DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
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|CHAPTER ONE
The Third Hokage was very old, but he wasn't feeble.
In fact, most of his skills were still as sharp as shuriken points. So it was no surprise that he could hear someone sneaking up on his home.
Sakumo watched from a distance as the Third Hokage lowered his eyelids and he focused on the intruder. He must not have let any killing intent, which made sense because Naruto wasn't there to kill him.
"Naruto? Is that you?" the Hokage called out.
The words were loud enough for Sakumo to hear, so Naruto must have heard them. He saw the Hokage frown and the village's leader must have sharpened his focus until he was sure of the intruder's identity because the old man suddenly related and heaved a big sigh.
Sakumo saw the old man's lips moving, but he wasn't close enough to hear. He did see the Hokage get to his feet and walk towards the window Naruto was crawling through.
"What are you doing here?" the Hokage barked, loud enough for even Sakumo to hear.
Naruto shouted and fell the rest of the way through the window landing on his ass. The blonde stared at the Hokage for exactly three seconds, like it was shocking that the strongest ninja in the village had sensed him approaching.
Then he quickly made a hand seal and shouted, "Sexy Jutsu!"
Sakumo sighed as the inevitable happened. The Third Hokage was one of the most powerful shinobi in the world. There was no denying that, not when the "Professor" knew more jutsu than any Hokage before him and was even rumored to know every jutsu in the Hidden Leaf.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was a living legend...but even living legends had weaknesses.
By sheer accident, Naruto had discovered one of those weaknesses—and he had exploited the hell out of it.
Sakumo shook his head as he watched the Hokage fall to the floor unconscious, blood leaking out of his nose. While he didn't think Naruto's plan would have worked in a real fight, it was still embarrassing for the Hokage.
Naruto looked at the knocked-out leader of the village before smirking and rushing away further into the Hokage Mansion. Sakumo lost sight of him, but he didn't want to get closer and risk being spotted by Mizuki.
A few minutes later Naruto crawled back out the window with a massive scroll tied to his back. The blonde took off toward the Hokage Monument, completely unaware that he was being watched.
Sakumo didn't move to follow, not until the shadow that had been watching the entire operation vanished.
|NARUTO|
Hours later, in the middle of the forest behind the Hokage Monument, he stood crouched in a tree high above Naruto.
The blonde was sitting on the ground in a daze. He had been practicing since sunset and was dead on his feet.
Time to get to work, Sakumo dropped down from the tree. He landed behind Naruto and lashed out with a hard right hook, catching the jinchūriki right on the temple.
Naruto went down.
"Gotta work fast," Sakumo muttered as he unrolled the Scroll of Sealing. Naruto had an accelerated healing factor, so he wasn't expecting the blonde to stay unconscious for long.
Whoa, that dick Mizuki was definitely telling the truth, Even with just a quick glance, Sakumo could see that every jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing was extremely powerful.
Only trouble was, they were also extremely complicated.
Naruto had wound up choosing the only jutsu that seemed sort of easy, at least compared to the other jutsu in the scroll. But even the easiest jutsu in the scroll made the regular Clone jutsu look like child's play. He had watched Naruto go through the motions, again and again, trying hard to get them right. Now, hours later, the blonde was actually making progress.
Sakumo pulled a scroll from the pouch on his waist and set it down next to the far larger Scroll of Sealing. He bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and pressed his bloody finger against the smaller scroll.
Usually, he used his scrolls for the Izuno clan's Cat Cloak jutsu, but tonight he needed it for something else.
In a puff of smoke, he summoned a camera from the scroll and started snapping pictures. Having pictures of any jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing was dangerous, but thanks to his new memories, he could translate the instructions into "Spanish". A language that didn't exist in the shinobi world and then burn the pictures.
Truthfully, the Scroll of Sealing was safest in his hands.
Once he had a picture of every jutsu in the massive scroll, Sakumo resealed his camera and rolled the Scroll of Sealing back up.
Just in time too as Naruto was starting to stir.
I should look into becoming a jinchuuriki, Sakumo thought as Naruto opened his eyes. Most people didn't wake up so soon after being knocked unconscious.
The second Naruto saw him, the blonde was on his feet and shouting. "Hey! Did you just hit me, you bastard!" he demanded. Then he noticed who he was yelling at and frowned. "Sakumo! What are you doing here?"
"I overheard some Chunin talking about how you stole the Scroll of Sealing," Sakumo said, lying his ass off.
"What do you care?" Naruto demanded. "Mizuki gave me this test! You already passed the graduation exam!"
"I did, and I'm officially a genin of the Hidden Leaf." Sakumo nodded, reaching up to flick the metal plate sewn into his headband. "This means it's my job to protect the village. And to catch traitors."
"Protect the village? Traitors?" Naruto frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Sakumo grabbed the Scroll of Sealing and turned his back to Naruto. He searched for the Jutsu he wanted and when he found it, he took the camera he'd brought with him from his jacket and secretly flashed a picture.
Considering this was probably the only chance he'd ever get to see inside the scroll, he was tempted to take more, but on the off chance the pictures ever went missing, he didn't want anyone having access to all the Jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing.
"This is the real deal," he said, rolling the scroll back up.
"Of course it's real," Naruto scoffed. "I had to knock out the old man to get it!"
Right, his Sexy Jutsu, Sakumo sighed. He couldn't believe the Third Hokage could be bested by such a juvenile technique.
"Naruto, if this is the real Scroll of Sealing, then Mizukui lied to you. This isn't a test!"
"What?" Naruto looked flabbergasted.
Before Sakumo could explain, a familiar voice echoed through the forest.
"Narutoooo!"
Sakumo looked in the direction of the voice. Iruka landed in the small clearing Naruto had been training in.
"Iruka! I found you!" Naruto shouted.
"I found you, fool!" Iruka yelled back. Then he noticed Sakumo and grew even more agitated. "Sakumo, what are you doing here?"
"Watch this, Iruka!" Naruto said, preparing to perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu he just learned.
"What are you two doing out here?" the chunin asked, frowning. "Naruto, you look dead tired."
"I am dead tired," Naruto admitted. "I've been practicing ninjutsu."
"You—"
Sakumo decided to cut in there. They might not know it, but he was saving Iruka from a lot of pain. "Mizuki told Naruto if he stole the Scroll of Sealing and learned a Jutsu from it he could graduate from the academy."
Iruka stared at him with wide eyes. "Mizuki—what? I don't understand," he stammered.
"Naruto got tricked, by Mizuki," Sakumo repeated. He glanced around at the massive trees surrounding them. "He's probably on his way here now."
Without warning, he shoved Iruka and Naruto to the side. They fell back as a storm of shuriken spun over their heads.
Iruka glared up at a nearby tree. "Mizuki, so Sakumo was telling the truth. I can't believe you'd do something like this."
Mizuki stood on a branch near the top of a tree. Several huge windmill shuriken were strapped to his back.
"I knew you would lead me to Naruto, Iruka," Mizuki said, descending from his lofty perch. "I didn't expect you to be here, Sakumo."
Sakumo stared at his teacher. He had never seen Mizuki look so menacing, the chunin's mouth twisted into a nasty smile.
"Now give me the scroll!" Mizuki said coldly.
"Naruto! Sakumo! No matter what happens, Mizuki can not get the scroll!" Iruka ordered. "That scroll contains dangerous Jutsu! Mizuki tricked you into stealing the scroll so he could get it for himself!"
Didn't I already say that? Sakumo wondered, his body tensing. There was a feeling filling the air. A tension that promised violence. Was this killing intent?
His memories of the "Anime" had shown him what people looked like reacting to killing intent, but he had never felt it himself.
"You don't need the scroll! Give it to me!" Mizuki demanded.
"N-no," Naruto stammered.
Sakumo felt bad for him. Naruto had just been betrayed, and he was about to have his whole world shattered. He might have been able to stop it and prevent Mizuki from revealing the truth about the Nine-Tails, but he wasn't going to even try.
Naruto deserved to know the truth.
"Why? Because Iruka-sensei said not to?" Mizuki scoffed. "Would you like to know what Iruka really thinks of you, Naruto?"
Iruka suddenly looked horrified. "No, Mizuki! Don't do this!" he shouted.
Mizuki ignored him and focused on Naruto. "Do you know who killed Iruka's parents, Naruto?" he asked.
"Uh, the Nine-Tailed fox, right? That thing that attacked the village," Naruto answered.
Mizuki snorted with amusement. "A brilliant answer, Naruto. Especially coming from you."
"Stop!" Iruka yelled, lunging toward Mizuki.
Mizuki vanished in a swirl of leaves and appeared back at the top of the trees. "A brilliant answer, yet not quite accurate," he continued.
"I said stop!" Iruka shouted again, but Mizuki went on.
"Think hard about my question, Naruto. You as well, Sakumo. I asked who killed Iruka's parents, not what."
"Who?" Naruto asked, puzzled. "You make it sound almost human."
"Because it is, Naruto! The Nine-Tailed Fox has changed its form, but it is still alive."
Sakumo drew shuriken from the holster on his leg and threw them at Mizuki. The attack was useless as Mizuki dodged the shuriken with ease. He just wanted to show Iruka that he understood Mizuki was about to say something he shouldn't and he would try to stop him.
"The Fourth Hokage didn't kill the Nine-Tailed Fox. He sealed it inside a human...and that human was you, Naruto!"
"W-what do you mean?" Naruto choked.
"You killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village!" Mizuki snarled. "That is why the villagers shun you! Hate you! Treat you like dirt!"
"N-no!" Naruto shouted, his body shaking.
"Don't listen to him, Naruto! He's not telling the—"
Mizuki sneered. "The truth, Iruka? The truth is, you hate the Nine-Tailed Fox more than anybody!"
And there it is! Sakumo grabbed Naruto by the shoulders. Mizuki had spilled the beans and now it was time to kick his ass.
"Naruto! We need to stop Mizuki," he said, shaking the blonde.
Naruto stared at him. He looked stunned.
That was fair, his entire world had shattered, but Iruka would end up with a massive shuriken stuck in his back if he let things play out any longer.
"Hey!" Sakumo smacked Naruto over the head. "You said you wanted to be a ninja, right? Well, Mizuki betrayed the village and we need to stop him. So if you're angry, make as many Shadow Clones as you can and take it out on the traitor."
It was the perfect thing to say to break Naruto out of his stupor. He already looked ready to explode with rage and now he had a reason to snap.
Mizuki scoffed. "You want to stop me? I'll kill you, Nine-Tailed Fox!" he shouted.
And then he froze. All the blood drained from his face as his eyes darted in every direction.
Sakumo smirked as Naruto started multiplying fast—incredibly fast. First, there were ten Narutos, then twenty, and then...
"There's got to be a thousand of them!" Mizuki gagged.
I should try and become a jinchūriki, Sakumo thought staring at the army of clones. From his memories of the "Anime", he knew that with the amount of Shadow Clones Naruto could make he could be a Hokage-level ninja in a few years.
"What's the matter, Mizuki?" the thousand Narutos asked. "You said you'd kill me, remember?"
The sight of that many Narutos all talking at once was amazing. Mizuki could hardly breathe, let alone speak.
"All right, Mizuki," the Narutos said patiently. "If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you."
The army of Narutos marched toward Mizuki, who cowered like a little baby. Even the strongest ninjutsu he could perform was worthless against a thousand people.
Mizuki was swallowed up in a sea of orange jumpsuits. Soon the sounds of pummeling alternated with pitiful pleas for mercy. The chunin was pushed back, knocked around, and finally knocked unconscious.
With Mizuki no longer a threat, the thousand Narutos disappeared, leaving behind just the original—and he was grinning from ear to ear. Naruto gazed down at poor Mizuki, who was sprawled on the ground with his face bashed in.
"Uh-oh! Guess I kinda overdid it," Naruto said sheepishly.
"You did fine, naruto," Iruka said, and he used some ninja wire to bind Mizuki's hands and legs. "Now, you two need to come with me. We need to report this to the Hokage."
Naruto looked nervous. "H-how much trouble and I'm going to be in?" he asked.
"Don't worry, Naruto," Iruka said, shaking his head. "Mizuki is the one in real trouble. Lord Hokage won't be mad at you. Either of you. Although you shouldn't have come out here alone, Sakumo."
"I'm a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, it's my job to protect the village," Sakumo replied, lying his ass off once again.
Iruka sighed heavily and rubbed the scar across his nose. "I can't believe he would do something like this."
That was the end of the conversation. Iruka hauled Mizuki up on his shoulders and carried the traitor back to the village. They made a beeline for the Hokage Tower where Iruka turned Mizuki over to the authorities before the Hokage called them to his office.
Sakumo felt a hand on his shoulder and the weight of the Scroll of Sealing leave his arms. A member of the Anbu had taken the Scroll of Sealing from him.
After giving a report to the Third Hokage, Sakumo was sent home with a stern order not to reveal what he had learned tonight to anyone.
Once he got back to his apartment, Sakumo collapsed on his couch. He knew he needed to start training. There was only a week until he was assigned to a genin squad, but he could barely keep his eyes open and his limbs felt like limp ramen noodles.
Today has been absolutely crazy.
|NARUTO|
The next morning Sakumo crawled off the couch at sunrise. He pulled on a clean set of clothes and ate a light breakfast before dragging himself out of his apartment.
Yesterday had been an onslaught of information. He'd had an entire life downloaded into his brain, then he had to pass his graduation test...and then he had to track down Naruto to make sure he had the means to get strong enough not to be absolutely slaughtered in a few years.
From the moment he woke up, his brain had been in go-mode. He hadn't had a second to rest or even think. He was focused on passing the graduation exam and then getting his eyes on the Scroll of Sealing, but now that he had the jutsu he would need later, he needed to focus on the first steps of getting stronger.
You had to learn to walk before you could run and all that...
So today he was going to start basic ninja training.
On the way from his home to the training ground, a weapons shop caught his eye. He could see kunai, shuriken, and even a few swords displayed in the windows.
Sakumo had his parent's old ninja gear, so he was fine on weapons for now. However, I could use some training weights.
If he had weights on while he was training he would be able to work on his chakra control, strength, speed, and stamina all at once. That was four stats at once!
Sakumo headed into the shop. He ignored all the weapons on display and headed straight for the counter. Weight training had obviously worked wonders for Rock Lee, and he was sure it would do the same for him.
Behind the counter was a brown-eyed girl with dark-brown hair tied up in two buns watching him. She had on a sleeveless pink top and dark green capri pants.
Sakumo recognized the girl instantly. Tenten. He also couldn't help but notice how at certain spots her clothes were stretched thin. 2D animation really did her dirty, he thought surprised.
In his memories of the "Anime", Tenten had always looked slender, yet in person, she was actually kind of busty. Nothing on the level of Tsunade or even Anko, but she had two big handfuls you could grab.
"Hi!" she smiled, leaning slightly forward over the counter. "What can I help you with?"
"I'm looking for body weights," Sakumo replied, then he specified. "For my arms and legs."
Tenten nodded. "We've definitely got those in stock. Give me one moment," she said and disappeared through a door behind her into the back of the shop.
While he waited for her to come back, Sakumo glanced around the shop. His eyes kept gravitating toward the swords. By the time the Chunin Exams rolled around, he wanted to be halfway decent with one.
Right now there wasn't much he could do, but once he was able to start leaving the village on missions he would be able to improve exponentially.
"Here we go!" Tenten set a wooden box down on the counter and asked, "Have you ever used body weights before?"
Sakumo shook his head. "No, we didn't use them at the academy."
"Are you a new graduate?" Tenten asked, she looked him up and down.
"Graduated yesterday."
"Oh!"
Sakumo sighed at the look of surprise on Tenten's face. Having failed the graduation exam twice, he was almost three years older than the rest of his class. Three years might not sound like much, but there were huge differences between a twelve-year-old and a fifteen-year-old.
"That means you're a rookie-rookie."
He could have taken the words as an insult, but Sakumo didn't think Tenten meant them that way. She was smiling and her tone was light.
Instead, he just shrugged. "Everyone's gotta start somewhere."
"That is true," Tenten laughed lightly. "Anyway, what are you looking to do with the weights? Strength building?"
"Not just that," Sakumo said. "I want to build my strength and my speed at the same time. Two birds with one stone and all that."
"Right, then you're gonna want a pair of ankle weights and wrist weights," Tenten said and pulled what looked like four ten-inch-long pale straps dotted with heavy rectangular ridges from the box she had brought from the back. "They're adjustable so you can set them to whatever weight you feel comfortable with."
Sakumo nodded. That seemed simple enough. "How much for the set?"
He'd seen the videos and posts of people calculating how much weight Rock Lee was wearing during the Chunin Exams. Five tons on each leg seemed to be the consensus which sounded absurd.
"100 silver coins with the shinobi discount."
Sakumo winced at the high price. Still, with the weights being adjustable, this will be a one-time payment for a long-term investment, he thought as he pulled out a single gold coin to pay for the weights.
That was another difference between his world and the Manga. The money system in the Manga was strange. It used paper money called Yen which didn't make any sense.
Paper was worthless.
Sakumo shrugged as he strapped the weights onto his wrists and ankles in the store. The money was taking a good chunk of money from his savings, but in the long run, it would be worth it.
On his way to his training ground, he gradually channeled chakra to his new weights. When his arms and legs could still move but felt like he was underwater he stopped adding weight.
Seventy-five pounds, not bad, Sakumo nodded as he lifted his arms and high-stepped and few feet.
By the time he got to his personal training ground—which was really just a grove near his home—his arms and legs were already starting to feel the burn. The wooden targets he had hung on the cedar trees years ago were clustered in a circle around him. Each was about the size of a human head, with a bullseye drawn on it.
Sakumo knew his kunai and shuriken aim could be better—a lot better—but for now, he had something else he wanted to work on. He walked over to the tallest tree in the grove and stuck his foot out.
Tree Walking and Water Walking would raise his Chakra Control stat exponentially. And he was hoping that would have a ripple effect on all his jutsu stats, as well as his stamina and chakra reserve stats. If I use just the right amount of chakra, I won't drain my reserves so fast. Sakumo focused his chakra on the soles of his feet. I'll be able to perform more Jutsu and fight longer.
He planted his foot against the tree and grinned as it stuck firmly to the bark. This wasn't so different from the Leaf Training exercise he had been taught at the Academy. He lifted his other foot off the ground—
—and immediately flopped backward!
Sprawled in the dirt, Sakumo stared up at the top of the tree. "This is going to be harder than I thought," he muttered, climbing back to his feet.
Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto had made it look so easy in the anime. All three of them had mastered the training in less than a week.
I'll do the same! Sakumo focused his chakra and dashed at the tree.
CHAPTER 2 is up!
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Thanks for reading!