Chapter Three
It had been three months since Jiro had left, leaving Naruto to study alone. In two weeks, the blonde ninja-in-training had mastered the water-walking technique. In another two, he had learned his very first technique: the henge.
Let's just say it did not bode well for our villagers who were, most of the time, at the receiving end of Naruto's pranks.
After a month and a half, he had learned Kawarimi and a fire jutsu. The bunshin scroll was deliberately ignored. In two months, he had learned that he could walk up a tree using his chakra. This had something to do with Iruka and Gai chasing after him. Iruka, because of the trip-wire Naruto set on the hallways and Gai, because Naruto bluntly refused the latest spandex suit that Gai had just bought.
---
Naruto was doing sit-ups on top of the water, sweat trickling down his face. From out of nowhere, Gai-sensei had appeared, struck a pose and jumped on top of a log, his hands placed on his hips. "Naruto-kun, where are you?"
One glance and Naruto's concentration disappeared, making him fall into the cold water. He did a henge and turned into a dog. Paddling out of the water, he ran for his life once he set foot on the ground. He looked back and saw that Gai-sensei wasn't there. He turned around and bumped into something hard.
"A stray dog without a collar!" The voice was enthusiastic, making Naruto flinch. "I must bring you to the pound at once!"
He whined and tried to run but Gai-sensei managed to catch his tail and pulled it. Hard.
He cancelled his technique and looked at his sensei fearfully. His hand was inching for the kunai on his hip holster.
"Oh, Naruto-kun! I have found you, at last!" Gai-sensei had burst into tears and grabbed Naruto's hands. "I will never let go of these hands until I have finished your training!"
---
Naruto leaned against a tree and took deep breaths. He had managed to escape Gai-sensei's wrath. How? He himself did not know.
He wiped the sweat off his face and made for the apartment.
---
His hand reached for the switch and was surprised to see Jiro, Gai, Iruka, and another man sitting by his dinner table. Jiro stood up and grinned.
"Know what today is?" The orange-haired Jounin asked.
Naruto looked at him blankly. "The day you come back from your mission?"
"Well, I guess you could say that but, it's actually your birthday today." Jiro explained and grinned.
Naruto looked at his calendar and saw that it was the 10th of October. He closed his eyes and grinned, his hand scratching his head. "Well, it is, isn't it?"
"So we decided to give you a birthday party!" Gai said and made a pose.
A knock was heard from the door. Naruto turned around and opened it. Sure enough, it was Ayame, carrying a large ramen box. The girl smiled. "Happy birthday, Naruto. Dad told me to bring this for you."
Naruto wordlessly accepted the ramen box. Jiro went beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Will you be joining us?" Jiro asked.
Ayame shook her head and answered politely, "I still have to deliver a couple of things. A lot of people are celebrating today." She bowed and left.
Jiro narrowed his eyes for a moment and sighed, looking away from the door. "The festival."
"The festival?" Naruto asked.
"To celebrate the fall of the demon fox, Kyuubi," Jiro explained and smiled weakly. "Why don’t we start eating?"
"Ok," Naruto answered back and went to the cabinet for some bowls. He took out five of them and juggled them towards the table.
Naruto paused in front of the man who had black hair and white eyes. He turned towards Jiro and asked. "Neh, Jiro-san, who's he?"
"That is Hyuuga Haru, one of my ex-teammates. He's a Jounin-sensei now," Jiro explained and smiled wryly. "I thought I might invite him to the party."
"Cool," Naruto said and grinned at the Hyuuga who had stiffened a bit. "Are you related to Hinata-san?"
"Ie, no," he answered and shook his head. "I am a branch member."
Naruto frowned. What's a branch member? He looked at Jiro and Iruka who were looking at him expectantly. I'll pretend I know what's going on so they won’t think I'm an idiot. He grinned at Haru. "Cool."
---
Naruto yawned and slipped on the bed, his mind still on the party. It had been one of the best moments in his life, second only to when he had discovered Ichiraku. He pulled his nightcap on and looked at the gifts on the foot of his bed.
He had gotten a new set of kunai from Iruka and a small genjutsu scroll to make things inconspicuous. From Jiro, it was a box of clothes that fitted Naruto better and was cool. From Hyuuga Haru, it was a chart of the human anatomy with the vital points and organs highlighted. And lastly, from Gai, a pair of daggers that could be joined together. It also had a simple mechanism which made the daggers longer.
Naruto was clearly surprised when Gai had given him that; the last two years, he wasn't so lucky. When he had turned eight the man had given him a ticket for a free bowl cut, claiming that Naruto's hair made it hard for him to see properly. To get the man to stop fussing, he had bought a pair of cheap goggles which was positioned on top of his head.
When he had turned nine, it was a sort of cream-like substance that would make Naruto's eyebrows larger and fuzzier. He had accidentally dumped it on Iruka's eyebrows. Naruto had detention for a month.
But this year was different. He was expecting the latest spandex suit in the market or something that would make his teeth sparkle every time he smiled. Or even a book on the different Nice Guy poses. Instead, he got a pair of daggers that would make any other ten year-old jealous.
After Gai had given Naruto his gift, Jiro had whispered in Naruto's ear of how he managed to persuade Gai to buy something that didn't involve becoming a mirror image or a clone of the flashy ninja.
Naruto grinned and whispered silently. "Thanks, Jiro-sensei."
---
Naruto examined himself in the mirror. He was wearing a black shirt underneath a blue vest with an orange spiral at the back. It also had a small red fox curled at the lower left and had pockets the size of Naruto's hands.
He was wearing a pair of dark blue armbands with slits on the sides where weights can be inserted. There was a large square metal on each band which can be used for defense. He wore a pair of blue pants which he folded a few inches below his knees. These gave space for the metal leg protectors strapped on his calves. Weights were also inserted in the sides. The last thing to be noted was a pair of black sandals that matched the black goggles he also wore on top of his forehead, replacing the goggles he had bought two years ago.
He grinned. He looked really cool. He was a bit disappointed that his clothes did not possess as much orange as it used to but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?
He looked at the clock on top of his drawer and smiled. He still had a couple of minutes before classes started. Because it was his birthday yesterday, Gai had given him one day of vacation.
He stretched. Maybe for once, he wouldn’t fall asleep in class.
---
"What do you think you're doing, falling asleep again?" Iruka shouted angrily at his blonde student.
The blonde ninja trainee looked up blearily at his sensei and grinned. "Gomen, gomen, Iruka-sensei."
"We were just discussing about the Kawarimi no Jutsu," Iruka said. "If you managed to even catch a snippet of what we were talking about, you might be able to perform it correctly."
Naruto scratched his cheek. "I don't understand you, Sensei."
"Just do a Kawarimi, Baka!" Iruka growled.
"Hai, hai," Naruto placed his hands on the pockets of his vest. Since he had changed his clothing, movement was easier, plus, he didn't look as much of an idiot as he usually did.
He walked to the front, his fingers moving into familiar seals. He stopped, turned towards them and shouted, "Kawarimi no Jutsu!"
Sasuke appeared in front of them with a dazed expression on his face. "How?"
"Gomen, Sasuke," Naruto grinned and walked towards the front from his position in the back. "You were the closest one around."
---
"Gai, it has come to my attention that you have been teaching Naruto for the past three years," Jiro said and leaned against a log, watching the other Jounin practice on a training dummy.
"Hai, it is true that I train the ever youthful Naruto-kun," the Jounin answered, never once wavering from his attack.
"If it is possible, can I take over the taijutsu training?" Jiro asked.
"Why is that, Jiro-kun? You do know that my taijutsu skill is the best in this village," Gai reasoned. "Besides, the Uzumaki clan does not specialize in taijutsu fighting. Unless you plan to teach him yours?"
"Yes, I do," Jiro said. "That's why I asked you to buy him that weapon."
Gai stopped his assault and nodded. "I see."
Jiro tossed a towel to Gai. "Will you let me?"
"Yes," Gai said and wiped off the sweat on his forehead. "On the condition that you do not remove the weights that he is wearing right now. Also, do not try to add more. Considering the weight of the weapons your clan always uses, I don't think Naruto will need the double burden."
Jiro smiled. "I agree, and thank you for letting me."
---
Sasuke blinked. What just happened?
Naruto walked to the front and slapped Sasuke on the back before grinning. "Gomen, Sasuke. You were the closest one around."
Did Naruto just—?
"Th-thank you, Naruto-kun, for showing us the correct way of doing a Kawarimi," Iruka said and laughed uncomfortably.
No. It can't be.
"I have such an excellent teacher," Naruto said and puffed his chest in pride.
"You were asleep the whole time," Sakura pointed out.
"I have…very good listening skills," Naruto said and wiggled his ears to prove his point.
Sasuke frowned. He was probably lucky.
He watched Naruto walk back to his seat. The boy was making Nice Guy poses. He didn't even see the tripwire he set up and promptly fell.
"Neh, Naruto, you alright?" Kiba asked and looked at the fallen blondie. The boy lifted a hand wearily and did a thumbs-up.
Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. Yeah, lucky.
---
"Show me what you've learned, Naruto," Jiro said and smiled at his student. The boy made a face and nodded.
He ran towards the water, not bothering to position his fingers into a tiger seal. Once he reached the water, he stood there for a moment before running towards the tree and walking on it without the use of his hands. He jumped down, creating seals he knew too well. When he landed, a log appeared in his place.
For a moment there was only silence. Jiro was about to call Naruto, when a mirror-image of Jiro appeared from the water. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A large fireball appeared from his mouth, burning the log to ashes.
Jiro grinned and clapped as he watched his mirror-image turn back into Naruto. He walked towards the blonde and ruffled his hair. "You're getting good, Naruto, but you forgot to do one more jutsu."
"One more?" Naruto asked, trying to sound innocent.
"The bunshin, Naruto," Jiro said.
The ninja-in-training sighed. "Fine." He placed his fingers in a tiger seal and concentrated, ignoring the sweat trickling down his face. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A bad copy of Naruto lay on the ground. Jiro laughed.
"It isn't funny," Naruto said and pouted.
Wiping a tear off his face, Jiro looked at Naruto seriously. "You really can't do it?"
Naruto nodded. "I can do the other techniques fine, but the bunshin?" He shrugged. "It just doesn’t come easy to me."
"There's probably a good explanation for that," Jiro said. "I'll ask Haru to see if there's anything wrong with you."
"Is Haru a doctor?" Naruto asked and frowned.
"No, but he can use Byakugan to see your chakra coils," Jiro explained. "Perhaps something is wrong there. If not, well, everyone has their weak points right?"
---
Shikamaru stared at the sky through half-opened lids. The sky looked nice today.
"Teme! Why are you always hitting me first?" Naruto's voice rang in the air.
"That's because you have such a weak defense," Kiba answered back, his voice equally loud.
"You're both so…noisy," Shino muttered. No one heard him except Shikamaru.
"It's just a game, guys," Chouji said and received two death glares from his friends.
"Just a game? Just a game?" Naruto asked. "It's not, okay? It's not!" Shikamaru could almost hear his friend pout. "At least you're not like Sasuke-teme." The blonde ninja-in-training grumbled sullenly.
"Yeah, I hate that guy. He always predicts our moves, damn him. Who asked him to join us anyway?" Kiba asked.
Shikamaru turned to look at his friends and saw Naruto raise his hand.
"Sorry about that. Just wanted to prove that I'm better than him at something." Naruto said and made a face.
"Well, he proved you wrong, dumbass!"
"Teme! Don't call me that!"
Shikamaru sighed. Perhaps it was time to learn that Kagemane jutsu his father kept telling him about.
---
"Neh, Jiro-san, where's Gai-sensei?" Naruto asked and scratched his cheek.
"Gai will no longer be coming over. I'm taking over your training, Naruto, so I think its Jiro-sensei for now," Jiro said and smiled at his student.
"What are you gonna teach me about?" Naruto asked and tilted his head. He had his thinking face on.
"I'm going to teach you how to wield those two daggers Gai had bought you for your birthday," Jiro said and smiled.
---
Weeks had turned to months as Naruto's training had progressed. In that time, Jiro had made Naruto do two more exercises that would make his control over chakra better. One was called the Rock Smashing Exercise. Naruto was forced to crush small stones with a stone that he had in his hand. Normally, with his strength alone he could destroy about fifty of these stones. Jiro's exercise demanded something far more than just that though.
For one thing, he had to break about a thousand of them which Naruto deemed impossible. For another thing, he had to do it without breaking the stone he was holding which he felt was even more impossible.
These two things became his major problem. Turning to Jiro for some clues, the man only gave him one word: chakra.
Even with that knowledge, it was still hard for him to control his chakra and guide it towards the stone which he was holding.
Eventually, he had managed to do it. It had taken him six weeks.
Of course, in those six weeks, he had also mastered the basics of using his daggers and a jutsu that helped enhance the blade's length.
The other exercise was called Paper Walking Exercise. It was a little bit like the Water Walking Exercise, except, in this case, Naruto had to walk through a paper-thin material stretched on top of two clay jars without breaking it. With the experience he had from the Rock Smashing Exercise, it had only taken him a week to do it.
---
Jiro dropped a large, slightly battered scroll on the ground. He patted the scroll and grinned. "Today, we'll be studying this," he said and pushed the scroll, letting it fall on the ground.
Naruto cracked an eyelid and grinned back. He jumped from his lotus position and promptly fell as the paper underneath him gave way. He winced. "This is the fifth one today that I lost my concentration."
"At least you're getting better at it," Jiro said. He sat besides the scroll and let Naruto examine it.
"Neh, neh, I thought you were going to teach me a new jutsu! This isn't a new jutsu! It's the kind of boring crap that Iruka-sensei usually teaches us," Naruto whined and pouted.
Jiro sighed and scratched his head. "I think it's time I give you a history lesson."
"Do you have to?" Naruto asked and made a face. "Well this sucks."
"It's about your clan, Naruto," Jiro said. "So you better listen up."
Naruto perked up and smiled. "Really? Really? Cool!"
"The Uzumaki clan is a special clan that specializes on jutsu creation." Jiro explained. "They were known throughout the village as geniuses in both ninjutsu and genjutsu. They could practically learn any jutsu—except of course those under the advance bloodline limit—and could even modify them to satisfy their needs."
"Really? Cool! Jutsu Creation Specialist: Uzumaki Naruto. I like the sound of that," Naruto said and beamed. His face fell as he remembered something. "If the Uzumakis can learn any jutsu, why can't I learn the Bunshin?"
Jiro smacked his head and made a face. "Gomen, gomen, Naruto. I forgot to ask Haru to take a look at you. Maybe later," his face turned serious as he stared at Naruto. "For now, I must tell you a bit about your family history. It's not about how it started—for that you have a scroll waiting for you back at the apartment—but the downfall of your clan so you better listen up."
"Why?" Naruto asked, confused. "Why is that, Sensei? Isn't the downfall of a clan a bit depressing? Why not how it started? You confuse me, Sensei."
"I'm going to talk about the downfall because my clan is involved as well," Jiro said and looked at Naruto straight in the eye. "It's time I tell you how your parents died and how it became my fault."
Naruto's eyebrows deepened in a frown. "If you say so, Sensei."
"Ten years ago, a great demon appeared in this land," Jiro said mournfully. "It was known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He killed many people. But did you know how he appeared?"
Naruto shook his head and looked at Jiro with wide curious eyes. "How?"
Jiro took a deep breath and let it out. He looked at Naruto with sad eyes and sighed. "You have to find out about our clan first."
"Just tell me already," Naruto said impatiently.
"The Kyozuka clan's specialty is in summoning. But it's not as simple as a frog or a snake. We can summon beasts that are called Aeons. They are also called Espers, Eidolons or Guardian Forces, but I guess they felt that the name was already appropriate and decided not to change it."
"Aeons?" Naruto asked and scratched his head.
Jiro nodded and stood. He did seals, some that even Naruto did not recognize. He bit his lip and stretched his hand in the air. "Kyozuka Special Summoning Technique! Come forth Valefor of the wind."
A great gush of wind came as a large winged creature appeared. It was probably twelve meters long with silky feathers and strange markings on its back. The shape of its wings looked like a crossbreed of a bat's and a butterfly's. On its head was a metallic helmet that covered most of its face. Below it was a beak, half a meter long.
Jiro-sama, it has been a long time since you have summoned me. The great beast spoke.
Jiro smiled. "Valefor." He turned towards Naruto. "Valefor is but one of the many summons that you can possess. That is, if you let me adopt you," he murmured the last words softly.
Naruto bit his lip and looked down. He was still unsure if he wanted Jiro to adopt him. The offer was tempting but…but Naruto felt that he didn't deserve Jiro as a father.
Do you need me for something, Jiro-sama? The Aeon enquired.
Jiro shook his head. "You may go, Valefor."
Valefor bowed and disappeared.
Jiro sat down and looked at Naruto. "My father wanted to become stronger. He wanted our clan to rise in rank," he looked down and fiddled with a twig. "So one day, he, with his stupid idiotic plans, decided to call forth the Kyuubi and fuse it with one of his Aeons."
"But it backfired, right?" Naruto asked.
"Hai. He was almost finished in sealing it when the Kyuubi broke free and killed him. It was angered that a mortal was able to summon it from its kingdom and decided to kill everyone in the village."
"What happened?"
"Ichiro, my older brother, offered his services to the Yondaime. He gave the former Hokage some of our family's scrolls, saying that the Yondaime might be able to figure out a way to stop the demon. After that, he rallied the whole clan, leaving only my grandmother and me to hide far from the village," Jiro wiped away a stray tear and continued. "Our clan faced that demon for five days and five nights. By the fifth night, only Ichiro remained but he was severely wounded."
"Really? Did he die?" Naruto asked softly.
Jiro ignored the question and continued on. "Now, in those five days, the Yondaime, sought the help of his twin, Kazama Kaien. Kaien was not good at creating jutsus," Jiro looked up and met Naruto's eyes. "But his wife, Uzumaki Amari, was. Your mother—"
"My mom?" Naruto asked and looked at Jiro with wide eyes. "And Kaien's my dad?"
Jiro nodded. "Your mother poured over the scrolls and was able to create a jutsu that can stop the Kyuubi. However, before she could finish testing the jutsu, she had to go through operation."
"Why?" Naruto cut in.
"Because she had problems with giving birth to you. On ordinary circumstances, your mom would have been able to survive the operation. But, with the medic-nins stretched thinly trying to heal everyone who was injured, your mom died giving birth to you."
Naruto looked down. "Mom," he whispered quietly. He looked up at Jiro and said, "What happened?"
"With the combined power of your father and your uncle, the Yondaime, they were able to seal the Kyuubi.," Jiro said. "This is supposed to be a secret but—" he looked at Naruto and smiled. "—I know you're ready for this."
"Ready for what?" Naruto frowned and scratched his cheek.
"The truth," Jiro murmured. "The Kyuubi was sealed inside of you."
"Really? So that's why the villagers hate me." Naruto said and sighed. He looked at Jiro. "You don't hate me, do you?"
"Of course not, Naruto. How can I hate you when it was my own damn father's fault for summoning the Kyuubi?" Jiro said. Sadly, he murmured. "You should be the one hating me."
"How could I hate you when you've helped me so much, Jiro?" Naruto grinned weakly. "Plus, you have the coolest hair. I can't hate you for that." He looked at the orange-haired Jounin seriously and asked. "Now what happened to Ichiro? I really want to know."
"Besides needing the power and vessel to stop the Kyuubi, the Yondaime also needed to have an Aeon whose power involved sealing. Since no such Aeon existed, Ichiro talked to the Elders and asked that he be made into one." Jiro explained. "He gave up his life to become an Aeon. He became the Shinigami." Jiro smiled wryly. "As for the rest of the story? You probably know what happens next."
Naruto nodded, his thinking face on. He looked at Jiro. "Ok, so the Kyuubi's sealed. That doesn't explain my clan's downfall though."
Jiro sighed, tired of explaining. "Your clan was not only known for being experts at jutsu creation. They were also known for being the smallest clan ever, because most of the adults there are barren."
"Barren?"
"They can’t bear children." Jiro answered. "They say it's because one of their ancestors cursed the whole clan. Now, only the clan head or heir may be able to have children."
"Oh," Naruto said and tilted his head. "I didn't know clans were so complicated."
"I know," Jiro said and smiled. "Of course, it will become even more complicated once you become clan head and all."
"Why's that?"
"Oh, you know, things like marriage and having babies and stuff," Jiro said offhandedly.
Naruto made a face. "But why aren't you married?"
Jiro chuckled. "I'm still young." Plus, if you let me adopt you, I won't have to. Jiro thought but did not say aloud.
"Then I'm glad that I'm younger than you."
Jiro smiled wryly and shrugged, "Whatever you say, Naruto." He looked at the blonde seriously and gestured at the scroll. "The scroll I brought you has all the information about the basic hand seals: how to do them and how to use them for creating and modifying jutsus. I expect you to finish memorizing all of them by Monday." Jiro ordered. In a lighter tone he said, "I'll treat you to ramen later."
Naruto was about to groan when he perked up and grinned at the thought of eating his favorite food. "Cool!"
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Chapter notes: Explanations. A bit of showing off. And more explanations. Also, a new OC.
Chapter end notes: The part where Shikamaru was lazing about and Naruto and the others were playing was based on something that really happened. They were actually playing a game called Magic. They just sort of clap their hands against each other and do a certain symbol that have a certain amount of points. The winner is the guy who manages to get the strongest symbol without being 'killed' by the others.