"The Greatest Idea Ever"
By Quick-n-Popular
Disclaimer: "Naruto" and its characters do not belong to me.
A/N: A big thank you to all who've read and reviewed. You guys rock! This chapter had me all over the place so apologies if it seems a little uneven.
Chapter Nine: Secrets, training decisions, and another promise
Naruto looked at the crudely drawn map that was given to him showing where his kenjutsu instructor, Hayate Gekko's, apartment was. The teen had gotten it from Kakashi, the day before but decided to heed his sensei's advice to try and find his kenjutsu instructor the following day; thus here he was.
Luckily, Kakashi's hand written instructions were easy enough to follow. Naruto found Hayate's apartment complex and, going up to the second floor, arrived at the man's door. Naruto knocked a couple of times and waited. After a long pause, the door opened and Naruto saw his sensei's girlfriend Yugao there, looking unusually, tired.
"Good Morning, Yugao-san. Sorry to bother you. Is Hayate-sensei around?" He asked.
Yugao took a moment before she stepped outside of the apartment and sighed wearily.
"Naruto-san...Hayate isn't here. He's in the hospital."
Naruto looked at her, worried. "Is he alright?"
Yugao took a moment to gather herself before replying, "There was an incident, late last night, when he was patrolling and he was gravely injured."
Naruto felt alarmed but seeing Yugao in this state worried him too.
"But he's going to get better, right? Are you going to be okay too? I could take you to Ichiraku's to get something to eat. They always make me feel better when I am feeling down."
Yugao managed to smile softly at the teen's concern. "Thank you, Naruto-san, but I will have decline this time because I am due to go on my shift." She then sighed, "I'm sorry Hayate-kun won't be able to teach you for a while but if I have some time available I might be able to teach you a thing or two if you'd like."
Naruto smiled, "Only if you feel up to it and have the time. I hope Hayate-sensei gets better quickly, Yugao-san."
Later, Naruto headed to the training grounds where he was to meet his new teacher, Jiraiya. Naruto still wasn't sure what to make of the man. At first he was surprised that the person was a student of the Sandaime but even more so that the guy seemed to be privy to information surrounding Naruto's mother. That, in and of itself, made the blond teen suspicious of the man.
Still, Naruto was grateful for getting some instruction from somebody his 'Jiji' had taught, and was now wondering what kind of jutsus he would be learning.
Continuing on, he came upon the Training Grounds where Tenten and her team usually practiced and, to his surprise, he found the bun-haired girl there along with her sensei in the middle of a conversation.
Seeing as how he was still pretty early to meet with Jiraiya, Naruto decided to say hi to the girl and her weird sensei.
The first to notice his approach was "The Green Beast of Konoha" himself, who gave a big smile and a thumb's up gesture.
"Uzumaki-san! What a fine, youthful morning it is, what brings you here?"
Tenten went rigid before turning and giving a welcoming smile of her own, which looked troubled compared to her usual ones, the blond teen noted.
Naruto had his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just on my way to meet a new sensei who's going to help me for the finals. Thought I'd say hi to you guys before going. Am I interrupting anything?"
Tenten shook her head, "No, you're fine. We were just finishing up. Actually, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about, Naruto."
Naruto nodded but Gai caught on to something the blond teen had said that had him interested.
"I see you're getting some helpful instruction, that's good. Who might be teaching you now? Kakashi and Hayate-san are busy I take it?"
Naruto felt a tinge of sadness and winced at the mention of Hayate's name, due to what he learned earlier. Tenten and Gai noticed his brief change of facial expression, but the teen masked his expression and then answered Gai's question.
"They are. This guy I am meeting with is some person named Jiraiya and I guess he's a student of Jiji, er, the Hokage."
Both Gai and Tenten were amazed by this news for different reasons. Gai was surprised but also pleased that the infamous man had came back to Konoha and was willing to teach Naruto.
Tenten, however, felt it was weird that Naruto had now come across two members of the Sannin in such short time. Now, in this case, he was being taught by one. Add on top of that his "Jiji" was the Sannin's sensei and it seemed Naruto had a real connection with the Sandaime. She'd be lying to say if she wasn't a tad bit jealous by this news but at the same time it confused her as to why Naruto, of all people, was being given these forms of treatment.
She learned recently that Naruto's father might possibly be the late Yondaime. That might explain why, but she still felt bothered by it as there things that didn't add up in her mind.
'If Naruto is being treated so well like this then WHY does Naruto live alone, in that side of the village, in such a crappy apartment building!' Tenten thought in irritation as she was now confronted with even more questions.
While Tenten wrestled with these thoughts, Gai decided to congratulate the boy.
"That's wonderful to hear, Uzumaki-san! You should know that you'll be learning from one of the most important people in the Village. My 'ultra hip' rival, Kakashi, after all, learned from the man who Jiraiya-sama taught, the Yondaime Hokage."
The area went quiet and Gai was puzzled by the looks on the two teens faces which both seemed a bit astounded.
"The Yondaime, really?!" Naruto grinned but then his eyes clouded over. "Funny... Kakashi-sensei never mentioned about that. I wonder why..." He then looked to his stomach in quiet thought.
Tenten came out of her shock before looking to her blond training protege in concern. "Naruto? Are you alright?"
Naruto snapped out of his thoughts about his furry occupant and gave a strained smile, nodding, which didn't fool Tenten who recognized someone who wasn't being honest about how they were feeling.
Naruto then turned to Tenten and decided to change the topic. "It's almost time for me to meet with this Jiraiya guy. What did you want to talk about, Tenten?"
Tenten, briefly, looked at her sensei from the corner of her eye, before judging that he probably would be okay with what she said. She hoped so, at least.
Turning back to Naruto, she took in a breath before deciding to lay all this out for the teen who, she cared about.
"There's something I need to tell you about the sword you have, Naruto, and I am sorry it's taken this long to tell you." Seeing him look at his sword and back at her confused but nodding to her to continue, she did. "There was a person who that sword was going to go to, first, who may or may not be related to you. But I think they are."
"Tenten, before you-"
"Gai-sensei, please let me say this! He needs to know." Tenten said to her teacher, before resolutely looked back to Naruto.
"The person the sword was going to go to, her name was Kushina Uzumaki."
Tenten noticed Naruto's eyes widened before he looked to his sword and then back to Tenten, "My mother, really?!"
Now it was Tenten's turn to look startled, "Your Mother? Have you found out about her?" While surprised, and a bit relieved at the same time, this surprised her.
Naruto, not taking his eyes off his sword nodded wordlessly before he spoke again, "Yesterday, this Jiraiya person told me, as well as Jiji."
Gai had a surprised look on his face but the eccentric man deduced that this sword had been what brought this on. So, maybe the reveal to the boy was an unavoidable conclusion. Gai thought this was enough. However, it seemed that his youthful female student had more to say to the teen boy.
"There's something else. Naruto. I learned that your mom, Kushina, attended the Academy here, and a boy she went to school with might be your-" However she was cut off as a hand was now covering her mouth.
Behind her was Jiraiya who looked deadly serious. He then addressed her, Gai, and Naruto (all of whom were started by the man's sudden appearance).
"We need to go to the Sandaime's office NOW, you three. Do you understand?" The edge in his voice brought out no argument from Gai and once he saw the pale, wide-eyed, faces of Naruto and Tenten, nodding, did Jiraiya remove his hand from over the girl's mouth.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt much older than he usually felt as he listened how badly the security of the village's control of information was. An ex-school teacher and a young Genin had pieced together what the Sandaime and Jiraiya had thought had been an air-tight secret. Were he Danzo Shimura, he probably would have the former teacher killed and the girl and her father locked up somewhere; which would be a foolish idea at this point. It most likely didn't stop with the former teacher. There may be many others who have made the connection and weren't sworn to secrecy on the boy's parents identity. Being the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi didn't help the flow of gossip any. Though, those who were in the know and were prejudicial against the boy were probably in denial of what they knew because of it.
Listening to the girl's account of the ex-teacher's drunken recount to her father, and of her own suspicions, Hiruzen noticed her giving concerned glances towards the boy in question who looked to be in a daze. Naruto had yet to say anything but who knew how long that would last.
By the time young Tenten had finished, Naruto DID stir and looked at the Sandaime with a questioning look.
"Jiji, is THIS true, as well?"
Hiruzen looked to Jiraiya who sighed and nodded in silence to his teacher's unspoken question, before looking back at Naruto, nodding to the teen in silent affirmation.
Naruto went quiet. Tenten, who was near him, put a hand on his and squeezed it, reassuringly.
Gai in the meantime was standing at attention doing his best not to intrude on this very personable situation.
Jiraiya, with his arms crossed in front, drummed his fingers along his arm in anticipation of the questions that were sure to come out of the blond teen.
Naruto then brought his head up and looked at the Hokage, "Is this why he chose me to hold the Kyuubi?"
Sarutobi nodded, "With your mother weakened by childbirth and the immediate danger the Kyuubi posed to the village, there was no one else to choose at that crucial moment. However, I have another apology to make to you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto kept his eyes on the Sandaime who tapped out the ash from his pipe before speaking.
"Your mother, who never had anyone else know that she was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, except for a select few; asked me, before she died, that you'd be given the same anonymity on your Jinjuriki status as she had. That didn't happen, as we both know, due to leaks on the council."
Naruto looked shaken but he still looked at his 'Jiji' waiting to see if there was more.
However, what came out next was the muttering of Tenten herself, which was loud enough that everyone heard.
"So, THAT'S why all the teachers and the parents treated him badly." Looking up and seeing all of the eyes in the room on her, she realized her error and gave a nervous chuckle.
Hiruzen sighed and closed his eyes, "It is as you say, Tenten-san. Tell me, does it bother you to know of his condition?"
Tenten looked at the leader of her village, weirdly. "Everyone knows a weapon and the scroll it's sealed into are two different things. Why would you even ask me this?"
Hiruzen had noticed that the girl's hand was still holding Naruto's but the two teens seemed were unaware of this. Still, the old man smiled. "It is as you say." He then looked back at Naruto who seemed to be in a bit of a better mood after hearing Tenten's thoughts.
"Naruto-kun, I know we told you yesterday about the importance of keeping vital secrets in this village. We've kept a lot from you, mostly to protect you from those who, if they found out, would harm you after knowing. You're learning to protect yourself and prove your abilities as a Shinobi of the village. There will come a time for such secrets to be unnecessary. For now, I need you to keep the secrets about your family's identity safe."
"The Yondaime made a lot of enemies with Iwa and Kumo, just so you know. Knowing that Kiri knows of your identity as Kushina's son, makes it unlikely that others don't know as well, but we'd rather not kick this hornet's nest. Do you understand?" Jiraiya also added and looked pointedly at both Naruto and Tenten.
Both teens nodded in understanding. Gai, in the meantime, wiped some beaded sweat from his forehead.
Though it had been postponed due to this development, Naruto was soon after taken away by Jiraiya for the start of his training. Tenten, in the meantime, was feeling somewhat satisfied by the explanations given to her. She felt better seeing Naruto not crushed by the information on his family and that her determination wasn't for nothing. There were somethings she still wanted to talk to Naruto about, but she knew he was probably eager to take his mind off things and focus on training. So she decided to hold off until the end of the Exams.
Now all she had to do was refocus on HER training for the finals of the Chuunin Exams. However, she was still unclear on what to do since she had so little info on Gaara's abilities. Before Naruto had come to Team Gai's training grounds, Tenten was asking her sensei for advice on what to do. It would be foolish to think all the Suna shinobi fought the same way and, seeing how Temari and Kankuro fought, she knew that to be the case.
As to what Gai could instruct her on, that, unfortunately, wasn't much as he still in the middle of training Lee on their signature taijutsu and had very little to offer Tenten in this.
It didn't bother the girl that Gai couldn't really instruct her as she knew Lee had a greater need from their teacher than she did. However, it came back to what should she do for this fight with no one being able to give her guidance and with nothing else to go on.
It looked like an answer wasn't going to be that forthcoming so she decided to take a gamble and read up on what Konoha knew about various Suna shinobi and go from there.
"So, kid. About what I am going to teach you. First off, I'd like for you, if you're willing, to sign a Summoning Contract that might help you along the way."
Jiraiya, then summoned a large sized toad which opened it's mouth and a scroll slid off its tongue to the Toad Sannin before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto, who was both shocked and amazed by the spectacle, took the contract from Jiraiya after the man had unfurled it.
"Just write your name below the one above. You should know that the Yondaime was the last person to sign this contract." The perverted man smiled as he saw the look of surprise and how the boy looked at his father's name in silence before signing his own name before handing the scroll back to Jiraiya.
"We'll go over the hand-signs and facts of Summoning a bit later but before that I'd like tell you what else you'll be learning during our time together." The man said before holding up a hand a soon a swirling ball of chakra appeared before Jiraiya slammed it into a nearby boulder and destroyed the massive rock in the process.
Naruto was looking on in amazement, "What was that?"
Jiraiya smirked, "THAT was the Rasengan, one of the Yondaime's signature jutsus that you're going to be learning it as well."
Speechless, Naruto nodded in confirmation that he had heard but nothing else. However, that wasn't the end of the itinerary of things Jiraiya was going to be teaching the young teen.
"With your opponent being a Hyuuga, I have a personal jutsu that will help you against one of their hard to counter techniques." Jiraiya then smiled nostalgically before going on to the last of what he wanted to teach the boy. "Your mother had a special jutsu that tied with her chakra. With any luck you might be able to use it as well. It also will help against this Neji-brat."
He then grinned, "Now, let's get to the Summoning practice before the Hot Springs closes!"
Naruto, surprised by the strange outburst at the end, nodded.
Tenten sighed in frustration as she left the village's Shinobi Archive a few hours later from when she had came in. Unfortunately, she could fine no outward clue or hint about this Gaara boy's abilities based on the records Konoha kept on Suna's Shinobi. She had hoped that there might be something on the gourd the teen red head carried, but that didn't lead anywhere either as there was no record in the archive of any recorded Suna Shinobi using one.
So, back to square one, she slumped off to get something to eat. Looking at the restaurants and food carts around her, nothing seemed appealing. However, she soon was in front of the Ichiraku's Ramen Stand and she could only chuckle in amusement especially when she heard her stomach gurgle.
Later, after being appeasing her appetite, she still pondered on what to do for her match and was soon walking aimlessly before her foot travels brought her, surprisingly, to the Forest of Death training grounds where she had been to not that long ago.
Tenten was about to turn around and go elsewhere when she heard some voices in the forest itself and she specifically heard someone say, "Do you understand, Gaara?"
Against her better judgment, the bun haired girl ventured into the training grounds before she witnessed a number of people in a clearing in the forest. There was a tall red haired man in robes similar to what she had seen the Hokage wear. Off to the side of the man were Temari and Kankuro who were diverting their attention. Behind the two of them were two of the boys from Oto who lost the preliminaries of the third exam, Dosu and Zaku. And with his back to Tenten who was hiding behind a tree more than twenty feet away, was Gaara.
"The plan must go without problems. With your brother and sister failing their initial mission, they'll have to be on stand-by until the time is right." The man said looking down on the red-headed teen with authority and dispassion. Gaara didn't reply he just looked somewhere else, ignoring the man.
"What about these two?" Kankuro asked the man, indicating towards the tied up Dosu and Zaku.
The red-haired man closed his eyes. "Their village has cast them aside and told us we can do what we want with them." He only spared them one look before turning and beginning to walk away. "However, I have no use for the leftover scraps of someone else. Gaara, get rid of them and leave no trace."
The man, Temari, and Kankuro left and only just then did Gaara's gaze returned and he looked coldly and the now quivering Oto Genin.
"Mother wants blood. Yours hardly matters but it will suffice this time."
Tenten then watched as sand came rushing out of the gourd on the boy's back before he directed it over to Dosu and Zaku who were struggling against their bindings vigorously. The sand then enclosed around them and raised them off of the ground.
Gaara then made a movement with his hand and, to Tenten's horror, the sand then crushed Dosu and Zaku with them unable to make even a scream. Blood then rose up and splattered the area.
Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, Tenten quietly and quickly, made her exit.
Naruto left his first instruction with Jiraiya utterly tired. He had never expended so much chakra trying to summon a proper toad, with only just managing to summon a young toad that talked named Gamakichi only after summoning so many tadpoles.
Now only wanting to savor some ramen from Ichiraku's, Naruto headed in that direction but stopped upon seeing Tenten coming from another direction looking white as a sheet. She soon saw him and she looked a bit more composed before coming over to him.
"Hey, Naruto. Are you done with training for the day?"
Naruto nodded before he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yeah but are you okay, Tenten?"
Tenten laughed nervously before shaking her head. "I just saw something I wasn't prepared for and I am now even more unsure on what I should do for my match in the finals."
No matter how relieved she was to see the blond teen and feel some comfort after witnessing what she did, it was hard for Tenten to come right out and say what she wanted.
Naruto, though, caught of a glimpse of something and soon pulled her into a hug. Tenten, surprised by the action, went rigid but heard Naruto saying something softly into her ear.
He then pulled away, smiled art her and said, "Want to come to Ichiraku's with me? I'm starving."
The thing he had said into her ear was, "If you need help, I can do it. It's a promise.". Tenten was in a daze before she realized he asked her something else after that and managed to get her spirit back.
"I already ate, but I can keep you company, though." She grinned.
Naruto grinned back and then motioned her to him, "Shall we?"
To be continued…
A/N II: Debating about whether or not to do a training chapter prior to the finals of the exam. I'll have to think on it. I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter and that you'll look forward to the next one.
Till next time, thank you for reading.
Q-n-P