Shizune returned to the riverbed to quiet the sight. While she had gone back to the village and got the texts that Tsunade had asked her to get, as well as lunch, she saw that Naruto had created well over one hundred kage bunshins working on both the tree walking exercise as well as water walking. There was even a few working on separating different color sand in his palms. Shizune had to wonder where they got grey sand. Leaving that for later she looked out to the two who were standing on the river while Naruto was going through taijutsu katas for the Tsunade's personal style which relies on heavy strikes and evasion. As she often said, "A medic that is taken out is useless to their team, so it is important that a medic never take a hit less they risk the life of their squad."
Breaking herself from her master's lessons, Shizune called out to the two "Tsunade-sama! Naruto-kun! I'm back and I brought lunch!" she yelled as she held up a convince store bag. Naruto was about to run over until his collar was grabbed by Tsunade, who used the hold to lift him from the water as she appeared to lecture him. He gave a pout before he seemed to relent and she set him back down on the water though she didn't let him go until he had applied his chakra to the bottom of his feet. He called out to his clones "HEY GUYS! STOP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING!" Eventually the clones all got to dry land, Naruto dismissed some of his clones. Based on how he gripped his head and the following lecture he received, he may have released too many that time. "Sigh, Naruto I told you not to release too many. Since they are focused on different tasks when they dispel your mind has to categorize everything that is coming in. If the information is not the same then you may either take longer to process it or have it overshadowed by whatever else is being processed making the training useless" she lectured. Naruto, being annoyed by the throbbing in his head didn't realize what he said as he said it. "Well if you're so smart why don't you train like this you!" he snapped. He gulped when he realized what he did before robotically turning to face Tsunade. "Hehehe, sorry I didn't mean to snap" he said nervously.
Using her monstrous strength, she threw Naruto by his jacket to shore, aiming to clip a few of his clones in the process. Her aim was on point, nailing eight of his clones with the orange clad blonde. With a smirk she walked back to shore, as Naruto pushed himself up. She stood over him, a manic grin on her face as she asked, "Have you learned your lesson gaki?" Naruto quickly nodded his head. He placed his hands in the ram seal and began doing his best to follow Tsunade's instructions when dispelling his clones. Though he went slower than originally instructed after a few attempts resulting in too many being dispelled giving him another headache.
When he was done, he joined Tsunade, Shizune and Tonton, who had been laying under the trees, for lunch. "Hey Shizune-chan what did you get? Did you get ramen?" he asked excitedly. Despite letting out a low giggle, "No Naruto-kun I got us bentos that have rice, chicken, and an assortment of vegetables. And for Tonton, I got you vegetable bento!"
"Oink!" replied the excited pig. Shizune got a nod of approval from her master while Naruto seemed dejected. "Aw no ramen?!" he complained. Tsunade gave Naruto a look that told him to be quite. "Naruto, what did we talk about when it comes to diet?" she asked as her tone got darker. Naruto gave a thinking face as he tried to recall what she told him. Suddenly a light bulb went off over his head, "That eating right makes strong shinobi" he repeated enthusiastically. With a smile she gave a nod, "Correct, and eating your vegetables along with protein is one example of eating right." Naruto was quick to retort, "But ramen is healthy! It has meat in it!" Tsunade let out a sigh, "While it does, it also is high in salt and lacks the best vegetables for a growing shinobi" she lectured.
Naruto looked like he was about to argue with her again but she cut him off. "Naruto just because I am trying to get you to eat better does not mean you need to give up ramen. If you couldn't eat a meal that was unhealthy for you from time to time, a food like ramen would not exist. Like everything, too much of one thing makes it a bad thing." Naruto looked angry as he glared at her. His time with the beautiful lady in-front of him had taught him that she is just as stubborn as he is. He refused to relent his stance on ramen, but if what she said about eating right was true maybe he could give it a try. Afterall what kind of shinobi wants to be remembered as "They didn't eat right so they lost." Not the best look for the, soon to be, greatest Hokage. With that he left out a long sigh before he asked for the bento. Tsunade and Shizune smiled to him as Shizune handed him a bento and a pair of chopsticks.
All four took a seat in the shade of the trees before letting out a prayer of thanks and digging in. While eating, Naruto had to admit that the vegetables he was eating definitely tasted better than the ones he had before. Though he was curious about something. "Ne Tsunade-chan why are you having me focus so much on chakra control. Like I get that you said it was like the big thing you used in all your techniques, but like why focus on it so much?" Tsunade gave him a look before beginning her explanation. "Chakra is like a pool of water, or in your case an ocean" she said as she rubbed his head. Naruto looked dejected, however he actually leaned into the affection she was showing him. "You cannot control the actions of a body of water however you can draw from it and pick out the amount you need. Think of a jutsu as a person drinking water from their own pool, too much water and they could drown or cough it up, too little and they are left thirsty. This is the point of chakra control, to use only the amount you need so a jutsu doesn't get overloaded or not activate" she explained.
Naruto seemed to understand her analogy better than when Iruka-sensei tried to explain it. Last time he tried to get him to learn he just went on and on about how good control makes things stronger and that if he didn't learn it then he would struggle to learn a jutsu. Well, he learned the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu without good control. "But wait I learned the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and you keep saying I'm wasting chakra. How can that be true if I keep making bunshin." Tsunade gave him a small smile. "Good question. You see, the Kage Bunshin uses a lot of chakra to make, so it is difficult to overload them. However, have you noticed that it's easier to make massive amounts of them rather than a few?" Naruto thought about it for a moment before nodding to her question. "See this is due to your control. The higher the control the easier it is to use a small amount of chakra to use these large jutsu like your Kage Bunshin. Imagine how many more you could make if you didn't need to try as hard to make so few of them." Naruto got a contemplative look then his eyes lit up at the thought. "There is something else to keep in mind. Some kekkei genkai that are chakra based could also activate or be usable to their owner as they are able to easily mold their chakra" she explained.
Naruto got excited "So are you saying I could have a cool ability like Sasuke-teme?!" Tsunade shrugged, "It's possible but this only applies to chakra based kekkei genkai as their ability to mold their chakra is tied directly to their ability to wield said abilities." Then Naruto got skeptical as something struck him. "But wait if I have so much chakra shouldn't it not matter if my control is good?" Tsunade shook her head. "The biju in your gut only gives you large reserves and access to another source of chakra. The ability to control it is still all you. No matter how much chakra you have if you can't control it, your instincts won't manifest the ability as it could result in its user's death. And in your case running out has different side effects. Like I told you if you run out it will flood your system and make you lose control. However, if you can control your own you can eventually control its if it tries to force some into you or if you need to draw on its power should such an emergency come up like when you fought Haku and that 'long-tonged lady' in the forest."
Naruto looked both sad and eager, sad that he may have had a cool ability sooner if his control was better, but eager to see if he did. If all he needed to do was boost his control to make it happen then he was more than eager to put in the work. Plus, if he could use the furball's chakra because of it then all the better reason to get to it. Before he could get started however Tsunade put her finished bento and chopsticks to the side and got to her feet. "If you need more of an incentive then if you can get your control to my standards, I'll teach you how to do this."
Eager to see what she would do, Naruto watched her walk on top of the river to stand in-front of a massive boulder he estimated to be five times her size. He watched with rapt attention as she struck the boulder, shattering it to dust. Naruto was awe struck. "You see, me punching this hard is a combination of chakra control and my muscle strength. While we may not be able to get yours this high by the finals, I can definitely show you how to do it with chakra if you get your control high enough." Naruto was practically jumping out of his skin. He could see it now, he punched Neji-teme and Sasuke-teme so hard he'd send them flying out of the arena. With the biggest smile he could have he shouted, "Then what are we waiting for let's get back to it!" She gave a smile to match his enthusiasm. 'Well he is certainly eager I'll give him that. Though I suspect that all that chakra has given him a form of ADHD based on the way he acts. He must have so much that it fuels him like a squirrel on caffeine' She thought to herself. "Okay however this time we are going to do things a bit differently. Like I told you before I am a medic-nin so you will be learning this as well. However before we start there, Shizune is going to be helping you understand everything you had missed out on in the academy and before. To do this I want you to be as honest with either her or myself as possible when we teach you. No question is to dumb or stupid, and asking for help is one of the tenants of a Konoha shinobi which is seen in our teamwork. If you can't ask your fellow Konoha shinobi for help, how can you rely on them to have your back when it comes time for a mission?"
Naruto looked hesitant to agree but after a bit of time, Shizune's kind words of encouragement, Tsunade's encouraging smile and pinning glare he relented. "O-o-okay I got it, pretty Oba-san." Tsunade smiled and gave an approving nod. "Okay with that settled, make one hundred and fifty kage bunshins and I'll give you instructions from there." With a nod, Naruto made his bunshins. When the sea of orange came to existence, they all looked to Tsunade for instructions. "Okay fifty of you are going to go with Shizune for studying. Remember don't diversify into too many subjects at one time, too much information at one time could mean that he doesn't learn at all, also to all the Naruto bunshins. Remember to ask questions if you don't understand. You will do yourself more harm if you don't understand and don't ask for an explanation" she reminded.
Shizune and the clones nodded. They went to tree line where Shizune used Doton release to make some desks for the bunshins to kneel at before cloning the books she brought so the bunshins could each have a copy as she taught. Tsunade turned to the remaining bunshins, "Alright, ten of you come here" she called over. When the ten stood before her, she reached into the water and pulled out some rocks. "You ten will be using your chakra to separate the different colors from the powder again." She crushed the rocks into powder and put the dust in a clone's hands. She repeated this until all the bunshins had a handful of powdered rocks. "Go sit on the riverbank bank and concentrate. You don't need to do this quickly yet, for now focus on just doing it correctly. Speed will come with practice" she instructed. The clones nodded and got to work.
"Now for the remaining bunshins, I want you to divide into two groups of forty-five." She waited for the groups to divide themselves, though there were times that she needed to intervene to prevent the bunshins from dispelling each other due to disagreements. "Alright, the group on my left," she raised her left hand to speed this up, "will go back to tree walking with the same instructions as before: you will run, and when you can run without concentrating, you will walk, and when you can do that without concentrating, you will float a leaf with your chakra in your hand. While you may not get past this point today, if you do, put them on different parts of your body. The best way to know when you succeed is the same as before, you can do it without thinking about it." The clones nodded before going away from the group Shizune was teaching and began their part of the training.
She turned to the remaining group, "You lot will be doing water walking with the same instructions, however the order for you is reversed. You will walk, then you will run, you will then add the leaves. Do you understand?" She seemed to get a nod from all the clones before sending them off. Tsunade turned to the real one, "Now you and I will go back to taijutsu on the water. With your large chakra pool, doing it this way will be the quicker way to get your chakra control to where I would like it to be." Naruto looked like he wanted to ask a question but also looked like he was holding himself back. "Remember, I told you that were no stupid questions so if you have one ask." Taking a deep breath, Naruto asked his question, "Umm why not have clones work with me on the taijutsu katas? If they can transfer the memories back shouldn't that help me learn the style quicker?" Tsunade smiled at the question. "Good question" she complimented. "Theoretically it could, however we have already split how many different sources you will be gaining knowledge from, especially with the set Shizune is teaching. Also you don't have the best habits in taijutsu, which I suspect is from your former instructors, so until I am sure that I have helped you correct what they taught you that was wrong as well as ensure that you can do each movement correctly, you will not be using bunshins to aid you, for now. If you practice a style or train with bad habits, they could leak into what you are trying to do and erase all the progress you would be making or prevent you from making any" she explained.
Naruto seemed to appreciate the answer. "Now lets get to it, if you want to use bunshins to help you learn this then the more solid your form is the quicker you can use them to help you. Keep in mind that for every kata you get right I want you to do a body weight movement of my choice for the reps of my choosing, understand?" Naruto nodded his accent and got in the stance she showed him earlier; hands up in-front of his face while being slightly open with elbows tucked in, standing on the balls of his feet, while slightly leaning forward. "Begin!" she ordered.
Hours have passed since Naruto started his training with Tsunade and Shizune. A tired Naruto laid panting on the riverbed while Tsunade and Shizune watched the tired blonde laydown, though Shizune was sitting down as she herself was tired from teaching fifty students. "Well, I have to say I am proud of both of you" complimented Tsunade. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
"Yeah … huff … huff… thanks Oba-san" panted out Naruto. "Well lets get going, we can't stay out here without camping gear, and I really prefer to take a shower after today" commented Tsunade. Shizune stood to her feet while Naruto struggled to turn over. Tsunade rolled her eyes before she went over and began carrying Naruto bridal style. Naruto attempted to protest however he was too tired. "Hey! I can walk on my own" he said weakly after a while. Tsunade shook her head before shifting him to cradle his head on her shoulder, making Shizune get flashbacks to how she used to with her uncle. "Hush gaki, you're tired right now, rest up so we can get back to it in the morning" she told him softly, like how she used to do with her brother. Hearing this, Naruto smiled lightly before falling asleep in Tsunade's arms.
Shizune looked away with her eyes before she rubbed her arm. Tsunade gave her a quizzical look. "Umm Tsunade-sama, we never found out where he lived" she said with a dusting of pink on her cheeks. Tsunade also blushed in embarrassment before clearing her throat. "Well for now we will take him with us to the hotel, hopefully he will be rested enough to tell us where he lives so we can at least get him a change of clothes. He's too tired to remember what to do if we tell him to meet us here tomorrow" Tsunade responded. Not seeing a better solution, Shizune agreed while packing the books they have before heading back to the village while Tonton stood next to Tsunade.
As they walked back to Konoha Tsunade asked, "So what did you cover in his lessons?"
"Well first I did a basic assessment to see what he needed help with. I found out that while he could read and write, his handwriting definitely needs work." Tsunade expected some of this. 'Being the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, it would make sense that the boy could at least read and write or else Sarutobi-sensei may lose him to a contract he signs without being able to tell what he agreed to' thought Tsunade. "However, his academic knowledge has much to be desired. He seems behind in many subjects that should have been covered while he was in the academy. While he can do basic math, anything more complicated than that and he struggles. The same could be said about the general knowledge of the vary village he lives in. It seems that his tale of not being taught at the academy seems to be more severe than he let on. He was very hesitant to ask questions at first, however after much encouragement on my part eventually his clones began to ask questions. From there he began to understand the material at a good pace. If this keeps up, I should be able to fix what he should have had in a few weeks. Currently the lesson plan is just making up what he should have learned in the academy and his calligraphy." Tsunade was angered by what she was hearing and what the boy had to go through. This is not what grandfather wanted when he created the village, and if he was a member of her family… well lets just say that building supports don't take to kindly being pressed sideways.
The three arrived at the hotel they were staying at rather quickly. It too was on the outskirts so they didn't get seen by anyone, especially at this time of day. They discreetly made their way to their room which Shizune got for Tsunade as she was still carrying Naruto. It was a fairly standard hotel room with two queen size beds and a nightstand on each side of the beds. Tsunade set Naruto on her bed while Shizune placed the books on the small table the room had. Tsunade gently nudged Naruto awake. He opened his eyes groggily, and said rather quietly "Oba-san?"
"Hey gaki, you need to take a shower so you can sleep better, okay? But before you do, can you tell me where you live so can get you a change of clothes?" Naruto nodded tiredly as he told them that he lived in an apartment that was on the top floor of his building located close to the academy. He was sure to tell them that it was in an oval like building with a small deck, as well as the address. Though he did have to repeat himself a few times as he did mumble from time to time.
Once they got his key, Tsunade sent him to shower, "Shizune you stay with him, I'll go get him a pack so if this happens again, we won't have to worry about it." Shizune was about object until Naruto had trouble with the door. Shizune sighed as she went to help Naruto. Tsunade grabbed Naruto's key and headed out. She had to go out discreetly, especially with where his apartment was located. When she got through his door, she can't say she was pleased. While it was decently sized having a separate kitchen, bath, and bed, the walls seemed to have cracks throughout them. There were garbage bags in some of the corners of the room, he had a clothesline in his bedroom, there was food containers stacked all over the place. If she had to guess this place was in good condition when he got it but it seemed like no one checked in on the boy to make sure he was doing alright. 'This place is in desperate need of repairs. It also seems like this kid has no sense of cleanliness. Did anyone look after him while he was younger or was he just left on his own? That makes no sense, surely someone would have taught this kid basic cleanliness or at least checked on him' thought Tsunade. She made a Kage Bunshin of her own that at least got rid of all the trash, 'At least he dusts and scrubs the place down, though something tells me he doesn't use sanitizers' she thought as she began to pack a backpack she suspected he used for missions. Once the bunshin left his apartment and through the trash out, she made her way back to the hotel.
When she arrived, she saw Shizune trying to convince Naruto to not put on his dirty clothes. "Hey Naruto, I brought you some clothes. Put a clean set on then get to bed, okay?" Naruto nodded tiredly before going back in the bathroom to change. By the looks of things when he got out, he seemed to have brushed his teeth as well. With this Tsunade all but pushed Shizune into the bathroom saying she was the more exhausted of the pair so she needed to go next. 'Tsunade-sama sure has changed when she met this boy. She hasn't complained about not having any sake since the start of his training. I know it has only been a day but…I can't help but think what effect this boy has on her' she thought as she freshened up.
When Shizune came out of the bathroom she noticed Tsunade sitting in a chair watching over Naruto as he sleeps. Curious as to what her master was doing, Shizune coughed lightly getting Tsunade's attention. Tsunade, realizing what she was caught doing, had a light dusting of pink on her cheeks as she moves to the bathroom to freshen up. 'What is wrong with me? Why am obsessing over this boy. Sure, he reminds me of them but … that can't be it can it?' she thought as she got ready for the night. When Tsunade left the bathroom, she saw that both Naruto and Shizune are already asleep with Tonton taking up residency on Shizune's bed. Since Naruto was in her bed, she made her way over to it resigning herself to sharing it with him. Noticing how peaceful he looks, she goes over to him and lightly pokes him on the forehead with a smile as an attempt to move him over slightly so she can also rest in bed. While it did move him like she intended, something happened that she didn't expect. Naruto had grabbed onto her hand after she poked him. By the looks of things, he was heavily asleep, and not aware that he did that. Not wanting to wrench her hand out of his grip and risk disturbing both him and Shizune, Tsunade decided that she would let the gaki hold her hand as he slept but she would sleep under the top sheet rather than both to retain some form of modesty between the two.
Naruto awoke to a feeling of something soft engulfing him. He tried to open his eyes to see what it was but that was proving difficult. Whatever it was, was preventing him from opening his eyes. He also noted that he felt two limbs wrapped around him, this is probably what was keeping the thing that was preventing him from opening his eyes from moving. His wiggling and shifting elicited a soft moan from someone nearby.
Tsunade was sleeping soundly in her bed, something was keeping her warm despite being under the sheet of the bed she was staying while in Konoha. Whatever it was, she seemed to be holding it close based on the amount of contact she was feeling along her arms and bust. Suddenly it began to move and shift, probably trying to out of her grasp based on what she was feeling. The problem was that whatever it was, was moving around within her ample bosom which caused her to moan as if she was stretching while waking up. As her eyes fluttered open, she noticed a mop of spikey blonde hair wiggling to get free as she held its owner close to her. At least they were still under separate sheets she noticed with a barely noticeable tint of pink on her cheeks.
She let Naruto go, allowing him to see what had held him so close in the morning. When he saw that he was snuggled into Tsunade's bosom, he became afraid. He was afraid she would hit him for being a pervert like she had seen him do to that white haired man. He was sitting there, waiting, waiting for the punishment he believed was coming. Though he had to admit, they were very soft to the touch and rather pleasant to be in contact with causing a noticeable blush to adorn his cheeks. Eventually Tsunade got out of bed, what could she do? She was the one that held him close to her so she can't blame him for something he didn't do.
She let out a long and heavy sigh as she stood, revealing to Naruto she was wearing a full body, violet, silk night gown. "Get up" she ordered. "Once I am done changing, you will go and change while I wake Shizune. Once she is ready, we will grab some breakfast under a henge in the hotel restaurant. You will eat what I approve and the amount I tell you to get. After that we will go back to the riverbed and resume your training, understood?" Naruto could only nod dumbly. He was in shock that she wasn't berating him, like his teammate would do if she believed he messed up or did something wrong, or being sent to the other side of the village like the white-haired pervert while being told he was a 'demon' and she wasn't going to train him anymore.
He didn't come out of his shocked state until the bag he usually packed for long term missions landed in front of him. He looked to see where it came from, only to see a now changed Tsunade moving to wake Shizune and by proxy, Tonton. Remembering her instructions, he quickly moved to the bathroom to get ready for a new day of training. Once Shizune was ready, the group henged into a different appearance, ones that made them not standout and look rather ordinary before collecting what they would need for his training and making their way to the hotel restaurant that was serving breakfast.
Naruto looked around, taking in the sights and smells he didn't often come across. He looked like he was ready to run over to the provided buffet and just take what he wanted however, he was stopped by Tsunade as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Tsunade, confusion on his face. "Remember what I told you?" Tsunade waited for his response. After a few seconds he remembered as he smacked his hand with his hand, "Yeah, you said that you would be telling me what I can eat and how much" he responded with a reaffirming nod. She nodded in confirmation, "
What I want you to get is two servings of eggs, a cup of oats, some fruit of your choice and some kongi with dried shredded fish." Naruto looked at her confused. "Why those foods Oba-san?" Tsunade appreciated the question. "Well eggs and the kongi are a source of protein that will help with muscle development. This won't guarantee you larger muscles but it will help you grow stronger as you work out. The oats are to help you stay full so that you do not need to stop training due feeling hungry as often, however if you eat to many it could hinder you by having you gain unnecessary weight. The fruit is for the essential nutrients to help with memory and help you gain what you won't get from meats" she explained.
While Naruto didn't fully grasp why she chose the foods she did, he did understand that they would help him grow stronger, and for him that was a good enough reason to follow her advice. Besides he bet that either her or Shizune would end up teaching him what all of this means anyway. With a nod of confirmation, the three set out to get their food, Naruto only getting what Tsunade told him too, though she did give him a stern glare whenever he tried to go off of the prescribed diet. Though these were not foods he was not used to some of them were pretty good. When they were finished eating, the group went back to the riverbank to resume the training they had started the previous day, though what he learned from Shizune changed as well as the addition that he had to try and catch Tonton for two hours, much to the pigs protest.
A week has passed since Naruto began training with Tsunade and he has to admit that this has been the most intensive week of training he had been through. With the diet he has been following from Tsunade every day, he noticed that he had started growing a bit as he was eating far healthier than when he was just eating ramen. He had also learned a lot of stuff from Shizune. He didn't even know that there were more biju than the Kyuubi. Who knew what you could learn this stuff from history class? When the end of the week came, Naruto got excited. Using one hundred clones for seven days a couple times a day really helps with improving one's chakra control. He had really gotten the hang of Tsunade's taijutsu style, especially the dodging part. He also learned to not call Tsunade Oba-san crazy, it gets her more riled up. When his control was dubbed good enough, Tsunade started to teach him her chakra enhanced strength.
He also noticed he was not tiring as easily. Apparently, the body weight movements, as Tsunade called them, were helping his muscle development and improving his stamina while chasing Tonton improved his speed and reaction time due to how she could make very sharp changes in movement. The real problem came through with the stretching cool down. As she did them with him, he became very aware of how beautiful she was and it sometimes made his chest race and sweat a little more when he was close to her sometimes. It also didn't help that she still hugged him over night as he still found himself waking up either holding her hand or her hugging him.
He did ask why his clones were still doing calligraphy though. "Because by the end of the second week I'll be having you learn fuinjutsu." Naruto gave her a questioning look. "You see, fuinjutsu is an art that many people rarely use however it can be very strong. Remember the Yondaime used it to defeat the Kyuubi?" she asked to which he nodded his response. "There are also explosive tags and storage scroll to name a few examples. With this art you could even learn a seal that would even boost your healing rate to such a degree that even if you lost your heart, you could grow it back" she had told him. His reaction of course was that of a starry-eyed child, greatly expressing his eagerness to learn this awesome jutsu. "Hold on, first you need to have better handwriting so you can make the seals. One wrong brush stroke could mean that you'll be out of commission to fight the Neji kid you want to fight so badly" she warned him. This, obviously, had gotten his attention. He wasn't going to miss out on his chance to teach Neji-teme a lesson. Plus, she has given him more training than anyone else he has met or learned from while Shizune made the stuff he was learning far easier for him to understand, so that was a plus. He would listen to Tsunade-chan when she warned him about how dangerous fuinjutsu is.
Tsunade faced her latest protégé with her arms crossed under her magnificent bust, "Are you ready to start learning my enhanced strength technique gaki?" Naruto excitedly bobbed his head in anticipation "YES!" he shouted eagerly. "Alright, but before we get started, I want you to make your clones again, however. This time however I want you to make two hundred kaga bunshins." Naruto sat still with his hand raised, waiting for her explanation. He had learned that if he asked her or waited patiently, she would explain her actions. Realizing that he was asking why she wanted him to do this, she clarified "You are probably asking why we are increasing the amount of bunshins." With a nod of confirmation she continues, "Well for this technique we are adding clones to ensure that you at least have a rudimentary version ready for your match. While you will still be having a set doing water walking with the leaves, they will also be practicing the katas of my style while we work on the enhanced strength technique as you can never have enough control over your chakra, especially if you want to use your tenant's chakra in the future. The set that would normally be doing tree walking will be meditating. This will help you understand your chakras flow which you will be attempting to manipulate which will help you feel if you ever get put under a genjutsu as your flow will be disrupted when under ones affects. Since I know Shizune has gone over the basic principles and methods of escaping a genjutsu with you, being able to manipulate your chakra at such a level will help with your ability to perform the personal release method as you will be able to feel the change in your chakra flow."
Naruto looked a little lost with the explanation. Tsunade waited somewhat patiently to see if he had any questions. "So basically, the point of meditation is to make sure I'm not affected by genjutsu?" Tsunade shook her head in the negative. "Not quite. See everyone can be affected by genjutsu, since it is an art centered around subtilty. What it will do however is help you recognize one by your chakra flow and make it easier for you to escape" she clarified.
Naruto took up a thinking pose before responding, "That makes sense. So, when do we get started?!" he asked eagerly. With a smirk on her face Tsunade responded, "Right now, make your bunshins and we will get started." Naruto responded with a smile of his own while making his bunshins who set off to their appointed tasks with Tsunade's group staying to hear her instructions. "Alright each of you take up positions along the side of the cliff, make sure you are evenly space between each other." Tsunade waited patiently for the bunshins to get into position. "Now what this technique involves is concentrating chakra to your fist. While this part does not require much control, what does is when you release it. You need to release the chakra right at the point of impact outward from your fist. This is all about timing and control, however since we have been working greatly on your control you will need to work on your timing. Use small amounts of chakra, enough to slightly crack the cliff. You don't need to worry about using large amounts of chakra for now. The more chakra you use the more damage your hits will do but this is not what we are focusing on. For now, we want to get your timing down, understand?"
The bunshins nodded in understanding before turning around to get started. "OH! Before you start" she turns to the real Naruto. "Every ten strikes you do, I want you to do the following: ten wide push-ups, ten squats, ten high knees, and ten close push-ups, then get back to striking. For the clones, alternate which fist you strike with, stay in your stance the entire time even when you are feeling exhausted. Remember, when you get sloppy your opponent will strike their hardest" she ordered. With that the clones and Naruto got in their stance and began striking the cliffside. In the meantime, Tsunade made sure that the clones that were separating different colored crushed rocks had their material before staying mostly with the clones that were practicing their katas, ensuring they are keeping their form proper as they practiced. The bunshins with Shizune have recently just finished the basics that academy had went over. Due to this, the bunshins had begun learning the basics of medical ninjutsu theory with the hope of being able to use the mystical palm by the third week in the month.
Part way through the week Naruto brought up something to Tsunade's attention while they were eating lunch. "You look like something has your attention, what's up?" Naruto looked a little confused before telling Tsunade and Shizune what's on his mind. "Well… something weird has been happening I guess with the clones that are meditating. It's like they can see these patches of blue around them. The blue patches also seem to have different levels of intensity" he told them. Shizune and Tsunade look curiously at him, both suspecting the same thing. "Tell me Naruto-kun, do these patches move as if they are alive?" Naruto had to think about it for a bit. "Umm yes. I sometimes see two moving a lot while some of them seem to have concentrations around certain areas like they are trying to use the blue energy" he told them. "Naruto, you access this ability through meditation, correct?" Naruto nodded in confirmation, "I want you to mediate for me, then let me know when you start to see these blue patches" Tsunade ordered.
After a while Naruto let Tsunade know that he can see them, though there aren't as many as when his clones were meditating. "That's fine, tell me do you see two patches close to you?"
"Um yeah. One is really bright while the other doesn't seem as bright" he relayed. That statement confirmed for the two women that Naruto was a sensor, however they were curious how powerful this ability was. He mentioned before that he could see the "blue" being manipulated to maybe he can even see a person actually molding their chakra. "Naruto, I want you to follow the brighter patch as you meditate. Let me know if you can see any shifts in the patch."
"Okay Oba-san." With that, the bigger patch started to slowly move away from him. After moving around for a bit, Naruto noticed that it seemed like the blue was gathering at a specific point before it was unleashed. A loud crack was heard and the gathered blue was gone. Naruto opened his eyes quickly to see that Tsunade was standing in front of a downed tree that looked like she just punched it. She was also standing where he had seen the bright blue patch in his mind. "Naruto were you able to follow the movement of the blue patch as well as when it became concentrated within it?" asked Tsunade. Naruto quickly nodded his head, "Yeah! What was that?" he asked quickly.
"Well gaki, it seems that you are a sensor nin. Meaning you can track chakra signatures, those are the blue patches you described. You can even see the chakra a person had being molded which is uncommon for a sensor."
"Does that mean I have a super cool and unique skill?" asked an excited Naruto. "Tsunade rubbed the top of his head, "Yes it does gaki, however that means that your meditating clones will have to work on this ability since you may be able to take it further if you get used to it" she told him. "Alright! Let's get to it then!" shouted an excited Naruto.
"Alright, when you make your clones send the group to where they are going to meditate. I'll give them their instructions then, in the meantime have your other clones continue the route we have been using thus far." With a nod Naruto created his clones and joined the ones that were punching the cliff. The group that was to meditate waited patiently for Tsunade to give them their instructions. Ever since he was able to get his large reserves under control as well as spending time with Shizune and Tsunade, his need for attention had fallen off a bit as well as his chakra induced ADHD seemed to be a thing of the past. Now instead of being a squirrel on caffeine, he was just an excitable thirteen-year-old, who Tsunade had to admit she was enjoying his company as well as him being her cuddle buddy, though she won't admit that part to anyone.
"Alright, listen up. When you are sensing the chakras around the area, I want you lot to focus on individual signatures before trying to look for groups. Focus on the molding of chakra in the patches. See if you can trace to where the chakra is being molded at and making the images clearer. I suspect that you could fully see a person's shape not just the patch if you can see the molding. Some of you, I want to spread your range as far as you can. Lock on to signatures of animals if you must. You will see, especially with this ability, that animals have their own chakra as well. Use them to work on practicing seeing far away targets that are well beyond your line of sight" she told them. With the instructions given out, the clones got to work.
After a long day of training, Naruto was once again dragged to Tsunade and Shizune's hotel. He didn't mind it, he just wished she wouldn't carry him there. It was nice though. He felt safe and warm with Tsunade, though he still woke up a little tense that she would get angry with him because of how they woke up. But it was nice to not wake up in his lonely apartment. He liked that through his conditioning he was getting faster and lasting longer when he was training, especially the dodge training she always had him do after lunch and before their cool down. Their after training stretches still made him feel a bit heated in his chest, and he was certainly doing his best to hide the blushes he got when she smiled at him.
As the trio entered the hotel room Tsunade had something for him to work on. "Naruto" she called. He looked at her through tied eyes. "I want you to spend some time using your sensory ability to sense the people that walk by the hotel and track a group for as long as you can." Naruto looked at her like she was insane. He was really tired, how was he supposed to stay awake long enough to track a group of people in Konoha. She apparently knew what he was thinking, since she turned to him and said "Naruto just because you are tired isn't an excuse. When you are out on a mission, will you let your responsibilities to your team go simply because you are tired. Will you give up in a fight because you are tired?"
These questions made him remember his training back in Wave. He had trained all through the night on multiple occasions just to get the tree walking exercise down, this was no different. With his mind set, he ran towards the bed before he was stopped by Tsunade. "Sit on the floor, you are still grungy from training and I don't think you want to sleep in sheets that will smell like your day of training, do you?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Hehehe your right Tsunade-chan" he replied, not thinking about the suffix. Naruto took a seat in the middle of the room before training his sensory ability.
As Naruto rushed over to begin meditating, he didn't notice that Tsunade was developing a blush however Shizune did. 'Tsunade-sama has changed since she has met Naruto-kun. For some reason she has been getting awfully close to him. It's like she is treating him as a younger brother and a …' She didn't want to continue on that path as she didn't see the older woman treating anyone like that since her uncle's passing. That was why she constantly gambled and drank sake, to try and repress the memories of both Dan and Nawaki. 'But she isn't freezing at the sight of blood anymore. I mean sure she locked up when he cut his knuckles open or bled a little from dodging what she threw at him but now …. Now it seems like she is over it. What has caused this change? What does Naruto-kun process that has helped Tsunade-sama?' questioned Shizune as she freshened up for bed.
It would be another two hours before Tsunade would conclude Naruto's training for the day. Periodically she would look out the window and make sure that the targets Naruto was tracking were moving in the directions she could see. To her delight, he was starting to track his targets with decent clarity though he did fall off eventually, though that was when they were beyond her sight. He could also tell if they were young or old as well. This proves his abilities indeed had a lot of room to grow.
It would be the end of the second week of training that all three would experience a surprise that would shake both Naruto and Tsunade to their core and bring the two to becoming inseparable