Naruto - After Three Months

Another horde of clones rushed towards him like an endless sea. The blonde activated his Sharingan. As the horde rushed towards him, he did a hand sign.

"Fire Style: Dragon Breath,"

A Huge flame shaped like a dragon appeared from his mouth, the size shadowing the whole horde of thousands of clones, his wings spread wide, darkening the entire forest, the heat burning the trees and grass to a crisp.

The dragon flew towards the clones, the clones prepared and used a giant water wall to protect themselves, but the crimson red dragon pierced right through the water wall like a knife through butter. The collision caused a massive explosion of heat, flames and steam.

Naruto activated his first Susanoo stage, and the wind-wave caused the trees to be ripped from their Root, even Naruto had trouble standing still.

The cage Susanoo covered him from the explosion. The steam spread for hundreds of meters; soon the mist spread away, the view cleared in front of him, showing him the land had turned dark, smoke coming from several places around the burned grass, the ground itself had turned red on several places, a glowing red, Naruto understood his flames were so hot that turned the stone to melted rock, the trees were aflame everywhere, Naruto felt sweat rolling down his cheek, despite the Susanoo cage, he could still feel the heat around him, almost suffocating him.

Naruto started hand signs again, finishing it.

"Water Style: Wave Spark"

Water with high pressure came out his mouth, aiming towards the sky; the water reached a hundred meters before it fell down like a calming rain.

Naruto cancelled his Susanoo and felt the rain wet his skin, his clothes got wet, but Naruto didn't mind, he saw the fire going away, smoke spread around, it didn't take long, and the fire and smoke disappeared, lava had turned to the black ground.

Naruto did more hand signs to regrow the trees that were burned.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence,"

Trees after trees regrow from the ground, every tree and grass regrow around, making the forest look just as before he started training.

Doing a single hand sign, he made the seal Barrier around the area disappear. The barrier worked that no damage would be caused outside; the barrier worked to alarm him if anyone was getting close to his location, to disguise what he was doing, from outside one would just see an empty forest. The final thing, it hides the Chakra from coming out; this seal would hide even Kurama's chakra from being detected from outside.

Returning to his home, he started preparing food for himself and perhaps a certain Snake lady.

It had been three months now, Naruto had trained with her several times, and even took her to eat ramen with him in Ichiraku Ramen.

One time Kakashi-sensei joined them, late as always, and his reason was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"I'm sorry while coming here. I remembered that I had forgotten to drop the water on the toilet,"

Both Anko and Naruto had said nothing for several minutes, looking at him as if he was an alien.

Naruto was eating fish for dinner when Anko returned from her first report. He quickly retrieved and prepared some more fish so that she could have dinner as well. Anko didn't need to be told twice, and she accepted the meal gratefully. She told him about her day and everything that had happened during the meal. But then she handed him the sealing book and informed him of the Hokage's message.

"Is it possible that Yondaime wrote this book? Really?" After a minute of silence, Naruto stammered.

Anko had been curious as to who Naruto's hero was, and now she knew why. After all, the Yondaime is regarded as one of the greatest shinobi of all time. When he pressed the book to his chest as if it were the world's greatest treasure, she quickly nodded and smiled.

To him, it most likely was. She wished him goodnight and informed him that he had the morning off from training so they could discuss the training schedule for the coming month. Naruto thanked her once more for everything she had done for him and wished her good night. He read for a while in Yondaime's book before falling asleep shortly after finishing the first chapter.

He awoke the next day and went on the hunt for Anko. He discovered her in the clearing, frantically scribbling notes on a piece of paper. He sat quietly next to her so as not to disturb her while she worked.

Anko was trying to figure out how to get Naruto to do as much training as possible this month. At 7 a.m., this is not an easy task. She scribbled something down, only to discover something new shortly after and have to start all over again. It was causing her to lose her mind. Her stomach told her it was time to stop writing and start eating when she smelled breakfast. She turned to see Naruto, who was smiling and holding a plate for her.

"Naruto has evolved dramatically in the last month. He's a unique individual." She reassured herself.

Like every morning, they ate their breakfast in silence. Naruto had to wait two days to figure out that Anko preferred to spend the early mornings alone, at least until breakfast. Soon after, he arrived for a quiet breakfast. It was a time when he could reflect on the day ahead of him.

"Okay, gaki, we'll have to work out a new training schedule for you. I've been thinking about it, but I can't seem to strike a good balance. Will you please assist me in this situation? Now, I believe you could devote one hour per day to chakra control, after which we will engage in some sparring matches until lunchtime. We could spend some time after lunch working on speed and strength training. Or perhaps we could work on your ninjutsu skills? What are your thoughts?" Anko attempted to enlist Naruto's assistance.

"What do you think about this? I make a few dozen clones in the morning, as usual, and tell them to practice chakra control and taijutsu while you and I work on sparring, speed, and strength exercises. We could either work on ninjutsu or theoretical stuff after lunch. Every day, we could switch up the afternoon program. Does this sound appealing to you?" Naruto remarked.

Anko gave it some thought and agreed that it was a good idea. As a result, they quickly agreed to stick to Naruto's schedule for the next month. They decided to start with theoretical lessons in the afternoon because she was still tired from the day before. Naruto said that was fine, and since they had the morning off, he took out his sealing book and began reading while Anko returned to her bed.

Naruto did his morning exercises the next day, but just as he was about to make a few dozen clones, Anko informed him that she had devised a new exercise for him.

She had gotten the idea a few days before about how medical shinobi needed to have excellent chakra control. With their chakra, they were able to create chakra scalpels.

A chakra scalpel was created by concentrating a large amount of chakra on the tip of a finger and manipulating it until it was as sharp as a knife. The more she considered it, the more convinced she became that it would be an excellent Naruto exercise. Naruto made his clones and told them to get started after she quickly explained what she had in mind. While the clones were busy, the two of them began by sparring lightly before focusing on speed and strength.

After a few days, one of his clones succeeded in making what appeared to be an incomplete chakra scalpel. The clone had succeeded in sharpening the chakra to the point where it could be used as a knife.

Following that small victory, he quickly replicated what the clone had done, and he was well on his way to creating a fully functional chakra scalpel. His other training was going well, too; he was getting better at both Taekwondo and Aikido, and he was giving Anko a run for her money in sparring matches.

Despite the fact that Anko was aware that Naruto was guarding her, she was perplexed as to why. She knew a lot of Shinobi who didn't like to show their full power because they believed that a Shinobi should always hide their full potential unless they had no choice.

Anko had taught him several Katon jutsus and three variations on the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu, and the ninjutsu training was also a lot of fun. Those lessons were fresh in his mind.

Flashback

"Okay, gaki, I've got three Kage Bunshin No Jutsu variations for you to learn. 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin No Jutsu,' 'Kunai Kage Bunshin No Jutsu,' and 'Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin No Jutsu' are the names of the three. The first two create clones based on your kunai or shuriken, rather than clones of yourself. You can probably see the benefit of that. The third one creates clones in the same way that the regular Kage Bunshin No Jutsu does, but it also allows you to have the clone explode and take your enemy with it." Anko clarified.

Anko stopped him from creating clones to assist him in mastering the jutsu.

"In the beginning, there was no Naruto and no clones. I'd like you to learn them on your own first. You can use Kage Bunshin No Jutsu to master them once you've mastered them well enough. I don't want you to be completely reliant on that jutsu." Naruto was given an order by Anko.

Naruto didn't understand why he couldn't learn the new jutsu using the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. But, if he was honest with himself, he realized he was overly reliant on the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu, so he nodded and began studying the Kunai Kage Bunshin No Jutsu.

In the end, it took him about two days to master each jutsu to the point where Anko allowed him to use the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu to complete the task. But he felt great about himself for not learning them with Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. He determined that he would always learn a new jutsu on his own, and that he would only finish mastering it with Kage Bunshin No Jutsu once he was able to do it well enough.

Return to the present.

Naruto made a breakthrough in his seal experiments halfway through the month. He'd been attempting to make his own storage scroll, but it turned out to be more difficult than it appeared. The necessary seals for the scroll were far more complicated than he had anticipated, but he persevered. Naruto didn't know the meaning of the words 'giving up,' so he kept trying, with Anko cheering him on.

When he tried a hundred times to make a storage scroll, he finally succeeded. He applied two necessary seals in the wrong order because he wasn't paying attention for a brief moment. As a result, he created a fully functional storage scroll on his own. It was the first time he'd succeeded in making a working scroll, so he was understandably ecstatic and couldn't stop grinning for the next two days.

The next step in the book he received from Yondaime was to create a gravity seal that he could wear on his chest.

His body would be twice as heavy as usual as a result of this seal. The advantage of this seal, according to Anko, was that it would affect every muscle in his body, unlike normal weights, which were rarely used anymore.

As a result, much more training would be completed. Yondaime had written in the margin that he had personally used this seal when he was a child, which piqued Naruto's interest. Anko stated that she would not allow him to put it on his body until she was certain that he could do so safely. She'd also talk to Sandaime Hokage about it, and only if he said the seal was safe would she let him put it on his body.

He summoned Anko two days before she was due to report on Naruto's progress. He'd finished a small side project he'd been working on. He'd been attempting to design his own weapon for quite some time, and he'd decided to start small by making some throwing knives.

While kunai were extremely useful and many shinobi used them as throwing weapons, they were not designed for this purpose. Kunai were created to be used for stabbing and cutting. He finally got them right after several attempts.

Anko, taken aback by Naruto's actions and sensing that he was nervous about something, approached him and inquired if anything was wrong. Naruto, who was perspiring profusely, reassured her that everything was fine and that he had prepared something special for her. He then handed her a small package and instructed her to open it. Anko couldn't believe her eyes when she opened it. Three exquisitely shaped knives were found inside. She sat down and picked up one of the knives to examine it more closely.

The handle was about 8 inches long, and the knife was long and double-edged in shape. The handle was just the right length for her hand, allowing her to comfortably hold it. The knife appeared to be extremely sharp and simple to use.

Naruto, who had been watching her examine the knife, was concerned that she didn't like it. He sincerely hoped she enjoyed them; it was his way of expressing gratitude for everything she had done for him over the previous three months.

"I'm at a loss for words when it comes to Naruto. These are fantastic. How did you come up with such incredible weapons? I didn't even notice you attempting to forge them." While switching her gaze between the knives and Naruto, Anko said.

"I knew kunai weren't meant to be used as throwing weapons, so I decided to make my own. As a result, I designed them myself and began making them out of scrap metal I obtained from a shop. I forged them out of that high-quality metal as a present for you when I knew I could make them perfectly. Do you think they're good? I understand if you don't want to." Naruto expressed himself shyly.

"Do you like them? Thank you so much for such a thoughtful gift. I'll keep them in my heart for the rest of my life. I can't believe you went out of your way for me." With a tear in each eye, Anko stated the truth.

When she told him she loved his present, Naruto felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders.

"It was nothing, Anko, and I'm glad you like them," she says.

They'd spent the rest of the day practicing with the knives, and Anko had to admit that they were far more comfortable and easier to throw than kunai.

Naruto's ability to forge such a flawless weapon astounded her. Sandaime Hokage, she was certain, would say the same thing. When she told Naruto that, he flushed a little.

She asked Naruto if he needed anything from the library the night before she had to leave for her report. Naruto, who had yet to finish his book on sealing and had yet to begin his book on jutsu making, assured her that he was fine for the time being.

Naruto was well aware that Anko worked for the old Hokage. As a result, he pretended as if he hadn't yet learned these things.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama; I've come to give you my monthly report." Since she was in a playful mood, she saluted the Hokage.

The Hokage smiled and wished her a pleasant day. He sat her down and waited for her to begin her report. But before she began, she took a small package from her backpack and handed it to him.

"Naruto gave it to me as a gift. I'd like to express my gratitude for everything you've done for him." Anko said, a smile on her face.

Sarutobi cautiously opened the package, unsure of what it contained. He carefully took one of the three knives in his hand and examined it. He could tell they were made with great care and precision.

He thought they were lovely, almost like a work of art that wasn't meant to be used in combat. He turned to Anko and asked her to explain herself. He couldn't help but feel happy and honored when he learned that Naruto had forged these throwing knives for him. She also informed him that he had created a set for her.

"How does that boy manage to surprise me on a regular basis?" Sandaime enquired aloud.

Anko, like the last time, gave a detailed account of Naruto's progress. How he'd mastered the chakra scalpel exercise and the jutsu he'd learned, and how he'd made his own storage scroll. She also told him about Naruto's desire to try the gravity seal. She inquired about the dangers posed by such a seal. Sandaime quickly reassured her that if Yondaime had used the seal, it was perfectly safe to use.

"Is he finished with the chakra scalpel exercise? For someone with his level of chakra, that's incredible. To accomplish such a feat, he must have put in a lot of effort. What's the status of his taijutsu?" Sarutobi inquired.

Naruto spent all day practicing the chakra scalpel exercise, but once he made his first small breakthrough, it didn't take him long to finish it, according to Anko.

She also told him that his taijutsu was becoming increasingly difficult to beat as a result of his speed and strength training. Also, his stamina was greater than hers, so I couldn't continue to underestimate him. In her opinion, he was gaining strength at a rapid rate.

She also told him that she believed it was only a matter of time before he started making his own jutsu.

"Anko, how powerful do you think Naruto is now, and how powerful do you think he will be in a year? Please respond truthfully. This is critical." In a solemn tone, Sarutobi stated.

Anko was taken aback by the question and remained silent for a full minute, pondering how she would assess Naruto's strength and level honestly.

After some consideration, she informed the Sandaime Hokage that she believed Naruto was currently somewhere between Low Chunin and Medium Chunin. She gave him this level because, despite his mastery of taijutsu and chakra control, Naruto still needed to improve or acquire a number of skills.

Naruto would be between mid-level and high-level Chunin by the end of the year, she predicted. Of course, as his sensei, she was biased, but she believed that if anyone could do it, it would be Naruto.

Sarutobi nodded, pleased with Anko's straightforward response.

"I'm leaving now, Hokage-Sama," says the Hokage. Anko spoke up, the Hokage agreed, and she walked out of the office. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if she should have brought up Naruto's constant holding back; she knew he held back because of the strength behind his fists; she knew he held back because of his strength, which is mostly that of a Low-Chunin, but Anko had noticed Naruto had slipped and used up to High-Chunin, and his speed was incredible at times.

Naruto, on the other hand, had completed his mandatory training for the day around noon, giving him the rest of the afternoon to study seals.

He had an idea that he wanted to test out in the back of his mind. He'd skimmed through the book the night before and discovered something called "a blood seal" that he liked right away.

A seal that would protect his scrolls and allow only him to open them seemed like a good idea. He'd need a way to protect his clan's secrets if he wanted to start his own clan weapons and jutsu, so blood seal protection sounded ideal.

He finally succeeds in sealing one of his storage scrolls after several attempts. He applied the seal to all the storage scrolls he had made up to this point, pleased with his accomplishment. He flipped through the book, looking for something useful, knowing he had plenty of time before Anko returned.

A small note caught his eye just as he was about to give up on finding something he could do because many of the seals were still out of reach.

Yondaime had scribbled something down between two chapters, and the seal he described was one that allowed you to channel chakra into a weapon. The seal would encase the weapon in a chakra casing.

The casing would take the weapon's form and shape and have a razor-sharp edge, making the weapon even sharper and more powerful. Naruto compared it to a chakra scalpel mounted on a weapon. He could see how something like this could be useful.

The chakra scalpel had the effect of cutting through butter like a hot knife. Having such an advantage on a weapon would do a lot of damage to his opponents.

He took one of his throwing knives out of his bag and etched the seal into the blade. He took his time because he didn't want to ruin his knife by making a mistake.

He finished the seal after about a half-hour of meticulously engraving it. He was curious as to how much damage his new knife would cause. He went to the tree they had used for target practice, deciding that there was no better time than now. He had a little trouble getting the right amount of chakra into the seal.

He threw the knife at the target with all the strength he could muster when he saw a blue glow appear around it, just like the book said.

He saw the Kunai piercing the trees and not stopping until the tenth tree, keeping his gaze fixed on the weapon.

He went over to the target tree and noticed that the knife had gone right through it, as if it didn't exist. When he retrieved his knife, he noticed that the chakra casing had vanished; he reasoned that the casing had vanished when the knife passed through the first tree. Then it was just a regular throwing knife.

Naruto was collecting knives when Anko arrived.

"Is everything okay, Naruto? What is it that has put you in such a good mood?" Anko inquired, a little worried.

"Anko sensei, keep an eye on this." Naruto didn't say anything else. He walked over to the tree, followed by Anko.

He threw the knife at the tree after channeling some chakra into it. Anko dropped the scroll she was holding when she saw the knife go through the tree. She managed to ask Naruto how the hell he did that, looking shocked and unable to believe what she had just witnessed. As a result, Naruto began to explain how to apply the blood seal to his storage scroll and where to find the weapon's seal in the book. He told her he had tried it on one knife and was so pleased with the results that he immediately began engraving the seal into his other knives.

'He did it all in one day? The gaki with seals is getting better and better. What else is he going to come up with? I can't wait to see how all those jerks at the civil council react when they realize how talented Naruto is. 'Wow, that'll be a sight to behold.' With a smile on his face, Anko pondered.

"Hey Gaki, how about we go to the Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate?" She asked, pointing to the direction behind her.

Naruto nodded in agreement and followed her behind. Soon they were making their way there, walking through the streets. It was dusk, and there were people everywhere.

Naruto couldn't help but feel the glares towards... Anko. Since the first week, Naruto had noticed that his lady friend wasn't very popular with the citizens of the Konoha. Still, unlike him, who mainly was disliked by the Civilian side, Anko was actually disliked by the Shinobi side.

The blonde wondered why, if she had done something that had angered them. Anko seemed to not care about what they said about her.

She had gotten used to them, but it was mostly the Chunin and some Genins that called her like this, the Jonin side mostly didn't care, and Kurenai and Yugao were her best friends.

They were almost at the Ichiraku Ramen when someone marched towards them. From his clothes, Anko and Naruto could tell this one was a Chunin.

"Look at this, a Snake Bitch and Demon Fox, the..." everything seemed to have stopped. Anko didn't understand what happened and didn't have time.

One moment the Chunin was standing so close to them that she could smell the alcohol coming out of his mouth, but the following moment, a crash happened to a store near them.

Anko was confused. She turned to see the very same Shinobi lying on rubble, his head bleeding from several different places around his head, but what shocked Anko was Naruto standing close to him glaring at him with Ice Blue eyes. Anko was almost reminded of the eyes of her monster former sensei, the way he looked at someone he hated or desired; she almost felt frightened from his eyes, despite his eyes being aimed at the Chunin and not at her.

Anko felt her throat dry, almost frozen; she couldn't comprehend how fast had Naruto moved; she had seen nothing; she knew he always held back whenever he fought her, but this was just ridiculous.

Naruto stood over the Shinobi, who had his head down, the blonde looked down on him, the Shinobi slowly raised his head, his eyes from confusion to anger and hatred.

"Just wha..." he was stopped when he felt Naruto grabbing his throat; he couldn't talk and couldn't breathe, grabbing his hand, he tried to free himself but couldn't move the demon's hands from his throat not even an inch...

"Listen here, worm, next time you talk like that, Your head bleeding will be the last thing you will Worry About," Naruto promised, leaning closer, his ice eyes piercing his soul like a knife.

The Shinobi felt frozen from his gaze, from the sheer strength of his. The Shinobi could only nod; Naruto released his grip and walked towards Anko, completely ignoring the number of people gathered to see what was happening.

"We can leave if you want", Naruto suggested, but Anko almost couldn't hear him; he looked at the Shinobi who stood up, holding his head with his hand, trying to stop the blood.

Anko glanced at Naruto before she nodded; this was not the best night to go to Ichiraku.

Soon Anko reached her home, and Naruto had walked her to it; she turned to the blonde who looked unfazed by what had just happened.

"I appreciate you standing up for me, Naruto, but you shouldn't have done that, now people..." she was stopped when Naruto spoke.

"Why do people hate you? I mean, people have hated me since I could remember myself, but why you? Is it because you're training me?" Naruto asked, playing the ignorant, knowing that wasn't the case.

Kakashi trained the blonde, and no one hated him, but that wasn't the case for Anko.

The snake woman avoided his eye contact, instinctively touched the place where her cursed mark was; she hadn't mentioned the curse mark or Orochimaru to her little student; she didn't want him to feel pity for her.

But now, she knew if she just acted as if nothing was wrong, Naruto might think she didn't trust him, sighing. She turned her eyes at him.

"Have you heard of Orochimaru, The Sannin Snake?"