Hello everyone,
There have been a lot of positive reviews for this story, which I love. This story won't be as ...breaking for Naruto as my pokemon one has been for Brawly. There will be trials and tribulations, of course. It just won't be as bad.
Now with that being said, let's get into it.
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P.S. Story is still not on a schedule.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu was ...difficult to say the least.
My earlier assessments of what it might entail was spot on, for the most part. I couldn't imagine how the Naruto in the anime pulled it off in a single night. Lightning chakra manipulation was definitely the easiest thing I learned that day.
It took me a week to produce a single operational Shadow Clone. A fucking week, and I was not a slow learner. There was a reason it was a B-rank jutsu.
The real reason it took me a week was because I was only allowed to try twice a day, because of the chakra cost. I had a lot of chakra for a genin, like a lot. But I did not have near the amount of chakra that anime Naruto did. Like not even half by this age. Although my chakra control is leaps and bounds from his.
Now I suppose that means I only tried five times before I got it right. It took up about a quarter of my chakra, successfully.
And I did not waste time. I didn't even bother to test out if the memory transferral was good.
"Ok, you know what to work on. And keep my work ethic please, don't think that you can slack because we have more time." I told him. Lecturing myself was weird.
"Whatever dickhead!" Clone-me said as he sat down on the couch of my apt and picked up a leaf from the massive bag beside him. I just rolled my eyes and couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.
You know how anime-Naruto spammed Shadow Clone Jutsu? It's fucking bullshit.
Those were my thoughts as I dropped to the ground six hours later, clutching my head. It was like a migraine immediately. Head-splitting migraine. I had never had a migraine before, in either life. So this was debilitating. I fell to my knees in the middle of a spar.
Luckily, Lee was cognizant enough not to finish the kick headed for the side of my head. I genuinely think it would have been a major injury.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Gai's voice had a sense of urgency to it.
"Migraine!" I told him quickly.
And then, as my mind processed all of the information, exhaustion set in.
I passed out.
When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that I was in my bed and not a hospital bed.
The sun was beginning to rise, but hadn't quite gotten over the horizon. The feeling of a splitting head was no longer there. I felt normal. Everything was normal.
Except for the old man in my room, dressed in white and red robes, staring at me like I was an idiot child. Maybe I was an idiot child.
I couldn't feel the Hokage's chakra. It was like he was a ghost, standing before me. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. It must have been only a couple of seconds before he broke the silence.
As he spoke, he released his chakra. It flooded my senses. It wasn't as large a Neji's, and I suspected it was barely bigger than Kakashi's, but it was so fucking dense. Everyone else had chakra like water. The Hokage had chakra like ...I couldn't even find a good comparison. I wanted to think concrete, but that would be wrong. It still moved as he wanted it to.
"You have been irresponsible." The God of Shinobi, the Sandaime accused.
"Yes sir." I agreed.
"Hm. So it was intentional, then." He said, as his face morphed from inquisitive, to understanding. He knew that I was trying to train with the jutsu.
"Yes sir, although I didn't know that one clone would…"
"That is correct, you didn't know. Ignorance is not a trait a shinobi should possess." The Hokage interrupted. "Although, in the end it is my fault."
"I'm an adult." I claimed. "I'm capable of making my own mistakes." I shouldn't have talked back to the Hokage. And the way he looked at me told me that it would be the last time I did that.
"The law claims you are correct. But your actions reveal a different truth. Regardless, it is too late to take back the knowledge and ability of the jutsu. And I am not so old and naive as to believe you would obey me if I ordered you to not perform the jutsu. It is a feat in itself to be able to perform so flawlessly at your age." He continued.
"Did you know that my sensei had the same conversation with me, when I was only a little younger than you?" Hiruzen asked.
"No sir." I answered. Although it would make sense. Didn't he become Hokage at like fifteen or something?
"Hmm." He answered while looking behind me. It was like he was lost in a memory. "For every three hours you train with the Clone, it must sleep at least one, preferably more. The stress on the brain is too much, otherwise."
Huh, that actually made sense. I wondered if that could be trained too. Some people learn to run off of less sleep. I bet I could get away with two hours, sometimes less. And what if I made a clone just to sleep, while the others got in training?
Of course, that only worked in the future, when my reserves increased. For now, I would stick to one clone. But still, double the progress as normal was a massive lead on my competition.
"That makes sense." I admitted. "Thank you for showing mercy. I'm sure there are harsher punishments you could impose."
The Sandaime smiled at me. "It would be hypocritical, I believe. I see a lot of myself in you, Naruto. I had a similar drive to become the best at your age. Some have already made note of what could be perceived as a personality change, but I believe it is simple maturity taking place before our eyes."
I wanted to say that my actions were not those of a mature adult, but I did not. Kakashi was sure to say 'I told you so' to the Hokage. No doubt he opposed the teaching of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Although, you will not manipulate your sensei in such a manner, ever again. He is there to teach you, and a direct question will get you further with less investigation than how you went about it. Some in the village have already labeled you as capable of manipulating their comrades to get what you want. That is not a good label to have Naruto." The Hokage said, with a little more stern voice.
Another thing that made tremendous sense. "I thought I would have been told no, without a good reason for the jutsu." I admitted. "It will not happen again."
"If we didn't believe you were ready, we would have said no regardless. Trust in us, and we will reciprocate. In our world, we deal in lies and manipulation, you'll be surprised how far honesty and transparency will get you with your comrades. Even with your enemies sometimes, although it is a bad idea in general." Hiruzen replied.
I didn't know what to say to that. I was tired of saying 'well that makes sense'. Because it made perfect sense. Konoha shinobi are fiercely loyal, traditionally. Even our biggest traitor, Itachi, did what he did for the good of Konoha. Orochimaru had no excuse, besides insanity, I suppose.
Wait, didn't he return to the village for Baruto or something, or was at least cordial? I had never kept up with the show to know, to be honest.
"We need strong shinobi, Naruto. I can see you becoming one of our strongest, and there are those who are taking notice. Continue as you are. We reward loyalty and hard work." He responded.
"I have learned my lesson." I placated. But there was no way I was revealing that I knew who our Jinchuriki was. Even if the question was on the tip of my tongue.
"Good. Now I believe your team awaits you for your morning training. Gai knows the reasons for your tardiness, it does not need to be discussed. Now, do you think that you could produce a Shadow Clone for me?"
That question surprised me. I didn't bother answering him. From my sitting position, I made the hand sign that anime-Naruto was so recognized for. Molding the chakra came easier than I expected, I had dedicated five days to the execution of it.
There was no smoke. A copy of me just appeared beside me and the Hokage. He smiled at me, and I knew he had felt my chakra. There was no doubt in my mind that he had gained so much information on how much I had developed from that single technique. He said a single word before he disappeared, without warning.
"Excellent."
"Weights off."
I sent chakra to the appropriate muscles to block the kick from lee. He was still much more naturally stronger than I was. But he couldn't mold chakra very well. I made up for our strength difference with almost constantly using chakra to enhance myself. Something I was getting better and better at.
I still couldn't keep up completely with Lee, but I wasn't far behind. And the gap was closing everyday. I loved my Uzumaki heritage.
With Lee's leg in my possession, I lashed out with my own combo of kicks, and pushed off of his chest to gain some distance.
I sent chakra to the seals on my wrist and ankles in a very specific pattern. I felt like a feather almost immediately. As soon as it was done, I realized that I had pushed off too hard and would be the air for a good moment.
A moment was all that Lee needed.
I made one seal, in mid-air, and three weeks of practice for this jutsu made itself known. A clone of myself appeared beneath me, and intercepted my teammate.
My clone did not last longer than four exchanges of limbs, but that was all I needed and my feet touched the ground.
The world blurred, and I unconsciously channeled chakra to my brain. I was only aware of the feeling because of my sensing ability. The world slowed down slightly as my perception increased.
Although Lee was still almost faster than I could comprehend.
But I met him blow for blow for a total of fourteen engagements before he got a hit on me. I had to admit, Lee was an amazing sparring partner. He had discipline like I had never seen. He always stayed on the edge of your abilities, to make sure that you were always pushing yourself to keep up.
I remain convinced that, with the gates, he could fight on Jonin level for a small amount of time.
Fifteen punches and kicks came my way. I blocked, deflected and counter attacked when presented the opportunity. And then Lee executed a combination that he used one of the first times I had fought him. And I capitalized.
Fall into the trap and then his uppercut was stopped by my knee. It was a jarring hit, but my throat chop connected, as did the leg sweep I executed. Lee hit the ground.
And like that, I won my first spar with Lee.
I froze, as did Lee.
And then, a hurricane impacted me. "Good job Naruto!" Gai-sensei said as I was engulfed in a hug. I was paraded around by my sensei for the next few minutes. Even Sakura gave me a hug.
"I believe we're ready for another C-rank." Gai said as we sat down for lunch. "Any objections?"
I looked at my teammates. More specifically Sakura. To someone who didn't spend everyday with her, she wouldn't have seemed affected. But I noticed how she stiffened at the question. She lost a little bit of color in her face for a moment.
We met eyes. And I tried my best to send my best 'be strong' face. I do think that she got the message though, because she frowned in a determined kind of way and nodded at Gai.
"I'm ready, sensei. I'm a kunoichi of Konoha. I should be used to death." Sakura said.
I couldn't help but smile at her. It was a terrible mindset to have as a human, but for what we did? Well it was amazing she was even having problems with it in the first place. There are too many bloodthirsty ninja, in my opinion. Sasuke being one of them.
"Good. You three are more than ready. Meet at the front gate in the morning, we're escorting a client back to his home. Have any of you been to Wave?"
My eyes widened, and I almost spit out the water in my cup. I got weird looks from my teammates and my sensei.
"Sorry, wrong pipe." I said, trying to play off the mishap.
Fuck. Zabuza, here I come.
"Tazuna?" I called out to the people huddled around the front gates. Apparently it was a common theme to meet at the front gates of Konoha every morning.
Of course it should be considering we were the top village when it comes to missions. At least, for now we are.
"Here." I turned to the voice, perhaps a little faster than I should have. My weights were off, so my movement was naturally much faster. I still had to get used to the speed.
Apparently Team Ten was past the point of doing C-ranks with weights on. I agreed with the assessment of course. Wouldn't want to die because you were a little too slow deactivating the chakra weights. Or at least, Sakura and I were. Gai and his clone, Lee, kept theirs on.
Tazuna was easily over fifty, but gave the look that he was smarter and stronger than those around him. It was the kind of strength you only get from a lifetime of labor. And he was a master bridge builder. Overall, he was an unassuming man.
"You are my escort?" He asked, a little condescendingly. "I thought I asked for ninja's." He grumbled.
I thought about punching him in his mouth, especially considering the fact that I knew he was lying about the real mission parameters.
"I promise we will escort you home safely." I told him, instead of the very satisfying throat punch I was considering.
"Well you get what you pay for, I suppose." Tazuna griped, almost ignoring me.
For a moment, I pictured his head detached from his body, and it was extremely satisfying. Gai's hand on my shoulder was the only thing that stopped me from going off. Gai produced a bingo book from his person, at least that's what I assumed it was, because when he showed Tazuna the page inside, the man's tune changed.
"Oh my. The Green Beast of Konoha. I stand corrected." Tazuna said as he sent me a glare. Why the fuck was he picking a fight with a thirteen year old anyway? Didn't he know I could rip his spine out through his anus? Fucking asshole.
"Naruto, point." Gai said.
And like that, we began walking.
I walked along the road, in front of my charge. My teammates walked along either side of Tazuna. And Gai brought up the rear.
I should have been paying attention, but instead I was speeding through hand signs faster than anime-Naruto ever dreamed of. I was not near Itachi's speed, but I would get there. Now I just had to work on Jutsu, of course. I literally knew a total of four. Sensei hadn't even taught me Shunshin yet. Although I wasn't sure I'd need it soon. I was fucking fast.
I wasn't completely aware of my surroundings. My main focus was on my chakra sense of course.
For example, it was on day two with Tazuna that I noticed the infamous puddle in the road. Surprisingly, I noticed a difference from the anime immediately. It was a genjutsu of course, but nobody was there.
The Demon Brothers, at least that's who I thought they were, were hiding in the tree line. I wrung my hands out as if I was tired of doing hand signs before stretching my hands behind my back. Three quick signs, made smoothly alerted my teammates of the danger.
To our credit, nobody made any indication of what I said.
"I told you not to tire yourself out, idiot." Sakura said, making casual conversation. Gai had recommended it to help alleviate her anxiety for the upcoming mission. Of course, she took it as teasing me.
"Yea yea, like anything is going to happen guarding this idiot." I commented just as I stepped close to the puddle.
The build up of chakra was the giveaway. Did these guys really think that would work?
It was a replacement jutsu, one that I had perfected. I knew how to mold the chakra, and it was easy to sense. The genjutsu at my feet faded from a puddle, into a log. And then there was a teenager in front of me.
I whipped out my kunai when it was too late for my attacker to cancel the jutsu. The shaggy haired boy thrusted his gauntlet covered arm towards me. I moved past him, not touching the poison covered blades on the gauntlet, and slid my kunai across his throat. I never even touched him, but guaranteed his death.
I didn't even wait for him to hit the ground when I took off towards the side that Sakura was on.
The other half of the brothers was already coming out of a shunshin right in front of Sakura. I grabbed the other brother's arm that was headed towards her chest, twisted it, and hip-tossed the boy to the ground.
To the boy's credit, he put up a good fight, but I quickly put him on his stomach with his arm behind his back and my knee on the back of his neck. The same kunai I used to kill his brother was put on his carotid artery and he stopped struggling.
"What the fuck!?" Tazuna roared as his civilian mind caught up to the speedy violence I just caused.
"Who do you work for? Why are you after this man?" I asked, ignoring Tazuna.
"Fuck you! You killed my broth...ahhh!"
I took my kunai off of his neck, and stabbed him in the gut. It was a nasty wound and wouldn't kill him immediately, but it would if left unchecked.
"Answer and our medic here will heal you and send you on your way." I told him through his screams. I pointed towards Sakura, who watched on with a frown on her face.
At that moment, I realized that I was torturing a boy just trying to survive without the protection of a major village. Although, Zabuza should have been here to protect them also. And I had loyalties to my village, as much as I disagreed with this world. I was a shinobi of Konoha, and I would do my duty.
"Ahh!" The boy said as I twisted the kunai in his gut.
"Give me a name!" I hissed.
"Gatō!" He answered.
I looked at Tazuna. "Does that name ring a bell to you?" I asked, as if I didn't already know.
The man's face was pale, as he looked down to my position. His eyes were on the blood leaking out of the body underneath me.
"Yes." He answered with a nod.
I looked to Gai for a moment. The look on his face was one of complete concentration and seriousness. This was the real Gai, underneath his normally cheery disposition. He sent a nod towards me, and I knew what he meant.
I ripped the kunai out of the boy's gut and immediately slammed it into his brain, killing him. We wouldn't waste the chakra on healing an enemy. He simply wasn't worth it. Especially one dumb enough to attack a jonin of Konoha at his level. Not to mention the fact that I just destroyed him. It made me wonder what my limits were. Obviously Lee, but he was in an odd state. Depending on the opponent, Lee could go toe to toe with some jonin, but could get trashed by a chunin capable enough.
I reached into the pockets on my leg, and pulled out an ordinary scroll. Storage scrolls for dead bodies was honestly easy now. It was when you started adding a lot of different objects that it got complicated. This one scroll would actually suffice for both bodies, now that I thought about it.
I sent chakra to the seal, and guided it to the body. There was an audible pop for each body. I guessed that was because of some science explanation I was too lazy to look into. I should really know stuff like that.
"I take back what I said about you kid." Tazuna said. I looked at him to see that he had taken his hat off and was fanning himself. He looked like he was about to throw up. "You'll do."
"Thanks." I said cheerily. "Now you have some explaining to do." I added, a little more seriously.
Gai cut in then. "That you do, Tazuna. That you do."
A/N: Boom!
There we go! I suppose that is a good place to stop for the chapter. The wave arc is in full effect, even if it is going slightly different.
I know I didn't mention it, but the Demon Brothers gauntlets did connect with the chain, Naruto just stopped them without them being able to use it.
So what do we think? Naruto gets the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and it's not as broken as the anime would lead us to believe. What is broken, IS Naruto's sensing ability. And it's growing. That thing is awesome. Although at the high levels, it is possible to subvert it.
The Hokage gave Naruto a good berating, and instructions on how to properly use the jutsu. For reference's sake, they got the wave arc mission about three weeks after that conversation, that's why Naruto's improvement has been so rapid. And Lee's defeat at Naruto's hand is only because Lee wasn't giving it his all.
Let's talk in the reviews!