26 ~
Days had passed since that strange night in Konohagakure. The boys were returned to their rightful homes, after being examined of course. Naruto, Sasuke, and the mystery child Jirou were still being held at the hospital.
The expansive underground base was thoroughly investigated and swept clean, but there weren't any traces of Danzo, or anyone else for that matter present. It was like no one was ever there, and the Konoha ANBU had nothing to go off in their search for the man.
Kakashi and the Hokage were walking side by side down the hospital hallway. The doctors were constantly switching between rooms checking on the three high-profile children that were being held there for the time being. The two men stopped outside Naruto's room and let the passing doctors continue to filter in and out of his room.
The masked shinobi broke the silence between them, "So what are you thinking?" He looked inside the hospital room and caught a glimpse of the unconscious Naruto and frowned. The boy was rarely ever down too long, so it made him uncomfortable to see his student in the hospital for multiple days. "Do you think it's safe?"
The Third Hokage was a very serious man, but all he could do was shrug in response to Kakashi. The old man was known to be very wise, so he understood why Kakashi came to him for guidance, "They saw and experienced some extremely disgusting things, but what shinobi hasn't?" He was referring to the quite brutal and vivid story of Naruto and Sasuke's retelling of their incident. "At the end of the day, the decision is yours to make."
The heir to the Hatake name nodded his head and turned to enter Naruto's hospital room. There was a doctor present currently trying to stick a needle in his arm, but the boy was fidgeting in his sleep. Kakashi stepped up and held the boy down so they could stick the needle in his arm, but once it pierced his skin; he popped and a giant log was in his bed.
Kakashi furrowed his brow, and turned around to see the Hokage shaking his head with a slight grin on his face, "Naruto's gone." He said, shaking his head with a smirk of his own on his face.
Another doctor walked up to the Hokage and Kakashi, "Uchiha Sasuke is gone as well."
. . .
(Training Field ~ Konoha)
Naruto and Sasuke had seen, experienced, and heard about terrible things in the ninja world. They even lived through their fair share of traumatic experiences in their short lifetimes, but being apart of a sick science experiment was a new low.
Being kidnapped and tested made them feel paranoid, and they dealt with their insecurities differently from other people. With as much force as he could muster, Sasuke punched Naruto in the nose and made the boy stumble backwards, but he was quick to regain his composure.
The hyperactive boy sprinted forward and tackled Sasuke to the ground and returned the blow to his nose, and continued to repeatedly punch him in his face. Their method of fighting was nothing short of barbaric to say the least, but they were both angry at themselves, and this was the best way to channel the energy (to them).
Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his trademark orange coat and pulled him in for a powerful head butt, and followed it up by kicking Naruto off of him. The boy rolled across the grassy floor of their makeshift battlefield, and Sasuke chose to retreat from direct combat for the moment.
While he wouldn't openly admit it, he wasn't recovering as fast as Naruto was, and he was still drained. After being targeted for his eyes, he wanted to continue to train like he never unlocked his kekkei genkai in the Land of Waves.
He ran and hid behind one of the many trees in the training field, the trunk was soon decorated with multiple shuriken, and even more flew past where he was currently hiding. The Uchiha smirked, "Hn, your aim is terrible, dobe!" He reached into his equipment pouch, pulling out a single kunai, and turning his body, so he could launch it right at Naruto.
The boy wasn't quick enough to dodge, and the kunai landed in his throat. Blood exploded from his neck and tried to cover it, falling to his knees, and then down to the ground. A few seconds later, he exploded into a cloud of smoke.
Sasuke turned around and saw a whole gang of Naruto's standing in the trees, in place of the shuriken he had just thrown. The raven-haired grinned and took off running, dashing up the length of the tree and instantly engaged the five clones. He maneuvered through them easily, showing the skill advantage he had over the brute Naruto.
He made light work of the clones, striking them in their vitals and dispelling them from existence, and it left him with only two Naruto's. They were at a stand off on the long branch of the tree, and they instantly ran at each other.
One of the clones tried to sweep the Uchiha off of his feet, but he jumped and grabbed onto a higher branch. The three genin continued to ascend higher through the tree, exchanging blows when they had the chance. Sasuke jumped one branch higher, and spun all the way around, kicking the Naruto clone in the face before it could grab onto his ankles.
Sasuke climbed on one of the largest branches the tree had to off, and Naruto did the same. They got into their respective positions, but before they could charge in at each other; a bucket of water was dumped onto their heads and completely disgruntled the mood of their sparring battle.
Sitting right above them was their sensei, Hatake Kakashi, who was currently kicking his feet like a child, "Yo," He waved and then jumped down onto the branch with his two students. He pushed the bucket he used to dump the water into Naruto's hands, "A little payback for the first day you met me."
The Uzumaki boy frowned, "Kakashi-sensei, you ruined our match!"
"Hm, I barely even noticed," Kakashi tilted his head while looking at the two agitated boys. He rested his hands on their heads and grinned, "I just thought I'd bring the bad news to you two personally."
The boy's hearts sunk, because whenever Kakashi came bearing bad news; it was never good.
Sasuke was the more courageous of the two, slowly parting his lips to ask the dreadful question, "What is it, Kakashi?"
There was a brief moment of silence between the trio of shinobi for the moment. The news was heavy, and they could all feel it, but it was a decision he had to make to keep their best interest at heart. He had to deliver the news to one more student as well, "I know how much you two were looking forward to participating this year, but," Kakashi brought the two genin into his embraced and grinned. "I'm afraid I can't let you two be in the chuunin exams, you're not ready."
. . .
(Master Roshi's House ~ Kumogakure)
Goku slowly rose from under the water with an agitated expression, glaring at Chi-Chi and Master Roshi who were laughing amongst themselves and standing on top of the water without a problem. The saiyan had to swim to the edge and climb back onto the grass, his wet body collapsing against the ground. He took a few ragged breathes, groaning as he heard Chi-Chi taunting him in the background.
He sat up and frowned, he had mastered walking on trees in a few days, and thought he was king of the world, but Roshi was quick to offer him a new challenge. Water walking was something he had been waiting his whole life to learn, but it was easier said than done, and watching Chi-Chi master it in mere days irritated him to no end.
The boy stood up and took that first prideful step into the pond, his two spectators watched closely, and like all of his other failed attempts; he sunk to the bottom of the pond by the time his second step came. Each time, he started with confidence, and he got a chance to be on top of the water, but he could never continue his walk.
Master Roshi snickered and held his hand out expectantly toward Chi-Chi, and the girl groaned out loud. She placed a few ryo in his hand, and he quietly slipped it into his pocket, "Goku, I see your problem." He walked up to the boy and held his cane out, helping him out of the water, and walked onto the grass. "You put too much chakra into your first step; there isn't enough for the second step, and so on." He smacked the boy with his cane and wagged his finger back and forth.
Goku winced, placing his hand on his side and groaning, "How else am I supposed to do it?" He thought about the process like actually walking, taking it one step at time. Goku thought of himself as pretty good at walking, but every time he tried to walk on water; he found himself soaked at the end of each attempt.
"Instead of putting so much energy into your first step, balance your chakra between your feet, and create a constant stream. Think of it like creating a path for you to walk on," Roshi pushed the boy back into the pond, but he wasn't quick enough to react, and sunk to the bottom like a rock once more. "If you don't want to water walk, I'll at least teach you how to swim."
Chi-Chi sat off to the side and giggled at Goku's struggle. He was too hardheaded to sit down and understand the concept of the technique, and tried to tackle it like it was tree-climbing all over again, so he had been trying to master water walking for days now. She got up and helped Goku out of the water once more, "Goku, quit acting like an idiot and get this done, so we can finally move on to something else!"
The boy tried hard to ignore Chi-Chi and listen to Master Roshi's advice. He took that courageous first step like he always did, but applied the idea of 'balance' to his chakra, and made it to the second step. He kept walking across the water, feeling confident enough to try to hop across the pond, but instantly sunk to the bottom.
He rose out of the water with a triumphant laugh, since he had least walked on water for more than one step. Goku raised his arms into the air, "YEAH!"
"Congratulations, Goku," Master Roshi grinned at his temporary student. He walked over to Chi-Chi and patted her on the head, "Why don't you head home for the day, you were excellent today!" He congratulated her, and she nodded in return.
Chi-Chi placed her hands on hips, turning toward Goku now, "Try to get this done by the time I come back tomorrow, Goku-kun," She waved at Roshi and Goku, and made her leave.
When Chi-Chi was out of earshot, Roshi slowly sat down on the ground, and patted the space next to him; urging Goku to come sit with him. The boy walked out of the water, getting the hang of the water-walking technique, and joined Master Roshi on the grass.
The old man was staring straight ahead with a smirk on his face, "You're special, Goku, I'm sure you know that," He begun his little speech, and introduction of his next lesson for Son Goku. "You're capable of doing things even my students will never be able to master, and I want to pass my signature technique down to you."
Goku's eyes were nearly twinkling in admiration for the man sitting before him. He had taught him more than his actual sensei K had in mere days, and now he was about to pass down his 'signature technique' to him. He shared a toothy grin with Roshi, "I'm ready for it!" He jumped up off of the ground and punched his fist into his open palm.
"Excellent, all I ask in return is," Roshi whispered in Goku's ear and the boy deadpanned in response. The man raised his eyebrow, "Do we have a deal?" Master Roshi extended his hand out to Goku.
Goku simply shrugged, "Yup, we have a deal," He shook the man's hand and then folded his arms over each other. "Ok, teach me the technique."
Master Roshi came to a stand and let his cane fall to the ground. He took a deep breath, he rarely had to gather this much energy; even in his most fierce battles. Roshi gradually built his chakra and absorbed the natural energy around him, "Ka," sweeping his arms in a wide arc, he continued his demonstration of the technique, "Me." He brought his arms to his side while he cupped his hands together, "Ha."
The boy watched in awe as Master Roshi prepped for his technique, blue energy now swirling within his palms, "Me." The energy began to form into a circle and the man thrust his hands forward and emitted a powerful wave of blue energy, "HA!" He aimed it at one of the statues in his self-made training field, and it was blown to smithereens in an instant.
Before his demonstration was even over, he turned his head slightly and saw Goku imitating his movements, and even generating energy. Master Roshi watched in awe as Goku fired a nearly identical wave of energy and destroyed another one of his statues like he had done. His jaw was nearly touching the ground, when he looked at the boy again; it hadn't even looked like Goku broke a sweat.
"I did it right, right?" Goku asked innocently, his hands still cupped together while he looked at Master Roshi.
When Master Roshi first heard of Son Goku, he didn't really believe all of the hype. He could see the potential, but what child didn't have potential? The boy seemed average, but that moment completely amazed him, and he was now a believer in Son Goku. The technique he had perfected for over fifty years was trumped in an instant by a twelve year old boy, the same boy who took days to master the water walking technique.
Roshi lowered his sunglasses, mouth still wide, and then burst into laughter, "Yes, that's absolutely right!"
"Ha, that was easy!"
. . .
(Location Unknown)
"You come off as such a peaceful man," The middle aged man had a ghost of a smile on his face, "I would never imagine you participating in an arms race like this." G was leading the same man who had killed Key not too long ago down the stairs, which was his expansive underground armory.
The man grinned at G, "I know my way around a few weapons." He ran his hand over his close-cut hair sheepishly, "I just don't want to get left behind." He had no problem admitting, sticking his hands in the pockets of his baggy forest green pants. They were tucked into a pair of brown boots with spiky soles.
"I understand completely, I learned from my good friend Gato that it's good to stay in the loop," G placed a finger on his chin and looked around the room. He wanted to get the man acquainted with a weapon he felt would fit his needs. G had only known the man for minutes, he seemed quite reserved, so he decided to pull one of his many sniper rifles off of the wall and place it in the hands of his customer. "Tell me what you think about this."
The brown skinned man looked like a kid in a candy store, his eyes dancing along the walls that were decorated with military grade weapons from Earth and beyond. He accepted the rifle graciously, instantly placing his eye within the scope and aiming the gun right at G. The arms dealer didn't seemed fazed, "I like it." He could feel the power of the gun without pulling the trigger.
"I knew you would like it, it's straight from one of the most powerful military factions in the galaxy," G walked to the other side of the room, and pulled another futuristic looking gun to show his customer. "I never got a chance to catch your name, young man."
The man grinned, "I go by Ye." The man dubbed as Ye hoisted the rifle on his shoulder, "I assume we're going to be doing a lot of business from now on." He was satisfied with his new sniper rifle, "I want you to supply my whole militia. We've been looking for something with more firepower."
G was never one to turn down money, and the thought of supplying a whole militia almost made him smile. It would be out of his nature though, "We may be able to work something out." The alien gun he was showing Ye now was quite large. The barrel was bigger than any he had seen, and G himself could barely hold the gun up. "This is exactly what you're looking for."
"I want it all," Ye was giddy thinking how big his arsenal would be. "I need it all!"
"Planning for something big, son?" G asked with a raised brow. His customers were usually political figures or strong shinobi, and they always had a plan when they came to shop. Whether it be infiltrating a village or simply intimidating another nation; they had something planned. The man before him didn't seem to have clear cut intentions, just an uncanny need for arms.
"There's a war coming," He informed G with a frown, as he stood the rifle up next to him. Ye reached into his pocket and pulled out a dingy map to show G what was happening. "Aliens have become a real problem, despite trying to stay hidden, and now they're about to come to the forefront. I've been chasing an alien named Piccolo for years, and I may have finally gotten him cornered, but if I kill him, or even attempt to I'll cross a lot of boundaries."
"I know of him," G nodded in understanding and started to piece Ye's predicament together. "Those boundaries being all of the affiliates going to battle, correct?" The man also nodded in response, "But you're an alien, why kill the Demon King?"
"He's done wrong to my people," Ye didn't dabble too much in his reasoning, but G understood what he meant by his simple statement. "It's a war that must be fought."
G was involved in most of underground crime in the ninja world since he inherited trafficking from Gato's company, so he heard stories of the Demon King. It's safe to say it would make his life easier if the kingpin was erased, so he had no problems supporting Ye in his endeavors. The middle age man looked Ye over and raised a brow, "And where will this war be fought?"
"Konoha."
. . .
(Kumogakure ~ With Goku)
Another week had passed since Goku had mastered water walking, and picked up the new technique from Master Roshi. The old man said he wouldn't teach him another thing until he honored his part of their deal. It was slightly irritating, but a deal was a deal, and he had to respect that.
It was early in the morning, and the boy sat up in his bed. He rubbed at his eyes, the sweet smell of breakfast filling his nose, and his mother screaming his name ringing in his ears. The boy threw his cover to the side and jumped out of bed. He tied up his hair like his sensei K and walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, honey," Mabui set a plate of assorted fruit and a few pieces of fish in front of a confused Goku. She knew he would eat nearly anything but he enjoyed a hearty breakfast, but she was trying to keep her son strong, "I'm in control of your diet from now on."
"What?" Goku looked at the dull plate of food in front of him and wanted to cry. He was terribly hungry though so he would eat it regardless, "What did I do to deserve this?"
"You made it into Chuunin exams, you need to be strong, Goku!" Mabui urged and went to grab her bag. She put her arms through the straps and went to kiss Goku on the cheek, "I'll see you later, make sure you clean up the house before you leave, okay?"
Bulma came walking out of her bedroom, still wearing a tank-top and a pair of shorts. She waved goodbye to Mabui, who was already halfway out the door. She came and sat down with Goku, starting to piece away the breakfast Mabui made for her, "Make sure you clean my bathroom thoroughly, there was still dirt around my shower last time you cleaned up."
The boy didn't want it to take any longer for his day to start, "You can't clean your room?"
"No, you owe me, I didn't tell Mabui that you snuck out that night," Bulma reminded him as she ate her breakfast.
"I got caught!"
"That's beside the point," Bulma could barely finish her plate, which had all the sweet breakfast foods that Goku was craving. She went to wrap it up and put it back in the fridge for her to eat later. She returned to the table with her hands on her hips, "I have a date today, so you can clean it after I get out, okay?"
Goku nodded his head, quietly wondering who she was going on a date with, but kept the inquiry to himself. She walked back into her bedroom and he pushed away from the kitchen table, so he could do what was asked of him. He started with empty plate, taking it to the sink to wash it off. He followed up by cleaning out the whole kitchen, and then started making his way back to his room.
He picked up all of his loose equipment he left laying around in his living room and returned it to the closet in his room. The boy picked up all of his clothes from the floor and made up his bed. He basically did everything he knew would make his mother happy, making everything she would see when she walked by his room tidy.
He moved into her room next and started going by the same process of cleaning his mother's room. Goku picked up her dirty clothes and put them in a neat pile, so he could make sure they got washed. He could tell what clothes she hadn't worn though, and folded them up to return them to their rightful place in her room.
Goku cleaned their house a lot, and always cleaned his mother's room for her, but today was different. Master Roshi's annoying request was being held over his head, and as he opened the underwear drawer he wouldn't have any second thoughts about on a normal day; he furrowed his brow. He put her clean clothes into the drawer, and eyed a pair of her panties like he never had before. Goku was contemplating a lot of things at the moment.
He wanted to learn more cool techniques from Roshi, but he was also scared of his mom, so the decision was a hard one. Goku picked up a pair of her underwear and stared in silence.
It was a hard stare too.
The boy slowly started to fold the panties up, and began to slip it back into his pocket.
"Goku, what are you doing?" Two voices asked simultaneously, Bulma who was currently fresh out of the shower, and the man he hadn't seen in almost two weeks; K. They both stared at the boy who was trying to sneak a pair of underwear into pocket for some strange reason.
Goku instantly deflected the questions and put the underwear in his pocket, "K how did you get inside our house?" Bulma titled her head and looked at the man suddenly, and now the attention was all on the mysterious K who had been missing for weeks, and decided to randomly pop into their house early in the morning.
"That's not important," K quietly appreciated Goku's deflection skills and got the attention on him. He pointed at Goku, "Pack your bags, it's time to leave."
"What do you mean?" Goku walked up to K and folded his arms, "You can't just come back from wherever you were and boss me around."
"Technically, I can," K didn't feel the need to remind Goku that he was his sensei, despite him learning under Master Roshi for a few days. "Don't be foolish, Goku, I don't have time for this." He grabbed the boy his collar and dragged him back to his bedroom so he could do as told.
"Where are you boys headed?" Bulma leaned against the wall, her towel slightly falling off her side as she tried to seduce K, but rolled her eyes when the man didn't even turn around when she spoke to him. She pulled her towel up and huffed when she got no answer in response either, but right when she was about to continue on with her day, he spoke up.
"Konoha."
. . .
(Outskirts of Konoha ~ With Vegeta and Raditz)
The two saiyans walked down the dirt path that would lead them to the hidden village they were looking for. They were accompanied by two other people from Iwagakure, as fill-ins for their 'genin' team, and they hadn't even cared to learn their names. They were far ahead of them as well.
The gates of the village were getting closer as they walked, and the boys looked at each other with something of a grin on their face. The Tsuchikage had given them the proverbial green light to let loose once the exams begun and they were now approaching the host village; with the actual test commencing in a week.
The road they were traveling on was full of Chuunin hopeful and their Jounin sensei. The duo of saiyans had long since scanned the crowd for any potential threats and had yet to find one, so they were thoroughly amused by their future competition. As far as they were concerned, the 'test' was going to be a cake walk, and an excellent opportunity to flex their muscles in front of the other competing villages.
Raditz looked at the village that was getting bigger with each step he took, "What's the name of this wretched place?"
Vegeta struggled to remember the name, but eventually spat it out, "Konoha."
. . .
This chapter was brought to you by the release of Views, because I love writing and listening to new shit. I'm sure my fellow hip-hop heads know who Ye is, he's definitely not from this planet. Another unrelated thing, I waited 26 chapters, but Goku finally learned KAMEHAMEHA! It took a lot of self control. Until next time fam, stay wAvy!