Nine years after the Kyubi attack
Fortunately for Konoha and its inhabitants, the damage caused by the Uchiha Coup D'etat wasn't as severe as the one caused by the Kyubi, both in terms of human deaths and property destruction. In a few weeks, Konoha was functioning like normal, even if it's forces were considerably weaker. Still, Jiraiya made an effort to make the village look strong and did not stop or even slow down the flow of missions.
One of Konoha's institutions that was also back to normal was the Academy. It was the beginning or a new school year, and Jiraiya's educational reforms were starting to take effect. Namely, the fact that quite a few students, especially those born from civilian families, found the new Academy way too hard and moved to civilian schools.
Still, there were at least three new faces to replace some of the drop outs.
"Welcome back once again to the Academy, kids. At least, those who passed last years' exam. Before we begin, we have three new students that moved recently to Konoha. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"
The first one to take a step forward was a girl with shoulder-length red hair, red eyes, and glasses.
"Hello. My name is Karin Uzumaki. I haven't been much time in Konoha, but I like this place so far, and wish to be a ninja," Karin said.
"Hey, I'm an Uzumaki too!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his hand at her. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Naruto, please don't interrupt!" Iruka sternly chided. "You can talk with Karin later if you wish. Now, who wants to go next?"
This time, a girl with long, brown hair took a step forward.
"Hi everybody, my name is Tamaki. I used to live with my grandma on an abandoned city, but she thought it would be good for me to move here. I obviously want to be a ninja and, well... I love cats!"
Tamaki heard a dismissive snort in response. She didn't know where it came from, but many people realized it was Kiba, who looked at the girl with contempt.
Without waiting for Iruka to tell him anything, the last newcomer introduced himself.
"Hello. My name is Haku Yuki. I come from the Land of Water. People like me aren't well liked there, so I'm staying in Konoha until things get better," Yugao and Hayate had told him not to mention his relationship with Zabuza to people who didn't know about it already, at least for the time being. "You look like nice people, and I'm eager to meet all of you."
Shino raised his hand.
"Yes Shino?" Iruka asked.
"I wish to ask Haku-san something, if it's okay with that."
"Of course, I'm sure that Haku will be glad to answer any question you might have about him," still, Iruka looked at Haku for his approval. The kid silently nodded.
"Him?" repeated many voices in disbelief.
"My question does not pertain his gender," Shino clarified, before adjusting his shades. "You said that 'people like you' aren't welcome in the Land of Water. Does that mean that you have a Bloodline Limit?"
"Yes. I possess the Ice Release Bloodline," Haku replied in a neutral tone, used to mask his inner worry.
"But you don't have to worry. Here in Konoha nobody will hate you for having such abilities," Iruka reassured the girl-looking boy. "Now that you have introduced yourselves, go and take a seat."
Tamaki sat on an empty seat besides a bored Shikamaru. Haku took an empty seat in the first row. Karin was about to sit besides Naruto and Hinata, but something else caught her attention. Namely, Sasuke Uchiha's good looks. And fortunately for her, there was an empty spot besides him. Naruto's face dropped when Karin choose to sit with his rival instead of him, her family.
Sasuke acknowledged Karin with a sigh. The redhead then noticed that another girl sat at Sasuke's other side, one with long pink hair, was glaring daggers at her.
"Maybe you should try sitting somewhere else, Karin," a voice said from the upper tables. Karin turned around and saw a blonde girl looking at her. "While I can see what spurned you to sit besides Sasuke, you must know that he comes from a clan of traitors and murderers. It can't be safe being near him. I'm sure you'll be better with Naruto. He's your family after all."
Sasuke didn't seem to react to the blonde's hurtful words, but the pinkette besides him surely did.
"Can it Ino! Sasuke had nothing to do with the coup d'etat and you know it! Stop being such a idiot to him already! You weren't the only one who lost somebody that day!"
"And you should stop defending him, Sakura! Oh, yeah, Sasuke lost his clan, boo hoo hoo. Maybe they should have thought that before trying to take over Konoha!"
"Enough you two!" Iruka bellowed, silencing the feuding girls. "I'm not going to tolerate that kind of talk, okay!? Yes, the Uchiha coup d'etat was a dark day in this village's history, but harboring resentment won't be of any help!"
Haku was starting to understand why he was told to keep his ties with Zabuza a secret. Tamaki, however, wasn't deterred by Ino's words. Her family had always been a staunch ally of the Uchiha clan, and he would show his support to Sasuke. His good looks didn't hurt either.
"Alright, now that we calmed down, let's start. Open your Tools of the Ninja books on page 3..."
...
Jiraiya was working tirelessly in his office as usual. Even with the aid of a couple Shadow Clones, it seemed that the paperwork would never end. He really missed the amount of free time he used to have back then, which he spent either training Naruto, Hagane and Kaida, or spending quality time with his wife. Now those moments were far scarcer. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he decided that a break was in order (though the clones continued working).
He opened a drawer, and pulled out the as of yet unfinished draft of his next Icha Icha volume. Progress had been slow, so he better hurry up and finish this one. He'd hate to make his loyal fans restless. However, there was something in the drawer that caught the Hokage's attention: his very first novel. He grabbed it, and remembered he had with his godson some months ago.
FLASHBACK
Somebody knocked the door of Jiraiya's office.
"Come in!" Jiraiya shouted. He was relieved to have a little break from the endless mountain of paperwork.
Much to his surprise, his godson entered the office. Jiraiya's smile grew even wider. "Naruto! Great to see you here! Did you come to see your old man at his new job?"
Naruto smiled back. "More or less. Well, that, and that I have a few questions that I think only you can answer."
Jiraiya leaned back on his chair, and crossed his fingers above his lap. "Well, that's what I'm here for. What kind of trouble do you have? Is something wrong with the Academy? With your mother? It is a girl you like? Of course it's a girl!"
"It's none of that!" Naruto cut him off before he could come up with more ridiculous scenarios. He fished something from one of his pockets, and handed it to Jiraiya.
The surprised Sannin saw that it wasn't just his very first book, but the one he gave Minato as a gift. Jiraiya's expression darkened. "Naruto...where did you find this?"
"In the underground shelter, inside a box," Naruto replied. "That book was so good! So much better than the stuff you write nowadays! Why didn't you tell me about it before? And why don't you write more books like this one?"
"I see. To answer your questions...you could say that I forgot about it," Jiraiya sighed heavily. "First, there's the fact that the book hardly sold. You and your father where the only people who gave me any kind of positive feedback."
"People who disliked your books were morons," Naruto bluntly stated.
"And second...this book reminded me of your father too much, and the life he will never have, thanks to the Kyubi and that masked bastard that nearly killed Tsunade-hime. I thought that I was over it but...after all these years, the pain still persists."
"I see. Sorry for bringing up then..." Naruto said, averting his gaze.
Jiraiya forced himself to smile. "Hey, it's okay! It's not that you knew about it. I would have done the same in your situation. By the way, what else did you saw in that box?"
"Nothing too interesting. Except a bunch of old pictures," Naruto answered. "But now I'm too afraid to ask..."
"Don't be," Jiraiya assured. "What kind of pictures?"
"Well, the ones in which you and mom were younger...and a couple of my birth parents...but then there was this one with you and three kids that I didn't recognize. Who were they?"
"Three kids? A ginger, a redhead and a bluenette?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto nodded. "Those were a trio of orphans from Amegakure that I taught ninjutsu and survival skills for two years, back during the second war."
"What happened with them?"
"The last time I heard of them, they formed some sort of freedom fighting group, and were about to face the leader of Amegakure. I never knew anything about them after that. The poor bastards are probably buried two meters underground now."
"I see...no wonder you wanted to forget about the contents of that box..."
"Yeah, that box is kinda like a compilation of all my failures, isn't it?" Jiraiya said, almost chuckling. "That's me, the master that ends up surviving his students."
"But hey, if it's of any consolation, you know that such thing won't happen with me!" Naruto boldly declared. "Besides, you did plenty of good things too! I mean, you're Hokage! How many people can say that?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at his godson's unwavering optimism. Yeah, Jiraiya's life didn't turn out so bad, did it? He married the girl of his dreams, had other two kids besides Naruto –both of them who had rare bloodline limits, despite neither him nor Tsunade possessing any– and even if it was something that he didn't want, he was the leader of Konoha.
"You know what, Naruto? I think you have a point," the Sannin conceded. He then looked at the book. "And I think that maybe this book deserves a second chance..."
END FLASHBACK
Jiraiya was snapped of his thoughts when somebody knocked the door. After telling the stranger to come in, the door opened to reveal the person he was expecting to meet, Itachi Uchiha.
"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" Itachi asked.
Jiraiya nodded, and motioned him to take a seat. "First of all, I'm aware of how much you sacrificed for the village, and what I'm going to ask you may seem a bit too much, so don't be afraid of declining my proposal if you're not up to the task."
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, but if I that was the case, then I wouldn't become a ninja to begin with. Especially now that I'm a Jonin," the Uchiha replied. "Just tell me what you want, and it will be done."
"Your devotion to the village is admirable. Okay, here it goes: as you probably know, I used to be Sarutobi-sensei's main informant during his second tenure. During that time, I build a spy network across the Elemental Nations. However, due to my new responsibilities, I can't leave the village as often as I could in the past, so I need somebody whom I can trust to take care of this task."
"And you thought of me for it," Itachi guessed. The Hokage nodded. "Alright, consider it done."
"Are you sure? Keep in mind that this job sometimes involves leaving the village for long periods of time. You won't be able to spend as much time with your little brother as in the past."
"Thanks for your concern, but I can assure you that it won't be a problem. Sasuke doesn't seem to be very eager to talk or even spend time with me. Maybe I should give him some space, and this job might be good for me as well."
"I see that you made up your mind. If that's the case, meet me tomorrow at five o'clock sharp so I can teach you about your new occupation. You're dismissed."
...
Later, at lunchtime, Naruto and Hinata were sitting on a bench, enjoying their food and each other's company, while they looked others kids playing, talking, or eating their lunches as well. Naruto's eyes were particularly fixed on Karin, and much to his displeasure, the redhead refused to abandon Sasuke's side.
"Man, this sucks. I find a lost clan member, and she has to spend the time with that idiot," Naruto groaned.
"Eh, I'm sure that Karin-san will be more than glad to meet you, Naruto-kun. Just wait for the right moment to introduce yourself," Hinata suggested.
"Man, what does that idiot have that all the girls all flock around him?" Naruto complained. "You know, it almost seem that a higher being sent Karin to Konoha to fill Ino's vacant spot now that she doesn't fawn over Sasuke anymore," Naruto angrily said. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at Naruto's comment.
"Well, Sasuke-san...some girls like his looks, as well as his strength," Hinata explained.
"Man, I'm so glad that at least you don't go after him like the other girls" Naruto said, smiling at Hinata. "I'd hate to lose you too to him."
Hinata blushed a bit. "Y-you don't have to worry about that, Naruto-kun. You're my f-friend, I will always be a-at your side."
"Speaking of friends, maybe we should befriend the new guys?" Naruto suggested. "I mean, not only they're new, but they aren't even from Konoha, so I doubt they have any friends here already."
"I don't see why not. The three of them look like nice people."
"Cool! Well, Karin-neechan is out of the question since he's with that idiot, so how about Tamaki?" Naruto suggested as he scanned the playground with his eyes, trying to track her.
"I like cats too. Maybe I could use that to approach her?" Hinata asked, both to herself and Naruto.
"Oh, there she is!" Naruto finally located the cat kunoichi...and much to his dismay, she walked towards Sasuke. "Oh come on! She too!? Besides, Sasuke isn't even paying attention!"
"M-maybe we should approach the boy of the Land of Water?" Hinata meekly suggested. "He's sitting all alone in that bench."
"I swear if he was actually a girl, he would be trying to get Sasuke's attention too," Naruto muttered with a groan. "Oh, I think you don't know this, but Haku's adoptive dad helped the Uchiha in the coup d'etat."
Hinata was taken aback. "He did?"
"Yeah, and he's in prison now. Dad was planning to have him executed, but changed it to jail time with the condition of Haku becoming a Konoha ninja."
"I...I see," Hinata said. For obvious reasons, the mere mention of the coup d'etat caused her great sorrow.
"On second thought, maybe we shouldn't talk to him..."
"N-no, no!" Hinata quickly said. "W-we shouldn't judge others based on actions t-they were not responsible of."
Thanks to the Caged Bird Seal the Branch House Hyugas were forced to carry, Hinata knew very well what it feels to be personally accused of something people close to you did. She remember the time when Branch House members used to look at her with pure scorn, as well as muttering under their breath things Hinata couldn't hear, but could imagine. Fortunately, things got better over time as the Branch House Hyugas got to know Hinata better.
Once they finished their lunch, they approached Haku, who had just finishing eating as well, and was putting the remains of his bento inside his backpack.
"Hi, Haku!" Naruto enthusiastically greeted. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And this is my friend Hinata Hyuga!"
"W-we'd like to know you better, if it's okay with you. Can we sit with you?" the Hyuga asked.
Haku smiled at the duo. "Sure, I can use some company," the Ice Ninja moved aside so Naruto and Hinata could sit. "And I think it will be good if I get to know some people here already."
"Great!" Naruto sat down. Hinata did likewise.
"You said you have a Bloodline Limit, right? I also have a Bloodline Limit too, but it's different from yours," Hinata mentioned.
"Really? Interesting. Do you mind telling me more?"
"My Bloodline Limit is called Byakugan. It allows me to see through solid objects, gives me 360 degrees vision, and I can see people's chakra pathway system."
"It sounds mostly interesting," Haku said, still smiling. "Like I said before, my Bloodline Limit is Ice Release. I can combine wind chakra with water chakra to create ice. Look."
Haku placed his hands as if he was grabbing an invisible ball. Focusing his chakra, he created a small snowball that floated in mid air. Naruto and Hinata watched the display, eyes widen in fascination.
"Whoa, that was so cool!" Naruto praised.
"You think so?"
"Of course? Why would we lie?" Hinata asked.
"Well, it's that...if I did this in my country, some people would want to kill me."
"Is that...how you lost your parents?" Hinata asked, then she mentally chided herself for not realizing that she was dealing with a sensitive topic. Fortunately for her, Haku didn't seem to mind.
"Yes. Our neighbors assaulted our home shortly after I awoke my powers. Guess that somebody saw me. I lost my entire family that day," Haku explained, omitting the most horrifying details –namely, his father's role.
"And then you met Zabuza," Naruto stated matter-o-factly.
Haku was taken aback by the blond's statement. His normally relaxed expression tensed. "H-How do you...?"
"My dad's the Hokage. There's little going on on this village that I'm not aware of," Naruto proudly said. While being the Hokage's son gave him access to quite some privileged information, his statement was an exaggeration.
"I see. In that case, I must ask you too not to tell anybody about Zabuza-sama. I'm afraid that it may make my stay here tad more unpleasant."
"Don't worry! Your secret is safe with us! Right Hinata?" the blond asked, and the bluenette nodded in return.
"By the way, do you have a Bloodline Limit as well?" Haku asked.
"What? Oh, no, I don't have that. But I'm a Jinchuriki, you know!" Normally, that wasn't something he would be proud of, but Haku and Hinata talking about their Bloodlines made him feel a bit left out, and wanted to show something that made him special, even if it was a curse.
"A... Jinchuriki?"
"Yeah, it's a-"
"I know what a Jinchuriki is," Haku cut him before he could explain his condition.
"You do?"
"Yes. The current Mizukage is one."
Naruto was starry eyed. "Really? That's so cool! If he can be a Kage, then-!"
"It's NOT cool!" Haku suddenly yelled. Naruto was taken aback. Hinata flinched.
"W-why is not, Haku-kun?" the Hyuga fearfully asked.
"He's the reason people like me are hated! He's ruining Kirigakure, and the whole country! That's why Zabuza-sama wanted to depose him!" Haku angrily shouted. Then again, Haku wasn't aware –or was deliberately ignoring– Zabuza's own ambition of becoming Mizukage. Upon seeing Naruto and Hinata's faces, Haku quickly regained his composure. "I'm...I'm sorry for that outburst. You have nothing to do with my plight. Don't think that I hate all Jinchuriki because one ruined my life, Naruto-kun."
"Eh...it's okay!" Naruto said, with one of trademark grins. "Hey, guess what? When I become Hokage, I'll talk some sense into that Mizukage so it's safe for you to go back to your home!"
"I...thank you, Naruto-kun. I appreciate the gesture," Haku sighed. If it was only that easy...
"By the way, I'd like to know how strong you are. Want to spar against us?" Naruto asked.
"That sounds nice, Naruto-kun. That way I can also measure how strong you two are."
…
Later that day, once the Academy was over, Naruto bid Hinata and Haku goodbye and headed home. While he usually was eager to return home and train with one of his parents –or Shizune, in case both of them were particularly busy– it wasn't the case anymore. Jiraiya had started to instruct him in Fuinjutsu, something Naruto found horribly tedious.
Still, the Toad Sannin insisted, claiming that it was Naruto's "cultural inheritance" –whatever that meant– and the fact that it was an incredibly useful art that not many people bothered to master –Naruto could clearly see exactly why–. While Naruto enjoyed the idea of being able to make his own explosive tags, among other things, Fuinjutsu training overall wasn't very stimulating.
"Hey, Naruto!" a female voice snapped the Jinchuriki from his thoughts. Turning around, he smiled to see it was Karin, who was running towards him.
The blond smiled. "Hey, Karin-neechan!"
Karin stopped when she close to Naruto, and gasped for air. "Hey! I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for ignoring you earlier. I got...distracted."
"Yeah, it's quite common with Sasuke," Naruto said, grinning.
"So, you're an Uzumaki?"
"Yup! On my mother's side!"
"I see. My mother and I thought that we were the only Uzumakis left. We traveled a lot and never stayed on the same place for more than a month as long as I remember, and never once run into another Uzumaki."
"Funny thing, I also thought I was the only Uzumaki left. It's so great that we were both wrong!"
"Indeed. The reason we came here was because of Tsunade, who my mother says has Uzumaki blood, and would protect us."
"She is my adoptive mother, you know. She took care of me alongside dad –who is the current Hokage– when my birth parents died. I believe she did it because she was related to my birth mom in some way."
"It's a good thing then," Karin said, adjusting her glasses. "Ummmm...would you like to come to my house later today? I'm sure my mom would love to meet another family member."
"Yeah! And maybe another day you can come to my house and meet my family. They aren't Uzumakis except mom, but I'm sure you'll like them."
"That sounds like fun."
…
A few months later
Naruto's entire class wasn't at the academy, but on Training Ground Seventeen, which had quite a lot of trees, and thus it was popular for drill skirmishes in the Land of Fire. Their newest sensei, a tall man clan in blue, whose eyes were covered by sunglasses –similar to Shino– who wore a bandanna-style headband had brought them there for an exercise.
"Hello, children. My name is Ebisu, and during the following weeks I'll teach you some exercises that will refine your chakra control," the blue-clad man announced. "Chakra control is something important for young, developing ninjas such as yourselves. If you lack control, you won't be able to perform ninjutsu.
"But enough talking, let's go with the exercise," Ebisu said, noting that most of the kids paid him now more attention. "How many of you would be able to climb this tree?" Ebisu asked, while motioning to a large tree behind him.
Everybody raised their hands, just as expected. Time to drop the bomb.
"And how many of you would be able to climb it...without using your arms?"
All who had their hands raised lowered them, and started to mutter among themselves in confusion. "That's impossible!" somebody said.
"Oh, it's very possible! Just look at me," Ebisu said, as he started to walk on the tree as if gravity had no effect on him. The kids looked at him in awe, much to the Special Jonin's delight. "In order to do this, you must gather chakra at the bottom of your feet. But be careful! Too much chakra, and you will be pushed away from the tree; too little you will fall off. Now, choose a tree to climb, and begin!"
The kids split into several groups, since the trees were wide enough for several people to climb them at the same time. Naruto stayed with Hinata and Haku, while Sakura, Karin and Tamaki chose the same tree as Sasuke.
"Alright, this is going to be piece of cake!" Naruto exclaimed, as he started to climb the tree without much difficulty. This, naturally, drew some attention.
"Hey, how did you do it at your first try?" an annoyed Kiba asked.
"Easy, I already did this exercise with mom. And her methods were way more extreme."
FLASHBACK
After many attempts, Naruto managed to nail down the climbing exercise, not without effort.
"Look, mom, I did it!" Naruto proudly said. Huh?"
Much to the Jinchuriki's confusion, Tsunade was emptying a bottle on the base of tree. And then, the Slug Sannin tossed a lit match, setting the base of the tree ablaze.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" a very freaked out Naruto yelled.
"Climbing is easy enough with practice. Staying in the same place for a prolonged time, not so much," Tsunade calmly explained, ignoring the protests of his adoptive son. "I want you to stay like that for five minutes. The fire is to make sure you're motivated enough not to fall."
END FLASHBACK
"In the end, she had to buy me a new pair of pants," Naruto recalled, rubbing his butt, still feeling some phantom pain. "But on the bright side, my chakra control improved a lot!"
Even if his training with Zabuza was brief, it helped Haku to complete the exercise in no time. Hinata was the last one of their little group who managed to reach the top of the tree, after almost an hour of trying.
Other people who managed to complete the exercise in record time were Shino, Sakura and Ino. Much to Naruto's amusement, Sasuke was having a lot of trouble with the exercise. He managed to climb very far on his first try, but he progressed at a rather slow pace. It was a delicious irony seeing the "prodigy" being outlasted by one of his fangirls. Kiba, Shikamaru, Karin, Choji and Tamaki weren't having an easy time either.
After an hour an half, Ebisu dismissed the class, congratulated those who completed the exercise, and gave some pointers and encouragement to those who didn't.
Still, after a week, the whole class was able to master the tree climbing exercise.
…
Hokage's Office
Shortly after his educational reform, many people met Jiraiya to protest over how much he had raised the standards at the Academy, increasing the number of students who failed to pass from one course to the next, and most times they were forced to drop out. Most of the time, it was furious parents, most of them civilians, who demanded him to return the Academy to the way it was. Less frequently, it was an Academy teacher who complained about either being overworked of the children failing to grasp their lessons.
However, this was the first time a ninja, a Jonin no less, requested an audience with the Hokage to discuss such topic. The man in question was tall and well built, with extremely thick eyebrows and a ridiculous bowl haircut. He was wearing a green jumpsuit under a Chunin flak jacket and orange leg warmers. Despite his rather...bizarre appearance, this man was one of Konoha's strongest Jonins, and Konoha's greatest taijutsu specialist.
"Maito Gai. I don't believe we ever talked to each other after I got the position," Jiraiya eyed the green clan Jonin. While Gai was known for his exuberant and obnoxiously optimist behavior, now he looked the complete opposite. "What do I owe the visit? I believe you have a problem with my educational reform, though I fail to see why."
"You see, I met one of the Academy students not long ago," Gai began. "He was crying his eyes out, since his dream was to become a ninja, but now he sees that dream crumbling into dust. You see, for some reason, the kid is unable to do ninjutsu nor genjutsu. I believe you see where the problem lies."
Jiraiya clasped his fingers. "I believe I do. That kid's...condition is mostly unfortunate, but maybe he isn't mean to become a ninja. There are plenty of ninjas who are forced to retire after suffering certain injuries. This case isn't that different."
"Listen, Hokage-sama, give that kid a chance. While my case wasn't the same, I also sucked at ninjutsu and genjutsu for a long time, that's why I focused on taijutsu. I believe that kid can follow my footsteps, and become a ninja with only taijutsu. That kid has a lot of potential! His flames of youth can burn brighter than mine!"
Jiraiya sighed. "I understand your plight, Gai, I really do. But my stance on the Academy is non-negotiable. I believe that ninjutsu is an important part of being a ninja. So unless that kid can develop a level of taijutsu impressive enough in order to-"
"Consider it done," Gai suddenly said.
Jiraiya was left stunned for a few seconds. He blinked a couple times, before he could reply.
"What?" he lamely replied.
"You were going to say that that kid needs a level of taijutsu impressive enough to make up for his deficiencies, right?" Gai asked. Jiraiya just nodded. "Then leave him to me! I will train him personally so his taijutsu reaches a level unheard on an Academy student!"
"Okay, you can take that kid under your wing, but please don't neglect your duties as a Jonin when training that brat."
"Never! That would be mostly unyouthful! Thanks for being so understanding, Hokage-sama! I promise that you will not regret this decision!" Gai loudly declared before he left.
...
A few weeks later
Once again, Ebisu took Naruto's class out of the Academy, this time to training ground nineteen, which had a rather large lake. He also told them to bring swimsuits, since they would need it for the next part of the exercise.
"Okay, all of you already completed the Tree Climbing Exercise, and I hope that you kept practicing on your own. Now, I believe it's time to take it to the next level," Ebisu said, and without further ado, he started to walk on water. Once again, the kids stared in awe. "Now, this exercise is a bit harder than tree climbing, due the fact that a tree is solid, and water is liquid, which means that you'll need a constant stream of chakra from your feet to stay on the surface, as opposed to a fixed amount of chakra," Ebisu explained as he returned to the grass. "The goal of the exercise is to walk ten meters into the water, and get back to land. Come on, begin."
"Did you master this exercise already, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.
"Nope, I'm still trying. It's way harder than it sounds," Naruto moaned.
"Well...Ebisu-sensei made it sound as if it was rather hard to begin with," Hinata mentioned.
"It's still harder than it sounds. Fortunately, mom can't set the water on fire," Naruto grinned, but his grin was soon replaced by a mask of contained terror. "Yet."
Unlike the tree climbing exercise, nobody was able to master water walking on their first few tries. Those who managed to do the best usually sank after walking just a measly two or three meters, while those who were having the hardest time didn't manage to land a single step without sinking.
Naruto and his classmates took another additional two weeks to master this exercise. But much to their surprise, the exercise didn't end there. Once they all could walk on water in an acceptable way, Ebisu revealed the next part of the training: taijutsu spars, while on the water.
"A ninja has to be prepared to fight anywhere. There will be times in which a battle will take place on a lake, on a river or even at high sea. Besides, this will improve your chakra control even further!" the blue-clad Special Jonin enthusiastically explained as he adjusted his shades. "So, who wants to go first?"
Naturally, Naruto and Sasuke were the first ones to volunteer. The two swimming trunks-clad ninja students placed in front of each other. Near them was Ebisu, who would oversee the fight.
"Begin!"the Special Jonin said, made a chopping motion with his hand.
"Prepare to get your ass kicked," Naruto shoot a taunting smile at Sasuke. The Uchiha merely grunted back.
"Come on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered from the lake's shore.
"Kick his ass, Naruto!" said Ino's voice, much to Naruto's bewilderment.
Naruto immediately dashed at Sasuke, and launched a punch to his face. The Uchiha dodged the fist, and taking advantage of Naruto being wide open, punched him in the gut. The hit messed up Naruto's chakra control, and the sank into the water. He managed to be back on his feet a few minutes later.
"As you can see, remaining on top of the surface while fighting entrails some difficulty, but with enough practice it will become natural to you," Ebisu explained, then he looked at Naruto. "Ready to continue?"
"You can bet your glasses I am," Naruto replied, not taking his eyes from Sasuke.
"If that's the case, let's continue!"
Naruto once again dashed at Sasuke, ready to punch him in the face. Sasuke was already moving to dodge the fist like he did the first time. But in the last second, rather than a punch, Naruto kicked Sasuke on the hips instead. This time, it was Sasuke who lost his balance and fell into the water.
"Ha! How about that, idiot?" Naruto taunted at his fallen opponent.
"Naruto, don't do that. This is a friendly spar between classmates, there's no necessity to be rude," Ebisu said in a chiding tone. Naruto frowned at him, but nodded nevertheless.
The spars were usually short, sometimes in favor of Naruto, sometimes in Sasuke's favor. Though at one point Sasuke decided to "get serious" and activated his Sharingan. The following spars were all won by Sasuke. Seeing this, Ebisu decided to end the spar, and asked if somebody wanted to fight Sasuke instead. Only one person raised his hand.
"I believe I can defeat Sasuke-san," Haku stated as he walked towards the Uchiha, while Naruto returned to land with the others. Haku studied his rival before Ebisu gave them the signal to start. The Uchiha's Sharingan remained activated.
"Begin!"
Just like with Naruto, Haku dashed at Sasuke, ready to strike him. But just when he was about to punch him, Haku them leaped into mid air, much to the Uchiha's surprise. Haku gracefully landed behind Sasuke, and attacked his legs with a quick low kick. Sasuke lost his balance, but his chakra control didn't falter him this time and didn't sink into the water. Jumping back on his feet, Sasuke tossed a series of punches and kicks at Haku, who moved back while dodging them.
"Those eyes," Haku mentioned.
"What about them? Never saw a Sharingan before?" Sasuke replied, mildly irritated.
"I was talking about your eyes, not your Bloodline Limit," Haku explained. "Those eyes...are the same eyes I used to have. The eyes of somebody who is angry at the world. Did something happen to you?"
Of course, that question was mostly an act of politeness. Haku knew too well the fate of the Uchiha clan.
"That's none of your business!" Sasuke yelled as he hit Haku in the chest with a flying kick. Haku nearly lost his footing and sunk, but his chakra control remained strong.
"You can tell me," Haku insisted as he and Sasuke traded more punches. "You know my background. I lost loved ones and have been betrayed by people I thought they loved me. It's because of what your clan did?"
"I said SHUT UP!" Sasuke shouted as he hit Haku in the jaw. This time, the Ice Ninja was unable to stay in the surface and sunk in the water.
"Okay, I believe that was enough. Sasuke, Haku, go back to land," Ebisu said. "Does anybody want to spar in the water?"
"Me!" Sakura said, raising her hand. "I have the best chakra control here, so this shouldn't be hard."
"I'm glad for your eagerness, Sakura. Does anybody wants to fight her?" Ebisu asked, looked at the rest of the students.
"Me," said a soft voice. Hinata was raising his hand.
"Alright, then come here. Stand in front of each other and...begin!"
Both kunoichi took a fighting stance. Hinata activated his Byakugan. Sakura was the first one to attack. Just like Naruto with Sasuke, she tried to punch Hinata in the face, but the Hyuga bent backwards, avoiding the fist. Hinata then delivered a palm strike at Sakura's belly. While her chakra control was really good, Hinata's Gentle Fist momentarily disrupted her chakra, making her to sink in the water.
"Boy, that hurt!" Sakura moaned, rubbing her belly.
"S-Sorry, Sakura-san..."
"No, it's okay. I would be stupid to be mad at you for hitting me during a spar. And how did you bend you back like that? It's like you're made of rubber!"
"T-The Gentle Fist requires a lot of b-body elasticity," Hinata explained.
"Well, now I know what not to do. Come on, let's continue."
Upon getting a taste of the Gentle Fist, Sakura decided to be more careful and plan her strikes better. She adopted a more defensive stance, spurring Hinata to go into the offensive. Both girls spend quite some time fighting, Sakura letting Hinata attack, dodging or parrying her blows, and waiting for an opening in order to counterattack. Unfortunately, Hinata managed to hit her first with the Gentle Fist again before that could happen.
The spar continued for another five minutes, in which Hinata landed another Gentle Fist strike at Sakura, making the pinkette to give up. Tamaki then volunteered to fight Hinata.
As she returned to solid land, Sakura never felt so humiliated. She was hoping to impress the class with her skills –and more specifically, Sasuke– yet all she did was making a fool of herself. It was shocking how such a sweet, shy and gentle girl like Hinata could pack such a mean punch.
Anyway, that was just a minor setback. She was still the best kunoichi of her class, and nothing was going to change that.
Or that's what she thought.
…
Meanwhile, the rest of the class watched the two girls spar. At that moment, Naruto was approached by Shikamaru.
"Man, I can't understand how are you so eager to fight the Uchiha. He always end up beating you," Shikamaru mentioned.
"He didn't beat me that bad. At least until he activated his Sharingan. But without it, we're pretty much equal!" Naruto protested, as if trying to prove something.
"I know. But I doubt he won't want to use that troublesome Sharingan again if he sees he's losing. And truth be told, I don't see you doing anything about it."
Naruto looked at Shikamaru puzzled. He didn't understand what he mean by that. "I don't think I'm following you."
"Sasuke defeated you because, after activating his Sharingan, you keep fighting him the same way as before. If you see something doesn't work, try something different instead. It's basic strategy," the lazy Nara explained.
Naruto seemed to understand it now. "Thanks for the advice. So you think you should be able to beat Sasuke then?"
"Hell no. Even if I came up with an strategy to circumvent the Sharingan, I don't have the strength nor the skill to match him in pure taijutsu."
Of course, there was the fact that Shikamaru's father killed Sasuke's mother, and Sasuke might feel like wanting revenge by proxy. But that was something Shikamaru preferred not to bring up.
"Don't listen to him, Naruto," Kiba said, walking towards them. "He thinks strategy is the key to everything, but a big brain won't protect you from a fist to the face. Being strong and fast will."
"I would tell you why you're so wrong, but honestly, that would take too much effort for such little gain," Shikamaru lazily replied.
"Next time we spar, I will fight Sasuke instead of Naruto, and I will overwhelm him with my superior strength and speed, you'll see!" Kiba boasted.
"If that was true, it would have happened already, yet you can barely touch Sasuke," Shikamaru deadpanned.
"That's the past! My mom have been training me way harder now! And once I get my dog, Sasuke won't stand a chance!"
Shikamaru merely rolled his eyes at Kiba's boasting.
…
Konoha Hospital
After a long stay at the hospital, Hiruzen Sarutobi was finally declared to be in good enough state to be released. Still, that didn't mean his recovery was complete. Far from it. In fact, the doctors pretty much forced him to use a wheelchair for some time, since they told him his body was in a frail state and couldn't afford to make any unnecessary efforts in order to speed his recovery.
"Ah, it's a good thing to finally get out of that hellish place!" Hiruzen said to his present companion. "If I knew hospital food was so bad, I had done something about it long time ago! I need to talk with Jiraiya about it!"
His companion chuckled. "Unfortunately, I believe my husband has more pressing matters to attend right now. Not that I don't agree, the weeks I've spend there weren't pleasant to me either. I need to tell Shizune more often how much I appreciate her cooking," Tsunade mentioned, as he pushed Hiruzen's wheelchair.
"Were you upset that you couldn't apply to become Hokage?"
"What? Hell no! People may think that being Hokage is glamorous, but I know that the Kages are merely glorified bureaucrats. If Naruto knew what he was getting into, I doubt he'll want to be Hokage," Tsunade replied in disgust.
"Come on, it's not so bad," Hiruzen protested.
"You know, I'm starting to think that you wanted one of us to replace you the moment Jiraiya and I returned to the village."
"I won't deny that the thought crossed my mind. But I know for a fact that you would have rejected my offer, plus Naruto needed you way more than the village, and you'll be overwhelmed. I thought that, maybe once Naruto graduated and became a ninja, I could retire and leave the hat to one of you. Sadly things never turned out as planned."
"I'm afraid of what will happen if Naruto becomes a ninja. He will eventually leave the village to do missions, and will only have his teammates and sensei to protect him..."
"And what is your plan, keep Naruto inside that underground bunker of yours forever?"
"First, don't mock the bunker, it became quite handy to protect Naruto and the twins when that one-eyed maniac attacked. And second, even if I know I can't protect Naruto forever, I can't help but worry about him."
"Understandable. It was inevitable that, after all these years of being his legal guardian, you ended up growing fond of the kid."
"Mother. I didn't spend so much time changing diapers, cleaning vomits and being unable to sleep at night to be considered his 'legal guardian', thank you."
"That's a good thing, indeed," Hiruzen said, smiling. "So, you say that your attacker claims to be the man behind the Kyubi attack, right?"
"Correct. That man had both the Sharingan and the Wood Release. Plus his teleporting ability would explain how he managed to avoid all the security measures and barriers you set while Kushina gave birth. To think that that man could just teleport one day and whisk Naruto away..."
"He won't do that," Hiruzen stated.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Easy. Both times he tried to get the Kyubi, both times had to wait for the right moment. The first one was Kushina's birth, the second the Uchiha insurrection. He can't just teleport in the middle of Konoha in broad daylight. Besides, he should know where Naruto should be first, and I'm sure that his spies, should he have some, don't reach that far."
"Let's hope you're right. Still, I'm not letting my guard down."
"I never said you should."
While they walked –or better said, Tsunade walked while she pushed Sarutobi's wheelchair–, many townspeople and ninjas stopped to congratulate Sarutobi on his recovery, as well as wishing him a good time now that he was retired. This made the ex-Hokage realized that, with all the time he spent locked up in that office, he hardly had any time to enjoy the village he protected. Still, he wouldn't stop protecting it nevertheless.
"By the way, what are you going to do now that you're retired, sensei?" Tsunade asked.
"I don't know, honestly. Though I thought that maybe I could help Jiraiya a bit and become his advisor."
"I'm sure he can use your wisdom. And with you helping him, his workload will be-" Tsunade interrupted herself when she realized something, and frowned. "You're going to help him so he can have more time to write those perverted books, right?"
Hiruzen smiled at her innocently. "Tsunade, do you have any idea how long I have been a widower? As long as Naruto is alive. I may be old, but even men my age have certain needs."
Tsunade grimaced in disgust. "Thanks for the mental image, sensei."
Sarutobi merely chuckled in return.