Chapter C

Back to Basics

The next evening, we go to the Third Training Ground. Naruto recognizes the place immediately and despite the sun, he contemplates and scans the surroundings with curiosity; at that, his black tail expresses his growing joy. Finding himself in this peaceful area chases away his stress; this is such that the detestable person who follows us in the shadows no longer bothers him.

Strangely, I feel so peaceful. A heaviness on my shoulders has been lifted since we left the hubbub of the village; the excitement of Konoha, even during its rather quiet hours, seems so noisy to me now, to the point of dizzying me. A weird feeling of freedom possesses me, brings a smile to my lips. An invisible force invites me to stay, to venture further. I feel like I'm rediscovering everything, as if I had slept for a decade. The nature seems so … beautiful, as if I become aware of its charm for the first time in my life. Have I taken for granted the extent of the wonders it can offer us? I wonder… One thing is certain, I feel in my place.

As for Naruto, he takes off running to go I don't know where. I grab him by the collar to stop him. "I stop you, Naruto. We didn't come here to have fun."

Naruto pouts.

"Maa… You can once we're done," I say so as not to extinguish his joy permanently.

He stops sulking and gives me his full attention. He's waiting for me to explain. He tilts his head to the right while his tail uselessly wags. He's intrigued, eager to hear what I have to say.

I choose my words carefully, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "We're here to train, Naruto. We both need it, especially you."

The blond arches an eyebrow. He doesn't look convinced.

"This is necessary to become stronger and to protect each other. In our current state, we'd have very little chance of surviving if we found ourselves face to face with the enemy again. If we train every night and learn to fight side by side, perfecting our strengths and correcting our flaws, we'll be formidable and the enemy won't stand a chance."

Naruto looks serious and frowns. I feel like he understands me. Despite my little speech, his focus doesn't waver and he doesn't start complaining impatiently. The old Naruto would have already told me to cut it short and get down to business.

"From what I've observed, you badly need to review the basics and relearn a lot of things. You're powerful, Naruto, but you have many weaknesses in taijutsu that make you predictable. First, I'd like to correct your posture and show you how to reuse weapons."

The blond tilts his head to the left, question marks in his eyes. Obviously, he's skeptical and overestimates himself. Since gestures speak louder than words, especially for my brainless student, I have to delve into practice for him to understand what I mean. "Hmm… Can you show me your attack posture?"

Naruto does so. He assumes his wobbly posture when he's both defensive and ready to pounce. His hands are wide open and ready to claw. The way he arches forward, his legs are unsteady, although they don't shake. His tail compensates for his lack of balance; it does all the work. He trusts his tail too much, which can easily be injured and neutralized. He must find a posture with which he doesn't have to rely entirely on it. All in all, he needs it to stand up, that's understood.

Unexpectedly, I trip him. Naruto falls to the ground, face first, letting out a silent cry. On all fours and perplexed, he stares at me askance.

"Stand up, Naruto. Get back into attack position," I order him, facing his small, severe eyes.

Distrustfully, the teenager doesn't take his eyes off me and does what I ask. He resumes the same unstable posture and this time, he's on guard. Nonchalantly, I hum as I walk around him. Naruto arches his back since he no longer trusts me at all. I fake him and trip him again, making him fall once more without the slightest effort. On all four limbs, the feral boy lets out an angry hiss and ruffles a few hairs.

"Get up, Naruto. Stand up."

Naruto refuses, grunting; at that, lightning pulses from his skin. Of course, I don't let him intimidate me.

"What are you waiting for, Naruto? Are you afraid that I'll make you fall again?"

He shows me his fangs, answering yes in his own way.

I crack a smile. "That's what I meant by 'correct your posture,' Naruto. The second time, you were on your guard. However, I tripped you easily. This is a flaw that needs to be improved."

His facial features soften and his eyes open wide. Showing it this way was necessary for him to understand what I meant.

"From what I can see, you're hesitant to be on your two feet or on all fours. This hesitation makes you take a posture that offers many openings to the enemy. I know that your instincts dictate you to find stability on all four, but this posture isn't practical and your body isn't made for it. It doesn't allow you to use your hands as well."

Without warning, his tail sneakily grabs my ankle to make me fall. I fall painfully on my back; my chest hurts like a dagger stab. As I recover from the fall, Naruto is already grabbing my jacket to put me back on my two feet. He releases me and waits, sulking. I sigh. I guess Naruto didn't like me tripping him and wanted to get back at me… According to Shikamaru, this Naruto has a tendency to take revenge…

"Return to your attack posture, Naruto," I say as if nothing had happened. "Remember that you'll stay on your two feet."

Naruto obeys me. He resumes the same posture, although it's a little better. This time, I correct his posture by forcing his back straight and spreading his legs. "Keep your back straight," I explain patiently. "You'll be more stable if your legs are spread and not a few centimetres apart."

His tail instinctively adapts to the imposed corrections. Even though Naruto is horribly tense, his tail relaxes since it no longer has to compensate as much. "You're too tense. Take a deep breath to relax. If you're as stiff as concrete, you'll lose flexibility and precision. You'll also have difficulty taking hits."

Naruto breathes calmly through his mouth. As soon as he tries to bend over, I straighten him out. His brain is sabotaged by his bestial thought pattern, which disrupts what his body has learned for years. Since he probably can't go back and regain his humanity, he has to adapt. His motor memory is asleep and when it wakes up, Naruto will no longer have to think like right now, and it will be easier for him. I have to bring back all his knowledge as a shinobi that is still there, like the old Naruto who is still there.

I continue to work on his posture. The more time passes, the less he needs to think. It didn't take long for me to mix taijutsu concepts and techniques. Of course, I start with the basics and adapt accordingly. To my great surprise, Naruto remains focused, doesn't flinch and listens to my explanations with an attentive ear. He must learn to position his tail on his own. Sometimes, he focuses visually on it to find his new support. I see myself back at that time when I was training him, when he was just a young graduate fresh out of the academy. Nostalgia makes me smile.

Little by little, he almost no longer leans forward. I give him a little more independence. He realizes on his own that he has bad posture and corrects it without me having to tell him. This is when I start working on his footwork, including his arms. I show him the exercises once before we do them together. Naruto imitates me and follows my pace. His motor memory gradually comes to the surface, since his hesitation quickly disappears; he finally gains confidence in himself. He no longer has to look at me so closely to know what to do. I congratulate him when he manages to do it perfectly—something that motivates him more. There are gaps regarding his posture, sure, but it's already much better, much, much better.

I take the opportunity to train, to ensure that each of my movements is powerful and precise. My stamina, my chakra, my muscles … everything goes through it, and I get tired quickly. When my chest burns from my injuries, I decide to move on to take a breath. I'm proud of Naruto's progress. In a short time, he progressed by leaps and bounds, demonstrating that his body hasn't forgotten what it learned over the years.

"Although taijutsu is the skill of hand-to-hand combat, there's another equally important element that is essential for a shinobi," I explain, pulling out a kunai. "Weapons, notably kunai and shuriken. They're both throwing weapons and close combat weapons, and can be used for attack and defence."

I swing the weapon and hand it to Naruto. However, he glares at the kunai. He refuses to take it. I tilt my head to the right and arch an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

The sapphire-eyed boy lets out a sulky complaint. He observes his hands—rather, his claws. After a few seconds of thinking, he shows them to me, pouting.

"I know that your claws are weapons just as sharp," I sigh, twirling my kunai between my fingers. "However, you can't just depend on them." Naruto frowns, unconvinced. I let out a sigh. "Tell me, Naruto. If I were to attack you with this kunai, what would you defend yourself with?"

My student mimes the action of dodging my attack. In a flash, I grab him by the collar and throw him against the side of a tree. Naruto barely has time to inhale a breath of air before I block his legs with mine. I grab him by the jacket, nailing him firmly in place, against the bark to prevent him from moving. Then, I point the tip of the kunai at him. "And in this position where you can't move, what would you defend yourself with, hmm?"

Cornered and unable to contradict me, the teenager remains taciturn and avoids my piercing gaze.

"You can't block with your claws, Naruto. This is why the use of weapons is necessary," I tell him, withdrawing from him.

Once again, I hand him the handle of the kunai. And once again, Naruto refuses to take it. He makes himself tiny, and a cold sweat breaks out on his temple. His refusal is categorical, even though I've just proven to him the necessity of using a weapon. I wonder if it's not related to the fact that he doesn't want to be … human. Maybe he thinks that using a weapon will make him be something he's not? He insists on using his natural weapons with which he's perfectly comfortable. After all, the thought that he's a wild animal has been drilled into his brain; this prevents him from accepting this part of humanity, which is still there. My blood is boiling in my veins. This group did everything they could to prevent him from being human.

A breeze carries away a few leaves while a silence settles in.

"Naruto… Do you know what you and I have in common?"

My gentle words soothe the thinking blond. Shyly, he finally looks back at me. Naruto shows me his fangs and claws, referring to these little fangs in my mouth and my much too long nails.

"You're completely wrong, Naruto," I retort before showing a smile. "We're both shinobi."

Naruto gasps and stops blinking. My words resonate within him.

"That I'm human, a diurnal creature, and you a chakra devourer, a nocturnal creature, that doesn't change the fact that we're both shinobi." I hand him the kunai again. "Using a weapon intended for shinobi won't make you human, Naruto."

I wait with infinite patience for him to make a choice. Naruto stares at me with great intensity. The wind waves his hair, which sparkles in the sunlight. His eyes then focus on the weapon offered. Instead of looking at it as if it was a hateful object, he looks at it with an open mind. Without the slightest tremor, Naruto takes it.

I stand behind him and grab his wrist to direct his movements. "See it as an extension of yourself, like your claws are. If you're not comfortable, use the kunai to defend yourself and counter the enemy's weapons. Use the kunai to create an opening in your opponent and use your claws to attack. Nothing stops you from employing both depending on the situation, Naruto."

The blond nods in his own way, smiling. Thanks to my careful choice of words, he's no longer reluctant to use a weapon. I think he interpreted my words as a request to stop using his claws. They're powerful, but useless in defence. And Naruto finally understands that. I'm not trying to change what he is now; going back is impossible for him.

Naruto is still a shinobi.

Naruto is a ninja from Konoha.

And Naruto is still Naruto.

Despite the fatigue, I continue to train my student and show him how to wield a kunai. As with basic unarmed combat training, his body remembers how to do it. His gestures are more and more precise and chaste with hesitation. Naruto surprises himself. I wonder if he realizes he already learned all this in his old life or if he thinks he has a natural talent…

With his silence, I can't know.