Changing the Story
Chapter 4- Preparing for the Future
Words- 6,259
Disclaimer- Naruto and Its character belong to Kishimoto, "Changing the Story" and Its Ocs are my creation, please don't steal.
Time skip- 4 days later
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Naruto awakens in her dilapidated apartment feeling a bit groggy. Sitting up in her bed, she takes a peak at the clock on the wall and notices that, for once, she slept past 5am. The clock reads 7:56 am.
'I don't know if I should take that as a good sign or not' she thinks to herself while stretching her arms high into the air, listening to the sound of her shoulders popping.
A week had already passed since she found herself in the Naruto world.
Since arriving, she had managed to convince both the Nara and Yamanaka clan heads, as well as the Hokage, of her story.
Not only that, but she also managed to befriend both Kotetsu and Izuna and even Hana to a certain degree.
'Well we haven't actually hung out since the playground, but we did meet again and get to know each other a bit more.' her memory takes her back to the meeting.
(Flashback- 3 days ago)
Naruto sits at the table in her dining room, a cup of green tea in front of her and the scroll of beginner fuinjutsu that she got at the library in her hands.
The scroll is filled with a description of what Fuinjutsu is and how Seals are made. It even includes several seals one can practice drawing without sealing ink to get a feel of what It's like to make one.
'It's a very basic beginner's guide that even a child can follow along with.' Naruto thinks to herself, 'But I can see why It's considered so hard to master.' Her brows scrunch up.
'It's basically a form of coding, however, enter the wrong formula, and your "computer" will blow up and possibly decimate a building or two' Naruto winces at the prospect.
'Actually, a more accurate description would probably be coding mixed with bomb diffusing' Naruto feels sweat drip down her face at the thought of having to master such a complex thing.
Naruto sighs before straightening her back and pretending to crack her knuckles (she's always been too scared to actually crack them). Lifting her ink brush, she attempts her first go at one of the seals. She is interrupted before the brush can touch the paper by a knock at her door. She freezes, startled.
Taking a second to go through who it could be, she sets her brush down and rises up from the chair.
"Coming!" she shouts to the door walking over.
Opening the door partially, she takes a peak to see who it is, and- recognizing the leaf headbands- opens it wider.
Outside are three ninjas, one of which Naruto knows already.
"Hana-chan!" Naruto exclaims excitedly.
Both girls smile at each other, surprised to see the other so soon.
"Naruto-chan! I didn't know you were the one who put in this mission!" she informs Naruto stepping around and in front of the other two genin to greet Naruto.
Understanding comes over Naruto as she figures out why their here.
"Ah! You must have picked up the mission I requested," she tells her while fully propping the door open.
Naruto watches the other two genin, noticing how they stayed further away from the girls with looks of uncertainty and slight disgust. Naruto smiles awkwardly at them before meeting the eyes of Hana.
"We were told to stop here to pick up the list of items you needed?" Hana says questioningly, ignoring the behavior of her teammates.
"Yes!", Naruto tells her while backing up further into her apartment.
"It's right over here, let me grab it real quick," she tells her while walking to the kitchen area and opening a drawer. Inside the drawer is a piece of paper Naruto had previously written the information on. There is also an envelope with some money. Grabbing both, she heads back to the door and hands them to Hana.
"Here's the list. It's mostly grocery items that you can find at any of the main food stores. However, I do also need some new ninja tools if you don't mind picking them up. They're listed on that paper as well, just some Kunais, ninja Shurikens, and a new Medical kit."
Hana grabs the items from Naruto and quickly glimpses at the list. Before she can say anything, one of her teammates speaks up.
"Why do we have to pick up your stuff? You think you're better than us, don't you, you demon." He scoffs at Naruto and glares at her. The other genin follows his lead and mirrors him.
"Muri! Don't be rude to the client!" Hana snaps at him turning around and standing directly between Naruto and the boys.
Both boys wince at the shout but don't stop glaring.
"C'mon, She's the demon brat! Why do we have to do her chores for her?" Muri exclaims.
Naruto attempts to defend herself but Hana beats her to it.
"It doesn't matter if the client needs us to wipe their ass! A mission is a mission! The village accepted it and we were chosen to finish it! Unless you want to go back to the Hokage tower and explain to lord Third and Sensei why we were incapable of completing a simple D-rank mission on our own?!" She half shouts, scolding the boys.
At this point Naruto is holding back her laughter at the faces the genin are making.
'Kami...no wonder Kiba turned out the way he is in the anime if he had her as a sister' Naruto slightly smirks at the genin when it's clear they have nothing more to say about the subject.
Hana seems to come to the same conclusion as she faces Naruto once more.
"As stand-in leader of this team, while Sensei is recovering from our previous Suna trip, I accept this mission and agree to have everything on this list back to you by 3 hours from now." She tells Naruto while putting the paper and money securely in her front pocket.
Naruto feels content knowing Hana was the one chosen for this mission.
'Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have put it past some teams to have tried to have messed up some things on purpose, or heck, even maybe poison some of the food items...I probably should have considered that...' Naruto thinks.
Hana and Naruto make eye contact once more, an understanding passing between them.
Naruto gives Hana a Kakashi-style eye-smile, then responds to her previous statement.
"Thank you, Ninja-sans! I appreciate your help with this."
The three Genins turn away and only Hana gives Naruto any sort of acknowledgment.
End of Flashback
Getting up from her bed, Naruto goes into the bathroom and starts getting ready for the day. After brushing her teeth and combing her hair into two twin braids, she goes into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
'I really need to thank Hana for doing such an amazing job.' Naruto looks at her kitchen full of ingredients. 'That girl somehow managed to haggle the merchants well enough that they only used half of the money I gave her. Plus, she used some of the extra money to get me even more things that I didn't think to list, such as spices.'
"I'll have to make her something as a thank-you gift," Naruto tells herself while getting out some eggs and vegetables, and preparing to make a simple omelet.
She throws some peppers, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese together and gets to work.
After devouring her breakfast, Naruto gets out her scroll on elemental Jutsu and starts reading. She skims over most of the beginning until she gets to the important part.
"Wind Release is one of the five basic elemental nature transformations. It is performed by making chakra as sharp and thin as possible. Wind Release is mainly short to mid-ranged offensive techniques that combine brute force and keen precision to deal cutting and slashing damage. A rarity among the five chakra natures, wind techniques are usually performed by generating air circulation and can be enhanced through this method as well. Wind-natured chakra can also be channeled into blades to increase their cutting power and overall range."
Naruto pauses in her reading, thinking.
'As sharp and thin as possible huh? I probably won't be able to master my chakra control to that level for several years from now.' She thinks being honest with herself.
"I can start working on some chakra exercises in the meantime, such as the leaf exercise and tree walking."
Suddenly, a gentle knock is heard from right beside Naruto's head and the blond jumps out of her chair terrified.
"What the fuck?" she bursts out putting her hand to her chest.
An ANBU member's mask is seen peeping through the window and Naruto feels her heart drop for a second before deciding to see what they need. Opening up the window, the ANBU member slides in and proceeds to take a look at the surroundings. Naruto feels her eyebrow twitch when the Black ops agent doesn't instantly inform her what the hell Is going on.
Coughing to get his(or her) attention, Naruto attempts to get answers.
"Umm...Can I help you pal?" She says in an annoyed voice.
The ANBU stops their gazing around and seems to look directly at Naruto. All is silent between the two for at least 30 seconds before Naruto's anxiety kicks in and she blurts out the only thing on her mind.
"Look, if you don't tell me what's going on within the next 30 seconds I'm screaming pedophile at the top of my lungs and I'm gonna tell them you're a spy from Iwagakure."
That gets the agent's attention as he starts to stare intently at the blond trying to intimidate her. Naruto raises her eyebrows at him and takes in a deep breath preparing to follow through on the threat.
He responds before she can.
"Lord Third has summoned you to his office immediately. You are to come with me now." A deep voice speaks up and Naruto thinks she knows the voice.
Naruto wonders what would happen if she declines, but before the thought even finishes, she's being thrown over a shoulder for the second time since finding herself in this world.
Naruto feels herself spinning for a fraction of a second then everything is still again. The ANBU member drops her on the ground and Naruto jumps up to yell at him before he can teleport away.
"Do that again and I'll be sure to kick you in your family jewels, you antisocial ass!" she screams at him right as he's disappearing again.
Naruto doesn't get to see a reaction as he's too fast.
A snicker is heard from behind Naruto and she spins around to face her new audience.
Shikaku stands in front of the Hokage desk and Hiruzen sits behind it, both looking amused at Naruto's antics.
"Antisocial ass huh?" Shikaku responds, "I don't think I've ever come across someone with the balls to tell that boy that..." He smirks.
"You better keep an eye open the next time you fall asleep." He tells her.
Naruto takes in her new surroundings inside the Hokage office and notices that it's only her, Shikaku, and Lord Third.
"I'm not too worried about it, after all, I could always blackmail him by threatening to spoil the next Icha Icha make-out books..." she tells them with a threatening smile.
Both men tense up before nervously chuckling.
"Ah, that's one way of doing things, I suppose," says the Third before taking a big puff of his pipe.
"No Inoichi-Sama today?" she questions the men, walking closer, so she's standing beside the Jonin commander.
"No, he had a clan meeting he had to attend to" replies Shikaku.
"Ah...so what can I help the two of you with then?" she questions them.
The Third responds first.
"It has been decided that, given the nature of things, Shikaku-san will lead what I've now decided to call 'Operation Orange Overthrow'"
Naruto snickers at the name.
'After I learn the Kage Shadow Clone Jutsu, that name is going to be perfect.' Naruto thinks, reminding herself to ask Hiruzen about it while she's here.
Hiruzen continues his talking, "It had been confirmed that Mizuki was working together with Orochimaru, as such, we are more tempted to believe your explanation for your new-found knowledge." Hiruzen takes another drag from his pipe.
"However, do not be fooled into thinking that any of us fully trust you, Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto stiffens up at his words, afraid of where this is going.
"The only reason we haven't acted upon anything you've said so far is because we had to be certain of the situation. Given that your words are showing some accuracy, we will be more inclined to respond in a different nature, do you understand where I am going, Naruto?" The Professor asks her with a steady gaze.
Naruto takes a slow and guided breath before responding.
"I think..." she says then pauses another second, "I think that I have an idea."
"Good," continues the Hokage, "Then like I was saying, Shikaku-san will lead this operation with Inoichi-san as his second. Do you have any questions so far, Naruto?"
Naruto nods her head looking unsure.
"I do have a few questions on how this will work, Hokage-sama." She tells him.
"For one, are Shikaku-sama and Inoichi-sama to report to you about everything we discuss?"
The Hokage sets his pipe on his desk and slowly rises out of his chair. He walks to the windows and proceeds to stare out them, rethinking his previous thoughts.
"No," he tells her, still facing the windows.
"I have decided to leave this decision to the Heads of the Nara and Yamanaka clans, to prevent the council and Lord Danzo from hearing about it," he tells her.
Shikaku speaks up seemingly unsure of his leader's plans.
"Lord Third, are you sure you wish to leave this operation in mine and Inoichi's hands? The possibilities of what we can encounter are endless, as such, who knows what we will learn that will affect the safety of the village?" the Nara head explains.
Hiruzen takes a moment to debate his options and Naruto takes it as an opportunity to say her opinion.
"I agree with Lord Third, Shikaku-sama," The Nara looks at her.
"It would be… easier… to take on this mission without the council and Danzo hovering over our shoulders." She tells him while looking directly into Shikaku's eyes, hoping he would understand her reasoning.
"After all, It's best to pull out weeds by the root..." she finishes.
Shikaku has no obvious reaction, but he does turn to face the Hokage once more, seemingly more swayed.
Hiruzen stares at Naruto, thinking about the young girl's words before sighing and finally walking back to his desk to sit back down. He feels more tired than ever.
"Naruto is right, if we are to act efficiently, then it's best for not too many people to be involved."
"I see," responds Shikaku.
"As it stands, you and Inoichi are both trustworthy individuals with the safety of the village on your minds."
All three of them are silent for a moment, thinking about what has been said.
Shikaku speaks up first.
"If it's what you wish, Lord Hokage, then I accept." he says while bowing to the Hokage, "Despite how troublesome this whole situation is..."
Naruto smiles at his response.
'That's a huge bullet dodged' she thinks to herself.
'If Hiruzen chose to intervene then I could have fully lost all say in matters. Shikaku and Inoichi will have more freedom to react without the councils' claws in them.' Naruto relaxes a bit.
"Do you have any more questions in the meantime, Naruto-kun?" the Third asks her.
"No, Lord Third, I think that's all I needed to hear for now," Naruto tells him.
The Hokage folds his hands together.
"Then Shikaku, I think I will leave the rest of the planning to you."
Shikaku nods his head once and then looks toward Naruto. He starts walking towards the door to leave.
"I will reach out to you in the future to discuss this further." he tells her, "Expect a messenger from the Nara clan in the next day or so. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your day," he tells her with a slightly evil glint in his eye.
Naruto watches him leave the room with confusion and a tad bit of worry.
"Should I be… concerned...about that?" she asks nobody in particular.
The Hokage chuckles behind her and Naruto feels a sense of impending doom crawl down her back.
She turns around to face the Hokage once more.
"You see, Naruto-kun, we had a Jonin finish his trip in record time from Kumo," he tells her, smiling with a knowing look.
Naruto feels herself getting more confused, unsure of what the hell the old man is talking about. Suddenly, the door Shikaku just left through is swung wide open and Naruto feels a headache coming on.
"Yosh!" A voice shouts right beside Naruto's ear and she flinches in slight fear.
"I hear a youthful student is requesting my tutelage!" the voice half cries.
Naruto takes in the appearance of the newcomer and feels a tear leak out of her eye at the death of her future dignity.
"Ye-yeah, Gai-san...That would be me..." she tells him trying not to whimper.
The Hokage looks on with amusement, lighting his much-needed pipe.
"Gai-san, this is Naruto, the student who requested to be taught Taijutsu by you," he says with a straight face.
Naruto throws a quick glare at the Hokage for not warning her. He gives her a Kakashi eye-smile. Naruto feels her eye twitch.
'I'm going to die.' she thinks.
Gai looks at the blonde taking in her size and walks until he's right in front of her, leaning in to be directly in her face.
Naruto stares at the man's eyebrows, refusing to look him directly in the eye.
"Hmmm," the man starts, "Young Kunoichi...say..how old are you?" he asks her.
Naruto takes a step back and straightens her back, getting some form of courage.
"I am nine, Ninja-san, and you?" she throws back at him.
"Ah!" he exclaims while standing straight back up as well.
"I am not quite as young as you, but also not quite as old as the Hokage!" he tells her smiling and giving her his signature thumbs up.
Naruto sweatdrops.
'This...this man...is gonna be the reason I go to therapy at a young age, isn't he?' she tells herself.
Said man suddenly claps his hand together in a loud bang.
"So, you wish to have me as a Sensei, do you?" he questions her.
"Yes?" Naruto answers, questioning her sanity.
Gai bobbles his head up and down in confirmation then talks some more.
"Well, I can't just accept anyone as my first student! We will have to test your current abilities and decide if you have what it takes to keep up!" he tells her.
Naruto feels her face go white, "Te-test?!"
"Yosh!" he responds while starting to stretch in the middle of the Hokage's office.
"First test!" He shouts while getting into a sprinting position.
"First one to training ground 5 wins!"
He takes off and Naruto feels a breeze slap her from his speed.
She sits there in dead silence not moving for over a minute.
The Hokage coughs and Naruto starts flailing her arms in exaggeration.
"I don't even know where the hell training ground 5 is!" She proclaims while sprinting out the door after her (potentially) future Sensei.
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Time skip-1 hour later
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To say that Naruto was exhausted would be an understatement.
It took the blonde 20 minutes of running around before she happened to run into Izumo who told her where to find training ground 5. She nearly cried when he told her it was in the opposite direction from where she was at currently. Another 10 minutes of jogging and sprinting found her collapsing on the ground at Gai's feet at training ground 5.
Gai immediately had her get up and start doing reps of push-ups, sit-ups, knee highs, and lunges. She was on her 48th lunge on her right leg when Gai told her to stop.
She instantly felt herself crashing to the ground.
'Holy shit,' she thinks while wheezing into the grass, 'This is a hundred times worse than the damn fitness gram pacer test I was forced to do in PE'
Trying to slow her breathing and her pounding heart, Naruto realizes that Gai is talking to her about something.
"-must endure, even when pushed past one's own limits." He tells her in between his own set of lunges.
He stops and Naruto briefly hears him mutter 500 as he finishes.
'This man is an absolute freak of nature' she thinks still trying to catch her breath.
'But still, this man is the one who was able to hold his own against Madara, when no one else came close.' Naruto stands back up, her legs shaking from the excursion.
'That means that even if I only learn a portion of his abilities, I'll still be leagues ahead of the previous Naruto.' Gai notices her standing back up and gives her a double thumbs-up.
"Nicely done, Young Naruto! The power of youth is as bright as ever in you!" He shouts.
Naruto grimaces at him, but is quickly swept off her feet by an unseen force. She lands on her back once again and is momentarily stunned.
'What- what just happened' She feels herself coughing, trying to regain the breath that was just knocked out of her. Her eyes catch a movement about a foot from her face on her left and she automatically rolls on the ground in the opposite direction to avoid it. She ends up on her stomach and lifts her head up to try to figure out what's going on.
Gai's leg is currently in the spot she was just laying in. She balks at the small indent in the ground.
"Are you trying to kill me, Gai!" she screams at him, slightly worried that he's going overboard.
"Nonsense, young flower! I'm merely testing your abilities like I said I would!" he shouts back at her.
Naruto lets out a screech as he somehow manages to completely disappear from her view as she's looking at him.
Scrambling to get up, her eyes frantically zoom around the grounds trying to locate him, once more.
She fails to notice the shadow at her feet and feels something slam into her from above.
'This is it she tells herself, 'This is how I die'
The impact causes her to splat back onto the ground for the third time. Naruto debates not getting up.
'Ow...ow...owwwww!' Her whole body screams at her.
The weight lifts off of her and Gai lets out a chuckle.
"I uh.. thought you'd be fast enough to dodge that one, huh?" he tells her while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
Naruto feels herself letting off the slightest amount of killing intent.
Still lying on the ground, she angles her head to look at Gai.
"Gai-san...You do remember that I'm only nine, right?" she tells him while grinding her teeth.
"How the hell is a nine-year-old supposed to keep up with the speed of the green beast?"
Gai lets out a loud laugh and continues to rub the back of his neck.
"Ha! I guess I probably should have slowed down just a bit!" he suggests.
"A bit!?" Naruto exclaims in disbelief.
Gai puts his hand under his chin, getting a thoughtful look on his face.
'Well, I did lessen my speed to that of which a nine-year-old could be capable of handling' Gai thinks to himself.
'However, I don't suppose I should be using Kakashi's and I's nine-year-old selves as the basis...'
Gai claps his hands again and watches Naruto on the ground.
'Still, the girl did manage to avoid my second attack.' he considers, 'Maybe she does have what it takes to be my first student.'
Naruto continues trying to catch her breath while still keeping an eye out in case the Jonin decides to attack a fourth time.
'He's fast' she tells herself, 'Which I knew, but seeing it in person is different.'
Naruto tries to get up for the third time and stumbles. Her back and chest feel sore from the falls.
'I can't stop myself from shaking' She thinks.
'I've barely been with Gai for an hour, and already, I'm almost at my limits. I'll need to work on my stamina before I can train with anything else'
Gai watches the young girl struggling to stand and breathe. He decides to allow the girl to take a quick break and sits down.
"Oh, thank Kami," Naruto says while mimicking him and face-planting back into the ground.
Gai has a contemplating look on his face. He speaks up, addressing Naruto.
"Stand back up and get into a fighting stance."
Naruto groans into the dirt, then complies.
Her arms are heavy and her whole body trembles in the stance.
"Alright, sit back down," Gai tells her.
She slowly lowers herself into the ground, sitting cross-legged like Gai.
Gai puts his hand to his chin, thinking.
"Your stance is the worst I've ever seen, to be honest, and you aren't too quick on your feet," he tells her without remorse.
"But, you did manage to do more reps than I expected in the beginning, as well as kept up with my commands without much resistance…" he continues.
He pauses for a second and Naruto starts to get a little bit anxious.
"I'll agree to take you on as a student," he finishes. Naruto feels excitement and anxiety at his words.
"However, as I am a Jonin of the leaf, It is expected for me to be out of the village frequently. I expect you to continue your studies and training without me, during that time. Also, since you are currently still in the academy, you must promise to keep up with attendance and grades." He concludes
Naruto shakes her head in agreement.
'Might Gai is going to teach me!' she screams internally.
'I might actually have a chance at this...' she tells herself.
"I agree to those terms, Gai-sensei," she speaks out loud.
Gai gets a huge smile on his face before he jumps up from his seated position and stands in his signature pose.
"Yosh! Then It's decided! From now on, you are my first youthful student!" He cries out.
"Training will begin tomorrow!" he shouts then much quieter, "I have yet to unpack from my previous mission, as such, enjoy the rest of your evening, my pupil."
He disappears in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto sits there, stunned.
'Well, I guess this means I have some potential?' She questions.
Naruto slowly gets up, feeling her joints crackle.
'I have Gai-sensei to train me in Taijutsu and stamina, now I just need a teacher for fuinjutsu and chakra control'
'Until I can become more proficient with those four, that's all I can focus on in the meantime.
Naruto starts walking out of the training ground.
'I'm close to being dead on my feet, but my stomach is starting to grumble.'
"Ramen" Naruto says out loud.
"I need Ramen"
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Scene change- Ichiraku's Ramen
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Walking up to the ramen shop, Naruto starts to get self-conscious about how ragged and dirty she looks.
'Maybe I'll just go home and cook something, I'm pretty dirty from rolling around in the dirt' she tells herself. She starts to turn around at the entrance.
A shout from inside stops her.
"Naruto! Is that you? Get in here, brat!" Naruto pauses at the voice, unsure of who it is.
Deciding to check it out, she pushes aside the curtains and enters.
Several people are inside, leaving only one seat empty at the far left end.
Naruto tenses up, preparing to be yelled at by the customers.
The same voice from outside speaks up once again and Naruto relaxes at the sight of Kotetsu.
"How have you been, brat? Still studying the scrolls from the library?" he asks her in between bites of his ramen.
Naruto smiles at him and notices Izumo right beside him.
'I think I can deduct the identity of the other three ninjas as well' she tells herself while timidly walking to the end of the table to sit next to a brunette.
"I finished both of the Taijutsu scrolls, but I need to take another look at the fuinjutsu scroll," she responds to Kotetsu while smiling at Teuchi as he walks behind the counter. The ramen shop owner nods his head at her and smiles back.
"Miso with pork, Naruto-kun?" he asks her.
Naruto responds with a "Yes, Please!"
At this point, most of the other Jonins and Chunnins have gone silent.
The brunette besides Naruto decides to speak up.
"Fuinjutsu, huh," he says finishing his bowl of ramen and putting a sebbon into his mouth.
Naruto smiles as her suspicion is confirmed.
"Isn't that advanced for someone your age?" he questions her.
Naruto smiles at him and answers him truthfully.
"Well, I've only recently decided to try my hand at it, so I don't know if I'll be any good at it, yet," she tells him.
"However, I am half Uzumaki, so it's not too far of a reach," she concludes
Genma nods his head at her, thoughtfully.
"Hmm, I suppose it isn't" he responds.
Naruto looks around at Kotetsu and Izumo at the far end of the table and tries to catch their attention.
"How did your guy's date to Wave go, by the way, Kotetsu, Izumo?"
Both men start choking on their ramen and Raidou snorts.
"It wasn't a date!" both men shout at the same time.
Genma and Raidou look at each other with shit-eating grins on their faces.
"See?" Genma starts, "Even the gaki thinks it was a date." he says like he was already joking with the Chunnins about it.
Kotetsu puts his hand behind his back and Naruto misses the rude gesture sent towards Genma.
Genma smiles even wider.
"The mission went fine, brat, thanks for asking," Izumo tells her while rolling his eyes at the brunette.
Naruto snickers at his reaction.
"How are you today, kid? You look like you just rolled around at the playground" he continues.
Naruto takes a second to answer as Teuchi sets down her ramen.
"I'm doing good, I just got done training with Gai-sensei," she tells him while breaking apart her chopsticks and starting to devour her ramen.
She feels Genma tense up beside her, but it's the man in the middle, that has yet to speak up, that talks.
"What do you mean "training with Gai-sensei"?" he questions her.
The man had stopped eating and tensed up the moment Naruto walked in.
"Might Gai doesn't have a genin team yet, and even if he did, you'd be too young to be on it," he states matter-of-factually.
Naruto glimpses at the tokubetsu Jonin and wonders what crawled up his ass and gave him permission to be rude to her.
She swallows the bit of ramen she's chewing on and answers him.
"Gai-sensei agreed to take me on as a student less than an hour ago, ninja-san," she says sharply.
"For reasons that are my own, I've decided to pay a Jonin to tutor me. Given Gai-sensei's track record, he was chosen." she finishes, refusing to say any more.
The man seems upset with the new information and is about to bombard the girl with more questions when Genma interrupts.
"Gai was a good choice," he tells her.
"He may seem like an idiot at times, but there are not many ninjas in the village that can compete with him." He says while getting up.
Raidou rises to stand up with him and Ebisu hesitantly follows, not quite wanting to be done with the conversation.
Genma runs his hand across Naruto's head messing up her hair. Naruto blushes at the action, not used to being shown affection.
'Genma was a part of Minato's protection squad, along with Raidou and Iwashi.'Naruto remembers.
'I wonder if any of them are aware of my parentage?' she wonders
"Good luck with your training. You'll need it if you're to put up with Gai" Genma tells her while smirking.
Raidou nods his head at her as their leaving and Ebisu just walks out.
Naruto rolls her eyes at him but bids the rest farewell
"It was nice meeting you, shinobi-san," says Naruto.
Kotetsu and Izumo stay behind, still eating.
All three continue their eating with little talking.
'Genma seemed as nice as I recall him being' she thinks to herself. 'Raidou didn't seem rude at least, unlike Ebisu.' Naruto finishes her bowl and signals to Teuchi for one more.'I wonder if I can convince Genma to help me out?' Naruto catches Kotetsu looking at her. She smiles at him and tilts her head.
"I was wondering, kid" he starts saying "Why are you suddenly so focused on training yourself recently?" he questions, setting his chopstick down.
Izumo looks between both of them, having finished his food just before Kotetsu. Naruto thinks about his question and responds hesitantly.
"Well...I just learned some interesting news about a week ago that gave me a change of perspective" she tells him.
Teuchi sets another bowl in front of Naruto, but the girl doesn't touch it right away.
Kotetsu notices that Izumo is finished and he reaches into one of his pockets to pay for the pair.
"A change of perspective, huh?" he repeats Naruto's words while standing up.
Izumo stands up beside him.
"I learned why the villagers hate me, to put it bluntly," Naruto tells them while starting to rub her arms, unsure if this is a good idea.
Both Kotetsu and Izumo freeze in their movements. A clang is heard from behind the counter and both ninjas and the girl jump at the sound.
"Ah, sorry, Shinobi-san's, Naruto...a spoon accidentally slipped out of my hands…" Teuchi tells them, rubbing his head sheepishly.
Izumo reacts first.
"No worries, Teuchi-san," he says while looking back at Naruto. She continues to stare at her bowl, still untouched.
Kotetsu follows Izumo's lead, reassuring the cook.
"Yeah, don't worry about it, it's not your fault."
Naruto feels a hand on her head, mimicking Genma's action from earlier. Kotetsu smiles at her with a questioning look.
"Izumo and I ought to go, we have guard duty later tonight and need to sleep some before then. See you again sometime, kid?" he asks her with a sad smile on his face.
Naruto smiles at the gesture and nods her head at him.
"Good luck with your training, Naruto." He removes his hand.
Izumo gives her a head nod as they walk away. Watching them leave, Naruto is worried she made the wrong decision in telling them.
"Your ramen is going to get cold if you don't finish it soon, Naru-kun."
Naruto turns back around noticing Teuchi is standing in front of her with a towel thrown over his shoulders.
"Thank you, Teuchi-sama," she tells him while finally digging into her second bowl."
Teuchi sighs and then starts to pick up the dishes the Jonin and Chunnins made.
'I can't expect everyone to trust me from the begging' Naruto thinks about her encounter with the jonins, 'still, it hurt a bit having Ebisu talk to me like that.'
Naruto slurps up some noodles, trying to enjoy the flavor and relax.
'I'll have to work hard like the original Naruto did and make friends where I can.' Naruto finishes her bowl.
"Thank you for the meal, Teuchi-sama!" she tells him while placing some ryo down.
The cook chuckles at her enthusiasm, watching her run off into the village.
'Naruto Uzumaki….You're becoming more and more like your parents each day.' he thinks to himself.
'I would how Minato would react to how you've turned out.' he chuckles picking up the blond's bowls.
End Chapter
Authors note- I somehow managed to get another chapter out this week. Inspiration really strikes randomly! I kinda feel like putting my writing on hold though because of the writer's strike happening in the filming world. But, I would never deprive my fellow Anime weebs of their daily hit of Naruto fanfiction :)
Anyways! I'd still appreciate any advice or tips for this FF. Do you guys think I'm going too slow with the world-building or too fast? Also, do you guys think I'm portraying each character accurately or would you say certain characters would react differently in any specific interaction?
And one last thing! I'm currently interested in a Beta(the editing kind, not the other kind) and would love to talk to someone if they're interested in helping me out! Thank you guys so far for all the support! Changing the Story is currently at 23 followers and 12 favorites and we're also right around 20,000 words!
Expect the next chapter to have a time skip of a few weeks. I wanna get to Naruto being at the academy and see how several weeks of Gai's training will impact things. Also, Iruka-Sensei will be here finally!