Konohagakure no sato :
Exclusive Training Ground :
The Training Ground was crowded today . With the presence of 4 kids and 3 Ninja Beasts . Seeing Gian , Suneo , Nobita & Shizuka together , Naruto was surprised .
All 4 of them are in the last year of the Academy , and they will soon graduate in May . And all of them are preparing for it . It's not like he never met them in months .
Naruto met them in weekly basis , But all those times it's always one vs. One meeting . After a brief chat about yesterday's absence , Naruto remembered his promise to Suneo .
And Suneo's talk about gathering others .
" Sorry guys , I was overexcited to learn jutsu's and couldn't come to academy yesterday "
" It's alright man , but what about this Pup "
Gian talks about the newest addition on the blonde . Suneo and others also gathered around and looked curiously at Simba .
" This is Simba , and "
Naruto takes a pause and soon a pair of Raven descend and perched on his shoulders .
" They are Rem and Ram "
" whoa .."
" that's so cool "
" .....even a bird is cooler than this winter "
" aahhh , So Handsome "
Seeing Ravens 'dynamic entry' , Everyone gets surprised . Naruto also smiled at their reactions and also his Raven coolness.
" I visited Inuzuka shop yesterday , and got these Ninja Beasts "
" so they are Ninja beasts "
" they certainly looked different "
" ...... even beasts have chakra , I am having identity crisis now "
" ....Ninja beasts "
Academy contains most of the information among these things , And Gian & others are also familiar with Ninja Beasts and Summoning Beasts term . They have also seen some Inuzuka with their Ninken around the village .
But this is the first time they see it in person . The pup looked like a pet but Raven seemed different .
" I got them to help me scout in the future , you guys should get one too "
Hearing Naruto's reasoning and advice , Gian and others decided to give this matter a serious consideration .
Seeing everyone silently thinking it , Naruto asks
" So how are you guys doing "
" ahh , i am learning things from my Dad , I thought my dad is just a genin but who knew there was so much stuff to learn "
Gian answers first while scratching his head , He never considered Genin as something special , but from Traps to mission experience and to even the Jutsu's . When He started learning under his Dad , He really understood the difficulties .
" I am also training under the instructor , field & Mission experience plus some jutsu , He comes every sunday to teach and gives a lot of homework ughh "
Suneo answers after Gian , His Dad used a lot of money to hire that Chunin , But that Chunin said everything at C-Rank or above can't be taught . even for D-Rank he needs to spend 10 times the merit to teach and have Hokage's permission .
( If I was not a 6th year Student of the Academy , even that would have been impossible )
Suneo saw another face of the village this time , but being a merchant's son , he also understood Village's tight security over these matters .
" .....it's all study for me , learning law & order and other study materials , passing the entrance exam for the Police Force is the first hurdle "
Nobita also adjusted his Glasses and told about his process to gain entry in Police Force Division . after the Uchiha's demise the whole police force is lacking personnal . The emergency measures That Hokage took are definitly not a permanent solution .
( as long as I join police force , life of comfort is set .......always inside the village without any danger )
After Nobita's inquiry , he found that as long as one passes the basic written Exam , He can join the Police Force , without starting as a standard Squad with other fresh Genins after graduation.
" ......I have joined the Hospital as Intern , but my dad wants me to train as Combat Shinobi , he thinks I am very talented in Fire Nature and shouldn't waste it "
Shizuka spoke with a troubled expression , Before her Father wanted her to be Medical Shinobi like himself . But one day he just tested her Fire Nature talent and started teaching her those jutsu's .
( He always wanted me to become Medical Shinobi , but now he says Battle Ninja's are more needed for the Village ....just what is dad thinking ??)
Shizuka's troubled expression was seen by everyone , She never told them about these matters before , but today
( She must be seriously troubled ...!! )
Naruto looked at Shizuka and decided to send Simba to her side .
" Here , this will help "
" *yip*yip* "
Seeing Simba , Shizuka takes his in her arms and starts petting him while relaxing herself , everyone around got silent , In the end Shizuka spoke first
" What do you think , Naruto-kun "
"....Me ?? "
Naruto points to himself and speaks puzzeldly . After all this matter has nothing to do with him . seeing Shizuka looking down and waiting for his opinion , Naruto looks around for help .
But everyone stopped meeting his gaze and starts to look around . Naruto sighs and speaks up
" well , do what you want , I guess "
" ...Me ?? "
" Well , what do you want Shizuka "
" ... I wanted to be Medical Shinobi .....but "
Shizuka pauses slightly , and everyone looks back at her and waits for her answer
" Ninjutsu and Fire release is fun too "
"..." X4
"..." X2 Ravens
Naruto and others looked at her speechlessly , The Basic rule of ninja academy is to focus on your strengths , and better utilisation of their own time .
( Medical jutsu is not something you can master without seriously investing your time ........unless you cheat )
While looking at Shizuka , Naruto thought to himself . Just the Basic Medical Books and material is not something you can learn half-heartly . And the more you learn the more you need to devote yourself .
( a single mistake can cause a life )
Feeling the silence , Shizuka also felt embarrased with others stares . it took her years to learn all the Medical Ninja stuff , Her Father made sure to make her remember everything .
And now it's her Dad who asked her to quit being Medical Shinobi and focus on her Fire Release Ninjutsu Talent . She was really confused at that time
( All that hard work for nothing )
Naruto also looked at everyone and seriously considered what to say
" well take your time "
" eh ?? "
" You can decide later , for now you can learn both "
" Both "
" well , I am only 10 , and you guys only 12 , so it's ok to decide later "
Seeing that everyone but Shizuka has already decided their path , Naruto decided to postpone this conversation and redirect it to the future Shizuka .
Naruto remembered their Gathering's objective and finally decided to address it
" So did Suneo tell you guys about my jutsus "
" ...Suneo told us that you invented the jutsu's and wanted to teach "
" He invented from those Academy's jutsu "
" ... it's difficult to believe that you can do anything with those jutsu's "
"...."
Hearing about jutsu's everyone expression brightened up , Jutsu a cool thing for all the Academy students . They have all grown up hearing it's amazement .
" Did you guys check your Nature affinity ?? "
Naruto remembered telling them about Chakra Paper , The Chakra Paper is not something too expensive or hard to purchase .
Hearing about Chakra Paper , Gian eyes change and he spoke up
" My Dad checked , Mine are Earth and Water "
" My instructor also checked , mine are Wind and Thunder " Suneo
" .....I also bought one at the shop , It's Water " Nobita
" My Father checked , Mine are Fire , Wind and Thunder "
Naruto hears their Chakra nature , He gets surprised about Shizuka's 3 Chakra Nature .
( Well , she is talented but ........ forget it , at least they can self preserve themselves in war )
Naruto pushed away the distracted thoughts and speaks again
" How about I show you my jutsu's and you guys see if it's useful "
Naruto decided to 'show-off' a little , Gian and others also agreed and they all came to a clearing . Naruto goes through the jutsu's one by one and showed them to all of them .
The kids gets surprised at the jutsu especially the last one 'Soot cloud Jutsu' .
" How is it "
" awesome "
" that was cool "
".....um "
" yehh "
Naruto asked everyone and they all decided to learn the jutsu's but considering the no. of people , Naruto decided another way .
" How about I teach 1 person per day "
" 1 person ??"
" yeah , so I can teach the jutsu throughly "
" that works "
" That's a good solution "
" then , I can go home right?"
" since i will learn three , so I want three days "
Naruto and others decided among each other . Gian will learn tomorrow and then Suneo , Nobita and Shizuka .
Confirming with each other , Naruto and others talked about other things and soon parted ways . This time Naruto remembered Simba .
Seeing everyone going away , Naruto heads back in today's training , but during the evening just before Naruto was deciding to leave the Training Ground , His Grandpa decided to pay a visit .
" Naruto "
" Grandpa ....how are you "
Naruto looked at Hokage , who clearly looks worn out and asked with a 'concerned' face .
" nothing , just some work for the village , how are you , did you take rest yesterday "
" ummm , Here his name is Simba and they are Ram & Rem "
Naruto introduces his pets to the Hokage in the same way as the other time . But the Hokage noticed something else .
( has he already trained them this much ??, but he didn't train with them much since getting them yesterday )
The Hokage noticed the way Ravens flew to Naruto's shoulder without communication .
( ........is it just talent ?? )
" it's a big responsibility , you take care of them well , ok "
" of course ...!! "
The Hokage goes silent in his thoughts and these thoughts changed with naruto's questioning
" Grandpa ?? "
" yeahh , what is naruto "
" what about that lightning jutsu "
".....oh "
" I remembered it throughly , you know just like you said "
" Naruto , it's not that I don't wanna teach you but you need some mastery in other jutsu first "
" others??"
" The Other 4 jutsu "
" why ?"
The Hokage considered his words and answered the blonde kid
" for chakra control , once you have learned others well enough , I will teach you "
" .....is that so "
" don't be like that , how about this , is there anything else you want my help ?"
Naruto goes over his options and decided on something simple
" ......Taijutsu , I guess "
" Taijutsu ??"
" I don't feel myself improving "
" .......the last i checked , it was good "
" umm , you see first "
Naruto takes some distance and starts going through his max. level Academy taijutsu . The Hokage watches Naruto going through the Katas and gets surprised .
From the slowness to speed , Naruto excutes all the moves with a text-book style and then he slowly starts interchanging between them . The Hokage's expression gets serious when he watches Naruto .
( This is .... already better than those teachers in the academy )
The Hokage understood Naruto's distress and the so called ' No improvement ' . Naruto goes through the motions and comes to halt .
" How was it ?? "
" ....good , very good Naruto "
" hehe , but that's not what I mean you know "
" hmm , actually your academy Taijutsu is already impeccable "
" impeccable ?? "
" The Taijutsu style is completly mastered , If you want to improve then either you Increase basic strength , speed ........ OR "
The Hokage takes a drastic pause , and Naruto quickly asks
" OR ?? "
" Learn a new Taijutsu style "
" new Taijutsu style ..!! Then....Grandpa "
" hmm , Taijustsu is not like Ninjutsu Naruto , you need consistency in it "
" huh ..?? "
The Hokage remembered his paperwork and the Village's movement these days . The weight of the hat felt heavier again .
" it means I don't have time to accompany you everyday for Taijutsu "
"...oh "
" But don't worry , I will find someone "
" really "
" hmm , you train in those ninjutsu first , I will see about the taijutsu style "
" yahoo..!! "
The Hokage spends the evening with Naruto , And infuses him with a weekly dose of 'WILL OF FIRE' , this time the will was more powerful and it even included Simba and Ravens .
Naruto bids farewell to hokage like a 'Devotee' and goes on his way to the apartment , while thinking of his owl .
( I did put the food in her Bird-house , i don't know how is Sadako doing , is she missing me ....!! )
=============================
The Hokage Office :
Third Hokage sits on his chair and remembered his evening with Naruto .
( .....Taijutsu mastered ......in just a year , from clueless to mastery , even above those Chunin teachers who are teaching it for years ........ )
The Hokage saw and judged with his own vision , Except for Combat experience and basic Strength , speed . Naruto has already surpassed others in that Academy Taijutsu technically .
( ....not just ninjutsu but also Taijutsu .....there is also Fuinjutsu and that Spiral Shuriken that he is working on )
The Hokage gets both pleased and worried . Pleased because of the talent in ninjutsu , taijutsu from the Jinchuriki and also the strongest weapon of the village .
And Worried for the future , a future that may jeopardise things and shakes the village .
( no , I need to believe in Naruto and his dreams ...... I have watched him under my eyes since Childhood , He will not be like Orochimaru )
Remembering Orochimaru , The Hokage frowned and his thoughts get distracted by the Other Sannin's Letter that he received .
Remembering Jiraiya's worries , The Hokage eyes soften but he also remembered Jiraiya's roundabout way to tell him somethingelse.
( ......in the end , he doesn't want to take any responsibility .....especially like a Hokage )
The Third understood his student well and also felt the distress over it too . The Hokage looks outside the window . looking at the winter moon , The Hokage decided to focus something else .
( Which Taijutsu will be good for Naruto ?? )
The Hokage considered his options
The Strong Fist truly shows his edge for 8 gate users , And then there's Guy's personality too . not good for jinchuriki .
Kakashi is still depressed and doesn't want to bother with anything . He is still making himself numb with missions .
Uchiha's counter style may bring clashes with Uchiha Sauske , and there is also problems to find a teacher for it .
Minato's Swift Style is only for those who have the same reflexes as him , almost impossible for anyone to master it without that gift .
The Hokage's mind goes through all the options , sometimes the style does not fit or other time the teachers themselves have problem .
In the midst of brainstorming , The Hokage comes to another realisation
( Maybe this is a chance ....the clans are coming too close to him , and the civilian ones don't have anyone to contact Jinchuriki , If I can use this then The clans and Civilian Shinobi's Alliance will break )
The Hokage remembered Jiraiya's message and also the movements in the village . Choosing a Civilian Shinobi as a representative to contact with Naruto shouldn't be a problem .
The Clan's are using Naruto's identity and Uchiha's excuse to make moves , then If the Civilian Shinobi have another path .
( Naruto's identity is in open anyway , if I play this right then it will be 2 ......no three birds with one stone )
The Hokage's political mind moved and he starts considering his options
( Minato's squad will not do , they may get emotional .......a neutral one will do )
Now that the direction is set , The Hokage focuses back on Naruto
( He is already at Chunin level anyway .........what about ANBU style Taijutsu )
After deciding the Taijutsu , Hokage broods alone in the office and soon his mind flashed .
( But what i want is not a shinobi but a Ninja , who doesn't influence Naruto or speak any nonsense with any personal feelings , and someone with enough sway in the KONOHA Civilian Shinobi )
The Hokage already decided the candidate
( Someone who knows Jinchuriki and also Naruto's other identity , a person who the village trusts ........at Minato's time ......and even now )
Naruto straightens up and calls out to his secretary
" ....Maho "
" Hokage-sama "
" Summon Hattori ......Ninja Hattori "