Chapter 5 Start
Naruto understands very well the human methodology of training.
He spent dozens of hours every week for the past two years using state-of-the-art training techniques. He has powerful mentors and partners that he can draw a wealth of information from at any given moment. Whenever he is stuck, he can find a solution. Whenever he hits a block in his training, he can power through it by finding a solution that's already been discovered by his teachers or draw inspiration from the things around him, from art, to nature, and even to the weather itself.
Naruto doesn't mind gloomy weather. The breeze can be strong or weak, a kiting gust or a silken touch. The rain that accompanies it can be a pelting downpour or a light drizzle that kisses the skin. Sure, it sucks getting wet and it's not fun sliding around and landing flat on his ass on a particularly slippery surface. But that kind of weather represents what he admired about his hero, his dad.
The Yondaime Hokage. Someone who represents change, but best manifested by his ability to adapt to any situation. Records of his prowess in battle were legendary to say the least. He died young but left behind an echo that screamed across the nations from even the short time he'd been on this world. He was regarded as a kind but steely person, wanting to stand up for what was right and not allowing people to bully him or the people close to him into submission.
Naruto is still laying in his bed in the sunrise hours of the morning. He puts his palm upward towards the ceiling and focuses. The dim orange light seeping through his window is drowned by the beginnings of a glow on his hand. Cyan Chakra manifests, starting small but growing to fit in his hand. The glow from his Jutsu is bright, swirling mesmerizingly into a controlled orb. The chaos of the possibilities of Chakra contained and made to the order of its wielder.
He should be proud. Knowing that he's learned the Jutsu that his father designed for his mother. He thought it would help him feel a little closer to them, that maybe learning this Jutsu would provide some clarity as to who they were as people beyond the stories from Hokage-Jiji. But he doesn't feel anything like that. He's struggling to find meaning with this technique like he had with his Futon Ninjutsu. Perhaps because he never had a true relationship with them, not a living one anyway. He doesn't know what they would be like together. He and Menma, and their parents alive. What would they be like?
But his objective mind argues against the fantasy. There is no point in dreaming of a Present that could have been, and there is no point in straining his mind thinking of a meaning to this Jutsu. At the end of the day, it's just a powerful Ninjutsu designed to blast apart anything it came in contact with.
He just doesn't want to think of it like that. And he doesn't think that his current mentors would really understand what he's getting at.
The training he puts himself through is changing him, certainly. He feels more confident around people, and he knows that his growth has slingshot rapidly. But he just can't help but think there's a piece missing, a part of his foundation that should be growing upwards with the rest of his abilities.
All he's currently doing is learning whatever he could from the Past. Jutsu and techniques that expand upon traditional teachings. Naruto wants to be on a different level, to ascend beyond even what his dad was capable of. Even beyond Menma's potential as a Jinchuuriki.
The Shodai Hokage was not only renowned for latent ability in the Mokuton Kekkei-Genkai, but for unfathomable level at which he excelled in every Shinobi discipline.
Perhaps he should be setting that kind of power as a measuring stick, rather than a one-to-one recreation as a goal. As Uchiha Madara had proven, one does not need the exact same power to be a match. Naruto can draw inspiration from the rival and mortal enemy of the Shodai as an example of how someone can excel with any discipline, and draw inspiration from his own rivals and enemies too.
He wants an outlet, something to put time into that might be a significant Change. He wants to learn the lessons of his forebears but do what even they could not do for the village.
The floating ball of cyan Chakra in his hand isn't currently giving him any inspiration.
Chakra is strange. To the presumably uneducated, it's just magic. It is manipulated by the use of hand-seals, of which Naruto has no idea how people identified to start with. The Rasengan proves that the rule of hand-seals is not strict, and that Chakra can be manipulated without them. After-all, how does a Summon Creature use Jutsu? How do bugs and Ninken use Jutsu?
The human body possesses an intricate interconnected network similar to the circulatory system that allows Chakra to spill into muscle, bone and any other organs, as well as being capable of expressing it outwardly in the form of Jutsu. Each person has a unique Chakra signature, though certain traits can be as hereditary as one's own appearance.
He, as well as Menma, inherited the Chakra of the Uzumaki Clan. But what does that really mean? Their large Chakra reserves appear to come at the cost of not being able to use it as well as someone with less Chakra. Their innate power is strong, but what good is that strength when having to train so hard just to use it? If it's as part of the body as their muscles, then they should in theory, be able to use it just as well as said muscles. To Naruto, it doesn't make sense that there are reactionary and opposing consequences to different traits in a person's Chakra. Why do their bodies have so much Chakra if they're not able to use all of it easily?
Naruto has tried over the past three long and boring weeks to identify exactly what it is that bothers him about that. Maybe if he'd had more refined Chakra control, he'd be much further ahead and he might not have needed ROOT II. Exploring his natural talents does offer some sense of comfort that he's growing in his capabilities, but why does he need to work so hard just to control what's a part of him?
He'd wondered, but on the discovery of a book that he'd devoured, part of that had been dissuaded.
'Your Body and You', written by Taijutsu specialist Might Guy. It details that the body does not truly suffer from training rigorously unless done unwisely. It takes a mental discipline and fortitude to train with consistency, and even more so when the reward isn't immediate. And piling on top of that is that when training strategies are not sustainable, a person is more likely to lose their path.
The book resonated with him in a good way. It felt like a kick in the ass to get him going again. The reason why he keeps losing interest in Fuinjutsu is that he's not only not sure of his end goal, but that he isn't seeing any long-term benefit beyond the seemingly minor current uses of it. Naruto isn't learning from the Future.
And the book never said anything about the creativity used in how people can train. As long as everyone you have is given to each discipline you wish to learn and it's sustainable, nothing says he can't employ unique training strategies to learn multiple things at once.
The Rasengan's Chakra vanishes.
Konohagakure, perhaps too traditionally, hosts the Chuunin Exams nearly every year.
Hiruzen put his foot down this year. Konoha cannot be solely responsible for the facilitation of the peace, regardless of how fragile it is. The other nations, bar Sunagakure, had been grumpy about having to decide between themselves who among them would be hosting the exams.
The onus of peace and cooperation does not solely belong on the foundations of one village. Emancipating the responsibility is a test of sorts, however. If the other nations choose to abuse it...
Regardless, Hiruzen nicks his withered thumb and rolls a droplet of blood on it. He pushes it down on the scroll as his signature, declaring his vote that Kumogakure would be hosting the exams this year.
The other nations always react to Konoha's strength. They find any derogatory term that they can to describe them, ignorant of the fact that it is only a desire for peace that prevents them from being crushed under Konoha's heel. Tree huggers, hippies, yellow-bellies, pushovers and the like. All words and phrases for coping with the fact that Konoha remains the strongest despite their pathetic attempts to subvert power from those who are born with it or earned it.
Willing to do anything but rightfully gain power on their own.
Something that the latest prodigious talent of Konoha has no trouble with.
"Hey, Jiji."
"Naruto-kun." Hiruzen answers, not unsurprised at the intrusion but it is earlier than Naruto usually bothers him.
Naruto is perched on the window-sill. Hiruzen wonders if it's a genetic trait to avoid doors until they're beyond puberty.
But the boy clearly has something in his mind, and far-be-it from Hiruzen to deny the curiosity of youth.
"What do you have on your mind, Naruto-kun?"
"I know it's early, so sorry." Naruto fiddles with a notebook in his hands. "I just thought that you would be the best person to ask about certain things."
"Ah, I would not wish to presume the reason for these questions. Ask." Hiruzen feels he should appreciate the distraction more. A discussion with Naruto would likely wake him up a bit before the teams start rolling in for their missions.
"What do you think about using Kage Bunshin to train?" Naruto asks quickly and directly, sitting upright with a brush in his hand.
Absurd is what Hiruzen wants to say. But out of surprise, not disregard. Naruto is right to bring this question to him, for Hiruzen himself is famed for his Ninjutsu capabilities.
"In theory-" Hiruzen scratches his goatee. "-It would certainly be advantageous. However, the mental fidelity of each clone declines with each one created past a certain threshold of Chakra. You are aware that Kage Bunshin are constructs of Chakra, and on the outside are imitations of the Jutsu caster. But think on what makes up the brain of a clone. A recreation of your own brain out of Chakra. The less Chakra a clone has, the less mental acuity it possesses. You will learn nothing from a dispelled, idiot clone."
"But would there be a benefit to making so many clones in the first place?"
"Of course. The only way to increase your Chakra capacity is to strain it. Bringing yourself to the brink of Chakra exhaustion is the only way to increase your bodies' capacity for Chakra."
"That leads into my next question, what's the difference between Chakra Capacity and Chakra Strength?"
Hiruzen finds himself enjoying having such a curious mind to indulge his elderly urge to tell people what he knows.
"Capacity is volume, how much you have in your Chakra network. Strength is the traits of Chakra, split into multiple components. How much Chakra one can use in one Jutsu, how many different types of Jutsu can be used, and the speed of Chakra through the body and speed at which Jutsu are cast."
"That sounds just like Chakra Control." Naruto is quite clearly confused.
Hiruzen sighs. It's probably about time that he lets Naruto know the truth.
"Indeed. The definition of Chakra Control as taught by the Academy is as a vital skill in the production of Chakra to create Ninjutsu. The truth of the matter is, that Chakra Control is in fact, merely the exercises that require a moderate degree of control to apply during combat. Learning Chakra Control exercises is for battle, for adjustments to terrain, and does not have any bearing on your capability to use Jutsu beyond the fact that learning to feel your Chakra through such basic exercises is useful for children of Academy-ages to learn to feel their Chakra."
"So it's a scam." Naruto rises like a prickly cat. "The Academy, and Danzo, misled me into thinking that repeating the same Chakra Control exercises in harder ways would improve my ability to control Chakra."
"That is not strictly true, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen de-escalates calmly. "The Academy provides easily digestible and practical lessons in the control of one's Chakra, for students of different learning needs to your own. Danzo, however, improved your ability to control your Chakra by strengthening it through the use of hand-seal Ninjutsu, like your Shunshin no Jutsu. And even better, your own studies in Fuinjutsu have given you the same output. The exercises Danzo had you perform were indeed not useful in training you to use your Chakra better, but rather adapting to any environmental change such as vertical-surface combat, and the ability to walk on water."
Hiruzen allows Naruto to digest the lecture before going on.
"Menma-kun told me not too long ago that you helped him to break Genjutsu. The answer that you came to was more correct than 'Chakra Control' being the root cause of the problem. Sometimes, emotions can be powerful triggers to make Chakra stronger in the moment, like a fight-or-flight instinct."
"But Menma is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. His Chakra is strong, way stronger than ours, he should've easily been able to break any Genjutsu." Naruto contests the statement, and it's quite a valid and observant one.
"Menma-kun's Chakra strength does not solely belong to him." Hiruzen smiles wryly. "Controlling someone's, or in his case, something else's Chakra is far more difficult than controlling your own. His body is full of Chakra that doesn't want to cooperate with him."
"So, the whole 'having lots of Chakra makes it harder to control' thing is bullshit, and it's Chakra strength and personal observation that counts when using Jutsu?"
"Yes."
"So why am I struggling? My Chakra is strong, right?"
"No, Naruto-kun. It isn't." Hiruzen says gently.
"I have Uzumaki DNA, and I can do this-"
In defence of the strength of his Chakra, Naruto creates his Rasengan.
"Your Chakra is quite beautiful, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen commends. "And the shape of your Rasengan is indeed accurate."
Hiruzen puts his index-finger up, telling Naruto to hold it there.
"However-" He stands up, looking over the Jutsu with keen eyes. "-you wouldn't hurt a cat with this Jutsu. I can practically see right through it, meaning its density is minimal. This is the extent of the Chakra you can draw from your body. It's quite easy to control this much. It appears you have skipped a step with this technique. You have the shape but no power."
To demonstrate his point, Hiruzen slaps the Rasengan, dissipating it.
Naruto looks at him with wide-eyes.
"You have not mastered this Jutsu." Hiruzen says evenly. "And you will not master this, or any other Jutsu truly, until the strength of your Chakra is proportional with the amount of Chakra in your body. The gifts of your Uzumaki lineage lie within your body, not your Chakra itself. You have the ability to heal from wounds that could be career-ending or fatal to the vast majority of Shinobi. Why? Because your body does the hard work for you. It eats your Chakra to help you recover, and its gift is something you can use to help others too. You can use it constantly because your Chakra reserves are large, but you cannot use it to the degree that your mother or even Shodai-sama could, because you do not have strong Chakra. Just like you cannot use the Rasengan like Yondaime-sama."
He feels cruel. Giving a reality-check like this to such a promising student.
But crucially, he knows that despite being disheartened, Naruto would stop at nothing to fix this. It is why he was accepted as a candidate for ROOT II.
Naruto's body is unique, just like Menma's. They were both born strong, healthy, sturdy and tall. Unlike their parents however, they would need to work harder to acquire the power they desire. Naruto has a cunning mind on par with his father, possibly more so, but lacks the direction required to make meaningful Change to his routines. Neither of them would be able to acquire gifts on Kushina's level until the strength of their Chakra was appropriate.
Nidaime-sama's research into strong Chakra was valuable. A prime example was the Uchiha Clan. They are born with average Chakra, sometimes below average even. But the enzymes released by the awakening of the Sharingan is the trigger that grants them powerful Chakra. It is not granted to them by their bodies, but that led to the question...
"How do I make my Chakra stronger?"
The correct question. If one's body does not do it, how is it possible to strengthen one's Chakra?
But one that had been answered over the course of centuries of conflict in the Era of Warring States, and the Shinobi World Wars.
"Blood. Sweat. Tears." Hiruzen replies with emphasis. "Exhausting your Chakra is not enough. You can do that easily with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. You must work harder than you have at anything else to strengthen your Chakra, by pushing the Ninjutsu that you already know to beyond your current limits. Just like your muscles, you must train them intelligently, not just to the point of exhaustion. You must allow yourself to recover, and get back to it again."
Naruto hits a deep and pensive pause.
Hiruzen sees fit to prepare his desk for the daily operations. There's still a short while before Genin teams start rolling in for their missions. The bustle of Konoha is getting louder. Shop stalls opening and people out and about. All familiar sounds that provide him a deep sense of comfort.
It's a good few minutes before Naruto actually starts putting everything he'd said down in his notebook.
"Just one more question." Naruto practically begs.
"Of course, Naruto-kun. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable asking me anything when you approach me for help, despite my criticism."
Naruto nods, and Hiruzen takes that as a sign that Naruto is completely on-board with the advice.
He no longer shouts and demands attention or screams about how unfair anything is. A cool acceptance.
Danzo has done exceptionally well. But Naruto is still a child. It usually takes five, maybe even ten years before most Shinobi start asking these questions. He still wants Naruto to have good connections with the people around him, enough to ask for advice.
"You said that straining my Chakra is the best way to improve its strength. But what if I want to learn something new in order to increase my knowledge and Chakra Strength? Something like a Summoning Contract?" Naruto finishes a bit unsure.
"It would potentially be the perfect Jutsu to fulfill this goal." Hiruzen admits. "But Summoning Contracts are quite rare and difficult to obtain beyond being passed down from teacher to student. The only time I have witnessed someone obtain a contract without having prior knowledge of it is from one of my own students, Jiraiya. He cast the Summoning Jutsu without a contract and as a result, was instead Reverse Summoned to the realm of the Toads."
Naruto perks up. "But was that random? Was it that he had no clue where he would end up and instead his Chakra was aligned to a certain creature?"
"I see your Nature Affinity training is being applied to other disciplines. Unfortunately, one instance of it happening is not conclusive."
"And out of curiosity, what would the hand-seals be for the Summoning Jutsu."
Hint hint.
Hiruzen refrains from letting out a long-suffering sigh.
"I will show you only once. On the condition that you do not encourage anyone else to do something as stupid as my own student and you are about to do. I have faith that you will find what you seek through your abilities in mind and body, so please make a hasty return home when you've found it. Anko-chan will have a big task for your team coming up soon."
Menma takes a moment to process the note in his sleepy state.
Fuck mornings.
It's clearly from Naruto, though.
Experimenting. Ask Jiji.
Scrawled with haste and clear excitement, Menma just drops any feelings of annoyance he might have felt. It's not often Naruto gets so worked up that his handwriting suffers for it. He's obviously eager to go test whatever has caught his interest.
Menma disregards it, seeking only sustenance for now. Morning Menma is hungry Menma.
He opens the cabinet and finds it empty. Strange. He looks around, seeing if Naruto had intended on cleaning the shelves and he'd just stored the goods elsewhere. Opening the fridge, it is also disturbingly empty.
His eye twitches.
He takes a closer look at the note.
Took the food. Might be a while. Buy more. Money on table.
Menma scrunches the note in his fist and growls.
Fuck mornings.
'Yosh!' Naruto grins, hefting a loaded scroll over his back by a thin sling.
He decides to start on the Hokage Mountain. Little traffic up here, meaning that if he was rejected from the summon domain, he'd probably end up back here. And if he accidentally summons something, there's no-one around to hurt.
Nicking his thumb with a sharp tooth, he takes a deep breath and begins the hand-seals.
His heart skips a beat.
Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram.
He slams his palm on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A whirlwind of bright colours surrounds his field of view and he feels like he's being pulled through a keyhole. The strain on his body isn't painful but feels so different to anything he's ever experienced. He watches his hands, feeling them moving slower than usual but everything around him seems so fast and inactionable.
White smoke is in his periphery for a moment before everything stops. No more bright, unnatural colours, no more pulling on his Chakra and skin.
He doesn't have time to adjust himself before landing face-first on a muddy river-bank.
Groaning, he wipes the mud from his face and stands up. Disgruntled with the entry, he regains his sense and looks around for threats.
It's strangely quiet and serene. He feels a cool afternoon breeze on his skin, which is also odd. He used the Jutsu in the morning. Has his perception of time been altered by using Space-Time Ninjutsu?
Shaking off the thoughts, he takes in the surroundings. The river is a glistening blue, not as wide as the Naka River. There are remnants of icicles carried through the water, and spots of snow along the muddy shore. The waters are frothing along the rocks, and thick and sturdy trees poke out from the rapids, unbending and unchanging to its flow.
He looks to the sky. Birds are high up, too high for him to sense, and too far to see with clarity. The wind carries them, and they make not a sound as they glide gracefully.
His mouth opens when his eyes rest on the horizon.
"Amazing..." Naruto is breathless.
A snowy, gigantic mountain, with gigantic trees and roots growing out of it sideways and yet, not falling to gravity. They're as stiff and unbending as the trees in the river, only to such a scale that Naruto cannot help but believe it's impossibly large for any tree to naturally grow that large. Even the Forest of Death doesn't have trees on this scale. The roots wind around the mountain, some overlapping and digging into the snowy peaks. It's hard to tell if it's more mountain or tree.
And atop the mountain is a structure. Naruto cannot identify if it's a massive palace or an entire village, but it's clear that it is a residence for someone or something. A shaded castle, by trees that touch the sky, trees that can survive even the coldness of that cloudy peak.
It is clear that Naruto's goal is to be the peak of that mountain.
"Hello."
Startled, Naruto whirls around to face the feminine voice interrupting his thoughts.
He sees a bird perched on a small branch. Smaller than the ones flying overhead, with white feathers and sharp yellow eyes that bore into his own.
An owl. How peculiar, but the voice-
"Hello?" Naruto looks around, trying to identify the source of the voice, stretching out his senses to try to find them.
"Hello." The voice replies, and now Naruto is partially sure he's going crazy.
The owl spoke to him.
"You speak?" Naruto asks, shocked.
"I do." The owl replies, gentle and soothing. "I did not wish to startle you."
"Are you a human transformed into an owl?" Naruto asks, feeling stupid for doing so but anything to abate his confusion would be nice.
He's willing to look stupid to get answers.
"I am not." The owl denies, calmly and not offended.
It keeps staring at him, unnervingly.
"So... are you a Summon?" Naruto asks, hoping to pry any information he could from the owl.
"That depends on perspective." The owl replies vaguely. "I could be. Am I a Summon, if I have never been summoned?"
"I guess." Naruto acqueses. "That's your choice, right? Sorry, I'm new to the whole 'Summoning' thing and could do with some advice."
"An admission of ignorance is the first step in attaining knowledge." The owl doesn't sound like it approves or disapproves, merely stating a fact.
"In that case, I admit that I have no clue what I'm doing."
The owls' eyes seem to crinkle, like it finds him funny.
Naruto collects himself. "I tried to use the Summoning Jutsu after learning that it might be possible to find beings that I'm aligned with, for a few reasons. One is to learn how to control and enhance my power, another is to obtain a Summoning Contract to assist me when I'm in need of my profession, and the last is to see if there is anything I can learn beyond the curriculum provided from human training."
The owl is silent for a moment before it drops down to a lower branch at about Naruto's head-height. Its wings don't make a sound as it drops down. It puts its talon out.
"To my understanding of some human cultures, it is appropriate for a male to put his arm out for a female."
Naruto takes the hint, offering his arm for the owl to perch on.
"My name is Naruto." He introduces himself.
"I am known as Hogohane."
"Where can I take you, Hogohane?"
"To the peak."
Naruto's legs are starting to get sore. Not only did the walk to the base of the mountain take hours, to the point that the sun had nearly set, but the roots of the massive trees had been seemingly carved into a winding staircase that went all the way up the mountain. It could take days for him to go all the way up, and he'd need to sleep at some point tonight. Running up the mountain isn't safe, so his two options are to walk or find a way to fly up there. The snow prevents him from getting a tight connection between his Chakra and the rock, and the risk of an avalanche is unlikely but still possible. He's not going to jeopardise his own safety or the safety of Hogohane, even though she might be able to fly away, she could still get hurt.
He explained as much to Hogohane, who didn't react to the comment. Only staring up at him consideringly from his arm. And damn, if that isn't getting strenuous on his shoulder. At least she's compliant to move between arms and his shoulders when he asks.
"I've been wondering, Hogohane. Why do non-human Chakra wielders allow themselves to be summoned by humans?"
She never validates a question by saying that it's good, but does not disparage either. It's very interesting, navigating this new relationship. Everyone else he has ever spoken to gives him clearly readable expressions and words, but Hogohane doesn't seem to care for it. Maybe she is cautious about him, which he understands.
"There are many forms of intelligent life in this world. Human, Owl, Turtles and many others and yet, they do seem to be compelled to assist humans. Can you imagine a world in which that was not always so, Naruto?"
"Maybe I'm too ignorant, but I kind of thought that was always the case. It's a bit beyond my ability to think about."
"Are you willing to entertain the thought that humans did not always possess the ability to wield Chakra?"
Naruto pauses on the steps, stretching his back and aware of the mist from his breath.
"Does that mean that the other creatures of the world did and humans didn't?"
"Not quite." Hogohane is a steady and soothing voice in his ear to abate the feeling of exhaustion. "What is the one thing that all creatures of the world have in common?"
"Chakra." Naruto replies instantly, starting to take a few steps again. "Or language, maybe."
He begins to become acutely aware that he's going to freeze to death before he gets to the top. He hadn't really anticipated that he might need to walk up a mountain, his own mistake really. Too excited to seal away some dry wood, and even if he had it, his clothes aren't warm enough to keep him alive while he sleeps in case a fire goes out.
While contemplating how to survive in the back of his mind, Hogohane goes on.
"Humans were the first." She reveals. "It is said that there was a man who calmed a storm that raged across the world, created by a monster that was not of the land, the sky, or the sea. In doing so, he claimed its power for himself, and passed its gift among the people of the world."
"So- how'd everyone else get it?"
Naruto leans down, shuffling Hogohane onto his shoulder while he attempts something. He pulls out a tinderbox from his pouch and starts striking it into his hand while attempting to swirl some Wind Chakra in his palm. If he can make some fire, he might be able to generate enough mobile warmth to continue to the peak without resting. If he falls asleep, he won't be able to maintain the flame and freeze to death.
He keeps striking it, but it's not igniting the Wind Chakra in his hand. It seems real fire is a bit different or at least, the cold wind of the mountain snuffs out anything before he can generate enough heat. If he had some dry kindling, this would be a lot easier.
"It was not given or taken." Hogohane shakes some of the snow from her feathers. "The creatures of the world did not obtain it intentionally like humanity did. Nature itself became dense with the wasted life force of the monster. It was as if the world attempted to heal itself using the waste of the great calamity, and in doing so, saturated the world with its own lifeforce. It is but a mutation, a conversion of nature. All creatures of the world would then possess Chakra, although few began to develop language, culture, and other forms of intelligence. Even more scarce were unique creatures, unlike any other being."
"Like Bijuu?"
"No. Not at all like Bijuu, though many creatures did grow to be as large. But to answer your first question, it is perhaps the difference in the acquisition of Chakra that allows humans the unique ability to compel all manner of animal to aid them in their times of need. As a Shinobi, you may have witnessed this already."
He thinks back to stories of summoned creatures. His father could summon Toads, as could Jiraiya, and Danzo had suggested that he too could perform the Summoning Jutsu, maybe for a 'unique' creature. Kakashi could summon dogs, and the Inuzuka Clan was capable of synchronistic combat with their own canines. Anko-sensei can summon snakes too, a more predominant and present example.
"I get you. Does it bother you? That the reason I'm here is to compel an animal to help me?"
"Your chosen life compels you to seek out that which makes you strong, and yet you appear unbothered."
"It feels like my calling. Like I'm meant to."
"My answer is much the same. Instinct, would be the base term for such a thing. That does not mean however, that we have no instinct to survive. A competent summoner is a keystone. Just as we would protect a summoner, compelled or otherwise, we expect protection too. Testing a potential summoner is at our discretion. A summon Clan chooses carefully who can be permitted to summon us. That is our free choice, and we cannot be compelled to ignore our will to live, only choose it."
Naruto appreciates the wealth of knowledge, and the calm way she delivers it. But...
"Enough questions." Hogohane isn't stern or sharp, but gently urges. "You must find a way to keep us warm."
His thoughts exactly.
He contemplates giving up for now, but he can't be gone from the village forever. It's more of a 'now or never' situation to him. There's no telling if he could ever get this opportunity again.
What he knows now is not enough. Shaking himself off with Wind Chakra will only blast the cold and oppressive air around him, it'd make him colder and hasten his death. He needs fire, but not so much that it could cause damage to the surrounding environment. With nests big and small in the large branches, it's too risky, else he may hurt or kill many of the owls around him.
If what he can do now isn't good enough, then new ways must be found. He thinks back to Anko and Fu, how their Sensei had tutored Fu in the use of Katon Ninjutsu. When training their affinities, Anko-sensei expressed that a person could find meaning and connection to their Jutsu. Anko believes passion is what fuels her strength. Getting fireballs thrown at him from Fu has reminded him of the hand-seals required to cast that Jutsu.
He begins to weave them, making sure Hogohane is behind his shoulder. If he casts it against the cold wood or the rock, it won't ignite a blaze he can't put out. If his Chakra strength isn't strong enough yet, then perhaps he can avoid unnecessary damage to this Owl Clan.
"Katon: Endan(Fire Release: Fireball)!"
He breathes out a few embers. Enough to melt a bit of ice but not enough to stop him from freezing. Continually casting the Jutsu, he realises that it isn't sustainable. It's not strong enough or long-lasting enough for him to make it to the peak, and he'd eventually run out of Chakra.
What he knows is not good enough. Innovation is key.
"It appears you have skipped a step with this technique. You have the shape but no power."
Jiji had said that today in the office. Maybe he can use the criticism creatively.
Instead of using normal Chakra, Naruto begins the process of a Rasengan using Wind Chakra alone. Not bothering to maintain a strong shape, a pigmy tornado gusts in his hand, blasting cold air all around and accelerating his panic.
But now he only has one free hand.
"Don't suppose you can make me any fire?" Naruto asks over the sounds emanating from his palm.
Hogohane doesn't answer.
"Alright then-" Naruto's lungs feel tight, but he might be able to pull it off.
He lets the Wind go, and starts weaving hand-seals again.
"Katon: Endan(Fire Release: Fireball)!"
He holds his breath long enough to release the hand-seal and puts his palm out, rapidly forming the same not-Rasengan as before.
Naruto spits the tiny fireball into his hand, igniting the Wind Chakra and creating a fiery tempest.
Wrangling it into a small, more manageable shape, Naruto stares at the glowing orb of Fire and Wind Chakra in his hand. It's still not a Rasengan, but a spinning ball of fire and wind. Pure Nature transformation, not Chakra shape. He's not controlling fire itself, but fuelling existing fire with his ability to manipulate wind.
The warmth is like a breath of fresh air.
He grins, having solved this problem at least. His body feels better already.
Hogohane leans on his head from his shoulder, also absorbing the warmth from his newly invented Hotaru no Jutsu(Firefly Technique).
It's a convenient source of light too.
"You gotta be kidding." Naruto pants hopelessly.
Almost at the end, just a hop, skip and a jump away from that beautiful white castle, is an enormous gap that he couldn't possibly jump over.
It had been cut. Deliberately and cleanly, almost like it had been Futon Ninjutsu.
There's no other way either. The snow on the cap is far too dense to be able to run up it. His legs are too weak to jump, not that he could do it at full strength anyway. He doesn't have enough wire, nor is there something to hook it on to on the other side if he could throw it that far in the first place.
The air is thin up here. Every breath feels like it's deliberate and laboured. Is this how asthmatics feel?
He's starting to get a bit woozy, but can't stop now. It's far, far too late to retreat.
"Left my wings back home." Naruto jokes to Hagohane.
Hogohane doesn't indulge him. He should have expected as much.
Naruto doesn't have the breath to sigh. He plots instead. Solutions, not more problems.
If he could recreate his mother's Chakra Chains, he might have been able to swing across like a spider. His Chakra is too weak, even if he knew how to produce those chains, they definitely wouldn't reach that far. He could try to Shunshin, but it would only accelerate him so much before he dropped. He doesn't have anything sealed that would be large enough to fill the gap, or even make a mid-air stepping stone to springboard off of.
Propelling himself with the Katon Chakra in his hand could be viable if he had enough Chakra left to produce that much force. He could ask Hogohane to carry him, only she's not so large that she could do such a thing. Making a bridge out of Kage Bunshin is definitely one of his most hare-brained ideas, but the amount of clones needed to do it exceeds the capacity of his current Chakra reserves.
He feels trapped.
And he hates it.
The freedom of a pair of wings would be perfect. Too bad his arms don't have feathers.
Naruto picks up a clump of snow, throwing it over the gap to see if there was in fact a staircase that was invisible. But alas, no such luck.
"Don't suppose I can get a clue?" Naruto asks Hogohane.
"You have overcome your challenges thus far." Is her only response.
Naruto tries to derive meaning from the answer. In order, he encountered drastic environmental change that required acute observation to determine his needs going forward with limited time. Climbing on the slippery surface of snow going up this majestic wooden stairwell made of branches required him to Change and invent a new method of Chakra Control. Instead of applying the lessons of 'Tree and Water walking', he needed to 'create' Snow Walking. A slow method of movement, but still required increased adhesion so that any point of his foot that made contact with the steps would stick to it harder. Even if the rest of his feet were slipping, if at least one point was in contact with something solid, he wouldn't slide down. Stronger in whichever spot of his feet landed on a solid surface, while still maintaining steady flow to the rest of his foot in case he slipped and could transfer the adhesive Chakra to a different area.
Then, he got cold. To the point that he'd have been dead days ago if he hadn't figured out how to generate a flame that could be sourced from minimal amounts of Chakra. Using a tinderbox was useless in the face of brutal weather and he didn't have any kindling to help with it. He needed to apply both old and new techniques to create a sustainable source of heat and light, but things that he already knew how to do.
The lessons of the Past, Present and Future have no bearing. Everything he'd done is 'Change', re-equipping himself by giving new life to the old technique.
Following that reasoning, he would need to Change something else to cross this gap.
But... he doesn't have much Chakra left. Each minute that goes by, the Hotaru no Jutsu consumes more of his Chakra. He's almost out but if he doesn't cross the gap, he'll die before he gets to the ground.
There are no more second chances. Funny. He'd been in this situation before with Ringo Ameyuri. Being forced to grow in strength to overcome inevitable death.
Maybe there is something to learn from the Past.
"Hold on tight." Naruto takes some steps back.
Hogohane braces herself on his shoulder.
He extinguishes the flame in his hand.
The cold is so oppressive that he can barely think, but in fear of death alone, Naruto begins to manifest cyan Chakra around his body and forms a hand-seal. The lesson is that of Change. He must take a leap of faith and trust in himself.
Wind Chakra explodes from every Chakra point in his body, Naruto roars as it does, letting adrenaline take over and not let the cold distract him.
He starts running into a sprint, throwing every ounce of energy he has into a jump.
Hogohane's eyes widened, probably thinking he's an idiot.
Time to find out.
"Futon:-" Naruto howls. "Shunshin no Jutsu!"
He jumps a second time in the air, propelled by Wind Chakra across the enormous gap. The Wind Chakra blasts behind him with so much force that he crosses the gap completely with this 'double-jump' and lands into a clumsy roll on the other side.
On his back, Naruto huffs and puffs but grins as the darkness takes him.
Yellow eyes look down at his face with surprise.
Naruto groans a bit, waking up from a deep sleep.
He feels warmer than expected. He opens his eyes and sees a gigantic pair of yellow orbs staring down at him.
"Hello."
An embarrassing squawk of surprise leaves his throat and he jumps up.
He calms down, sensing no immediate threat. Naruto looks around, seeing that he's currently surrounded by gigantic feathers, encapsulating him. Under his feet is a nest. There are many statues, of not only Owls but demonic human-like beings. Some with six arms and three faces, others with marble halo's, holding bows and blades. All the statues and walls are made from the same glittering white stone that shines in such a way that one would think they were looking at it through wet glass, light streaking from every corner and giving an ethereal feel.
There's a glass-stained window, like a mural but shining from what little light peered through it, depicting the vague silhouette of a horned male with ringed eyes, standing over two humans. One of gold lights and the other, purple. There are thousands of threads spooling out of the horned one, and if he squinted his eyes he could see some kind of malevolent creature behind him.
He looks up to the eyes. It's an owl, massive too. But the eyes and voice are familiar.
"Hogohane?" He asks, unsurely.
"Naruto." She replies, affirming his question.
She withdraws her wings, allowing Naruto to see the beautiful white crystalline palace around him.
Hogohane must have taken him in when he passed out.
"Why are you so big?" Naruto asks bluntly, shaking off the stiff-back from sleeping on the large branches of the nest.
"This is my true form." Hogohane reveals, as calm as usual. "I merely kept myself small to observe your journey. Humans are not the only creatures that can use Ninjutsu."
"That was my test, wasn't it?" Naruto sighs, presuming he failed. "You had to take care of me after."
Hogohane puts her wings back in place.
"The test of the climb is far more difficult than Summoners are usually provided. As I told you however, it is at the discretion of the first of us you interact with to test you. Most Owls accept a request for assistance from a potential Summoner. It displays the wisdom in asking for help. I, however, as the leader of the Owl Clan, seek not only wisdom but the ingenuity to apply wisdom to overcome that which faces you. 'Tis not enough for you to know, but to learn and apply knowledge as well."
A chirp echoes from the rafters, and a large scroll lands at Naruto's feet.
"You have passed my test. You are now presented with the choice to become a Summoner of the Owls. Should you still desire this, sign with your blood on your hand of choice, as the others have done before you."
Naruto kneels and peels open the scroll. There are names and finger prints in black.
"The signatures that appear as black are those who came before you who are dead. As you can see, there have been very few Owl Summoners."
Naruto traces one of the names in black with his forefinger.
Senju Hashirama.
How fitting that Owls who nest in trees, were summoned by a man who could make them.
He quickly retraces to the start, where there are blank spaces.
"Those who are not yet dead, remain written in the red of their blood."
Naruto swallows. There is only one name written in blood.
Uzumaki Eiko.
"She has not Summoned us in a long time." Hogohane clarifies. "Perhaps her path takes her elsewhere."
Naruto shakes it off. Of course, the possibility of Uzumaki being out there is higher than one would think. There are always survivors, people willing to do whatever it takes to live. If not Summoning means drawing less attention to themselves, then that is what they should do.
He would respect this woman's peace, and pry no further.
Nicking his thumb on his sharp teeth again, Naruto signs in the space next to hers and stamps with his right hand.
Namikaze Naruto.
It is the truth as he identifies himself.
Hogohane dips her head.
"Congratulations, Summoner Naruto. When you are capable of Summoning me, I will teach you the ways of the Owls. Now, rest."
Naruto feels Hogohane's Chakra envelop him before bright colours enter his vision as they did before.
"Thank you!" Naruto shouts before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
"Yo." Naruto waves nonchalantly.
Anko blinks.
Before she lunges at him, knocking him to his feet as his head bounced off her breasts.
"And where the hell have you been?!"
"I discovered a few things while I was experimenting with Jutsu, and I got Jiji to verify my findings." Naruto explains to his team.
"What'd you learn?" Fu asks, looking bright and happy that Naruto's come back.
Anko sighs, forgetting how upset she was that Naruto vanished for a week. Kids are prone to doing stupid and irresponsible things, as Hokage-sama explained. She would need to just have faith in them. She wouldn't always be there, looking over their shoulders.
She just appreciates how happy they are at the moment. Together.
"Chakra Capacity is how many times you can do a Jutsu. Chakra Strength is how strong that Jutsu is. There's basically no correlation between Chakra Control exercises and Chakra Strength or Capacity, and turns out you can be aligned with a Summoning Animal the same way we have Chakra Natures."
"You discovered all that in a week?" Torune asks dryly.
"Yeah! Pretty productive, right? Means I don't have to waste time on Chakra Control anymore now that I know it's not really Chakra Control that's the problem. I just need to work on my Chakra Strength and I've already got a few methods lined up."
"Well, you better make use of the time you've got left in the village then." Anko suggests.
"What do you mean?" Naruto and the other two boys look up curiously.
Anko pulls out three pamphlets from the pocket of her coat and hands one to each of her students.
"I've nominated you for the Chuunin Exams." Anko grins. "They'll be taking place in Kumogakure this year. So, you've got a choice. You can ignore the nomination and wait until the next exams if you think you're not ready now, or you can accept and we'll make our way there in six-weeks time."
"I'm in." Naruto puts his hand out immediately.
Fu and Torune do as well, with not a mite of hesitation.
"I've got a suggestion." Anko stands up straight, determined. "So, I believe that you could benefit by training with a Sensei who has different specialties to me for a little while. See if a different approach can mix things up a bit, and I think the three of you have a lot to learn from him. I'll be teaching his kids too, and in a few weeks time, with be back together again to make sure we're not rusty with our teamwork before the exams."
"I see." Torune gives a sly smile. If Anko didn't know any better, he's wiggling his eyebrows under that mask.
Fu starts making kissing noises. Anko's brow starts twitching.
"Oh Kakashi, I love you." Naruto uses his best 'Anko-voice'. "But I hate everything you represent. But I think we should put our slimy, wet lips together when our students aren't looking-"
All three groan as Anko smacks her fists down on their skulls.
"You may have heard that Chakra is composed of two primary elements. The first being Physical energy, which stimulates the strength, power and volume of Chakra. And then there is Spiritual energy, which shapes the Chakra through thought and consciousness. Combining the two energies through the use of Hand-seals creates Jutsu that are reflective of the strength of the user."
The three nod along, listening studiously.
"However, some Jutsu can change shape, size, or even function depending how much the user feels connected to the Jutsu. For example-"
Kakashi weaves a few seals languidly.
"Doton: Doryuuheki(Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall)."
The ground shakes a bit, surface cracking and sprouting a neat and flat earthen wall, fletched at the ends for either stability or encasement. In the middle of the wall are earthen heads shaped in likeness to bulldogs.
"As you can see," Kakashi points to it and Naruto and Torune get out their notebooks. "This Jutsu is not shaped in the common way. It has a motif that has some significance to me."
"So what difference does it make?" Naruto asks astutely, jotting down notes.
"Power." Kakashi states bluntly, and it seems to catch the attention of Torune in particular. "By using my consciousness to shape it, I expend less effort on using this Ninjutsu. By allowing a technique to be shaped by my thoughts and experiences, I spend less of my physical resources trying to define its shape. If I don't, I'm bound to waste Chakra in its construction. Therefore, it allows me to have greater Chakra Strength with this Jutsu when allowing my Spiritual aspect to have equal domain with my Physical aspect. This Spiritual connection does not discriminate between your Jutsu. Acceptance of your Spiritual aspect will give you far greater Chakra Strength."
"Can I try?" Fu asks eagerly.
Kakashi was about to voice a rejection, but Naruto beat him to it.
"Not yet, we need to clear the training field first."
"Why? If your Jutsu changes by letting your Spiritual energy into it, it could be unpredictable and hurt someone." Torune contests as well.
"True." Fu frowns but agrees. "But wait, I still have a question."
"Go ahead." Kakashi doesn't show it, but he feels happy that his temporary students are so eager.
He can't blame that on his students. He can only blame himself for not being engaging enough for them to ask him anything. Teaching these kids has definitely revealed his teaching weakness. Not all students are so gung-ho and ready, and he needs to be considerate of that.
"If Jutsu changes depending on the consciousness of a person using it, does that mean there are particular Jutsu that people can feel attached to and be even stronger with it?"
"That's what I wanna know." Naruto backs him up immediately. "When Anko-sensei was teaching us about Nature Transformation, she said we should take meaning away from our affinity to help build our connection to it and shape us as Shinobi. I learned a new Jutsu lately and I want to improve its strength."
Kakashi looks down at Naruto knowingly.
"Allow me to demonstrate something to you, then."
He weaves a number of hand-seals, and he can tell that the three boys sense something has changed in his mood.
Kakashi puts his palm facing the ground.
"Chidori." Kakashi hisses.
Lightning sparks intensely in his palm, arcing to create a ring around him that burns the grass at his feet to a crisp.
He dissipates it quickly.
"I have an intense relationship with this Jutsu. By technicality, another Jutsu I know is stronger, one taught to me by the Yondaime Hokage. But I can use this Jutsu to an extent far greater than I can with the Rasengan. So to answer your question, yes. You can develop an attachment to a technique that will draw upon your Chakra in a much stronger way than you can with other techniques."
Torune approaches quickly.
"Is it possible that a relationship with a Jutsu can be negative too?"
"Oh yes, very much so. But it is entirely possible to overcome such barriers. It was the same for me with the Chidori for a long time. I managed to overcome it by working on myself as a person, not as a Shinobi. Does something come to mind, Torune-kun?"
"I'm scared of my Jutsu." Torune admits, hanging his head slightly. "But I feel that I cannot ignore its strength."
"I cannot speak for your struggles, Torune-kun. But what helped me was the acknowledgement that Jutsu are not people. Working on yourself to overcome fear has nothing to do with Ninjutsu. Bad experiences and memories will always persist, but it is the strength of your heart and the support of those around you that are what truly control fear."
"I will... keep what you have in consideration." Torune nods.
Kakashi looks around for something.
"Besides, Anko is much scarier than my Chidori."
The three students growl at him.
"Take that back! Anko-sensei is a national treasure!" Fu steams.
Kakashi backs up fearfully.
"She's fucking crazy!" Menma huffs with wide eyes.
Just thinking of that chilling grin makes him uneasy.
"Sakura is traumatised." Sasuke points out needlessly, panting but obviously not too stressed out about the ritual beatings they're getting.
Sakura just nods, holding a kunai shakily in her hand as they hide behind a big rock.
"You three..." Anko says ominously from the other side of the rock. "Kakashi has been going easy on you. You think that every mission is going to be as easy as you've had it? You've never had to take a life, never had to kill someone to protect each other. Come at me like you're trying to kill me. You don't understand the weight of burden on your shoulders. If you hesitate, the person next to you dies. Can you deal with that?"
Menma swallows. No. He's not ready for that.
"Allow me to dissuade you from thinking that training should be EASY! If you're not ready to kill, then you can forget about living!"
Quickly after testing their Chakra Natures, she'd had them study at least one Jutsu one their own to learn and practice to the point they could perform it with relative ease.
She'd been patient and so caring, and for a few days, Menma saw what Naruto did in her. So kind. So encouraging. So graceful and beautiful.
Sasuke as it turned out, with his strong Chakra, didn't just have an affinity to Fire as was apparently common in his clan, but unusually to Lightning as well. The smug look on his face and self-pride was annoying, but Menma supposed he should be more encouraging. Naruto never disparaged people for learning more about themselves.
It made him think that once a person's Chakra was strong enough, they could probably develop more than one affinity. So, as Naruto would do, he seeks to grow stronger so that he too can possess a kind of power like that.
Sakura possesses the same affinity that Menma does, Water. Through Anko's coaching, they quickly determined that Water means very different things to the pair of them. Sakura had explained to them that she enjoys the quietness of Water, how gentle and soothing it can be, how vital it is in the history of Medical Ninjutsu, how it's so pliable and focused.
But Menma sees something very different in Water than she does.
He thinks of rainy days where he and Naruto had struggled to find shelter after getting kicked out of the orphanage. How it pelted their blanket forts until the Hokage had discovered them and gotten them a modest apartment. When the rain came in sideways, it leaked through their mouldy window, soaking their bed and making them sleep on the cold floor elsewhere. The calmness of the Naka River did nothing. Naruto had taught him to walk on water there, but he enjoyed the lesson because of Naruto, not the soaking water.
Yes. When Menma thinks of the rain, of Water. He thinks of what he would do to them now, the ones that treated them that way. He gets...
Angry.
"Your eyes are different." Sasuke notices his aggitation.
Menma sees his reflection in Sakura's forehead protector. Unusually, his violet eyes are slitted like some kind of animal.
Chakra is weird. Best not to think too much about it and use this moment of rage to his advantage. His connection to Water feels stronger right now.
Disregarding it, he knows there's water nearby to draw from. If they can get to it-
"Sakura and I will cover you." Sasuke plots, reading him easily. "Then, we can try to combine our techniques."
"Got it." Menma stands up, sprinting towards the small river.
Anko notices immediately, sending a flurry of snakes from her sleeves to stop them. Sasuke sees them coming with the Sharingan and effectively ducks under them to deliver a dispelling slice with a kunai. Sakura throws a number of shuriken in Anko's way, who snatches them out of air without bothering to deflect.
Sasuke quickly notices that his Sharingan hadn't been refined enough to see the steel wire stuck to the underbellies of the snakes.
The heads of the snakes spit kunai from their mouths, launching them to Menma's sides as he lands on top of the water. Sasuke and Sakura position themselves next to him, but can't stop the kunai with wire attached from wrapping around his abdomen.
Anko smiles wickedly at them, forming a number of hand-seals ending in Tiger; indicative of a Katon Ninjutsu.
"Do or die, brats." Anko smirks, knowing those words held some meaning to Menma.
Menma huffs angrily, weaving hand-seals of his own.
The pair of them simultaneously cast their Jutsu.
"Katon: Kayruu Endan(Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"
"Suiton: Suishoha(Water Release: Water Colliding Wave)!"
Fire leaps onto the wires from Anko's mouth, traversing it at high-speed.
Water whirls up from Menma's feet, spiking upwards into a miniature tsunami. It takes time to form, too much time.
Sasuke grabs the wire before Anko's own fire gets too close, and uses the Jutsu she'd just unintentionally given to him to combat the flame.
"Katon: Kayruu Endan(Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"
The twin streams of fire meet in the middle, cancelling each other out, though they all know that if Anko had really tried, Menma would be dead already.
Sakura amplifies Menma's Jutsu in a different way. More subtle, but weaves hand-seals to functionally change Menma's rampaging torrent as it keeps spiking up.
"Suiton: Mizuame Nabara(Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field)!"
Rather than adding more volume, Sakura changes the properties of the water.
With one last explosive spike in Chakra, the well of Water crashes down and floods the immediate area in front of them. Anko jumps to ride the wave, but instead finds herself stuck and getting carried away as she sinks into it. She struggles to move in the viscous torrent.
Sasuke makes more hand-seals, seeing Anko now trapped.
"Raiton: Jinraisen(Lightning Release: Thunderclap Arrow)."
Pale Lightning Chakra forms in his palm, which he throws into the water, charging it dangerously and it leaps through it to zap the helpless Anko.
When it makes contact, Anko dispels, revealing herself to be a Kage Bunshin.
She appears behind them, bonking all of them on the head with the dull-end of a kunai.
"Much better." She grins.
Naruto practices summoning in every spare moment he has.
Straining himself to summon larger owls had been exactly what he needed to improve the strength of his Chakra.
He puts his hand out, and cyan Chakra swirls into life.
It's denser than before. Stronger.
"You did it." Menma looks curiously at the orb of Chakra.
"Oh yeah I did." Naruto grins.
Chapter 5 End
AN:
No, I haven't abandoned Vortex lul.
Happy despite the small following, I'm very pleased that people are enjoying this story. Definetely not as popular as Crafting a Legacy or Vortex, but I hope you all enjoy it regardless
Owl was a weird decision for me, but it opened some potentials. Not often I see it done, so obviously I want to capitalise on how little Owls are really used in Naruto fanfiction.