Hope everyone is having a good day. But first I will have to explain some things.
1. I know that some were confused about the seal placed on Kakashi's neck and no it is not a cursed seal. It will be explained towards the end of the chapter.
2. I might have a conjoined mission with Team 7 and Team 8 before the Chunin Exams as I think it would be a pretty good idea. So, thank you for the idea to whoever said that. They don't have a username, so I don't know who specifically said it.
3. That should be it as far as that goes. So, I hope every has an incredible day and hope that you will enjoy my chapter.
Chapter 6: Settling In
2 DAYS LATER
Naruto was glad to be at the gates of the village. He was annoyed with everything that transpired with Sasuke. The thing that made him angry was how he was unable to do anything about it. He promised himself he would listen to what Asuma said, but it was damn near hard too. He forced himself to be in the middle of everyone when they were walking to create a barrier between everyone. Ino had stood near him which didn't surprise him. Sasuke did kind of try to kill her but what made him question the events the most was Sakura still tried to get Sasuke's attention. She is acting as if nothing has happened over the past week.
He was interrupted from their thoughts by the well-known "Eternal Gate Guards" Izumo and Kotetsu. To be honest he didn't mind them as they had been nice to him for years. He did and didn't understand what they saw guarding the gates of the village. It could be fun and boring at the same time but still, you would think that Jonin of their caliber could be out on big missions.
"Team 7 and Team 10 reported back on a C-rank turned A-rank mission," said Kakashi putting his book away.
"Wow, that sounds like a fun experience," remarked Izumo sitting up in his chair.
"It certainly was, but we would like to report to the old man, that, these guys are tired," said Asuma gesturing to the half-asleep genin. Kotetsu chuckled, "Well, we won't hold you, getting going to Lord 3rd."
With that, they made their way to the office. The thing that made Naruto mad was how he had to make a report. You had to when a mission rank changes like the way it did. It went from sensei to students. He was more upset because they played nose goes and he had to be the very last when it came down to it. There was a smile on his face when the old man found out about what Sasuke did. He was sure the whole village could hear it.
IN THE OFFICE
"Sasuke Uchiha, YOU DID WHAT?!" he yelled slamming his hands down.
"Like I said, I use the Substitution Jutsu on Ino Yamanaka," he said calmly.
Hiruzen gritted his teeth. He hadn't had a case like this since he was in his 30s. Even then it was between shinobi who were in the Jonin rank. This was a Genin who did a stunt like this, and he was acting calmer than most shinobi.
"Sasuke Uchiha. Registration Number 012606," he said slowly radiating his killing intent at Sasuke. Sasuke arose quickly. You better hope to God that you were never referred to by your name followed by your registration number.
"You are going to listen to me and listen well. If we had more shinobi under the Leaf Village then you were to be suspended and never be redeemable for the actions you did too Ino Yamanaka. But, because we are in desperate need of shinobi now, you are to stay on active duty," he said continuing to amplify his killing intent. Sasuke could just stare at the Hokage. His killing intent was 1000x times were than Zabuza was doing.
"So as punishment, you will be given 50% of the income you make as a shinobi to Ino Yamanaka for the next 6 months,"
"W…ww…WHAT?!" he yelled, not sure how to act from this bottomless feeling he had. That was the wrong move.
"Huh, forgive me I must have misspoken, I mean 75% of your income as a shinobi," he said glaring at him more now.
He was about to speak when Hiruzen pinned him down with a glare meant for Kage-level shinobi. "If you so much as speak another word I will be giving 90% of your income for the next year to Ino, understand Uchiha." Sasuke nodded sweating bullets.
"You committed an unforgivable act. Unlike the Civilian Council, I do not play favorites. This will be a PERMANENT black mark on your record as a shinobi. I would not be proud of it. Now get the hell out of my office," he said releasing his killing intent. Sasuke hightailed it out of there and it was the funniest thing ever to Naruto.
"Naruto Uzumaki, it is time for your report," said a cat-masked Anbu.
He smiled a foxy smile, "Thanks Cat." He got up from his chair and made his way to the office.
He came into a smiling old man. "Naruto-kun, my boy. How was your first C-rank…well…A-rank mission I mean."
"Pretty fun, learned a lot," he said sitting down.
"Well, I think you know how this works, you give me a report of this mission and you can be on your way," he said leaning his chair and eyeing him differently.
Naruto for the next hour proceeded to tell him everything. From the Demon Brothers, Zabuza and Haku, Inari, the battle on the bridge, and even his plans to help them complete the mission. He had a bit of a hard time talking about what Sasuke did and what Zabuza did.
Hiruzen put down his pencil and stroked his chin smiling. "Listen Naruto-kun, you have improved so much in a short amount of time it is amazing. Though there is one thing I need to talk to you about Naruto-kun," he said sadly and seriously at the same time.
"Me too old man. It is a bit more personal," he said shifting uncomfortably.
"Maybe you should go first then Naruto-kun," offered Hiruzen inhaling his pipe.
"Where is the Uzumaki clan and why didn't you tell me?" Hiruzen started to cough spastically. That was the last thing he was expecting. He cleared his throat and asked a simple question.
"Where did you hear this from Naruto-kun?" Naruto pulled the Shinobi clan book from his pouch and showed it to him. Hiruzen then just accepted it. He had to tell him, and it was going to happen eventually.
"Naruto-kun. It is a very long story, and I am going to explain it to you. Though, I will have to leave out some details for the identity of your parentage." Naruto looked at him expectantly.
"I can't tell you of your parents yet Naruto. I was given strict orders by them not to tell you of them until you reached a certain rank. Your mother when you are Chunin and your father when you are Jonin." Naruto sighed and allowed him to continue.
"The Uzumaki Clan was one the most powerful clans, I dare say in all the Elemental Nations. I am sure as you have read, they are skilled in arts like Ninjutsu because of their chakra reserves, Kenjutsu, and Fuinjutsu. However, during the second great ninja war The Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Mist attacked the Uzumaki Clan in the Land of Whirlpools. They had deemed them a threat because they were too strong even though they were a peaceful village. Do you know how strong they were?" Naruto shook his head no.
"Well, there were about 1500 Uzumaki when they attacked along with the allied force of 70,000 shinobi from those villages. Nearly all the Uzumaki may have perished in the battle but the number of 70,000 dwindled to a mere 6,500. They held them off for as long as they could but in the end, it was useless. As far as I know Naruto you are the last Uzumaki left in the world. I could be wrong but you never know there may be more Uzumaki out there but that is very unlikely. Your mother was sent here before she had seen any of that. I can't tell you specifically, but she was an Uzumaki."
Naruto took all of this in and had many emotions play over him. Sadness for his clan, and happiness about his mother being an Uzumaki. It was a lot at once. "You know, old man, I want to be like them. I want to represent them and show people that Uzumaki is back and better than ever," he said pumping his fist into the air. Hiruzen smiled before getting more serious than normal.
"Now as for what I have to say to you Naruto. Why did you not tell me you were kicked out of your apartment?" he asked, not looking away from him.
Naruto's heart dropped. He had one thought, "I'm dead." "I don't know what you are talking about old man."
"Naruto I am being serious and there is no point in lying to me. I went to have Cat go to your apartment over the Wave mission to see how you have spent your money. Come to find out you were EVICTED. How did this happen," he said staring into his soul. Naruto sighed, not showing him his eyes.
"The landlord raised my rent from $800 to $1400, and I was evicted," he said quietly.
"Why did you not tell me Naruto-kun? You know damn well I would have given you another apartment. Not to mention, I have never heard of an active shinobi being homeless. You were living under a damn bridge. So, for the love of God Naruto-kun, why?" he asked upset.
Naruto walked to the window and pointed out to the village. "You see that old man; you must watch over all of that. Truth be told I didn't want to bother you for a couple of reasons. You flat-out told me about a week before the Academy that once I became a ninja, I would have to start doing stuff on my own. Secondly, you have a literally village to watch over. I mean you have at least 12,000 shinobi alone. That doesn't account for the civilians and that number is in the hundreds of thousands. I know it is a dumb reason, but I didn't want you to worry about me."
Hiruzen rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Naruto-kun, that is a dumb reason like you just said. I could have given you another apartment if you had told me. And we have already dealt with the landlord. He had no right to overcharge you. Oh, good grief kid, you are going to shave a few years off my life at this rate."
"At any rate Naruto-kun I have something for you. You will have to follow me," he said getting up from his desk. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder teleporting him out of the office. A few moments later the two of them were in front of a large gate with a seal on it. With a mansion of a house in the background.
"What is this Gramps," he asked looking at the gate.
"This my boy is your new home." Naruto was gobsmacked. This was his new home now.
"What do you mean?" he asked, still not believing him.
"Naruto I won't lie. I have messed up with you way too much. I am sorry my boy. I didn't give you the best apartment. I haven't been there as much as I would like to. I have not been a good mentor to you. I am not asking for forgiveness Naruto; I want to start making up for what I have done wrong in your life. You deserve way more. So, as my first act to help you. This will now be known as the Uzumaki Clan Compound," he said gesturing towards the massive building.
Naruto couldn't believe it. He was so overjoyed to be giving something of this magnitude. He walked up to his surrogate grandfather and hugged him tight. Hiruzen smiled and patted him on the back. When they were done, Hiruzen gestured to the gate. "This gate works with the DNA of the person to open it, though it can be modified. Though I am sure that you can figure that out. After all, you said you wanted to be like other Uzumaki and learn about seals. I reset the seal so you should be able to open it with no problem," he said smiling. He couldn't tell him the real reason was because Minato and Kushina blood was in him which was why it opened but that didn't matter right now. He and a team of Anbu clean the place of the dust and all pictures of Kushina and Minato more so as a precautionary measure.
Naruto nodded and placed his hand on the gate. The gate hummed before opened slowly to show him his new house. They walked up to it and opened the door to the inside. The place was massive with at least 3 stories and a giant backyard. Hiruzen cut him from his thoughts.
"Now Naruto listen, there are different parts of the house that will be you will be cut off from because of certain information throughout this Manor. However, I will unlock them when you are of different ranks. There is sensitive information in this house such as the library. Some of the content in there you are not ready for."
"This was my parents' house wasn't it old man," he said staring at him.
Hiruzen sighed but nodded his head, "It is my boy. It is. Your parents were very powerful people. S-rank Shinobi to be more precise. They were so well known that they had massive bounties. They had conflicts with many small villages and even big ones. So please understand something. They asked if they were to ever die that you were to be told at a certain time of who they were for your own safety as other villages may come after you if your parentage were to leak," he said seriously.
"They must've been pretty important then huh," he said to himself more than Hiruzen. Hiruzen nodded his head. "Yes, they were. Now Naruto I have more things for you to do," he said as he went into his pocket to pull out a piece of paper.
"This is something that is called Chakra Paper. Simply put, you put your chakra into the paper to find out something called an Element Affinity. I am sure you know what that is beings Asuma-kun told me you were reading on them." Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, it said something about if it burns you have Fire, if it gets wet you have Water, if it turns to dust you have Earth, if it splits you have Wind, and if it crinkles you have Lightning." Hiruzen nodded and handed him the paper. "That is exactly right."
"But this is a Jonin exercise I shouldn't be…" he was cut off by Hiruzen. "I am overruling it and besides, you have more chakra than anybody I know. Like I said Naruto, you deserve better, and I am trying to help you. That and if anyone questions me, they will get my fist," he said with finality in his voice.
Naruto just nodded and started to channel the chakra into the paper. Hiruzen watched closely to see what his affinity would be. After a second the paper split into two. Hiruzen smiled,
"Just like his father." He thought.
But it didn't end there. As the two split pieces fell one side became soaked while the other side crumbled to dust. This made the old man in a long time very shocked. He was happy that Naruto had so many, but he hadn't seen something like this in a long time. Naruto was feeling the same way. He thought he would have one, but having three affinities seemed like it was a rare thing. He looked at the old man to see he was still staring at his hand that held the paper. After a moment of silence, Hiruzen cleared his throat to speak.
"Well, Naruto-kun you have something that I have only ever seen once in my life and that is three affinities. You have Wind, Water, and Earth affinities that are well balanced," he said still slightly I disbelief.
"Wait, who else had three affinities?" he asked.
"My sensei, Hashirama Senju. He was a very strong man, he had Water, Earth, and Fire when he showed me his. However, he stuck to his Wood Style kekkai genkai more than anything which was the combination of Water and Earth."
Naruto chuckled. Hiruzen stared at him waiting for him to explain why he was laughing. "Looks like I am an Uzumaki. The book said that Uzumaki had Water Affinities."
Hiruzen smiled patting his head, "That they do. Oh, I almost forgot. Here is your mission payment, 15,000 dollars; and I should inform you that because it is considered an A-rank mission you will have a week off. That and come here," he said gesturing towards the living room. Naruto turned the corner to see dozens of books. He walked over to see they were Fuinjutsu Books and Novels along with ink and paper.
"I had assumed you would like to learn about Fuinjutsu, so I brought you all these novels and supplies. You cannot get them at the library, so I authorized your clearance for them. That and I will inform Yoshino-san about allowing you to have access to the Element Affinities section in the library. Oh, and please do be careful Fuinjutsu is an advanced art, same thing with Element Affinities."
"I should also tell you the basics of Fuinjutsu. It is the art of sealing objects, weapons, and people, or the creation and altering of seals. There are levels to Fuinjutsu, and those levels are infinite. There are people known as Fuinjutsu Masters. You must reach level 8 in Fuinjutsu to become a master and you also must reach certain levels to learn certain Jutsu. I myself am Level 6 in Fuinjutsu. Fuinjutsu Master's that we have had were Tobirama Senju, my sensei was level 8, Minato Namikaze was Level 10, Jiraiya of the Sannin is Level 9, my past student Orochimaru was Level 7 when he left, and Mito Uzumaki the wife of the first Hokage was the highest level ever recorded in the Leaf Village which was Level 13," he said as inhaled a deep breath.
"Do you have any more questions before I take my leave?"
"What about Kenjutsu?" he asked.
"I do not know much about it but that is available at the Shinobi Archives as anyone at any level can learn that but try to stick to Elemental Affinities and Fuinjutsu as that is a lot to do and learn," said the aged Hokage.
"So does this mean I am only able to use Water, Wind, and Earth Jutsu then?"
"Good question but no. What that means is you will have an easier time using those affinities. That doesn't mean you can't learn the other two later."
"My other question is how common it is to have 1 or 2 or even 3 affinities," he asked setting a book down.
"I'll just tell you everything about Element Affinities. The way that it works is that 95% of people will have one affinity. 4% of people will have two affinities. While that 1% of people will have 3 or more and you fall into that category. For example, my affinities were fire and wind, but I learned the other three over time. Affinities are also genetic. My father, Sasuke Sarutobi passed down a wind and fire affinity to me, which then passed to my son Asuma-kun, and so on. Also, your element affinity may depend on the land you are from. The Land of Fire's most common element affinity is fire, The Land of Water is water, and so on. So, having Earth, Water, and Wind means you have some very uncommon elements to the Land of Fire. The same goes for clans. Just like the Uzumaki would most likely have a Water affinity, the Uchiha would most likely have Fire, and so on. Elemental Jutsu also has strengths and weaknesses Fire is weak against Water, Water is weak against Earth, Earth is weak against Lightning, Lightning is weak against Wind, and Wind is weak against Fire. It is the opposite way for strengths." Naruto just stood there and absorbed all this information. He would have to write notes later.
"Holy crap old man, they don't call you the Professor for nothing."
Hiruzen laughed and nodded and turned to leave and said, "Again, Naruto-kun I am sorry. There is no excuse for me not helping you as much as I should have been."
Naruto turned to look at him, "It is alright old man, you have done more for me than anyone has. Just try not to hide anything that shouldn't be hidden from me. I understand that my parents were powerful people as you say but you will be telling me who they are sooner than you think. Because I will be a Jonin faster than you can do paperwork," smiled Naruto. Hiruzen sweatdropped. That wouldn't take much considering he was very slow at it and would procrastinate it. Like he was doing right now.
"Alright Naruto-kun, I'll see you next week Your stuff from under the bridge is already in here from Cat tracking it down. Oh, and remember you have a week off because of the mission."
"See ya, old man," he waved.
He looked at the clock with it saying 7 o'clock. It had been a long mission and he wanted to sleep. He went down the hallway to see many doors locked, assuming that those were rooms he was not ready for yet. He then saw a bedroom that was massive in size with the stuff he had under the bridge. He thought about it more and more and he was a dipshit. Why did he not tell the old man? He would have been better off to tell him. He sat on the bed, and it was comfy. Very comfy. He started to change into his sleepwear and grabbed his planner. That's right, Naruto had bought a planner about two months ago when he started to train seriously. He sat down and began to write what he was going to do tomorrow.
He would go see Tenten to chat with her and talk to her about what had happened. He also needed to start training in what the old man gave him. He needed to go to the Shinobi Library to check out books on Water, Wind, and Earth Affinities. The big thing was to explore The Uzumaki Manor as he called it. This place was a maze; granted he couldn't go everywhere because of locked doors but he would have to get used to the place if this was to be his home. Not to mention the yard was huge, he would have to explore everything outside sometime and get used to it. That was when he thought of his private training ground. He smiled at the thought of him having a private training ground. He could just wake up immediately and start the day with some training. But, enough of that. He closed the planner and jumped onto the king-sized bed and slowly drifted off into the land of dreams.
THE NEXT DAY
It was about 8 in the morning and Naruto's first stop was the library. The Dragon's Den didn't exactly open until 9 so he had time before he would meet with Tenten. He opened the door to the place, and he was greeted by Shikamaru talking with his mom. Naruto chuckled,
"Are my eyes deceiving me or is Shikamaru Nara up before noon on his week off." Shikamaru turned to Naruto with a groan in annoyance. "Troublesome blondes. Are you here to read some books as well Naruto?"
Naruto was a bit surprised, "Yes, I am, since when have you ever read a book? I thought you said it was too troublesome."
"Well, Naruto-kun, you should know since that mission that he had with you, he is starting to train a bit more than he has and by all means it is a lot considering he just lays around all day," Yoshino said ruffling his hair.
"Mom stop it," he said shooing her hand away.
"Anyway, Lord Hokage said that he has allowed access to the Elemental Manipulation and Affinity section," she said smiling. Shikamaru just stared at him like he was nuts.
"Naruto how the hell did you get clearance like that, those are Jonin level exercises," he asked. He was then promptly smacked on the back of the head. "Don't cuss like that Shika-kun," she said a bit too sweetly. Shikamaru just rubbed the back of his head while Yoshino looked back at Naruto.
"Come with me to the section and we can square you away," she said gesturing to him to follow. Yoshino went up the stairs with Naruto and Shikamaru following. After a minute she showed him the section and left leaving him and Shikamaru alone.
"So, you are training a bit more after the mission," said Naruto looking at the Water section.
Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah, I was looking to see if there was something I find interesting here in the library. But it made me realize even though I have some smarts, that isn't enough. I thought I would expand my repertoire; I just don't know what. I might just ask my sensei. Chouji and Ino are doing the same thing as I am."
Naruto was selecting some book and nodded, "You know it is funny because I came here to increase my smarts. While you came here to increase your strength. I just think it's funny because we did the opposite thing to each other." Shikamaru silently agreed.
"Holy smokes Naruto, you have Earth, Water, and Wind Affinity books. There is no way you have all three of these affinities do you." Naruto just nodded as he set the books down. Shikamaru was amazed. "Naruto do you know how rare that is?" He nodded once more.
"Yeah, the old man said it was like 1%."
"Troublesome, Naruto, you're an unpredictable ninja."
Naruto smiled, "Dang right I am, well anyway, I think I have enough books. I need to check these and read them. I am a busy man after all. Good luck with what you want to do." Naruto grabbed everything he needed and went to check out the books. After checking out the books he sent a shadow clone back to the mansion to put the scrolls of the books on the table along with the Fuinjutsu books and made his way to the Dragon's Den. He remembered Tenten said something able ninja arts to learn, and he was curious about it as it could help him in. He would also like to spend some time with her and try to get to know her and make more friends.
He opened the shop to hear the chime of a bell and see Tenten at the counter with her face down snoring. He chuckled, "Man I wish I could get some service around here, but it appears no one will help me." He stared back at her to see she was slowly waking up. She rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes to see a blonde-haired shinobi in front of her.
"N..Naruto? Your back from your mission," she asked standing all the way up now.
"Yes ma'am, I thought I would drop by like you said," he said walking up to the counter.
"Sorry for being asleep my sensei is a real slave driver. We had SOOOOO much physical training yesterday."
"I still have yet to see what this Might Guy looks like."
"You probably shouldn't, he has a worse fashion since than what you looked like with the orange jumpsuit," she said giggling.
"Oh, come on it was not that bad. You know what, I am buying that long orange sleeve over there right now," he said pointing at the bright orange shirt on the wall.
"Oh no you're not," she said trying to get around to the counter.
"No fashion sense my butt. Besides this would match great with my black pants,"
"Naruto, I am not letting you buy that, you can have these instead," she handed him two orange sashes that go around your legs. He thought he completed his outfit well.
"It's enough orange to not be overbearing but not enough to stand out. You don't need to be getting killed out there," she said putting her hands behind her back and moving slightly on her feet.
"Wow, thanks Tenten, this is a great gift," he said adjusting the sashes around his thighs.
"As much as it is good to see you Naruto, I have work today," she said sadly.
"No, you don't," said a man coming from the back of the store. He was a fairly built man with brown spiky hair around 5'10" with massive arms probably from hammering at metal.
"Dad? But you said I must work today."
"Not anymore, go and hang out with…" he said hoping for Naruto to continue.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" he said excitedly.
"Yeah, go and hang out with Naruto-san there," he said setting down a box full of kunai.
"Oh, and be back by dinner time," he said.
"I will," she said leaving with Naruto in tow.
"He looks familiar. Doesn't he honey," he said to his wife.
"A little bit but I think we can ask him some other time. At least our Tenten-chan has some friends other than her team," said Yumi as she hugged her husband from behind.
"So, what did you want to do Naruto," she asked. He was about to go and eat when his stomach was already grumbling. He blushed slightly, "How about we go and eat I haven't eaten yet."
"Sounds like a plan, where should we go?" she asked looking at some of the villagers who were giving Naruto looks.
"How about Ichiraku Ramen?"
"I've never been but it never hurts to try," she said smiling.
"ALRIGHT!"
It took a couple of minutes, but they made it to the shop. Naruto made it under the flaps to see Ayame and Teuchi busy at work.
"Hey guys I am going to need a Hokage-sized bowl of Ramen. I am starving."
They both looked up to see Naruto. Ayame ran around the counter embracing him into a hug. "Where the heck were you Naruto? You've been gone for like 3 weeks," she said letting him go.
"I'm sorry guys I have been on a mission in the Land of Waves. It's a long story," he said in an apologetic tone.
"Well tell us about this mission and your friend here," said Teuchi preparing Naruto's usual.
"This here is Tenten Higurashi. She works at the Dragon's Den a little way down the road."
"Well pleasure to meet you Tenten, I am Teuchi, and this here is my daughter Ayame. What would you like?" asked Teuchi.
"Uh, I would like 1 Pork Ramen please," she said glancing at the menu. "Coming right up."
"So, how was this mission to the Land of Waves Naruto?" asked Tenten turning to face him on the seat.
"OK, so I will give the short version. So, we headed off and soon enough the Demon Brothers found us and were hired to take down our client, so we asked for backup which was Team 10. We had to because it was pretty much a higher rank mission. A couple of days later we found Zabuza, Demon of the Mist." He was stopped by two hands on his shoulders.
"YOU FOUGHT ZABUZA. ONE OF THE 7 SWORDSMAN OF THE MIST!" exclaimed while shaking him.
"Yeah, what about it," he said nonchalantly.
"Naruto you fought a Jonin-level missing ninja who was a part of the 7 Swordman of the Mist. That is an awesome feat. Do you have his sword?" she asked excitedly.
"No, he died, and we gave him a burial and placed the sword with him," he said sadly.
"Oh." That was all she said.
"He was strong too. He fought Kakashi-sensei, and it was an awesome battle. We thought he died but it turns out he was alive but anyway our client was a bridge builder and he had to finish a bridge because of this man named Gato who was terrorizing the country. Later, there was a big battle at the bridge where we had to face Zabuza along with his apprentice, an ice user. In the middle of the fight…. Sasuke-teme replaced himself with Ino from Team 10 to save himself from an attack but thankfully I saved her in time. We defeated Haku, his apprentice, but that was when Gato showed up with hundreds of bandits. He was the one paying Zabuza and betrayed him, so Zabuza took it upon himself to kill him. He ended up dying shortly after but long story short. The bridge was built, and the Land of Waves is no longer in tyranny," he said receiving his bowl of ramen from the stand.
Tenten just listened to the story. It sounded amazing to be able to meet and have a fight with one of the seven swordsmen of the mist.
"Sounds like it was quite the time Naruto," said Ayame washing a dirty bowl.
Naruto was nearly done with his ramen and swallowed his noodles, "It really was. I have an A-rank mission under my belt now."
"Dang. I wish we would have a C-rank turned to a higher. It would make things more interesting."
"Say Tenten, this might seem like it is out of nowhere, but what are your teammates like and more importantly what are you like," asked Naruto receiving another bowl of ramen.
"Well, they are…interesting to say the least. You have Might Guy my sensei. He is a Taijutsu Specialist…actually, he is a Taijutsu Master. He knows more taijutsu styles than anyone in the Leaf Village. Then there is Rock Lee. Uh, let's just say he is the exact same version of Guy-sensei. Then you have Neji Hyuga, he is considered a prodigy with a little bit of ego. I will admit he is good, incredible even, but he has a certain ideology. Then there is me. I specialize in learning weapons and using them in battle. Particularly long-range weapons. We are technically an Assault team," she finished going back to eating.
"Wow, so that means you must be pretty strong," he said.
"I mean, I am strong, but my teammates are stronger than me," she said stirring her noodles in the broth.
"Nonsense, then that just means you have to get stronger than them," he said shrugging it off.
"You make sound like it's easy."
"It is that easy. You said it yourself; you base your fighting around weaponry or what is that fancy term it's called."
Tenten said, "Bukijutsu."
"Yeah, that is what it is. Tenten, you may not be strong in what they are doing but that doesn't mean you can't be strong." Tenten nodded at Naruto's words. He was right. It just is hard not to compare yourself to others.
Naruto set down his 5 bowls of ramen, "You know what come on. I want to fight you."
"WHAT?!" she asked mildly, shocked.
"I said I want to fight you; you said you think you are not as strong and I want to test that," he said pulling out some money for the ramen.
"Naruto you do not have to do that," she said.
"What I took you here, it is the least I can do," handing it to Ayame.
Ayame giggled, "You know you are lucky. He would have run out so that whoever he was eating with would be forced to pay." Tenten glared at Naruto who had the decency to look sheepish.
"You do that to me, and I will use you for target practice," she said glaring at him.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just get going," he said leaving the stall with Tenten in tow.
Teuchi was chuckling and Ayame just glanced at him, "What's so funny Dad?"
"I'm telling you Ayame-chan, he is going to be a lady killer," he said being hit on the head with a ladle.
"Don't be saying stuff like that about Naruto," she said while staring at where he sat.
"You never know Ayame-chan," he said rubbing his head.
She sighed, "Yeah I guess."
AT NARUTO'S MANSION
"Wait this is your house?!" she asked.
"Yeah, it is. I got it quite literally yesterday. That is what I wanted to talk to you about. I am from a clan called the Uzumaki clan." he said proudly. Tenten was staring at him in awe.
"What," was all he asked her.
"Can I go inside," she asked.
"Yeah, come on," he said gesturing towards the mansion.
He opened the door to his new home. She just looked around looking everywhere. She took off her sandals and asked for a tour of the place. Naruto took off his sandals too.
"Yeah, sure. This is the hallway entrance that we are in right now. A lot of the rooms are locked in here down this other hallway, but you have my bedroom as well as many other bedrooms. I still kind of must go and look through everything. All I know is this place has a basement as well as three stories and most of the doors are locked from me until I reach a higher rank like Chunin or Jonin. Over here is my large living room with the kitchen over there," he said gesturing towards the door.
"This is the living room, don't mind the books." She walked up to them and picked one up.
"Fuinjutsu for Beginners" by Mito Uzumaki. She turned to Naruto saying, "Man I am dumb, that is where I have heard the Uzumaki from. The authors from the books I have read about Fuinjutsu are Uzumaki."
Naruto furrowed his brow, "You know Fuinjutsu," he said walking over to her.
"Yeah, this was one of the ninja arts that I was going to tell you to learn. I find it fascinating. I learned Fuinjutsu to help me seal all the weapons that I needed and I kind of stopped learning from them after a while. There are a lot of possibilities with Fuinjutsu, infinite possibilities," she said putting the book down. She picked up another one about Wind Chakra.
"Damn Naruto, you have so many different subjects here. I haven't even been permitted by my sensei to learn Elemental Manipulation yet," she said a little jealously.
"Yeah, the Old man said I could," he said organizing the books a little bit.
"The Old man?" she asked, confused.
He started to rub the hand on the back of his head, "Oh right sorry, The Hokage said I could."
She hit him on the shoulder, "Naruto you are calling the 'God of Shinobi' an old man. Show him some respect."
"That is what I have always called him though," he said rubbing his shoulder and pouting slightly.
"Are you that close to the 3rd Hokage?" she asked, looking at him.
"Yeah, I think of him as my grandpa. He is a pretty fun old man hiding behind the God of Shinobi title he has."
"Huh weird. But how the heck are you going to read all these books," she asked looking at the heaping mounds of them.
"Shadow Clones."
"Naruto, clones are illusions so how would that work," she said.
"No, you misunderstand what I said. I said, "Shadow Clones." They are real and you can touch them," he said making one. "Go on and touch it."
She hesitantly touched it with her finger and felt the clone. "That's pretty neat."
"That's what I'm saying but that is not the only thing. They can transfer the memories they receive right back to the user. You can do it for training, reading, or just talking to someone."
Tenten had her mouth agape. This jutsu sounded amazing. It would speed up everything you learned in a small amount of time.
"So, wait how many can you make?" she asked sitting on the couch.
"Uh…it's been a couple of months, but I could make about 1000 of them." Tenten was wide-eyed. "You use that many to train!" Naruto was waving his hands in front of him to calm her down.
"Oh my god, no, I use about 30. With all the memories of them coming it gives me a big headache if I use more than that. Though I notice that if they do not use any chakra, I do not get backlash."
"So, you use 30 clones for what," she asked.
"Depends. Sometimes it's chakra control, maybe taijutsu katas, or even just shuriken and kunai throwing. An example would be if I had made 5 clones to work on chakra control for 8 hours. Then that would be 40 hours of chakra control done by the end of the day," he said finishing up organizing the books.
Tenten got up from her spot and went and started to shake Naruto rapidly, "Oh, my goodness, Naruto you have to teach me this jutsu."
"I am afraid that he cannot," said a feminine voice startling the two.
"Oh, hey what's up Cat," he said still in the grip of Tenten.
Tenten pouted, "Why not?"
"Because Naruto-san has way more chakra than anybody. Including me, and if you were to perform the jutsu you would not have enough chakra and pass out," she said in a monotone voice.
Tenten nodded then glared at him, "Why is it that you are so casual with everybody this is an Anbu Black Ops member Naruto."
"Because I have known her most of my life. That and Tenten, could you let me go please," he said starting to sweat a little bit from the glare.
She sighed and dropped him and helped him up, "Why is an Anbu here at your house anyway."
"Because I have been asked by Lord 3rd to bring Naruto-san to him. He needs to speak to him," she said.
Naruto sighed, "Dammit old man, I was going spar with Tenten and train." He turned to Tenten, "Sorry, Tenten I won't be able to spar with you." Tenten shrugged it off, "It's fine, if the Hokage needs to speak with you I understand. I'll just see you later. Thank you for paying for my lunch and showing me around your house…well mansion, but you know what I mean," she said getting ready to leave.
"Yep, see ya later Tenten, have a good day," waved Naruto before being teleported to the Hokage Tower.
Tenten put her sandals back on and left still marveling at the mansion that Naruto now was living in. It dwarfed her family's house. Her house was big and part of it was built on top of the weapons shop, but it was nowhere near this size. She was looking forward to sparring with Naruto in the future.
Naruto and Cat made it to the office to see Hiruzen Sarutobi stuffing his pipe with tobacco. He looked up to see Naruto and Cat and smiled lightly. "Ah Naruto-kun, Cat good to see you."
"I have brought him here for the meeting, Lord Hokage," she said taking a knee.
Hiruzen nodded, "You don't have to kneel Cat." She then stood up and made her way behind the desk to stand next to him.
Naruto was confused, "Uh, what meeting are we talking about."
Hiruzen chuckled, "The man that needs to talk to you will be here in a minute my boy. Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention to you yesterday was there is a Genin Evaluation Test at the end of this week on Friday or when your break from you're A-rank mission is done."
"I can probably guess what that is but what is it really for? Is it just to see how we are all doing then?" he asked, walking up to the desk.
He lit the pipe before responding, "Well, yes and no. You see every 6 months Genin are to be tested to see how they are doing on their team, their progress, and if anything has increased in their skills to be able to see the best prospects for the future. I do the same thing for Chunin, Special Jonin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, Anbu, and so on, and because there are those six different rankings, I test a different ranking every month."
"That sounds amazing," exclaimed Naruto.
Hiruzen chuckled, "Oh it is, we test them in physical conditioning, stamina, IQ, and other ninja arts."
"Cool, I just have to train harder with my Shadow Clones," he which caused Hiruzen to raise an eyebrow.
"I see you found the trick to the Shadow Clones huh? That is why you have been able to improve drastically in this short amount of time. I'm impressed by you Naruto-kun. I used to do that though I could only make about 6 clones that could last the whole day."
Naruto just chuckled and gave a thumbs-up.
That was when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," said Hiruzen standing up. The door opened and in came a man with light blue eyes with no pupils. He had platinum blonde hair and that was put into a ponytail. He wore standard Jonin shinobi attire with a black trench coat over him. He looked like a calm man who carried himself well.
"Sorry, Lord Hokage the wife kind of kept me for a minute to talk to me," he said bowing.
"That is quite all right, Inoichi. Believe I understand what you mean. My wife used to be like that sometimes," he said laughing.
Inoichi shifted his gaze to Naruto who was watching him from the moment he walked in. He slowly walked over to him with an emotionless face. Naruto was sweating a little bit. He didn't know why he was there, and he started to get nervous from the gaze he was receiving. Inoichi now stood in front of Naruto while still holding his face.
"Uh, old man, *cough*, why am I here again." He was feeling very nervous now. The guy that walked hasn't left his eyes since switching his attention over to him.
That was when he stuck out his hand. "My name is Inoichi Yamanaka, it is a pleasure to meet you Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto extended out his hand and made sure to have a firm handshake. He remembered the old man who said when you are doing a handshake make sure that it is firm. He also realized that the platinum blonde hair and the surname being Yamanaka he could only guess this was Ino's father.
"This might sound dumb but are you Ino's dad? I think I might have seen you pick her up a few times from the academy when I was younger," he asked still shaking his hand.
Inoichi nodded letting go of the handshake, "That I am, nice handshake. The reason this meeting happened is for a couple of reasons. I would like to personally give you my thanks for saving my daughter," he said more sincerely.
Naruto realized it now and looked sheepish scratching the back of his head, "Oh, it was no big deal, I was just doing my job."
Inoichi said, "It is a big deal. Naruto you saved my one and only daughter. My wife Kana and I wouldn't know what do to if our little princess was killed in battle. Ino has talked about how strong you were and how cool you looked while doing it. I wouldn't have been able to see that if she had been killed."
"I know it is a big deal, but I see it as I was just doing my job to help someone in need, ya know."
"Yeah, I bet you do but please, coming from a shinobi, a clan head, but most importantly a father, I thank you with all my heart," he said ruffling his hair.
"Hey, don't mess with my hair like that," he said shooing his hand away.
Hiruzen and Inoichi chuckled. Inoichi turned to Hiruzen, "Thanks for setting up the meeting."
"Oh, course Inoichi, it's no problem," he said.
"Then I shall take my leave. That and Naruto. My family and I would like to have you at our home for dinner on Friday night after the Evaluation Testing. Would you like to join us for dinner?" he asked, turning to him with his hand on the handle of the door.
"Oh, well I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to be a bother to you guys," he said waving his hands slightly in front of him.
"Nonsense, you won't be a bother, and besides it was my wife that asked for you. Also, if you are worried about it," *Inoichi pats his stomach* "then you have nothing to worry about. My family isn't like that. Neither is my clan." Naruto looked down before smiling his foxy smile and nodded.
"Alright, what time on Friday?" he asked.
"It'll be around 6-7 when we eat but you can just go straight to the Yamanaka Clan compound. Just follow Ino-chan and she'll help ya. I'll tell her she'll be walking with you after the evaluation. Have a good night you guys," waved Inoichi.
"You too," both replied in unison.
"Would you like Cat to teleport you back home Naruto-kun?" he asked, setting his pipe down.
"Sure, that would be fine," he said as Cat made her way over to him.
"Say how long was she watching me?" he asked curiously.
"For about 10 minutes I just let the conversation with Tenten, and you go on," she said.
"Oh, makes sense I guess," he said before he was teleported to his home.
After being teleported to Naruto made some clones to start reading Fuinjutsu and Elemental Theory Books and exercises. He thought that he should get started on that so that he could clear the table of everything when he felt a pulling feeling in his head. The next time he opened his eyes he was looking in the cage with the fox looking back at him.
"What's up kid," asked Kurama.
"Oh, you know not much just reading and all that. Did you want to talk about something or what, I didn't think that I would be in here," he asked looking at him.
"Two things. One, since the geezer help you with some stuff I would too, and two you must do something for me before I can do that."
"What's that?"
"Could you please make the mindscape a little more appealing to be in here? A sewer isn't exactly my cup of tea," he said waving his hand around.
"Why is it like that in here anyway?" he asked, looking around.
"A mindscape as your people call it, is the way it is because of how you have grown up. I am guessing that your mind is like that of the villagers…you know…doing the stuff they did. I am guessing a sewer with concrete walls means you had to fortify your mind and harden it to protect yourself," he said getting a little quieter at that part. All Naruto just did was nod and look around.
"So how do I fix it?"
"Just try to think of something that will change it for the better," he said stretching his tails.
Naruto then closed his eyes to see if anything would work if he thought of something. It was then the mindscape started to shake. The walls were cracking, and chunks were slowly being pulled away. Trees were starting to sprout from the ground, grass started to grow in place of the concrete. When all was set and done, Naruto opened his eyes to see the cage was still there but for miles, he could see lush forest, lakes, streams, and wildlife everywhere. He still noticed he was standing on concrete, and it was from part of the sewer appearance from earlier. Some vines and grass were growing in patches on the concrete, and he was wondering why it was still there. He stepped through the cage to see Kurama still looking around.
"Hey Kurama, why is that some of the concrete is still there?"
"Well, a part of what once was will always be there. You still are vigilant around other people because of your past so it means that on the outside, you don't let many people in, but on the inside, you are just like anyone else. But enough of that, now for what I was going to give you." He said moving towards him. He tapped his head with his fingernail sending shockwaves through his body.
Naruto stumbled a bit. "What did you do?" he asked feeling weird.
"I gave some help with your sensing prowess. You now have increased hearing, increased smell, and increased sight. All you must do is put some chakra in your eyes to be able to see better and no it is not a Dojutsu. You don't have to put chakra to your ears or nose as the increased hearing and increased smelling have already taken effect." He said as he looked to see some mice in a field a distance away.
"Ok thank you Kurama, I appreciate it. I'll leave you to play around," he said as he faded away from his mind.
"Yep, bye kid," said Kurama as he ran towards the field.
Naruto was now back in his living room and Kurama wasn't kidding, his senses were heightened like never before. He could hear some birds nearly 500 feet away. He smiled as he was getting better and stronger with the help of others. He would have a long way to go but progress was progress.
IN AN UNDERGROUND BASE ACROSS THE LEAF VILLAGE
Two masked figures with nothing on their masks kneeled before a man with bandages wrapped around his right eye standing in front of them.
"The seals are in working order Lord Danzo," said one of the masked figures.
"What else?" he asked calmly.
"They show no signs of breaking anytime soon sir," said the other one.
"That is good, you may be dismissed," he said as they teleported away.
A small boy with pale skin and black hair walked up to him with a question. "Lord Danzo, what seals are you talking about."
Danzo looked at the boy to see him looking at him. "Walk with me," he said.
Sai followed Danzo done a hallway as he spoke, "Well, Sai, I had two seals placed on two individuals. Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno."
"Why and how, Lord Danzo?"
"Well, the reason why is what I will tell you in a second but how is simple. The Haruno girl I just sent one of my men to place on her about a couple of years ago. As for Kakashi Hatake, he used to work under us and that was when I placed the seal on him. I just haven't activated them talk about a few months ago. As for why, I have a plan to get the Jinchuriki I have been telling you about. I plan on creating a division among Team 7 and making the Uzumaki feel alone and helpless. That is when I come in and tell him that we can train him and that is when I make him my ultimate weapon. The seals place on the two of them are also to make sure that the Uchiha stays in the village so that he will reproduce so we can have more people with Sharingan."
"Ok," he said as he looked forward.
"It is ok, my boy, he will never replace you," he said placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you…father," as he went off to go and train with the others. Danzo stood over the balcony in his underground Root base looking down on his soldiers training away. He was a patient man and would have the blonde Jinchuriki soon enough.
"Soon, Naruto Uzumaki, you will be my weapon. I am a patient man, so I can a wait. Hiruzen cannot protect you forever."