Opening - Eternal Blaze by Nana Mizuki
Naruto, once again wearing his father's haori, stared back at the dull black eyes of the Genin standing between him and Ichiraku Ramen, thoroughly puzzled. "I'm sorry… could you maybe run that by me again?"
"No problem at all!" the green-clad boy replied with unnatural enthusiasm. "My name is Rock Lee! I am a Genin of Konoha's Team Seven, the only Genin in Konoha who has no ninjutsu or genjutsu! As such, I hope to become a great ninja with only my talent for taijutsu, and I would like to test that talent against you, Naruto Uzumaki, a devoted user of ninjutsu! Would you honor me with a friendly sparring match?"
Naruto blinked again. "…Uh… I guess so? But, I'd kinda like to have lunch first…" he scratched the back of his head.
"Ah, I see! I'm obstructing your way to this restaurant! Please carry on, and forgive my rudeness!" Lee stepped aside, apparently not noticing the looks of incomprehension Teuchi and Ayame were giving him. Naruto stepped into the ramen stand, and as usual, a bowl of his favorite miso ramen was placed in front of him. "So, Uzumaki-san!" Lee sat down next to him. "I have heard that something unusual happened between you and Hinata Hyuuga during your mission to the Land of Waves." He glanced to Teuchi. "Oh, I forget myself, this is an eatery! I will have whatever he is having." He turned back to Naruto. "Uzumaki-san, are you dating Hinata Hyuuga?"
Naruto choked on his ramen, and coughed out, "What?"
"Are you dating Hinata Hyuuga?" Lee repeated, with exactly the same calm tone.
"Why would you even ask me something like that?"
"The other Genin are all wondering whether you are dating Hyuuga-hime. I decided I should ask you before we spar."
"Okay… I'm dating her. But don't tell anyone about that, we don't want any gossip getting back to Hiashi."
"I understand completely! I promise, I will not tell a soul!" Lee flashed a thumbs-up and a grin. Naruto rapidly finished his bowl of ramen, and Lee copied him by downing his bowl almost as quickly. "So, Uzumaki-san, are you ready to spar now?"
"Yeah… let's take it outside, and try not to break anything, alright?"
Lee nodded. "You have my word."
Naruto led him outside into the street, and Lee produced a Konoha forehead protector which he donned formally. From where he had pulled it, Naruto didn't bother guessing. "All right, let's get started… mmf!" he exclaimed as Lee's fist collided with his cheek, sending him flying. He sat up, dazed, and saw Lee with one opened hand extended palm-up, and the other tucked behind his back.
"I apologize, Uzumaki-san! I had not intended to hit you with a surprise attack; I had simply assumed you were ready!"
"I did too." Naruto stood. This isn't gonna be easy. "All right!" he called, and started forming hand seals. "My ninjutsu versus your taijutsu, believe it! Wind Release: Wind Scar!"
A wave of wind blades ripped forward, carving shallow lines into the dirt as they approached Lee. In a blur, the green Genin easily dodged, and rapidly closed in on Naruto. "Erasing Wind!" the boy was lifted off his feet and dropped back to earth twenty feet away, but he landed on his feet easily and attempted to move in again. Naruto retreated, and formed more hand seals. "Wind Release: Air Bullet!"
"Ah! I see the stories about your skill were not exaggerated!" Lee shouted happily as he dodged the attack. "An upper B-rank ninjutsu that has not tired you significantly! This will be an exciting match, Uzumaki-san!" By this point, the boy was simply standing there to finish his sentence, but when he finished, he lunged at Naruto, who pulled a shuriken from his weapons pouch and threw it at Lee.
"Shuriken Shadow Clones!"
The shuriken split apart in a dark blur, turning into two-hundred and eleven shuriken. Lee dodged most, but took two shallow cuts to his left forearm, and winced. "It is nothing! If I cannot defeat you through the pain of a few wounds, I will do one thousand push-ups tonight, plus one hundred sit-ups for each wound!"
He's crazy! Naruto realized, and resolved not to cut Lee again. "Wait a minute… I remember you! You're the kid on Team Seven with Sasuke and Sakura! What the hell happened to you?"
"I have been training, and devoting my time entirely to taijutsu! I will become a great ninja with only these fists, Uzumaki-san!"
He isn't kidding. In my time at the Academy, there was only one guy worse than me at the Clone Jutsu who graduated. This is him. Even before Hinata and I started training, at least I could create something. This guy? Not even a cloud of smoke. Naruto flashed a grin back at Lee. "You're pretty good already!" Naruto praised, and added, "Okay. I can see you're taking this seriously… So I'm gonna try a few new jutsu I've never used before! You'll be the first to ever see me use 'em, believe it!"
Lee nodded, and resumed his initial stance, then faltered. "Wait, Uzumaki-san! It would be disrespectful for me to hold back while you go all out! Please give me a moment!"
"Sure. You get ready, and I'll do the same." Naruto pulled a green scroll out of his weapons pouch. "Do me a favor though; don't tell anyone you saw me doing this. At least not for a few days."
"As before, Uzumaki-san, you have my word." Lee beamed and flipped another thumbs-up. "I swear on my youth!"
"Huh?" Naruto replied quietly enough that Lee didn't hear. What the hell does that mean? As Lee unclasped a set of training weights from his calves, Naruto pulled the Uzumaki Clan cutlass out of the storage seal, unsheathing it. "Wind Release: Wind Blade Jutsu." He breathed out a coating of wind chakra onto the weapon, and the ethereal blades grew to become a seven-foot sword curved like a scimitar, wrapped around the existing weapon. A bit of concentration dulled the blades of wind so they would strike Lee but not wound him. I've never been much good at close range, but this should help once Lee gets past my ninjutsu. He stabbed the weapon into the ground so he could form more hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Wall Jutsu!"
Lee and Naruto lost sight of each other as a slice of earth two feet thick and twenty feet long rose ten feet into the air. It was promptly shattered by a fist wrapped in bandages, and Naruto stepped back, now startled. At this rate, I might end up using my Rinnegan… but that's not fair at all. Lee signed up to fight the ninjutsu I graduated with, not the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Even if he wins, that isn't fair. Naruto snapped out of his thoughts when Lee arrived in a green blur and struck him in the gut. He coughed as he was thrown backward, spitting out a bit of blood, and landed facedown in the middle of the dirt road. Naruto got up, and was able to block the second strike with his new Wind Blade, but Lee kept coming in a blur.
His eyes squeezed shut as a blow struck his ribs, and when they opened, the Rinnegan had activated. Lee's eyes widened, but he didn't pull a single punch. The next strike, aimed for Naruto's solar plexus, was blocked by a plate of black metal that materialized merely an inch above the skin. Lee pulled back, and clutched his knuckles, which dripped a bit of blood.
"I'm sorry!" Naruto frantically called, and suppressed his Rinnegan. "I never meant to-"
"It is all right, Uzumaki-san! It simply means I will need to do…" Lee looked down at his bandaged fist. "Counting these, five hundred sit-ups, if I do not defeat you!" He beamed, as though excited about both possibilities, and the sun glinted on his teeth.
"No," Naruto said sadly. "I used the Rinnegan, and that was cheating. The deal was just my ninjutsu against your taijutsu, and I didn't mean to use my eyes, but it happened, and it's cheating. You win."
"Uzumaki-san?" Lee's eyes were wide. "You… forfeit? I actually won?"
"Yeah. It wasn't fair for me to use the Rinnegan, and besides, I need time to figure out what exactly I just did with it."
Lee beamed, looking down at his hands. I will become a great ninja after all! Gai-sensei, I will make you proud! "Naruto-san, you have honor that could only be shown by one who enjoys the springtime of youth! Please be my friend!"
"Um… Okay? Yeah, sure!" Naruto flipped a thumbs-up in imitation of Lee. "Just call me Naruto. Only Hinata calls me Naruto-kun, and Naruto-san is way too formal."
"Of course! You may call me Rock!" Lee gave his own thumbs-up and a disturbingly shiny grin.
"Yeah… see you around, Rock," Naruto smiled back, and sheathed his cutlass, dispelling the Wind Blade around it. He waved a hand to repair the damage done to the road by his Earth Wall.
"I will see you at the Chuunin Exams, Naruto!" Lee picked up his training weights, and added, "May the fires of our youth carry us far into the upper ranks of the shinobi!" Then he vanished in a blur of green.
Naruto resolved to ask Lee what exactly he was talking about, then glanced down at the plate of metal he'd created from nothing to block Lee's last attack. Did I just… unlock the Asura Path of the Rinnegan? He picked up the plate, which dissolved into dust that faded into invisible chakra. So, I've got the Deva Path for gravity manipulation, the Human Path for affinities to all five elements, and the Asura Path to make weapons out of thin air! And it's only been twelve days! "Yeah!" Naruto shouted, and threw a fist into the air. "I really did it! Three Paths in two weeks, believe it!"
X
Jiraiya couldn't believe it.
Hinata stood before him, beaming proudly with a Rasengan in each hand, while Naruto was grinning at his own success with the Rinnegan, which he had demonstrated moments ago. "I… I can see now that I underestimated you two, badly. From now on, I'll train you at your proper level. Starting two days from now, we'll be doing nonstop survival training for the next three weeks, so bring food." Naruto's grin faltered, and Hinata's double Rasengan vanished. Jiraiya laughed at how quickly their pride had faded. "Hey, I did tell you it was gonna get harder. We need to test the limits of your endurance now. You've shown that you have the necessary power to defeat fearsome opponents, like the ones you'll face in the Chuunin Exams, but now we'll see how long you can keep up a healthy offense and defense, as well as using stealth and escape tactics, over a prolonged period like an actual mission."
He looked up at the sky, stained crimson by the still-rising sun. "I'll give you two the rest of today and all of tomorrow to get ready, pack your equipment. I recommend using generic storage fuinjutsu to save a lot of space." He turned away with a grin. "Now, back to my research… Body Flicker Jutsu."
"He was only here for ten minutes," Naruto grumbled at the spot where Jiraiya had stood. "I'm glad he won't be getting a chance to try this again." He deactivated his Rinnegan, and added, "Damn Pervy Sage."
"Wait…" Hinata activated her Byakugan. "We should follow him, and find out where he hides the most, before our move tonight. I can track his chakra with my Byakugan."
Naruto grinned again, and replied, "I like the way you think, Hinata-chan."
Hinata blushed faintly, both at Naruto's words and where she had found Jiraiya. "Right now, Jiraiya-sensei's hiding in a bush, watching… five girls in swimsuits, splashing each other in a lake. He has binoculars, so I guess he can do this from longer ranges. Right now, he's maybe twenty feet from them."
"Binoculars… for longer ranges? Or maybe he has them so he can…" Naruto started blushing too. "Get a good look at… specific parts of these girls?"
"Um…" Hinata looked down, blushing deeper as her Byakugan shut down. "I feel d-dirty just t-talking about all of this… b-but… you s-seem to know a l-lot about this, N-Naruto-kun… Have you ever… um…?" She started playing with her fingers.
"No! No, I don't do that!" By now they were both bright red. "I'm twelve!" he added desperately.
"O-Okay…" Hinata reactivated her Byakugan, with her cheeks still red. "Jiraiya-sensei… is giggling, and taking notes… okay, the girls stopped splashing each other. He just used the Body Flicker." Hinata paused, and tracked the Toad Sage's chakra again. "Now he's at a bathhouse… he used the Transformation Jutsu to turn into a woman with white hair. He's walking right in!"
"If we tried to expose him there," Naruto said seriously, "He'd change back and fight us. We're strong, but we can't fight a Sannin yet. We'd have to make our move when he's outdoors; otherwise he'd see two unfamiliar ninjas coming through an entrance and he'd attack first."
After a few more minutes of watching Jiraiya at a long range, Hinata shut down her Byakugan. "My eyes are starting to hurt," she admitted. "From what I saw, it seems attacking at night is a bad idea. The best place for us to ambush him is at that lake, and who's going to swim there at night?"
"So, tomorrow, he won't be expecting to see us at all… and we'll follow him to the lake, and blow his cover!" Naruto grinned. "That's the hardest part of the plan; after that it should all be easy as pie, believe it!"
"Naruto-kun… about that… why claim to be the leader of an S-rank team of missing-nin, if you're just planning to…" she trailed off, unwilling to speak the details of their plan out loud in a public training ground.
"It's still a prank on Pervy Sage, after all," Naruto replied, grinning. "Trust me, at the end of the day Jiraiya-sensei's probably never gonna try this again, or at least not here in Konoha. That'll get us more time to train with him, and people can have their privacy back!" He paused. "Besides, we have to have one identified member, so people like Hokage-sama can give us assignments."
"But you said we were going to…" she trailed off again.
"…Yeah, but not everyone's going to believe it," Naruto clarified.
"So you want us to accept missions while claiming to be S-rank shinobi? Isn't that… dangerous?"
"No, there's no way we could handle S-rank missions yet. But that's not the point. We're supposed to be just helping to protect Konoha, and that's something we could do. That's the real point. People will feel safer if they think Konoha has their own Akatsuki-level team of ninjas protecting them."
"Meanwhile, the people who believe the other story… will tell their friends about the other part. A Sannin got caught peeping on girls, exposed by one Genin with an accomplice who was probably also a Genin." Hinata's eyes widened. "I know we talked about this before, but… it still amazes me."
"It's gotta be the biggest, most complex prank I've ever pulled, and if we make it work, it'll actually help Konoha." Naruto said excitedly.
X
"They're weaklings. All of them." Gaara scowled. "Even their civilians are frailer than the weakest peasants we encountered on our way here. Their Genin won't be much better."
"Gaara," Kankurou began hesitantly, "We're not here to win the Chuunin Exams, remember? In the end, we'll be fighting Jounin and ANBU, just be patient."
Gaara's arms were folded over his chest, and he kept walking, but he looked back over his shoulder at Kankurou.
Kankurou shuddered. Gaara was only looking into the eyes of a disguised puppet, but the pure killing intent of his fellow Sand Sibling was horrifying. Through his puppet's eyes, Kankurou saw the teal glare Gaara was piercing him with. "I won't wait that long. I must continue to prove my existence, and if I must stalk a Chuunin or Jounin to do that before the attack begins, I will do it. Or else, my existence will falter and fail. I cannot have that."
Kankurou gulped, and his puppet nodded. "If you have to do that… Please, Gaara, keep it quiet."
"I will make an effort," Gaara replied, and faced ahead once more. "It doesn't matter to me whether these people know of my existence, so I'll at least make an effort."
Kankurou breathed out, shaking with relief. Those eyes… every time he even looks at me, I can feel the killing intent of that monster… I know he wouldn't hesitate to kill me if it helped him in any way.
The Jinchuuriki of the One-Tails led his brother and sister aimlessly throughout Konoha, and as he did, his growl of angry disappointment became louder and more obvious. "Weaklings," he snarled again. It was sheer luck that one particular Genin heard this voice as he passed, and turned to look at the speaker.
"Shukaku…" Naruto breathed, and Hinata glanced at him with concern. "That's the Jinchuuriki of Shukaku." I recognize those rings around his eyes... the mark of the One-Tailed Tanuki.
Gaara turned, interested by the name of his sealed demon. The two demon carriers made their way to each other, and Gaara confirmed, "Yes. Within me is sealed the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku no Sabaku. Why does it matter to you? And how did you know?"
"I…" Naruto glanced around. "I'd rather we talk about this somewhere private. Could the five of us maybe visit a ramen place? I'll pay."
"No," Gaara responded with a quiet growl. "Tell me here, and right now."
"I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails, the Kyuubi no Kitsune," Naruto admitted. "I'm supposed to find all eight other Jinchuuriki so we can protect ourselves, from Akatsuki…" he lowered his voice. "Akatsuki exists to hunt us down and reassemble the Bijuu into the Ten-Tails."
"It's of no concern to me." Gaara stepped past Naruto.
"That's wrong." Gaara turned, piercing Naruto with the same look of fury he'd used on Kankurou. Naruto flinched, but continued, "If the Akatsuki find you, they'll rip the One-Tails right out of you, killing you in the process, and with the power they take from your corpse they'll take over the world."
"I can protect myself," Gaara replied, but the other Genin had his attention now. "As for the other Jinchuuriki, I hold no love for them. Even the entire rest of the world means nothing to me. I care for only myself, I love only myself, and I live only for myself."
Naruto gritted his teeth, and would've loved to explode on Gaara, but he understood the delicacy of the situation. He replied quietly, "What do I have to do, to make you listen?"
"There's nothing you can do. I am here only to kill, and if we meet in the Chuunin Exams, I will kill you. I don't care about your intentions or Akatsuki's. If anyone faces me I will kill them. Missing-nin, Genin, Jinchuuriki… All of you. You're simply a means for me to prove the value of my existence; you exist solely to die, ideally by my own hand."
"Then that's what I'll do." Gaara gave him a look of indifference mixed with confusion, until Naruto added, "I'll beat you in the Chuunin Exams, then maybe you'll listen to me."
Gaara simply stared back at him, wearing an absolutely blank expression. "That's impossible," he finally declared. "Even if you were to do it, it wouldn't change me. I would still care only for myself and my continued existence, and I would kill you for your trouble." He started walking away again.
"Wait! What's your name?" Naruto called.
Gaara paused, and glanced back over his shoulder. "…Gaara. Gaara no Sabaku."
"Got it. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. See you at the Chuunin Exams, we can settle this there."
Gaara left, and his brother and sister followed. "Kankurou, Temari," he began after they had walked a considerable distance, "That one with the blond hair is strong. You will not raise a weapon against him, he's mine." Gaara cracked a psychotic grin. "He's the one who will truly reinforce the value of my existence with his death." His eyes… they were strange, Mother. Not the eyes we're looking for, but strange and… interesting.
How so, child? Shukaku replied, the voice resonating powerfully in Gaara's mind.
He doesn't seek to prove the value of his existence through killing someone. It's as though he believes his existence has already been proven. He has no doubt in his eyes, but no intent to kill either. He's not like me, but his existence… felt very real. He isn't like the weaklings around us, which is why killing him will have so much importance. I must learn to do what he's done with his existence, to make himself so strong.
X
Historically, shinobi wore black suits of soft, quiet cloth for stealth on missions, and such a uniform had once been everyday apparel for shinobi. In recent decades, shinobi such as the Genin of Konoha had become accustomed to wearing civilian clothing like hoodies, often lightly colored ones. The advantages of a traditional ninja uniform were not to be underestimated, however, and that was why the Third Hokage, for instance, still wore such a costume under his white-and-red robes.
Naruto had managed to produce two such outfits, and had added panels of dark grey fur fitted snugly over the shoulders, creating a uniform for Ninken. Over their right shoulders, the hilts of Naruto's and Hinata's cutlasses were ready to be drawn, and Naruto had tied a sash of dark orange cloth around his waist to complete his costume. His eyes were exposed through a slit in the black cloth that covered the rest of his face, whereas Hinata's mask had been sewn shut over her distinct, pearly lavender-white eyes. They'd also bought new weapons pouches and holsters in black.
After spending his childhood evading angry civilians and even shinobi while dressed in neon orange, Naruto was rather confident he'd be completely invisible in these black robes, and he said as much: "Pervy Sage is never gonna see us coming, believe it." He grinned under his mask. Although he'd originally planned to use this costume to attack at night, hiding in the treetops with an outfit this comparatively subtle would be almost as effective.
Hinata nodded; her Byakugan was already active to see through the mask that covered her easily identified eyes. Naruto's, although distinctive with the black rings in his blue irises, would be less of a giveaway until he activated his Rinnegan, and since he was planning to be identified anyway, it was all for the best.
Naruto kept all of this in mind as he led Hinata through the treetops, still grinning gleefully until he thought of Gaara. Even a single Bijuu's power, channeled back into the Ten-Tails… you have to stop them, Naruto. His father's words echoed in his mind. I can't let Gaara keep on fighting alone; it'd mean a potential apocalypse when Akatsuki gathers to take him in. But... how am I supposed to get through to a guy like this?
He shook off the thoughts of the future, and concentrated on his present mission to bring down Jiraiya. The white-haired Sannin was currently giggling like an idiot, with his binoculars trained on the subtly bouncing chest of a woman who was laughing as her friend splashed her, just like yesterday. Naruto could have probably just walked right up to Jiraiya and shoved a Shinra Tensei into the back of his head, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He made a gesture with his hand, and pointed across the small lake.
Hinata, who could see in all directions with her Byakugan, caught the message and leapt silently across the lake. One of the bikini-clad women happened to glance up and see Hinata sailing through the air, but she thought nothing of a ninja leaving Konoha, and Jiraiya didn't notice a thing. Said civilian witness resumed splashing her friends, giggling.
Hinata landed in a tree across the lake, watching for Naruto's signal to make her presence known. Naruto, behind Jiraiya on the other side of the lake, dropped down out of the tree he'd been crouching in, and landed silently on his feet. Not even one twig snapped, not one leaf crunched under his soles as he approached Jiraiya. Even so, the Sannin might have detected Naruto if not for his distracting 'research.'
With his hand merely a foot from Jiraiya's white mane, Naruto activated his Rinnegan, and whispered, "Shinra Tensei." Jiraiya screamed as he was thrown into the lake, landing facefirst in the water between the young women he'd been spying on. It was like something out of his worst nightmares.
As the shrieks of "H-Hentai!" grew louder, Hinata leapt out of her hiding spot in the tree, landing on the surface of the water with chakra control so perfect that the water never even rippled under her feet. She withdrew a kunai from her black weapons pouch, and tossed it up into the air. Naruto used the modified Substitution Jutsu to switch places with the kunai, and landed at Hinata's side.
"Listen up!" Naruto called, drawing the attention of the women and a brutalized Jiraiya. "This man, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, was spying on you, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. Such behavior is unacceptable here in Konoha, and since Konoha is under our protection, naturally we chose this moment to reveal our presence. We…" he paused, and drew his cutlass, holding it over his head as Hinata did the same, "are Ninken! As long as we draw breath, no harm will come to Konoha and its citizens, whether it's physical…" they pointed their blades at Jiraiya, "or psychological trauma."
He was rather proud of himself, for memorizing and perfectly executing the speech. Meanwhile Hinata stayed silent, as her voice could identify her just as her eyes could. Ninken sheathed their cutlasses, and Naruto finished, "Jiraiya, come with me."
The Toad Sage looked up, with his right eye already developing a black ring beneath it, and he saw Naruto's Rinnegan. If it hadn't been for the pain, he might have actually grinned. Yeah… he groaned inwardly. He's Kushina's and Minato's kid, no doubt. But who the hell is he with? Hinata, or maybe that other Genin on his team. As he stood on the surface of the water, he thought more about it. "All right, Ninken," he held his hands out at his sides submissively, "You got me."
The ninja next to Naruto stood in place, while Naruto himself approached and led Jiraiya in the general direction of Konoha. So, he's got the chakra control to walk on water… Jiraiya noted. Normal Genin aren't even taught to tree-walk in the Academy, so just what else did you pick up with Hinata's help, Naruto? When they were past the edge of the lake, Jiraiya let himself smirk. "Not bad, kid. You can take the mask off, now what's all this about?"
Naruto turned off his Rinnegan, and removed his mask, also smirking. "Pervy Sage, this is about you spying on girls when you're supposed to be training me and Hinata. But that's only a part of it. Ninken's been working behind the scenes for a while now, but there's only so much we can do without the world knowing we exist."
Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow. "Ninken? Ninja Hounds, or Ninja Blades?"
"That's right," Naruto replied ambiguously, "Ninken. We're a team of ninja dedicated to protecting Konoha without orders from the Hokage, and my partner back there is probably explaining the exact same thing to those witnesses we just rescued. Most of our members are S-rank, and they answer to me, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails."
"You're the leader of an S-rank team of missing-nin? You expect me to buy that?" Jiraiya laughed.
"Your opinion doesn't mean much. The Hokage's opinion, and those of Konoha's shinobi and civilians, on the other hand…" Naruto trailed off meaningfully.
"Ah, now it's fitting together. Either Konoha believes your story, or by default they believe two Genin took down the Toad Sage. Or… was it really a Genin with you? I can see you convincing Kiba Inuzuka to help you with this, from what I've heard of him, but he's not the right body shape. That was a girl you were with, and you'd never be able to convince Hinata to do this. It was Hana Inuzuka, Kiba's sister, wasn't it?"
Naruto remained silent and blank-faced.
Jiraiya laughed again. "You just sold her out by saying nothing, kid. The Inuzuka are the only clan I can think of who have a sense capable of guiding them with their eyes covered, namely their sense of smell. Hana had her eyes covered, as well as the dead-giveaway Inuzuka Clan marks on her cheeks, as a display of her skill with her remaining four senses. You had to back up your 'S-rank' claim somehow, am I right?"
"It wasn't Hana. In fact, I'd never heard that name until you said it just now. Kiba never mentioned his sister," Naruto replied evenly.
"Hm?" Jiraiya considered this. "Then… who…?"
"Like I said, S-rank ninjas. I never said we were all from Konoha." Naruto flashed a grin. "Now, we're going to see Hokage-sama, and both try to tell on each other."
Jiraiya nodded. "Well played, but like I said before, I don't buy it."
"And like I said before, it doesn't matter."
X
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled with genuine amusement. The effort in Naruto's scheme was to be applauded, but the Third Hokage had been playing this game for far longer. He'd seen through to the truth almost instantly, thanks to Jiraiya delivering a detailed report just before Naruto began his story. I suppose Hinata found this little event thrilling and romantic, taking on a Sannin with only each other for backup whilst claiming to be heroes. "…And so," Naruto finished, "I escorted Jiraiya-sensei here, knowing he'd expect to turn this incident against me and dodge the evidence, and so he was willing to come here to risk meeting his punishment."
"I see." Sarutobi lit his pipe. "Who was your accomplice, really? I know she was a Konoha kunoichi…" Naruto sighed in disappointment, "…and I have a solid guess as to her identity, but I'd love to hear it from you."
"If I give you a name, it doesn't leave this room. She'll receive no punishment of any kind for her involvement in this," Naruto replied adamantly.
"As you wish."
"Hinata Hyuuga."
"What?!" Jiraiya exploded. "But she was the first, the only person I ruled out!"
"Which is another thing that makes her the perfect partner for me to choose. Not to mention us being best friends for two years and now dating as well." Naruto turned a smug grin on Jiraiya. "She's the closest person to me in the world, what the hell possessed you to rule her out as a suspect? She looked too nice and innocent? She's a kunoichi!" Jiraiya's mouth was hanging ever-so-slightly open. He opened it wider to speak, but no words came out, so he instead shut it properly.
"Moving on," the Hokage declared, getting the attention of both, "Naruto, you're to publicly confess the nature of this prank tomorrow morning. The story will spread, and everyone will realize quickly enough that Ninken doesn't exist." Then, the old man's eyes narrowed. "But… you planned that as well?" Naruto gave no response, and the Hokage finished, "I'd expect this if you'd grown up friends with Shikamaru Nara, but as it stands I'm shocked. When did you develop this level of cunning, Naruto?"
"About two years ago, when I started paying attention in history class," Naruto answered flatly. "The four previous Hokage including my dad were all skilled at tricking people and outthinking them. I think Hashirama Senju put it best: 'A ninja must see through deception.'" He paused and laughed. "I gotta be honest, Hokage-sama: I'm trying to pattern myself after you, the only surviving Hokage and the legendary Professor of Shinobi," he finished with respectful admiration.
"Two years ago…" The Hokage mused. "Around the time Hinata Hyuuga made friends with you?"
"That's right. I resolved myself to graduate in the same year she would, so I applied myself in class and learned that to fulfill my dream, to be the next Hokage, being powerful wasn't gonna be enough. So, I studied the strategies of the previous Hokage and their generals, including you, and I'll admit I forgot most of it, but hey, I can come up with stuff like this now, and that's enough."
"Hm…" Sarutobi took a long drag on his pipe. "My decision stands. Deny the existence of Ninken, control the confusion as best you can. Jiraiya, teach Naruto to use that sword, or if you can't, get Hayate Gekkou to do it."
"Hokage-sama?" Jiraiya asked in confusion.
"I'm no good at taijutsu," Naruto clarified. "Hokage-sama wants me to know how to use this sword, so my opponents will keep their distance and I can properly use my ninjutsu."
"I see," Jiraiya nodded. "All right. Hayate's a great choice to teach kenjutsu, the best swordsman in Konoha from what they tell me. That, however," he added, "is gonna wait until you and Hinata survive the Forest of Death for three weeks, as promised."
"Forest of Death?" Naruto gulped.
Jiraiya grinned evilly. "Payback time, kid."
X
Naruto opened his eyes, and found himself once more in the vibrant meadow he had created for the Nine-Tails. He glanced down at himself, and was reminded that he'd gone to sleep in his full Ninken uniform. The cutlass sheath on his back was empty, and he vaguely recalled laying the weapon on the lid of his father's heirloom trunk.
The tips of Kyuubi's tails twitched as it noticed Naruto's arrival. "Welcome back," it greeted halfheartedly.
Naruto made his way to the wall of the golden cage, "Hi, Kyuubi-san."
Not for the first time, the demon fox turned to look at Naruto incredulously. "...I tire of your deceit. Tell me now, with absolute honesty, why you're doing all of this for me." he gestured around with one of his tails. "When I grow hungry, mountains of delicacies present themselves. When I wish to sleep, a bed appears that I fit in. You've even allowed me to wander in this valley from time to time, that I might level forests and mountains as is my nature. But why? I don't understand!"
Naruto shrugged. "You knew the Sage of Six Paths, right?"
The Kyuubi nodded. "He was like a father to me."
"He was also a father to two human sons. The older brother inherited some form of the Rinnegan that eventually evolved into the Sharingan. The younger brother inherited the strength of his father's body and will, and apparently," Naruto pointed at his own Rinnegan, "He got a dormant Rinnegan too. Anyway, the Sage had to pick someone to succeed him, and the Sage chose his younger son."
"Where are you going with this? I know it all already!"
"So you know how the story ends... except it doesn't end, does it?" Naruto said sadly, and continued, "The older brother attacked the younger, out of jealousy and hatred, and he became the first Uchiha. His younger brother survived, and founded the Senju Clan. The two still hate each other, or at least they did, until both of them were nearly wiped out. Now there's maybe four or five Senju descendants left, including me, an Uzumaki. The Uchiha still have one Genin in Konoha, a kid named Sasuke, and there's a guy named Itachi Uchiha who, like his family, succumbed to hatred and killed off his own clan."
The Kyuubi's tails waved airily behind him, and he listened. Naruto kept talking, "So you see, this hatred kept going for centuries, and thousands of people died because of it. And then, there's you and your hatred for humanity. It brought you here to Konoha, and now you're sealed inside me. By every example that's come before us, I should hate you for what you've done, but I paid attention in history class. I know how the story ends: It doesn't. You and I either spend the rest of my life hating each other, and you die when I do, or you break free and start killing people again. That's how everyone expects the story to end."
"Or?" the Kyuubi asked, now genuinely interested.
"Or we can break the cycle. You and I are the only two people involved in the hatred now, there's no one to stop us from ending it forever. There were always a few Uchiha and Senju who said the hate should just stop, but their families were screaming for blood too loudly to notice. Now, it's just you and me, and I'm telling you I want it to stop. Let's be friends, Kyuubi-san."
Naruto stepped through the bars of the cage, and held out a hand for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to take. The Kyuubi stood and approached, teeth bared, but Naruto didn't move away. The boy was smiling, and with those eyes...
"You look just like my father. You even sound like him."
"My... father?" Naruto repeated, confused. "But you and my dad only met to fight."
"No, fool, you misheard. MY father. The Sage of Six Paths." The Kyuubi laid down in front of Naruto, tails swishing contently. "My name is Kurama, now put your hand down, idiot child."
Naruto lowered his hand, smiling. "So, are we friends now, Kurama-san?"
Kurama bared his teeth in what might have been a smile. "No. We've broken the cycle, as you put it, I no longer hate you. Perhaps I might even respect you, for what I see of the Sage in you. But I won't call you a friend." The horrifying smile faded, and the Tailed Beast grew serious. "I might have chosen this moment to offer you my chakra, but this seal prevents that completely. You're on your own, which is problematic, as I feel a storm coming."
"A storm?"
"A war." Kurama, though stretched out on his belly, still had to gaze down on Naruto. "I am a weapon to be wielded, boy, and having me sealed within you doesn't make you some ultimate Chosen One. You're not the first, and you likely won't be the last Jinchuuriki no Kyuubi. Akatsuki will come for me, and something tells me they will arrive soon."
Naruto whitened. "I'm not so much scared for me, or even Hinata," he thought aloud, "We're strong-"
"Not strong enough." Kurama stood then, and glared down at Naruto. "You've been training to fight Chuunin-level Genin, in an at least moderately controlled environment. To survive a meeting with even one of the Akatsuki, you'd need my chakra, which I cannot give you. Even before I was sealed in you, I knew of the power of Akatsuki. It would take perhaps four of them to defeat me in my true form, and you're nowhere near the level of a Tailed Beast. You may have the eyes of the Sage, but you don't have his power."
Naruto sighed. "What I was gonna say, is that if they go for Gaara instead of me..."
"The Jinchuuriki of Shukaku. Why do you worry for him?"
"He'll die if they catch him, and if they get Shukaku from him they can merge it back into the Ten-Tails."
"So your real goal is to stop Akatsuki." Kurama laughed grimly. "I'm almost glad to know that. If you were obsessed with protecting the boy himself, it would indicate irrevocably skewed priorities. You've talked to him once, and he intends to kill you. Still you seek to protect him?"
"How do you know all of this?" Naruto asked suspciciously.
"The Tailed Beasts have a limited form of telepathy, enough that I can see through your eyes in the waking world, now that we've established this familiarity." Kurama paused. "All this being said, why do you care for Gaara's safety at all?"
Naruto didn't immediately answer, instead he ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought. After careful consideration, he began, "I honestly don't know. Maybe it's because I feel bad for him, maybe I see him as the monster I could have been, but maybe it's simpler than that. Maybe my purpose in life is to save people."
"Hm?" Kurama rumbled. "Your purpose... but you've never mentioned such a thing before. Always, it's been 'to be Hokage, that is my dream.' I've seen it countless times in your memories."
"Yeah. I wanna be Hokage," Naruto agreed. "But I can't stand the thought of someone dying if I could've saved them. I guess that's why... but I haven't figured all of this out yet. Let's just keep it simple: I want to save people. Gaara's one of them. Saving him will also prevent Akatsuki from taking over the world." he paused. "Wait, you've seen my memories?"
"All of them," Kurama confirmed, "I began watching your life story, when I was roused by your accessing my chakra in the Land of Waves. It was only for a brief moment, but yes, you've done it before."
"So... you've lived all the things I have, then..." Naruto stopped to consider this. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had now read all the same manga as him, tasted the same delicious ramen, had suffered the misery of loneliness as he had. Kurama now remembered what it was like to have a friend in Hinata, to graduate from the Genin Academy, to watch Hinata die and return to life...
Naruto blushed, as the realization hit him like a brick wall. "You... saw me and Hinata kiss... you've seen me naked in every shower I've ever had... You know about the Sexy Jutsu?!"
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