Naruto: Journal of Hope
After the second half of the Chunin Exams Naruto is passed over by Kakashi to train Sasuke. Angry, he storms out and runs far away to an almost forgotten place. There he stumbles across a journal, written by his mother and holding the secrets of his lineage. Inspired by his parents' love, hope and dreams, he decides to become the Ninja his parents believed he could be.
Chapter III: The Clone Trick
It had been one day into Naruto's training and he still had yet to fully summon a proper toad. Even though the Seal Orochimaru had placed on top of Minato's was gone, the boy's chakra control was still subpar. The Jutsu required a large amount of Chakra to effectively summon a Toad into battle, and yet so far.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!" Naruto yelled as he slammed his palm to the ground, the summoning seal and a large poof of smoke appeared. Only instead of a Toad…
"Still a tadpole…" Naruto lamented as he and Jiraiya looked down at the small tadpole flopping around on the ground. "You'd think little guys like these shouldn't be able to be summoned, right?" he asked as Jiraiya shrugged.
"A true Summoner can effectively call the desired Summon they need. But that requires Focused and Precise Chakra Control. Until you gain proper control of your Chakra, your summon is going to continue to be random," Jiraiya said as the tadpole poofed back to Mount Myoboku. "But don't take it too harshly, as the old saying goes "Konoha wasn't built in a day", so we just need to keep practising. Besides, there's more to work on than just your Chakra control," Jiraiya said as he gestured for Naruto to sit down and held up one finger.
"First off, your Tactics: Strategy is an important part of any battle. By planning, and knowing your opponent's next move, you can effectively control the battlefield. The Chunin Exams are more of a simulation of what it's like to be a Chunin. How your decisions will affect how real-life missions will play out. Luckily because it's only an exam, you've seen how your opponents can fight. In a normal battle, you wouldn't be so lucky. While the old man has told me of your unique ability to come up with effective plans on the fly, it would be more impressive to the judges if you showed that kind of thinking during the finals…" Jiraiya told him as Naruto shot up a little.
"Hey! I've been reading all those books you gave me! It's not my fault it's all so long and boring!" He shouted as Jiraiya sighed and held up a second finger.
"Second, is your Chakra Control: Despite your large reserves, your Chakra control is pretty bad, kid. Not entirely your fault, lack of guidance and patience can be attributed to me and the Academy," he said with a hint of shame in his voice. "But it's also due to your large Chakra Reserves. The advantage of such larger reserves is that you can use a higher class of Jutsu. It's why the Normal Clone technique doesn't work for you. Because you keep overloading the Jutsu. But the downside is that having larger reserves means a greater need for control." he emphasised, as Naruto nodded.
"Third, is your Jutsus: I know you only have the Basics. Something I need to talk to the old man about. But at your age, Genin should know at least some other Jutsus. However, some of them are Clan Members, so they are more likely to learn from their Clans. I can try and teach you other Jutsu, but given the time we have left the Jutsu wouldn't be all-powerful. And I doubt I can teach you how to Change your Chakra Nature in time to increase their effectiveness." Jiraiya lamented as Naruto raised a brow.
"Change my Chakra Nature?" he asked as Jiraiya sighed.
"Let me guess, you don't know about Chakra Nature, do you?" he asked as Naruto nodded and Jiraiya rubbed a palm over his face. "Oh boy I've got a lot to work with…" he said as he shook his head.
"Okay, so you know that Chakra is what powers Jutsu, yes?" he asked as Naruto nodded. "Okay good, well there are Five Basic Elements that Chakra can be moulded into. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Lightning. Well, people are born with either one or two of these Elements. Until it's tested, you won't know what Jutsu you'd be more capable of doing. Say you were born with Fire Chakra, you would be more capable of changing your Chakra into Fire, thus making you able to perform Fire Style Jutsu easier than say Water Style. But that's not to say you can't learn to use other Jutsus', so long as you know the hand signs. it's just more preferred to know how to change your Element into that particular Nature and it takes more training. But, as you are right now, I can't teach you any such Elemental Jutsu until you have a firmer grasp on her Basics." He instructed as Naruto looked confused.
"But Sasuke can use FireBall Jutsus, why can't I?" he asked as he remembered Sasuke using Fireball Jutsu while Jiraiya sighed.
"He more than likely knows the hand signs and practised that Jutsu a lot when he was back in the Academy. Plus given he's an Uchiha he would have been born with Fire Elemental Chakra. The most common type of Chakra nature in the Land of Fire. So it was easier for him. If I taught you such a Jutsu, you'd burn through unnecessary amounts of Chakra," he said as Naruto grumbled.
"Of course, it is for Sasuke…" he grumbled as Jiraiya waved his hand.
"Relax, brat, I can still teach you a few non-element-based Jutsu's, like ones that involve your Shadow Clones. Which appears to be your specialty," he said as Naruto got excited as Jiraiya raised his fourth finger.
"And Finally, is your temperament," he began before Naruto tilted his head.
"My temper-what?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face, as Jiraiya sighed.
"Your temperament, your anger. From what I've gathered, you tend to fly off the handle sometimes and charge into a fight without thinking ahead. And seeing how you're revered up to fight this Neji, you're not going to be thinking straight." he stated plainly as Naruto stood up.
"But I have to beat him! He said all those horrible things to Hinata! I can't just let that go!" Naruto argued as Jiraiya nodded.
"And I'm not, I think what you're doing for her is honourable, and kind of cute actually," Jiraiya said as Naruto looked confused. "A young man declaring that he shall battle the one that harmed a beautiful maiden. That's top-grade reading material right there," he said as Naruto felt blood pressure form in his head.
"Shut it Pervy-Sage!" he growled between his teeth before Jiraiya looked seriously at him.
"But what I'm trying to get at is that you can't rush into this battle head-on. A good strategy and a cool head are better to have to go into a battle than one clouded by anger and resentment. Your father knew how to keep himself calm and collected at all times, and it's what made him one of the most feared Shinobi in the Lands." he said as Naruto stopped and looked towards the Hokage Monument in the far distance as if he could just make out his fathers head.
"My Dad, huh? …so strange to hear that…" he said as he sat down while folding his arms and sighing. "I guess you've got a point, Pervy-Sensei," he said as Jiraiya nodded, but felt his eyelid twitch at the Pervy-Sensei comment.
"I'll ignore that…but anyway, don't fret. If I have this planned out right, I believe you can beat Neji in the Finals and prove to him that Fate is not as set in stone as he thinks it is." Jiraiya said, while mentally chuckling at the fact Naruto was supposedly the 'Child of Prophecy' from the Toad's Predictions.
"Okay…So, what should I do?" he asked, as Jiraiya hummed to himself.
"Well, the first thing you need to know is your opponent. What can you tell me about the Hyuga?" he asked as Naruto started then scrunched his face in concentration.
"Uh…Well…they're…a Clan…with uh…the Bykakan…" Naruto said, messing up the name.
"Byakugan," Jiraiya corrected as Naruto nodded.
"Right, and they uh…can see…Chakra, I think?" He tried to remember Kurenai's or was it Shino's explanation during Hinata's Match against Neji.
"Correct, the Hyuga clan can see Chakra using their Byakugan. A Doujutsu that is similar to the Sharingan, but grants them a near 360 degrees field of view and X-Ray Vision. But not only that, but they can also see the Chakra coils within your body and have a unique fighting style that allows them to target the Tenketsu in the body. And before you ask," he stopped Naruto from asking. "Tenketsu are the Chakra Points located around the body where Chakra can be released. Such as your hands and feet. By targeting it with their 'Gentle Fist Style', they can effectively render a person incapable of using their Chakra until the Tenketsu are unsealed by a Medic. It's what made them one of the best close-range combatants of the Hidden Leaf," he said as Naruo stared.
"Really? That explains what happened to Hinata…Aw, man! How am I supposed to go up against that!? I call Kekkei Genkai's hacks!" he shouted as Jiraiya chuckled.
"Relax kid, the Hyuga Clan may be tough, but they ain't invincible. No one is. You just need to think carefully about how to overcome Neji." he advised as Naruto titled his head.
"I don't suppose you'd tell me how to beat him?" he asked as Jiraiya shook his head.
"Nope, no can do," he said as Naruto flinched back.
"Huh!? But why not!? Aren't you supposed to train me!?" he asked as Jiraiya nodded.
"I am, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give you the answers straight up. The point of the exam is for you to prove your potential as a Chunin. I can help you train and make you stronger, but I can't tell you how to win all your battles. That will be up to you," he said as Naruto stared at him.
"That sounded…really wise…" Naruto said as Jiraiya smirked.
"Of course it was, I am after all the Great and Gallant Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. My wisdom knows no bounds, so sorry kid. But you're going to have to figure it out on your own." he said as Naruto stared before he performed a simple hand sign.
"...Sexy-Jutsu ''
Naruto placed his hands together and transformed into a sexy female version of himself. Jiraiya instantly had a nosebleed and nearly rocketed off from the blood loss. "Gallant huh? More like perverted if you ask me," Naruto said as he transformed back, while Jiraiya made his way back to Naruto.
"Hehehe, Interesting Jutsu kid, though I doubt it will work on this Neji." He told Naruto, as marvelled at the perverted Ninjutsu…Before a dark thought came over him. 'Wait…If Kushina was alive right now and she saw Jutsu…' he didn't need to finish that sentence.
"A-Anyway, let's go back to your training. We've only got 28 days until the finals. Not a lot of time, but we can't worry about that. Now, let's focus on some of the Chakra Control exercises," he flicked a small leaf onto Naruto's forehead as he craned his eyes up to the leaf.
"Huh, this is…"
"Ah, I see you recognise it. It's the Leaf Concentration Technique. You must've learned about this at the Academy, correct?" he asked as Naruto started chuckling nervously.
"Yeah…uh…the thing is…I kind…didn't pay attention when Iruka-Sensei tried to teach it to me," he admitted as Jiraiya sighed.
"You are not making this easy kid…" he said while rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Okay…basically you have to focus your Chakra on that Leaf, making it stick to your forehead. It's a way to help you focus your Chakra more, as well as to help you focus your mind. Which as I've seen in the past few days is pretty much scattered," he said as Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Tch! I ain't scattered-brained ya Pervy-Sage!" he yelled.
"I told ya to stop calling me that!" but he stopped himself as he held up his hands and breathed in a calming breath. "Look, we don't have a lot of time. We need to get you more focused, get better control of your chakra and maybe even tap into the Nine-Tails power. It's the only way you'll move up the ranks," he said as Naruto sighed and looked down at his stomach.
"The Nine-Tails…" he held a hand over the seal, as he thought about the monster that had effectively forced isolation and loneliness on his life. "Do you think I can learn to control its Chakra?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure…" Jiraiya admitted as Naruto hung his head. "But your father must've believed you would." Naruto looked back up as Jiraiya was scratching his cheek. "Otherwise he wouldn't have sealed it in you…the thing about your father, he always had a reason behind everything he did. Planned things and saw what needed to be done. He was a man ahead of his time, and for some reason, he entrusted the future of the Village to you, his son. Speaks a lot about his faith in you," he told Naruto as the young boy smiled softly, feeling a sense of warmth in his chest.
"Thanks, Pervy Sage…" he said as Jiraiya just sighed, it seemed his mother's biological traits were too hard to crack. But he was glad to see the boy being a little happier knowing just how much he meant to his parents.
"Alright, now for the next few hours, focus on the Leaf Concentration technique. After that we'll spend some time working on your taijutsu, then on summoning and finally tapping into the Nine-Tails chakra," Jiraiya instructed as Naruto nodded.
"Okay…wait, then what are you going to do?" he asked as the white-haired man grinned.
"I'm going to go and do some 'Important Research'..." he said with a perverted grin slowly forming on his face. "See you in a few hours my boy!" he yelled as he dashed off to the hot springs Naruto sighed.
"Typical…" Naruto sighed as he placed the leaf on his forehead and began to concentrate. He imagined his chakra flowing towards the leaf, similar to how he used his chakra to make his feet stick to the surface of the tree.
He sat there amongst the quiet sound of nature, the gentle rushing of the stream and the cool breeze of the spring air silently blowing past him. He remained focused on this task, trying to keep himself focused. Which was hard considering his scattered brain, and the small noises that kept bugging him. Like the birds, the occasional fish that jumped out of the water, to even the tiny critters climbing up the trees.
He kept this up for an hour until…
"Damn it!" Naruto suddenly yelled. "This is so boring!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "Why does this have to be so boring!?" he complained as he sighed. "I should be learning a new Jutsu or something if I want to be Neji. But here I am sitting on my butt trying to make a leaf stick to my head…" he said as he lay flat on his back.
"I bet Kakashi is teaching Sasuke all sorts of cool Ninjutsu…" he bitterly thought as he could just imagine his teammate/rival learning all sorts of new things while he was stuck relearning the basics. "But…" he suddenly said as he looked through the tree leaves to the light piercing through. "I think mum and dad had to do something like this when they were my age…I guess I really shouldn't complain…"
Grrrowl…
Suddenly his stomach began to rumble as he looked at his stomach. "Ah man, it must be lunchtime," he sat up. "I should go get something to eat…But I need to continue my training…Oh! I know!" he crossed his fingers in the familiar hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled as two clones appeared. "Okay, go to Ichiraku Ramen and get some take out Ramen!" he ordered as the Clone nodded.
"You got it boss!" the clone said as he turned to walk away.
"And don't you dare eat it!" he yelled as the Naruto clone snapped at him.
"What! Aw, come on! Why not!?"
"Because For one, I'm the one that's starving! Two: you're just a clone, I don't think you guys can eat, so it would be wasted on you!"
"Oh yeah…you got a point," the clone said before he grumpily jumped away. Leaving behind the original and the second clone.
"So uh…what do I do?" the Second Clone asked as Naruto chuckled.
"Yeah uh…I kind of need some company, and who better than myself?"
"That sounds kind of sad doesn't it?"
"...Yeah…"
Konoha Village
Sakura was absent-mindedly walking around the village. She had just gone to see Sasuke in the Hospital but was told that no visitors were allowed. After she left, she began thinking about her progress during the Chunin Exam. Sure, she had better Chakra control compared to Naruto and Sasuke, but that was only due to how limited her Chakra was. She was smarter than Naruto, yet he had progressed to the finals, while she had ended up in a tie with Ino. And Sasuke, the boy she loved, was acting much colder to her ever since he got bit by that weird guy in the forest. She was the smartest of the team, yet she was being left behind by them.
"What is happening to me, when did I get so weak?" she asked herself as she walked through the village. "Naruto and Sasuke made it to the finals, but If this keeps up, I'm going to seriously fall behind. I used to mock Naruto for being Dead Last, but recently he's gotten so much stronger…and Sasuke…" She remembered back to the Forest of Death when the Curse Mark overtook Sasuke and he brutally beat up that sound ninja. "Sasuke's been acting colder, especially after what happened in the forest. I'm worried about what will happen to him…" she sighed to herself as she looked up to the sky.
"Maybe…maybe I need to work on myself? I've been so focused on Sasuke, that I've let myself go as a Ninja. And Naruto…Naruto has gotten so much further than me, it seems almost impossible to believe…" She remembered all the time Naruto would be arrogant, or stubborn, seeing him as a little kid compared to Sasuke. But she also remembered the times he stood up, and showed his guts and determination.
It was something she found inspiring.
"Maybe I've been a bit too hard on Naruto, he's not the same kid we knew from the Academy…but I am not going on one of his dates, my heart still belongs to Sasuke," she declared as she continued her way home.
It was then she spotted the familiar orange jumpsuit of her teammate as he happily hummed to himself.
"Ramen~ Ramen~ I'm going to get some Ramen!" he hummed as Sakura sighed.
"Of course," she said as she decided not to bother him when he suddenly spotted her.
"Oh! Sakura-Chan!" he yelled as Sakura cringed a little at how loud he was yelling her name. But she just smiled and waved back.
"Oh, hey Naruto, how are you?" she asked as the boy skipped towards her. "Shouldn't you be off training with Kakashi-Sensei?" she asked as Naruto scoffed.
"Nah, Kakashi says he's going to train Sasuke, so I have to train with someone else. The only problem is the guy is a total pervert!" he complained slightly as Sakura nodded.
"I see, so then why aren't you training right now? You know the Finals are only 28 days from now. Don't tell me you're slacking off?" she accused angrily as Naruto shook his head.
"Of course not! I'm training super hard to get my Chakra Control better, I just need to grab some food and get back to training!" he said as he clenched his fist. "I need to make that Neji guy pay for what he did to Hinata!" he said with the same determination he had when he made the promise.
Sakura blinked as she hid a smile. Of course, she, like everyone else in their grade, knew of the huge crush that the Hyuga Princess had on the resident Dead Last of the Academy. But they didn't care as practically every girl was after the much more attractive and talented Sasuke. (Sakura and Ino's words). So they didn't mind, nor care as they couldn't understand what the shy girl saw in the blond idiot. Although after the Wave Mission, she could kind of see what she saw, his determination, his loyalty and his willingness to keep going despite the odds stacked against him.
'But still, Naruto's no Sasuke…oh well, the least I can do is give her a little help,' she thought to herself. "Speak of, how is Hinata? Have you gone to see her?" she asked as Naruto blinked.
"Uh…no…I've kind of been caught up with training that I haven't had the time for. Why, do you think I should?" he asked as Sakura felt a blood vessel appear on her head.
"Of course you idiot! You made a promise to avenge her for her honour! And a maiden's honour is not something you should mess with! The least you can do is make sure she knows about it, you idiot!" she then smashed her fist straight into Naruto's face as the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Huh?" Sakura blinked as she stared at the spot Naruto was. "Wait…that was…a clone? Then, where's the real Naruto?"
Waterfall - That Moment
Naruto suddenly flinched as a rush of information went straight to his head, and he remembered Sakura's fist slamming into his face."Gah!" Naruto and his Clone yelled. "What the heck!? Why did Sakura just hit me like that!? It's not like I didn't want to visit her!" he yelled.
"Yeah! Tell me about it! Why does she always have to be so mean about it!?" his Clone responded as Naruto nodded. Before he and the clone paused and blinked in confusion.
"Wait…how did…how did we know that?" he asked as he turned to the clone. "How did we know Sakura just hit us? We were here the whole time, while Sakura's in the village…but…but how did?" Naruto questioned himself as he tried to figure out what just happened.
"Did we…did we just get the memories of the clone?" Clone Naruto asked as Naruto shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, the Scroll didn't say anything about that," Naruto said before the Clone looked concerned.
"Well…we did kind of skim some parts…" he admitted as Naruto sighed.
"Yeah, you're probably right. We should ask someone, to find out what it means?" Naruto suggested.
"Should we ask Pervy Sage when he gets back?" the Clone asked as Naruto shook his head.
"He's gone of perving and we have no idea when he'll be back. And we both know I can't concentrate if I got this on my mind,"
"Kakashi-sensei?" the Clone Suggested before Naruto scoffed.
"He's off training Sasuke somewhere, and I doubt he'd tell us about it. You know I think he doesn't believe we'll make it past Neji. But we'll show him!" Naruto said with determination.
"How about the old man?" The clone suggested the Third Hokage. "He might know what's going on, it was in the Forbidden Scroll after all."
"Maybe…but I think we shouldn't bother him as much. I'm still a little peeved that he kept secrets from us. Not to mention he'd be busy preparing for the Exam. Plus I don't think the Secretary likes us barging in all the time," Naruto said.
"How about that Closet Pervert, Ebisu?" the clone asked as Naruto and the clone both shook their heads.
"Nah '' they both said as somewhere in the village, after being told by the Hokage that Jiraiya would handle Naruto's training, Ebisu felt a sudden jab at his pride.
"So…who else could we ask?" Naruto asked as he and the Clone tried to put their heads together for someone they could ask about the Shadow Clone technique.
"..." Bonk… Bonk... Bonk... Ding!
"AH! Iruka Sensei!" they both shouted as Naruto stood up. "He's a teacher at the Academy and was the one that let me pass! He must know more about the Shadow Clone!" he wagered as his clone nodded before dispelling. "Alright! Let's go find Iruka Sensei!" he shouted as he dashed from the Training Grounds.
Ichiraku Ramen
Iruka Umino sighed a breath of relief as he savoured the smell coming from his Ramen. It had been a long day, paperwork, grades and the occasional disruptive student. None however were on the same level as Naruto he thanked the Sage for that. One of his students, Konohamaru Sarutobi, had taken a shine to Naruto's determination to become Hokage. Admirable, but he had unfortunately also taken to mastering Naruto's Perverted Ninjutsu. One of the many prankster-level Jutsu's Naruto had created during his academy days.
Speaking of Naruto, some days it was hard for anyone to believe that Iruka would be so calm and kind to Naruto. Nearly everyone in the village saw him as the Demon Fox and blamed him for the deaths of their loved ones. Including Iruka's parents. But Iruka had long ago seen the truth, that Naruto was just like him. A child orphaned by the Nine-Tails and left without loving parents. He sympathised with him and wanted to be there for him when no one else would.
He still remembered hearing how his team's initial C-Rank Mission had Escalated to an A-Rank Mission and he worried about the young Genin. Sure he proved he had changed after the mission and was proud to hear that he made it to the Finals of the Chunin Exams. But he was still worried about him. Naruto was like a little brother to him, or maybe something more like a son, but he didn't fully know yet.
Right now he was proud of all his former students that had made it to the final round and just hoped they would continue on their path to becoming excellent shinobi.
"Long day, Iruka?" Teuchi asked as he and his daughter worked on making the next batch of Ramen. "Normally you would only come here with Naruto, or if you've had long work hours. Must be because of the Chunin Exams, right?" he asked as Iruka nodded.
"Sort of, I'm both worried and proud of my former students. From what I've heard, Shikamaru, Shino, Sasuke and Naruto made it to the finals. I'm not surprised about the first three, but hearing that Naruto made it so far makes me feel proud of him even more," Iruka said as Teuchi blinked.
"Naruto made it to the finals? Well, I'll be, the kid has a knack for surprising people, huh?" Teuchi chuckled as Iruka chuckled as well.
"Yes, I admit I was surprised when Naruto made it past the Second Stage of the Exams. But at this point, I should learn to expect the unexpected from the Number One Hyperactive Ninja of the Hidden Leaf…" he looked at the broth as he recalled a lone Naruto. Sitting on the swing as everyone avoided him. "He certainly has grown up, more than I could've ever imagined…" he took his chopsticks and started to dig in.
"IRUKA SENSEI!" Iruka jostled and choked somewhat on his ramen, as Naruto burst into the stand. "IRUKA SENSEI! I NEED TO TALK TO - Oh cool, Ramen! Hey Old Man Teuchi! Can I get a big bowl of Miso Pork!?" Naruto shouted as he suddenly got distracted and ordered ramen.
"...Of course, he hasn't grown up that much…" Iruka said as Teuchi chuckled.
"Right, One Miso Pork, coming up!" Teuchi said as he and Ayami got to work. Naruto grinned as he sat down on the stool.
"Hehehe! This is going to be so good!" Naruto chuckled as he could just taste the Ramen already. The bowl was set before him, the owners of the stand having long since known Naruto's patterns and prepared in record time. Naruto grinned as he broke apart the chopsticks and chowed down.
"Uh, Naruto…didn't you have something to ask me?" Iruka asked as Naruto stopped halfway through his noodles to stare at his sensei before his noodle brain finished cooking.
"...AH! That's right! Iruka Sensei! I need your help!"
"I gathered that much, what about Naruto?"
"It's about my Shadow Clones!"
"Your Shadow Clones?" he asked as Naruto nodded.
"Yeah! See, while I was doing the Leaf Concentration training you taught me, I sent one of my clones here to get some Ramen while I trained. But obviously, he never made it! He bumped into Sakura and she decked him in the face because I haven't seen Hinata in the Hospital," Naruto explained.
"Hinata? Why would you need to visit her in the hospital?" he asked as Naruto scratched his cheek.
"Oh uh, see she lost during her fight against her cousin badly, and he said a bunch of mean things to her. Saying she was weak and pathetic and I didn't like that. So I kind of made a promise I'd prove him wrong," Naruto said as Iruka nodded.
"Interesting, I remember Neji from the Academy. He was a top student and the Rookie of the Year like Sasuke was," Iruka recalled as Naruto scoffed.
"Of course he was…" Naruto thought bitterly before he shook his head. "Anyway, Sakura got mad at me and punched me in the face. But the strange thing is I was at the training ground while Sakura and the Clone were in the village. So, how the heck did I get those memories? You must know something about that, right?" Naruto asked as Iruka blinked.
"Of course I do, the Shadow Clone is a Jutsu only Jonin and few Chunin could perform. But they aren't fully designed for Combat. They were created for reconnaissance, didn't you read that part in the Forbidden Scroll?" Iruka asked as Naruto looked away sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah…see the thing is Iruka Sensei…I kind of…skipped some parts… hehe hehe?" he chuckled nervously as Iruka sighed.
"Of course you did…Alright, I guess I might as well give a brief recap. The Shadow Clone Jutsu was created by the Second Hokage: Tobirama Senju, during the early years of Konoha." Iruka explained.
"The Second Hokage, you mean the stone face that's always scowling all the time?" Naruto asked as he leaned out and pointed at the Second Hokage's stone face. Iruka sighed as he shook his head at his less tactful word choice.
"Yes, Naruto, him. From what I recall, the Shadow Clone works by creating solid copies of the user, splitting their chakra evenly amongst the clones. Normally, a Jonin can only make about 2 to 3 Clones because of the rapid depletion of Chakra it demands. Not to mention the more clones the user makes, the less Chakra they have in their reserves."
"But, I've made hundreds of Clones. I've never felt my Chakra reserves get low," Naruto said as Iruka nodded.
"Well in your case Naruto, you have larger than average Chakra Reserves, so you seem to be able to bypass that effect. Although it may also have something to do with…" he trailed off as Naruto picked up the hint.
The Nine Tails Chakra.
"Anyway, back to the history lesson. The Second Hokage created the technique to act as recon, to scout the enemy position or use as decoys and relay the information back to the user without risk of injury to the user. Think of it as a Memory Transfer from one Clone to the Original. I'm surprised you didn't notice already?" he asked as Naruto thought to himself.
"Hmm…not really, every time I've used my clones was during fights. I guess I didn't notice because they were all in the same place." Naruto guessed as he titled his head. "But wait, how does this whole memory transfer thing work?"
"Well, I'm not certain, but I believe that whatever Chakra remained in the clone that wasn't used, gets sent back to the user. So that Chakra carries with it the memories and experience of the Clone and gives it back to the user." Iruka guessed as Naruto pondered this.
"Memories and Experience…" he thought to himself. "Hey Iruka Sensei, what would happen if I train with my clones?" he asked as Iruka paused.
"Well now…I uh…I don't know?" Iruka admitted. "Something like this hasn't been attempted before, mostly due to the drain the Clones have on the user. But…could it be possible?" Iruka took a moment to think about it.
"Huh? What are you thinking, Iruka Sensei?" Naruto asked Iruka before turning to his former student.
"Well, this is just a Theory, but you have larger-than-average Chakra reserves and insane amounts of Stamina. Now again, this is just a theory, but…if you trained with a Shadow Clone, you'd get twice the experience you would have by yourself. That means you could achieve more than a month's training in only a week." Iruka said as Naruto's eyes widened.
"Whoa really! That sounds awesome!" Naruto cheered before Iruka held his hand.
"Hold it Naruto! As I said, this is only a Theory. Something like this has never been attempted before because no one else has had Chakra Reserves as large as you. It could work, or it couldn't. You would have to test it, or ask someone who knows more about the Shadow Clones than I do," Iruka said as Naruto thought to himself.
"I see…I guess I'll have to ask Pervy Sage when he gets back," he said as Iruka raised a brow.
"Pervy Sage?"
"Oh, uh, he's my new Sensei at the moment. Kakashi Sensei is busy training Sasuke at the moment, so Pervy Sage is training me," Naruto said as Iruka said.
"I mean who is Pervy Sage, and what have I told you about addressing people?" Iruka scolded slightly as Naruto pouted.
"To treat them with respect…but the guy is a complete pervert! When I found him he was peeking at the women's bathhouse! I can't believe that guy is supposed to be my g-HM!" Naruto luckily stopped himself from saying Godfather, but not the questioning gaze of Iruka.
"He's your what?" Iruka asked as Naruto started chuckling nervously.
"My uh…my uh new sensei! Yeah, just my luck, any teacher I get after you is some sort of pervert! Well, thanks for the meal!" Naruto slammed a few Ryo Notes down as he bolted. "Gotta get back to training, see ya later Iruka Sensei and thanks for the tip!"
"Wait Naruto!" Iruka called out but he was long gone. "That boy, I swear…" he said as he sat back down to finish his ramen.
He remembered back to the night he gave Naruto his headband and the smile that was on his face. That boy, who had been through so much, lived a life of loneliness and isolation for something he had no control over. But despite everything stacked against him, he still managed to persevere and was determined to become Hokage one day.
"Good luck Naruto, I'm rooting for you," he said as he continued to believe in his student.
Hours Later - Waterfall
Jiraiya returned with a happy perverted smile on his face as he held in his hand his notes. "Hehehe, that was a good research trip. I'm going to have so much material for my next book," he said to himself as he walked back to the Waterfall. "I guess I should go and check on Naruto, if I had to guess, I'd say he's just about had it learning the leaf concentration technique and wants to try summoning again…" he smiled softly as he remembered back to the time he trained Minato.
"That boy is nothing like his father, but he has the same drive as both his parents. I know he'll become something truly amazing someday…" he looked up to the sky and wondered if he'd be around long enough to see it. "Oh well, no time like the present," he walked back into the clearing and blinked in surprise.
There was Naruto, sitting under the tree channelling Chakra into his leaf, while around him were 20 other clones of himself as they all seemed to be practising the same technique. But the strangest thing was that Jiraiya could sense a subtle difference in the boy's control. It had sharply improved since he left. Not to the point it was 'mastered' but it was noticeably better than when he left early that day.
'That's strange, how did he manage to improve his Chakra Control so well in such a short time? I wasn't gone that long was I?' he asked himself before he stepped closer to the boy.
"Uh, Naruto, what's going on here?" he asked as Naruto opened his eyes and looked over at the man.
"Ah! Pervy Sage! Guess What! You're not going to believe what I discovered!" Naruto yelled as he looked over to his Clones. "Okay guys, that's enough," he ordered as the clones nodded and all dispelled. Naruto stumbled slightly from the rush of information. "Whoa! Man, I've got to learn to stop to dispel them all at once!"
"Whoa, you okay there Naruto? What the heck is going on here?" he asked Naruto grinned.
"I just figured out a cool new trick," he said as Jiraiya raised his eyebrow. "See, I found out the Shadow Clones I make give me all their knowledge once they're dispelled,"
"Yes, I'm aware of how the Shadow Clone Jutsu works," Jiraiya said as Naruto grinned.
"Well, I talked to Iruka Sensei and he figured that if I train with my clones, I gain more experience! That means I can get this Chakra Control down lickety-split!" he said as Jiraiya blinked.
"Really? Hmm…I see…yes that could work. The Shadow Clones share their experience and knowledge with the Original once they dispel. And you can create roughly a hundred clones, So if you train with a hundred clones a day, you could gain years of experience in a short amount of time…huh..why didn't I think of this?" Naruto grinned at this.
"Because I'm awesome!" he said as Jiraiya shook his head.
"Not so fast brat, sure this will help you gain better chakra control, and maybe even help you learn some Jutsus before the finals, but this doesn't mean you'll get physically stronger," he said as Naruto raised a brow.
"Hhh…what do you mean?"
"I mean your physical body won't improve by the clone trick, only your mind will improve. The Shadow Clone can only pass on the knowledge of how to do things, but your physical body won't change. That will be up to you, putting in the manual hours," he explained as Naruto sighed.
"Aw man…and here I thought I was going to be able to do all sorts of Taijutsu like Bushy Brows…" Naruto complained as Jiraiya chuckled.
"Relax kid, this is a good thing. It means now that training will go a lot smoother now. Heck, now you can catch up on all the stuff you missed out in record time…but that also means I'll have to monitor all of your clones! And then I'd be missing out on my peek-I mean important research! Such a shame!" he wept as Naruto raised a brow.
'Why do I always get the weird ones as my Teachers?' Naruto asked himself while Jiraiya got his act under control.
"Okay, enough of that. Now comes the serious part. We'll set up a series of training methods. For the first part of your training, You will create 150 clones. Each clone will be separated into groups of 50. Each group will focus on certain aspects of your training for one full week before moving on to the next phase. Understand?" Jiraiya questioned as Naruto nodded.
"Phase One will be on your Chakra Control and Knowledge. Phase Two will focus on Transforming your Chakra Element. Phase 3 will focus on learning new Ninjutsu and Phase 4 will focus on utilising them in combat situations. While all this is happening, you and I will practise Taijutsu and Summoning, as well as attempt to draw upon the Nine-Tails power. I will admit this plan will be hard and strenuous. Think you can handle it?" he asked as Naruto grinned and held his fist to the man.
"Of course! I'm going to become Hokage after all! No way I'd be put off by some training!" he yelled as Jiraiya smirked.
"Alright then, let's get down to business, kid," he said as Naruto smirked and crossed his fingers.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Meanwhile - Kikyo Castle
A squad of Anbu stood over the corpse of Hayate as they stared at their fallen comrade. One amongst them did everything they can to hold in their anger and despair as she stared down at the man. She bent down and picked up his blade, as she stared at the man that trained her in the way of the sword, and to who she had given her heart.
"Hayate…how could this happen?" she asked more herself than Hayate as she and the Anbu members stare at him.
"This is bad…we must inform Lord Hokage," the Anbu member said as they unfold a large scroll tarp and seal the corpse inside. "Yugao…Yugao, we must-"
"I know…we must inform Lord Hokage…this situation is dire…" she spoke with a cold and emotionless tone. But they knew she was suffering, but as Shinobi, as members of the Anbu Black Ops, they could not let their emotions get the best of them.
They jumped away from the scene as Yugao silently vowed to find the one responsible for this personal travesty and make them pay. No matter how long it would take.
And Scene. Well, here is Chapter III of the Journal of Hope, this is the official start of Naruto's training and the discovery of the Clone Memory trick earlier. Seems overdone I know, but it's the only way Naruto can even remotely improve fast enough. Plus the trick was put in far later, and now that it was shown seems like a plot hole that would have benefited Naruto earlier. But then again, only Naruto can pull off this kind of training.
I've been talking to advisors of all things Naruto, and they advise me that because of Naruto's blockhead and stubborn Nature, I need to nail lessons into Naruto the hard way, so they can sink into the blond. So the next few chapters will revolve around his training before physical and mental. And I've had to do a ton of research into how long it would take Naruto to get his Control better, transform his Chakra Nature, and learn Jutsu best suited for him and his fight with Neji. While also taking a few liberties with some Canon stuff. So hope you all enjoy it and see you all next time…
Chapter IV: Harsh Lesson, Uzumaki Inheritance