Sasuke walked into class and immediately scowled when he saw where he'd been sitting the day before.

Like always, the seat he'd used was empty. Also like always, the seats to either side of it were now occupied; the Yamanaka girl and the girl with pink hair, the two who always seemed to be arguing with each other, were sitting in the seats on both ends of the row and staring at him expectantly.

The class didn't have assigned seating, but most people still picked the same seat every day. Most, but not Sasuke and not any of the girls that were determined to try and sit next to him every class. It was why he always walked in just before class started; if he got there early they'd just sit down next to him, but if he came in at the last second he could sit down and they wouldn't be able to move to sit next to him before class started. Sasuke didn't like always being almost-late, but it was thus-far the only successful way of getting out of sitting next to annoying people in class.

He looked around at the other open seats, but there weren't many of them; that was the downside of always showing up just before class started. There was one by Shikamaru, who always snored for at least half the lesson. It wasn't as annoying as some others in the class, but it was still pretty annoying. There was another seat open between another two fangirls, which Sasuke immediately ruled out as an option. And finally there were two open seats in a row at the back of the room, on either side of Naruto.

With barely any consideration, Sasuke walked up to sit next to Naruto in the seat against the wall. Naruto blinked in surprise at that, staring at him like he genuinely couldn't believe Sasuke sat next to him. "Uh, hi?"

Sasuke didn't bother to respond. Since class was about to start, he pulled his belongings out of his backpack to be ready for the lesson. Naruto just shrugged his lack of response off and brought out his own materials, and Sasuke couldn't help but note how beat up it all was.

Class started normally, save for a few fangirls looking back at him now and then. He'd never gotten along with Naruto before and they seemed surprised he'd sit by the blond, and even more surprised that he and Naruto weren't at each other's throats. Sasuke ignored them. If Naruto noticed the occasional glare at him being the one sitting next to Sasuke, he didn't show it.

When the time came for the kunai-throwing test, everyone lined up in numerical order by family name. Naruto and Sasuke were both at the back of the line, only in front of some civilian kid Sasuke didn't know the name of and the Yamanaka girl, and only a handful of their classmates looked half decent at throwing kunai. It was mainly those who were part of clans, though the pink-haired girl performed well despite being from a civilian family; she had the second highest grades in the class, behind him, so it wasn't all that surprising. If she could get over obsessing over him, she'd be an actually decent kunoichi.

Eventually, Sasuke's turn came up. With little fanfare, he walked up to the line, three kunai in each hand, and threw them at each of the six targets one after another. All six hit dead center, and excitement spread through the class as Sasuke walked over to collect his kunai.

"I knew you could do it, Sasuke!"

"Sasuke's the best!"

"He threw them all at once!"

"Good job, Sasuke," Iruka praised. "Perfect score, though I can't say I'm surprised."

Sasuke ignored them all and walked back over to Naruto. "Take these," he said, holding the six kunai out. "And don't make a fool of yourself."

Surprise rippled through the class, but Naruto ignored it and took the six kunai. "I won't!" he promised confidently. "You won't be the only one getting a perfect score today, Sasuke!"

Sasuke smirked, putting his hands in his pockets and watching as Naruto walked up to the line. He didn't hold three in both hands like Sasuke had, he wasn't good enough for that yet, and kept five in his off hand while he prepared to throw one with his right. Sasuke glanced at Mizuki and saw surprise flash across his face when Naruto positioned himself to throw the kunai the proper way.

If the class was surprised when Sasuke handed his kunai to Naruto, then they were baffled when Naruto threw the first kunai and hit the target dead center. Sasuke wasn't, though; Naruto was a shockingly fast learner when he was shown the right way to do something. In the hour they'd spent working on throwing kunai, Naruto had gone from barely hitting the tree to hitting a consistent bullseye.

Sasuke's gut feeling about Naruto was dead on, it seemed. He was annoying and loud-mouthed, but he wasn't the idiot he was made out to be. If he picked up on everything else as quickly as he picked up on shuriken and kunai throwing, he'd be the perfect rival that Sasuke could use as a stepping stone towards getting stronger.

The rest of Naruto's throws ended up being just as accurate as the first one, much to the obvious surprise of everyone else in the class, including the teachers. Mizuki looked gobsmacked, and Iruka looked like he couldn't believe what he was saying when he said, "Another perfect score. Uh, excellent job, Naruto."

"Thanks, Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto's beaming smile was clear, even with his back turned to the class as he gathered up the six kunai. When he was done, he walked back over to Sasuke and held the kunai out. "And thanks, Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke grabbed the kunai back and put them away. "I knew you weren't completely worthless."

"And I knew you weren't a complete bastard," Naruto retorted.

"Hey, don't call Sasuke a-"

"I just hope throwing things isn't all you're good at," Sasuke said, still smirking. "It'd be disappointing to find out you're a one trick pony."

Naruto smirked back at him. "You won't be disappointed when I kick your ass."

"Alright, boys," Iruka cut in. "I'm… glad to see you're getting along, apparently, but class isn't over yet."

"Sorry, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, not sounding very apologetic.

The civilian kid went next. His throws were anticlimactic compared to the two who went just before him, but he didn't do terribly. Still, Sasuke could tell the pressure of going directly after them got to him; if he really wanted to become a shinobi, he'd need to get over that. If he couldn't, well, not everyone was cut out for the life of a shinobi.

As far as their class went, Naruto was the only one Sasuke was sure wouldn't chicken out, no matter what. The other clan kids probably felt obligated to become shinobi, like Sasuke had… before, but Naruto was the only one Sasuke was sure understood the pain and hardships of life, even if he wasn't yet sure why. He just knew he saw the same pain in Naruto's eyes that he saw in his own, those rare moments when the blond quieted down and acted genuine.

When the test concluded, the class headed back inside for the rest of the day. Fortunately everyone had to sit where they were sitting before, and Sasuke didn't have to deal with someone trying to steal the seat Naruto had to try and sit next to him.

Nothing interesting happened for the rest of the day, save for Iruka telling them their next test would be on jutsu, something Naruto immediately groaned at. Sasuke wasn't concerned, though; he'd long since mastered the academy three, and had the fireball jutsu mastered on top of them. He'd pass without any trouble, he was sure.

Class ended, and he only stuck around just long enough to quietly tell Naruto: "Meet me in the forest again in an hour."

He had a second gut feeling about Naruto: this one, about why he always seemed to struggle so much with jutsu.

The longer Naruto waited in the forest for Sasuke, the more he got the sinking feeling that Sasuke was just messing with him.

Sasuke had been weirdly nice to him over the past few days, but Naruto still didn't know why. Maybe he'd just been bored? Or decided to take pity on the dead last on some kind of whim? Whatever the reason, Naruto couldn't be sure that Sasuke wouldn't change his mind and stop helping. Naruto should probably just be grateful for the help with his aim.

Still, he didn't feel like leaving the forest yet, even if Sasuke wasn't coming. The feeling of nature surrounding him was always comforting, and he probably would've chosen to go to the forest even if Sasuke hadn't cryptically told him to before leaving class. Especially since they had that test coming up; Naruto always found it easiest to use his chakra when he was outside.

Sitting down on the ground, Naruto sat in the meditative position they were taught in class. It was usually really difficult for him to try and sit still for any extended period of time, but the feel of the grass and trees all around him made it easier than it ever was in class. When he closed his eyes, he could even feel the swaying of the trees and-

A person. Vaguely familiar, but not one of the shadows he sometimes felt following him. They felt… staticky and fiery. It took Naruto a few seconds to place where he'd felt it before. When he did, he snapped his eyes open to glare at a tree to his left. "Hey, bastard! Are you just making me wait on purpose?"

Sasuke stepped out from behind the tree, a smug smile on his face and his backpack from school still on his back. "So you are a sensor type," he said, walking over to where Naruto was sitting.

"A what?" Naruto asked. "Wait, why were you even hiding behind that tree? Was that your idea of a prank? If it was, it's a really lame one!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It wasn't a prank. It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get what I planned on getting, and when I got here I saw you meditating. Then I just got curious about whether or not you'd be able to sense me like you did last time we were out here."

"Huh?"

Sasuke stared at him blankly. "You do know what a sensor type shinobi is, right?"

"… Yes?"

"Maybe I was wrong about you not being an idiot," Sasuke mumbled, voice barely audible. Before Naruto could snap at him, he said, "A sensor type is a shinobi who can detect others' chakra signatures. It's a useful ability to have, I'm a little surprised you can do it."

Naruto blinked. "I have a rare ability?"

"Seems like it," Sasuke said with a shrug. "You did feel something when you noticed I was here, right? You didn't just look at a random tree and hope you weren't talking to yourself?"

"Of course not!" Naruto scowled. "I could tell you were there 'cause your weird staticky and fiery vibe was completely different from the rest of the forest!"

"Then you are a-" Sasuke stopped and frowned. "Staticky?"

"Yeah, staticky." Naruto pushed himself up off the ground, crossing his arms and ignoring the fact that Sasuke was still a little taller than him when he stood up. "You stuck out like a sore thumb around all these trees."

Sasuke looked pensive for a few seconds, eyes narrowed slightly at Naruto. Then, he reached into his pouch and pulled something out. Naruto blinked when he saw it was just a small, square piece of paper. "What's that?" he asked suspiciously. He really hoped Sasuke wasn't about to make him throw the paper like it was a shuriken or something crazy like that.

"Chakra paper," Sasuke explained simply, handing it to Naruto before bringing out a second one for himself. "It'll show you what chakra nature you have an affinity for."

"It'll show me what chakra what I have a what for?"

He was getting really tired of Sasuke looking at him like he was an idiot. It wasn't his fault he didn't know things! "It'll show you what chakra element would come easiest for you," Sasuke said slowly. "Raiton, Doton, Suiton, Fūton, or Katon. For most people, one element comes naturally to them. You'll be able to use jutsu of that element easier than you can use the others."

Naruto stared skeptically at the piece of paper in his hand. "This is gonna tell me what jutsu will be easy for me to learn?"

"Basically." Sasuke held his paper up, between two fingers. "You channel chakra into it and it'll react one of five ways. If it burns up, you have Katon. If it crumbles, Doton. If it gets soggy then you have Suiton. If it tears in half, you have Fūton. And if it wrinkles you have Raiton."

"And what do you have?" Naruto asked, cocking his head.

"Well, I always assumed I had Katon like the rest of the Uchiha," Sasuke admitted. "Most people have Katon around here. The nations are named after the most common affinity."

"Oh." Naruto looked down at his paper. "So I probably just have that too?"

"You might," Sasuke agreed. "Though I am wondering if I'm wrong about mine, since you described it as staticky."

"You think you might have Raiton?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see." He closed his eyes, a look of concentration spreading across his face. Naruto watched in surprise as the paper wrinkled up in Sasuke's hand and caught fire at the same time. Sasuke quickly let go and jerked his hand back, eyes snapping wide open. "Huh."

Naruto stomped the flame out before it could spread to the grass. "Hey, bastard, don't light the forest on fire!" he scolded, looking back up at Sasuke. "You-"

Sasuke ignored him, kneeling down to look at the chakra paper closer. "It burned and crumpled," he muttered. "I… did not expect that."

"That mean you have Katon and Raiton?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded slowly, grabbing the charred and crumpled paper from off the ground. He seemed entirely unconcerned by the fact that it had to still be hot. "I guess that means I have dual affinities."

"Lucky bastard," Naruto grumbled, staring at his own chakra paper. Of course Sasuke, of all people, would have dual affinities. That wasn't fair! Naruto's paper was probably just gonna catch on fire, then Sasuke would have a permanent leg up on him!

"Well, it's your turn now," Sasuke said, smirking. "Just channel your chakra into the paper. You'll probably just have one, though."

Naruto glared at him. "Don't go getting cocky just 'cause you have fire and lightning." He held his chakra paper up, between two fingers like Sasuke had done, and closed his eyes. It took him a second to channel it into the paper, and he opened his eyes as soon as he did to see-

"Huh?"

The paper wasn't on fire like he'd expected. Nor was it crumpled or torn in half. It did feel moist and crumbly, a little brown in some areas like dirt, but for the most part it was… green? Small branches were growing out of it, getting larger and larger as Naruto continued to channel his chakra until little leaves formed at the ends. Naruto cut off his chakra flow then, stopping the branches from growing any further, and looked up at Sasuke with a frown. "Uh. Is my chakra paper faulty?" he asked seriously. "It didn't do what you said it would."

Sasuke didn't respond. In fact, he didn't even look like he'd heard Naruto; he just stared at the chakra paper, mouth agape, looking more surprised than Naruto had ever seen him. Actually, Naruto was pretty sure it was the most emotive he'd ever seen Sasuke period.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, waving the chakra paper in front of Sasuke's face. Did it even still count as paper? It felt more like moss. "Did my paper break?"

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut and pulled another chakra paper out. "Try again," he said, handing it to Naruto. "That one's probably… been messed with somehow."

"Okay…" Naruto grabbed the new chakra paper with his other hand, holding it up and channeling his chakra. He didn't close his eyes this time, watching in confusion as green spread through the paper again. Like before, small branches sprouted from it, continuing to grow until he cut off his chakra flow. "Uh, it happened again," he said pointlessly, looking up at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked disbelievingly between the two chakra papers. Without saying anything, he snatched one from Naruto and held it close to his eye. "It's really…" He abruptly dropped the chakra paper and made the tiger seal. "Kai!"

Nothing happened. Naruto didn't know what Sasuke tried to do with that hand sign, but it clearly didn't work the way he intended if his still-shocked face was any indication. "Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "Do you know why the chakra paper turned green?"

"I think… you have a kekkei genkai," Sasuke said slowly, voice thick with disbelief.

Naruto cocked his head. "What's a kekkei genkai?"

"Do you just not pay any attention in class?" Sasuke asked.

"Sometimes," Naruto admitted. "What's a kekkei genkai?"

Sasuke rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "To think, you'd have Mokuton when you don't even know what a kekkei genkai is," he muttered. "A kekkei genkai is a special ability passed down through families and clans," he explained, eyes still lingering on the chakra paper in Naruto's hand. "There are different types of them. One type is when someone has a unique chakra affinity like," he pointed at the chakra paper, "that."

Naruto looked down at the paper. "So it's doing this because I have a kekkei genkai?"

"An extremely rare one," Sasuke confirmed, a tinge of disbelief still audible in his voice. "Mokuton."

"Mokuton?" Naruto echoed. "What's so special about wood?"

"Naruto, Mokuton was the ability of the Shodaime Hokage. He's the only person known to have used it. Ever."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? The Shodaime?" He had the ability of the Shodaime Hokage? Did that mean-

"The only way you could possibly have it is if you were related to the Shodaime," Sasuke explained slowly. "And that makes you a Senju, one of the two main founding clans of the village alongside the Uchiha."

Naruto gaped. He channeled more chakra into the paper, watching as the branches and leaves grew even further. They must have gotten too heavy for the chakra paper, because the paper started to droop until the branches and leaves fell. "Woah."

"Yeah, woah," Sasuke copied blandly. "You know what this means?"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke. "What?"

A smirk slowly spread across Sasuke's face. "It means you're the only one in our class who could even hope to keep up with me," he said smugly. "The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had a rivalry going back centuries. They were the strongest during the Warring States Period. When they joined to create Konoha, all the other clans either joined our village or created their own because they knew they could never beat our clans."

"Awesome," Naruto breathed. "Does the Uchiha Clan have a kekkei genkai too? Is that why your paper burned and crumpled?"

Sasuke's expression darkened. "We do have a kekkei genkai, but it's not a nature transformation like yours. The Uchiha kekkei genkai is called the Sharingan, a dojutsu." Naruto opened his mouth to ask what that was, and Sasuke must've seen it coming because he added, "It's a powerful visual ability. I don't have it yet, but we'll be unstoppable when I do." His smirk came back. "My Katon, Raiton, and Sharingan and your Doton, Suiton, and Mokuton."

"Doton and Suiton?" Naruto echoed, brow furrowing. "I mean, my chakra paper got wet, but don't I just have Mokuton?"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "Mokuton is the combination of Doton and Suiton, idiot. Having Mokuton means you have Doton and Suiton."

"Wait, really?" Naruto asked. "Cool! That means I technically have more chakra natures than you, right?"

"…Yes," Sasuke admitted, sounding like it pained him.

Naruto grinned, crossing his arms. "Ha! And you said I'd probably only have one!"

"I'm really starting to regret trying to help you not be a total failure in the academy."

"I'm not a-" Sasuke gave him a bland look and Naruto shut his mouth. "Why'd you even bring the chakra papers anyways?" Naruto asked instead.

Sasuke blinked. "Oh, yeah." He pulled his backpack off, unzipping it and looking through it. "I was late getting here because I had to stop by the store to buy the chakra papers and then look through the old Uchiha records for some jutsu scrolls."

Excitement surged in Naruto's chest. "Jutsu scrolls?"

"Hn." Sasuke pulled one out, looking at the label before handing it to Naruto. "That's a Water Clone Jutsu scroll. It might be easier for you than the normal clone."

Naruto frowned down at it. "Why? Wouldn't a real clone be harder?"

"For most people, yeah. But that's just because it's more chakra intensive." Sasuke zipped his backpack back up and then walked over to set it down by a tree. "Most kids, really. The Clone Jutsu uses barely any chakra, which makes it safe to teach kids because there's minimal chance of anyone overusing their chakra. But we probably have the largest chakra reserves in our class, so there isn't really any danger in using a water clone."

"How do you know we have the largest chakra reserves in our class?"

"I've been able to use the Great Fireball Jutsu for years," Sasuke said, walking back over to him. "And anyone who's seen you use jutsu can tell you have abnormal levels of chakra."

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "I do?"

"It's not a surprise, really. The Senju are known for their massive chakra reserves," Sasuke explained. "The Uchiha are known for it too, of course, if not to the same degree."

"Huh." Naruto had never really considered the possibility that he had more chakra than other people. Maybe he needed to start paying more attention in class, even though it was really boring? Ugh, focus. "So you think I'll be able to do this easier than a normal clone because it takes more chakra?" Naruto asked, opening the scroll.

The tiger hand seal was drawn up top, the necessary hand seal to perform the jutsu. Underneath was a brief description: Originated from Kirigakure, the Water Clone Jutsu is a clone jutsu where water is used to make a solid copy of the user. The copy only has 1/10th of the original's power and reverts back to water when struck hard enough or if it travels too far from the original. Underneath was a diagram of a figure performing the jutsu, including how exactly to mold the chakra.

"This doesn't look too hard," Naruto said, handing the scroll over to Sasuke and walking a few feet away. He held up the tiger seal-

"It says you need water around to use it, idiot," Sasuke interrupted. "You won't be able to-"

"Water Clone Jutsu!" Naruto imagined water gathering into an exact copy of him, just because he wanted to prove Sasuke wrong. He could almost feel the water in all the plants around, the grass, trees, and flowers, flowing to him. He channeled his chakra through the tiger seal until he was sure he'd succeed.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a perfect replica of himself. Messy blond hair, blue eyes, whiskers, and all. Excitement surged through him, excitement he could see mirrored in the duplicate in front of him. "I did it!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air and looking at Sasuke. "Look, Sasuke, I made a clone!"

Surprise flickered across Sasuke's face, but he quickly reverted to his normal hard-to-read expression. "You made more than a clone," Sasuke said, pointing behind him.

Naruto turned around and went wide eyed. Nine more of him stood there, all looking just as surprised as he was. "Woah, that's awesome!" he exclaimed. "First try too!"

"I'm awesome!" one of the clones exclaimed.

"We're all awesome!"

"This is so cool! Wait, can I send a clone to the academy?"

"The jutsu said there was a distance limit or something," a clone pointed out. "Plus, you are a clone. Only the Boss has to go to the academy."

Grins broke out on the clones' faces and they all turned to the original. "Ha, you have to go to the academy!" one shouted.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the clone and cut off his chakra. They all collapsed back into water – a lot of it, wow – and Naruto grinned, turning back to Sasuke. "Wow, that guy was annoying!"

"You do know they had your personality, right?" Sasuke said blandly. "You just called yourself annoying."

"No I-" Realization dawned on Naruto and he quickly changed the topic. "I mean, uh, ha! I did it without a water source nearby! You were wrong!"

"You might want to look behind you again."

Naruto frowned but did. Immediately he was met with the sight of deadened grass and leaves, leaves faded to oranges and browns and grass faded to yellow. "The hell?"

"You somehow pulled water from the plants." Sasuke walked over to him, scroll rolled back up. "So you did have a water source. And killed a bunch of plants." He smirked and Naruto had the sudden urge to punch him in the face. "Some Mokuton user you are, huh? I mean, they say the Shodaime made this forest himself, and here you are drying it out just to make a few clones."

"Hey, I didn't realize that would happen!" Naruto protested. "I didn't do it on purpose!" The sight of all the now-dead nature saddened him a little. He really liked the area, and he didn't know how long it'd take for all of it to grow back!

A thought struck him and Naruto looked back at the chakra paper he'd dropped before. Maybe… He knelt down and placed a hand on the deadened grass, ignoring Sasuke's question of, "What're you doing?"

He imagined reaching out to the plants again, like he'd done when he gathered the water, and recalled the sensation of the chakra paper growing plants in his hand. Sasuke said the Shodaime made the whole forest, surely Naruto could bring back a tiny part of it back? He'd always felt really connected to the forest, maybe he could connect his chakra to it.

After a few more seconds of concentration, he tried pushing his chakra into the plants like he did to the chakra paper. But it was a much bigger area so he'd need to use more, right? Closing his eyes to concentrate better, he pushed more and more-

"Naruto, stop!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto's concentration broke and his eyes snapped open, his jaw falling when he saw the forest.

He… may have used a little too much chakra.

Life had come back to the plants, but now they were all overgrown. The grass had to be a meter tall and all the trees had twice as many leaves as before. Naruto collapsed backwards, tired in a way he'd never felt before. It felt like his body was drained of energy.

"Uh, whoops," he managed between heavy breaths. "I mean, at least it's fixed?"

He looked up when Sasuke didn't respond, and he was met by Sasuke staring wide-eyed at the suddenly overgrown bit of the forest. Who would've thought he'd be able to surprise the bastard so much in one day? It was hilarious! And if Sasuke was reacting like that, who knew how hilarious everyone else would be when they found out!

"At least this proves the chakra paper was right," Sasuke eventually muttered. "Only a Mokuton user could've done that."

A grin broke out across Naruto's face, even as he continued to breathe harshly. "I'm awesome, believe it!"

"I wouldn't say that." Sasuke nudged Naruto with his foot and Naruto scowled up at him. "All you just did was exhaust your chakra, if your breathing is any indication. Now you won't be able to learn anything else today."

"Just give me a few minutes and I'll be fine," Naruto said between breaths. "I never stay tired for long."

"You've probably never experienced chakra exhaustion before," Sasuke argued. "The amount of it you have to have used forming those clones and then healing the forest has to be a lot. You're done for today."

Naruto wanted to protest just to prove Sasuke wrong, but he had a sinking feeling the bastard was right. He really had never experienced exhaustion like what he felt then before, and the idea of trying to perform more jutsu felt oddly daunting. "Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm learning more tomorrow!"

"Hn." Naruto tilted his head back to watch as Sasuke walked back over to his backpack and put the scroll away. "I have a Doton scroll you can study tomorrow," he said, zipping the back back up. "While you do that, I'll work on studying a Raiton scroll."

Naruto frowned. "Aren't you gonna try the water clone too?"

Sasuke raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Suiton is your affinity, not mine. And I have no need for water clones."

"Oh." Naruto sat up and turned around to stare at Sasuke, crossing his legs. "So you're gonna learn Raiton and Katon while I learn Suiton and Doton?"

Sasuke nodded shortly, slipping his backpack on and turning away. "Remember," he said, staring off into the forest. "I'm only helping you so I can train against someone half-decent. If you turn out to be as inept as everyone thinks you are, you can forget about my help."

Before Naruto could respond to that, Sasuke started to walk off. But then he paused and looked over his shoulder with a serious expression. "And," he added, "don't run off and tell everyone about your kekkei genkai if you value your life. There are those who will do anything to possess a rare ability."

With that ominous warning, Sasuke left Naruto alone in the forest.

Naruto, unsure what to even think and still feeling exhausted, just flopped back and closed his eyes. The feeling of the forest washed over his senses, and he couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that he had a real, tangible connection to it.

Mokuton!

He had the same legendary ability as the Shodaime Hokage, and that meant he was even part of a clan! The thought filled him with warmth. He'd thought he was just another civilian for as long as he could remember, but he had a clan! A famous clan, too, that'd produced two Hokage. And he was probably related to the first, according to Sasuke!

Sasuke's ominous warning rung in Naruto's mind for a while, but he wouldn't let it get his mood down. The warmth filling his body and the sensation of nature all around him combined with the so-called chakra exhaustion was enough was soothing enough that Naruto barely even noticed when his eyes drifted shut, a peaceful smile never leaving his face.

Author's Note:

i'm posting this so soon after the first mainly because the desc promised Mokuton and the first chapter didn't really have it lol

thank you to everyone who's favorited/followed/reviewed!

i gave Sasuke Raiton & Katon as dual affinities because those pretty much directly relate to Naruto's Doton and Suiton and i figured it'd be fun.

also, i'm mainly using the Doton, Suiton, Katon, Raiton, and Fūton names instead of X Release bc i like the sound of Mokuton and it'd be inconsistent if i used Mokuton instead of Wood Release when i'm using X Release for everything else lol. that's probably more or less the extent i'll be using non-english wording though, along with me using Shodaime/Nidaime/Sandaime/Yondaime. so it's kind of just a judgement call of what i like the sound of best if i'm being honest. Jutsu names will be mostly in english though, save for the name of the release