A couple weeks passed with all the Genin training hard. Asuma was pleased to see a little progress on Sasuke's therapy. The young Uchiha was still isolating himself but he occasionally joined in conversations Shikimaru and Kiba had about tracking targets and different ways to incapacitate or kill them. Tenten was making decent progress learning how to use her elements, and Lee had spent a lot of the time he wasn't training meditating to focus his mind to fight off Genjutsu or trying to learn the Summoning Jutsu. Much to his shock he had managed to summon a baby tortoise on his most recent attempt. Ensui, much to his frustration, hadn't made much progress with some of his Genin. Inoichi and Choza had backed him up in how Ino and Choji were trained. Sakura's mother had tried to throw a tantrum and complain to the Hokage about the 'inhuman' training her daughter was being put through and was shocked when told that while a little more advanced than expected, the training Sakura was doing was normal for Shinobi.
Hiruzen hadn't been idle either. Inoichi and Ibiki had found that a lot of students had been sabotaged. More than half of the teachers at the academy and its headmaster were 'guests' at Konoha's T&I Department for treason along with a good portion of the Civilian Council as the sabotage was done on their direct orders. Hiruzen as he'd warned Shibhi had put the Aburame Clan Head in charge of fixing the academy's curriculum. Something that Shibi did with the stoic calm and efficiency his clan was known for. Something many people of Konoha didn't know was that the Aburame Clan were sometimes just as smart as a Nara. Shibi being one such example.
Yūgao, as promised, had pushed her team hard. All three had mastered the Tree Walking exercise and were well on their way to mastering the Water Walking exercise. Shino and Hinata had also gotten new outfits. Shino's was due to necessity as once he'd moved on to Water Walking he needed an outfit that could protect his Kikaichū from the water if he fell in. Both of their outfits had some dark orange on it as a subtle sign that they'd stand with Naruto. Yūgao wasn't sure if Naruto noticed the sign but it didn't really matter since the three's teamwork was on point. They'd already blown past the required amount of D-Ranks thanks to Naruto's Shadow Clones so they could take a C-Rank if they wanted but none of them felt they were ready.
Hinata had also come farther than she'd expected in such short a time. Naruto's enthusiasm mixed with Shino's calm encouragement had done amazing work in improving her self-esteem. Currently Yūgao was standing off to the side watching the three brainstorm on ways they could improve. Naruto was deep in thought as Hinata and Shino considered different survival tactics to use if they were separated from the others, "Hey Hinata…" Naruto said slowly as if he was still puzzling it out himself.
"Yes Naruto?" Hinata said as she turned to him a couple of Shino's Kikaichū resting on her hand while some were sitting on Naruto's shoulders so they could get used to Shino's hive.
"Your Taijutsu style… I can't put my finger on why but it doesn't really suit you. It's almost like… it's too stiff? Like…. Like…"
"Like she's forcing herself to be still despite what her instincts are telling her to do?" Shino offered as he adjusted his glasses, "I'd noticed that myself but am unsure as to the reason why."
"Well…," Hinata said as she tilted her head to the side in thought, "The Juken is often connected to the Earth Element. Still, procice and powerful. Perhaps the reason I can't use it as well as other Hyuga is I'm the wrong Element?"
"Possibly," Shino considered.
"What would it matter?" Naruto asked, "I know some Jutsu Elements are strong against others. Fire beats Wind for example. Does that really mean as much with Taijutsu?"
"It might," Yūgao said, joining the conversation. Her genin looked at her and weren't the slightest bit bothered anymore by her gray armor showing off her curves a little more than her standard Jonin attire. She'd already given them 'The Talk' and explained much about what happened to the body as it grew. The kids had been embarrassed as expected but once she explained how enemies could take advantage of a teen's hormones they understood why knowing what was happening was required, "Might Guy's style the Goken has a lot in common with the Lightning Element being composed for fast and powerful blows to end a fight quickly. From what I know the Uzumaki's style is very similar to water in that it can easily flow from a mobile and defensive style to a ferocious offensive style in the blink of an eye, though Naruto would know more about it then I would."
"That's a good way to describe it actually," Naruto said as he scratched his chin, "Guy-Sensei has me use a dozen Shadow Clones to run through the basic Kata's while I get strength and endurance training so I can dodge or deflect attacks before retaliating."
"Well… I do have to stop myself from moving too much as the Juken is a rather stationary style…" Hinata stated as she considered what had been said, "I also find myself wanting to kick the training dummy but the Juken doesn't have any need for kicks…"
"What if you tried sending waves of Chakra into your opponent through your kicks?" Naruto asked as he recalled what Hinata had told them about the style, "Does a Tenketsu need a direct infusion of Chakra to be shut down or would a wave of Chakra over it work?"
"From everything I know it needs a direct infusion… but a 'wave' of Chakra as you suggest could still do a lot of damage to the enemy," Hinata mused. During one of their first sparring sessions Yūgao had pointed out that by holding back and not showing what her style could really do, was harming her teammates as they had to take Taijutsu seriously, and if they ever had to fight a member of her clan or someone who'd stolen a Byakugan and had reverse engineered the style it was best to know what it could really do, "The Juken's been refined for decades to use our Byakugan to its fullest and disable Tenketsu with nothing more then a single finger, but that does mean that while it's excellent in finesse it lacks in raw power. Cloth and leather barely hinder it but metal armor can be a hindrance. Especially Chakra Metal from the Land of Iron due to its ability to spread the Chakra we inject into our opponent over the entire sheet of metal."
"Really? Interesting," Shino observed, "Most would assume that Chakra Metal would assist in focusing the Juken's strikes."
"Kind of like a rock hitting a pond," Naruto said as he scratched his chin before turning to his Sensei, "Yūgao-Sensei. How does one learn what their Elemental Affinities are?"
Yūgao smiled as she pulled out three small sheets of paper, "This paper is made from trees that have been fed Chakra since it was planted," She then handed each of her Genin a sheet, "Due to that by imbuing Chakra into it, you will get one of five different results. Fire will make the paper burn, Wind will cut it in half, Lighting will make it crumple, Earth will dry it out to the point it crumbles to dust, and Water will soak it. The more powerful your Secondary Affinity the more prominent the second effect will be."
"Why don't you go first Hinata?" Naruto suggested as Shino nodded his agreement, "You're the main one having problems right now."
"Al…alright," Hinata said suddenly, very nervous. She'd never heard of a Hyuga who didn't have Earth as their main Element and didn't know what would happen if she didn't have Earth. Taking a deep breath Hinata poured a little Chakra into the paper only for it to get soaked in moments before crumpling up. Hinata's eyes went wide, "I'm… Water and Lightning? Is that why the Juken doesn't fit me? Because both of my Elements have a direct relationship with Earth?"
"It very well might," Shino mused, "Is there anyone in your family that you can ask for help?"
"I… I should let Father know," Hinata gulped, "But I doubt he'll take this well and this might just force his hand into making Hanabi the Heiress as the Elders would be more insistent than ever."
"Even if doing so would undo renewing the alliance with the Uzumaki and Aburame Clans?" Naruto asked, making everyone look at him in surprise. He had his fox like grin back and his eyes had the gleam of a prank in the works, "After all you're on a team with the Heir's to both Clans, and while the Uzumaki Clan may be down to one member now, it won't remain that way once we grow up. Uzushio could easily rise from the ashes and become as strong as it was in its prime if not stronger. Plus I am a direct relation to three S-Rank Kunoichi of Konoha and one of them was the First Hokage's wife meaning you'd also be allied with the Senju Clan… at least once I make contact with cousin Tsunade that is."
Hinata's jaw had dropped from just how deviously clever that was. It was also an incredibly subtle threat from Naruto that if they abused Hinata they'd lose any chance of an alliance with the rebuilding Uzumaki Clan and losing the one with the Aburame Clan, and once word of it spread the Hyuga would lose standing rest of Uzumaki's and Aburame's allies. Possibly even their standing with Konoha as a whole! On top of that Tsunade Senju was not a woman to be taken lightly even now after all the time she's been away from Konoha and if she ever returned she'd have an incredible amount of political power, "That… that…"
"That is amazingly well thought out Naruto," Shino said, awe creeping into his voice, which made his teammates blink. That was the first time they'd ever heard anything other than Shino speaking in a monotone, "I must admit despite how devious your past pranks were, I wasn't expecting you to be this cunning. I apologize for underestimating you."
"Heh," Naruto said tilting his head slightly as he scratched the back of his head, "Don't worry about it, dattebayo. Aren't Shinobi supposed to make others underestimate them?" Yūgao didn't even bother to hide her proud smile. The three had grown in leaps and bounds since she started training them and this was just more proof of that. Perhaps she should take them on their first C-Rank soon, "What about you Shino? What Elements did you get?"
Focusing his Chakra he saw his Chakra Paper begin to crumble to dust before the corner cut itself off, "Earth and Wind huh? Interesting."
"Earth is one of the most common elements, though to have Wind as well," Yūgao said in thought, "Wind is the rarest of the Elements and the best for direct combat. Perhaps once you have more Chakra, you'll be able to use that to your advantage. Earth is the best defensive Element after all."
"Defense and Offense…" Shino said in thought before he turned to Naruto, "Do you think you could make some Seals that can infuse Elemental Chakra into Kikaichū? If not, I believe I can work with Father to find a way to achieve the same results."
"Hmm…" Naruto tilted his head, "It might be possible but that would be a pretty advanced seal. Too much Chakra and the Kikaichū might die as they might not be able to absorb it fast enough, and too little Chakra and nothing would happen or it it would take to long to get any useful results. Kinda like the Tree Walking," He then pulled out a notebook and started jotting things down, "Perhaps if the Chakra is absorbed over time?" His teammates sat and watched him work. Naruto, like all Uzumaki, had an instinctive grasp of the art and despite only working on it for a few weeks, was already as good as some of the more lazy Anbu, "Yeah… Yeah I think I got something. I think if they absorb a large amount of nothing but the Elemental Chakra over an entire day, along with a second matrix to accelerate their natural evolution… I'm not sure how long the evolution would take but I'd guess it would be at least a couple weeks. I'm not advanced enough to make the proper seals though."
"That is fine. Just knowing it is possible is enough for now. I will still speak with my father about this to see if he has another option. If he has a solution then perhaps we could try both options," Shino replied, "I will also speak to Mother about this as the project would be fascinating for her."
Naruto nodded and put the notebook back in his pocket, "I'll work on this in my spare time. It'll be a fun project even if your dad has a better option and we don't use it. Now let's see what Elements I got," Focusing his Chakra, Naruto's paper split in half before both halves grew soggy, "Wind and Water huh? Hey Sensei, what Elements did Mom have?"
"The exact same," Yūgao said, "It's one of the reasons she was so dangerous with the two Uzumaki styles. Wind Chakra made her blade sharper than even Mizu's Kiba blades, and by channeling Water Chakra to her muscles she became incredibly flexible and would dance around the enemies attacks."
"Did Mom have a Chakra Metal sword?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from his Sensei, "I'm betting she also added some seals to it."
"She did," Yūgao said before her eyes went wide as realization hit. She made a clone which Shunshin'd away, "Her sword is still with her stored items. My clone is off to ask the Hokage if we can gain access to them. Perhaps she left some notes on Fuinjutsu which will help you advance. At the rate you're growing with it, you'll be better with Seals than I am soon though admittedly among ANBU I'm near the middle tier of Fuinjutsu skill. Do you have your practice swords on you?" Naruto nodded, and in a puff of smoke a wakizashi appeared in his left hand and a katana in his right. He'd found he felt the most comfortable with the medium length sword but was still training with a katana in case he needed the additional reach, "If we can get her katana, I want you to start training with that. We can get you a proper Chakra Metal wakizashi soon so you can put your own seals on it," The cackling Naruto let out made his friends shudder. For once they didn't want to know what kind of seals the blond was thinking of.
Hiruzen sat at his desk going through yet more paperwork, when someone knocked on his door. Curious. Why didn't his secretary inform him he had a visitor? "Enter," Looking up he saw Yūgao enter the room, "Ah. Yūgao. What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if Naruto and I could get access to his mother's stored items," Yūgao inquired, "Both to see if the Uzumaki had a Clan Summons as I've told you before, and also so Naruto could have his mother's sword and Fuinjutsu notes."
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and stroked his short bead, "You believe he's ready for her sword and is he already that advanced in Fuinjutsu?"
"To use in the field, no." Yūgao replied, "For now he'll use a normal katana in the field, however he should be ready to use it by the Chunin Exam at the latest. As for Fuinjutsu he's already nearing my level of skill," Hiruzen's eyes went wide at that bit of news, "Using Shadow Clones he's already got a high level of calligraphy and also uses them to practice new seals. Orchid and I have done what we can but he's growing far faster than we thought. He's truly inherited his mother's skill in the art."
Hiruzen nodded, "Very well," Hiruzen got up and moved to a picture of his old Genin Team. Putting it to the side revealed a seal. Biting his thumb he spread some blood over the seal which glowed before the wall drew to the sides revealing a safe with yet another seal on it. After unlocking the safe he pulled out a rather large scroll with red markings though Yugao noted a similar scroll with yellow markings next to it. After closing the safe Hiruzen returned to his desk and handed the scroll to Yūgao, "This contains most of his mother's possessions. Including the deed and keys to her old house where the rest of her items are. I've read the reports from the Anbu Commander about how many people have broken into his apartment after you reported what you saw, and want you to help him move into the house. I have failed that young man in more ways than I wish to acknowledge but that doesn't change the fact I HAVE failed him. Even by preventing him from having a loving family is a move that Danzo would be proud of," Yūgao's eyes went wide at that even as she sealed the scroll away, "By doing so I made myself seem to be one of, if not the only person he could trust. I plan to tell him more about his burden soon and apologize to him. I would like you to be here when I do."
"Of course Hokage-Sama," Yūgao said before she left the room, several thoughts fighting for dominance. Leaning back in his chair Hiruzen looked out the window and sent a prayer to the Kami and Kushina's spirit that his mistakes wouldn't destroy the bridges with the young man who'd become a second grandson to him forever.
"Keep moving runts!" Ensui barked out, as a couple of his clones continued to try to catch Ino, Sakura and Choji in their shadows as part of the Genin's stamina and evasion training, "Don't slow down Sakura!" At this rate he'd need to ask Orchid or one of his Anbu associates into getting resistance seals so these brats would train at all times even if they didn't want to. Sakura and Ino were still barely past the level they should have been as fresh Genin right out of the academy! At least Choji was now taking training a little more seriously. The Genin kept this up for another ten minutes before Sakura was caught by one of his clones with Ino caught only two minutes later.
"Alright! That's it for this training exercise," Ensui said and his clones burst themselves, his two female Genin falling to the ground panting while Choji simply bent over panting slightly.
"While you rest we'll talk about new ways to train," Ensui said, smirking slightly as Ino and Sakura groaned.
"I thought Nara were supposed to be lazy!" Ino whined.
"We are. I'm just focusing that laziness to make your training as efficient as possible so I don't have to do as much. It's one reason you three haven't even had a single D-Rank yet!" Ensui replied with a small chuckle, making Ino and Sakura glare at him, "Not my fault you two are so weak from ignoring your training and dieting this feels like hell to you. Now let's start with the least pathetic of you. Choji? Your growth has been decent since we started and I'm glad you're taking things a little more seriously. I've considered weapons for you, and we've got a few options. First simple brass knuckles or gauntlets. Your style is already one based on pure power so the extra weight of the gauntlets or focused power of the brass knuckles wouldn't change that much. Another option would be a kanabo. A simple but effective weapon and with your family's raw strength you could give some of the Oni in stories of old a run for their money."
Choji gained a thoughtful look as he considered what his Sensei told him, "Would it be possible to give all three a try to see which one works best?"
Ensui gave his male Genin a smile. Something that was somewhat rare with how often his Genin got on his nerves. Looks like Choji had grown a little more than he thought, "It is, and I was already planning on that. It'll take a little time to get the knuckles and gauntlets though since Shinobi don't normally use those. The closest you'd get are knuckle knives like Asuma Sarutobi uses. With your Fire Element, if you get weapons made out of Chakra Metal then very few people would want to get in Taijutsu range with you," Turning to Ino he said, "Ino, you're a Water and Fire Element. Long range Ninjutsu would be your best bet for offense while getting a Taijutsu style similar to the one the medics use wouldn't be a bad idea either as their style focuses on dodging and letting your enemy wear themselves out."
"What about me Sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Well you're Earth and Water Nature, means you're mostly on defense," Ensui replied, "Though you'll need a lot more Chakra before I even think of teaching you any Jutsu. Apart from Earth and Water Jutsu, you'll also focus on Genjutsu due to your high level of control… even if most of that control comes from just how little Chakra you have," Sakura wilted. She'd hoped that her Sensei would teach her more than all this training to improve her strength, stamina and Chakra. Was she really that far behind when it came to what mattered to Shinobi? Sasuke would never bother with her if she was truly that weak! "Thinking about the Uchiha again?" She winced, how did her Sensei know every time her thoughts wandered to her darling Sasuke? "How many times have I told you that, your fangirl mentality can and will get you or your comrades killed?"
Ensui fought back the urge to groan as Sakura's thoughts once more drifted onto the Uchiha. Her mother had really done quite the number on the girl, by telling her she was destined to marry the Uchiha heir, since shortly after the Uchiha Massacre. He was beginning to wonder if he should look into getting Sakura out from her mother's care. It would be easier now that Sakura was considered an adult in the eyes of Konoha's laws but it would still be a huge pain in the ass as two of Sakura's mother's friends were a couple of the remaining members of the Civilian Council, and they were already causing a stink about how Genin were trained. Something that Sakura's mother had put in motion. Why did civilians have to be so troublesome when they decided to interfere in Shinobi affairs?
Asuma looked at his Genin thoughtfully as they worked on the Tree Walking exercise. Kiba had come to training without Akamaru today as the pup was training with his mother's hound Kuromaru, trying to learn how to speak english. Kuromaru was able to speak English due to his sire being from the Dog Summoning Clan, and to Kiba's knowledge none of the other Inuzuka Dogs had any similar ancestry. It would be interesting to see if Akamaru would succeed. Pushing those thoughts to the side he looked at the sky in thought. Perhaps he should take them on an easy C-Rank to see if they're ready for more advanced stuff.
A couple days later Yūgao gathered her team after their warm ups and said, "Alright team. So far you three have exceeded my expectations. As such I want to know. Do you three think you're ready for a C-Rank?" The three looked at each other before nodding.
"If it's just bandits and the like we should be fine," Hinata said.
"Yeah. We can take out a group of bandits no problem," Naruto agreed, "A Nuke-Nin on the other hand…"
"I agree," Shino acknowledged with a nod, "Genin level Nuke-Nin are rare and we are nowhere near ready to take on a Chunin let alone a Jonin."
"Well that's why you have a Jonin-Sensei," Yūgao said with a small teasing grin, "Now let's go get your first C-Rank shall we?"
Author's Notes:
I got the idea for Elemental Kikaichū from EnvoyofKairos' story 'Konoha's Fatal Joke', which I highly recommend. I also got permission to use this idea and yes. That is one of the tricks I mentioned last chapter. I'll just add my own twist to it.
