Hello everyone! I sincerely apologize for taking so long to put out a chapter. Work as been very chaotic lately, but hopefully soon I will be able to move to a different position with normalized hours. In other news, this story has gotten over 10,000 views and over 100 favorites!
First, I would like to officially say that I have no plans of turning this story into a harem. At this current time, I can't honestly see Sakura or even Hinata for that matter, sharing Naruto with anyone. Secondly, I had to create several OCs for this chapter. I try to avoid creating unnecessary OCs, but I couldn't find anyone how fit the roles I needed. I am marking this as an AU change.
Responses to your awesome reviews are at the bottom.
Mach Farcon does not own Naruto.
And without any more delay, here's the next chapter! Chapter 8: The Unraveling
Naruto awoke from his nightmares with a stifled shout. He congratulated himself on being much quieter when he awoke now. He didn't, after all, want to wake anyone else up. As awareness came to him, a massive grin crossed his face. Today was the day he was moving into the new apartment/house. Naruto grinned as he thought about how Hinata's father had personally signed the documents for his new place. And the rent was so much cheaper. He idly wondered what he would do with all of the extra money he was bound to have. He shrugged. Perhaps one of his friends would know...
As Naruto walked into the bathroom to start his morning, he idly wondered yet again about Haku's strange attitude. They had arrived back yesterday from the mission to Wave. After he had met with Hinata-Chan's father to sign the paperwork, Naruto and Haku had headed back to the blonde's apartment. After they had packed the few items that were not already in sealing scrolls, they had run into their first issue. Haku had insisted that Naruto take the bed while he took the couch. Naruto, however, insisted that Haku take the bed since she was his guest. Naruto hadn't ever had someone stay over at his apartment before, but he recalled Sakura-Chan's mother saying something about letting a guest stay in your bed. Eventually, Haku relented after a long argument.
A little while later, Naruto exited the bathroom into an aroma of delicious smells. Naruto sniffed, quickly determining that the origin of the wonderful smelling ramen was coming from his kitchen. Naruto grabbed a shirt and headed out to investigate. As he entered the small kitchen, he spotted Haku stirring a pot of savory ramen.
"Haku-Chan!" Naruto happily asked, "Is that ramen for the both of us?"
Haku gave one final stir before answering. "Naruto-Sama! This ramen is for you! I haven't made ramen in a long time, but I did my best!" She turned around. "Naruto-Sama, please go out and wait at the table. I will bring the food out in a few minutes!"
Naruto shrugged, confused, and headed out to the table. To his slight surprise, the table was already set. As Naruto waited for his meal, he wondered if this was what people did when they stayed at someone else's house. Were you supposed to make food for them? Naruto, after pondering the idea for a minute or two, decided to ask Sakura-Chan to find out for certain. He was distracted from his thoughts by Haku bringing a bowl of delicious ramen to his spot.
"Do you like it Naruto-Sama?" Haku asked hesitantly, unsure if she had made the ramen correctly.
"It's great Haku-Chan!" Naruto praised between bites. "It's some of the best ramen I've ever had!" Haku flushed slightly from the blonde's exuberant praise as she sat down with her own bowl of ramen.
A half hour, and more then several bowls of ramen later, Naruto leaned back with a satisfied stretch. "That was some of the best ramen ever!" He congratulated Haku, "You made it great!"
"Thank-you Naruto-Sama!" Haku bowed, feeling uncomfortable with all of the blonde's praise. She quickly gathered up the used dinnerware, planning on using her bloodline to quickly wash them. As she started to wash the dishes, she called back into the eating area. "Naruto-Sama! When are you planning on filling out the paperwork for this apartment? While you are doing that, I will take all of your things to the new house." She paused for a moment as she concentrated on her bloodline. "I will also be picking up a few things at the store. I will meet you at the house in a few hours."
"I'm going to head out now, Haku-Chan!" Naruto called back, standing up and heading towards the door. He idly wondered as he opened it what the landlord would say when he was informed that Naruto was moving out. The blonde shrugged. It didn't really matter. The paperwork Naruto had signed a few years ago had stated that he could have his apartment taken away if someone else wanted it and if he talked about his rent he would be evicted.
Junpei Teligan grunted to himself. He was bored. He was currently sitting in his office waiting for something to happen. Junpei was the 'lucky' one who was voted to be the landlord of the demon. Part of him was proud of the fact that he was considered smart and subtle enough to warrant such a important position. Junpei had been able to, though carefully worded paperwork, take practically all of the little demon fox's money. The council had hoped that this would drive the demon to buy cheap food, thus allowing them to poison the fox. Sadly this had not happened yet. The sound of the office door opening broke the plain-faced man from his musings.
Naruto entered the landlord's office. The bell above the door rang out as the door opened. Junpei, the landlord, seemed quite shocked to see him; Naruto noted. Naruto walked up to the desk and greeted the friendly landlord. "Hello Junpei-San! How are you today?"
"I-I am doing fine!" The badly rattled civilian stuttered. "Did I summon the demon with my errant thoughts?" Junpei thought, horrified by the thought. It was a testament to his excellent acting skills that none of his internal horror appeared on his face. After taking a few moments to compose himself, Junpei asked his...tenant why he was in his office.
"Well, Junpei-San, I'm here to tell you that I'm moving out." Naruto informed him, much to the landlord's utter shock.
Junpei barely kept his eyes from widening. He turned away quickly, pretending that he needed to get the paperwork, as he quickly went into the back of the office. "I'll be just a minute, Naruto!" He called out as he was searching for a certain piece of paperwork that would require the demon to stay under his watchful eye. As he searched, he called out to Naruto, hoping to glean more information. "So where are you moving to?"
"It's the house right outside of the Hyuga clan compound." Naruto answered, unable to hide his excitement at the thought of moving to a bigger apartment. His sensitive ears picked up a thud and a stifled curse from his landlord. A moment later Junpei-San came out of the back room with a small stack of papers in hand.
"All right, Naruto!" He began, his acting skills coming into play once again, "Just sign these few documents and you'll be free to go!"
Junpei watched the demon fox shut the door with welcoming smile. As soon as the door clicked close, his smile melted off his face. An alarmed expression broke onto his face as he worried about this new terrible development. The demon wasn't going to be constantly watched now! What would horrible thing it do while unsupervised? And it wasn't like they could just switch locations and continue watching the fox. He was next to the Hyuga compound. Junpei had heard stories of the powerful eyes of the Hyuga. It was said that they could see though walls! If that was the case, how could they stop the demon now?
Junpei quickly determined that he needed to speak to his contact on the council. They had to know this troubling development! The landlord quickly moved to the office door, locked it, flipped the open sign to closed, and left the office. He hurried though town, fear granting him haste. After he traveled for exactly twenty minutes, he ducked into an abandoned ally to continue. He normally stayed away from alleys, but this called for all due speed. As he waved into another ally, he suddenly felt a slight pinprick of pain in the right side of his neck. His hand flew up to his neck with a muttered curse. Suddenly, his arms felt heavy, as if they suddenly gained fifty pounds. A second later, his legs grew numb. Junpei staggered forward, terribly confused as to what was going on. Three weaving steps later, his knees gave out and he tumbled to the ground. His vision swam, darkness encroaching in. His last terrified, coherent thought was that he just didn't understand what was happening!
Haku quietly hummed as she entered the house. It was easy, as she expected, to buy items when the foolish villagers didn't know she was Naruto-Sama's tool. Normally she would have informed everyone of her new role, but getting quality items for Naruto-Sama was more important. She allowed herself a small smirk as she thought of Naruto-Sama's reaction to his new bed. She had only slept on his old one night, but she could safely say that sleeping on the ground in a bedroll was probably just as comfortable, if not more so. The bed sales man had been very helpful in getting her the perfect product for Naruto-Sama. She wondered, with an amused smile, what the salesman would have done had he known who the bed was really for...
She hummed to herself as she started unpacking the bed from the sealing scroll. After finishing putting together both her and Naruto's beds, she started unpacking the rest of Naruto-Sama's items. It was sad, she realized, that Naruto-Sama had so few things. She frowned unhappily, her pretty face scrunching. She just didn't understand. Why did this village hate Naruto-Sama's bloodline when they loved all the other ones?
She heard the door open as Naruto entered the house. "Haku-Chan!" He called, "I got all of the paperwork done! This place is ours now!"
"That's great Naruto-Sama!" Haku exclaimed happily as she entered the room, genuinely happy that her master finally had a place that was protected from the villagers as well as a place he could feel at home. She vowed, in that instant as she looked at Naruto's happy sky-blue eyes, that she would make this a home. It wasn't until sometime later that she realized one very massive issue with her vow: She herself had no idea of what a home was. "This" She silently decided, "Is an unforgivable breach of knowledge on my part. How can I be a useful tool to Naruto-Sama if I cannot even give him a home? I must find someone who has a home to learn what techniques they use!"
As the two teenagers unpacked the few items that they had on the second floor, the door bell sounded out. Momentarily startled by the sound, both teens quickly moved to the ground floor to see who was at the door. About halfway down the steps, Naruto broke out in a happy grin. "It's Sakura-Chan!" A moment later he added, "Hinata-Chan and Kurenai-Sensei are also with her!" Naruto vaulted down the remaining steps eager to let his friends in. He rushed up to the door and threw it open.
"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata gasped in surprise, having not expected him to throw the door open, "Hello!"
"Hi Hinata-Chan!" Naruto greeted happily, gesturing to the group on the front step to enter. "We're still unpacking, but come in! Haku-Chan made some of the best ramen this morning!"
"Haku-San made ramen for you?" Sakura spoke up, her voice fluctuating between shock and anger. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we have some right?" She asked, her voice innocent.
Naruto shrugged. "I don't see why she would mind."
"Naruto-Kun." Kurenai began, gaining the blonde's attention, "Here is a house warming gift." She presented the surprised teen with a wrapped box. Seeing him start to open his mouth to protest, she quickly explained, "People give gifts to those they care about. It is tradition to give gifts when they move to a new house. When I move to a different place someday, you can give me a gift."
"Naruto-Kun," Hinata handed him a gift shyly, "Here is one from me." Naruto accepted the medium sized box with a slightly strange expression on his face. Sakura also handed the blonde her gift. Naruto still felt slightly overwhelmed by the idea that someone would care so much about him that they would take the time to get him a gift. He quickly sank into the couch. After staring at the gifts with some indefinable emotion, he shunted the strange feeling to the side. He quickly opened the top gift, the one from Hinata. In the medium sized box was a new black shirt. It was a long sleeved shirt with an orange spiral on the one side. Naruto just stared at the shirt, unsure if he should wear it. It was a very nice shirt after all.
"Well, " Sakura asked impatiently, "Aren't you going to try it on?"
Naruto blinked, "Right here?" Sakura and Hinata instantly flushed red.
Kurenai, seeing that both of her students were temporarily unable to respond, replied "No. You should go into the bathroom to change. You're not supposed to change in front of others." Naruto nodded. It made sense. He had never seen someone change in front of him before.
As soon as Naruto left the room to change, Sakura and Hinata turned around to berate their teacher, unhappy that she had informed Naruto that he couldn't change in front of them. Kurenai pointed out, "You do realize that had I not informed him, he would end up changing in front of other girls right?"
Sakura's and Hinata's mouths snapped shut. Hinata looked grateful to her sensei while Sakura looked angry at the thought of some other girl getting a glimpse of Naruto. The sound of Haku entering the room broke the awkward air that had started to develop. "Hello Kurenai-San, Hinata-San, and Sakura-San." She softly greeted with a bow. "Where is Naruto-Sama?"
"Naruto-Kun is changing into the shirt Hinata-Chan bought him." Sakura answered, still evidently not liking Haku. Haku inclined her head. "Then I shall wait for Naruto-Sama here."
A minute later Naruto reentered the room. All three of the girls flushed slightly as they took in his new shirt. It's button down design led a more formal air to him, while the shirt was filled out with his growing muscle. Naruto scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment at all of the attention. "That bad, huh?" He asked, half jokingly.
"N-No!" Sakura burst out, "You look great!" She flushed a deeper red at her bold words. "B-But you should only wear that on special occasions! Like going out to dinner or something!" Naruto nodded. He wasn't sure why Haku-Chan's, Hinata-Chan's, and Sakura-Chan's faces were red, but Kurenai sensei was there to help them. He headed back to change back into his normal t-shirt.
As Sakura attempted to get her blush under control, a sudden thought occurred to her. "Hinata-Chan, how did you know what size to get Naruto-Kun?"
Hinata flushed a deeper red and began to poke her two index fingers together. "N-No reason Sakura-Chan." She replied, looking down at the floor.
"Really?" Sakura pressed, "I find it hard to believe that you just guessed!"
"I-I m-may have looked at N-Naruto-Kun's clothes once." Hinata quietly confessed, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"What!" Sakura half-shouted, looking scandalized. "When did you do that?"
Hinata refused to look her in the eye. "A little while ago."
Any further discussion was halted by Naruto's reentry into the room. He quickly headed over to Hinata and gave her a massive hug. Hinata let out a squeak of surprised shock and almost fainted. "Thank-You Hinata-Chan! I love your gift!" Naruto exclaimed. He quickly moved to open the next gift, oblivious to Hinata's brightly glowing face.
Naruto started opening the smallest box next. Sakura leaned forward as her Naruto-Kun opened the gift that she had given him. Naruto opened the box and gave out a gasp of awed shock. He slowly lifted the pristine kunai out of the padded box. He grinned as he spun the kunai around in his hand. He had never found such a good kunai as this one laying around! After marveling at the perfect balance and weight of the razor sharp weapon, he slid it into his kunai holster. Sakura was able to successfully suppress a Hinata-like squeak of surprise when Naruto engulfed her in a warm hug as he thanked her. Sakura was certain that she was rivaling Hinata with her blush.
Naruto opened the last gift. After he opened the box, he stared down at the items, confused. Kurenai, seeing his confusion, explained her gift. "It's a beginner set of training weights. You infuse them with chakra and they will get heavier." Naruto grinned happily. He could just imagine how strong he would get with weights! He quickly strapped on his new training gear, excited to train. After bouncing on his feet, his grin never fading, he gave a massive hug to Kurenai before rushing off to change into his training clothes, eager to test out the training weights. The other occupants in the room couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm.
A few minutes later, Naruto raced back into the room. "Let's go train!" He cheered as he skidded to a stop, nearly slamming into the couch as he entered the living room. Kurenai chuckled at Naruto's near crash for a moment before asking, "How much chakra did you put into the weights?"
"I dunno." The blonde shrugged. "I just kept pushing chakra into them until they wouldn't take anymore."
Kurenai sighed. She really should have seen this coming. "Naruto. You are supposed to increase the weight a little at a time. So you build muscle and power without sacrificing anything else."
"Ohhhh..." Naruto verbalized. He had thought it kind of odd that they hindered his movement, but he had never worn weights either. He plopped down and poked the release seal on the weights. The almost deafening BOOM that issued as all of the chakra rushed out at once made Kurenai glad that the beginner training weights only allowed a small amount of chakra. Naruto carefully push a bit of chakra back into the weights.
The Uzumaki stood up. This was much easier than before! He didn't have to struggle to stand up. "Let's go training!" He cheered once again. After a moment, he turned to face Haku. "Haku-Chan, you don't have to come with us if you don't want to. It's just a training session."
Haku bowed with relief. "Thank-You Naruto-Sama! The house will be completely clean by the time you return!"
As Team Eight walked toward their training ground, Naruto turned to Kurenai and asked, "Kurenai-Sensei, you never told us how you defeated that missing nin in Wave."
Kurenai looked over at her team. "Do you really want to know?" Seeing the eager nods, she started to recount her fight...
Kurenai dodged out of the way of the wild swing. The instantaneous fallow up swing caused her to leap back from her opponent. The missing nin let out another chuckle as he heedlessly charged in her direction. She brought up her kunai to block another sword swing, and instantly regretted it. The power behind the sword swing almost tore the kunai from her hands. Her hands to stung from the force of the blow. She dodged the second and third attack. As she leapt back, she got her first good look at the missing ninja. He was tall and extremely muscled, but not to the point of grotesque. Scars, both small and large, crisscrossed every inch of exposed skin. He, unlike many missing nin, did not have the forehead protector of his former village. Instead, he had a long red piece of cloth tied around his head. His black hair was cut short, almost to the scalp. His dark eyes showed a strange mixture of bloodlust, cunning, and madness that was more than slightly unsettling.
"What is your name?" She questioned the missing nin, seeking to buy a little time and space.
"Ha! My name is Anaguma Kuma!" The missing nin laughed. "Hold still so I can gut ya!" Anaguma charged the Konoha Jonin once again, letting out another deep chuckle. Kurenai dodged, her hands rapidly forming the signs for the fire wall technique. She took a deep breath as she landed. The moment both her feet touched the ground, she hand sprung backward away from the missing nin. As soon as she gained the proper distance, she unleashed the fire technique! A small ten foot wall of fire separated her from Anaguma. Knowing she had only a few seconds before the battle-thirsty missing ninja caught up to her, she quickly wove though the hand signs for the Hell Viewing Technique. It wasn't even a second after she reached the final hand seal when Anaguma charged directly though the wall of fire. She hastily cast the genjutsu on the sword wielding Anaguma. To her utter shock and horror, he simple continued charging her, despite the technique. "Ha ha ha!" He laughed. "You think your fancy illusions will stop me!" Kurenai eyes widened further as the missing ninja seemed to be immune to the technique's illusion. She desperately leapt back once again.
"Don't you want to know my name?" She desperately asked as she dodged away from the blindingly fast swings. She needed more time to set up her genjutsu. She was fairly confident that she could take care of him once her genjutsu took hold, but she needed him to not be next to her.
"Sure." Anaguma allowed with an amused chuckle. "It's always good for someone to remember you when you DIE!"
"I'm Kurenai Yuhi, Jonin of Konoha." The black-haired woman introduced, carefully easing back several steps. As soon as she reached ten steps back, her hands blurred into action, weaving the seals for one of her area of effect genjutsus. As Anaguma charged forward with a cackle, he charged directly into the genjutsu.
The Konoha ninja, knowing that the genjutsu wouldn't hold him for long, leapt away and began her strongest genjutsu combo. She layered three genjutsus on the missing nin, each one more subtle then the last. The idea was that the enemy would quickly dispel the first genjutsu. If they were clever or paranoid, they would dispel the second one, but still be under the effects of the third.
Anaguma looked around wildly. Where had the black-haired lady gone? She had quite literally disappeared ten feet in front of him! "It must be genjutsu!" He quickly realized. He spiked his chakra, dispelling the illusion. He frowned. She still hadn't reappeared.
"You're a tricky one!" The missing nin suddenly laughed. "Double layering that illusion shit!" He dispelled the genjutsu once again. Kurenai readied her kunai, preparing to throw them at the missing ninja. Before she did, she quickly took the extra precaution of placing another area of effect illusion. This one lengthened the bridge edge by five feet, making it seem that the bridge extended for that much more distance.
She threw the kunai. Anaguma, being unable to see or hear the speeding kunai due to the genjutsu still effecting him, was stuck in the center of his torso by the four kunai. He glanced down. Not seeing any kunai, he quickly realized what had happened. "You're good!" He laughed, "Real good! Had you been facing any other ninja, that combo would have worked! But you're not facing just any ninja! You're facing Anaguma Kuma! And I don't give a fuck about your little illusions!" He wildly spiked his chakra, dispelling the last remaining illusion on him.
Kurenai's eyes widened. The missing nin had several kunai buried in his chest, and not only was he not dead, but he also didn't seem to care in the slightest. She paled slightly as he spied her again. He readied his sword and charged!
Kurenai, not seeing any alternatives, decided to take a page from Naruto's book and spent the next several minutes carefully leading the missing nin over to the side of the bridge. When she almost reached the real edge of the bridge, with only the illusion stretching behind her, she stumbled over a discarded piece of wood, tumbling backwards to fall directly onto her back!
"Ha ha! You're in trouble now!" Anaguma chuckled as he charged. Kurenai, at the last possible second, rolled out of the way of the missing ninja's headlong charge. Anaguma, being unable to stop, shot past her and over the illusionary bridge. Kurenai swore that she heard the crazy sword wielder continue to laugh as he fell the fifty feet to the water. She quickly looked over the edge. Anaguma was nowhere to been seen. A truly massive spike of malicious chakra caused her to leave her vigil. She quickly headed toward her students last location, furiously chastising herself for taking so much time in defeating that missing ninja.
"Wow! You're amazing Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "You were able to think of several plans to stop the ninja!"
Kurenai smiled to herself as her students congratulated her. A sudden thought occurred to her. "Team, we are going to do something different with training going forward! We are going to teach each other what jutsu we know!" She decided. "Even if the jutsu isn't your element, it's still useful to know. I am certain that if I had known more jutsus, I would have ended the fight a lot sooner." It went unspoken that she still blamed herself for causing Naruto to use the Kyubi's chakra.
As Team Eight neared the training grounds, they spotted Team Ten nearing the training grounds as well. Spotting Team Eight, Team Ten jogged over to them. While Asuma and Kurenai discussed the reasons for their teams going to the training ground, the Genin members of the two teams broke off into two groups. Sakura, Hinata, and Ino moved into one group; while Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji grouped together.
"So Forehead," Ino began, "I heard that you went on another mission." She raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "I also heard that you got knocked out of the fight, requiring Naruto to save you."
Sakura scowled at her former friend's almost taunting tone. "Still uselessly throwing yourself at Sasuke?" She shot back.
Ino's eyes narrowed as she fired back, "Still trying to get a clan-less Baka?"
Sakura barely kept her composure Ino's insult. Ino, spotting Sakura facial expression, gave a victorious smirk at having won this round of verbal sparring. Sakura sent a sideways glance at the two talking Jonin, an idea forming. "Say, Ino-Pig, I've got a bet for you." She casually spoke, holding up her hand as if inspecting her fingernails.
"Oh Yeah?" Ino shot back skeptically, "What are you offering?"
"If you win, I'll tell you the best gossip in the village." Seeing Ino's eyes light up at the thought of learning such news, she continued. "But if I win, you're going to have to show your father some notes I took about someone regarding their behavior. And you'll have to tell me what he says after he reads them!"
Ino thoughts about the deal for a moment. She didn't see any harm with Sakura's request, in the unlikely event that the pinkette somehow won. "I accept!" The blonde girl shook her hand with her former friend.
Meanwhile, the three boys were conversing about Naruto's last mission. "So what you're saying is that Kakashi took down Zabuza, an A-Ranked missing ninja, single-handily?" Shikamaru questioned.
"Yep!" Naruto confirmed. "I know that all he seems to do is read those orange books, but he is really strong!" Naruto paused for a second, trying to remember an important detail. "Oh! Zabuza called him 'Sharingan no Kakashi'! Does that mean that he is secretly an Uchiha?" Naruto reported.
"I don't think so." Choji stated between munches of his chips. Choji was a member of the Akimichi clan, the Akimichi clan possessing secret family techniques that allowed them to convert calories into chakra. This lead the members of the clan to eat almost constantly, allowing them to build up a large reserve of stored calories so they could replenish their chakra.
"Indeed." Shikamaru nodded. "If Kakashi was a secret member of the Uchiha clan, then he wouldn't be known as 'Kakashi of the Sharingan'. Given that he is known by that name, it stands to reason that people know of his eyes. Also considering that Sasuke is known as 'The Last Uchiha' it means that Kakashi can't be a member of the Uchiha." He paused for the briefest of seconds, thinking. "It is much more likely that he had his Sharingan implanted. It would also explain why he has to keep the eye with the Sharingan covered. Implanted Sharingan are always active and thus consume Chakra if they are picking up any details." He extrapolated. Seeing the other two boys awed expressions at his analysis, he shrugged. "The Sharingan is a troublesome eye. It is even more troublesome when it could be used by anyone. We learned all we could about the eye to form strategies to fight it. " The laid-back Nara let out a long-suffering sigh. "Such a drag."
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Choji turned to Naruto and asked, "So Naruto, how's your team doing?" Naruto tilted his head at the large boy. The Akimichi seemed genuinely interested in Naruto's life. Naruto grinned and began his tale.
"Well, since we last talked, we went on this mission..." The two boys listened intently, their imaginations captured by Naruto's tale of a village under siege by a greedy man, combat that was almost too fantastic to believe, and terrifyingly powerful enemy ninja. As Naruto reached the climax of the final fight, he carefully edited the story to avoid spilling his secret about his Jinchuriki status. As the tale reached it's end, he glanced over at the other two Genin standing next to him. Shikamaru looked intrigued, as if he had some new, exciting information to think about. Choji, by contrast, looked slightly shaken.
"D-Did you really kill all of those thugs?" The brown haired by shakily asked, his face slightly pale at the thought of having to kill another person.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "They wanted to hurt Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, Kurenai-Sensei, and Haku-Chan!" Naruto's eyes hardened. "So I killed them!"
An awkward silence settled over the small group following Naruto's cold words. Having to yet take a life, it was almost unfathomable to think that one of their number, the happy-go-lucky dead-last at that, had taken so many lives simply because they threatened his team. The air was eventually broken by Asuma, who came over to inform the boys of the plan he and Kurenai had decided upon.
"So," He began, oblivious to the awkward air hovering over the Genins, "Kurenai-San and I have decided to have a team training session together! First we are going to have a friendly spar, and then exchange training methods and ideas. If you want, you guys can decide who you want to fight on the opposite team." He turned away, missing both Choji and Shikamaru pale slightly as they realized their conundrum. One the one hand, one of them would have to spar with one of the kunoichi from Team Eight. Naruto had just gotten done telling a story of how he killed when they were threatened...
On the other hand, one of them would have to fight Naruto himself. It was a potential loose-loose situation. Choji hesitantly extended his hand toward Shikamaru. "Rock-Paper-Scissors? Winner gets to spar with Naruto?" Shikamaru nodded, his mind still attempting to figure out the purpose behind this sparring match. A moment later, it was decided. Shikamaru Nara would be facing Naruto Uzumaki. "So very troublesome." He groaned, just thinking of all of the work and effort he would have to put into the spar made him feel tired. Despite his tiredness, he immediately began creating strategies, counter strategies, back-up strategies, and back-up counter strategies using every scrap of information he knew about his opponent.
Choji, by contrast, was attempting not to worry about which one of the Team Eight kunoichi he would be facing. If it was Hinata, it wouldn't be that bad. She would attempt to disable him, and as long as he stayed away, he should be relatively safe. Sakura, on the other hand, slightly scared him. He remembered back in the Academy when she would simply beat her opponent into the ground. Choji very much wanted to come out of this with minimal bruising, thank-you very much. He quickly looked at the group of Genin females a short distance away. Spotting Ino and Sakura glaring at each other, he felt fairly confident that he would be facing Hinata. He let out an audible sigh of relief.
"Gather around students!" Asuma called a few minutes later. "It's time for a sparring match! Keep in mind that this is just a friendly sparring match!" He paused for a brief moment. "Ino will be sparring with Sakura. Shikamaru has decided to spar Naruto. Choji will be facing Hinata." Seeing the apprehensive expressions on the male members of his team, he grinned around his cigarette, and continued. "We will start with Shikamaru vs Naruto, then Choji vs Hinata, and lastly Ino vs Sakura."
Naruto and Shikamaru walked into the center of the training field, the latter walking slowly when compared to the former. Asuma looked at Shikamaru and hid his grin. He idly wondered if the intelligent Genin had already figured out the reason behind this sparring match. While it was good to make plans and strategies, sometimes you just had to go with your instincts and just react. Up until this point, Shikamaru had been able to plan his way through training and each D-Rank mission. Given that they would be having their first C-Rank mission in two days, Asuma realized that he needed to show his students that sometimes the plan never survived contact with the enemy. He would train his students into the ground if that's what it took for them to survive the dangerous world ahead of them.
Shikamaru eyed his a opponent across the training field. Naruto was perhaps seventy or seventy-five feet away. The young Nara had several plans in place that should work with marginal success, but he knew that the blonde wouldn't make it so easy. "Troublesome blondes." He sighed to himself. He quickly prepared several plans for when Naruto inevitably closed to start hand-to-hand combat. Shikamaru knew that he was no match for the Uzumaki in a heated combat, but he had several ideas that should do more than even the odds against the energetic blonde. He indicated his readiness to his equally troublesome sensei.
Naruto readied himself for the fight ahead. He knew that even though all he had seen from Shikamaru was his shadow techniques, he couldn't assume that was all that the Nara knew. Naruto had the tentative plan of creating clones to push the Nara into a trap were Naruto could force a win. It was after all, Naruto reminded himself, a friendly sparring match. He indicated his readiness to Asuma with a confident thumbs-up.
" Hajime!"
The second the match started, Naruto snapped his hands up into his signature cross symbol. White smoke blanketed the area. Shikamaru tensed. What happened in a moment would decide the victor of the match. As the smoke began to dissipate, ten blondes hurled themselves towards the shadow user. His eyes widened. Shikamaru hurriedly threw a dozen kunai at the clones, seeking to thin their ranks; knowing that it would be disastrous if he allowed them to get within touching distance. His eyes widened in alarm as he watched all but one of the clones dodge his kunai. He dodged a kunai being thrown back as he leapt back towards the trees, his hands already forming the hand signs for the shadow imitation technique. The clones closed in on the Nara as he landed on the ground. The leading clone's hand froze a mere six inches from Shikamaru's face. "Kagemane no Jutsu success!" He intoned.
Suddenly an arm wrapped around neck, twisting it upwards! Shikamaru froze as he felt cold steel touch his throat. "I win." Naruto's low voice ghosted in his ear. Shikamaru carefully nodded, being hyperaware of the undoubtedly razor sharp kunai at his throat. He gave a sigh of relief as Naruto let go of his neck and retracted the kunai. After massaging his sore neck for a moment, Shikamaru turned to Naruto.
"How did you maneuver around me?" He asked, having already gone over the fight twice in his mind.
"Well," Naruto began, his voice becoming slightly embarrassed. "I figured you would think I would just charge you with a frontal assault, since I'm good at close combat. So I gave you an assault. When I first created my clones at the start of the spar, I Hedged into a kunai while the smoke blocked your view." As Naruto continued to explain, a note of pride and accomplishment entered his tone. "So when you threw the kunai at my clones, one of them let themselves be hit. The clone next to him threw the transformed kunai at you from the smoke. Since you expected me to retaliate as I got closer to you, you ignored it. It was simple to transform back into myself at that point and sneak up behind you as my clones distracted you." Shikamaru stared at the blonde in shock as Naruto finished. The young Nara had no idea that Naruto could come up with such efficient plans. He eyed Naruto with renewed interest. Perhaps he was too hasty when he considered not befriending the energetic blonde. Shikamaru resolved to befriend Naruto, realizing that he was nothing like the clan rumors had said.
"So uh, boss?" One of the nine clones hesitantly asked, "What do you want us to do?"
"I dunno." Naruto shrugged. "Go train I guess?" The leading clone saluted his creator and then the group of shadow clones headed off, intent on working out the kinks in one of their combat moves. As Naruto and Shikamaru headed back to the group, they spied an unhappy Asuma handing money to a familiar figure.
"Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" During the down time on the last mission, Kakashi had befriended the blonde to a certain extent. While Naruto didn't consider them friends, he did know that Kakashi didn't want to harm him. In addition, Kakashi had taught him water-walking during an impromptu training session. Naruto was thankful to the grey hair ninja for his help, considering that the Jonin took the time to sit down and explain how the training worked.
"Well, " Kakashi's eye scrunched up slightly as he smiled down at the happy blonde. "I got lost on the road to life, and I found myself here. My fellow Jonin, " He indicated the still unhappy Asuma, with a slight nod of his head "Saw fit to tell me that his Genin would barely loose against you. I challenged him to put his money where his mouth was, so to speak." Kakashi chuckled slightly in satisfaction. "Easiest money I ever made."
"W-Why would you bet on me?" A bewildered Naruto asked, not understanding why someone would risk money on him. After all, the blonde knew that he wasn't anything special.
"Because I believe in you." Kakashi's simple reply shocked the blonde. Never before had someone simply believed in him! Naruto still didn't understand why Kakashi believed in him, but knowing that he did, was one of the most heady feelings he had ever had.
"Well, I suppose I must be off. I think the road to life is taking me towards my Genin." Kakashi idly commented. Seeing the true smile slowly spread unconsciously across Naruto's face, the grey haired ninja headed off, his heart lighter, having accomplished what he set out to do today. He had made countless mistakes, Kakashi admitted privately to himself, but after seeing what Naruto had gone through, he was determined to not make any more.
Kakashi's words echoed pleasantly in Naruto's mind. He basked in the strange warm feeling that they evoked. He was startled out of his pleasant thoughts by Sakura's voice. "Naruto-Kun! I'm about to start my match!"
Naruto blinked. Apparently he had missed Hinata-Chan's match. Before he could scold himself for being such a terrible friend as to miss her fight, Hinata herself spoke up next to him. "Naruto-Kun, don't feel bad for missing my match! It was even shorter than yours!" Hinata urged, determined to not let her Naruto-Kun feel guilty over not paying attention to a simple match. Seeing his uncertain expression, she earnestly continued. "It's fine Naruto-Kun! It really is!"
"If you're sure..." Naruto replied, still feeling slightly guilty for missing her match. He resolved to watch Sakura's match carefully; so to avoid missing two matches.
Sakura, seeing that her Naruto-Kun was now paying attention to the impending fight, indicated to Asuma that she was ready for the match to start.
" Hajime!"
"So Forehead," Ino started conversationally, "What are you planning on doing? You precious Naruto-Kun isn't here to help you. It's just you, Sakura Haruno, and me, Ino Yamanaka." The blonde haired girl smirked. "So whatcha' gunna do?" She was startled by Sakura's sudden giggle.
"Y-You think that's going to demoralize me?" Sakura giggled for another moment before quieting her chuckles. She shook her head at the blonde kunoichi in amusement. "You just don't get it do you?"
"Get what?" Ino replied, an uneasy feeling slowly building within her.
"Let me show you." Sakura smirked before her hands quickly began forming hand signs. Ino, seeing the fight had commenced, leapt back and prepared to dodge whatever jutsu her former friend would though at her. After all, Sakura was only good because of her team right?
Sakura suddenly spat several large basket-ball sized water globes at Ino. While the globes didn't move with blinding speed, they did move more quickly than their size seemed to allow. Ino, seeing the danger, gracefully dodged the dangerous projectiles. Her natural flexibility was put to the test as she dodged the barrage of large water bullets. Eventually the shots petered out and Sakura panted lightly, temporally fatigued from rapid chakra expenditure. Ino, seeing her chance, began her clan's signature technique, the Shintenshin no Jutsu.
Sakura breathed out slowly as she straightened. Shooting out so many large water bullets while taking care to slow them down enough so that Ino could dodge them was quite tiring. Her eyes widened as she saw Ino's technique baring down on her. She quickly dodged out of the way, using a handspring to quickly reposition herself. Seeing that Ino was temporally vulnerable, she quickly charged the blonde.
Ino, seeing the danger baring down on her, hurriedly ended her technique. She only had time to blink before she had to defend herself from Sakura's surprisingly strong kick. Ino wasn't even given time to react before she had to frantically block the next to punches from Sakura, each blow leaving the blonde's arms aching. Ino replied with a flurry of attacks herself. Ino was good. She was in the Top Five Genin Kunoichi for a reason. If she was facing a different Genin, they would have been hard pressed to defeat her. She utilized her natural flexibility and her clan's fighting techniques to great effect. But she wasn't fighting someone else. She was fighting Sakura Haruno, a kunoichi from Team Eight. A ninja who had trained with one of the greatest close combat specialists of their generation. She sparred frequently with a lightning using Hyuga. She had seen the fire of life and death combat, and had been forged into a the beginning of a legend. Ino never stood a chance.
Sakura quickly drove Ino into the muddy ground where all of the pinkette's water bullets had hit the ground. Seeing Sakura reel her fist back for another powerful punch, Ino took the risk and leapt back, dodging the attack!
She could only watch in horrified shock as she saw Sakura switch seamlessly from a punch into several hand seals. Ino was only a scant few inches from the ground when Sakura slammed her hands into the soaked ground. A fifteen foot high wall of water rose in response, towering over the stunned Yamanaka.
A second later, it crashed down onto the terrified blonde! As Ino felt the water crash over her, she suddenly felt the water grow heavy. She struggled weakly, not understanding why she couldn't move. A few seconds later, she almost gasped. She was trapped in a perfect sphere of water! Sakura stood in front of the sphere with a neutral expression on her face.
"Yeld!" Sakura's tone booked no argument. Ino, being in no position to disagree, nodded. The water prison collapsed and Ino fell to her knees, greedily sucking in the precious air. Sakura kneeled next to her. "When you are dry, I'll give you my notes. All I need you to do is give them to your father to read, stay there until he finishes, and tell me what he says." She ordered. All the red-faced Yamanaka could do was nod in acceptance.
Sakura walked over to her team to the cheers of congratulations. She blushed faintly as Naruto enthusiastically congratulated her on her complete domination of the fight. After congratulating Sakura herself, Kurenai pulled her student to the side.
"You're running low on chakra aren't you?" She half asked, half commented to Sakura quietly. Sakura nodded, not seeing any point in hiding her state from her teacher. When Sakura told her sensei that she could continue training even with her reduced chakra, Kurenai shook her head and laughed quietly. "That's quite a Naruto-like answer don't you think?" She shot a mischievous glance at the now blushing girl.
"W-What?" Sakura stammered, feeling her face light up in a pretty flush.
Kurenai giggled. "It's alright Sakura." She leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry. I won't tell him!" She pulled back and said in a more louder tone, "Since all of my wonderful students easily won their battles, why don't we all go for some celebratory ramen?"
"RAMEN!" Naruto happily cried out, completely forgetting the whispered words he had just heard.
"Report!" The Hokage ordered ANBU commando as the ninja entered the Hokage's office. The ANBU kneeled in front of the village leader and began his report.
"Sir! I investigated the shops in the area I was assigned. As it turns out, every shop either bars entry to Naruto Uzumaki or raises the prices so high he will not be able to buy anything there." The bear-masked ANBU didn't allow any emotion to cloud his voice or tone as he completed his report. "By the end of my investigation, I firmly believe that the shop owners feel justified in how they treat Naruto Uzumaki. I saw no signs that they are under duress or are being forced to act the way they do towards him."
Hiruzen let out a noncommittal hum as he sat in his chair following the Bear's report. He had been afraid of this. "At least," He mused out loud to himself, "It's only in one small area. All of the other ANBU reported no issues." He remembered the still kneeling ANBU. "Bear, you may go." The ANBU stood, bowed, and left the room. Once the door closed, Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh. Why did a few villagers hate Naruto so much? "At least I can tell Naruto where to not shop now. Perhaps this will bring me back into his good graces." Hiruzen thought hopefully. He had missed the bright ball of sunshine these last years. Naruto reminded him of all of the reasons he was protecting the village. The Hokage turned to start a new letter to Naruto.
The ANBU known as Bear was never more thankful for his mask then he was now. Had he not been wearing the mask, his fierce, angry scowl would have instantly put everyone on edge. "I guess Dog-Sama was right about the ANBU." He brooded. "I didn't want to believe it, but damn! It is true!" His scowl deepened as he remembered Dog-Sama's words to him on the previous day.
"Long time no see, Bear." Kakashi commented idly to the air while he walked into a seemingly abandoned training field. After a few moments, a large man in a bear mask dropped out of the tree in front of him.
"Long time no see, Dog-Sama." The man greeted. "What brings you to our training field?"
"You know I'm not your commander anymore Bear." Kakashi reminded the man.
The ANBU known as Bear shook his head. "You will always be our commander Dog-Sama, even if you don't wear the mask anymore!"
Kakashi bowed his head. While he didn't crave Bear's allegiance, he couldn't deny that it was incredibly useful. He hated to ask the big ANBU this, but he needed someone he could unequivocally trust.
"Bear, I have a mission for you." Kakashi spoke, his tone unconsciously slipping into the commanding tone he used while commanding ANBU. Bear straightened, awaiting orders. "What I am about to tell you cannot be told to anyone. Not even the Hokage." Bear shifted, slightly confused. "Before I tell you, I will give you the opportunity to leave now. I will not blame you if you do not want to continue this mission."
Bear stood silently for a few moments, considering the situation at hand. While he was technically sworn to the Hokage, his true allegiance was to his commander and the village. And at the root of it all, he trusted Dog-Sama. "I will continue this mission." He finally decided, his voice carrying a note of finality.
"Good." Kakashi nodded, his face shifting into a serious expression. "You have heard of Naruto Uzumaki, have you not?" Bear nodded, his face shifting into an unseen grin as he remembered watching the little blonde ball of energy all those years ago. He was still confused how he was pulled off of the protection detail for the Naruto shortly after he started. "What you don't know was that Naruto isn't the Kyubi reborn." Bear snorted, finding the very idea that the bright eyed young boy could be the massive demon fox ridiculous. "Naruto isn't the Kyubi. He is it's Jinchuriki." Even Bear's training couldn't prevent a small gasp of shock from escaping.
"So knowing this, here is your mission: When you are given a mission by the Hokage regarding Naruto, watch the other ANBU. I believe many of them have perpetrated crimes or allowed crimes against Naruto."
"Surely you're wrong!" Bear burst out, unwilling to believe that any of his brothers and sisters in arms would commit such atrocities.
"Just watch and report to me." Kakashi reiterated. Seeing Bear clasp his arm to his chest in acceptance of his mission, Kakashi pulled out a kunai and swiftly stabbed himself. A moment later he burst into white smoke.
"Heh heh." Bear chuckled. "Still using the basics, eh Dog-Sama?" He chuckled again before schooling his expression. He had a mission to complete.
Bear headed out towards the training fields. He had some steam to burn off before he met with Dog-Sama this evening...
Junpei slowly awoke, his head pounding. He groggily wondered how much he drank the previous night to cause such a massive hangover. He attempted to sit up, only to be brought short almost instantly. He glanced over to his wrist, confused. Junpei gave a start of shock and fear as he saw that he was chained down to a metal gurney. Adrenalin raced though his veins and chased away all of his grogginess. He frantically pulled on the chains as he recalled, with mounting horror, how he had been rendered unconscious.
As his over active imagination played various scenarios, each more horrible then the last, the overwhelmed civilian began to hyperventilate. As he slumped back in the bed on the verge of blacking out, a previously hidden door suddenly opened. Junpei looked over at the door with trembling fear. All he saw was a silhouette outlined by the door's light.
"W-Where a-am I-I?" He cried, fear constricting his heart. "W-Who a-are y-you? W-What do you want?"
"What do I want?" The silhouette echoed, "It's not what I want. It's what you're going to tell me."
"W-What?" Junpei stammered, completely overwhelmed.
"You are going to tell me everything about Naruto Uzumaki and the Council."
So what did you guys think? Drop a review and let me know!
To my reviewers:
Kit: Naruto will show them all what he can do. Hinata is at an interesting place right now. She is half-way between connecting with her father and half-way of manipulating the clan for her Naruto-Kun's benefit. Time will tell where she ends up. Given that the Chunin exams weren't really even ready for Cannon Naruto, it's safe to say that they really won't be ready for this Naruto.
Psycho1998: I want to apologize for the late chapter once again. It's honestly humbling to hear that someone took the time put down an awesome game like Dragon Age to read and review my story.
Animaman: Well, Sasuke was mostly brooding at the time about how Naruto got to kill more people than him and how Naruto also became the hero of Wave. Given time, however, I'm sure that Sasuke will start thinking about how a "clan-less looser" like Naruto doesn't need a servant. It will be quite the interesting day once that happens. I don't plan on Haku joining a harem. As far as the sword goes, we'll just have to see...As you read in this chapter, Ino got a rather rude awakening. She, as far as I can figure, is simply a person who never really had to fight without her team much, so she seems to not have progressed as a ninja passed her clan techniques. We'll have to see what the result of her loosing this spar will do. I don't plan on bashing her, but sometimes bad things have to happen to someone to facilitate character growth. Hiruzen is still an interesting subject. He found out that some of the village isn't as nice as he thought it was. And considering that he plans on attempting to get back into Naruto's good graces...To answer your question, the clans are being duped just like everyone else. Or they believe that Naruto is the demon himself. Information, when properly used, is a very powerful tool.
guest i am back: Well, I'm honestly curious at which parts you feel aren't working. I'm attempting to capture the idea that while Sakura and Hinata do like Naruto, they are only twelve. I don't know about you, but when I was twelve I had no idea about the true meaning of love or commitment. I enjoy constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to tell me what you believe isn't working. As far as your question goes, I honestly don't know. I've never written a lemon before, and I don't know if there will be one(s) in this story.
Ninjashooter: Thanks!
drannakka: Indeed. Currently several people are attempting to keep the knowledge of the Uzumaki clan's techniques a secret from him, given that he has a very important seal on him. But once he does find out, you're right. He'll throw all of himself into learning it. And while I can't confirm or deny that Naruto will be combining techniques with a sword, I have to admit it is completely a badass idea.
bloodbrother 18: Exactly. While this chapter didn't deal with Sakura's request, given that it takes place only over a span of perhaps three or so hours, you'll see what's going on with that next chapter. Haku is going to have a major impact on how Naruto views himself. While they don't have the exact same physiological issue, they are close enough to draw parallels to their own behavior. Haku will be quite instrumental in helping Naruto with his issues.
DragonFlavor: Thanks! I tried to capture Naruto and Sakura's personalities at that time, before the AU train came along and changed everything. Given that the council seems to have a lot of influence, I could easily see them carefully hindering Naruto's training at the Academy.
DragonFlavor: Time skips are funny that way. On the one hand, you are skipping character growth. So it seems quite forced to a certain extent. On the other hand, if you don't time skip, you end up either having the character not resolve much and your story bogs down. I went for the time skip route and tried to mitigate it the best I could. To be honest, your review made me slow down the progression a bit of the future stories. Looking back, I probably could have added a bit more detail to Naruto's interaction with others. And torture scenes are weird in a way. You don't want to make them too graphic, but on the other hand, you don't want to make it like a one-sided fight. The Shadow Binding technique, from what I understand of it, is based on concentration and holding mass. Given that we know that chakra has mass, I felt that not only would Naruto adding alot of extra chakra make it easier to break free, the Nara's concentration wasn't help by the fact that he thought the fox might be breaking free. I could be completely wrong however.
DragonFlavor: I'm glad you are giving your unbiased opinion. To a certain extent you might be correct. Are the characters true to the original character? Perhaps not. Is the character going through the same things as the cannon character? Not in the slightest. I, as a writer, tend to take things up a notch when I write. Perhaps I shouldn't, but sometimes I can't help it. I had to guess about Sakura's parents, given that we don't know much about them. I felt that it was kind of important that someone in Naruto's little club had a decent family life. Given that we know that Sakura's parents cared for her, I felt that they were the best option. Naruto subconsciously doesn't think he is worth someone else's care. So he doesn't honestly understand why people act the way they do. Given that he isn't the brightest person around, he attempts to draw his own conclusions.
zigmas:There's a slightly funny story of that. I saw that my original spelling was incorrect. But given that I was very tired, I misspelled it even more. I eventually caught my mistake, yeah. And I'm still trying to find that fine line between "this character is OOC" and "different things have happened to this character so they act differently". As far as FEMing Haku goes, that was chosen by the readers in a poll. I don't plan on making it a harem, but I'm always interested in people's thoughts on the matter of Naruto's love life. I don't plan on dropping Hinata any time soon.
7imekeeper: Thanks! Anko is a great character in my opinion. And as the story veers more and more into AU territory, more characters will be affected. The pace of the change has picked up in this chapter, so I suspect that we will be running into new faces soon. And yeah, I completely misspelled the title. And you're right. Naruto is a herald of change. And you are correct. If they would be both with Naruto, simply being "Best Friends" wouldn't be enough. Given that they are still sorting out their feelings towards him, I felt that it would be too soon to make that step past best friends. As they grow closer to Naruto and each other, that will change though.
Vanishing Raptor: Thanks! Character growth is one of the more important things in a novel length story in my opinion. Once you story progresses past the short story level, you need to keep in mind that your characters are living, breathing people. They shouldn't just change because the plot demands it. And you have a great day too!
Mithos Yggdrassil: I had to look up who Emiya Shirou was in order to answer your question. To answer your question, Naruto will not remain the way he is. He will gain self worth. It won't happen overnight, however. It is going to take time, love, and patience from those who care about him. You don't break over nine years of emotional trauma within a short time, especially if they have no idea it is going on. However, given that Ino will be giving her father Sakura's notes, they should become aware of Naruto's issue soon enough. I hope that you will continue to read this story, if for no other reason than to see Naruto rise above Shirou's level.