Rise of the Namikaze

by s15945

Twelve years ago Uzumaki Kushina sacrificed herself in order to protect her village from the Ninetails by sealing it into the eldest of her recently born twin daughters.

14. Training Partners

Around a week later, In a dark cave, Yumi and Jirō were standing opposite a multi-coloured, translucent, figure that said, "So, how'd it go?"

"We were made."

"Really? That is…surprising…coming from the two of you."

"It's these cloaks that you've got us wearing. They're too distinctive to be going undercover with shinobi."

"I see. I will…have to consider this for the future."

"In any case, he said that it was the wrong sister."

"And you trusted him, just like that?"

"From what I could tell, there was no reason for him to lie. Red-eye wasn't lying. With his chakra, even The Zombies would have problems taking him on."

"I see."

Another figure, that had glowing red eyes with three tomoe in each, said, "Did you doubt me?"

Jirō said, "Not specifically, but I just think that it's always better to approach our work as if we don't know a thing about the target."

"A prudent decision."

The first figure said, "Itachi. Can you confirm that it really was the wrong sister?"

Itachi looked at Jirō and said, "What colour was her hair."

"Blue."

"So, it was Mizuko after all?"

The first figure impatiently said, "Itachi."

"Right," Itachi said, shaking his head. "Yes. The jinchuriki is Miwa. His other sister. She has blonde hair the same colour as Naruto's."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's their chakra."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto and Miwa both inherited the ability to utilize the Uzumaki's Sealing Chains from their mother, Uzumaki Kushina. With them, they are able to subdue a tailed beast, though I am unsure if Miwa herself is aware of that as yet."

Yumi said, "If that's the case, why isn't she with them?"

"That…I can't say. All I know is that Minato was occupied most of the time as they were growing up, and what little time he had, he spent mostly with Miwa, explaining and teaching her jutsu. When Naruto was assigned to the hunt down Takeshi mission, Mizuko's training all but came to a halt. It is probably that since they possess the same elemental affinities, he had always intended to train her himself, but hadn't the opportunity to do so. So, this could very well just be something as simple as making up for time lost."

"I see."

The first figure said, "Yumi, you might be interested to know that Namikaze was spotted on a boat to The Land of Vegetable."

"Really?" Yumi said, biting her lip.

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It's all going to depend on what was on my file before I left."

"What was on it?"

"You know, general stuff. Medical Info, Name, Date of Birth, Chakra Natures, Amount of Chakra, a list of known jutsu, personality traits, commonly used jutsu and strategies."

Itachi said, "Yumi, you need to go there and destroy whatever records they have kept."

The first figure said, "No, Itachi. You and your new partner do it."

Itachi said, "Hai, Leader-sama." His figure disappeared from the cave.

Yumi said, "Hey, shouldn't we be doing that? I mean, I am the one that knows the lay of the land."

"No. You run a high risk of arrest in your home country. You will stay here."

Yumi sighed and said, "Hai, Leader-sama."

Jirō said, "What should we be doing then?"

"Hmm…keep an eye on Orochimaru. He's been acting strangely ever since he left our organization. I am concerned that he might be plotting against us."

"Very well. Should we engage him, or kill him?"

"Neither. Do not, under any circumstance come into contact with him, or raise suspicion within The Land of Rice Fields such that he might get wind of your presence."

Yumi blurted out, "Why?" When she saw Pain's eyes narrow at her, in a high-pitched tone, she said, "I-it-it's just…well, what could he really do? it's not like he's strong enough to take either of us on alone, let alone both of us at once."

Pain said, "Yumi, under no circumstances are you to ever underestimate Orochimaru. While it is true that in terms of strength as a shinobi, the two of you outclass him. However, Orochimaru is far too underhanded to approach battle the way you do. His title as the Snake Sannin is well founded."

"Isn't he from Konoha though?"

"He was, but his life philosophy vastly differs from those from Konoha."

"Well, if you say so," Yumi shrugged. With that, Pain's image faded away. When it was gone, she sighed regretfully and said, "Well, there goes that festival." Jirō shook his head in disbelief before silently leaving the cave and heading towards the Land of Rice Fields, Yumi rushing after him.

XXXXX

At the same time in the Land of Demons, Naruto and Mizuko were standing opposite each other, sweat dripping down them from their now hour and a half long duel on top of the water of the artificial lake that Naruto had had Tenzō create for him next to his house after it had been finished to his satisfaction. They both had two Namikaze-ryū: Reisui no Tsurugi activated. They charged at each other and Naruto swung his right sword down on Mizuko, who raised her left blade to redirect it, but Naruto reduced its length. Mizuko countered by lengthening hers, forcing the blade to the right. As she did, she reduced the length of her other blade and flicked it between her brother's other sword and his body. When it was past him, she used the kawarimi jutsu, switching with the kunai and slashed at his back. Naruto turned and brought his left sword around to block Mizuko's sword as she drew another kunai and formed the Suiton: Kaichō no jutsu to block his other sword. Naruto thought, 'So, she prefers that style,' and grinned. He kicked her in the side, knocking her tumbling along the water.

After realising what had happened, Mizuko sprung up, ending her tumble and slid back a few feet. She said, "Hey! That's not fair! You said that this was Nigenteki Tōjutsu training!"

"I did," Naruto said. "So would you mind telling me exactly why you thought that it was alright to use the Kawarimi no jutsu and change your style to Daishōjutsu?"

"Well…I…" Mizuko sighed and said, "I just wanted to win for once. Is that really so bad?"

"No. It's not," Naruto said. "Hmm…tell you what. Why don't we stop trying to teach you to use two of them at once?"

"Stop? Why?"

"You clearly have a preference, so why should we bother with extraneous things that would only get in the way of our ultimate goal?"

"Hm. I guess I can see your point."

"Besides, if you really want, I can finish your training with them, when we're back home." Mizuko beamed before rushing to Naruto and jumping up and throwing her arms around his shoulders. As she tried to choke her brother, she saw something stagger onto the shore and collapse. She let go and said, "Hey, Aniki."

"What is it?"

"Something just fell down on the shore."

"Really?" Naruto asked, turning to look where Mizuko was pointing. Sure enough, there was a mass on the shoreline. They walked over to it and saw, to their shock, a white fox that had two tails.

Mizuko said, "Isn't that…"

Naruto numbly nodded, saying, "Yes. It is."

"Is this where you found Gisei?"

"Yeah. Though I hadn't even considered that there might actually be more."

"Hey! It's hurt!" Mizuko said. She looked at Naruto and said, "Could you…"

"Hmm…no. You do it."

"Eh? Me? Why? I've never…"

"At the end of the day, it's still just another canine, like any other. I'm sure that Hana has let you analyse one of the Haimaru Siblings at least once, right?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"The differences are there, but physiologically, they are comparable to one of the ninken used by the Inuzuka. But, unlike them, they don't need the extra training to become able to use their chakra like those ones in the Inuzuka kennels that you used to play with."

"You…know about that?" Mizuko blushed.

"Yeah. Tsume-sama was always rather…eloquent…when speaking of your interactions with them. One time she even went so far as suggesting that it might be a good idea to give you one of them."

"Then why didn't…"

"There were…issues…regarding the passing on of hidden jutsu outside of a clan, so, politically speaking, it was untenable."

"What do you mean?"

"Many Inuzuka have friends and partners and have asked for permission to give them a ninja hound of their own, even before Tsume took over. Currently, Tsume is the head of the Inuzuka clan. Giving you one of their hounds would have set a precedent and she wouldn't really be able to stop her clan members giving away their ninja hounds if she'd arbitrarily done it herself."

Mizuko sighed and said, "What's so bad about passing jutsu on to someone outside of a clan?"

"Well…" Naruto sighed. "It's not so much of a problem anymore, but it used to be that if that happened, there was a very good chance of it being used against them somewhere down the line. The hoarding of hidden jutsu started because of that."

"Is that why you and Dad are the only ones that can use the Rasengan?"

"No. That's different."

"Why's that?"

Naruto sighed and said, "You don't need to worry about that just yet."

Mizuko asked, "Why? Am I not good enough?" a concerned look on her face.

Naruto sighed and said, "No. Far from it, Mizuko. You probably could handle it easily enough as you currently are."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Honestly, there's a couple. One of which, is your sister."

"Miwa? Why?"

Naruto sighed and said, "Before we left, I impressed upon Dad the…importance…of moderation in Miwa's training. That included the prohibiting of the passing on of the Hiraishin and the Rasengan. That's why you won't be getting taught either the Rasengan, or my Hikazeshin on this trip. The second, more relevant, reason, is that, even if it is weaker, that Suiton: Hahonryū that you made, is somewhat comparable in function to the Rasengan, so, right now, there is little point to teaching it to you." Mizuko sighed in relief. "Besides, right now there are better things for you to be doing."

"Such as?"

"Healing him," Naruto said, nodding at the prone two tailed fox.

"Right!" Mizuko exclaimed, her eyes widening as she dropped to her knees and took it into her left hand, lifting it up so that she could better analyse it with her Iryōton: Shōsen no jutsu. When she was done, she sighed and said, "It seems to be the cut that's the main problem," referring to the deep slash in its side. She then started closing the wound. When she was done, she moved her hand over the leg that she had noticed was broken. When she was done, she let it down and sighed.

Naruto asked, so, how was it?"

"You were right. It was basically the same as the Inuzuka hounds. But, we're going to have to keep an eye on it for a while. It had lost a lot of blood."

"I see. Then in that case," Naruto said, "Gisei!" Gisei bounded over the lake water as fast as she could, Naruto having only ever used that tone when they were about to have some fun. When she was there though, she stopped short and cocked her head as she walked over to the prone fox, growling warningly. Mizuko blinked, surprised at Gisei's behaviour as she had never seen the vixen act like that around anyone, or anything, else before. Naruto had. He said, "Is there going to be a problem Gisei?"

Gisei circumspectly said, "Maybe, maybe not. It's going to take time to tell."

Mizuko said, "What's wrong Gisei?"

"I'm…not sure. I'll need to talk to this thing alone for a bit."

"Hey! It's not a thing! You of all beings should know that at least, Gisei."

Naruto placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and said, "It's fine Mizuko. Gisei and I have…come across…a few situations where animals…that are different to what one would expect…turn up. Whenever it has happened, there's been hell to pay."

"It doesn't sound that bad."

"No. I mean literally. The village has almost gone into debt multiple times over paying damages." Mizuko looked at her brother askance. Naruto said, "Seriously. On top of that, even with the advance Dad gave me, I have nowhere near enough money to repay what might happen."

Mizuko sighed and said, "Okay fine. Whatever. But there's no way that he's staying out here while it's injured." Mizuko grinned and said, "Doctor's orders."

Naruto sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. He said, "You'd better take him inside then. And make sure you keep him where Gisei can keep an eye on him."

"Alright," Mizuko said, walking past Gisei to pick up the fox.

When Mizuko was gone, Gisei said, "Master, you know what that means, right?"

"Yeah. That means that there is at least one rival species. Hopefully we can avoid that happening with your clade too." Gisei nodded, agreeing with him as, despite their ongoing disagreement, she didn't want the rest of her species to get embroiled in an interspecies war. He said, "In any case, could you go out and catch some dinner for us. It looks like we're having guests.

Gisei nodded and said, "Yeah. The crazed snake lady and…sorry, I don't know the other one."

"It's fine. I don't recognise their chakra either. Now, go on, get going."

Gisei nodded and, with a smile, said, "Master," before bounding into the forest.

When Mizuko was back out with her brother, having laid the fox down on a pile of blankets in the kitchen, she asked, "Where's Gisei?"

"She's gone to find us some extra food for dinner."

"Extra? Why? I thought that we'd made sure that we'd have enough for at least another what…three weeks?"

"Yeah, well, that was before I knew that we'd be getting some guests."

"Guests?"

"You know that message that I asked Hinata to tell Dad back in the Land of Vegetables?"

"Yeah. That strange code?"

"That's the one."

"What about it?"

"Dad's sent Mitarashi Anko and some genin along with her, with an answer."

"So, what did the message mean?"

"Basically, that we'd be staying here and there's a genjutsu that I want to teach you, that I wanted to get permission for, along with acquiring a contract for you to sign."

"Genjutsu? But…Dad always said that you had problems with it."

"He's right, I do. But, that doesn't mean that I can't use it. More specifically, I can use a specific branch of it."

"A branch of genjutsu? What do you mean?"

"There are many types of genjutsu in this shinobi world Mizuko. You've probably heard of Magen style genjutsu at some point, haven't you?"

"That's the thing that Kurenai-sensei uses, right?"

"That's right. Though she hasn't restricted herself to just Magen genjutsu. There are also regular genjutsu, Amayah's clan uses a style that they call Tengen and, there are even some genjutsu that can be crafted using sound as a medium."

"Have you fought any of them?"

"Yeah. Sound-based genjutsu are particularly annoying if you get caught in them as the sound will need to continue to be played for the genjutsu to remain in effect. At the same time, it locks the victim deeper into the genjutsu, making it exponentially harder to dispel it. Your sharingan will be useless against it too."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Heh, the only thing that can counter it, is encasing your ear in chakra and vibrating it at the same frequency that the sound is using."

"Man, they sound annoying."

"You have no idea."

"Hmm," Mizuko said, thinking, 'Maybe I should get some music training while I'm on this trip.' She said, "Hey, Aniki, can you sing?"

"Sing?" Naruto said in a confused tone. "No. Why?"

"What about playing an instrument?"

"Again, why are you…oh. No, I don't. Even if I did though, I wouldn't be able to teach you how to use it to counteract sound-based genjutsu since I can't do it myself."

"I see."

"So, when are our guests going to get he…" Mizuko was pre-empted by the door slamming against the wall, the hinges somehow managing to remain attached to the frame. "…re?" in a deadpan tone, she said, "Oh."

Naruto, had a very different reaction. He said, "Anko¸how many times to I have to tell you to not test the strength of the hinges in every one of my houses that you come to?"

Anko grinned, saying, "One more than last apparently."

That was when he saw another kunoichi come in after her and bow, saying, "I'm terribly sorry about tha-!" she stopped short when she looked up and saw Naruto. Stars appeared in her eyes a second before she fainted."

Naruto said, "I know I look good, but seriously, what the hell?"

Anko, with a grin, said, "She's a ninja tool user that Gai asked I bring with me to meet you."

Naruto grunted and said, "Gai," in an entirely unflattering tone.

Mizuko asked, "Who's Gai?"

Naruto said, "He's a particularly…eccentric…shinobi from Kakashi's generation and a very skilled taijutsu user."

"Better than you?"

"Well…" Naruto said, weighing up his words. "Yes, and no."

"What do you mean?"

"There are taijutsu techniques that he has access to that I don't, but, by the same token, they are severely damaging to his body, and I have techniques that he can't use, that aren't. Boiled down even more, if we were to fight, I would have to outlast him rather than just try to straight up beat him. That said, we both have counter moves to the other's techniques."

"Wouldn't your byakugan give you the edge though?"

"Normally, yes, but Gai can predict the opponent's movements just by the positioning of their feet."

Anko said, "He's got Neji and a kid that copies him, right down to the outlandish getup that he wears."

Naruto's lips twisted downward. He sighed in disgust. "So, another attempt then, is it?"

"Yeah."

Mizuko piped up as Naruto started to say something else, gaining their attention. As she nudged Tenten with her foot, she said, "Hey, Aniki. Does this mean that I'm kicking her when she's down?"

Naruto covered his eyes as Anko said, "Wow, she must get it from you."

"Don't blame me for this."

Mizuko said, "Was it something I said?" with a blank look on her face. Anko burst into a full-blown laughing fit. Mizuko looked at Naruto as Anko fell to the floor and asked, "Seriously, what did I say?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "Never mind Mizuko. And can you please stop kicking her?"

"Oh!" Mizuko said, stopping the motion that she hadn't realised that she was still doing.

Naruto sighed and said, "Anyway, Anko. Did Dad get what I wanted?"

Anko said, "Yeah. Ol' man Kosuke said that he'd be more than honoured if his technique got passed on to the next generation."

"And the rest?"

"He sent me, didn't he?"

"Oh? Is he trying to assemble another Lockdown?"

"I think so. Though I'm not sure how he'll go with Tsunade being out of the village all the time."

"True enough."

Naruto said, "Hey, Mizuko, Anko's going to teach you a new jutsu now."

"Hey!" Anko said, "we just got here! Show some damn hospitality here, would you!?"

"I am. I'm waiting for her, to wake up," Naruto said nodding at the prone Tenten. "I dare say that we have a lot to talk about if she's working under Gai."

"Alright," Anko agreed before turning to Mizuko and saying, "Come on bluey. Time to teach you how to summon." Mizuko grunted, annoyed at the mention of the colour of her hair.

As Mizuko closed the door behind her, Tenten groaned as she pushed herself up. Naruto said, "Not going to faint this time I hope," as he sat down in a chair.

Tenten looked at him and blushed as she said, "I'm so sorry, Namikaze-sama! Please, I didn't mean to offend you!"

Naruto said, "Cut that crap out. Just Naruto is fine."

"But…I couldn't possibly! It wouldn't be right!"

Naruto sighed and said, "So, Anko told me that Gai practically begged Dad to let you come and see me, did he?"

"Yes, he did."

"Let me guess, Gai didn't tell you why, did he?"

"No. he didn't."

"So, can I assume that you've been put on a team with two highly-specialised taijutsu users?"

"Yes."

"…And that somewhere, deep down, you want to learn some way of fighting on the front lines alongside them, but don't know how to broach the subject with your sensei?"

"Well…yes. But how did you…"

"My situation was not too dissimilar to yours. The only real difference is that my mother was taking a sadistic joy from beating her jutsu into me at the same time as I was training under the aunt of your teammate. But, even then, at the time, it wasn't enough, and I had Hidemari-sensei giving me extra taijutsu lessons after our missions."

"But, I'm from a civilian family, so I don't have anyone like that that could teach me any jutsu."

"Isn't that why you're here?"

"Then yo-You're going to…I couldn't! I'm not worthy! I'll just be wasting your time!"

Naruto sighed and said, "I don't know what you've heard about me, but…"

"I know everything about you and your exploits!" Tenten said. "You are the epitome of what I want to be!"

Naruto sighed and said, "I hope that isn't the case."

"Why's that?" Tenten asked, visibly distressed.

Naruto sighed and said, "I've messed up bigtime and lost many precious friends along the way. That has led me to where I am today. So I hope you don't walk the same path to power." He sighed and said, "In any case, I'm sorry, but there isn't anything that I can really do for you."

"What do you mean!?" Tenten asked, beyond shocked and disappointed that she'd finally met her hero and this was what was happening."

"There is only one thing that can change you from a support role, to a fighting role."

"What's that?"

"A change in mindset."

"A…what do you mean?"

"The mindset and instincts of a long-range fighter are vastly different to a direct-damage type. The difference is exacerbated when the long-range fighter in question is largely kept in a support role. In that role, you are focused on making it easier for your allies to defeat the enemy, at the same time, keeping them away from both you, and their ultimate target. A close-range fighter needs to concern themselves with taking out the enemy directly. So you see, there is no tool or jutsu that will allow you to magically transform from a long-range support fighter, to one that can fight directly alongside your teammates."

Tenten sighed and said, "So it was useless coming here then."

"I wouldn't say that," Naruto said.

"What do you mean?"

"Since you're here, I'll give you some technique training. The rest, really is up to you."

"Really?!" Tenten said, practically glowing with excitement.

Naruto laughingly said, "Yes."

"So, what do we do?"

"First," Naruto said, standing up. "We see what you can do," and led her outside.

When they were outside, they saw Mizuko standing on the lake in front of Anko, who was holding a scroll out in front of her. Tenten asked, "What are they…"

Naruto said, "Ignore them. Right now, I want to see what you can do already."

"So what? I just use my techniques to show them off?"

"Oh lord no," Naruto said. "I don't do that whole teach by talking thing that some teachers like to try. I find that experience is the best teacher."

"Then…you mean that…you'll be…" Naruto nodded. Tenten said, "I'm going to die!"

Naruto said, "Stop that, or I'll attack first," unsealing two scrolls from his coat. He placed them down on the ground in front of him.

Tenten blinked and said, "Alright, alright already, I get it," and drew two scrolls of her own, placing them by her, the same way that Naruto had. She formed several hand seals and said, "Sōshōryū!"

As Tenten went through the motions, Naruto thought, 'Damn Gai, teaching your students one of my attacks. I didn't think that you had it in you. It's really too bad though…' Tenten activated the scrolls, which spiralled into the air like twin dragons. She jumped up in between them and started summoning weapons from them and throwing them at Naruto. But, he wasn't there anymore. Having activated his own Sōshōryū and jumped between the spiralling scrolls.

When her weapons missed, Tenten thought, 'Where is…' seconds before she saw a kunai fly in front of her face, missing her by an inch. She looked to the source and blinked, seeing the same technique that she was using. She narrowed her focus on him and started throwing the weapons that she summoned at Naruto. But, to her horror, Naruto threw his weapons, not at her, but at her weapons. But, unlike whenever she'd used it before, he wasn't throwing them at her weapons to block them, using them instead to redirect them away from him at the same time, he used the ricochet to bounce his weapons in such a way that they rebounded off of his own weapons and flew straight at her. She started to throw her weapons at the ricocheting knives and swords, but she wasn't skilled enough to mimic Naruto's technique. As she focused on blocking the ricocheting blades though, Naruto threw a tonfa at her, which knocked her away from her scrolls, preventing her from defending her from Naruto's kunai. It didn't matter as Naruto had made sure that all of his kunai would miss, but only barely in order to maximise the lesson that he wanted to teach her.

When they were both on the ground, Tenten practically demanded, "How?!"

Naruto grinned and said, "Well, that was my technique that you were using, though it has been a while since I've had to use it."

"It's…but Gai-sensei…" Tenten sighed and said, "Well, I had wondered where he came up with it, with him only being able to use his nunchucku with any real skill. That aside, how were you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Attacking me with the kunai after blocking mine?"

"Oh, that? That's easy. You just hold back the strength behind some of your throws aim them so that, rather than 'defeating' them, you make sure that they bounce off of the opponent's kunai and throw your other kunai at a speed that will let it get to the rebounding position when you need it to be there."

"That's…just nuts! How can you be so precise?"

"It takes a bit of work, but, I'd say that you can do it with a little hard work and perseverance."

Tenten sighed and said, "You sound just like gai-sensei."

Naruto grunted and said, "Maybe so, but at least I don't carry around an identical outfit to give to someone."

"That's good," Tenten said, agreeing with the sentiment, but not really caring about it too much.

"In any case, is the Sōshōryū the strongest technique you know?"

"Pretty much. So if you know of anything, I'd be much obliged."

Naruto sighed and said, "There's no need for that at this stage."

"What do you mean?!"

"I mean that you are skilled enough as it is for a genin. However, there is one wall that you will need to come up with a way to cross, and I won't help you do that."

"Really?" Tenten asked. Somewhat annoyed at her idol's reticence.

Naruto nodded as he said, "Really."

"Well then, what's this wall that you speak of?"

"Use your second strongest attack and I'll show you."

"Alright," Tenten said as she jumped in the air and said, "Shōryū no Mai!" and spun around, throwing many weapons at Naruto, who had yet to make a single move. When the weapons were closer, Naruto said, "Tessenjutsu: Reppūgun Uchiwa!" as he drew and opened a folding fan that had sliding metal plates in place of where the paper would normally be. As he swung it, he streamed his wind chakra through it and let it fly from it, forming a gust that not only blocked the kunai, but send them flying back at Tenten. She threw more kunai to defend against the returning kunai as she fell back to the ground. When Tenten was back on the ground, she asked, "How did you?"

"Wind style jutsu are very detrimental to shuriken jutsu. A skilled wind user can easily redirect anything that has been thrown at them, no matter what the size or weight. That is the wall that I was talking about."

Tenten sighed and said, "I see. So, do you know of any way that I could overcome that wall?"

"There are a few, though whether you are able to use them or not is yet to be seen."

"What are they?"

"One, is that you use your own wind-style chakra to counter the opponent's. The second, is to do what I just did and use the ricochet to direct them to attack the target. The others are various ninjutsu using either Jiton or chakra threads. I'm going to tell you this though, developing your own wind style will be the most difficult option by far, but, it would also be the most effective since it increases the cutting properties of a weapon when it's been streamed through it. Unfortunately though, in Konoha, shinobi that can use wind release jutsu are few and far between."

"Can you recommend anyone?"

"Hmm…I'd say that Sarutobi Asuma or Shirakumo Hayama would be best. There are a few others around, but I'd keep away from them if I were you."

"Why's that?"

"Some of them are really shady and only in it for themselves and increasing their power."

"Really? There's someone like that in Konoha?"

"There are people like that everywhere. You just need to know where to look to find them. Of course, sometimes even the shadiest crook can have a good side to them, even if is somewhat twisted by circumstance."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there're numerous facilitators and information brokers that are clearly criminals but, even then, they still have a sense of honour somewhere."

"I take it that you know some of these people?"

"Yeah."

"Who are they?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well…information broker's and facilitators can come in handy if we need to undertake missions that are…somewhat…less than above the board."

Naruto smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but they're friends of mine, so I can't. I'm sure that eventually you'll find some of your own, but, you'll need to keep in mind that, at the end of the day, they are still facilitators and brokers and will generally offer their services to the highest paying customer, even if they are requesting information that could lead to your death."

"I see. But, in the meantime, are there any jutsu that you could help me with?"

"I could teach you some actual fūinjutsu if you're interested."

"I can already use the Fūnyū no Jutsu and the Kaifū no Jutsu they are both fūinjutsu, and many of my techniques stem from them."

"I see. I get where you're coming from…Tenten, wasn't it?" Tenten nodded. "Right. Well, Tenten, you are right in saying that they are fūinjutsu, but, you need to realise that they are only very basic level fūinjutsu that just about anyone can buy at a store, along with explosive tags. True fūinjutsu, is in a whole other class. Of course, that other class, comes with increased power, some of which can be applied to weapons to make them more powerful by adding a new effect."

"Really? Like how?"

"Here," Naruto said, picking up one of the kunai that had landed near their feet. He said, "Fūinjutsu: Saiten!" and tapped the blade of the kunai, causing multiple red marks to rush from his fingers. When they stopped moving outwards, they glowed brightly before turning black. Naruto said, "Here, now, stream your chakra through it," as he handed it back, handle first. Tenten took the kunai and did as she was ordered. She dropped the kunai when it started to glow a bright yellow. Naruto smiled and said, "And here I thought that you wanted to be a weapons master."

Tenten grunted before picking it back up and pushing her chakra into the blade again, this time without dropping it. She said, "So, what does it do?" as she turned it over, seeing the same glow on the other side.

Naruto said, "It's based off of a sealing tag used by the Fūma in the Land of Rice Fields that can cut through the chakra threads used in one of their techniques. Unlike that one though, the seal is applied directly to the blade and needs to be activated manually rather than passively. Despite the original intention of the person that created the original, it can also be used to cut through the chakra threads from the puppet users of Suna."

"So…did you make this?"

"Yeah, though it's just an adaptation that I find more convenient than having to carry around a whole bunch of tags in the off chance that I might actually run up against a shinobi that uses the specific skill that it is designed to counter."

"I see. That makes a lot of sense," Tenten said, having begun to have problems storing all of her weapons scrolls and explosive tags. "Please, do teach me the art of fūinjutsu," bowing at her waist.

Naruto laughingly said, "I'll be having none of that, thank you very much. Seriously though, I'll only be able to give you a beginner's look into fūinjutsu as there just really won't be enough time to move onto the intermediate or advanced stuff, but there's plenty of things on that back home anyway."

"Alright, that's fair enough," Tenten said, shrugging her agreement. Naruto then led her back inside, sat her down and started teaching her the Fūka Hōin.

Later, after they'd finished eating the rabbit that Gisei had hunted down for them, Naruto rested his elbows on the dining table and linked his hands together and rested his chin on them. He looked at Anko and Tenten and said, "I'm sorry for this, since you just got here, but we're going to have to leave as soon as the fox that Mizuko just healed is better."

"Eh?! Again? Why?" Mizuko practically whined.

Naruto said, "There's a problem that has arisen that can only be solved by our departure."

"What is it?"

"It's…complicated. I might tell you one day, but not yet."

"Well, if you say so, Aniki." Naruto gave her a sympathetic smile, having been on the receiving end of more than one similar conversation.

Anko asked, "Is it because of that?" having been there when the incident had occurred. Naruto nodded. "Alright then. We've got no problems with it."

"Good. Now, as to the…"

Tenten demanded, "Hey! What about our training?!"

"We'll go at a slower pace so that we maximise our travel time so that you can continue on when we stop for meals and during the afternoons and into the night."

"Well, if you insist, but wouldn't it be quicker to just get to wherever we're going if we went through the trees at our fastest speed?"

Naruto grinned and said, "Well…to be frank, if Mizuko and I did that, you and Anko wouldn't be able to keep up."

Tenten frowned as she said, "I'm not exactly slow you know."

"I don't doubt it. No genin trained by gai would be allowed to slouch off, least of all a shinobi whose primary role is to support their teammates from a distance. But, Mizuko and I are far faster than even some jōnin. We can work on your speed while you're with us if you want to."

Tenten, not seeing the harm, shrugged and said, "Sure, why not? How will we do that?"

"Well, there are a few items that I'll need to get for your training. But, since we're headed to Meikō no Kuni it won't be difficult."

At the name of the country that they were headed to, Tenten's eyes lit up. She said, "M-Me-Meikō n-n-no Kuni! Seriously!" Naruto nodded. "I've always wanted to go there! But I've never had the time or the ability to get there by myself!"

Naruto said, "Yeah, I know, right? I only got to stop in when I was on my last mission myself."

Mizuko looked from one to the other before asking, "Hey, Aniki, what's so good about this place we're going?"

Naruto said, "Oh, right. Sorry. You don't know. Meikō is just about the best place that a shinobi that specialises in bukijutsu can go to find weapons for them to use."

"Eh? But then why would you need to go there?"

"You may not know this, but, at the beginning of my career, due to the team that I was on, I more or less specialised in bukijutsu. It was only after Mum started my training in elemental manipulation that I was able to step out of that role. Well, that said, as you've seen, I do still tend to use weapons in my fights, it's just that I use them to augment my other skills now."

Mizuko thought over the battles that she'd seen her brother in and said, "Okay, I guess that I can see your point there."

Tenten asked, "You can actually do that?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I've thought to do that, but I've never actually been able to get the hang of it."

"I see. That makes sense."

"Why's that?"

"When I started down the path, I usually created variant techniques of those that I'd seen other shinobi use. That's actually what led to the Taki incident. Of course, when I saw them used within Konoha, I pestered the one that used it until they taught it to me. Before you came here, I got permission to teach Mizuko one of them and, since you're here, I'll teach it to you too, along with a couple of other ones."

"Ehhh? What about me?" Mizuko asked.

Naruto cavalierly asked, "What about you?"

"Isn't this trip about training me?"

"Well, yeah. But, you already have training that you need to be doing that is far more important for you than the jutsu that I'll be teaching Tenten."

Mizuko sighed and said, "Alright, fine, whatever," in a depressed tone.

Naruto said, "Besides, Anko's here too, and she's pretty strong herself. I'm sure that she won't mind sticking around for a bit either."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Anko said, "Would you pair not talk about me like I'm not in the room?"

Naruto looked at his sister and asked, "Hey, Mizuko, did you hear something?"

Mizuko shook her head and said, "No, did you?" playing along with her brother's joke.

"Must have been my imagination then." Anko glared at the siblings, well aware of both of their propensities for messing around with people whenever they could. Naruto said, "In any case, we'll be starting early tomorrow, so I would suggest that you both spend about another hour on your fūinjutsu before turning in for the night."

Mizuko and Tenten simultaneously intoned, "Hai, Aniki/Naruto-sensei."