Chapter 43: Genbu

I let out a grunt as I clutched the extremely heavy dumbbells to my chest. Squatting down, my muscles burned and my legs shook with exertion as I stood back up again.

"W…what number am I on?" I breathed heavily.

"You've got two more squats to go," Samui replied easily.

Nodding, I completed two more squats before letting out a relieved sigh and moved to drop the weights.

"You've still got one more squat left."

Looking up, I stared directly at Samui stared back with her icy gaze. Most others would have shrunk back, but, having spent several weeks with her, I was able to tell that she was messing with me. It was almost completely unnoticeable, but there was the smallest hint of a smile on her face and amusement in her eyes.

Chuckling, I carefully placed the weights back down as to not damage the ground. "How many extra did you make me do?"

"Twenty three," She answered. "When you asked me earlier, you didn't realize that I gave you the same number twice."

I shook my head. Initially, we'd been pretty tense around each other, but with time, Samui had grown more relaxed and I'd become better at reading her emotions.

Entering the initial Jinchuriki state, I let out a relieved sigh as I felt the stinging sensation in my muscles lessen as they were swiftly repaired.

The initial state made me stronger and capable of picking up the weights, but there was a down side in that, beyond a certain point, training with the weights stopped being effective, so, instead, I used the initial state to increase the rate at which I recovered.

"Lunch first and then I continue training or do you think I can get a few more sets in?"

"Lunch, for the love of god, choose lunch," Karui called out from the other side of the field.

Glancing over, I caught sight of Karui and Omoi, still in the middle of their spar… Not that it could really be called that, it was more like slow paced practice. Their bodies had been weighed down by a large degree courtesy of my earth style technique. They both looked dead on their feet.

Through a condition set by Bee, neither of them were allowed to stop until either he himself said so or I took a break… And Bee seemed more interested in writing rhymes instead of watching his students.

"It would be appreciated if we could take a break," Omoi said, sweat dripping from his brow.

Samui let out a hum as she examined the two of them. Her lips twitched in amusement as she turned back to me. "How much longer do you think you could train?"

"At least another hour," I smirked. "More if I can get some water."

"Then perhaps I should get you a bottle of water," Samui mused.

Karui and Omoi froze as their swords locked into place. Karui looked over to Samui in disbelief.

From an outsiders perspective, it would seem that Samui was completely serious, but it was easy for me to see that she was joking.

"Or you could take a break now," Karui suggested. "And have a nice lunch. I'll… We'll treat you… How about that? We'll treat the two of you to lunch."

"I don't normally eat out," Samui replied.

"Then we'll make lunch!" Karui said desperately. "I know how to grill meat and Omoi… He probably knows how to cook rice, we can have an outdoor barbecue."

"I suppose that would be acceptable," Samui hummed. "It seems we will be having lunch first."

"Thank god," Karui muttered as she fell to the floor with Omoi in tow.

"Did you just extort a pair of Genin for some lunch?"

"There's not really much to do out here," Samui deadpanned. "Helping you train is… acceptable, but that doesn't mean that I don't get bored too."

"You could always join in," I suggested.

Samui shook her head. "That would be unacceptable. I'm supposed to guard you, something that I wouldn't be able to do if I exhaust myself."

"Then don't exhaust yourself," I replied. "You could always practice your technique with that blade of yours… maybe even a few Jutsu as well."

"I'll think about it."

Nodding, I walked over to the exhausted duo and deactivated the earth style Jutsu that made their bodies so heavy.

"Thank you," Omoi hummed as he began to breathe easier.

"Yeah, thank you, whatever," Karui muttered tiredly.

"No problem," I replied.

I was actually quite impressed with them. The amount of weight that they were training with was a little under half of what I'd trained under during the first few weeks of the Chunin exams.

They were pushing themselves much harder than I thought they would. If they continued at this rate, it would be a few short months before they will probably be around the same speed of Lee without his ankle weights… maybe a little longer before they have as much stamina as Lee does.

"How much longer are we going endure this training?" Karui asked tiredly.

"However long it takes for the two of you to grow stronger," I replied. "It could be worse… Bee could have the two of you train with the weights that I'm using."

"He tried to get us to use them," Karui said. "But neither of us were able to even shift them. I don't think Bee understands limitations."

"He probably doesn't," I chuckled and offered the duo a hand.

"Thanks, sensei," Omoi muttered.

I blinked. "Sensei?"

"You're helping us with our training," Karui replied. "By definition, that makes you one of our Sensei's."

Well that was new… I mean, I had been helping Sasuke and Sakura train… And I did help Kakashi train to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan… But to be called a Sensei.

Glancing at the Genin duo, I noticed how I was nearly a full head taller than them. Without knowing how I looked a few short months ago, they must have thought that I was a good few years older than them.

"But that does bring up a problem," Omoi muttered. "Both of our Sensei's are Jinchuriki that are well known! What if other nations learn that they're both teaching us… They'll start targeting us to get to them!"

"How often does he do this?" I asked.

"Too often," Karui muttered.

"With Bee and Naruto as our Sensei's, it's only a matter of time before we grow stronger and are promoted. With promotion comes the responsibility of taking and completing higher ranked missions. We'll make a name for ourselves, but we'll be swamped under a mountain of work, leaving us no time for our personal lives. I'll probably get married to a civilian and have some kids, but I won't have that much time to spend with my family in order to keep taking missions that keep Kumo safe," Omoi continued. "My wife won't understand as she's not a Shinobi, which will put pressure on the marriage and the kids. Eventually we'll get a div…"

"Shut the hell up," Karui yelled while shaking Omoi.

"Well that was something," I muttered to myself as I watched Karui snap Omoi out of his downward spiral. From what I'd already experienced, I knew that Omoi had a habit to catastrophize, but I didn't think he'd go into such depth about it.

Samui cleared her throat as she stepped forward, gaining the Genin duo's attention. "I believe that the two of you promised us something. Naruto and I have a meeting with Raikage-sama in six hours time. Six hours that he could instead use training."

"Ah, right, sorry," Karui apologized quickly. "We'll get right on that. We just need to get a few supplies back in Kumo, first." Not giving Omoi the opportunity to say anything, Karui slung him under her arm and jumped off, rapidly making her way back to Kumo.

"I know they were getting a little loud, but that seemed a little… mean."

"They were acting uncool," Samui shrugged. "A certain level of professionalism is expected of them, especially if they become noteworthy Shinobi in the future, which seems all but certain with you and Bee training them."

"She's right," Bee added while continuing to write down lyrics into his book. "I chose Karui and Omoi to be my students because they are so spirited, but they do need to learn how to act professional and follow through on their word. This'll be good practice for them."

"We're not exactly in a formal setting though," I said lightly.

"No, we're not," Samui agreed. "But sometimes, the situation can call for them to act professionally at the drop of a hat. It's the perfect time for them to learn that now, when there are no stakes rather than later where how they act could be the difference between a war starting or being averted."

Ah, so she was overcorrecting because her brother had caused a minor international incident that Bee and I had exacerbated into becoming a major one.

"All I'm saying is don't put too much needless stress on them, they're still Genin right now. With time, they'll grow more mature. Overly stressing them right now might stunt them in the future."

Samui's icy gaze washed over me, before she gave the bare minimum movement needed to nod.

Several hours, one barbecue and some more training later, I found myself standing in the Raikage's tower alongside Samui.

"So, what do you think this is about?" I asked softly

On our arrival, Mabui had guided us to a different room in the building, one that I hadn't been in before. It was almost entirely empty with the exception of a raised circular platform sitting in the center of the room that had several boxes stacked on top of it. She left shortly after to fetch the Raikage.

I'd already sat in on several meetings and none of them had been hosted here before, so this was probably something else.

"I'm not certain," Samui replied, a hint of confusion in her tone. "As far as I know, there are no more meetings for at least a few weeks."

Walking around the platform, I carefully examined it for any hidden seals and even went as far as poking it to see if anything would happen. There didn't appear to be any seals on it and I couldn't feel any Chakra on the platform itself.

Creating a shadow clone, just to be safe, I sent it onto the platform and still, nothing happened. The clone walked up to one of the crates and cautiously lifted the lid.

"… It's just a bunch of supplies," The clone announced. "Canned food, clothing, a few sets of Kunai and shuriken… storage scrolls."

Samui let out a hum of understanding. "I know what this is… but I'm not sure why we're here for it."

"And it would be?" I asked while my clone dispelled itself.

"The Heavenly Transfer Jutsu," Ay announced as he walked into the room. "It's a technique that allows objects to be transferred over any distance almost instantaneously."

Ah, so that's why there were crates full of supplies. They were going to be transferred. That still didn't answer the question of why we were called here for this. If I remember correctly, the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu couldn't be used on people… well it could, but if those people didn't have an extremely durable body or high speed regeneration, they would likely die… unless.

"You're planning on using the technique on one of my Hiraishin Kunai," I realized. One of the very few weakness of the Hiraishin that couldn't be overcome was the need to place markers. It seemed that Ay had figured out a way to work around that weakness for the purpose of travel.

"Yes," Ay nodded. "Your ability to use the Hiraishin changes things. Instead of having to spend weeks traveling between locations, you can now travel instantly. With the only problem being that you need to have one of your Kunai placed there first. I'm not aware of how your Hiraishin Kunai work and if it'll interfere with the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu, so we'll have to test this first."

That was a good point. "Does my Kunai need to be in one of the barrels for this to work?" I asked, slipping a Kunai into my hand.

"You can hand it to me," Mabui said.

Nodding, I flipped the kunai around and offered Mabui the handle.

Mabui silently took the Kunai and placed it on top of one of the crates. Stepping back, she closed her eyes and formed the ram seal. The crates were engulfed in a bright light which briefly flared, before fading entirely, revealing a newly empty platform.

"You're up, Uzumaki," Ay announced.

"Got it," I replied, still blinking the spots out of my vision. I quickly formed a shadow clone and handed it another one of my marked Kunai. If the mark had been damaged, then the best case scenario was that I could no longer teleport to it. Worst case would be that I teleport to it and leave parts of myself behind, or I could possibly end up in a new dimension that's incapable of hosting life.

I nodded silently to myself once the clone teleported. It hadn't immediately dispelled, which was a good sign. Several moments passed, before I was suddenly flooded with the clones' memories. My clone had suffered no damage through using the marker and had even inspected it, finding that the seal hadn't been altered or damaged from the Heavenly Transfer technique.

"It was a success," I announced. "My Hiraishin marker was undamaged. My clone teleported onto an Island, inspected my Kunai and met a man by the name of Motoi."

"Good, then we can move ahead of schedule," Ay replied. "Starting tomorrow, you and the Nanabi Jinchuriki are going to be training on the Genbu. The Nibi Jinchuriki, Nii Yugito is already there and will assist the two of you with your training. Do you have any questions?"

"Just if Fu's on her way here or if I'll have to fetch her," I answered. I actually had a few more questions, like, if I was expected to Hiraishin back to Kumo in the evenings and if Fu was going to stay in Kumo with me, but I was sure that Samui would be given the rest of the details. I could just ask her about it later.

"Your Hiraishin is the safest way for Jinchuriki to travel between villages. You'll be fetching the Nanabi Jinchuriki and bringing her directly to the Genbu. Samui will continue to act as your guide and will be going with you."

"Oh," I hummed lightly.

I'd grown so used to having Samui showing me around that I hadn't even considered the fact that she might not be coming with me. I mean, I could get by on my own without too many problems, but it did help to have an active guide that was also a body guard. I did occasionally get strange looks from the civilians for wearing a Konoha headband and the Kumo Shinobi tended to avoid me.

Just over an hour later, I flashed back to my apartment with Samui in tow. Mabui had explained in detail what was expected of us. In the previous agreement, I would have had to stay on the turtle Island for a full month, but now Samui and I were expected to make weekly visits to Kumo and Konoha in order to report the progress that's been made.

Samui walked into the kitchen and began to make some tea while I sat down at the small table. It'd become a sort of ritual for us ever since I'd arrived in Kumo. Samui would make some tea, we would sit and talk until we finished drinking and then she would go to her apartment for the night.

And, like clockwork, Samui slid a cup of tea in front of me before sitting down.

"I don't understand what you're getting out of this deal," Samui hummed. "Back on the Demon Island, you were more than capable of controlling your Biju's Chakra and fighting Bee."

"Maybe in his lower states, yes," I nodded. "But if that fight had gone on for longer, I would have lost."

Samui's icy blue eyes stared into mine, a single eyebrow was slightly arched in confusion. "Could you explain that? From my view of the fight, you and Bee were evenly matched."

"I can't use the Kyuubi's full Chakra for extended periods of time," I replied. Ay knew why I was here, it wasn't exactly a secret. "When I do use it, I end up beyond exhausted and barely able to move."

Samui nodded. "I can see how that would be problematic."

More than problematic, actually. After using Kurama mode, I became helpless and unable to retreat, let alone defend myself. All it would take is for Obito to pressure me into using it by throwing someone like Nagato my way and then wait for me to exhaust myself before swooping in. After all, Obito was one of the very few people in the world that had the potential to follow me when I used the Hiraishin.

"So you're going to be alright with following me to the Genbu?" I asked. "It is pretty far away."

"I knew what I was signing up for," Samui replied without as much as a flinch.

I expected as much, but I felt that I had to ask. When Samui volunteered for the mission to act as my guide and guard for Kumo, it prevented her from taking other missions. She didn't have much down time, or any at all really. From my understanding, this mission could have been cycled through several trustworthy Kumo Shinobi, but Samui was adamant that she was all that was needed to do this mission.

When I'd first learned that, I'd been confused, but with time I came to understand her reasoning. She was doing all of this in order to protect her brother.

Atsui was still partially responsible for what happened on the Demon Island. If something happens to me, Konoha could blame the guard, but it's more than likely that Atsui will be held liable for the initial incident… Samui, however was both a part of that mission and is now responsible for guarding me, making her much more liable which shields her brother from any fallout.

"Then I guess we're going to have to pack for a week's trip." There was nothing that I could do concerning Samui's choice. She'd made up her mind and that was the end of the topic.

The Hokage office hadn't changed since I'd last seen it. There were still several desks around the room, only they were empty at this time of night with the exception of the original desk where Tsunade currently sat while Kakashi stood in front of the desk next to a fast approaching green blur.

"Naruto," Fu cheered as she collided with my chest, forcing me to stumble backwards.

"Fu," I gasped. It suddenly became difficult to breath as her hug tightened.

"It's been so long since I last saw you. I kept looking for you and even asked around and all anyone ever told me was that you were on a long term mission," Fu said rapidly. "And now they said that I'm going with you to learn how to use Chomei's Chakra properly and… and… I'm so excited."

Grabbing onto Fu's arms, I gently loosened her grip. "Yeah," I breathed. "It's good to see you too, Fu."

Fu beamed up at me, before releasing me from her hug. Hearing Tsunade let out a snicker, I found her hiding an amused grin behind her interlocked hands while Kakashi looked entirely too proud. Samui, who was still standing at my side looked bewildered… or, well, as bewildered as she could look with her cool attitude.

"Is it always like this in Konoha?" Samui asked in a soft tone.

"Nah, sometimes it gets weird," I replied. "You'll know what I mean when we inevitably run into Gai and his team."

Samui raised an eyebrow when she realized that I wasn't joking.

Tsunade coughed into her hand, bring our attention her way. "As nice as it is having you back in the village again," Tsunade began. "I'm afraid that you won't be staying for too long. You've got other places to be after all."

That was sadly true. We were expected to arrive on the Genbu within the next thirty minutes, so we couldn't exactly spend too much time here… regardless of how much I wanted to.

I broke off to the side while Samui stepped forward and handed Tsunade a scroll that was from Ay.

"So, not that I'm against it or anything, but why are you here?" I asked Kakashi.

"What, a Sensei can't check in on how his student is doing?"Kakashi asked.

"You could, but you're almost perpetually late, so I doubt you'd be here on time to greet me," I replied.

"I suppose that's true," Kakashi hummed in agreement. "But to tell you the truth of why I'm here, it's to…"

"Kakashi-Sensei is going to be protecting me while I'm learning how to control Chomei's Chakra!" Fu interrupted, humming with enthusiasm.

Oh, that made sense. I mean, Samui was technically my body guard. I should have expected that Tsunade would assign someone to look after Fu, even if it was only to keep up appearances… Wait. I turned towards Kakashi. "Sensei?"

Kakashi let out an awkward laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well… you see, there was an empty spot on team 7 with your promotion to Jonin. Fu needed a team and I do have experience with having a Jinchuriki on my team, so it was decided that I would be her new Sensei."

"O…kay," I said slowly. Excluding myself, Tsunade and Jiraiya, Kakashi was the one with the most experience with Jinchuriki, so it wasn't exactly unreasonable to place Fu on his team. He was also relatively powerful and will be growing stronger in the future, so he should be able to protect her. "You are teaching her, right?"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded as his eye crinkled up in the approximate of a smile. "She's learning alongside Sasuke and Sakura… I believe they'll make quite the team in the future… With you included."

"Sensei taught me how to shoot a wind bullet and then he showed me that it makes fire stronger, so I can help him and Sasuke with their Fire Style Techniques," Fu explained happily. "But I mustn't use it when fighting someone that uses Fire Style because it would backfire on me. Wind Style works better against a Lightning Style user."

So he actually was teaching her something and he was even going as far as to explain which elements Wind Style was strong and weak against. "Have you started trying to cut a leaf in half yet?"

"Like… with a Kunai?" Fu asked.

"That's not exactly necessary," Kakashi interrupted. "You only really need to learn use that training method when you want to create your own Jutsu."

"It's still handy to know," I replied. "It takes years to complete that training, so it might be better to start sooner, especially with what's on the horizon."

Kakashi's thinking wasn't exactly flawed. The training techniques for the elements weren't needed if you just wanted to learn how to use a technique, but they became necessary when if you wanted to modify or create your own. It also made it easier to use the element you trained for, which means you could cut down on the number of hand seals needed.

Kakashi let out a sigh. "I will be teaching them the steps to mastering an element in the future, but for now, I'm going to have them master a few useful Jutsu."

Well that was alright then. I didn't mean to come across as argumentative, but we didn't exactly have that much time. The Akatsuki were going to begin moving in a few years and everyone needed to be at their best in order to limit casualties.

It didn't take much longer before we made departed for our final destination, the giant Island turtle known as Genbu.

I squinted my eyes, shielding them from the light when we arrived. When Samui and I had left for Konoha, it had been the early morning, before the sun began to rise and while in Konoha, it had been the middle of the night, but here… It was at the very least midday.

Going from a dimly lit room and near complete darkness outside to the blindingly bright light of a midday sun shining through the window hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience.

I idly noticed that the room was the same one from my clones memories. It was similar to the one that was in the Raikage's tower. There was a raised circular platform in the center of it and very little else… with the exception of my Kunai stabbed into the ground to the side of the platform.

Fu had vocally protested the sudden change as well, while Samui offered a small twitch. Kakashi on the other hand seemed completely unbothered by the sudden change, probably due to him experiencing something similar every time he used his Sharingan.

"The Kyuubi and Nanabi Jinchuriki, I presume… and your body guards. I am Motoi and I'll be your guide for the duration of your stay," a man with dark brown hair and a green mark on his nose said, offering a short bow before continuing. "If you'll please follow me, I will show you to your designated rooms."

"My eyes," Fu hissed as we stepped outside into direct sunlight. "Is this what it's like every time you use your Jutsu?"

"Only when traveling long distances," I replied. "There's about a six hour difference between Konoha and Kumo… but from here to Konoha it might be a nine hour difference."

"From my understanding, this island if five hours ahead of Kumo," Motoi explained.

Ah, so I was off by two hours. The Genbu was almost a full day ahead of Konoha, although that time could change if the Island turtle was repositioned. I wondered if that was supposed to be a well kept secret. No one had really said anything about this island being a living creature that could act as a mobile fortress… It was probably for the best if I kept that knowledge to myself.

Motoi led us into the jungle, following a dirt path. The entire place bore a striking similarity to the Forest of Death back in Konoha. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would say that I'd screwed up using the Hiraishin and that's exactly where we were right now.

"Please stay on the pathway. There are many large animals in the jungle that are hostile to outsiders," Motoi announced.

I hadn't strayed from the path and I doubt that either Kakashi or Samui would, leaving... "Fu," I muttered as I turned around, finding her in mid crouch, prepared to leap high into the air, a pair of wings protruding from her back.

"Maybe we should follow the guide before you go out exploring on your own," Kakashi suggested

"Ehehe," Fu chuckled awkwardly as she stood up straight, her wings flapping a single time before they were reabsorbed into her back. "Sure thing, Sensei."

Motoi coughed and continued leading us. "This Island can be a dangerous place, but, most of the creatures living here won't cause you any trouble so long as you stick to the paths."

"And what about the creatures that venture onto the path?" Kakashi asked, glancing into the tree line.

"Those…" Motoi was interrupted by a loud roar as a massive ape landed on the pathway. Motoi held his hands up in a calming manner. "King! It's alright, they're guests here."

Samui's hand was on her Tanto while Kakashi's finger was on a Kunai. Meanwhile Fu looked on in wonder at the massive ape.

The large Gorilla let out a grunt as it pounded its chest and stepping forward, pushing Motoi out of the way. If I remembered correctly, Bee gained the respect of the animals here by beating them in a contest of might, I didn't see why I couldn't do the same thing.

"So," I began, stepping forward. "You're called King, right? I guess that makes you the ruler of this place. You wanna have a little contest?"

King brought his fist down rapidly, but froze at a harsh yell coming from behind him.

"OI, KING! I believe Motoi told you that they're guests," A woman yelled. "And here you are attacking them. I thought you had better manners than that."

King turned around and much raised his hands in a placating manner, letting out a few soft grunts.

"I don't want to hear it," The woman snapped. "Just get out of here before I get angry."

And with that, King raced off into the woods, allowing us to get a better look at the person who so easily commanded the large ape.

A blonde haired woman wearing dark clothes with a cloud pattern on them… There was no doubt about it, this woman was…

"Thank you for the assistance, Yugito," Motoi said, stepping out from behind her.

"No problem," She replied, offering a nod. "I was in the area." Stepping forward, her gaze flickered between each of us.

"Ah, these are the arrivals from Konoha. The Kyuubi and Nanabi Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto and Fu, along with their body guards, Samui and Hatake Kakashi," Motoi explained, before gesturing towards Yugito. "And this is Nii Yugito, the Nibi Jinchuriki, she's going to be helping the two of you learn how to use your Biju's Chakra."

I thought Motoi would be doing that by guiding us to the waterfall of truth, but then again, it did make sense that Kumo would have one of their Jinchuriki teach us.

"Another Jinchuriki," Fu cheered as she bounced happily on her feet. "That's so awesome. I didn't think that I would meet another one other than Naruto here, but here you are!"

"Ah, yes," Yugito replied a little awkwardly, no doubt unused to someone of Fu's level of enthusiasm. "It is rare for those of our kind to meet outside of the battlefield… I'll… get out of your groups way and let you all get settled."

"So you're coming with us then, right?" Fu asked eagerly.

"I need to get a few things done first."

"Aw," Fu whined. "But we will see you again?"

"She's going to be helping us learn how to use our Biju's Chakra properly, so that's probably a yes," I said, stepping in.

"Yes," Yugito agreed. "Now, I've got a few things that I need to prepare, so, I'll see the two of you later."

Fu hummed with energy as Motoi continued to lead us through the Jungle. It seemed that meeting another Jinchuriki had made her day, even if Yugito hadn't been ready to deal with her energetic personality… I could only imagine what she would be like when she meets Bee.

And that's chapter 43 done.

The Heavenly Transfer Jutsu and the Hiraishin cover each others shortcomings pretty well outside of combat.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 50 on the spooky P word website.

P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 25th of October.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.