Lake & Waterfall: With Goku, Morning…
(12 Days Since Training Began)
Doing the same training on one leg was a whole other level of difficulty for Goku. He hadn't noticed while sitting, but the racing water felt as though it'd peel skin. That wasn't even mentioning just how brisk the night was.
The water temperature dropped considerably to the point Goku was shivering; however, giving in to that would see him plummeting and erasing all his progress. As such, he toughed it out while ensuring he remembered to switch legs at the appropriate times.
After another thirty hours, Raditz returned once more, and Goku was done with the second refinement. That meant it was time to rest for the remainder of day and that following night. Then, he'd return to the waterfall for the final refinement.
Goku did just that today. "Alright, I'm ready for the final refinement."
"We'll see if you still feel that way after you get set up." Raditz declared. "Now, get under that waterfall and do a hand stand."
Goku did it, no questions asked, only to realize this was yet again a whole other level of difficulty. The water was cold, blood was rushing to his head, and upside down saw the water rushing up his body.
This time, Raditz picked up a nearby plank of wood and walked over to his brother. "The key here is absolute Chakra Control of the body and proper breathing methods. Do both right, and your stamina shall hold out preventing you from drowning."
Goku nodded and got things under control to stabilize himself; however, this was not the end. The moment he was stable, Raditz placed the plank across Goku's feet.
"What are you doing?" Goku asked.
Raditz hopped atop the plank and sat across it, putting it on his brother to properly correct himself. "This time, I shall keep you company while regaling you with stories over roughly 20 hours…unless we take a dip. If that happens, we start over tomorrow."
Sunrise…
(13 Days Since Training Began)
This third refinement made every other Chakra exercise Goku ever did seem like a cakewalk by comparison. Even for him, this seemed near impossible. He loved his brother, but he just droned on all this time.
That wasn't even accounting for the constantly shifting weight, water flow, breathing control, and blood rushing to his head that he must contend with through Chakra Control. Concentration was nearly impossible, and Goku almost fell in multiple times.
Raditz kept warning him they'd just start over the next day if that happened, so Goku dug deep. He drew forth every drop of his absolute love for training and utilized it to make it all the way to sunrise. With that, Raditz hopped off the plank and removed it.
"You've finished the third refinement." Raditz informed, so Goku fell into the water, face first, sinking to the bottom; however, he was quick to surface. "After resting today, you can meet me back here tomorrow where I will teach you the Kamehameha."
Goku was too exhausted to be happy in the moment.
River: With Naruto, Evening…
Naruto had spent the last three days trying to pop the ball while Jiraiya peeped at the girls.
The Genin was now lying on the ground as a sharp pain ran through his arms. "The ball just will not break no matter how much I try!"
"Perhaps the key to this step is what I do with my Tailed Beast Ball." Kurama spoke up, bored. "I build up my Chakra until I can no longer contain it and release it all at once."
"That's not a bad idea." Naruto lept to his feet. "Alright, here he go!"
He gathered Chakra until the pain in his arms increased to the point of breaking. Naruto then gripped the ball, forcing his Chakra into the space between his hands. The ball deformed as a small hole opened to deflate it. Naruto dropped to his knees out of breath.
"Looks like you've got the basics of it." Jiraiya voiced, turning his attention to Naruto.
"All I did was make a small hole." Naruto replied sadly.
"Oh, don't be stubborn." Jiraiya voiced. "You've come a long way. Getting the first two steps, even if the latter is just at the basics, is noteworthy. Now, the rest of this second exercise is just a simple trick."
Jiraiya took out his brush and drew a small spiral in the center of Naruto's hand. "What's this?"
Jiraiya held up a blank piece of paper in front of Naruto. "Look at this paper."
Naruto looked at it until Jiraiya put it down and drew the same swirl in the center of the paper.
Naruto looked again and understood. "When you held up the blank paper, I looked at the entire thing. Then, you put a swirl, and that's where my attention went. So, you're saying I must focus on one point?"
"Not bad." Jiraiya smiled. "When the paper is blank, there is no clear target, and your gaze is everywhere. By drawing that swirl, your attention is drawn to the center. Your target becomes clear, and your eyes follow."
"Alright, focus all Chakra on my palm at the one dot." Naruto declared.
He picked up one more ball and did as instruct by focusing as much Chakra, as he could muster now, around that one point in the palm of his hand. When he released it, the ball deformed for a few seconds before exploding in a loud burst.
"I did it!" Naruto cheered.
He collapsed to his knees, having used up too much Chakra.
"Alright Naruto, we'll continue tomorrow." Jiraiya declared.
Lake & Waterfall: With Goku, Morning
(14 Days Since Training Began)
Goku was ready because today he finally got to learn the Kamehameha. As such, he eagerly joined his brother at the usual place. Immediately upon arrival, Raditz took out a brush and drew small spirals into both of Goku's palms.
"Spirals?" Goku asked.
Raditz held up a blank piece of paper.
"Look at this." As Raditz held it, his brother's gaze ran over the whole thing. "Now, look at it after this." He drew one swirl dead center before showing it again. "When you look at the blank paper, your gaze sees it all. If someone puts the swirl on it, that's where your attention goes."
"Alright, I follow." Goku responded.
"Then, you almost understand." Raditz cupped his hands to ensure his brother could see. "The key is to focus your Chakra at those two points, from the dead center of your palms, and let it meld into one large sphere."
Ka Me
Ha Me
"Utilizing your control over your Chakra, fire it as a beam."
Ha!
Raditz fired off the beam at the nearest tree, and it burrowed through the trunk. Eventually, there was nothing left resulting in what was above where the beam struck being sent crashing to the ground.
"Whoa, it's still so cool." Goku marveled.
"Now, you try." Raditz declared.
"Goku nodded before targeting a tree himself. "Focus my Chakra to the marks and let the energy meld into a sphere."
Ka Me
The sphere came out the palms of Goku's hands and effectively melded together.
Ha Me
It grew to a respectable size before holding steady.
Ha
Goku pushed out his hands, and a less impressive beam fired off at the tree Goku targeted. Rather than burrow the whole way through, it stopped about halfway through the tree.
Raditz was stunned. "I needed a few days to actually use it, but Goku just executed right away!"
"Aw, it wasn't as impressive as yours was Raditz." Goku lamented.
"It's alright Goku." Raditz smiled proudly as he patted his brother's back. "You don't start training with Zabuza ad Haku again until tomorrow, so let's work today on upping the output." He made a hand sign. "Byakugan!"
Goku smiled since he knew his brother was about to help him how only someone with the Byakugan could.
River: With Naruto, Evening…
Naruto just managed to finish popping the remaining rubber balls. He had to do the first 50 using both hands to contain the chakra before finding himself able to use one hand to finish the rest.
"Alright, what's next?" Naruto asked only for his teacher to pull out an uninflated balloon and blow it up. "Another balloon?"
Jiraiya tossed it to him. "The first step was to spin it while the second step was about power, and the third step is this."
He held the balloon in his hand and got the Chakra spinning.
Naruto was staring intently; however, nothing seemed to be happening. "What the heck is this!?"
"It may seem like I'm simply holding the balloon; however, take a look at my left hand." Jiraiya declared, forming a Rasengan. "This third step takes the prior two and contains them into one package. The balloon is merely a helper in getting you to that."
"Get ready Pervy Sage because you're about to be teaching me more once I get this down!" Naruto declared.
Forest: With Hinata, Evening…
Hinata was panting heavily and showed clear signs of just how hard she's been training all this time. All around her were eight targets spaced at varying ranges and heights. Granolah stood a fair bit away from her with his arms crossed.
"One more time." Granolah declared.
Hinata took a deep breath before suddenly leaping above the dead center between all targets. She moved five kunai to one hand and three to the other before flipping upside down. Her eyes then snapped open to reveal her Byakugan was active.
She rapidly threw six kunai between her two hands before tossing the seventh into her open hand. Hinata then threw the remaining two into two others, correcting their course and enabled all eight kunai to hit their targets dead center.
Hinata then managed to land as she worked to recover her breath. "Did I do it?"
Granolah inspected her handywork. "Not bad…" He nodded. "Alright, you've managed to reach my week 2 goals for you." Hinata smiled at that. "Starting tomorrow, we'll be working with senbon and fuma shuriken."
Canyon: With Sasuke
Sasuke was currently sparing with Anko, utilizing his saber in one hand and a kunai in the other. While Anko's skill with the kunai was impressive, what Sasuke had been cultivating was nothing to sneeze at. In fact, it kind of reminded Kakashi how he could fight with two kunai.
"Perhaps a second Saber would be good to help Sasuke carve out his own identity in Kenjutsu." Kakashi contemplated. "If I send in the order now, it might just be ready for the final phase."
River: With Naruto
Naruto spent the rest of the day trying to get this final step down only to pop balloon after balloon.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto stared at his hands. "This third step is on a completely different scale!"
The final phase of the Chunin Exams took place on August 6th, and it was currently July 20th. That meant Naruto had an absolute maximum of 16 days left before the final phase. After spending six training for this, he had to wonder just how many more it'd take.
"Gah, forget this dumb balloon." Naruto dropped the one he just blew up before marching over to the trees. "I'll finish this my way!"
Jiraiya glanced at Naruto. "Good luck kid."
Lake & Waterfall: With Goku, Morning…
(15 Days Since Training Began)
Having taught Goku their family Jutsu, Raditz left the remaining days to Zabuza and Haku. This meant Goku was back to his prior training of swinging the Executioner's Blade, sparing with Haku to increase speed, sparing with Zabuza to up skill, and learning one handed seals.
Currently, he was clashing with Haku in Taijutsu while Zabuza watched on with his arms crossed. "After a week without us, you got a lot of ground to make up! Just imagine the things your teammates likely learned without having to focus on a sole technique!"
Little did he know, Sasuke and Naruto had their own special techniques they had/were learning. Still, it was enough to light a fire under Goku as he upped the intensity of the spar. This forced Haku to take it up a level himself.
"Despite what I've said, that week the brat took upped his Chakra Control to the point it's unrecognizable." Zabuza thought. "It means his speed and strength have taken a drastic up swing. Perhaps Haku and I can even help fill out his Ninjutsu arsenal next week."
River: With Naruto…
(20 Days Since Training Began)
"Well, our friends in the swimming suits have left." Jiraiya declared sadly. "Alright Naruto, what do you say we call it a day?" He had turned as the blond arrived panting and battered; however, there was a large grin on his face. "Hm, what's got you in such a good mood."
"I was hoping you'd ask." Naruto began to form the Rasengan and rushed at a nearby boulder. "Rasengan!"
He thrust the sphere forward and left a hole rather than the spiral patterns which littered the nearby forest from all his prior attempts.
"He did it." Jiraiya blinked in disbelief. "Not only that, but he's done it in just twelve days of training." After showing that off, Naruto collapsed forward with Jiraiya catching him. "This kid is proving to be something else."
Jiraiya now needed to figure out something else he could teach this boy since the Rasengan had been a sort of gambling training. He had assumed it'd at least take up until those rest days he was planning to give the blond.
"Come to think of it, I do recall Kakashi telling me the kid was getting into seals." Jiraiya smiled since he was liking the sound of that. "I could show him a thing or two that could be useful in combat. A little more work on his summoning couldn't hurt either."
He picked the blond up and walked off while already coming up with various seals he could have the boy work on. While it would take more oversight to get Naruto through this, Jiraiya supposed he could reward the hard work on the Rasengan by sacrificing research time.
Forest: With Hinata, Evening…
(21 Days Since Training Began)
Senbon had been easier to train Hinata on than fuma shuriken; however, this was mainly due to Granolah wanting to teach her close-range things with a weapon. As such, the fuma shuriken he had for her were collapsable.
While they were Hyuga, it was still smart to learn something on other close-range fighting. After all, there was no guarantee that one could sheath their weapons fast enough to switch into the Gentle Fist. On that note, Hinata still pulled it off rather quickly.
This ultimately led to Granolah going further by instructing the girl how to fight better, at close range, with kunai, beyond whatever little skill she's cultivated. By the end of this week, Granolah was pleasantly surprised as the girl pulled it all off.
"Alright, why don't you take a seat and just observe." Granolah voiced as his student gratefully collapsed. "The remaining time, up until three days before the final phase to allow for rest, will be used to teach you my signature as the sniper of the Leaf."
"Chakra Bullets?" Hinata asked.
"As a Hyuga, producing them won't be an issue." Granolah began demonstrating. "You simply hold your index and middle finger out before firing off a small sphere of Chakra." A sphere shot off into the distance. "The real task you'll work on is proper utilization.
If you cannot become accurate, to the standards I hold you to, I will forbid the use of this technique in the final phase. If you somehow manage this before the three day rest period I plan on giving you, we can talk about other techniques within the line of Chakra Bullets."
"Understood, sensei!" Hinata declared.
Remaining Time
Training continued as everyone from Konoha worked through their remaining time, whether they'd get rest before the final phase or not, putting the finish touches on their training. Sure enough, as it always does, time passed until the Chunin Exams were mere days away.
Konoha, Afternoon…
(3 Days Before the Final Phase)
Karin spent the morning getting situated within her apartment after finally being released from Torture & Investigation. Just as the Hokage promised, the process had been rather painless, yet it had been tedious. Beyond information, she was tested on her skills as a kunoichi.
Her current skills landed her the rank of Genin, just as she had been under Kusa. For the time being, she wasn't assigned to a team since they were waiting on the results of the Chunin Exams. She now walked down the streets of Konoha, heading towards Ichiraku Ramen.
While she had the addresses of Goku and Naruto, Karin didn't feel right intruding where they lived. Fortunately, she had been told that this ramen place was where the pair ate often enough. It was a better place to run into either of them than some of the other options she'd been given.
Eventually, she could smell ramen on the air, and it was better than any she's smelt before. While not as ramen crazy as it sounded like Goku and Naruto were, she might just become as such if this smell was any indication of the quality of food.
"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku." Ayame greeted as Karin entered. "What can I get you?"
"I'm actually looking for Naruto Uzumaki or Goku Sarutobi." Karin did now want to eat some ramen, but she was focused on her objective. "Do you know if either will come in today?"
Ayame was surprised by that before her gaze turned to caution. Granted, this girl did wear a Konoha headband; however, she knew the red hair this girl had would have been hard to miss. No way a Shinobi like her would have gone under the radar all this time.
"Why do you want to know?" Ayame asked.
"Well, the first reason is that I wanted to thank Goku for saving me in the second exam." Karin responded. "Without him, I wouldn't be here now…in more ways than one." She pulled out her official Konoha ID, showing her last name. "The second is that Naruto is part of my clan."
Ayame had to admit the first part sounded like something Goku would do. She took the ID and scrutinized it before passing it back to the girl.
"One moment." Ayame stated.
She went back to the kitchen and came out with Teuchi not even ten seconds later. Ayame lurked behind him as he approached.
"You're saying Goku saved you while your part of the same clan as Naruto?" Teuchi stared at Karin. "I'll admit, the red hair is in the same ballpark as another Uzumaki I knew, and Goku is the type to do what you've said." He looked at his daughter. "She seems to check out."
"Alright, father." Ayame stated, softening.
"Karin, was it?" Teuchi asked.
Karin nodded. "That's right."
"Goku hasn't shown up all month while Naruto's shown up one time thus far." Teuchi voiced. "Those two are likely training for the final phase, but if you'd like to try your luck, you'd be welcome to take a seat."
"Given what I've heard, your place is the one they most frequent." Karin took a seat. "If they haven't shown up in that long, they're likely due to come here soon."
Teuchi nodded in acceptance before looking at his daughter. "Ayame, make the girl something to eat while she waits."
Ayame did as she was told and soon set a steaming bowl in front of the Uzumaki. "On the house."
"Thank you." Karin stated gratefully.
While she was given food back in Kusa, it'd never been out of genuine kindness like this. Thinking along those lines, even the people in Konoha's Torture and Investigation treated her better than Kusa had.
Ayame offered the girl a friendly smile. "While you wait, tell me how Goku saved you."
Karin didn't feel comfortable going in depth on what Kusa was like with a stranger, she had at least bonded with Team 7 over their fight with Orochimaru before telling them. Still, the Uzumaki had opened by alluding to the fact Kusa wasn't the greatest.
From there, she spoke of the Chunin Exams. Her experience with her team, Goku saving her, and her time with his teammates. All the while, she ate ramen, and it was genuinely amazing. She completely understood why Goku and Naruto frequented this place.
Of course, as she ate, the girl expanded her sensory powers. She wanted to feel either boy arriving. That's not to say it was particularly tedious. Karin got to eat more ramen, and Ayame was rather kind. It wasn't until Karin finished her third bowl that she picked up on Goku.
"It's been a while since I came here." Goku popped in with a grin as his eyes settled on Ayame. "It smells just as great as I remember. Serve me up the usual Ayame."
"Goku, I didn't know you could be such a little charmer." Ayame smirked at him. "Saving damsels-in-distress and sweeping them off their feet is all in a day's work, huh?"
Karin's cheeks reddened since it was true. Despite three of the Genin from Team 7 being nice to her, her thoughts were more often on Goku.
"Huh, what are you talking about Ayame?" Goku asked confused.
Karin wiped her mouth with a napkin and cleared her throat. "Hello again, Goku."
"Oh, Karin." Goku smiled. "You got a Konoha headband."
"It's due to you finding me within the Forest of Death." Karin nodded. "Thank you."
"It was no problem." Goku responded genuinely as he took a seat and was given a bowl of ramen. "Learning what I had, I'm glad to have come across you before you were hurt."
Karin certainly noted that Goku had taken a seat next to her, and she wasn't about to complain.
"Goku's always been a sweet boy." Ayame voiced.
"It's how grandpa raised me." Goku shrugged with a grin. "Then again, it's also how he raised my twin, yet he has his own ways of showing care."
"Looking back on it, I think I recalled seeing someone who looked like you during the written exam." Karin voiced.
At the time, she had been sensing the Chakra from that silver haired Konoha Genin and red headed Suna Genin. Upon thinking about it, she could recall someone who looked a lot like Goku. One was with Naruto while the other was with some guy in green spandex.
"Yeah, that was probably Turles." Goku responded. "There's also my grandpa Gohan and older brother Raditz." Karin looked at him, yet she didn't dare ask about his parents since she didn't want to be rude. "At one point, there were my parents to."
"D-Did something happen to them" Karin asked tentatively.
She figured it might be fine considering he brought it up.
"Turles and I hadn't been born long before the Nine Tail's attacked and ended up releasing this monster called Janemba." Goku informed. "My dad sealed it back during the Third Ninja War. Anyways, mom was holding Turles and I when the monster ended up targeting her.
She didn't have much time so opted to push us into the arms of the Hyuga Clan Head before being cut down. Dad ended up perishing later after assumedly sealing Janemba again; however, no bottle was ever found."
"You never got to know either of your parents?" Karin questioned, sadly.
"I've heard plenty of stories about them, but there are times I wonder what it'd have been like to have them around." Goku responded.
"I'm sorry you never did." Karin looked down. "They sound like great people."
"That's what I always hear and am inclined to believe." Goku voiced with a smile.
"So, you made it into the final phase." Karin voiced, wanting to change topics now. "How have your preparations gone?"
"They've been great." Goku grinned since he never was melancholic long. "My sensei found me some great teachers while my brother helped me learn what's become our family Ninjutsu."
"Found you a great teacher?" Karin asked. "What about your team?"
"We've been training separately this entire month, so I haven't seen them since we parted." Goku nodded. "Even so, I know all of them must have been working hard over this time."
Karin had hoped Goku saw Naruto or Hinata. She supposed the opportunity to see them, if she didn't beforehand, would be at the Chunin Exams.
"Well, I'll be sure to cheer you on throughout the final phase." Karin declared.
"You'll cheer me on?" Goku asked. "What if I end up facing Naruto?"
"I should, seeing as he's a fellow Uzumaki, yet I wouldn't be here were it not for you." Karin smiled. "The least I can do is cheer you on. If you want, I'll even help you. It's probably best you rest your body, but I'm good at planning things. I could help you study strategies and tactics."
Even though her last team never wanted to hear her ideas, it was something she was allowed to study back in Kusa…unlike Medical-Nin stuff.
"Alright, I'll take the help." Goku declared.
As they ate, Goku ran down the list of the other eleven people and what he knew, if anything, about them. Together, the pair came up with potential strategies utilizing Goku's innate battle prowess with Karin's knowledge.
Hotel: Morning…
(One Day Before the Final Phase)
Baki banged on the door to his Genin's room until they answered.
"What up?" Kankuro asked.
"You idiots!" Baki exclaimed. "Neither of you even made it to the final phase, so all your focus should have been keeping an eye on him." The two Sand Siblings were freaked. "I specifically assigned this to you."
The siblings scrambled back into the room, only to find their brother was gone, and they had no idea where to.
Yamanaka Flower Shop
Turles was left with nothing to do but rest now for the final phase. He had learned the Kamehameha and almost immediately redoubled his efforts to make up for the week of training he missed with Guy and Lee. That's by no means snuffing his family's Jutsu.
The Kamehameha was a great technique; however, he needed a month's worth of intense training if he wanted to beat Gaara. According to his sensei, he had most certainly gotten that in spades through just how hard he worked.
Turles, like every day since, stopped in at the Yamanaka shop. While he had hope Ino would be back behind that counter, it was one that had not been answered every day he made this stop prior. That had resulted in him visiting her at the hospital or her compound after she was let out.
As he entered this time, the Sarutobi gave a relieved smile upon seeing her back behind the counter. It gave a sense that things were finally back to normal. Naturally, things had changed between them, yet a lot had stayed the same to.
"Ino, you're back here." Turles stated.
"I know your relieved." Ino smiled back at him. "Mom and dad, I'll be it that latter one was rather reluctant, told me how you stopped in here every day. I quickly figured out this was your first stop before coming to see me."
"Yeah." Turles nodded as he approached the counter. "Ino, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ino assured him genuinely. "The Yamanaka are some of the best when it comes to anything associated with the mind, and my parents obviously made certain I was one hundred percent recovered physically."
The two went about then chatting since the store was presently empty.
Outside
Naruto was on his way to Ichiraku's and happened to be passing the Yamanaka Flower Shop when Kurama spoke to him. "I was going to bring this up tomorrow; however, that tanuki is on the move."
"What!?" Naruto asked.
"Look at the Yamanaka shop." Kurama responded, and the blond saw that red headed Sand Shinobi entering. "The red head who attempted to kill that other blond contains the One Tail, and it seems he's got the boy thinking of only one thing…"
Naruto didn't need to be told more as he ran over to the shop. While he didn't know Ino all that well, she was still a comrade. Not to mention Hinata considered her a friend and Turles, the twin of his best friend, really liked her. All of that was more than enough for him to get involved.
Yamanaka Flower Shop
As Gaara entered the, his mind was in turmoil. Part of him was obsessed with the kill that got away from him while another part could only think of Turles stepping in to protect her. Upon seeing him, despite being left with no mental afflictions, it didn't mean Ino wasn't scared. Turles immediately removed his weights and took a defensive stance before her.
"Not another step." Turles warned, giving of a scowl that would remind anyone who knew him of Bardock. "If you do, I'm kicking you out that door, whatever trouble be dammed, and we'll have out match on the spot."
Before Gaara could respond, the door suddenly opened as Naruto lunged forward slugging the Sand Genin in the face. He then immediately moved to stand with Turles.
"What do you…" Naruto stopped.
This was the first time he'd gotten this close to Gaara. Thanks to Kurama informing him of it, he could see something within this boy's that were within his own. Granted, it was lessoned once people came into his life, but those people hadn't always been there.
That punch Naruto threw had cracked Gaara's face, and upon noting the sand falling to the ground, Turles understood this was some form of defense. As for Naruto being here in general, while Turles did want this guy one on one, Ino's safety was more important.
"What do you think you're doing?" Turles asked.
"I came to kill that girl." Gaara answered.
"Judging by what you tried during the preliminaries, I should have known." Turles spat. "Like I said, one more step and you're out that door. Then, I follow you out and grind your face against the ground. This is my Ino, and you will not take her from me."
Before Turles could speak again or Gaara could retort, Naruto spoke up with a softer expression. "It's almost unbearable, isn't it? The feeling of being all alone."
Gaara stared into Naruto's eyes and realized he wasn't just talking. This boy knew exactly what it meant, he had been through that, and it picked at the Suna Shinobi in a way nothing had in years.
"I know that feeling." Naruto continued. "I've been there, in that dark and lonely place."
Turles and Ino were now looking at Naruto differently, neither of them having seen this within the boy yet feeling like they should have.
"Slowly, people who mean a lot to me entered my life, and I care more about them than I do myself. I won't let anyone hurt them." Naruto shot the Suna Genin a firm look. "That's why I won't give up. Should you continue to hurt people, I will stop you, even if I must kill you."
"Why?" Gaara was shocked. "Why do this for anyone but yourself?"
"Because they saved me from myself." Naruto walked up until he stood right before Gaara. "They rescued me from my loneliness." They accepted me for who I am." Goku, Iruka, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Hinata all came to his mind. "They're my friends."
Gaara could swear he heard the words of someone who was long gone in that moment.
"Well, love is the heart's desire to serve someone who is precious to you. To watch over them, like my sister did for you Gaara."
Gaara was conflicted between what had just been said and how he's lived all this time.
"I'm sorry your life hasn't yet taken the upswing mine did long ago." Naruto softened a bit as he reached into his jacket, took out the book he received from Jiraiya, and stared at it. "Honestly, I can't tell you how to go about fixing things." He looked up at Gaara. "I think maybe you'll find solace within this book."
Naruto held it out and Gaara stared for a good moment. "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi."
…
After the longest of moments, Gaara slowly took the book. He then turned on his heels and ended up walking out of the store without another word. Naruto stared at the door, uncertain if he'd really achieved anything.
Suddenly, Turles put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Naruto, how about some ramen on me?"
"Huh?" Naruto questioned.
"I'm going for ramen." Turles declared. "You can come to get a bowl or pay for your own later."
"I'll join you." Naruto voiced, touched by the attempt.
"Hold on, I'll come and put in some money to." Ino stated, taking off her apron.
"Aren't you minding the store?" Turles asked.
"It's been dead aside from you guys." Ino joined them. "My parents shouldn't mind much. Besides, I was told I could close if it became too much, and I think they'd agree that this instance counts."
Hotel: Night…
The elder Suna Siblings were taking care of their fan and puppets respectively. After Gaara returned, and there wasn't a lot of panic, you'd think they could relax. If anything, the state Gaara returned in only made them more concerned.
"What do you think happened to him?" Temari asked.
Kankuro shook his head. "I don't know."
Gaara was sitting on the roof where he read through the book Naruto gave him. The Suna Shinobi was confused, and even as this book did speak to him, he didn't particularly have many answers anymore. In the span of half a day, everything he knew came into question.
Naruto's determination to become a Chunin, better training, and a little help from Kurama leads to him getting the Rasengan down in twelve days. When it comes to Goku, he's done the Chakra refinement, so his body is already ready to produce a Kamehameha. Given his canon self he produced one just after seeing it, I see no reason to change that here. From there, Naruto will spend his remaining time learning seals while Goku is full force training with Zabuza and Haku.
Here, Sasuke got Chidori down in eight days, and he's still going to be trained in high speed Taijutsu. Adding to that, he has a better base and a second teacher which leads to several more boons. Hinata still does have to work on her ranged weapons mind you, one month isn't going to put her on Granolah's level, but I'd say she's now on par with Haku in terms of throwing weapons. She'll be spending the last of her time learning how to utilize Chakra Bullets.
Then, Goku meets with Karin who is now an official Konoha Genin. While Goku is a battle genius, a little book strategy never hurt anyone. While she's certainly not on Shikamaru levels of intelligence, I feel Karin would still have some valuable insight. Lastly, Gaara was still going to try to kill the person he couldn't in the preliminaries. That means going after Ino which Turles would never let happen if he's there. If it came down to it, their match would have been right then and there.
Ultimately, it didn't happen since Naruto shows up here and basically gives a sort of reverse Talk no Jutsu. How Talk no Jutsu typically works is that the person he uses it on has been beaten down opening them up to listen and change. In this universe, Gaara hasn't even been beaten down by Rock Lee. That said, Naruto does have that book we learn about come Shippuden here. We've seen with Pain that Jiraiya's first book is a powerful one.
Note: Now, I will be taking a break from this story for a time. I don't want to hop into the final phase and suddenly run into burn out on this story leaving matches unconcluded.
Dontus -not Donut- Powerus: We've already discussed the Kamehameha in pm, so I won't delve into that here. Thank you for your review.