract, to the Toads!" Jiraiya yelled and Naruto just picked out his ear.

"I know Ero-Sennin. The Toads know too and I will not summon one of my Salamanders at the same time as the Toads." Naruto said in a plain tone. He had learned that the Toads and the Salamanders are not on even civil terms. "The Salamanders are a primary offensive Summon so they will do that while the Toads will act as a supporting Summon due to their diversity."

"He is right you know." Tsunade smiled to see Jiraiya grumble about 'a gaki outwitting him' and 'Tsunade-hime ganging up on an old man'. "Anyways, we need to discuss how you are planning to pass down the rights to the scrolls and the Summoning contract. The council will want them both, even from your cold and dead hands." Tsunade then said with a forlorn look in her tone and even in her eyes.

And yet Naruto looked no different. "The only council I answer to as a Shinobi are the clan heirs that are bullied by pushy and greedy civilians. They will hear me out, whatever the civilians are there or not."

"Hey!" Naruto turned simply to Kiba who didn't looked rather appreciative of what the blonde is saying. "My clan, my mother is that weak to be bullied by stupid civilians!"

"It is not the civilians that your mother is afraid of. It was the Hokage who supported the civilians over the Shinobi heads along with his three advisors that have long passed their retirement dates. They treat this village like we are still in a war." Naruto explained and Kiba lost any other ranting he had in his mind to let loose.

"Um…" Hinata said, despite getting over her stuttering, she still had some shyness in her personality. "If you claim possession of those scrolls and Summoning Contract, then are you counting them both as property of your clan? Meaning will be the inheritance to any children of yours?"

Naruto smirked at Hinata, "I thought we assured Kurenai-san that we won't be jumping the gun? Are you tired of waiting and changed your mind?" Everyone gasped when their brains finally registered what the blonde and his girl said and when they added two to two,

"Absolutely not!" Kurenai just happened to be in their along with the other Jonin Instructors. And her over-protectiveness as Hinata's mother figure took over, big time. "No one is going to become a mother within the same year as Academy Graduation. Not even in the next five years!"

"Calm down!" Tsunade loved to silence men for any reason but doing that to a fellow woman and Kunoichi felt kind of weird, in the sense of heart wrenching weird. "Kurenai, Naruto is only teasing. He is still the prankster that we know unfortunately." Tsunade told the Genjutsu Mistress, "And I will see to it that No one jumps the gun. Not even by accident."

After glaring at the Konoha Twelve, Tsunade sneaked some nasty glance at Asuma and Kurenai herself. Everyone else just nodded for the heck of it. "And to answer your question Hinata," Naruto finally spoke again. "Yes, I will have to get to work to make these scrolls as part of my legacy. I am sure that any children you carry will use them for the right reasons." Naruto proved that he was still a mischief-maker by still teasing his girlfriend.

"That's enough!" Tsunade didn't want any more trouble in her office. "You have told your story and now get back to work, all of you. I need to think about all this!" When Tsunade heard a cricket in the silence and saw that no one was going anywhere, "NOW!"

End of Chapter 5.

*Here is the first update of the month!*

Translations:

Kage Bunshin – Shadow Clones

Shunshin no Jutsu – Body Flicker Technique

Katon: Kibaku Enjin – Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation

Hagama no Mai: Rakukō no Yaiba – Dance of the Sickle Blade: Falling Descent Blade