Hello everybody, here is Tc with a new chapter.
Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Civilian Sensei: Chapter 04
The first thing Naruto noticed when he woke up was that the ceiling was different from what he was used to.
'This isn't my bedroom,' he thought.
He got up fast and gave the room a look. A medium-sized room with white walls, a queen-size bed, a nice desk, a chair and a door that led to a bathroom.
He began to panic, thinking that he had been kidnapped, when he started to remember.
His mother, Braith-Neesan, and her offer to spend the night here. He calmed himself and rested his head on the pillow. After a few minutes of laziness, he decided to get up, clean himself up and go find Braith.
After a nice shower, he put on his clothes from the day before and exited the room.
Yesterday, he was too tired to notice, but the hallway from the bedroom to the backroom of the store had more than two doors. In fact, there were many. All of them had different symbols written on them. It looked like some kind of language but he couldn't read them so he didn't know what it said.
Not sure what door led to the room from yesterday, he decided to open them one by one.
He tried the bolt of the door closest to him and it was open. He entered the room and found that it was a deposit room, a large deposit room, with shelves full of boxes of all sizes. From smaller boxes that would fit in the palm of your hand, to crates bigger than him. It was an imposing room.
But seeing that it was not the one that he was looking for, he decided to leave.
After leaving the place, he realized that there was something odd about that room, the same way that there was something weird with the yard that he saw through the window yesterday, but he couldn't figure out what.
Keeping his eyes open, he entered the next room.
It was another large room, just like the one before, but instead of a warehouse, it was a library. A massive library, with shelves full of books and scrolls.
He had never seen something like this. He had no love for reading, but even he knew that this many books in one place wasn't normal. He walked for some minutes and read the titles of the books that were on his path.
There were all kinds of topics. Politics, history, math, biology, novels, botany and much, much more. The scrolls seemed to be mainly of ninja techniques. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, fuinjutsu, etc. It was amazing.
He tried to take one of the scrolls of taijutsu to read it but, for some reason, he couldn't. He couldn't lift it off the shelf. It was like the scroll weighed a thousand pounds. He tried with another one but the same thing happened. It was ridiculous! He could see how a breeze coming through the door moved the pages of another scroll but he, a Ninja in training, couldn't. While he wasn't the strongest in the class, he was not that weak, dammit!
Seeing that it was useless, he turned around to exit the room. While he was walking to the door, he noticed the same odd feeling as before. He stopped in front of the door and took a peek at the hallway. Then he looked at the room. He repeated this sequence a couple of times until, opening wide his eyes, he understood.
The room was big, very big. In fact, it was too big. Too big to fit the layout of the house. If one looked at the closed door from the hallway, the room couldn't possibly fit inside. The room was bigger on the inside than on the outside!
"What the hell is going on, dattebayo?!" He yelled out loud.
"There you are, Naruto," said a voice behind him, making him squeal.
Turning around quickly, he came face to face with his hostess. She was wearing a long-sleeved blue blouse with a V-neckline. It had a cutout on the sleeves and a yoke on the front and back. From the waist down, she wore black jeans without any kind of decoration and white sneakers. In one word, she looked gorgeous.
She gave him an inquisitive look and said, "I have been looking for you, where were you?" she asked.
When Naruto saw her, he ran toward her, put his hands on her arms and said. "Braith-Neesan, thank god you are here!" he said, frenetic. "Listen, I was looking for you in those rooms when I noticed that there is something wrong with them," he said, pointing to one of them. "You won't believe me but these rooms are bigger on the inside than on the outside. There has to be the work of g-g-ghosts," Naruto said trembling. "We have to -hey don't laugh!- We have to get out of here!" he shouted at her.
Braith, who was listening patiently to him, finally started giggling when he mentioned ghosts. Then when he suggested they run, she burst out laughing. He didn't see what was so funny. Ghosts weren't funny. They cannot be fought or killed and even if you survive, you will be cursed forever. Didn't she ever see a horror movie?
After a few seconds, her laugh started to die down and, between breaths of air, she managed to say. "Oh child, you are so precious," she said to him while he caressed his head kindly, making him blush. "I know the proportion of these rooms is different from what you are used to, but I can assure you, that is not the work of ghosts," Bratih said to him.
He stood still at her words. Could it be true?
"Really, is it not g-ghosts?" he said, hopefully.
"Really Naru, it is not ghosts," she said, still with a smile on her face.
He relaxed at her words. That is good, he thought. For a moment, he thought that he would have to fight his way out of this place. But now he can be at ease.
Until he remembered the things he said to Braith-Neesan about ghosts. He lowered his eyes and started blushing. Oh, the shame. How ridiculous he must have sounded. How cowardly. What kind of ninja was afraid of ghosts? Maybe she would reconsider helping him with his training.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Braith said. "Now that you are more calm, how about you join me for breakfast?" She asked.
Still looking down, he nodded his head and started following her.
Once they exited the house from the back door of the shop, Naruto's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight.
The back of Braith's shop was more like a clearing in the middle of a forest than an actual yard. No, he corrected himself, her house was in an actual clearing in the middle of a forest.
No matter where he looked, there were trees, plants, grass, animals like deer, squirrels, birds and more. It was amazing. And impossible. How could her house shop be in a forest when he entered the store down a public street? It was absurd.
While he followed Braith through the forest, he saw more kinds of animals and plants and on more than one occasion, he saw others clearing with other houses in them. He had so many questions that he didn't know where to begin.
They finally left the forest and entered another clearing that had a lake and beside it, a table already served with tea and all kinds of sweets on it.
Braith sat down first and, once Naruto stopped looking at his surroundings, he followed her.
While she was serving tea, he asked.
"Um, Braith-Neesan?" He said.
"Yes, Naruto?" She said with a serene tone, without looking at him.
"What is happening?" Naruto said.
"What do you mean?" she asked in the same tone as before, as she drank her tea.
"I mean, where are we?" He said, starting to get irritated.
"In my backyard," she said calmly.
Already losing his patience, he said. "Oh come on, you know what I am talking about!" he said, exasperated. "Where are we? Are we still inside your shop? How could we be inside your shop if we are now in the middle of a fucking forest? If this isn't the work of ghosts, then how is this possible?!" he yelled at her.
When he stopped talking, Braith finally let her tea on the table and gave him a serious look. No, that was putting it mildly.
Looking into her eyes, Naruto lost all her anger and started getting shivers. He had received hateful looks before but this was different. It was a look that said that he should shut up or face the consequences. It was terrifying. It made him wish that he was anywhere but here.
"Naruto," she said with a stern voice. "You are welcome to ask me all kinds of questions, I will not always answer them, but I will not stop you from doing it. But," she told him with a steely tone. "You will always talk to me with respect and in a civilized tone of voice," she said, terrifying him. "Is that clear?" she asked.
"Ye-yes Ma'am," he said to her, afraid.
Giving him one final look, she returned to her tea. "Good," she said. "Now, go ahead, ask your questions," she said in a more calm tone.
Still a little scared of her, he asked her with hesitation. "Ok. Um, could you tell me how your store is inside of a forest, if I enter it through the street?" He said, trying to sound respectful.
"Ah, that," Braith said. "Well, that is thanks to the work of various seals set all over my shop and my yard, my original yard, drawn by the hand of Mito herself," she explained. Naruto paid more attention to the mention of his relative. "The same kind of seals make the rooms inside the shop bigger inside than outside," she added.
"Really?" he asked, astonished. Who knew that the same things that make the sealing scrolls could do something like this? Mito Uzumaki must have been an amazing ninja.
Still with questions, Naruto asked. "How do they work?"
"Well," she began to say. "According to Mito, she said that the principle of the array of the seal is the same one that is used on the sealing scrolls, inserting something large inside something small," she explained.
He cocked his head in confusion. "I don't get it," he said.
"Me neither!" she said laughing, surprising him. "I am not a Seal Master, I may know more than most and be able to manipulate those inside the house, but understanding completely or creating from scratch seals of that caliber is beyond me," Braith said.
"Wow," he said, fascinated by the wife of the Shodaime. "Mito must have been really good with seals then," Naruto told her.
"Yes, she was," she confirmed. "One of the best," she said with a sad smile.
He was nodding his head when he had a thought. "Wait a minute," he said. "Why are those seals only here? They would be very useful in other buildings, like the academy or the Hokage Tower. Could you just put them in there, Braith-Neesan?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I just told you Naru, I am not a Seal Master. I don't have the capabilities to scribd those seals," she said.
"Ah, right. I forgot," he said. He stayed quiet for a moment. "Could a Seal Master get a look at those seals and get the same result?" he inquired.
"No," she said. "In these moments, there is only one Seal Master loyal to Konoha," she said, with an emotionless voice. "And even if I was willing to show him the central array, which I am not, it will be impossible for him to replicate the effects," Braith stated.
He noted the mood she had when talking about the Seal Master but decided to leave it for later. "Why couldn't he?" He asked.
She took a sip of her tea. "For a seal to work, there are various factors to consider," she started to explain. "One of them is the amount of chakra used when making the seals. The more chakra you put into it, the bigger the item you seal into it can be. And the amount of chakra that one needs to feed these specific seals, constantly, is astronomic," she explained. "So he could, in theory, copy these seals and scribd it in other buildings, but without the chakra to make them work, it will be pointless," Braith said.
"Um," Naruto muttered. Sealing sounds like a complicated thing to do. His clan must have been amazing for it to have been his specialty. Suddenly, a question pops in his head. "Wait, if it requires that much chakra for these seals to work, how can they work here?" He asked.
Braith gave him a deadpan look. "Obviously, because I have the chakra necessary to make them work."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed. It was kind of obvious. He looked at her. "You must have a lot of chakra then," Naruto said.
Smiling a little, she said. "Child, I have more chakra than anyone in the village. Even more than you, and you have quite a lot too," she said to him.
"I have?" he asked, surprised. He remembered yesterday when she said that his clan was known for their chakra capabilities, but does he really have that much?
Seeing that she nodded, he said. "But you don't think that I have more chakra than, say, the Hokage, right?" he asked.
Giving him an amused smile, she said. "You probably have a minimum of five times the chakra that Saru has right now, particularly now that he is in his old age," Braith told him.
Naruto opened his eyes wide at the information. That couldn't be right. There was just no way. "But the old man is the strongest shinobi in the village!" He exclaimed.
"Yes, he is," she confirmed. "Especially now that his students are not in the village. But," she said, seeing that Naruto was going to keep protesting. "I think that you have a wrong concept," she said.
"A wrong concept?" he asked, curious.
"Yes, you think that the amount of chakra that a person has is equivalent to that person's strength," she said. "But that is not true," Braith told him.
"It is not?" He asks, confused.
"No, it is not," she confirmed. "Think about it, you have more chakra than any student at the academy, right?" She asked. Upon seeing him nod, she continued. "So by your logic, you should win every spar. Is that what happens?" Braith asked.
He crossed his arms and, turning his head to the side, he growled no.
Smiling at his reaction, Braith said. "The amount of chakra one has only determines how much chakra you have at your disposal, not how efficient you are at using it. If you have plenty of chakra, but you don't know how to utilize it, then it is useless," she explained to him.
"Oh," he said. He was thinking that he was awesome for having that much chakra but Braith was right. He didn't know how to take advantage of it.
"But if I have that much chakra, then how can it be that I can't do the Clone jutsu?" He lowered his eyes. "Is it that I'm just a loser as a ninja?" he asked, feeling depressed.
Giving him a gentle smile, she responded, "Naruto, look at me," she said, making him raise his gaze. "First of all, I don't want to hear how you denigrate yourself ever again. Self-pity is a completely useless feeling that won't help you at all, so raise those eyes and from now on, try to look at your problems and think about how to solve them, no matter how big or difficult they appear to be. If a problem seems to have no solution, then you have to look at it from another angle or ask for help in resolving it. But even if you fail on something, trust me, you are not a loser," she said to him.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed after hearing her speech, and smiling at her, said. "Thank you, Braith- Neesan," and he meant it.
"You are welcome," she responded. "Now, about your problem with the clone jutsu," she said to him, getting up. "It really isn't your fault," she said, walking a couple of feet away. Then she turned to look at him and, with a calm face, she did… something.
She raised her left foot a little and stomped on the ground, making a square table, made entirely of earth, rise from it with various objects, also made of earth, on top of the table.
"Wow," he said standing, astonished. He walked toward the table and he touched it. It was really sturdy. He looked toward the objects and saw what they were. Several jars of water, glasses and spoons all of them of different sizes.
She did all of that in a second and without any hand seal. He had once seen Iruka-sensei do something similar for a demonstration, but he had created an earth pillar without any kind of details of maybe two feet and he used several hand seals.
Looking at her wide eyes, he asked. "How did you do that?" he said.
"This? This is just a simple combination of earth chakra and shape transformation," seeing his clueless look, she said. "Something for later. Now let's focus on the clone jutsu, shall we?" Braith said.
He was still curious but responded. "Sure"
"Good," she said. "Now as you may or may not know, there are various factors for a jutsu to work and one of the most basic is the amount of chakra that one uses, just like with ninjutsu. Some jutsus use a small amount of chakra and some use a large one. Do you understand me so far?" She asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Good, now, imagine that this jar," she pointed at one of the jars. "Are the chakra pool of an average shinobi and the water in it... "She moved her hand, and drops of water started to appear and fill the jar. "Is the chakra at the disposal of said shinobi."
Naruto was enthralled seeing how the water appeared out of nowhere and finished filling the jar. It was incredible. He has seen the teachers use ninjutsu before in the academy, but never like this. She didn't use hand seals or water from the lake. It just appeared out of thin air. And the way it moved. It was… delicate and smooth. Not in a big jet with a lot of pressure or something like that but peaceful and calm.
And the simplicity with which she did it. With such ease, just as when she did the earth table. It was like second nature to her. One more time, he wondered who this person in front of him was.
"Naruto," she called to him. "Are you listening to me?" she asked.
Waking up, he began paying attention to her again. "Yes, sorry Braith-Neesan," he apologized.
"Try to pay attention Naru, I don't like to repeat myself," she reprimanded him. "Now, as I was saying, if the jar is the chakra pool of a shinobi and the water is the chakra at their disposal, then the glasses are the quantity of chakra that they need to use for different types of jutsus," she said.
Naruto nodded his head, understanding her. It made sense, not all jutsus use the same amount of chakra, the Transformation Jutsu didn't use the same amount as the Substitution Jutsu.
"To determine what amount of chakra one must use, one has to practice chakra control exercises. In the academy, the teachers teach the leaf concentration exercise to the students. It is a perfect exercise for regular academy students because it requires little chakra," Braith said.
Naruto crossed his arms remembering that particular exercise. He could never get the damn leaf to stick on his forehead.
Braith smiled a little at seeing this. "As shinobi grow in power, so do their chakra pools," she began, pointing to different glasses and jars, from the smaller to the bigger ones. "Just as the chakra control exercises they have to do," she said.
Naruto understood everything she had said, but he was still confused. "I don't get it. Why can't I do the Clone Jutsu? Is it because I can't do the leaf concentration exercise?" he asked.
"Yes and no," she said. "This," she held in her hand a regular glass, not too small and not too big. "Is the amount of chakra that a regular academy student has at their disposal. And this, "she held a teaspoon. "Is the amount of chakra needed to use that jutsu. Now, that particular jutsu requires the exact amount of chakra to work, too little and the jutsu doesn't work," she filled the spoon with the water in the glass a little but not completely. "Too much and the jutsu malfunctions," she overfilled the spoon and it started to overflow. "As long as the kids work hard on the jutsu, any regular academy students should be able to do the jutsu eventually. And this is where your problem appears," she said.
"So why can't I? I tried, I really, really tried to make it work and I still couldn't do it," he said feeling angry.
"That is because you are not a regular academy student, Naru," she said to him. "This," she held the glass. "Is the quantity of chakra a regular student has. And this…" She lifted her feet and stomped the ground once more.
Then, a big barrel made of earth rises from the ground, the same way the table appeared before. It must be four feet large and one foot and a half wide.
"... is the amount of chakra you have," she said. "Now for you to do this jutsu, it would be like trying to lift this barrel," she put her hand in the barrel. "And pour water from it in this spoon," she held the spoon. "Without spilling a single drop. As you can imagine, it would be very difficult for a full-fledged shinobi, and, for an academy student, almost impossible," she concluded.
Naruto was speechless. Based on the conversation he had with Braith yesterday, he knew that he had more chakra than most but he didn't think it was that much. Looking at Braith, he asked.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Keep trying the leaf concentration exercise?" He said.
"It will be impossible for you to do the exercise," she said.
"Wha, why?!" He exclaimed.
"Naru," she said with a kind voice. "The leaf concentration exercise is taught to the students because they have a small pool of chakra. As the chakra required to do the exercise is little, it is perfect for them. And it is not suitable for someone like you, who has a big chakra pool," she explained.
"Then what do I do?" He asked, dejected. What was he supposed to do? He can't reduce his chakra pool and he had tried to use less chakra -and the opposite but that didn't matter- but it just didn't work. And if he couldn't make a clone, he wouldn't be able to graduate from the academy.
Seeing his depressed face, she intervened. "Don't worry, Naru," she said. "I am willing to teach you all the tools that you will need to become a shinobi," she said to him, making him feel hope. "And not just that, I am sure that with my help, you will become one of the best shinobi in the village," Braith stated.
He could feel how his spirit rose at her word.
"But," she said before he got too excited. "It will involve massive changes in your lifestyle. I will demand that you give your one hundred percent and once we start, there will be no going back. Are you willing to do it?"
"Yes, of course," he said. "I will do anything. I won't let you down, Braith-Neesan!" Naruto exclaimed.
The path to success was right, in front of him. There was no way he would go back. For him, for his dream. And also for her, the person that believes in him. He would do anything to make her proud.
It is a promise of a lifetime! And Uzumaki Naruto didn't go back on his word.
Braith smiled at seeing his resolve.
"I am glad to hear that, Naru," she said. "Now, before I tell you what I have planned for you, I would like to see your skills," she said, walking away from the table. Naruto followed her until they reached a clearing.
"Now, as I said before, I would like to test your skills: Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu and anything else you can do," she told him.
"Great!" Says Naruto, eager to start his training. "So, how do we do this?" He asked. "Do I show you the jutsus that I know? Do I perform the forms that they teach me in the academy? Or we begin with Shurikenjutsu?" He started looking around. "Through we will need to get some practice target for that," he said.
When he finished talking, she gave him a blank look before showing him a sweet smile, making him blush. He was about to say something when a boot appeared right in front of his eyes and hit his face. Nauto shouted out in pain as his body was sent flying a couple of meters away before it hit the floor.
Rubbing his sore face, he stood up and yelled at her.
"What the hell was that for?!" He asked, looking at her cautiously.
"That..." she said as she slowly approached him. "... is how I will test your skill. We will spar against one another, as simple as that; you will attack me using every resource at your disposal. That will be the best way to see what you can do," she said.
Still frotting his face, he gave her an angry look. She wanted to see what he could do? He would be happy to show her!
"Alright, Braith-Neesan, but don't think that I will go easy on you," he warned her, getting in the stance they teach him in the academy.
She gave him an amused look.
"Oh don't worry about me, I will be fine," she said, stopping in front of him. "Oh and Naru?" She asked him.
"Yes?" He said, still looking at her cautiously.
She gave him the same smile as before.
"Tried not to get yourself beaten too badly."
"Well, I believe that is enough," said Braith, an amused expression on her face as he looked at him on the floor.
He would give her an irritated look, but he was too tired and sore to do even that.
During the last half an hour he received one of the worst beatings of his life. It was a one-sided battle.
Braith was strong, really strong. He hadn't managed to hit her once during the whole spar. She, on the other hand, had utilized every error, mistake and distraction to punish him.
When he realized that close combat was a bad idea, he switched to using shuriken and kunai to attack at a distance. But it didn't work either.
She would either dodge the weapons or pick them in mid-air and throw them back at him. And every time the last happened, he always ended wounded. Superficial wounds, but they still hurt, dammit!
Looking at her from the floor, he managed to say.
"I... hate... you..." he said, making her laugh.
"Now, now Naru," she said, as she crouched beside him. "We both know that is not true," she posed her hand above him and green chakra started to emanate from it. He looked in wonder at how the wounds on his body started to heal.
"Wow," he said, astonished. "What kind of jutsu is that? Will you teach me that?" He promptly asked, as his body started to feel better.
"It is medical ninjutsu," she responded as she finalized treating him. "And I probably won't," Braith said, helping standing up.
"Eh, why not? It was awesome!" Naruto said, excited.
Braith sighed.
"Medical ninjutsu is not my specialty. I can cure minor wounds but not anything major," she told him as they headed to the table. "Also, medical ninjutsu requires precise chakra control, something that for you will be very difficult to acquire," she added.
"Oh," he said, glum.
"Don't feel disappointed, Naru," she said, as she stood in front of the table. "Some of the strongest ninjas alive can't use that type of jutsu. You, just like them, will be great without it," she said.
He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. He wasn't used to people praising him.
He was about to sit when she stopped him.
"Before we sit again, I need you to do something more for me," the silver-eyed woman told him.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"Please, take off your shirt," she said.
Naruto stood still. For a moment, he thought she said…
"Um, what?" Naruto said, bemused. "Could you repeat that, Braith-Neesan? I think I am hearing things" he said.
"I asked you if you could take off your shirt," she said, amused at his reaction.
Naruto was speechless. Why does she need him to do that? Could it be that she…
Naruto's face went crimson. He jumped away from her frenetically, and, while hugging his body, said.
"Oh god, that is the price that I have to pay for the information about my father, isn't it?" The blond said. "You want my body, it is my body that you have been after all this time!" Naruto yelled at her. "Oh, god, the old man always said that I shouldn't follow strange people at their home, but I, like a dumbass, didn't listen to him, what is gonna happen to me now…" he starts muttering before letting out a scream.
"Ouch, ouch!" He said as he fell Braith pulling his ear.
Naruto looked at her and saw how she gave him a deadpan look.
"You done?" She asked with a deadpan voice.
Still trying to make her let go of his ear, he said.
"Yes, yes, now please let go!" He begged her.
"Good. Now," Braith said, letting go of his ear. "I don't want to sound arrogant, but please look at me," she said. "Do you really think that I need to coerce a scrawny teenager to get myself a lover?" she said to him.
While massaging his poor ear, Naruto looked at her. Well, she is incredibly hot, so she could probably get any man in the village. Hell, only gay people would say no to some of that.
"Besides," she commented. "I am not into blondes," Braith told him. "Now," she continued. "If you're done being funny, could you do what I said and take off your shirt," she said with an authoritative voice that left no room for argument.
Gulping a little, he took his orange shirt off.
Seeing his clothes with distaste, she commented.
"We will need to get you new clothes eventually," she said.
Paying her no mind, he stood still in front of her and remained silent.
She looked at his body before walking around him. She stopped behind him and put one of her palms on his back.
Feeling her touch, he asked.
"Um, what are you doing?" He said, curious but getting no answer.
Unknown to him, she had closed her eyes and remained silent for a few moments before saying to herself.
"Minato, you damn idiot," she said quietly.
Turning around, he looked at her and said.
"What happened? What do you mean by 'Minato'? There is something wrong?" He asked.
"Don't worry, there is nothing that can't be resolved," she said. "You can dress now."
Remembering that he was still shirtless, he put his clothes on. Naruto didn't understand what she just did or why she did it, but he decided to trust her. He was sure that she would tell him, eventually.
Once Naruto finished dressing, he watched as she did a hand seal and two clones appeared beside her.
He raised an eyebrow at her action.
"Um, what are you doing?" He asked as say clones started moving.
One clone quickly disappeared while the other started drawing something on the floor.
"Holy..." He says, surprised. "Are those real clones? Like, they can touch things and fight?" He said as he watched the clone that stayed at work.
"Those are Shadow Clones," she said on the table. She took a sip of tea before continuing. "Please sit. Don't worry, I will explain everything," she said.
Taking a seat in front of her, he waited until she finished her tea.
Putting the cup on the table and crossing their hands one on top of the other on the table, Braith said. "My plan for the next year is that you move to my house to live here," she said.
He blinked at her words. He wasn't expecting that. And while he likes to live in his apartment, he could see the benefits of staying with her. Also, he secretly likes the idea of living with someone. He won't have to be alone anymore.
"Where will I sleep?" He asked.
"You will be staying in the same room where you slept yesterday," she responded.
"Ah, ok," he responded. It is a nice room, with a comfy bed, a closet and a nice desk. He didn't need any other furniture.
"Now, as long as you live here, there will be rules you have to follow. Also, you will have to help me with my shop from time to time, as payment for the free stay," he told her.
Naruto nodded at her words. It was her house after all and he agreed that he had to pay rent. He didn't want to be a freeloader.
"While you stay here, we will work on many fields of study, including theoretical studies," she said. "But first, there is a problem that we need to correct," she said as the clone finished drawing what he supposed was a seal.
Just as this happened someone else approached the table.
It was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, and his Jiji.
"Jiji!" Said Naruto, waving at him.
"Hello Naruto-kun," Hizuren said, smiling. He looked at Braith and said. "Hello Braith-san," said Hiruzen. "What can I do for you? Your clone said it was urgent," said, taking a seat in an earth chair that suddenly appeared.
Serving him tea, she told him.
"Thank you for coming Saru," she said. "I was just about to tell Naruto of a problem that I detected in his body," he said.
"A problem?!" Naruto said, standing up. "What is it? I am sick or something?" He asked as he started touching his body, looking for any issues on it.
"Calm down, Naru, and please sit again," she said.
Still worried, Naruto sat. He wondered what could be wrong with him, he felt fine. He always felt fine; he never got sick and any wound or injury that he got healed itself within the hour.
Seeing his worried looks, Braith explained.
"Remember what I told you yesterday about the Uzumaki clan?" She asked.
Unknown to Naruto, Hiruzen tense.
"Yes," said Naruto, confused. "You said that they had a country far away from here and that there has always been an Uzumaki living in Kohoha doing an important task that only they can do," he said.
"Braith-san," said Hiruzen intervening. "I don't think now is the right time to..." He started saying but was interrupted.
"Don't worry Saru," she said, waving her hand at him. "What I was gonna tell Naru," Braith looked at Naruto. "Is that to successfully fulfill that role, one has to be a pureblood Uzumaki, and you Naruto, with your father being from a different family, are not; which means that you may have trouble later in life," she said.
Naruto meditated on her words.
"Does that mean that I can't fulfill that task?" He asks, unsure. "A task that nobody has bothered to tell me what it's, by the way," he said looking at the two of them with his eyes narrowed.
"We will tell you what it is once you become a Genin," Braith said. "And while you are not a pure-blood Uzumaki now, doesn't mean that you cannot become one," she said, smiling.
"Really?" He said, excited.
"Yes," he said, smiling at his enthusiasm. "Saru, if you would," she said, pointing at the seal on the floor.
The Hokage walked to the seal and looked at it thoughtfully for a couple of minutes.
"Um," said Naruto, disconcerted. "What is he doing?" He asked Braith.
"He is checking the seal to confirm if I made any mistakes," Braith said. "I am not a seal master so a second opinion is necessary," she told him.
"But what does the seal do?" Naruto asked.
"It's an old Uzumaki seal that allows the cells of your clan in your body to become more dominant, and the cells from your father's side of the family more recessive," she said. Seeing the still disconcerted expression on his face, Braith said. "Basically, it will make your body more similar to your mother's than your father's," she clarified.
"Oh, ok," Naruto said, still lost. He honestly hadn't understood a word she had said. But oh well. Naruto didn't think that whatever the seal did would hurt him.
Hiruzen inspected the seal for a few seconds more before nodding at her.
"Very well," Braith said to him. She then turned to Naruto, "I need you to stand in the middle of the seal. Don't worry, it's a quick process," she reassured him.
Naruto walked a few steps before stopping right in the center. The seal looked like a spiral with several characters surrounding it. It looks vaguely familiar.
Braith stood in front of him and with a calm tone, said.
"Now Naruto, take a deep breath and relax your body. The process will be faster if you are relaxed," she said.
Naruto breathed in and breathed out. In and out. He did this for a few seconds before nodding at her.
"Ok, I am ready," he said, confident.
"Excellent, I will now activate the seal," she said. "Oh, and Naru," she said, giving him the same sweet smile she gave him before beating him senseless. "Tried not to scream too loudly," she said.
He looked at her, alarm.
"Wait, wha- AHHHHHH!" He started asking before letting out a scream.
It started in his feet and the pain spread quickly to his whole body. It felt like he was on fire.
He tried to remain straight but he quickly fell to the ground, screaming. He could feel how his hands closed on the earth from the pain.
He started rolling around, attempting to stop the pain, but it was useless. He tried to keep his eyes open but he could feel himself losing conscience. He started cursing Braith for convincing him to do this.
That was the last coherent thought he had before everything went black.
Braith and Hiruzen watched with nervous eyes as the young man before they lost consciousness. They have observed this type of process before but it was still painful to watch someone precious to them suffer.
Once Naruto passed out, Hiruzen turned to her and said.
"Why did you really do this?" He asked "We both know that if being a half-Uzumaki was detrimental to him, he would have already shown some symptoms by now, so what aren't you telling him?" the Hokage said.
Still looking at Naruto, she responded.
"Indeed, it would not be harmful to him being the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi," Braith said with a serious voice. "But that is the problem," she said, finally looking at him. "He is not the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, he is the Jinchuriki of just half of the Kyuubi, specifically the yang part," she clarified.
Hiruzen's eyes widened in realization.
"I see that you realize what is the problem," she said as she observed the changes that were occurring to Naruto. Little by little, they could feel and see how his chakra and his appearance were changing. "So much Yang chakra entering his system is creating an imbalance inside him. In time, as he uses more of the Kyuubi's chakra, he will start manifesting different symptoms that will eventually end in his death," she explained and then whispered to her elf. "That is, unless he somehow takes full control of the Kyuubi," she muttered the last part.
Braith has faith in him, but the Kyuubi is too stubborn and angry to listen to Naruto. The only reason why she hadn't tried to free her is that every time that she talked to her within the seal of Mito, and after her in Kushina, she insisted that once he was free, he would kill all the Uchihas for what Madara did to her.
She started feeling down at the thought of Madara but thankfully, Hiruzend talked to her, cutting off that line of thought.
"Do you think that making him a pure Uzumaki will help with that," he asked as he started to smoke from his pipe.
"I believe so," she said. "Uzumakis have a great affinity for Yang chakra, one of the reasons for their longevity and fast regeneration, so with a little luck it will help him reign in all that Yang chakra. Also," she added looking at his pipe. "I have told you before, don't smoke in my garden," Braith said, scolding him.
Hiruzen chuckled at her words and put away the pipe. Only Braith will dare to talk to him like he was a disobedient child.
"Uhh," they heard Naruto say. They look at the floor and realize that he began to wake up as the process ended.
Naruto slowly began to stand up and, with a groggy voice, said.
"Ugh, what happened?" He said looking at them as he massaged his face.
"The pain must have knocked you down, Naruto-kun," said Hiruzen.
The blond boy looks at them confused.
"Pain?" He asked, still a little dizzy.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Asked Braith.
Starting to feel a little better, he responded.
"Um, I was in the middle of the seal, and then you said something..." He said with his arms crossed, concentrated, before looking at her wide eyes. "You!" Naruto pointed a finger at her, fuming. "You knew what was going to happen, that it was going to hurt like hell!" he said angrily.
He felt as if his body was on fire. And she didn't tell him anything!
"Yes, I did, but it was necessary Naru," she said, trying to calm him down. "Now you are a pure-blood Uzumaki, which means that you will be able to complete the task that all the Uzumaki have had to do since the village was founded," the silver-eye woman said.
Naruto looked at her angrily for a few more seconds before diverting his eyes.
"Well, at least it was worth it," he said, thinking that now, he would be able to continue the legacy of his people.
Braith could guess what he was thinking and she hoped that the day he found out the truth, he wouldn't let the anger and hatred that he would inevitably feel, turn him into some kind of monster. Just like it does with most Jinchurikis.
Their thoughts were interrupted when they heard a cough.
"Well, now that you two don't need me anymore," Hiruzen said. "I think I will take my leave," he said.
"Very well," said Braith. "Thank you for the assist Saru," she said.
"Yes, thank you, Jiji!" Naruto said.
"You are both welcome," he said as he started to leave.
Once they were alone, Braith said.
"Now, as I was saying before Saru arrived," she said as they both sat. "I will help you in various fields, which include theoretical knowledge," she almost smiled when she saw his eyes widen in horror. "Chakra control, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Fūinjutsu, among other things."
Naruto started getting excited at her words. He was still a little piss at Braith for not telling him about the pain that the seal will cause but still, she will teach him so much! This will be an amazing year!
"Wow, if you know so much, you must be an amazing ninja," he said excitedly.
"Oh I am not a ninja," she said.
"Eh?" He said, confused.
That couldn't be true, she was so strong! She is even friends with the Hokage! How can it be?
"Yes, I am but a humble shopkeeper," she said, clearly amused at his reaction.
This revelation was too much for Naruto. She was telling him that he got his ass kicked by a simple civilian!
Unless...
With a face of realization, he said.
"Oh you are retired," he said, nodding to himself.
She chuckled at his words before explaining.
"No, Naruto. I am not, nor have I ever been a ninja," seeing his bewildered face, she clarified. "I am not a ninja in the sense that I have never been to the academy. I don't belong to a ninja clan nor have I ever sworn loyalty to the Hokage," she said, confusing him even more. "But that doesn't mean that I don't know the disciplines of the ninjas. Nor does it mean that I can't teach you," she gently said to him.
Naruto relaxed a little at her words. For a moment, he feared that she was some kind of fraud. But that just gave him even more questions about his future teacher.
But before he can say anything, she stops him.
"I am sure that you have many questions, but you have to class soon, so you should start going," she said as she began to walk back to the house.
He rapidly began to follow her. As they walked toward the house, he said.
"I will need a little bit of time to talk to my landlord and have all my stuff moved here," the blond boy said.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that," she said while walking. "All your belongings will be here by the time you return," Braith assured him.
Naruto started to feel chills at her words. How did she know where he lived? Was she some kind of stalker? He thought of asking her but instinct and self-preservation stopped him. He got the feeling that if he asked her if she was a stalker, it would be bad for his health.
They entered the house in silence and walked towards the exit. Once in front of the door that opens onto the street, Braith turned around to face him and said.
"I expect you here immediately after the academy finishes, don't do any detours," she said firmly to him.
"Ok, Braith-Neesan," Naruto said, smiling. "See you later," he said to her.
"Goodbye Naruto," she responded. "Oh and Naru?" She said to him.
Turning around, he looked at her.
"You might want to look at yourself in a mirror before you enter the academy," she said.
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Why?" he asked, apprehensive.
Giving him a playful smile, she responded.
"Just in case. Sometimes, the seal that we use on you can change your physical appearance. You don't look that much different to me but one never knows," she said as she entered her shoops.
Feeling suddenly anxious, he quickly saw his reflection in the store window.
And looked. And looked. And kept looking.
His body started trembling. Without taking your eyes off the glass, he yelled.
"What the f...!"
Iruka Umino was roll calling his students when he noticed that one of them was absent.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" He said once more, but without getting an answer.
He knew that he had recently failed the graduation exam once more and he hoped that he wasn't too depressed.
Just as he was about to record him as absent, the door to the classroom opened.
"I am here Iruka-sensei," he said.
"Naruto!" He said angry at him for being late. "How many times do I have to tell you to not... to..." But he stopped when he got a good look at his students.
'What on earth?' He asked himself.
His student looked different. His face and body look the same but his hair...
His hair was red! Not all of it. One could still see some locks here and there that were blond but most of his hair was red.
If that was all, he could have attached it to some of his pranks gone wrong but that wasn't all. His skin was fairness than before. But the most remarkable change was his eyes.
One of them was violet! Just one of them. What the hell?!
"Naruto," he said, perplexed. "What happened to you?" He asked.
Grumbling at his question, Naruto began to walk to his desk.
"What happened?" He asked rhetorically, as he sat down. "What happens is that this is gonna be a long year," he said as he slammed his head on the table.
This will be the last chapter before canon starts.
Hope you like it.