Hey, I'm back, and while not from the dead I still bring answers.
A question, or rather a comment I got was how the Mizukages graduation test would still happen when Yagura hadn't been under the influence of Obito. The wiki itself seems to be a little bit lenient on definitions as I had to go back to make sure of what I said was canonically appropriate or not, they toss around the word manipulate and full control a lot, which confused me, as well apparently the test itself had been going on before Yagura was elected as he partook in the tradition as well.
I understood this beforehand, just didn't know about the confusion. The reason I kept it in regardless is to show the 'bloody mist' culture to still be alive, as well to show how Yagura, is still cruel, without being as manically evil as he was portrayed in canon prior to the end of the war arc. I can't go into too much without spoiling other parts of his character as I would like to reveal more about how I portray him in text and not with an exposition dump and an essay about author intent.
Last thing before the story continues, I'm skimming through Naruto's training and trying to develop the base character in these first 4-5 chapters, this 'arc' is meant not to give character development, but to build them from ground up, and to establish context for what I intend to do with the story. The first true character development will start on chapter 5 more likely, with the Land of Waves arc starting around chapter 6-7 and ending on 8, and so on. The main reason I'm skimming this fast, and especially in this chapter is because I feel this is going to be one of the weakest, yet most important parts of the story, so I want to get the most important parts done before we can move to the stuff I'm more confident in.
(what was that I said about an essay on author intent?)
Into the story.
/ / / / / / / / / /
"Ehh?!" Naruto sputtered in shock and in wonder about how such a powerful figure as the Mizukage would know about an academy student like him.
"Calm yourself, I know you for a multitude of reasons, which we shall discuss elsewhere." Yagura ordered. His calm demeanor contrasted with the shocked red head, which was quickly settled.
"Grab my shoulder, we are heading to my office."
Naruto obliged albeit confused as to why he had to hold onto his shoulder.
In an instant they were both in the office, Yagura, went to sit down at his desk, while Naruto popped open a window to prevent himself from puking from the shunshin that he was utterly unprepared for.
Yagura looked on in amusement as the boy held in his guts, at the same time impressed with how he didn't. 'Usually they all do on the first time.' "If you don't intend to then please close the window and sit, we have much to discuss."
Naruto, after getting his bearings, closed the window with a snap, and got a good look at his surroundings. The office itself was a circle, a desk by a window that overlooked the village itself, with a green carpet, and wood walls with cabinets and portraits of previous Mizukage's lining the top, in the center was a set of chairs and a coffee table, for visitors alike. Behind the desk stood the Mizukage, Yagura, and his stack of paperwork that seemed to follow him that seemed to be the bane of any Kage worth his salt.
"H-hai." The boy finally sat down, waiting for an answer as to why the Mizukage wanted to meet with him in person.
"As you might have known, our previous Jinchuriki, Utakata of the Six Tails, is dead." Yagura stated in a firm, professional tone, waiting for a response from the boy.
"Y-yes sir. I heard in our history class that he died from the Kaguya clan's hunter-nins." The young boy squeaked out, intimidated by the presence of the powerful man before him.
"I did not come here to discuss Utakata himself, his title more accurately, 'of the Six Tails'." Yagura continued. "What do you know of Biju, and their hosts." Yagura questioned the young boy, putting the paper in his hands down to get a better look at him.
Naruto, looked questioningly at his Kage, thinking for a moment for responding, "I suppose what little everyone else knows, there are 9 in total, each have specific powers, each usually being ranked in power by tails." The boy paused thinking further, "Only major nations have them, the only exception being Takigakure, with the seven tails." The boy continued with a pause, "Oh, and didn't the nine tails escape 6 years ago?"
Yagura hummed in agreement at the boys statement. Noting to himself the lack of knowledge on himself. "Indeed, what about how they die, or are sealed." Yagura looked scrutinizingly at the boy, looking for any sign that he might be lying, or any signs of discomfort that wasn't usually displayed when meeting a Kage.
"Uhh, I don't really know, its not mentioned in class, I just assumed it was transferred down by the host, I dunno much about all that." Naruto answered shifting in his seat under the gaze of his fellow Jinchuriki.
"Biju are sealed with fuinjutsu, into a person to make them a weapon for the village, it either has to be done extremely young, or between the ages of 4-6, as when they are born, they have almost zero resistance to the Biju, making it very applicable, and 4-6 because they have grown durable enough to hand it even if the biju doesn't accept the host. The interim period between the two ages, the baby is too frail to hold off the biju with a seal, and too young to fully accept the beast anyways. If its older than that then the child's chakra coils have developed too far along to accept the Biju under any circumstances, with one exception. Biju cant die, they are immortal masses of chakra that will simply reform" Yagura said.
Yagura, perhaps dumping too much knowledge on the boy, looked on. Naruto for his part was taking the information in slowly, he was smart, anyone who knew him for long enough could see that, but he was only a soon-to-be 7 year old. 'I remember them talking about Fuinjutsu, something about sealing objects into paper, was pretty easy.' The boy recalled, going further he remembered parts about all the different types of chakra, and more about chakra coils, further noting he was past the age to get a biju. Yagura, as patient as he was, waited for the boy to finish processing the information.
"I understand that this will take a moment for you to take in, but these people who have Biju sealed inside of them, they are called Jinchuriki." Yagura paused, thinking of the exact words to say, "I will be blunt with you Naruto," Naruto noted this is the first time he used his actual name. "I am a Jinchuriki, this is a trait we share."
Naruto was stunned, he knew that his village had Jinchuriki, but the Mizukage himself? It was a surprise to be sure, but not as big as the second half of the statement. Himself, a jinchuriki? He connected the dots to the previous conversation about Utakata, and his eyes widened, 'Is that why I have such pale skin? Or red hair?' He continued on these thoughts until broken by his Kage.
"It is not common knowledge that you are a Jinchuriki, in-fact only around 50 people currently know, and are sworn to secrecy in the matter." He continued, "This is not something we share, I am known for being one of the most perfected Jinchuriki, and its one of the reasons I'm a Kage myself." He paused for a moment, giving time for the young child.
"I'm assuming you have questions?" He asked to the boy, wincing to himself, 'This is going to be a long day."
"H-hai, is that why I have such pale skin and red hair? Do I have the six tails? How do I master being a Jinchuriki like you?!" Naruto spouted questions in very quick succession, not letting Yagura give him answers.
Yagura leaked a small amount of killing intent to get the boy to quiet down, which happened immediately, getting the boy to sweat even further than he was already. With the recession of his KI, he spoke. "Ill answer your questions but slow down, I have little time as it is, and I have more to discuss with you. Yes, your skin is pale because of your status, and no, your red hair is not an indication of being a Jinchuriki, it is natural. Yes, you have the six tails, as I have the three tails, the last question is one of particular importance so ill say what else I have on the matter." Yagura motioned the boy to calm himself once more.
"H-hai, apologies Mizukage-sama." The boy said looking down.
"I have a proposition for you, Naruto." Yagura stared at the stunned boy. "You are my villages Jinchuriki, with a large potential to be one of our premier shinobi, I am offering you an apprenticeship, there are more things I know than just this, I understand you wish to know more about your family, the inner-workings of how being a Kage functions, and more importantly I will train you to be our villages Jinchuriki. There will be a price though, Jinchuriki have a stigma of being some of the most dangerous ninja alive, for both the village, and its enemies. Should you choose this path, it could cause you to loose more than you even know you have." Yagura finished, awaiting the boys response, knowing that it wasn't a choice to begin with, this being more manipulation to get the boy to follow his orders of his own volition, and to get the boy to understand the danger and duty he had before him, and an effort to see the boys own opinion on the matter.
Naruto beamed at the offer, grinning from ear to ear he thought of being trained not only by the Mizukage, but from one he could consider almost family with their shared Jinchuriki status. He stood up, "I accept Mizukage-Sensei!"
Yagura couldn't help but smirk at the enthusiasm of the young boy. "Meet me at training ground 6 each Sunday, we shall discuss training on that day. Dismissed Uzumaki."
/ / / / / / / / / /
"HOLY SHIT!" Chojuro screamed "You, a person from our class got offered an apprenticeship by the Mizukage himself!" Chojuro gleefully exclaimed before putting his head down, remembering how Haku recently got herself an apprenticeship by Zabuza Momochi, a near S-class member of the Seven Ninja swordsman, second only to Kisame in power. "Guess everyone's got someone asking them to be their student huh." He said in a comically depressed fashion.
"Don't put your head down yet, your still top of your class behind me, I'm sure someone will be asking to teach you at some point anyways with how you're doing." Naruto commented in an attempt to cheer the blue haired boy up. "And if you will please not tell anyone, I don't need everyone to know, I'm telling you because you're my friends." They both nodded in acknowledgement
"Hmm, Naruto-kun is right, you're already accomplished with your ranking in your class, and combine that your superb chakra reserves, and steady chakra control, you're practically a perfect student to pass on techniques to. Just give it time, we only got our teachers due to, how do I say, 'special' circumstances." Haku said referencing his own substantial pass in grades, and Naruto's own pass as well as his biju.
While Naruto was scared at first of divulging the knowledge of his Biju to his friends, he decided he should as a sign of trust between the three, and if they couldn't accept that, then they weren't his friends in the first place in his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess your right, still sucks that you'll probably pass me in grades anyways, most of the time we'll be seeing each other on missions hopefully by that point." Chojuro said, getting up from his previous jealousy.
"We'll all meet up at the top of the food chain, of that I'm sure." Haku stated with a tone that left no room for argument.
"The question really starts when we meet the people outside our own."
/ / / / / / / / / /
2 Year later
Naruto, one week after turning 8 years old.
Training ground 6, in a valley surrounded by trees with a small pass, meant for training in ambush protocols, was currently being used by a red-haired boy and a man with a hooked staff the same size as him.
Naruto, quickly dodging the punch sent his way, sent a kick upward only to be grabbed and thrown back by his opponent. Naruto, now 4'7 with a black shirt with the Uzumaki crest on its shoulder, black paints with a multitude of wrappings holding a number of different Shinobi tools, and standard black ninja sandals, with his spiky red hair waving around as he moved to counter his sensei, looking exhausted with sweat dripping down to his chin, his moves getting sluggish as they continued.
Yagura for his part looked fresh as the flower on his staff, with him looking intently at the fiery red hair that his student had come to be renowned for. With a left hook he put the boy off balance, then kicking the feet under him. With his student on the ground he went to the bench conveniently to the side of them, Naruto quickly following.
"You need to work on your physical strength, your have a head on your shoulders, and the skill to match, but you are holding yourself back by just focusing on redirection and guard." Yagura said commenting on his performance in the fight. Naruto's lack of true power was usually offset by his skill, but in a straight even duel, against a superior opponent who had the tactical advantage, strength was needed.
Naruto hummed at his sensei's comment, knowing that he was right. 'Guess ill have to up my weight.' The boy thought, pondering his circumstances, and his previous advice from Yagura. 'Patience is the virtue of discipline.' He thought, mirroring Yagura's own saying. Little to his knowledge, this was to make the merging of his two halves easier when the time came, a tip from master to student.
"How goes your fuinjutsu training?" Yagura asked, curious as to what level the boy had gotten so far. He himself had gone through many trails to even get to the mediocre state that he had gotten through the years that he had been studying the art himself, all the while the boy had just about reached the level that took him 3 years to get down, in only 8 months. 'One of the reasons we haven't had good seals in the past was due to the struggle to find someone with any true talent in the art, perhaps that will change when the boy reaches an age and his seals of great quality.' Yagura thought with pride in his student.
"Its been going well Yagura-sensei, the resistance seals are still a problem though, the layered designs are getting more complicated." Naruto said, lacking personality in an attempt to mimic his teachers attitude and posture. Naruto had recently gone to making Yagura a role model, which Yagura found both endearing albeit a little off-putting . He wanted the boy to be professional, and strong, a person the village needed, but the fact that he went about this by trying to be like him, in the way that he was doing it, was not something he found particularly good for him, regardless of intention.
"On a sidenote, Kenjutsu training has been going better, I can get those advanced perry moves down without thinking. You were totally right about that, hehe~." Naruto said almost contrary to his previous attitude.
Yagura smiled at the innocence of the boy, letting him keep it until his fast-approaching genin exam, which was coming ever closer with the boys increase in grade once more, this being his second. Although he was happier with the passing when Chojuro passed with him, making them both fourth years, and at least a year younger than the rest of their classmates.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Kiri village outskirts
Haku was walking towards the normal place where the three boys met up. He saw two figures, having opposing hair colors, one a light blue, the other a crimson red.
The now 9-year-old Chojuro, stood 4'8 wearing a matching blue t-shirt, and standard black shinobi pants, with identical shinobi sandals. His shark-like teeth being a defining feature of the soon-to-be genin.
Chojuro had a sibling, he was much younger, barely 4 years old, and quite like him with his light blue hair. Much like other orphans in the village that went to the academy, he was given a small apartment with his brother, a small allowance to get by.
Haku a 10-year-old, was now an official mist shinobi, wore the standard mist headband, with a blue, robe like shirt, and standard brown shinobi pants, with brown sandals. His black hair extended down to his shoulders, and his more feminine facial features only amplified by that fact.
Haku had a clan, a large one compared to other families, small compared to other clans. Raised by his uncle, who had passed a little over 3 years ago, he was still living in the compound. The clan was made up primarily of quiet loners and war veterans, all of whom kept to themselves, this led them to not be a very close family, but one that none the less taught each other at the very least. This led to Haku gaining a myriad of ice abilities and experimenting with his own. The quiet nature of his household made him cling the Zabuza, who he turned to as a father-figure.
"Hey Haku!" Naruto yelled to his friend, "How was your mission, I heard you got to go to Kusa!"
The mission was a cover up for plans that would go against everything Naruto stood for. Haku wanted to look away from his friend, after both the graduation exam which still lingered heavily on his mind, and learning about Zabuza's plan, it left him in a state of emotional limbo, not sure how to feel about everything happening around him. He continued with the tradition of killing classmates to get your headband, glad that he didn't have to do it to his closest friends, but the act left him disillusioned with the village, the same village Naruto and Chojuro were loyal to. Zabuza wanted to become Mizukage by any means necessary, viewing Yagura as unfit to rule, promising if he did get the position, he would abolish the, in Haku's eyes, barbaric practice, hopefully before Naruto and Chojuro would have to spill blood. This was also made complicated by the fact that Naruto's sensei, was the Mizukage that Zabuza wanted so desperately to kill.
He didn't look away, afraid of Naruto's perceptive abilities to figure out that something was wrong.
"It was fine, we didn't go into the village itself, only hunted some bandits in the area that Kusa didn't want to deal with. The locals came to us instead." Haku lied smoothly to his compatriots.
"It's so cool that you got to be a ninja already!" Chojuro complimented, "I mean you skipped like 4 grades, got an apprenticeship by Zabuza Momochi, and graduated top of your class, years younger than your pears!"
"It was only due to my clan, and Zabuza-sa-" He stopped himself and continued after the accidental slip, "Zabuza-sensei."
"On the topic of sensei's, Yagura-sensei recently made me advance in my fuinjutsu, apparently I'm going faster through the books than he was." Naruto said showing immense pride. "Though he did say I need to get much stronger, physically I mean, apparently my attacks need to be stronger." Naruto said going back to his normal state of ego.
"HA! I knew you were weak Naruto!" Chojuro said joking at the Mizukages comment on Naruto.
"Then why do you always lose in our spars?" Naruto said back smirking, causing the shark teethed boy to spur out excuses.
They all chuckled at the joke, making Haku wish he had an alternative to his options even more than before.
/ / / / / / / / / /
1 Year Later
Naruto: age 9
Haku was currently sprinting full speed out of Kirigakure, being pursued by multiple Chunin wearing mist headbands, Haku breathed the words "Ice Release: Mirror Wall!" sending a wall with a mirror on it, displaying a low level-genjustu he had placed on it when forming it, leading the Chunin to see a reflection and believe he had fled in a different direction.
After escaping the Chunin, he was greeted a few miles down the road by an injured and defeated looking Zabuza.
Zabuza's face was scared, waring makeshift bandages. He was limping against his sword, hes leg being broken by what seemed to be a club. A small tear in his chest led Haku to believe that the injuries were more extensive than that.
"We've failed, Yagura was expecting us the entire time." Zabuza said leaking KI all over the place.
Haku quickly realized what this meant; They would have to leave Kiri and rethink, replan, and reorganize.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Yagura, stood in his office, his desk and chair being destroyed in the fight against Zabuza, he stood with little injuries, his shirt looking torn to shreds, but only surface level cuts. Looking out at the village through the gaping hole in his office, caused by the short bout between him and Zabuza , surrounded by mist Anbu.
"Put a bounty on Zabuza Momochi, 10 million Ryo, for the attempted assassination of the Mizukage, Dead or Alive, also add that the Kubikiribocho must be provided as proof of the deed, without the sword there shall be no payment. Also add his apprentice Haku Yuki, to the list with a bounty of 1 million, make sure to note that the boy must be alive by the time we get him for the payment to be accessed." Yagura explained to one of the mist Anbu surrounding him, who quickly shunshined out of his destroyed office.
Yagura was not as angry as he could be, he knew beforehand of Zabuza's betrayal. He was not pleased with his own performance, not being able to kill Zabuza due to a fluke, when Zabuza threw his sword out of the office window, and went out with it, quickly moving to the sewers, and while he sent multiple Anbu squads, he was long gone.
Kisame had reported on Zabuza's increasingly suspicious behavior, after that, Yagura was tracking his every move with caution. Such a dangerous prospect of a conspiracy could not be dismissed , Zabuza had recently achieved a solid S-rank status of power. With power comes arrogance, and he was not above that, especially in his early years.
He would have to talk to Naruto, his apprentice was very close to the man's apprentice, such a thing could not be allowed to change his loyalty, 'I will have to sever those roots quickly, should he align himself with Zabuza, we could face another full scale revolution, possibly on the scale of the Kaguya revolt.'
"Get Naruto Uzumaki in here, immediately."
/ / / / / / / / / /
Naruto had just been shunshined to the Mizukages office, and to his shock not only was his desk gone, but the entire room was also covered in signs of battle, along with the rest of the building, from what seemed to be a giant sword, guessing from the sharp, long and clean cuts being forced into the wall. He saw his sensei, peering out over the village from the hole in the wall the size of a large boulder.
"If you haven't noticed already, much has happened since the last time you have visited." Yagura stated, his voice juxtaposed from his normal professional, clean cut no-nonsense type attitude, the verbal reminder dripping with sarcasm and annoyance.
"What happened, its like a hurricane filled with glass tore through here?" Naruto stated, shocked by the state of the room, only now noticing Yagura's torn clothes and skin cuts. "A-and what happened to you Yagura-sensei?"
"Zabuza betrayed me and the village." Yagura responded.
Naruto knew about Zabuza, more than the average person, his friend was his apprentice. 'What about Haku, was she in on it, did she betray the village, did she betray us?' Naruto thought, not wanting to accept that his friend would join the side of a person who wanted to kill not only their village leader but wanted to kill his teacher.
"What about Haku?" Naruto asked, a sinking feeling in his chest, he had known the two were very close, possibly closer than he was to his friend.
"Gone, with Zabuza, both their locations are currently unknown, they are already past the border by this point." Yagura continued, "My question to you is, what will you do with this knowledge." Yagura asked the question, making his already short conversation with the boy, become much more influential.
"I stand with Kirigakure, Zabuza betrayed you, the leader of Kirigakure, so I stand against Zabuza." Naruto explained, not mentioning Haku, but it was all the confirmation Yagura needed to make sure he would stay loyal to him.
"We are accelerating your training. I'm going to start teaching you your elemental affinity, as well, unbeknownst to you, I have already begun your Jinchuriki training. The next step for you in that aspect, we shall start next year after your graduation. We have a lot of work to do."
"Dismissed Uzumaki."
/ / / / / / / / / /
"H-Haku, he's gone."
Chojuro, who had been friends with the boy for years by this point, felt betrayed, he chose some foolish idea about killing the Mizukage, then growing alongside his friends, in the village that they swore to protect.
"Why. What could possibly move him enough to betray us?" Chojuro asked, more to the world than to Naruto in particular. The question bore a heart into both of them.
"If I knew why, maybe it could have been prevented." Naruto said, trying to justify in his own mind that he could not have done anything. He himself was enraged, the mere fact that Haku had chose some political move over their relationship. 'Shows how much he cared for us, siding with the man who wants to kill sensei.' Naruto spat in his head, the fire lit in him bright as his hair and hot enough to melt Haku's ice.
Chojuro was more devastated than angry, unlike Naruto, having been friends since even before the academy, meeting on the grassy wet hills on the outskirts of the village. Since he had no family, beside his brother, he viewed his, now former, friend in a similar aspect. He saw the betrayal of his village, in his eyes, the abandonment of the dream they swore, that to meet at the top, being the best in the village. Chojuro had never been betrayed before by someone so close, this leading to a thought. 'Why us, out of all people.' He looked down, on the verge of weeping.
"I, uh, I need some time to think about all this." Chojuro said, going in the direction of the village, seeming aloof as he almost tripped over a rock.
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked with genuine concern, seeing the downed look that his friend held.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, I just gotta think about a few things." Chojuro responded, looking away from his friend, afraid of revealing his grief-stricken face. He was now doubting himself, and those around him. If Haku would betray him, who else would? The village, his teachers, his brother, Naruto? These questions swirled in his mind fueling insecurity in his own abilities, Haku was much stronger than him, even when he was his age, he was another level; he couldn't bring him back even if he tried his best.
/ / / / / / / / / /
3 months later
Naruto age 9 and 3 months
Sparring Area, Academy
Naruto was currently pressing Chojuro more than usual, his punches stronger thanks to increased physical training, and his skill getting better by the day. His height having changed to a tall 5'0 He was wearing A black long-sleeved shirt with the Uzumaki swirl on the back, sleaves rolled up to his elbows, with a leather band running across his shirt, with multiple seals on it, on his wrists was another set of seals, all of them were the same, storage seals containing shuriken in his wrist seals, and a multitude of things on his band, all things from explosive tags to kunai.
Chojuro, getting increasingly pushed back from the center, a barrage of punches and kicks from his friend, was almost on the ground. He had not changed in appearance only being slightly taller at 5'1.
Chojuro, on the ground continued to get pummeled by the red-head. He had been slacking on training going into a depression, even dropping his #2 spot in the class behind Naruto, with the current top kunoichi, Matsuri, taking his place. Being cooped up in his room, only going out to get groceries and the like, Naruto was concerned, but decided to let his friend breath for as long as he needed, asking him to go train multiple times, all declined. The death of his long-term friendship with his friend hit him harder than everyone.
Naruto, unlike his friend, had thrown himself into training, using Haku as a reminder to continue training. He himself had acquired a bingo book, he saw both the names of his friend and his friend's sensei. Haku had been put in on the condition that he be returned alive, a bounty he know knew he had to collect, and had to get stronger to collect.
"Stop!" Daisuke called the match to a close, after Naruto beat down on his friend. Each of them didn't have hard feelings after those matches, Naruto held back a bit when Chojuro was on the ground, it was better then the other kids who wouldn't. Unbeknownst to both of them, the graduation exam wouldn't hold back, and Chojuro's slacking would hurt his chances of making it out alive.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Training ground 6
Naruto: Age 9 and 6 months
Naruto was currently talking to his sensei about further training, also talking about where he stood combatively.
"Your Kenjutsu is acceptable, though you need to work on your power strikes, they have gotten better but are not at the level as the rest of your skill." Yagura examined Naruto with a critical eye, not letting anything in his form get past his scrutiny. In six months, he would be facing someone to the death for the first time, he can't be caught unprepared. His Kenjutsu training was of importance, as he would be getting the Kiba blades within the next few years, he had to be prepared to wield such a power. Yagura in truth was impressed with the progress Naruto had made in the past year with his training, but when compared to the Seven Deadly Swordsman of the mist, he had a long road ahead of him.
"Your Fuinjutsu, right now, could be classified as in the top 3 in the village. You, at this point should be able to learn by yourself without my involvement." Yagura stated, which made Naruto beam with pride in his own accomplishment, 10 layered seals with overlaying connections was not something to be scoffed at. Naruto had been recently learning Mastery level 3 sealing recently, making him likely to be in contention to be the best seal master in the village, a testament to the Uzumaki affinity, regardless of his knowledge on the by-gone clan.
"Your water elemental training could use some work, its good but not to the level one should be at with your status." Referring to his water affinity, which was made by his 'tenant'. "Your Lighting elemental training is fine, it could use work, which we shall work on later. Your sensory training is also going as expected."
"Your taijutsu and regular ninjutsu, are acceptable, continue to improve in the ways you have." Yagura commented, ending his listing.
"Hai Yagura-sensei. But I have a question, what about genjustu, I can counter them but with my chakra control, I should be able to possibly cast low level illusions?" Naruto asked Yagura.
"There are a multitude of reasons why I wont train you in genjustu, the first one being even if you have good chakra control now, with the Biju inside you continually supplying you chakra that expands your coils, you could possibly loose the ability to cast, and I don't see a point in teaching a skill that you could lose beyond just negligence. Second, is that I can't use genjustu either for the same reason, so I couldn't teach you, and for the previous reason I wasn't willing to go find one for you." Yagura answered
Naruto accepted the answer, if he could lose the skill, and from what it sounded like, very soon, he saw the logic in learning to simply dispel the illusions.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Sparring Area, Academy
Naruto: 9 years, 9 months old
Chojuro was currently sparing one of his classmates, the punch he sent the opposing student's way being blocked and redirected in the direction of the ground, pulling him with it. The academy student than kneed Chojuro in the face sending him back further, and with a single punch to the face, and a further one to the stomach, he was out of the ring, and lost the match. A better alternative than being beat down but was seen as a cowards way out by the rest of the students.
Naruto watched from the sidelines, concerned. He had heard some rumors about the graduation exam, apparently students had died in them, this was compounded by the increasing brutality of training. Along with this Chojuro seemed to have almost quit training, the only times he did was when Naruto asked him, which was a step up from a few months ago but that only made him stagnant, not collapsing in skill.
Naruto smiled at his own progress, sure that he was ready. Yagura's praise was well founded, his skill having been improved greatly over the past months since Haku left. Said boy still fueling his mind, and the ways that he trained. He smiled at the prospect of finally graduating after 4 years.
Daisuke, their sensei was frowning. He wasn't all that fond of either Naruto or Chojuro, but didn't want to see either dead, but he didn't want to see any of his students dead. Chojuro in his eyes was utterly unprepared for the exam, he had the skill to beat the lower half of students, but if he got paired with anyone higher, he could very well meet his end, regardless of how well he tried to prepare his student.
The exam itself was different from the one of old, instead of the entire school doing a massive brawl, it was in a confined room, with one-on-ones, each student decided at random. Yagura decided on the system after the now traitor, Zabuza, killed his entire class, and then some. The decision also had the side affect of making the battles more personal, a kink that Yagura thought had to be ironed out lest his shinobi have infighting after the duels.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Academy grounds
Naruto: Age 10
Graduation exam
"This is your ticket to being a Shinobi of Kirigakure, the past 6 years of your life have been dedicated and leading to this moment. Don't fail us, but better yet, don't fail yourselves." Daisuke told the class of students he had been teaching for now 6 years, with only 2 exceptions. "I know present the Mizukage."
If any student hadn't been siting up in their chair, now was the time they did. The Mizukage had a reputation for only accepting success, failure was even treated as treason in some cases. It kept everyone on edge around him, as a perceived failure to him, could cost them more than just a career.
Yagura walked on to the stage where the academy instructor began his speech. He didn't waste time when he immediately spoke, "This, this is the final part of your exam, this is your first inclination as to what being a shinobi is truly like. Failure in the shinobi world means death, and so will it here."
Yagura paused for a moment to let the students take his words in. The entire class collectively sucked in their breath. 'Death, we're not even genin!?' 'Oh kami, I'm not prepared to die just yet.' 'Calm yourself, if you let it get to your head you will be distracted.' Different words sprung in each student's head, some shocked by the revelation, some trying to pray, others calming themselves knowing the challenge ahead was going to be difficult.
Yagura continued, "Only half of you will make it out of here with a headband. The trial itself is a dual, unlike your spars this will be to the death, lots will be drawn at random to decide who will go against who, and this will be drawn out of this class. Harden your resolve now as the other half who do not get their headband, will loose their life in the gamble. This is also your last chance to opt out."
If the previous statements about death shocked them, this was like lightning had struck each individual student, twice. 'K-kill your classmates?' Naruto thought, insular to the looks around the classroom, staring at the easiest and the hardest to be perceived as an enemy. 'Chojur-, no I can't think about him, this is what the better part of my entire life has led up to, I'm not just going to stop on the off-chance my best-friend is going to be my enemy.'
Unknown to him, each and every student was thinking along the same lines, the only exception being the weaker students of the class. 'I didn't train enough this year; will I die here?' Chojuro thought, this was his only option, he couldn't go back to being a civilian, and the only option ahead was a fight to the death with people he had gotten to know over the past year, albeit in passing, he didn't want to hurt them.
"If you will notice the box in front of me, there is a number, your enemy will depend on which number you have, if you have the number One card, than you will fight the number Two card." Yagura said, explaining how 'partners' would be matched. "You are not required to reveal your number, if you so wish."
Each student eventually went up and selected a card. '4, so I'll fight 3 eh?' Naruto spoke inside his head, still dazed by the prospect of killing someone he knew, he could only imagine the people who had been in the same class with these people for years, it was cruel, but he understood the logic of getting rid of innocence before they had to loose it in the middle of battle on a mission.
'7, well, that's a lucky number I suppose, and 7-8-9 so I suppose I can win with these odds.' Chojuro justified in his head, in truth he was terrified, he had been slacking for an entire year, and he knew he would have to go all out to even stand a chance.
The first match went by quickly, one returning, his eyes wide and his mouth closed, he walked quietly home, a headband in his hand.
"Would numbers, 3 and 4, enter on opposite sides of the arena." Daisuke called, taking the place of the Mizukage who had left after his explanation.
Naruto quickly ran to the left side of the arena, the arena itself was an oval around a quarter-square-mile in size, it was enough for stealth to be at play and small enough so people can't flee last minute; once you're in, the only way you're coming out is with blood on your hands.
Naruto watched as the siren beeped, signaling the start of the match, he quickly ran to the side, hoping to ambush his former fellow student. 'If the person I'm fighting is blunt headed, I should be able to catch him when he's running straight for the middle.' His line of thinking was cut off as he heard a yell in the middle of the arena, howling at the seemingly empty forest to come and take him. 'I trick?' Naruto thought, 'maybe he can't find me so he's waiting for me to come to him.' He heard the voice and recognized it as one of the middle ranking students in his class, Akino.
Naruto approached, poised to strike, Akino noticed first and rushed at him, kunai in hand. Naruto quickly punched him in the back, sidestepping, Akino quickly reacting swiped up at Naruto face. It connected, a gash appearing along his chin and cheek, skin deep, but enough to leave a scar.
Naruto was more angry than fearful. He hadn't gotten the first strike but it's the last one that counts. He quickly channeled chakra into the seals on his wrists, and pulled 3 shuriken all connected to strings on his fingers, he threw them at Akino, he dodging only for Naruto to pull them back and strike the boys legs.
The now limping Akino was trying his best to stand as Naruto jumped back, after the close quarters fight that had just occurred, he didn't want to take his chances with a more viscous, albeit injured opponent.
Once at sufficient distance, and knowing his opponent could move fast, he started to weave hand signs, "Lightning Release: Electric Shock Needles!" he screamed, senbon shaped lightning bolts heading straight for the boys head, with no time to dodge, he was hit.
Akino, age 12, died to a fellow academy student. Thankfully due to the nature of the attack and the location of the hit, he died instantly and painlessly. Though Naruto could still see the face of a man in his final moments, only final because he had to be there.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Naruto walked out of the first gate, his academy instructor Daisuke waiting for him. There was no congratulations, or extravagant ceremony, he was handed his headband, and some words from hopefully the last time he would have to see his sensei. "Good work, I do know this has been a tough battle, but know this is a step in the right direction for you." Daisuke said while holding a Mist Hitai-ate infront of Naruto.
Naruto grabbed the Hitai-ate, headed in the direction of his home, not saying a word as he left.
/ / / / / / / / / /
Chojuro looked at his match-up, he was partnered with the second best in the class, Matsuri. 'This is bad'
As they both walked towards the room, Chojuro increasingly trying to bring in his resolve, his opponent only smirked as she saw the insecurity in the boy.
A siren beeped, a signal that the match had started.
They both leapt into the groves in the arena, both seeing each other at the same time, and both striking with efficiency.
Time seemed to slow down for Chojuro letting the boy think with each punch thrown.
Chojuro blocked a punch from the girl.
'Shit, her attacks are powerful, and she's got technique too, I'm not sure if I can win this!' Chojuro thought in his mind, seeds of doubt placed even before the match.
Matsuri threw a kick towards the boy's shins, one he couldn't dodge.
'Damnit, if she can get behind my back leg I'm finished!' He said allowed in his head as he tried to regain his footing, only mildly before getting pressed back again.
A dozen shuriken thrown by the girl landed behind him, forcing him to move forward towards the girl and engage in close combat.
'She's using the shuriken to enclose me, and she knows she is better at close quarters than me, I need to do something fast!' Chojuro yelled to himself in his head
Matsuri brung down a kunai to the boys chest, one with his forward momentum, he could dodge.
"AHHH!" Chojuro screamed, his lung being pierced by a kunai, regardless he stood, barely and his final thoughts before him.
'Sorry Kohaku, I guess ill never get to see you get to be a shinobi, and you, I wish I could have seen what would become of you Naruto Uzumaki.'
Matsuri didn't waste time, this was her chance, and she took it.
'SHLAAANK'
/ / / / / / / / / /
1 Week later,
Office of the Mizukage
Naruto stood straight, arms behind he back as he stood, as one should addressing their Kage.
"Sit, we have something of importance to discuss." Yagura said to his apprentice, who quickly followed the order.
"I feel this will likely change your view of likely a few things in the village, or maybe none at all, but I feel I should be the one to break this to you." Yagura's mix of Casual and professional was showing gravity in what he was about to say, he wanted to let the boy down easy on the death of his friend. He knew this would likely shake things up for him, but it was necessary.
"Chojuro, did not pass the exams."
Those words said sent ripples throughout Naruto's body, if what he sensei was saying was true, and who was he to believe otherwise,
'C-Chojuro, hes dead.'
/ / / / / / / / / /
That's it!
This took me a good bit to write, thought I hope it paid off, with more than 7.5k words of the story I feel I can safely say this is longer than the entire story up to this point. I will talk more about what I want to say about this chapter when I write the next one.
Keep me updated on what you think about this, if you haven't noticed I'm a little giddy on getting my first review, even if it was a correction.
Signing out~ Your local Idiot