DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (I THINK BY NOW ALL THE READERS OF MY FIC UNDERSTAND THIS ALREADY HAHA)

Ch.18 - Reveal and Conceal

- At The Seventh Training Grounds -

Naruto sat under a tree in their team's training grounds, engrossed in a new book he had borrowed from the archives. He had sought Keiji's help once again to find a scroll or book on sensory abilities. Naruto wanted to improve his skills in sensing and detecting allies and foes in his surroundings. While he knew some of his friends were sensor ninjas, like Shino, Hinata, and Kiba, he felt the need to develop his own aptitude in this area.

Feeling a bit stumped on how to proceed, Naruto looked up from his book to see Ino approaching him. However, something was different about her today.

"Oh, hey, Ino?..." Naruto greeted her, noticing her changed hairstyle.

"Hey, Naruto, what's with that look on your face?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing much. I just...noticed you have a different hairstyle today," Naruto replied, curious about the change.

Ino's usual ponytail and bangs framing the right side of her face were absent today. Instead, her hairstyle resembled how she looked as a young child, but with longer hair.

"I just felt like changing things up. Maybe this will catch Sasuke's attention," she explained, adjusting her hair.

"There you go again, mentioning that teme," Naruto retorted.

"What does it matter to you? I sure hope he notices my new hairstyle," Ino responded.

"Why don't you go ask him yourself?" Naruto suggested, his gaze still fixed on Ino's new look.

Ino became self-conscious, thinking that her hairstyle might not look good. "Why are you staring at me like that? Does it look bad? Oh, I knew it... I should've—"

Before she could finish her thoughts, Naruto interrupted, "Nah, it looks good actually," offering her a reassuring smile.

Ino blushed slightly but quickly brushed off her thoughts, focusing instead on Naruto's book.

"Reading a new book?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yep," Naruto confirmed.

"What's it about?" she inquired, genuinely curious.

"It's about sensory abilities. I got my butt whooped in our last training session," Naruto replied, remembering the challenge they faced.

"Yeah... Asuma-sensei wasn't kidding about stepping it up against us," Ino acknowledged.

"I thought I was good at hiding and stuff until Asuma-sensei showed me otherwise. I don't know how he keeps finding me first and not you or Shino. But my main problem is finding him. I had a hard time locating his position when it was our turn," Naruto admitted.

"Shino was the only one who managed to find him consistently. Though I did find him once, but I think that was just luck," Ino shared her own struggles.

"Well, I plan on honing my skills in that area, and I'll be great at it soon enough, dattebayo!" Naruto declared with determination.

As Ino and Naruto continued their conversation, they spotted Shino approaching them from a distance. Naruto waved at Shino, who nodded in response. "Hey there, Shino! What's up?" Naruto greeted him cheerfully.

"Good to see both of you. To answer your question, Naruto, not much," Shino replied calmly.

"Seems like Asuma-sensei is late again..." Naruto commented, looking around for their teacher.

"*sigh* Apparently so... And for the record, Naruto, the reason Asuma-sensei always found you first is because your hiding spots were kind of obvious. He is a jōnin, after all. You'll have to try harder than that. Look at what happened to your jacket; it's all tattered now," Ino pointed out, concerned.

"What? My jacket is still fine, Ino. Don't worry about it," Naruto protested, despite the evident wear and tear on his attire. His clothes bore the marks of countless battles, with patches of fabric missing and visible holes marring his once pristine jacket. Though he chose not to mention it, his pants showed signs of slight tattering, and his sandals were on the verge of falling apart, their deteriorating condition betraying their age and the countless miles they had traveled.

Shino adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat before speaking, "Unfortunately, Naruto, I have to agree with Ino on this one. You might want to consider getting some new clothing."

"See?! Shino gets it. So, you better think about updating your wardrobe soon enough, Naruto," Ino chimed in, emphasizing her point. Naruto sighed, realizing they were right. While he had sentimental reasons for sticking with his current outfit, he understood the need for a change. He promised Ino that he would think about it.

The three of them continued their conversation for another thirty minutes until Asuma finally arrived, apologizing for being late once again. Ino and Naruto demanded a proper explanation, while Shino remained silent as usual.

"I uhhh... helped an old lady along the way, y-yeah! That's why I'm late," Asuma answered, providing a half-assed excuse.

Both blondes knew he was giving them a weak explanation, but they decided to let it slide. There was no point in pressing further. Ino then asked their sensei about their plans for the day.

"We'll be doing a variety of activities today, so listen up. Yesterday, we focused on drills and exercises similar to hide and seek. As shinobi, we must be able to conceal our location and have the ability to detect our foes. This is the art of sensing chakra signatures. I'm sure you learned about it at the academy. Can anyone tell me what a chakra signature is?" Asuma inquired.

"Oh, sweet! I just read about it a while ago, hehe. Chakra signatures are unique to each individual. They can be influenced by factors such as elemental affinity, clan affiliation, and some theories even suggest that a person's personality can affect it, although it's advised to take such information with a grain of salt," Naruto confidently answered.

Asuma was impressed by Naruto's quick grasp of the concept, even though he had just read about it moments ago. "Well done, Naruto. With this information, we can explore various possibilities. A shinobi can pinpoint the location of allies or foes based on their chakra signatures. There are cases where an enemy might disguise themselves as an ally using the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique), but if you can familiarize yourself with the chakra signatures of your comrades, you can easily solve that problem. This skill will be highly beneficial for all three of you in the long run. You need to work on hiding your own chakra signatures, and I'll be assisting you with that. However, since Shino excelled in the exercises where you needed to find me, he can work on something else for now while I focus on you blondies," Asuma teased, earning glares from both Naruto and Ino.

"But that doesn't mean you can't further improve your sensory skills, Shino. Remember, there's always room for improvement, even if you think you're already at a good spot. Being content with your skills is not inherently bad, but it can lead to stagnation, which affects a ninja's abilities. Is that clear to all of you?" Asuma asked, and his students nodded in understanding.

Shino excused himself to train in a different location, leaving Naruto and Ino alone with their sensei. "So, what are we going to do now, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked, eager to continue their training.

"I want both of you to focus on molding chakra, but don't create any jutsu. Just amass the chakra within you," Asuma instructed.

Naruto and Ino followed his instructions, molding their chakra as they were told. "What now?" Naruto asked, curious about the next step.

"Now, tell me, what do you feel when you amass chakra?" Asuma inquired.

"Well... for me, it feels like I'm igniting a flame inside my body. I'm not entirely sure, though," Naruto described his experience.

"Same here," Ino chimed in.

"Okay, that's a good visualization. Now, here's what you need to understand: almost everything around us has chakra, except for non-living things, of course. Chakra essentially surrounds us. With this knowledge, we can do various things, such as locating individuals, determining if someone is about to perform a jutsu, or even discerning more about someone, like their chakra nature. But the real question is, how exactly do you do those things? Like most skills, it comes with practice. The more you improve your sensing abilities, the more precise your findings will be. In other words, the better you become, the more accurate the information you obtain. Are you both still following?" Asuma explained.

"So far so good," Ino confirmed, and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, this is where the exercises begin," Asuma said, handing each of them a blindfold. "I want both of you to wear these blindfolds and cover your eyes. No cheating, obviously. Cheating is essentially self-sabotage. Understood?" he emphasized, and both Naruto and Ino agreed.

"I will create a clone of myself and hide it behind one of those wooden poles. Your task is to figure out which pole is hiding the clone," Asuma instructed the two blondes.

Naruto then requested Asuma to mold some chakra so that he could get a better feel for it. Asuma obliged and demonstrated the molding of chakra, giving Naruto and Ino a rough idea of what they needed to sense.

With their blindfolds on, Naruto and Ino began the exercise, which continued for a couple of hours. Although they were still far from being full-fledged sensor ninjas, both blondes started to grasp the technique. Naruto correctly identified the pole hiding the clone 28 out of 50 times, with a success rate of 56%. Ino, on the other hand, got it right 30 out of 50 times, achieving a 60% success rate. Asuma was satisfied with their progress, considering it was their first time attempting such tests. It was a positive sign that they would improve further with time and practice.

"Now, Naruto, create a clone and fetch Shino. It's time for the next lesson, which involves all three of you," Asuma instructed Naruto. Naruto created a clone and sent it to bring Shino.

Once Shino joined them, Asuma began teaching the next lesson. "Now that I've covered the fundamentals of chakra detection with these two, it's time to learn about chakra concealment. This is the opposite of what you learned earlier. Now, your task is to hide yourselves instead of finding someone. This ties into the exercises we did yesterday. There are two common methods to hide your location: disguising your chakra signature or dispersing your chakra in an area. Simply hiding without dealing with your chakra signature won't be effective against skilled sensors who can sniff out your location. I will explain the differences between the three methods, starting with changing your chakra signature."

Asuma explained that with enough practice, one could alter their chakra signature to make it indiscernible, which would complement the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) example he provided earlier. This method involved changing not only one's appearance but also their chakra signature, making it more challenging for sensors to locate them. Asuma mentioned teaching them a jutsu for this purpose, which would allow them to hide their chakra signature, alter its size, create a diversion by making it appear from a different location, and even copy someone else's chakra signature. However, mastering these advanced skills would require mastery of the jutsu he would teach them.

Ino raised a question about camouflage jutsus like the Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding With Camouflage Technique) they learned at the academy. Asuma acknowledged her observation, explaining that such jutsus only visually hid the body but could easily be detected by keen sensors or those with doujutsu. Even making a sound could give away their location. Asuma then introduced the Chakra Henso no Jutsu (Chakra Disguise Technique) as a nifty jutsu to deceive others. He explained the hand seals—Horse, Ram, Boar, Tiger—and emphasized the importance of visualizing how they wanted others to perceive their chakra signature. Asuma also cautioned that this jutsu might not always succeed in deceiving others, so it should be used wisely.

Shino, Ino, and Naruto diligently practiced the Chakra Henso no Jutsu (Chakra Disguise Technique) that Asuma had taught them. They experimented with altering their chakra signatures multiple times to gain a better understanding of the technique. After a few attempts, Asuma moved on to teach them the dispersion method.

"Now that I've taught you the first method, it's time for the second one. The dispersion method is used to conceal your true location when it has been compromised. You need to spread your chakra evenly in a specific area to confuse pursuers. The idea is that if your chakra signature is scattered everywhere, it becomes harder for foes to track you down, unless they have a specialized ability like the Aburame or Inuzuka clans," Asuma explained.

Curious, Naruto asked, "But how do we do that, Asuma-sensei?"

"I'll get to that, Naruto. But first, there's an important drawback to this method. It requires a considerable amount of chakra, meaning you end up using more chakra compared to the first method. So, it's more of a niche technique. Both methods are viable, but this one is slightly better in terms of guaranteeing success in concealing your true location," Asuma clarified.

"Now, to perform the dispersion method, you need to infuse the air around you with your own chakra. Imagine the air as a medium or conductor that will receive your chakra. Your chakra will then linger in the area for a period of time, giving you enough leeway to breathe or carry out necessary actions in different situations," Asuma instructed, his three students listening intently.

They diligently practiced the technique multiple times, mindful of preserving their chakra reserves. Naruto, on the other hand, reveled in the freedom to practice as much as he desired, thanks to his monstrous chakra reserves. After completing their practice, Asuma proceeded to impart their third and final lesson for the day—a lesson on chakra natures.

"Alright, final lesson, so pay close attention because we're delving into chakra natures. Can anyone tell me the five natures?" he inquired.

"Easy! Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning," Ino promptly responded.

"Excellent! Every shinobi possesses at least one of these chakra natures. Some may have two, and a few, like Hokage-sama, possess mastery over all chakra natures, including Yin and Yang, but let's not dwell on those for now. We'll focus on the five main ones. Each person harbors a dominant nature within them. Although it's uncommon to possess more than one affinity, it does happen. For instance, the Uchiha clan specializes in manipulating fire nature, which means its members inherently possess an affinity for it. However, there's a misconception that having an affinity for an element signifies two dominant chakra natures within you. No, it simply means that it's easier for you to tap into that nature and utilize it compared to others," he explained, distributing sheets of paper to each of them.

"What are we supposed to do with these, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto inquired.

Shino cleared his throat and interjected, "I believe these are called Chakra Paper. They help determine our most inclined chakra nature."

"Spot on, Shino. And yes, I want to discover your chakra natures. So infuse your chakra into these papers and let's find out. Let's start with you, Ino," Asuma said, focusing his gaze on her.

"Please let it be good," Ino muttered under her breath as she channeled her chakra into the paper. Her Chakra Paper burst into flames and turned to ash.

"Fire chakra nature, I see. Now, your turn, Shino," Asuma continued.

Shino poured his chakra into the paper, causing it to transform into dirt that crumbled away. "Earth chakra nature, then. Now, Naruto, your turn," Asuma directed his attention toward Naruto.

"My chakra nature's gonna be cool, I bet dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as he channeled his chakra into the paper. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew the paper from his hand. "Damnit! I didn't get to see what my chakra nature is..." he grumbled.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I have more Chakra Paper," Asuma reassured him, handing him another sheet. "Give it another try," he instructed.

Naruto followed his instructions, and this time, the paper ignited with fire, mirroring Ino's earlier result. "Hey, we both have fire chakra nature!" Ino exclaimed joyfully.

"Alright! I knew it was gonna be cool! But what's next?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"What do you mean?" Asuma inquired.

"Aren't you going to teach us some jutsus?" Naruto queried.

"I mean, I could, but my primary chakra nature is wind, and I can also tap into fire nature if necessary. I do possess knowledge of techniques utilizing different natures, but they won't be as formidable as those wielded by true masters of those specific natures. This exercise will simply aid you in determining which jutsus you should currently focus on mastering, as acquiring proficiency in natures for which you lack affinity is considerably more arduous," Asuma explained.

"I see... Well, is there more we need to know, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto inquired.

"There is indeed more to delve into regarding this topic, but I suggest the three of you read further to gain a more comprehensive understanding. There's a wealth of knowledge to explore," Asuma advised.

Their discussion continued for a few more minutes, and they wrapped up just before lunchtime. Asuma, recognizing their dedication and hard work, decided it was an opportune moment to treat his students to a well-deserved lunch.

"Alright, that's enough training for now. You've all been working hard today, and as a reward, lunch is on me. Where would you like to eat?" Asuma asked.

Shino remained indifferent, stating that any food place would suffice. Before he could suggest Miyazaki's, Ino suddenly interrupted with a firm objection.

"No! Not there, Asuma-sensei!" Ino exclaimed.

Asuma was taken aback, wondering why Ino had such a sudden outburst. "Why not? I heard they serve good food," he inquired.

"Sorry, Asuma-sensei, but the customer service there is terrible," Ino argued.

"Really? Someone I know had a different experience," Asuma corrected himself, causing Naruto and Ino to smirk at their sensei's slip-up. They decided to let it go and focused on explaining what happened during their previous visit to Miyazaki's.

Ino sighed and recounted the incident, where she defended Naruto's right to be treated properly as a paying customer. Asuma was pleased to see Ino looking out for her teammates and friends, recognizing it as a true sign of camaraderie.

"Alright then, any other ideas?" Asuma asked his students.

- At Yakiniku-Q -

Team 10 sat in a booth, with a waitress already providing them an assortment of meat to cook on the built-in stove at their table. It was Naruto's first time at Yakiniku-Q, so he was unfamiliar with the process, while Shino, Ino, and Asuma knew their way around, having been there before.

Naruto was about to take a bite of a piece of meat that appeared undercooked, but Ino swiftly slapped his hands, preventing him from eating it. She warned him, "Don't eat that yet, Naruto. It's not fully cooked."

Confused, Naruto countered, "What do you mean? It's already brown and kinda charred."

Ino sighed, rolling her eyes. "Just because it looks cooked doesn't mean it is. Seriously, Naruto, what would you do without me..." She took the meat he was about to consume and cooked it properly herself. Once it was done, she used her chopsticks to bring the cooked meat to Naruto's mouth, feeding it to him.

Shino remained impassive, while Asuma found the scene amusing. He chuckled to himself, thinking, "Since when did these two become so close? Kurenai would want to hear about this."

Naruto, oblivious to Ino's actions, happily ate the cooked piece of meat she had prepared for him. He thanked her and then proceeded to take another piece of meat, this time cooking it for a longer period, just as Ino had done earlier.

As Ino realized what she had just done, a blush crept up on her cheeks. She was taken aback by the fact that she had fed Naruto herself, doing so subconsciously. "What the heck was I doing?" she muttered to herself, feeling a mix of surprise and embarrassment.

(A/N: A mix of training and some wholesome action haha, also! Vonta01 yes you are right! It is inspired by Better Left Unsaid by Kenchi618 and many more NaruIno fics I have read like Grin and Bear it by Jetshinsei, Flowershop Romance by Yoijimbra, Sealed Kunai by Kenchi yet again, Ease This Broken Heart by SkyMaiden, The Good Wife by Reira Kurenai, Naruto: Altered History by Geor-sama, Waves by Rafael Fitchburne, The Line by livezinshadows. Gosh! these authors have really inspired me to make my own fic about these two lovable blondes (I have a thing for blondes T _ T plz don't judge haha). If any of you are reading this, just want to say I'm a huge fan! Also, I wish my fic would soon be considered a good NaruIno fanfic that people would recommend to others haha. Also did you notice the reference to September? HAHA go ahead and find it. Next is why did I give Naruto fire? Read closely you'll see what I mean. Also the Chakra Henso no Jutsu has no real hand seals, I just made it up so yea. Lastly thanks for the continued support and interaction, I truly appreciate it. Ogremen, if you're reading this sorry for not replying enough. I was busy and stuff haha so yea will reply soon tho and yea show me some love RnR and cheers )

P.S. Vonta01, I am not that good with chem haha I just like the subject XD