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Chapter Forty-Three: A New Master?
Hiruzen chuckled. "That would be jumping the gun, wouldn't it?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm not very patient," Naruto responded with a smile. "And I'm not afraid to admit when I need help."
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to train you so suddenly, even if I did mention having a free evening. I have to prepare Tsunade for her coronation ceremony, and at the same time finish off signing some deals and contracts that are left."
Naruto shrugged. "Fair enough. When would we start though?"
"In a few days time. I believe Jiraiya still has something to teach you, regarding the tenant in your stomach. As we both know, training that aspect of you is crucial."
"Something related to the fox, eh? Sounds interesting. What are you gonna teach me, anyways?"
The Third Hokage had a gleam in his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. "Ah, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, would I? For now, I have a brief preliminary test to see if you're capable or not."
A preliminary test? This is giving me flashbacks to the Chuunin Exams
again.
"Capable of what?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Watch."
They moved to an open area where there weren't any onlookers. Naruto just followed the Third without any objections, clearly interested in what he was about to be shown. His newly appointed master brought his hand to his teeth, lightly biting to the skin to allow some blood to pour out. He brought his only hand to the floor.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
An inky circle of symbols appeared around his hand and imprinted onto the ground. Smoke poured out of the seals, slowly rising up, hiding the figure of a tall something behind it. The smoke slowly cleared away, revealing what it was hiding to the world.
Naruto could do nothing but stare in awe at the imposing monkey which stood in front of him.
A large, muscular monkey with a magnificent white beard and a fur coat with black stripes stood tall with his arms crossed. His face was completely passive, to the point where it felt like Naruto was staring at a pillar of stone rather than a living being.
Observe.
[Observing…]
[Target's level is too high.]
[Would Player like a partial observation?]
[Yes/No]
Yes.
Name: Enma
Title: "The Monkey King"
Occupation: Tribe Leader
Level: ?
MP: 100/100
Chakra: ?
STR: ?
VIT: ?
DEX: ?
INT: ?
WIS: ?
LUK: ?
Where do I recognize that name? Naruto wondered to himself. That's right! When I casted observe on the Third's staff, it said something about being the transformed Monkey King Enma. This must be him.
"You summoned me, Sarutobi?" Enma said, his deep voice piercing through Naruto's thoughts a moment later.
"I have," Hiruzen said, nodding. He pointed at Naruto. "This young man is Naruto Uzumaki, the keeper of the Nine-Tails."
The keeper? That's a unique way of saying it.
Enma's eyes widened for a split second, making Naruto wonder if he truly saw it or not. "Yes, I remember that day quite well. A truly ferocious beast of nature, the Kyuubi is. The damage it caused was horrific, but remarkable at the same time. Introduce yourself, keeper of the Nine-Tails."
He stepped forward, eager to make a good impression. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of the Leaf! Nice to meet you!"
Enma merely nodded. "You believe he has what it takes, Sarutobi? I don't doubt your choices, I simply wanted to—"
Hiruzen waved off the explanation Enma was giving. "I understand. I do tend to make mistakes, as we all know. But this time I'm sure of it. Young Naruto is capable and determined. The Will of Fire that burns in him is unmistakable."
"I see. If you place that much trust in the boy then I'll have no choice but to accept your words as fact. However, I'll still have to run a quick test so I know I'm not wasting my time with a lost case."
The Third Hokage merely laughed. "Of course you will. I still remember the time when we first met. You called my greatest technique at the time 'adequate'."
Enma snorted. "A true warrior strives for perfection knowing that it doesn't exist."
Naruto felt slightly lost. He wasn't an idiot, he knew what was most likely occurring, but he still wanted to make sure. "Wait…does that mean—"
Hiruzen smirked. "I'm planning to make you the next summoner for the monkey contract."
His jaw dropped. Assuming something as true and actually hearing it out loud was completely different.
"Though, I believe a certain Saanin of ours will be disappointed," The Hokage continued. "Jiraiya was fixed on giving you the Toad contract first, but I believed that my contract would be more suitable to you."
Naruto shrugged. "I don't care, really. Getting a summon seems like a dream come true, to be honest."
"Uzumaki, don't get your hopes up too early," Enma said calmly. "There is a process. Our summoning contract is quite different from others."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Let's take for example the toad contract. Each individual can summon multiple toads to their aid. However, for a monkey contract, an individual has a designated summon that they use. For Hiruzen, our village's sole contractor at the present moment, I am the sole summon."
"Isn't that somewhat limiting?" Naruto asked honestly. He was also curious about where the monkeys lived. Do they have an entire village? How come I've never heard of them?
Enma sighed. "Yes, it is. There are caveats, though. Firstly, the warrior monkeys of my village are of greater strength on average compared to a summon. The potential of growth for our summons is second to none. Secondly, there are cases where you can summon other monkeys, though that requires greater experience and proper knowledge beforehand."
The trade-off for versatility is pure strength. Fair enough. I prefer things straightforward, anyway.
Naruto half-raised his hand. "How do I get a designated summon?"
The Monkey King's eyes gleamed. "The Trial, of course. Every person who gets our contract has to go through a test that we call the Trial. Your performance will be assessed and our Shaman will be the one to pair you with one of our warrior candidates."
Hiruzen took his chance to say a few words. "The Trial is different for everybody, before you say anything. Mine was an endurance test that lasted two days. Yours will be something entirely different."
"Knowing my luck I'll have to defeat Enma myself…" Naruto mumbled quietly.
"Speaking of Enma, I believe he had a small test to give you?" Hiruzen said awfully smugly.
Oh, right.
Enma crossed his arms.
"Uzumaki. This will be a test for sheer strength. Us warrior monkeys pride ourselves in wit, but without any power to back it up, we will offer you no respect. We respect strength over everything. I want you to hit me with your strongest attack, right here, right now," he said, putting his palm forward for Naruto to strike.
"Now?!"
"We don't like repeating ourselves either."
"Okay, okay!"
Strongest attack? That has to be Black Flash right? The only issue was that Black Flash rarely worked on command. It would be foolish to expect it to work now when he definitely wasn't focused at all or in the midst of a fight. Naruto found that the natural adrenaline that he got during a fight helped him focus on the precise timing that Black Flash asked of him. Replicating the 'flow' state that he achieved during a battle was impossible outside of one.
That only left one option.
Rasengan!
He kept his hand outward. Naruto wasn't at all worried about actually hurting the tall monkey in front of him. Whenever someone said 'hit me as hard as you can', you better believe that they were leagues ahead of you in strength.
Naruto gathered chakra in his open palm, forcing the energy to twist and turn in a clockwise rotation as fast as possible. Compared to before, this step was now much easier. It was almost muscle memory for Naruto. After his first success, everything just seemed to click.
Activate Iron Skin!
[Activating…]
I really need to learn how to do it without iron skin.
It wasn't like his method was inferior. In fact, his Iron Rasengan seemed to have greater destructive capability compared to the original. However, the dependence on one of his skills, or more specifically MP in general made it a liability if he was in a situation where he was running low 4in MP. That was what happened during his fight with Kabuto, and was a chilling splash of reality. MP wasn't infinite. Being calculating and efficient with his MP usage was crucial.
[Iron Rasengan Lvl 1 Activated!]
Hiruzen's eyes widened. When did the boy learn this jutsu? Was this the 'surprise' Jiraiya was referring to?
His summon merely watched.
Naruto thrust his hand forward, straight at Enma's outstretched palm.
The Rasengan made contact with the monkey, and instead of the recoil that Naruto had expected, he was currently trying to push the jutsu into Enma's hand. It was almost as if Enma had a stronger version of Iron Skin that he had activated. Enma stood his ground, not budging an inch.
Fuck no! I ain't giving up that easily!
He pushed even more chakra into his jutsu with a growl, and turned the Rasengan even faster. Naruto poured chakra into his feet to stick and gain a better position to better leverage the power he held. Enma's monstrous height made it difficult to gain an advantageous position, but he did as best as he could.
He could smell a slight char in the air.
Suddenly, Enma's hand grew even sturdier. Chakra! Naruto realized. He hasn't used chakra until now?
The Monkey King had resisted his Rasengan without even using an ounce of chakra.
The Rasengan slowly died out.
Enma still stood.
"Hmph," the summon snorted, looking at his hand disinterestedly. "Adequate. The Trial will be held in a few days. I'd recommend you to prepare."
He disappeared a moment later with the agreement of Hiruzen.
"PREPARE FOR WHAT?" Naruto shouted to the world.
The Third Hokage guffawed. "You should get used to it, young Naruto. The monkeys are an elusive bunch, as you will see in a bit. So you learned the Rasengan?"
Naruto swallowed down his complaints. "Yeah, it was difficult as hell, though. That was the longest week of my life."
Hiruzen coughed unexpectedly. "A week?"
He nodded, confused by the reaction. "Yeah."
A laugh escaped out of Hiruzen. It was weird to hear, if Naruto was being honest it wasn't like the Third didn't laugh before, but it was normally a short chuckle or simply a smile. Even then, there was a hidden weight behind his actions, the burden of the past and responsibilities hanging in his shoulders preventing him from truly expressing his emotions. He may have fooled the rest of the village, but Hiruzen couldn't fool the surprisingly emotionally observant Naruto Uzumaki.
He finally stopped his laugh. "A week to learn the Fourth's greatest jutsu? Of course that's normal for you, Naruto. You take any bar set in front of you and place it higher for yourself. I can't wait to see the kind of man you become."
Naruto grinned. "Yeah, well, the Sixth Hokage can't be any normal person, can he?"
"Indeed," Hiruzen responded with another short chuckle.
The Third Hokage couldn't help but smile. He looked up at the sky. Minato and Kushina. If you're watching…I'm sorry. I know you're disappointed with how I've dealt with Naruto until now. But if it's any excuse, I was scared. How could I deal with another child when my own son treats me indifferently? How could I deal with another child when my meddling resulted in a man like Orochimaru?
But those were simply excuses.
He looked at the blond boy in front of him. The near-splitting image of the Fourth.
I'll do everything in my power to make up for my mistakes.
So you can rest easy now…
[-NTLS-]
Naruto leisurely walked in the streets of Konoha, whistling a jovial tune that reflected his current mood. His happiness seemed to know no bounds. The Hokage himself is going to train me. Though it's better to say former Hokage, I guess. Whatever! The Third Hokage is training me! And I'm getting a summoning contract soon. Well, that's if I pass the Trial or whatever he mentioned. Eh, I ain't failing anyway.
He looked at the letter in his hands once more.
INVITATION
You've been invited to Akimichi's Bar in celebration of the great achievement the shinobi of Konoha have accomplished in the Chuunin Exams. Please show this card to security for permission to enter. The party will commence exactly at 7:00. Hope to see you there!
P.S. Don't be late.
It was very lazily made, though Naruto guessed he couldn't expect more from Shikamaru, whose curvy, free-flow handwriting was easily recognizable.
"It should be around here…" Naruto mumbled to himself, looking at the rows of shops that were littered in the area.
The shopping district of Konoha was often full with people and traders everywhere you walked, and today was no different. So when Naruto felt a tug on his shirt he didn't particularly pay any attention to it. Then he felt the tugging once more. This time, however, he did look down to see what exactly was bothering him.
"Eh?"
A young boy with a bowl cut was standing with a piece of paper and a pen. "M-my name is Ishibashi Jiro, Mr. Naruto. I watched all of your fights in the Chuunin Exams. Can I have your autograph?"
Naruto stood with a blank expression. His mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. "What?"
Ishibashi turned bright red and didn't respond.
I guess I might as well.
He took the piece of paper and quickly scribbled his name with the pen. He winced at how messy his handwriting was but continued anyway. "Ahh…there you go."
"Thank you!" Ishibashi exclaimed.
Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "No problem."
He continued to walk his way afterward, unsure what to think about the new development. For one, he liked the attention. Naruto had grown up wanting the respect and adoration of his fellow villagers. He wasn't in the delusion that all of the people in the village suddenly loved him just because of his performance in the exams, but he knew that he was able to show people that he was more than just a fox.
Naruto also knew that a normal person in his situation would be angry, and justifiably so. To be more exact, someone like Gaara, succumbed to the environment he was brought up in, and became a monster in his own right.
The truth was, Naruto simply wanted to prove the people who hated him wrong. He wasn't going to be the demon they so desperately wanted him to be. That would be the catalyst for more hate and discourse in his village.
"Look who's finally here!"
Naruto suddenly looked up to see a grinning Sakura at the door.
He smiled widely. "Yo! Sakura!"
"Get in!"
He entered the enclosure. He couldn't help but be awed by the whole building. Naruto remembered going into it once or twice before when he was younger and closer to Choji and Shikamaru, but as a child, he couldn't really appreciate how great it was.
The colors, the ambiance, and the architecture combined made a coherent and beautiful landscape within the structure that couldn't help but draw eyes.
Inside were Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Shino, Choji, Hinata, Shino, Sasuke, and a very reluctant-looking Shikamaru. A certain Uchiha looked equally annoyed to be there, but he also knew the trouble he would get into if he tried to skip the meeting.
"Where have you been for the past month, Naruto?" Choji asked as he made it closer to the table where they had saved him a spot.
Naruto shrugged. "Oh, you know. Just scouting for the next Hokage. She packs a mean punch."
The others just gaped in silence.
Maybe I shouldn't have said that?
"New Hokage?!"
"WHAT?!"
"Why?"
"When?"
"She?"
Naruto realized that he really should've thought ahead before he blurted that information out. The Hokage had told him that the secret was basically out by now, meaning the other Genin would find out either by the end of the day from their own parents or just by word of mouth by the rest of Konoha, but maybe it would have been preferable to slowly let the information down to prevent such a scenario from happening.
However, looking at the shocked expressions of his friends was also entertaining as hell. He was also happy to have more information than his friends, which was a first in his life.
"Let him speak," Shikamaru said calmly, silencing the rest of the rookies. "There's no point in asking questions if you don't give the time to answer."
Naruto thanked Shikamaru with a slight nod, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, well, it's not really that big of a secret anymore. The Third is retiring. And we already have a replacement."
"Who?" Ino asked eagerly.
He grinned. "Tsunade Senju, one of the Saanin."
Sakura's eyes lightened up. "A kunoichi Hokage? I thought you were kidding! This is amazing news!"
"Amazing news?" Kiba repeated, clearly frustrated by the reveal. "The Third was the perfect leader! I don't care if it's a lady, a dog, or a goddess; she won't be able to replace the Third Hokage!"
Naruto felt the weird urge to defend the Saanin, but was too slow to respond.
Instead, Choji came to Tsunade's defense. "Hey, I know we all grew up with the Third as our Hokage, but is change really a bad thing? I mean, Lady Tsunade is a legend for a reason."
"So is the Third!" Kiba growled.
"Yeah, and he willingly retired the hat," the Akimichi said after guzzling down a drink. "The Third that you—no, we respect so much, is willingly giving the position to Tsunade."
Naruto blinked. That was strangely articulated by Choji. The blond wasn't going to pretend like he was some kind of philosopher with how he spoke, but he also knew he had a way with words. Talk no Jutsu is proof of that. He eyed Sasuke, who had his classic poker face active. His eyebrows were slightly raised the moment he heard the news, but other than that, he didn't seem too worried. Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to be on the moon with how excited she was. Tsunade clearly has a fan…. He thought amusedly.
"I find it interesting how Naruto-san was the first one to learn of this new among us," Shino muttered quietly, but his voice pierced through their corner with how quiet the room currently was.
Their curious eyes swept towards him.
Thanks a lot, Shino. The one time you talked you managed to put all the attention on me.
He remembered what Jiraiya had told him in case of this exact situation.
"It's classified information," Naruto said a bit too smugly, helplessly raising his hands. "I'm legally obliged to not tell you, guys. Sorry."
It wasn't like the fact he was training with Jiraiya was a serious secret or anything, no. He would prefer to tell his teammates, but the moment they started asking what exactly happened during his mission, that's when things got serious. The Akatsuki were still a well-protected secret. Firstly, they had to prevent the public from going into a frenzy due to the threat of several crazy shinobi in black cloaks. The fact that one of them was Itachi fucking Uchiha would delve them all into madness. Sasuke…. Naruto shuddered. He'd go insane.
Ino snorted. "Boring. You can't tell us anything?"
"I-I'm sure N-Naruto-kun would've told us if he could!" Hinata said a moment later.
Well, I'm not too sure about that. Regardless, Naruto sent a smile in her direction for the support, raising an eyebrow when she turned beet red when their eyes met.
Naruto cleared his throat. "Well, who cares about all of that, anyways! We're just Genin! None of that stuff really matters for us, to be honest. Didn't we come here to have fun?"
That seemed to boost the rest of the members back to their regular selves.
Naruto only wished he believed the words coming out of his mouth.
[—-]
Yo!
My Pa tre on is back online for those who want to read THREE chapters or THREE WEEKS ahead (chapters 44, 45, 46) and support my endeavor to become an author. So if you can't wait for the next update—check out:
P a treon . com (slash) PaladinKaladin
For those who wanted the toad summon, DON'T be too disappointed. Jiraiya might try something…but anyways, Monkey Summon! I always found them interesting, especially Enma (who seemed so strong). I'm going to be expanding upon them heavily, similar to how the toads were expanded in canon.
Loved the response for the last question about Itachi—I didn't know that there were so many people who had mixed feelings about him. It's true that Itachi had some issues, but if we ignore some minor things it doesn't change the fact that he's a cool character (and was clutch as hell in the war).
QUESTION OF THE DAY!
What's your opinion on OBITO? I know this is going to be spicy in the reviews…I have my own feelings (which may or may not be generally accepted) but I want to hear y'all's first.
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Chapter 44 is releasing on Tuesday, 26th of November. Around 2 PM Washington DC time.
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