His fist impacted into his doppelganger's face with a thunderous crash, making it explode into a cloud of smoke. He quickly crouched low, ducking under two sword slashes that clashed against each other from two more clones and jumped high, landing a spinning kick into the first one's neck and grabbing the second one by the face before driving it into the ground. Both disappeared in another cloud of smoke, which he quickly dispelled with a wave of his hand.
A platoon of clones stared back at him, some seeming uncertain while a few others looked determined. The original balled his hands into tight fists and body flickered forward, leaving the first clone barely any time to react before he was sent flying back, toppling a tree along the way. Before any others could react, the blond slammed his foot into the ground and the remaining clones were skewered by chain links shooting up beneath them.
'No, that's not enough.' He thought with a growl. He was angry, so impossibly angry. At who though? At Hiruzen? At Orochimaru? At himself? No, he was angry at the world. Why did everything have to be so damn hard? Why did everything have to be so complicated?
Three years. It's already been three years since he'd decided to start this little journey of his. Three years since he'd decided to meet all the bijū. Three years since he'd decided to find out more about the world. Three years since he'd began his research to find Kyuubi's other half. And yet, he felt like he was no closer to accomplishing his goals.
Well, that wasn't true. He'd met Gyuuki and Chomei, along with Kirabi and Fuu. He didn't know whether it was due to a weird twist of fate that he'd met those two by accident, or if Jinchūriki were just naturally drawn to each other. But nonetheless, he was a quarter of the way there. Number 1 through 6 will be found, one way or another. That, he was sure of.
And now, his sole goal was to find that snake, Orochimaru. And after making him suffer for everything that that madman had put him through, he would then find that mask, and he'd rip that soul from the grim reaper by force if he had to.
While Naruto was busy terrorizing his clones, Kakashi was up in a nearby tree, lounging on a branch with a book in hand. "Maa, calm down."
"I can't calm down!" The boy growled back heatedly. "I'm weak. I'm much too weak. I can't stay at this level that I'm at now." He stared at his open palm with anger clearly written across his face before closing it tight. "If I do then…"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "You can't take on the world on you own. Trust me, many have tried. It's a learning process. Don't worry, you'll get better eventually." He said while flipping a page
But when was eventually? He couldn't afford to be wasting time. Why did he feel such anxiety for the future? Why did it feel like time was already running out?
The thought filled him with even more rage. No. Eventually wasn't good enough. With a deep frown, he turned towards his teacher. "Kakashi-sensei. Please fight me."
Kakashi looked up at his student with a bored look. "Is this really the time for that?" He received no reply, and the blond showed no indication to back down. With a sigh, he pushed himself up and pocketed his book before hopping off his tree branch. 'I guess he just needs to cool off a little.'
Naruto watched as he calmly approached him. He wasn't taking him seriously; he could see it plain as day already. He had his hands in his pocket and he could see the ever-present bored look in his eye. At least he wasn't reading his book, so he wasn't completely disparaging him.
"Come at me."
Naruto balled his hand into a fist and shot forward towards his left flank. Kakashi followed him with his eyes, and brought up a hand to counter-attack, but Naruto unexpectedly vanished in a body flicker and delivered a strong fist aimed at his cheek, which was hastily blocked by his forearm. Kakashi's eye narrowed as Naruto grit his teeth in anger before spinning in mid-air and sent a kick, which was easily avoided as Kakashi leaned back. He quickly jumped back to create some distance before vanishing from view again after his feet had barely touched the ground.
'It's been a while since I've fought him…' Kakashi thought as he avoided another glancing blow. He was a lot stronger than the last time they fought a year ago and a lot had happened since then. Naruto had graduated, become a fully-fledged ninja and had undergone more training under Tomoda and by his own self. His hits were a lot more powerful, and he was making liberal use of the body flicker. Not bad, but not enough.
Naruto appeared in front of him once more, but before the blond could react, he was sent flying by a punch to the gut by Kakashi that made him spit out saliva and sent him high up. He immediately recovered in mid-aid however as a clone appeared next to him and grabbed onto him, spinning him around a few times and launching him back down at Kakashi.
Kakashi jumped back as Naruto landed in his previous position, cracking the earth and creating a crater. Deciding to switch from defensive, Kakashi was upon Naruto before he could blink, making him quickly cross his arms to protect his chest as he was kicked into a tree. The blond lowered his head when Kakashi's fist impacted where it was just a second ago and jumped away as the masked man immediately took pursuit after him.
'Wind slash!' Naruto pulled out a kunai from his pouch, channelling wind chakra through it and sending out a wide slash towards Kakashi. His eye widened as he was struck by the wind blade, but his body turned into a wooden log that got split in two by the attack.
Naruto frowned and looked around the eerily quiet clearing. Kakashi was masking his presence and hiding somewhere out of sight. Going through another flurry of hand signs, Naruto brought both of his arms close to his body before flinging them out on either sides of him.
'Whirlwind!'. A giant gust of wind flooded the area from the action, making the surrounding trees groan in protest before snapping and toppling. A figure shot out from one of the trees and clashed kunai with Naruto. The blades met as the two traded blows, dodging and deflecting in a shower of sparks with Kakashi slowly pushing the boy back.
Naruto ducked low under a kunai swipe as a shadow clone appeared behind his teacher, who delivered a flying double kick at his back. Kakashi stumbled forward and was immediately clotheslined by the original. Much to his surprise though, the Kakashi in front of him turned into electricity and shocked him to his knees.
Naruto grit his teeth and attempted to regain control of his spasming muscles, but was soon wrapped up in metal wires by his teacher, who landed in front of him with nary a sound. Kakashi looked down at him with his hands holding the bundle of metal wires. "Had enough?"
Naruto struggled against the bindings, before suddenly stilling. Kakashi tilted his head in confusion as his student closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Thinking he had finally calmed down, Kakashi moved forward to free him, but was caught off guard when Naruto strained against the binds with renewed vigour. Wind chakra burst forth from his body and cut the wires to shreds, making Kakashi's eye widened as Naruto was upon him once more.
A swipe to his head was dodged, followed by a high kick, which was countered by a leg sweep from the taller man. Naruto fell to the ground but immediately caught himself by rolling and avoiding a stomp from Kakashi. He jumped, using Kakashi's shoulders as a springboard with his hands and landed behind him in a crouch. Kakashi tried to bring down his Kunai on the blond, but his hand was immediately kicked away making him drop the weapon.
Both continued this exchange, hits, counters, blocks, dodges, both moving like barely distinguishable blurs. Eventually, Naruto's concentration slipped as Kakashi turned the ground to mud, making him trip and attempt to keep his balance. Naruto brought an arm up to shield himself as Kakashi flew through hand signs and launched a fireball at him. The ball exploded upon impact and sent him flying, making him skid along the ground.
The masked man appeared on top of him and slammed his face into the ground by grabbing the back of his head. "You've certainly improved." Kakashi said as he held his student down. "But you're acting too reckless. What did I tell you about fighting people stronger than you?" Naruto slammed his hand into the dirt and tried to push his face up, struggling against Kakashi's grip. In return, Kakashi applied more force, but he looked at his downed student in wary. 'What next? Chains? Clones?'
Naruto's eyes flashed a dangerous red, and with newfound power, knocked Kakashi away with a loud roar. Kakashi flipped in mid-air and landed safely on his feet as hot wind picked up and began to swirl around the Jinchūriki. The Jōnin frowned in worry as he shielded his eye from the energy emanating from the blond.
'Isn't this taking it a little too far?' Naruto's now-red eyes fixed themselves onto him and, with a snarl, disappeared in a burst of speed. Kakashi brought his hand up and caught the blond's powerful fist, a shockwave uprooting the grass behind them from the action. Kakashi had to quickly let go and jump back as a red tail made of corrosive chakra struck the space he was previously standing in.
'He's fast.' Kakashi thought as he pulled up his headband. Naruto followed him relentlessly, a giant red claw attempting to grab him mid-air, but Kakashi reacted faster and moved behind him. The feral boy swiped at his teacher, making Kakashi duck under the moving limb and grab onto his forearm. He spun him around, destabilising him and struck him in the face launching him several metres away. But that wasn't enough. Naruto used the momentum of the throw to regain his balance in the air. Landing on four legs, the blond blitzed from view once more, his speed increasing further. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as Naruto appeared behind him, arm drawn. The Jōnin sidestepped, making Naruto's fist crash into the ground as a result, but the red chakra seemed to have a mind of its own and elongated, detaching from the boy's limb and catching him in its giant red fist.
"Ung-"Kakashi grunted in surprise as the chakra ate away at his clothes and skin. The fist flailed around, hitting the ground once, twice, thrice before throwing him away like an insect. Kakashi tumbled a few times before sliding into a crouch.
'I wasn't expecting that…' Kakashi thought as he carefully watched the Jinchūriki. Naruto roared again and was once more after him, ready to lop his head off with his claws. Kakashi was faster though as his foot struck him squarely in the cheek. Naruto's head snapped back, but his body still struggled forward, trying to overpower the blow. Kakashi jumped high and Naruto blocked another kick aimed at him, but wasn't quick enough to avoid the second one that made him slide back several metres.
Kakashi ran forward, coming face to face with his student. Naruto sent a punch to his head, but Kakashi crouched below the blow and nailed the blond under his chin. Naruto was sent sailing up and was struck in mid-air by a double handed hammer fist from an earth clone of Kakashi.
He impacted with the ground once more, and this time took a few seconds to recover from the blow. Putting a hand on his knee, he used it as leverage to push himself up. Kakashi landed in front of him, making Naruto glare back at him. His red cloak disappeared, but his red eyes and canines remained showing the masked man his lingering feelings of anger within him. Naruto launched forward and used the back of his hand to redirect Kakashi's defensive punch. The blond sent one of his own, and Kakashi raised his knee to block it. Growing frustrated, Naruto growled and slammed his forehead against Kakashi. The Jōnin showed no sign of backing down however and met the headbutt with his own. Both struggled for a few seconds, slitted eyes scowling into mismatched eyes. Naruto sent a left hook, which was batted away and received a jab to the face making him stumble back. Kakashi stepped forward, getting into his defence, blocking a double strike from Naruto and retaliating with a kick to the side of the leg. Naruto fell to one knee, before getting sent flying by a spinning kick to the face.
Kicking himself back up, Naruto cocked his fist back and shot it forward, a compact ball of wind launching from it. Kakashi slammed his hand down and erected a mud wall for protection. The blow impacted with the wall and cracked it, and Naruto took the opportunity to create a dozen clones that rushed Kakashi from all sides. The scarecrow expertly dodged and weaved around the clones, making short work of them and dispelling them one by one.
'Now!'
Naruto built up his chakra and overloaded his limbs with wind energy. Crouching down low, gusts of wind whipped around him as the air became denser. Shooting forward, Kakashi's eye widened as Naruto seemed to glide across the floor before delivering a devastating kick to his torso. 'Ayamur!' Kakashi managed to block it in time, but wasn't prepared for the blunt force as he stumbled to the side. Naruto landed and immediately followed up with a second strike, just as powerful as the previous one, however Kakashi was prepared for it this time and caught it with his hand. Jumping high up to finish his three-hit combination, Naruto back flipped and sent one final bicycle kick, powered by wind chakra propelling his foot forward. Kakashi crossed his arms protectively and let out a grunt as the blond's foot crashed into his defence.
Kakashi's knees buckled as the ground exploded around them from the force. The dust picked up, covering the area and shielding both fighters from view. Kakashi maintained his guard, waiting for any signs of sneak attack.
All was silent. Before long, the dust cleared, and the masked man cautiously lowered his guard once he saw his student, sprawled on his back on the ground. He raised a forearm and watched as his limb trembled slightly from the trauma the attack had caused.
He walked forward and approached the panting blond who had his eyes squeezed shut from exertion. "That was some power just then."
Naruto's eyes squinted open and stared up at the Jōnin with poorly veiled contempt. He barely even looked ruffled.
"Not enough…" He repeated again, for what felt like the hundredth time today.
Kakashi sighed as he lowered his headband, shielding his Sharingan from view. "Naruto, you're stronger than I was at your age. You'll get stronger, so just be patient. There are no shortcuts for gaining power."
"…"
Eventually, Naruto's breathing began to slow. Staring up at the sky high up above, he watched the clouds lazily go by.
"Why…Did the old man Hokage take away my headband…? I thought I was important to this village…"
Kakashi's gaze left the sky and focused on his student below him.
"You are. That's why Hokage-sama did what he did."
"…" Naruto said nothing back, but no words were needed for Kakashi to sense his confusion.
"Suna has the Ichibi" Kakashi began. "Iwa has two Jinchūriki, the Yonbi and the Gobi. Kiri has the Sanbi and formerly had the Rokubi as well, but he has since gone AWOL. Taki has the Nanabi, Kumo has the Nibi and Hachibi. And we, Konoha, have the Kyuubi."
Naruto blinked at that information. Obviously, he knew of the existence of the other tailed beasts and their respective Jinchūriki. But he never knew for sure which countries had which ones.
"Can you guess why I know all of this? It's because Jinchūriki are more than just regular Shinobi. People fear them, and as such are used as weapons of war, fearmongering defence mechanisms; whatever label you want to put on it. It is said that a Jinchūriki with full control of its tailed beast is as dangerous, if not more dangerous than a kage. That is why when one disappears, it becomes a devastating loss for the village and shifts the balance dramatically."
Kakashi leaned against a training post and crossed his arms. "The major villages are filled with greed, and would never pass up the chance to attack and invade a weakened village. When you left, you not only deserted the place you swore to protect with your life, you also left it at risk and undefended. The nine tails might very well be Konoha's greatest sword and shield. And so, if word ever gets out that it's no longer in the village, then that is an invitation to start another war. Hokage-sama did what he did because you've been acting like an unpredictable ticking time bomb."
The blond remained silent. What was there to say? He never really looked at it that way. He knew that he was this village's weapon, but he never really thought past that. If a war started again, he would be on the front lines. So…It was important for him to be stuck within the village, where he had no chance of leaving. It was like what Kakashi had told him in Taki. 'Cause the slightest disturbance and I'm locking you in the room.' Only this time, the room was the village.
"I see…"
"…"
"…So what now…?"
Kakashi looked up at the foliage above them. "Now…? That's for you to decide."
"…"
Naruto looked at the spot that the masked man had been standing in.
But no one was there.
Maybe…Maybe he needed to start over.
He wasn't a Shinobi anymore. But that didn't mean that this was the end. He was still the village's Jinchūriki after all.
Maybe he needed to do this the normal way. Trying to take shortcuts; that only led to bad things happening. He thought he was ready and tried to rush things, and yet…Where did that leave him? His team was gone because he was too weak to protect them.
Maybe it was for the best.
He laid there for what seemed like hours, all by himself, with only the whispers of the leaves rustling to keep him company. He closed his eyes, and relaxed under the gentle lull of the grass and the sun.
He arrived home late in the evening. Stepping in, he looked around his small dusty apartment as a sense of familiarity washed over him. It felt like he hadn't been here in such a long time, when really, it had only been a week.
Walking over to his bed, he knelt down and slid a box out from under the frame. He opened it to reveal a little wooden toy, with a small drum attached to the top and two dangling beads on either side. Besides it lied a neatly folded blue scarf.
He managed a small smile at the sight of them, and picked them up, holding them close to his chest. He felt at peace, clasping them close to him like that; what little he had left from his parents.
He lied on his side, still clutching the items and curled into a ball on the floor. And soon, he drifted off to sleep.
6 weeks later…
I'm dying…
But…I'm alright with it. I've lived my life. I have no regrets.
My vision is fading…
…
I'm ready…
…
…
What happened?
I died…The light disappeared. But I'm still aware.
What is happening?
...
Everything is black…
But I'm still conscious.
…
How long has it been?
Since I died?
I don't know.
I can't feel.
I can't hear.
I can't smell.
I can't taste.
I can't see.
But I'm still conscious.
…
It's been an eternity.
When will this end?
I am alone with nothing but my own mind to talk to.
I am unaware, but I am conscious.
…
I start to lose even that.
Yet…I'm still conscious.
I have spent so long unable to experience anything…
…Stuck within a rotting vessel.
…
I begin to lose my memories of life.
Yet I'm still conscious.
…
My brain does not function anymore.
I am confused in every moment I exist.
Yet I'm still conscious.
…
My brain is gone.
Yet I'm still conscious.
I am a lifeless life.
Unable to think.
Unable to feel.
Unable to know.
…
This is my eternity.
What is consciousness?
Where does it go after death?
What if it doesn't?
What if it stays?
…
…?...?...?...?..
?...?.?...?...?
? …..?
… .? … ?...?
...?...?...?...?...?...?
?...?...?...?...?...?...?...?
…
…
…
…
…
I'm back…
What happened?
I died.
And yet here I am.
Something's wrong.
My memories…
They're leaving me.
The faces I know…
The melodies I like…
My favourite food…
My favourite place…
My favourite person…
They're leaving me…
Why am I forgetting them?
I don't want to forget them.
Don't make me forget them.
Don't make me forget them.
DoN't makE me fOrget theM…
D O N ' M. . .
D…O …T M…A…E M…E F…OR …G…T T…H …EM…..!
Naruto woke up in a shock, tears streaming from his eyes.
He felt cold…And scared…
But nobody is here.
He wrapped his arms around his legs protectively, curling up into a ball.
Why…?
Hiding his face behind his knees, he began sobbing into the night.
He woke up, just the same as every other day.
Except today was special. Today was his first day at the academy.
He'd been there a couple of times before. Once to take an exam, and once to graduate. And from what he'd seen, it wasn't exactly his definition of 'fun'. Sitting in a classroom, listening to the teachers droning on and on about things that don't really matter.
But it's something that he needed to do. He graduated early before. And he very much doubted that he'd get special treatment a second time.
So, with a sigh, he pushed himself off his bed and began getting ready for the day.
—
The place looked exactly the same it did a year ago.
He'd already made the arrangements with the academy to attend the next few years. With the approval of the Hokage, Naruto was placed in a class that would be graduating in 3 years, conducted by Iruka Umino, alongside Mizuki Touji, the man he'd sparred with during his exam.
Room 406. This was it. He pushed the door open, and peered inside. He was early, only a small handful of students were there, and the teachers had yet to arrive. Walking up the stairs and ignoring the curious looks he was receiving; he picked a random seat near the back of the class and closed his eyes.
—
"Who are you?"
His eyes opened again a few minutes later. The place was a bit busier now, and the chatter of the students filled the room. A boy with a white puppy lying on his head was standing before him. He had shaggy brown hair, feral eyes and red triangles on his cheeks. An Inuzuka.
"…"
The boy frowned and tilted his head as the dog whined. "Hellooo?"
"You're being annoying, Kiba."
"What was that Shikamaru!?" Kiba replied angrily as he turned towards the lazy boy. Naruto looked at said boy sitting a few rows ahead of him. That was Shikamaru Nara. He met him a year ago back at Ichiraku's. He even helped him with a personal dilemma. And the boy next to him was…Choji was it? An Akimichi. Looking around the room, he recognized a few faces, some he'd seen playing in playgrounds when they were younger, and some that he'd seen in passing.
A face in particular caught his attention, a kid with black hair and black eyes. Sasuke Uchiha, brother of Itachi Uchiha. And if the confused looks he was sending his way was anything to go by, then the boy recognized him as well.
Interesting, so he was in the same classroom as him. Seemed like all the clan heirs were put in the same year.
A man carrying a binder walked into the classroom. "Good morning class! I hope you all had a good break and I hope you are all ready for a new year!" The man; Iruka, Naruto guessed, placed the binder on his desk and smiled at the classroom. However, his smile left his face and was replaced by surprise when his eyes landed on Naruto, as if he had just remembered an important detail.
"Oh, that's right! We have a new student here today. He'll be joining us for the rest of the coming years. Could you come forward and introduce yourself?"
Naruto cautiously got up from his seat and walked to the front of the classroom. He stared at the students as they began to whisper among themselves, before looking down at the ground.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
'Oh boy.' Iruka thought as he scratched his head. "Ah, very good Naruto. Thank you. You may return to your seat."
He watched as the blond wordlessly walked back to his desk, before bringing a fist to his mouth and clearing his throat. "Ahem. Right, so today we will start a refresher course that will briefly summarize everything that we've gone through last year-"
The rest was lost on the blond as he drifted off within his mindscape.
—
Naruto stared at the inside of his cage with a small frown. The nine tails was hiding deep within the cage, far out of reach. It appeared to not want to be disturbed. Standing before the great bars, he hesitantly raised a hand forward, passing it through the bars to check for any kind of resistance. When he was met with none, he dropped his arm back down before walking forward towards the lying figure of the giant fox.
"Kyuubi…" Naruto said softly, stopping behind the great Biju. He struggled to find the correct words to justify his actions the last time they'd seen each other. "I…I wanted to say…I'm sorry."
He received no answer and took it as a sign to continue. "I know you don't like being called by your name. You didn't tell me it yourself, so you don't trust me with it. I was wrong…" Naruto's frowned deepened as he looked down. "I don't know what came over me…So please…Forgive me."
He waited a few moments, growing more and more restless as the seconds ticked by.
"Kyuubi…" He said as he attempted to get closer. But before he could do anymore, a feeling of vertigo came over him as he was forced out of his mind.
With a slight jump, Naruto returned to the land of the conscious, making several students nearby look at him in a strange way. Ignoring them, he attempted to focus back on the lecture Iruka was giving.
After what felt like days, but was actually only 6 hours, he was finally let out of the academy. He had to do three more years of this nightmare? He didn't think he could survive that. There was going to be some sparring matches tomorrow at least, to see what skill category everybody fell under. This would be a good opportunity to see what all the clan heirs were capable of.
'Who's that?' Naruto thought as he glanced behind him. Somebody had been tailing him ever since he left the academy. He wasn't sure who it was, but regardless, he did not want to have to deal with anyone else.
The blond hopped onto a rooftop and picked up the pace.
"Alright, next match…" Iruka looked down at his notes. "Hm?" He blinked and leaned closer to his paper. "Sasuke Uchiha and…Naruto Uzumaki."
Chatter immediately picked up again as the students gossiped among each other.
"The newbie against the Sasuke? Isn't that unfair?" One whispered.
"Sasuke-kun's gonna eat him alive!" Another said to her friend.
A small drop of sweat trailed down Iruka's face, concern being the main emotion he was feeling. But he didn't pick the fights, those were pre-determined by the higher ups. "Will both fighters enter the ring?"
Sasuke walked up the sparring area in the middle of the classroom and cautiously watched as the blond made his way over. He could not read him for the life of him. Was he excited? Worried? Bored? Happy? Scared? Who knew? Since the Uzumaki had been here, it was like his face was set in stone. Never changing, never twitching.
Both stared at each other as the crowd quieted down. Iruka looked between both fighters, raised his hand before bringing it back down. "Begin!"
Sasuke got into his fighting stance, the intercepting fist. However, he frowned when his opponent didn't move from his previous position.
"Um…Aren't they supposed to…You know. Fight?" A boy said after thirty seconds had passed.
Truth be told, Sasuke didn't know how to feel. He didn't look threatening, but he felt threatening. The blond made no effort to get into a stance. Was he taking him lightly?
"…"
Having had enough of waiting, Sasuke decided to initiate the fight. He moved forward, both hands at the ready as he attempted to throw a jab towards the blond.
Thud
Before he knew it, a foot impacted with his cheek, catching him by surprise and launching him outside the ring, and Sasuke was left on his back, staring at the sky in confusion.
"Wh-What!?"
Immediately, the crowd around them buzzed to life.
"Woah, I didn't see him move!"
"He defeated Sasuke without even trying…"
"No way! Sasuke was probably just caught off guard!"
Sasuke slowly stood up, looking at Naruto in surprise as he nursed his cheek. That was…Blindingly fast. However, as fast as that was, he still managed to see what had happened. He had a feeling that he was strong, based on the fact that he was training at a very young age, but he didn't expect to get beaten so effortlessly.
'Most of his weight was on his non-dominant foot…He predicted where I would come from before the fight started and slipped by my defence without me even noticing. By starting with all his weight on one foot, he managed to react much faster as opposed to if all his weight was evenly distributed.'
Maybe he was the one that took him too lightly.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto returned to his seat, slowly followed by Sasuke. "Ahem." Iruka coughed, attempting to reign in the chaos that had ensued in the classroom. His eye twitched when no student paid attention before taking in a deep breath.
"QUIET!"
The class immediately quieted down, making Iruka nod and look down at his notes. "Next will be…Choji Akimichi and Kiba Inuzuka.
It was late in the afternoon when he was finally let out of the Academy again. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, the blond aimlessly walked around the busy streets.
What would happen next? What was the next step? After the academy, what would he then do? His plan hadn't changed, he still needed the mask. So how would he go about it this time? He couldn't afford to go rogue again. He was caught once and got his ninja status revoked. He preferred not to think about what would happen if he did that again.
The person from yesterday, who he now knew to be the Uchiha boy, was following him again, though he was making sure to keep his distance. Only this time he chose to ignore it. Whatever it was he wanted, he seemed to be hesitant to do anything but wait and muster up the courage for something. And Naruto was all too happy to pretend that nobody was following him.
After a while, once he could not feel the creeping edges of somebody in his shadow anymore, he finally let his guard down and took a seat on one of the benches near a little park. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the cool night air.
When he opened them again, he noticed someone else sitting next to him. A tall man, with broad shoulders and long white hair, held back by a horned metal forehead protector.
"…Jiraiya."
The toad hermit looked back at him.
"Hey, kid."
I got these weird random bursts of inspiration for this chapter, as well as a lot of free time, so I managed to get this chapter out fairly quickly. I don't know if I can maintain the pace of uploading every 2 weeks for long, but I will sure as hell attempt to do just that.
Another thing, I saw some people being worried that now that Naruto is in the academy, that this will just follow canon. While some canon events will take place, please keep in mind everything that I've changed in this story so far. Some canon stuff will inevitably happen, but have faith that some things will be drastically different. Please give me a chance to show you what I have in store for this story.
That's all for now. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and leave me a review if you feel like motivating me to work on the next chapter.