Chapter 929 - gg

Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Naruto.

I found myself standing on water in what looked like a sewer.

And I mean exactly that. I was literally standing on top of the water instead of in the water and my surroundings look like what I would expect from a sewer. Not that I'm all that familiar with one.

I took a moment to look around. It looked like a hallway in the sense that there was only one path here. Forward or backward. There was nothing but darkness in one direction and in the other there was a faint light. An exit maybe?

Obviously, I headed towards the light. That darkness back there looked a little too foreboding.

I went to take a step and then-

Memories. Foreign ones.

A village where people use the rooftops like some type of highway.

Four huge heads carved out of stone.

Growing up in an orphanage and then a small apartment.

Going to the academy to be a ninja.

Graduating. Forming a team. Going on missions. A snake. An invasion.

Grandfather figure dying. Learning a technique. Returning with a new leader.

A teammate going rogue. Chasing after him. A hand through my chest. Darkness.

…

I come back to find myself on my knees. Still on top of the water of course. And the sewer is still there.

I get back onto my feet and look around again but with a new perspective this time.

I know where I am now. And I have a pretty good idea where that light is coming from. It's definitely not God. And I'm really glad this is a mindscape instead of a real sewer. Means that getting out of here is possible.

But that would only be the start of my problems, wouldn't it?

If those memories are correct, then I am now in the body of Naruto Uzumaki. The main character in an anime I used to watch about a boy living in a world where superhuman ninjas exist. Long story short, it's a dangerous setting where the weak are killed and the strong survive. And the villains also don't stay dead. Can't forget that. Orochimaru. Madara.

Did I mention that I personally did not like Naruto? His character just bugged me. Idiotic, loud, unskilled, horrible fashion sense, bad taste in females, and a bunch of other things. I just felt that he didn't live up to his full potential.

Which is why I feel that this situation is a big case of karma. I always said that I could do better and now here I am. Some being out there felt that I should put my money where my mouth is. And I have no choice except to do so because this is my life at stake here. Really don't want to die in battle. Or have Kurama ripped out of me leaving me to die. I was only twenty-two before I came here so I'm way too young for that. Naruto's memories don't count. Even if they are really useful.

That should be my end goal. Survival. No, to live. There is a difference between the two. So, I want to live. Not going to be greedy and aim for immortality, but I think seventy years is a good number. Of course, if a way presents itself, I wouldn't say no to living longer.

Goal established. How do I make it happen? Power. How do I get that? Training and using what I have at my disposal. What do I have? Uzumaki bloodline which includes large chakra pools, longevity, and vitality. I'm also the container for a tailed beast meaning more chakra, more vitality, and whatever unique traits it provides. And lastly, I have shadow clones. Clones of me that retain memories when they disperse. An extremely useful tool which I plan to take advantage of.

All that is just me personally. I have access to resources like the library, other friendly ninjas, training grounds, and enemies in the future to test myself against.

So even though I likely lost my plot armor, I have other things to rely on. Not going to say my goal is guaranteed, but it is also not impossible. Just have to put the effort in and not be afraid to get my hands dirty. If idiot Naruto could become one of the strongest in the anime, then I will aim for even better. I'll become the best in everything I can be. I'll get the power I need to live my own life.

Or die trying.

-GoS-

​

Eventually I decided that I had stalled enough. Even though I probably could, I shouldn't stand here and wait until I regain consciousness. Who knows when I will be good enough at meditation to visit with Kurama again? Have to use this opportunity.

As I trod along towards the light. I consider what I should say to him. I'm thinking the truth is the best option. Don't want to get caught lying. And he could become my partner someday. It is for the best that we are on the same wavelength going forward.

Finally got to the end of the hallway. It leads into a huge chamber where the faint light was coming from. At one end is the gate with the seal on it. The light reaches into the jail somewhat but doesn't illuminate the whole thing. Pretty sure Kurama is in the darkness back there.

I head to where I think a safe distance is and sit down. On top of the water. Not sure how much time passes before I hear a voice. He's not shouting but it is still powerful.

"So, my jailer decides to grace me with his presence." I won't lie and say that I don't feel some fear. "You are not what I expected."

Makes sense that he noticed. I do not consider myself to be Naruto, so my appearance reflects that in this mindscape. I still look like an African American male in his early twenties and my clothes no doubt would look strange in this world too. I'm guessing that as time goes on and I get familiar with this body, I might start to think of it as mine meaning my internal image will resemble my physical one. Or maybe it will never change. Don't have any experience with these type of situations.

"Hello, Kurama." Going with the plan of showing that I know more than I should.

"How do you know that name?" Volume rose, but not quite a shout yet. He comes forward where I can see him.

Glowing red eyes are what I see first. The rest of the head and body follow. A reddish orange fox with nine tails moving behind it. The ears look like that of a rabbit and he has human like hands attached to his front legs. Of course, he is also huge. He towers over me by a large margin. Don't know how big he is but I think that his eyes are the size of a regular adult's body.

With that last question, his aura started to press down on me. I don't have words to describe it, but it feels like gravity increased and my fight or flight instinct activated. If I had been standing, I probably would have been shaking and maybe collapsed. This is why I sat down to have this conversation. Even then, I have to take a few quick breaths and stabilize myself before I can respond.

"As you probably guessed, I am not Naruto. The best explanation is that I'm a dimensional traveler who happened to end up in this body. In my previous world, we had methods to look into various worlds. This one was one of many." Answering his question and probably the following one.

"Another world…" he mused "I know that there are other worlds out there. Father's mother was not from this one. But to think another visitor would end up before me, in my containers body no less…"

He didn't appear to be talking to me, more like thinking out loud, so I didn't say anything. He twitched, refocusing on me.

"What exactly have you seen of this world? And why are you in this body?"

"Quite a bit actually."

The next while was spent relating what I had seen and remembered from the anime. The Akatsuki. Obito. Fourth Shinobi War. Madara. Kaguya. Black Zetsu. All the important stuff. I also told him how I didn't know how I came to be here but that I didn't intend to die anytime soon.

"I have already given some thought to how I will take care of these problems, but I would like to have you as a partner."

"So, you desire my power as well?"

"In a way," I began. "Having access to the chakra cloak would be great, but that is not all I want out of this. Your ability to sense emotions is something that will be of use, as well as you not fighting me for the use of your chakra. I would also like to have someone that I can talk to and create plans with."

Kurama just looked at me for a moment before speaking. "This was a lot to take in. I need time to reflect." He turned around to go back to the shadows of the cell. I heard his voice one last time before he fully disappeared. "I'll summon you when I have decided."

I remained sitting there.

It wasn't a yes, but it also wasn't a no. I probably wouldn't have had an immediate response either.

Back to planning for the future then. Nothing else to do down here.

I wonder what happened to bring me here.

-GoS-

​

Standing across from the hokage's desk, I can't help but reflect over the past six weeks.

I regained consciousness in a hospital room, as expected. The nurses did some last checkups on me and told me that I would be allowed to leave the next day. Before leaving, I went in to visit the other genin that had went on the mission. They were part of the small group that Naruto had considered friends, so appearances had to be kept. For now.

It was during those visits that Jiraiya found me and we went up to the roof to talk. After inquiries about how I was coping with Sasuke's betrayal he informed me about the training trip and that we would leave the village in a little over a month. He kept sending me worried looks, but he didn't say what was on his mind. That he was worried about how quiet I was compared to the usual. Since he didn't bring it up, I didn't say anything either; let him come to his own conclusions.

That was probably the best time for me to have been inserted into the script. Being born as Naruto and actually living in the hostile village would not have been fun for multiple reasons. I'm not an expert on the topic but having the mind of an adult in the body of a baby sounds like torture. Even more so when the population doesn't like you. I'm also sure that I would not have been able to play the role of a normal orphan either. Would have raised a lot of eyebrows.

Even coming in at another point would not have been preferable. I still would have needed an explanation for my shift away from canon Naruto. The event with Mizuki may have counted but it would not have been enough. Not enough time and not enough trauma. And I also would have had to go through some dangerous moments before I even gained someone like Jiraiya to actually help me get stronger.

But now though? I have a lot more freedom. Because I just went through a traumatic experience, I can use that to my advantage. I don't have to act like the loud and excitable child that Naruto was and that's fine because people will not blame me for it. They'd see a sad child recovering from his 'best friend' abandoning him for another traitor. I could then study and train in ways Naruto didn't and they will just see it as an effort on his part to better himself and bring back Sasuke. A lot of differences in behavior will be justified without me having to say anything.

Furthermore, this training trip coming up will provide even more room for me to change because I will be away from people who knew the old Naruto. I won't have to keep pretending upon my return. The only person who might notice is Jiraiya who I'm not too concerned about because he had barely interacted with me pre-insertion. I just need to make those changes somewhat gradually.

So yes, this is a good time to be me.

Once the Toad Sage left me alone, I started the plan that I had concocted while in my mindscape.

Forming the proper hand seal, I performed my first jutsu in this world. The shadow clone technique. It was weird seeing so many Naruto's standing around me. So much orange. But I overcame the horror.

They knew the plan but because I made so many, it fell onto me to split them into groups. Five were sent to the library to learn about chakra theory and application, anatomy and physiology, and history. Only five were sent because I didn't want an overload of pure information assaulting my brain when they dispersed. Those five were henged into random people just to be safe. Thirty clones were sent to training ground three to work on chakra control. They would combine water walking with leaf sticking in order to get the most out of those exercises. One final clone was tasked with finding out where Lee got his weights from and purchasing a set.

With the groups assigned, the set of thirty followed me to the training ground while the others went about. By the time I finished warming up, the clone with the weights arrived. I was expecting something like the ones I saw in canon but was pleasantly surprised instead. The set he bought consisted of a belt with two seals on it that went around the midsection. The instructions that came with it said that sending a pulse of chakra directly into one seal increased the weight on the whole body by one increment. Sending chakra into the other seal undid all the weight. The first level was approximately fifteen kg and each increase raised the weight by another fifteen. Doing the math, once I reached the last level, ten, then I would be carrying an extra hundred and fifty kg. I was intrigued by the idea but also not looking forward to getting there.

After putting the belt on, I got started. Suicides until I dropped, variations of pushups and sit-ups, squats, lunges, planks. I pushed the famous Uzumaki stamina to the limit. Needless to say, I could feel every bit of those extra fifteen kilos before I called it quits for that day.

Periodically I would create a different set of thirty clones when all the ones doing chakra control exercises ran out of chakra and dispersed. The clones in the library also dispersed sometime that afternoon after open hours passed. They were nice enough to come find and warn me before they sent over their memories. The sensation of receiving memories felt odd but not uncomfortable. I suddenly knew stuff that I didn't have to waste time learning. Truly, shadow clones are the best.

Except for the weekends during which I rested; the time I had before leaving was spent in that fashion. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Five clones to the library. Thirty on control. Spend the morning working on accuracy with kunai and shuriken and then physical workout. Have lunch. Practice taijutsu based from academy books and memories. Practice ninjutsu and absorb memories from the library clones. Dinner. Watch television and relax. Meditate while lying in bed. The weekends were used to acclimate and keep up appearances with the people Naruto was friendly with.

Not going to lie, it was hard. Going from a civilian in twenty-first century America to basically a child soldier? Drastic change. At times, it was an honest struggle to keep going. This was the case mainly with the physical training as I never had to push myself this hard back on Earth. But I had to do so now. Having a strong, capable body and later on excellent taijutsu skills was the foundation for my goal of being S-rank by the time the war starts.

Beyond that, thoughts of what awaited me if I wasn't strong enough were used as motivators.

Therefore, I pushed myself and the results can speak for themselves.

I progressed up to level 4 with the weights. My accuracy with kunai and shuriken improved. Chakra control skyrocketed and with that so did proficiency with the rasengan, substitution, and body-flicker. The main ninjutsu that I focused on. I picked up all the chakra theory that was available to me in the library. Advanced control exercises that I couldn't use yet but would be beneficial later. Shinobi tactics, plants and poisons, etiquette. Anything that I believed could be useful.

That being said, I noticed a lack of fuinjutsu material. Guess they didn't want untrusted amateurs messing around with seals. Common sense, I guess.

Anyways. It was a productive month.

…

As the exterior would suggest, the hokage's office is actually circular. Walls made of some type of earth with a number of large windows across from the entrance that provide a good view of the village. Along with the few portraits the only other thing of note is the desk placed in front of the windows. A simple desk that wouldn't look too out of place in a classroom back home. Comes with a stack of books and paperwork as well.

All in all, smaller and less decorated than what I would expect out of the personal workplace of a powerful leader.

Standing behind and to the left of the desk is Shizune. Dark hair with eyes to match them, fair complexion, and wearing her dark blue kimono with white trimming. White obi around her midsection. Attractive young lady. The only thing detracting from her appearance is the pig in her arms. Fortunately for me, it doesn't stink. At least not from back here.

My soon-to-be sole companion, besides Kurama, for the next few years is standing off to the side leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Dressed in his typical green and red outfit and physically bigger than most people Naruto has seen, he draws the eye. Especially with that white hair and the red birthmarks on his face. Makes me wonder how people get those. I know the Inuzuka clan all have some type of marking on their faces but so did Rin and obviously Jiraiya. Were they just born with them? And what happens with white hair and aging? Does it start greying? Does it stop being spiky? So many questions. Anime creators, explain.

And finally, the lady in charge. The legendary sucker herself. Tsunade Senju. Last of her clan. Best med-nin alive. Biggest bust this side of the universe.

When I was first introduced to her character, I just applauded the anime for including another attractive female in the cast. Even if it was only a genjutsu. She also became another of Naruto's precious people and was pretty strong. All was fine. But later I really gave it some thought. This was a person who left the village, for personal reasons, and spent the next decade or so drinking and gambling away money she didn't possess. And then all of a sudden, she comes back and is placed as the leader of a militaristic village. Didn't make much sense to me but I realized that there weren't really better options.

No one in Minato's nor Kakashi's generation was strong enough, had the right disposition, and supported enough to be hokage. That left the two loyal sannin as the options and since Jiraiya was there to plead his case he was able to throw Tsunade under the bus. Throw her to the wolves actually; no buses in this place.

It worked out for the best from what I saw. Jiraiya was able to maintain his spy network while Tsunade became the leader and helped the village in the way of creating better med-nin. If Konoha started racking up debt behind the scenes… well it couldn't have been that bad since they never showed it.

Currently, she is seated in the only chair in the room behind the desk. Fair skin, blonde hair, brown eyes, diamond shaped seal on her forehead. Green haori over a grey blouse that looked like it needed additional support to contain her breasts. I'm sure Jiraiya would be the first to volunteer for such a worthy cause. Or maybe he would be on the side for wardrobe malfunction.

Those three and I were the only ones present for this send off, not counting the pig and the anbu I'm sure were stationed around the room. I had already told Naruto's friends that I would be leaving soon but not the exact date, so they were probably out doing whatever they do when off camera. No need for drama today. Just this one stop and then the training montage can begin.

"The village is going to feel different without you around brat." I'm grown thank you. "Finally get to enjoy some peace and quiet."

"Very funny granny." I rolled my eyes. "Just make sure you don't gamble away the village's budget while I'm gone. Shizune, keep an eye on her please."

"Of course, Naruto-kun. Stay safe." She didn't even bother to hide her giggles. Both of us ignored the indignant look on Tsunade's face.

"I'll try. And thank you for the stuff. You're the best." Gave her the Guy-style thumbs-up.

While I did learn a lot from the library, there were certain things that I was unable to find in there. Stuff like the advanced chakra control techniques that the med-nin used as well as their healing ninjutsu which I found out was called iryojutsu. Normally to learn them you had to start the process to become a medical-nin like Sakura but then I realized that I had inside connections. A trip to the hokage's office and some expressed interest in the healing arts and Tsunade pulled some strings for me. I mainly wanted them for improving my control but learning ways to heal oneself should always be taken.

"Ah, you're welcome Naruto-kun." She was smiling now, probably recognizing the joke I was playing and willing to play her part. "I'm happy that I could help."

I could feel the amusement coming from Jiraiya and the ire rising in Tsunade.

"… just leave already. Last favor you're ever getting from me." Arms crossed under her chest while mumbling. "Annoying, blonde brats."

"You're blonde too." I decided to have mercy on her. "Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

I tried to show her how sincere I was through my eyes and face. That was definitely one thing that Naruto always had; a very expressive face. It seemed to work as her eyes became warmer.

"I know. Make sure you come back in one piece."

Maintaining the eye contact, I nodded. I had an idea of what or perhaps whom she was probably seeing in her mind.

Jiraiya came around to stand beside me while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll watch over him hime."

"You had better, pervert." Was her response to which he just laughed and gave a gesture similar to what I had done with Shizune.

"We'll be back before you know it. Let's go Naruto."

With one last wave goodbye we left. Through the window of course. My first time doing that. It was much faster than going down all those stairs.

We ran along the rooftops and hopped down at the gate to be signed out. It didn't take long, probably due to the presence of the toad sage, and then we were off.

My journey to the top was finally beginning.

First fanfic ever published and this is the second site that I have published it. Under the name C'est-la-vie-1803 on Fanfiction.net. I am not stealing someone else's work, just hadn't created this account here for more than just viewing content.

Also learning how to use this site, have patience with me.

Months into the trip.

I was always a quiet person growing up. In public that is; at home I could let loose somewhat because I trusted and was familiar with my family. With them I could allow my sarcastic and witty side out. In public, which mostly meant school, I was the quiet and polite kid. I had friends that I talked and joked around with but with strangers or large crowds I clammed up.

Looking back, my introvert nature could be depicted as a bell curve. During my youngest years I was energetic and even 'bubbly', a little after that and I entered puberty bringing with it all that awkwardness, and after surviving that phase I came into my own and started to interact with people better. I still appreciated my personal time, but I could be engaging when I felt like it.

All this comes to mind as I'm doing my cooldown stretches because of the company I've kept since I left the village. That being Jiraiya and Kurama. Even after agreeing to help me Kurama doesn't speak much unless I start a conversation. That leaves Jiraiya as the most talkative person here. And talk he does: about women, tips during and after spars, his books, and even about his past at times. As not just the person helping me grow stronger but also my only link to human contact, I appreciate his presence.

I may like being alone at times, but I still need that interpersonal aspect.

After leaving, Jiraiya took me to a town where he had a contact and we stayed there for a while, in a camp a little away from the town. Spent the days training and slept in our tents at night. Ate what we hunted supplemented with stuff we bought. It wasn't too bad.

Our daily routine, at least for me, consisted of waking up early for physical training and practicing with throwing weapons until noon. After that I would take off the weights and spar with Jiraiya. Soon I plan to throw in some variations into those spars but at the moment we just focus on taijutsu. The subject after that varied but we've been covering stealth and tracking recently.

All the while my clones are training chakra control and elemental affinities for wind and water. Wind being my natural element and water because I had plans for it. I also didn't neglect my main ninjutsu; the rasengan, substitution, and body flicker. Using my fresh perspective and outsider knowledge I plan on pushing the limits of those jutsu. But that comes later.

For now, I can do the rasengan one handed within two seconds. Much better than using two hands but not quite as fast as I want it to be yet. Less than one second is what I would consider prime. Adding an element would be the next step.

The substitution is seeing a lot of progress. No hand seals, only takes a fraction of a second to do, and slowly increasing range with it. My clones are the best mediums for the jutsu with them being the same proportions and having my chakra and I can replace myself with one almost twenty meters away. With control, chakra usage, and experience being the factors that influence my skill with the jutsu, I can realistically predict even better results in the future. It's going to be one hell of a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The body flicker has provided less results, but I have ideas in mind. Stuff like increasing the range, speed at which I can use it, and even using that boost in speed for other purposes besides travel.

But that won't become a reality anytime soon.

…

Chakra sensing is an odd experience. It's like using a sense that you didn't grow up with so then you didn't have any idea how to interpret what you were picking up. Like a blind man suddenly seeing a shirt and not knowing which color to call it unless someone tells him.

Using my knowledge of submarines or bats, I visualized detecting chakra as a sonar device. I would send a pulse and when it bounced off another source of chakra it would give me a sense of where it was. This was a method I had been messing around with during the evenings with my free time. Pulsing out my chakra had simply been an extension of dispersing a genjutsu. Expanding my senses and looking for the feedback had been a matter of practice. Interpretation a matter of experience.

Having a clone run a distance off and then slowly walking back had allowed me to get a sense of the maximum range. When I first sensed him, I would tell him to stop and then measure how far away he was. Eleven meters the first time I did it. A month later and it was about twenty meters. From there when I picked up a ping in the middle of my position and the end of my mental grid, I could deduce that it was about ten meters away. That gave me a distance and a sense of which direction it was coming from. Not all that useful with how small the range was but I had hopes it would improve in time.

Made me actually envy that Karin girl. And don't even get me started on her chakra chains. I have no way to replicate those.

Annoying nags with all the good genes.

Back to my sensing. It lacks a great amount of precision. Something I hope to achieve in time.

Good thing I already have clones in my rotation to focus on that. That jutsu is a hack.

Sitting in front of my tent focusing outwards I was able to catch the presence twenty meters out with my eyes closed. Being able to recognize my own clones by now I could infer that it was someone else. My familiarity with Jiraiya's chakra and the sound of his clown footwear told me who it was.

When he walked into our little clearing among the trees, I was standing facing him.

"I'm surprised you returned so early. Didn't take long at all." Was my sarcastic greeting.

"He didn't have much to say. Only took a couple of minutes." Okay. Getting a report from his spy. Getting what I asked for. That should not have occupied him for the four hours he was out. What did he – "There was an emergency at the hot springs. Required my expertise. Hehehehe." That was one of my guesses.

"Found out anything important?"

"Well, this one blonde had one of the biggest assets that I have…" There he goes again. Best to let him get it out of his system. Don't blame him though; some of the body proportions in this anime world made flesh were outrageous. I couldn't wait to see them up close. And feel them. Taste as well. And – woah, down boy. Just fantasizing up here, no action to partake in yet. Be patient.

These boyish hormones keep taking me on roller coaster rides. It's worse this time around because I know just what I'm missing out on. At least acne hasn't found its way into this world.

"I meant the informant." Cutting him off midway from his pantomime of something bouncing. Two somethings. "Anything sinister lurking around?"

"Eh, nothing too major. Mostly rumors. Here, I got what you asked for." Laying out a storage scroll, he activated it releasing its contents. Some clothes, sandals, and a belt.

Naruto had been one of the shortest among his graduating class. The last checkup I had before leaving the hospital said 146 cm in height and 40 kg in weight. Either due to a normal growth spurt or intensive workouts, I had grown a little since arriving here. A little bit taller and a slight gain in mass. Enough that the number of baggy tracksuits I had, all in orange, were a little less baggy and I had to unroll the legs to prevent high waters.

They were passable for working out but not much else. And since I didn't bring any civilian wear, I had nothing else to wear when we passed through any settlements. I didn't feel like putting on a transformation jutsu just to not look fashion blind, so I had Jiraiya purchase some normal stuff while I did my morning training.

A couple of black trousers, some white shirts and a light, black jacket. Black pair of sandals. Simple things that won't attract too much attention.

The belt is for a different purpose. I had progressed to level seven of the training weights, seven out of ten. After reaching and adapting to the max level I would have no way to add more weight to it. It was not like Lee's weights where he just added more when he wanted to. Mine was a work of fuinjutsu. Complicated stuff.

My answer to that? Having Jiraiya look at it and try to create another seal to use as a training aide. One that had no limits. The new belt would hopefully allow me infinite gains.

Retreating into my tent and returning with my own storage scroll I sealed up the new purchases.

"Thank you, Jiraiya."

"No problem brat." He responded with one of those smiles, eyes closed. "You know, I keep meaning to ask you, but how come you use my name now? Not that I miss the nicknames."

Looking away from him, I cast my eyes toward the trees while formulating my reasoning.

"When I first met you, I didn't really have a good impression of you. You acted all weird and that was after knocking out the guy who was supposed to teach me. And then you threw me into a deep trench instead of teaching me the summoning jutsu properly. And later you took my money even though you should be loaded. Me calling you pervy sage was just to get back at you for all those things and more." Turning back to his face and taking note of his serious expression, I continued. "But then you taught me the rasengan. Disregarding how much fun it was to hit Kabuto with it, I used that jutsu in so many fights. The last of which being against Sasuke. It was my direct counter to his Chidori. So, although I ended up losing, I can honestly say the rasengan is what kept me in that fight and what kept me alive. In a way you saved my life. Calling you by name is the least I could do to give you the recognition you deserve. While I'm at it, I would also like to say thank you for all you've taught me so far."

Maintaining eye contact as we were, I was able to see the emotions flick across his face. From seriousness, to slight smile, and then a genuine smile. When he finally spoke, I could hear a little extra in his voice. "You're welcome Naruto."

We stood there for a moment before he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you still want to get started on learning fuinjutsu?"

"Of course, I was just waiting on you."

"That so?" With a laugh he motioned for me to sit. "Now where to get started…"

-GoS-​

7.5 Months into the trip

No longer do I have a sewer for a mindscape. No sir. Standing in a clearing, surrounding me is a large forest. Trees and shrubbery, natural greens and browns. Healthy looking. On one end of the forest is a cave leading underground. A huge one at that. The entrance looks like Lady Liberty could walk into it and stretch her arms out and still not touch the edges. Can't make out how far back that cave goes due to light not reaching that far. It would be funny how I don't know my own mind but Kurama made the executive decisions regarding his adobe. And I can't exactly go visit due to reasons.

Back when we first began renovating the gutter this place used to be, I thought the process would be easy. Just imagine a setting and boom. Done. That was not the case. I had to work for it. We had to work for it. Kurama and I had to create the environment piecemeal. So, it took weeks of nightly visits to even get this far. And it was far from perfect.

We had one tree copied and pasted to form a forest of trees. Same with a shrub. They were all the same and equidistant from each other. The sky was a plain white color. No sun and no clouds. To reflect nighttime in the real world it would get dark in here. Dark yet somehow enough visibility to see each other despite having no moon.

We made do. I had my clearing and Kurama had his forest to do whatever with and his cave.

My clearing was actually the seal. It was inscribed on the ground and kept me from leaving the clearing and Kurama from coming into it. It could actually be seen a prison for me now if I actually lived here. At least my guest likes it better than the actual bars.

"You're slowly changing. It's quite the strange sight."

"What, never seen someone going through an existential crisis before?" I laughed.

"No. My previous containers were never in your unique position."

"Lucky them. It looks worse than it actually feels." I replied looking down at myself.

Over the last couple weeks my mental image had started to shift. Instead of the usual crisp image of me pre-insertion, I looked pixelated. Like someone took a really blurry image. I attributed it to adapting to the body I have now and calling it mine. Not like I had a choice; with all the training I've done so far, I have become quite familiar with my body. My short, boyish body that possessed more power than my young adult one did. More than probably everyone back home. And that's just naturally, not even adding on the usage of chakra reinforcement.

"That is not the only aspect in which you have changed. You are becoming more powerful every day." He smiled with a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Combine that with my power and we shall annihilate that wretched Uchiha."

"You already know I'm down for that. What do you think of the euro-step?"

"Give it a name that makes sense. It also has no destructive power. Complete the elemental rasengan you told me about and perhaps you might impress me." Huffed Kurama.

"Hmph. It's not meant to be destructive. Just an accessory to my other skills. And the rasengan variations are put on hold for now. I think this might have some potential."

"Walking on air might be useful for you humans. A being like me has no need for such frivolities." Wow talk about disrespect.

"We can't all be like you Kurama. Sometimes a non-flashy technique is all you need. And that thing took me a long time to get down."

"Time ill spent."

I just rolled my eyes. I would think someone who fell victim to a little seal would appreciate the finer things in life. Not that I think my new technique is on the level of such advanced fuinjutsu.

The euro-step was basically an extension of chakra control training. You clung to a solid first, then a liquid, the only matter left was gas. Which is what I did. Even if I cheated. Compressing atmospheric air down into a packet, I am able to make it physical enough to create a platform to step on. When it becomes battle ready it will allow me a greater degree of maneuverability. Instead of substituting or taking a hit while in the air, I'll be able to move around it. For now, I practice it while tree hopping; running on air platforms instead of tree trunks.

For something that basically amounts to air walking, it requires a certain amount of concentration. And this fox is looking down on it. He's lucky I can't go over there and kick his ass.

"Whatever." I'll show him up some day. "I actually came here to talk about the sage and his ninshu idea."

That certainly caught his attention, if the way he opened his eyes and raised his head to tower over me was an indication. "Why? You humans already have ninjutsu, why are you interested in ninshu as well?"

Them humans, but not bringing up that debate at the moment.

"Honestly, I think it could be useful. From what I remember, ninshu was meant to connect people and allow them to understand each other, right? After giving it some thought I think it probably allows some degree of sensing emotions. Similar to your negative emotion sensing. But more versatile."

"You're correct on the first part. And that is an interesting inference regarding my ability. But you still haven't truly explained your interest. You already know you will get that ability when we merge."

"I do know that. But we won't be able to merge for a while yet, and you can only sense negative emotions. I admit that in this world full of backstabbing, deceit, and conspiracies that your ability is really useful but not all emotions are negative. With a couple more years before I can use your ability and the fact that it is probably only usable while using your chakra shroud, I think having a more diverse sensing ability is for the best. That's why I am interested in ninshu."

Kurama continued to stare at me for a moment, probably hard in thought.

"Fine." He responded after a long pause. "I don't know if it will give you the empathic capabilities you are after, but I can provide you with what I know of it. Father created ninshu to give people a better understanding of themselves and others. Being the precursor to chakra it was meant to create an era of peace. By connecting one's spiritual energies to another, they could communicate without words and pray for each other. This lasted until the elder brother fell to his insecurities, and Black Zetsu if you are to be believed, and learned to combine his spiritual and physical energies to create the chakra you all use as weapons today."

"Spiritual energies? So, this could be labeled a yin-release technique?" I asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"I have to learn to separate the two energies and utilize the yin then. Sounds like I need to put even more emphasis on control then. Maybe break out that scroll Tsunade gave me. And more clones. Meditation too." I thought out loud, volume dropping as I got lost in my mind.

"Yes, you do that. Later. I have questions about our last conversation. You said your people don't have any chakra or such, how did they manage to explore the seas and even space like they did? And how did they sustain such a large population?"

Guess I can worry about yin-release later.

"Well, they created these technologies…"

-GoS-

​

1 Year into the trip

Using our locked forearms to propel myself away from my opponent I mold my chakra, upon landing a dozen meters away, I unleash it. A bullet of compressed air covering the distance in fractions of a second.

Speeding to the side he dodges it and returns fire with actual fire. I reply with a water bullet. Using the steam screen that ensues, multiple clones pop into existence with all but four transforming into kunai that fall into my hands. Leaving one clone to spring the trap three accompany me into the air using euro-step.

He is usually good at suppressing his presence but here in this fight where I already had a bead on him? I felt his chakra split into two with the smaller pool going dim and almost escaping my radar. But I'm Naruto Uzumaki. The king of using clones. This move wouldn't catch me off guard this close.

Two hands shooting out from beneath my clone proved me correct. They barely had time to grasp his legs before a ball of air destroyed them. Standing on my platform, I saw the arms lose form. Mud clone.

Sensing his current location, I send the brace of kunai at him after covering them with air chakra. My clones take off after that to engage in CQC with me trailing behind.

Coming out of the quickly dissipating cloud of steam, I see him surrounded by reflected metal. A small cut on his right sleeve and a pair of kunai in hand. Eyes narrow upon seeing my clones but allows them to approach. Which they do after arming themselves.

What follows next is a fast-paced exchange of sharp weapons sparking against each other and clones dispersing. They get a few nicks in, a credit to their skill, speed, and teamwork, but he gets them all in the end. Even the ones that dropped their transformations and attacked him from his blind spots.

Seeing my chance as he finishes off the last clone, I speed forward unleashing a roundhouse kick which he blocks with crossed arms. As he goes skidding back, I push off with a backflip into the air where I use another euro-step to send myself at him again. This time the punch passes over his previous block and strikes his face sending his already off-balanced form flying.

Compressing and vibrating chakra, my feet had scarcely touched the ground before I was firing the next jutsu. A water bullet, one with a twist.

Still in motion flying backward, physically dodging was not an option. He could either counterattack with a jutsu or take the hit. He chose to substitute. The piece of wood cracking and letting off steam as the scalding water hit it proves that he chose wisely.

Ignoring that, I slowly gazed around the clearing sending off radar pulses. Getting a ping to my left I turned that way to see a blur coming my way. I could sense more than see the chakra primed on his left hand.

A seal. Probably a chakra restricting one. Past encounters make me aware that I would be a sitting duck if that hit me on exposed skin.

Acting quickly, I reached out to my element around me and infused it with my chakra. Making it explode outwards and then reeling it in and twisting it while leaping upwards. The burst of wind slowing his charge while the twister that formed wrenched him off his feet or tried to before he used chakra to cling to the ground. While the dirt and leaves that the wind brought up left him temporarily blinded, I used the wind to rise off the ground and stand atop the small tornado.

Funneling chakra to keep the twister raging, I began to fire air bullets at him. Seeing this he started sliding around on the ground as if it were ice in evasive maneuvers. A moment later he brought a hand seal to his mouth. Recognizing the tiger seal, I sent the twister his way while expelling wind-attuned chakra from the tenketsu points in my hands and feet, taking off like a discount Ironman as fast as possible. Even then, I felt the mixing and combustion of air and fire behind me.

Finally reaching a safe distance, I cut the flow of chakra and instead form a platform beneath me. Less chakra exhaustive. After allowing the fire storm to die down, I head back down using successive euro-steps.

Seeing Jiraiya standing next to scorched earth, I speak up before he can.

"First of all, I'm counting that as another tie. Secondly, what the hell was that?!"

"Sorry." Didn't look like it. "I just instinctively matched wind with fire. You have to admit though, the end product looked very formidable."

"Yeah, you created a fire-storm with me right in the middle of it! You're lucky I made it out in time."

"Hahaha." He actually looked sheepish at that. "I can just imagine what Tsunade would do to me if that seriously hurt you."

"She would have ripped off little Jiraiya and fed it to you." She probably would too.

"Don't have to sound so enthusiastic about it. Let's head back." Since someone likes throwing around fire so much, we never sparred near our camp when using jutsu. This session was just another example of why that was a bad idea.

Once we arrived, we sat down and broke out the food. It was upon finishing that he began the evaluation.

"That was a good spar. As always, you made great use of those jutsus you mastered. And that water bullet variation is coming along nicely, almost didn't see the heat coming off it until it got too close. I think it is up to your standards for battle use. You kept the pace fast and were relentless while also thinking ahead regarding both your actions and mine. I'm also particularly impressed by how far you've taken your wind affinity. I can tell that last technique wasn't a set jutsu. In summary, no clear mistakes were made on your part and you are ready to face other opponents. I'll have Tsunade send us some missions in the area. We might also be able to get them directly from settlements we pass by."

"Really? About time, been waiting for this."

"Yes, finally." Chuckling at my fist pump. "I had to be sure you could handle yourself. We're not going to be doing any D rank missions out here, and I won't always be there to help."

"I know, just looking forward to see where I stand in this world. And I need money too."

"Do you. There hasn't been much to use it on. And even then, you use my money." He deadpanned.

I wave that aside, "You're filthy rich. I've seen your writing contract. Besides, I need money to buy new clothes. A set of armor and some other things. Planning on moving out of that dingy apartment when we return too."

"Armor you say. What kind?"

"I'm thinking just a chest-plate. Maybe some armguards. I have some ideas for the latter."

"I still have my armor from the shinobi war. But although your pretty tall for your age I was older and bigger when I was fitted for them. They won't fit you." Jiraiya shrugged apologetically.

"That's fine. I want my own after all."

"I have a contact that is pretty good with that sort of thing. We'll go to him to get your armor."

"Cool. Now if we're done here, it's Friday afternoon meaning my rest period starts now. I'll throw on my civilian clothes and we can go into town."

"To the hot springs we go! Hehehe." Serious Jiraiya is no longer among us.

…

In this dangerous world full of psychopaths, weird hair colors, and even weirder people, there is one thing that makes it bearable. No, it's not the above average looking women; I still haven't been able to appreciate that properly. The best thing they have here is the hot springs. Natural pools of water heated by the earth itself possessing minerals that soothe the body and mind.

As an Uzumaki and then further compounded by being a jinchuriki, I heal faster than other people. After a day of working out and shredding muscle fibers, food and a good night's sleep is all I need to bounce back stronger than the day before. A bonus that I've made great use of. At fourteen years old, 154 cm tall, and cut, defined muscles throughout my whole body, I was quite the sight. And as the routine spars with Jiraiya have shown, it wasn't just for appearances.

Self-appreciation aside, I didn't have to come to the springs for rejuvenation. Not like those other people. I came here because I can still enjoy it as the warm water tickles at my body. I found it to be calming.

It was also a good location for test subjects.

After developing and practicing Yin-release: Empathy for months, I got pretty good with it. With myself as the first subject, I analyzed the readings from what it said I was feeling and matched it with an emotion. Hard to put into words, but different emotions had a different 'color', for lack of a better word. Making myself think of different topics gave me a list of the most frequent emotions: sadness, happiness, anger, and etc. But even my own emotions got complicated at times which left me with slight color variations that felt like a certain emotion but not quite. For those I just rounded. After having that for a foundation, I took it into the real world. It helped me flesh out the technique further.

I saw what it looked like when people were feeling a mixture of two or more emotions. How fast some people could shift between emotions. How the readings showed intense emotions. The minute changes when a con was selling their lies.

After testing single targets, I moved onto groups. Instead of focusing onto one source, I allowed my senses to simply spread out around me. Empathy was similar yet mostly different compared to my chakra radar; it had a quarter of the maximum range and it didn't pulse, it simply flowed outwards until it reached the limit. The drawback of letting it out that far was the information became less specific, I could sense overall emotions of those in range instead of the little fluctuations.

Which is what I was doing now while lazing about in the water.

The hot springs were small enough, so I got a good reading from everyone present. From the other side of the partition, on the female side, content was the main emotion. In there was curiosity and a little envy. Maybe some interesting gossip was being shared amongst them. The envy was likely from comparing bodies. Not everyone could be blessed the same, I guess.

From the few guys on this side I felt mostly content. In Jiraiya's case, crouching on the wall under his chameleon jutsu while peeping, I got content, surprisingly little lust, and a lot of excitement. Dude was probably getting some inspiration for his next book or something. They're pretty well written for basically smut.

Letting everyone else fade into the background, I sunk deeper into the water.

Soon I would be putting what I'd learnt to the test. I had faith in myself, but I couldn't help but worry about the outcome.

Over the past year and change, I had focused on getting my strength and speed to their limits. Practiced with throwing weapons and using them in melee. Drilled my taijutsu. Mastered jutsu that could be done swiftly and without hand seals. And then in spars with Jiraiya I had combined everything into the style of combat that I wanted to have. Striking fast, striking hard, and being efficient. Attacking from blind spots when I can and bringing my overwhelming power to bear when stealth wasn't possible.

It was that same efficiency that I feared the outcome of.

There would no doubt be killing involved. Matter of fact, I would probably be introduced to it as fast as possible and it would be the right decision to make. Better to get the first death out of the way in a somewhat safe environment rather than at a critical time. Practical.

But was I ready? Ready to take a life?

"You're not ready." Oh, hadn't realized I was broadcasting my thoughts like that. "But I believe you will get through it and overcome it. From what I've seen of your character, when something happens you adapt. You were brought here leaving everything you knew behind yet you did not crumble. You took the situation and made the best of it. If you can do that back then, then you will do so again. You may not be ready, you may even stumble after the act, but you will persevere and come out stronger. That is what I believe."

Sitting up straight in the hot water, I nodded. 'That's right. This was always going to happen. Just going to be another hurdle in our path. Just have to take it with my head high and deal with the consequences. Thank you Kurama. For strengthening my will.'

"Hmph. Someone had to."

I promised myself I would get stronger. This is simply part of that process.

I can do this.

I can do this and come out stronger.

I will do this.

I need to.

Hello again. I think I figured out how to properly copy and paste stuff now. We'll know for sure after I post another chapter.

I'm sorry if the time-skips are jarring. Just trying to get to the main scene without leaving you wondering where he learned these things or throwing in a bunch of flashbacks. I for one know I hate flashbacks, especially mid-scene. Thought you might feel the same. Anyways, next update is the first mission. Might be a two week waiting period.

<< Index >>

Last edited: Feb 14, 2021

Jan 5, 2021Report

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Year into the trip

I was right.

My first assignment was bandit cleanup.

The mission itself did not come from the hokage. The town council gave it to us when we went to offer our services to them the next day. In fact, they were more than happy to do so. After getting the needed information I could see why.

The target was a small tribe of bandits. Tribe because they were a functional, cohesive bunch that moved around the area doing hit and runs. Strike here, steal resources, and then move on. The fact that they didn't stay in place and had no confirmed kills is probably what allowed them to continue operating until now. It simply wasn't worth the money it would have taken to hire a team of ninjas to deal with them. And it would have taken ninjas to complete this mission because they had two of their own in the tribe. Likely low level chunin from their description.

Hence their agreement to hire us. We were capable ninjas, but we would do the job for less than what even a minor shinobi village would charge. A win for both sides involved; they get rid of an annoyance and I get experience and pay.

Their terms: eliminate the two shinobi and bring back the chakra-less grunts to be sentenced and likely executed or imprisoned.

Seemed easy enough.

I was already in my current work attire which was basically what Kakashi wears but in black and without a vest or mask. After checking my weapon pouches and making sure my storage scroll had plenty of ninja wire, I set out. Leaving the town behind, I made my way towards where they were last spotted days ago.

I could feel Jiraiya shadowing me about a kilometer behind. I didn't pay him much attention.

Leaping through the trees at the pace I had set, it didn't take me long to arrive at a clearing with signs of past activity. Scattered rocks and ash where a fire had been. Indentations in the ground from various feet. They tried, but they weren't successful in wiping away the evidence. Especially the ones that showed in which direction they had left.

I followed them on the ground this time since they were so kind as to leave me a trail. Noon came and went, and I was still in pursuit. After some deliberation, I decided to not stop for a break just yet. It was about a few hours later that I finally got a ping on my radar. Slowing down my pace and paying more attention for scouts, I continued to advance.

One and then two small chakra signatures. Small compared to me or even Jiraiya, compared to the others around them they might as well have been torches amongst candles. Opting to tree hop as I got closer, I caught my first glimpse of them about seventy meters away.

Various tents, a fire with something roasting, and people milling about. With no signatures further out, I knew that these nineteen people I sensed made up the entirety of the tribe.

Finding a good vantage point, I settled down under the chameleon jutsu with some dry rations to eat. Because I planned on using the stealth approach, nighttime would be the best time to attack. Although common sense would dictate to be even more on guard at night, this bunch had no reason to be overly vigilant so the cover of darkness would suit me well.

…

It's a little past midnight when I made my move. Using empathy one last time to make sure no one in a tent is conscious, I drop down from the tree and sneak towards the sentry at the north side of the camp. From his chakra pool, he is one of the ninjas I'm here to eliminate and one of the three people awake keeping watch.

For obvious reasons, he'd be my first target.

Have to give credit where it's due; for someone with no idea that there is a hit on his group, he's taking watch duty very seriously. Sneaking among the trees while keeping an eye on him, I don't detect even a touch of boredom on his face or any small movements denoting wanting to be elsewhere. A dedicated one then.

Too bad it wouldn't save him from me.

Waiting for one of his periodic scans where he turns his head to look around, I launch a kunai at him. Dashing behind it, I was presented with the graphic sight of the metal tool entering and embedding itself into the side of his head. Catching his body and dragging it behind some trees I use empathy another time. No signs of alertness.

Just one more threat left, and I had already memorized which tent was his. Striding quickly yet quietly through the camp, I stopped in front of the designated tent and observed it. Besides the common traps, seals can also be used to ward off trespassers when set up correctly and they are much more dangerous. Finding none, I enter the tent to find the ninja snoring away. The lighting is poor in here, but I can make out the slashed grass headband. Same as what the other one wore, perhaps they deserted together. Bracing myself, I reach out with one hand to jerk his chin up and with the other add a slash to his throat to match the one on his forehead protector. Looking down at his rapidly bleeding out corpse, I can't help but feel some complex emotions over doing the deed. But now isn't the time. There are others to take care of.

With that in mind and no more ninjas to potentially sense chakra use anymore, I create five clones who leave to carry out their purpose.

I dragged out the body and set it down at the center of the encampment. It doesn't take long for my clones to knock out the other sentries along with the sleeping bandits. Upon doing so they bring them to where I stood and began binding their limbs with the wire I brought. Once done, they went back out collecting everything that was of use and storing them into two scrolls. While they did that I went to the trees where I had left the other ninja and return placing the body on top of the other. Running through hand seals and feeling my chakra respond almost sluggishly, I set the bodies on fire using the great fireball technique.

After only ashes remain, I create more clones, one to carry each remaining bandit, and then speed back towards the town.

From the first kunai thrown to my departure, less than half an hour had passed. What an eventful night.

…

"You did good." Were Jiraiya's first words regarding the debrief.

Running all night, I had managed to get back by dawn. Leaving the town hall sans bandits and a little bit richer, we had retreated back to our hostel to discuss things. After running all day yesterday, attacking the bandit camp, and then running throughout the night, I was pretty tired. And having shadowed me the whole time so was Jiraiya. But I'd rather get this out of the way then sleep on it.

"Picking up and following the trail, observing the camp for the best time to attack, and the attack itself were all well done. You did most of it without using chakra?" At my nod he continued, "I thought so, only noticed it when the clones came out of the tent. Anyways, the only comment I have is to take out all the sentries first next time. You may have known ahead of time that there were only two shinobi and made them a priority but that may not always be the case. It's best to deal with those on watch and minimize the chances of the alarm being sounded if something is discovered. Understood?"

"Yes. I'll remember that for next time." I affirmed.

"Good. That was the only suggestion. Now," His look of concern grew more prominent, "How are you feeling about your first kills?"

"I feel like a mess at the moment. An uncomfortable blend of many different emotions." I decided to be as honest as possible. "It was easier and harder than I expected it to be. But I'm really happy they didn't ask for the death of the others. Bad enough I had to kill the shinobi, doing the same to what amounted to civilians would have been harder."

"Naruto… As a war veteran and someone who has experienced a lot of what the shinobi world has to offer, I'll be honest with you and say that it gets easier. Not the act of killing, but in the way of living with yourself afterwards. You have to find your reason for what you do during missions. For many it's because they were ordered to and it was their duty, for some it's a way to feed their family, and for others it's to protect their loved ones and their home. My advice to you is to find your own reason for carrying out the tasks in a shinobi's life. A greater purpose to assuage that pain you feel. Recognize that each life you take is precious but that each violent act can play a part in the creation of something better. Do you understand what I'm asking of you?"

I find myself staring in shock and even some awe at these words. They're surprisingly eloquent compared to other stuff that I've heard Jiraiya say. But it's not a bad philosophy to live to. One that I would do well to take as my own.

Not finding the right words at the moment, all I could do was nod.

"Do that, and I promise that you will be alright. One more thing, would you say that mission was hard?" At the shake of my head in the negative, he continued, "As expected. I accepted this one to allow you your first experience in taking a life, not to test your combative abilities. I know that you could take on dozens of ninjas of that level easily even if you hadn't caught them unaware. No, your real test will be more challenging. I will work with Tsunade to assign you an A-ranked missing-nin and you will find and defeat him. Understood?"

"I do." I confirmed. This was a pretty big leap, but not one that I didn't think I was ready for. It might be my first real fight against someone that wasn't Jiraiya. I say might because I didn't plan on attacking anyone face to face unless I had to. I'm a ninja, it's what we do. No need for stupid banter or letting them figure out how to beat me in a drawn-out altercation. We will see how this missing-nin fares.

"I haven't picked one yet so until then we will continue with our normal routine. Think that's all. I'm going to rest for a little bit, and I think you should do the same. I have some time before I have to meet up with my next source so we can stay here for another week." Offering one last pat on the back he went to clean up before retiring to bed.

All the while his words of advice bounced around in my head.

…

That week went by peacefully. After that day we checked out and went back to the clearing where we had stayed and set up the camp again. From there the grind continued; physical training in the morning, sparring with Jiraiya, and meditating in the evenings. Those sessions were dedicated to coming to terms with my emotions and reaffirming my conviction to meeting my goal.

The weekend came around again and I decided it was time I got over myself and stop acting like a monk. And I had the perfect way to do that. Learning from Jiraiya the ridiculously long chain of hand seals for the anti-pregnancy jutsu and donning a slight transformation on my face to add a few years, I was ready to go. My appearance now put me in that range where it was hard to discern a specific age. Could be a mature seventeen or a youthful twenty-three. And being tall for my age allowed me to pass myself off as a shorter adult. A fact due to the lower than average height of people here compared to Earth.

Strolling along the dirt roads, my head was on a swivel. The social scene around here was not what I was used to. No parties where the ladies would congregate. No clubs where they would go to dance and have fun. No social media. With that being the case, I chose to go looking for them in the way many of my friends use to. Bar hopping.

Walking into the second bar I had found, I struck gold. The first thing I had noticed was her plush posterior squashed atop the stool she sat on near the counter. After that was the long black hair falling to her midback and the intricate kimono she was wearing. I was interested, but I had to see the other side before I could commit. So, I approached her. Sitting in the seat beside her and casting a subtle look, I mentally patted myself on the back. Fair complexion and while not having any striking features, she was still a pretty woman. She had reminded me of Shizune, with a better butt. Really appealing to an A guy such as myself.

Starting with a smile and a compliment on her kimono, I slowly began to chat her up. Learned that she was a seamstress, was celebrating a successful commission, and was single. The flirting ramped up after getting that tidbit. And if her ques were to be believed she didn't mind. Empathy backed that up. One last exchange saw us moving to a different venue.

"Are you sure you want little old me? There are a couple younger girls who would love a handsome young man like yourself." Coquettish smile on her face.

"Well personally, I find older women to be so much more entrancing. A sexy, mature body and real confidence in herself. That's what I see in you and that's what I want." Almost whispering in her ear at this point. "If you let me, I want to leave with you. To take you somewhere private and please that sinful body. To bring you to heights you'd never imagined. To make you scream my name. You only have to consent."

Her cheeks flushed with color as she slowly nodded.

We went to her modest home and I made good on that promise. I never go back on those after all.

Sharing a heated kiss. Taking in her amazing figure in the nude.

Trailing kisses down her body. Tongue going to work on her folds and delicate nub. Eyes peering down from above a heaving chest. An explosion of juices.

Splitting her lips and sinking deep into her core. Resting in the tight embrace. Her face as she climaxed over and over.

Positioning her on all fours. Hard length poking at her tight rosebud. The furnace of her bowels. Painting virgin territory white. Repeatedly. The deluge of fluids from the conquered orifice.

Pleasure and exertion claiming her consciousness.

Lying in bed with her cuddled to my side still asleep, I had no complaints. If anything, I wanted more. I decided to wait until she woke up though. She deserved her rest after putting up with me the previous night. My staying power hadn't been the greatest, but my ability to rise to the occasion over and over had made sure the fun didn't end until she couldn't go any further. The virility of a young ninja was a blessing.

Speaking of ninja, I think a special thanks should go to the creator of the jutsu I used. If I was back home, I would have had to use a whole box of condoms just during the one night. While here they don't have such protections. The only methods I know of to prevent accidental pregnancy was some tea leaf that women could take at the beginning of their cycle and the jutsu. The jutsu had a version for females and a longer one for males. But I think thirty-four hand seals is an okay trade to having sex bareback.

In the end, bloodline users inventing contraceptives to protect their genes still benefitted the rest of us.

Feeling a shift in the form beside me I made sure to reapply the transformation. Keeping it up while being busy was one thing, doing that while asleep was another.

Turning and running my hand over the curve of her hips, I placed a kiss on her forehead. "Good morning, Yua."

"Mmm, good morning to you too Naruto-kun." She smiled.

"How are you feeling on the start of such a beautiful day?"

"Great. Had fun last night, I wouldn't say no to a repeat. Is that what you wanted to hear?" She asked with a laugh.

"Can't a man wonder about the health of his lover? I genuinely care." I replied with mock indignation.

"I know what you were after. And lover, am I?"

"Yup. I know you loved what we did last night."

"Someone sure seems confident." She challenged.

"I know where I stand. And if I didn't, your reactions would have clued me in." I responded with a wink to which she playfully slapped my shoulder. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

"I have to open the store soon. Probably in another hour or so." She said glancing out at the rising sun.

"Right, you mentioned that. Hey, do you mind if I hang around and look at your products?"

"Of course not, I would love to show you my wares. But you have to buy something though."

"I'll do you one better," I replied, "I want to arrange a commission."

"Really?" She moved around to place her back against the headboard. The new position causing her chest to be exposed to the air and of course my eyes fixed onto her girls. She only smirked. "You would trust me with a commission before seeing if I was worth it?"

"Why not?" Sitting up and giving her my attention. Above her neck this time. "Based off that kimono you wore yesterday; you have serious skill. And I want to make use of them."

"Well thank you, it's my passion in life. So, what are you looking for?" She inquired.

"A cloak. Mainly black with some red thrown in. Should go down to about my knees. I can draw it up later if that would help." I offered.

After seeing Naruto in the six paths sage mode, I knew that black and gold was the move. With the wisps of chakra flowing off of him and the truth-seeking balls in the back? Badass. I didn't have access to that form and might never, but I can copy the basic idea. Due to that, I already had a color scheme for my future armor but since I didn't plan on wearing that everywhere, I needed another signature. Thus, the cloak. Loosely based on what I remembered him wearing while confronting Pain, it would be my go-to.

"Sounds easy enough." She commented.

"Cool. Knew I could rely on you."

"I have yet to make it flatterer," rolling her eyes, "It will probably take a few days. Even longer if you want more than one of them."

"That's to be expected. And I definitely want more than one. A couple made with tough fabric for traveling and then another set for casual wear. I'll be leaving the town soon, but I can come back when they're ready. We can figure out the timeframe later."

"Agreed. Now, I think there's something that we've been neglecting…" Her eyes went down to my waistline where the unobstructed view of her breasts had caused a certain reaction.

"I can get behind that. Or behind you actually." I affirmed with a grin. Taking the hint for what it was, she pushed the sheets to the side and turned around placing her hands on the headboard.

Taking in the view, all I could think of was how lucky I was. Honestly, to meet a good-looking woman, who was also a seamstress, and also had this great of an ass? Christmas must have followed me here.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked while giving a little wiggle. "I want you no-OW!"

Massaging in my hand the plump cheek I had just spanked, I pulled it aside to see what I was working with. Looks like I wasn't the only one raring to go this morning.

"Where do you want it?" I knew what I wanted to try again, but better to let her make the decision.

Giving me a heated look over her shoulder, she chewed her bottom lip in thought.

"Where you ended yesterday?" She finally picked.

That... would be exactly what I had in mind. Though I didn't think she would ask for that herself before getting warmed up. I could definitely work with that though.

Grabbing myself with my free hand, I guided it to its destination.

A lucky man indeed.

…

Walking into our shared room to applause, I ignored his antics and shut the door behind me.

"My little boy's a man now!" Proclaimed Jiraiya in faux tears. "He's went out and had his eyes opened by the wonders of the female persuasion."

Pretending to not care about his words externally, I couldn't help but feel accomplished. I crossed that milestone much earlier in this life than my past one. And who doesn't appreciate a good hype man?

"I'm so proud of you Naruto. None of my past students took to my teachings as well as you have. Now you can go forth using what I taught you to woo all those lonely hearts throughout the nations. And then you tell me about your 'adventures' to create my next bestseller. Make out paradise: what the heart wants. A man looking for love while roaming the elemental nations. Steamy action galore." The last part was said with his typical laugh. That weird giggle he had going on.

"Woah. Hold on there. First of all, you didn't teach me to woo anyone. Secondly, if anyone is writing a book about my sex life, it's me. Not some old man." I stated.

"I didn't have to teach you, you picked it up from me just being around me. I'm that good." His chest puffed up.

"It didn't work that way. I'm just a natural lady's man."

"Yes, it did. And what do you know about writing fine literature? I have to be the one who writes it."

"Like I said, I'm a natural. And no one is writing erotica about me except me. Get your own muse."

"Fine, I'll base it off my experiences." Huffed Jiraiya, before his tone changed, "So, how was it?"

"It was amazing. Mind-blowing." I replied in the same manner. "And get this, she's a seamstress."

"Hahaha, that's what I like to hear." He crowed, extending a fist to me.

Recognizing what he was after, I reached out and pumped mine with his. This brought up fond memories of my friends. Hope they're having as much fun as I was. Likely more without me there to slow them down.

"So, you talked to her about that cloak you wanted?"

"Yeah. She agreed to make them, so I gave her the specifics. I'll have to return here in a couple months or so.

"Good. I don't mind coming back here again. For now, I'm feeling pretty hungry. Want to go to that restaurant across from us? Heard it's good." He asked getting up.

"Sure, I can eat again."

-GoS-​

1 Year 6 Months into the trip

Flying under your own power is one of the greatest sensations in this world. Its fun, convenient for traveling, and can be the best escape route in a pinch. People here should do it more. Like honestly, if that short dude from Iwa can do it using an earth jutsu, then it shouldn't be that hard to figure out.

Of course, in this case when I say flying, I'm actually euro-stepping some kilometers in the air. Running on air platforms is more chakra efficient than my method of ejecting air from my palms and soles like the late Tony Stark. May he rest in peace. It also allows me the use of my hands for the special binoculars I'd obtained.

They allowed me to keep a visual on my target whom I'd been trailing for the past couple days. A missing-nin from Iwa named Shiroto, no clan affiliation. An A rank with known proficiency in earth and some fire release, he had a bounty of a quarter million ryo. The reward was decent, but it was not my primary motivation for targeting Shiroto; it was to pass Jiraiya's test. That desire leads to me being even more meticulous in my plan of attack.

After leaving the town where Yua lived, we had passed through many other settlements and sometimes they had something for me to do. Be it carrying a message scroll, seeing to bandit issues, and even being a guard; I had carried out a number of 'missions'. A few weeks ago, Jiraiya had finally decided and sent me out to find Shiroto here. Since then, it took me up until two days ago to find his trail and thus him where I had taken to observing him from above where the distance would make him unlikely to detect my presence. And now, I would make my entrance.

Palming the six kunai I had attached explosive tags to, I cut the flow of chakra beneath me and entered freefall. Adjusting my body, I fell towards him going headfirst at an angle. Ignoring the wind racing by me, I mentally counted down until I hit the optimal distance. Launching the kunai while leveling out of my descent, I watched the weapons fly toward the rogue ninja. They were not on course to hit him but that hadn't been my intention in the first place. As soon as they had flown into position around him, I triggered the specially made tags.

"BOOM."

Standing firmly outside of the blast radius, I waited patiently for him to reveal himself. His chakra presence was easy to discern even inside the dust and smoke, despite how muted it had become. It would seem that he was attempting to play dead. The foreign chakra trying to enter my pathways was further proof.

Enough. Flexing my chakra and sending out a gust of air, I dispersed both the genjutsu and the smoke cloud.

The explosive tags I had used were more akin to pressure grenades than anything else. Sure, it still had the combustion as expected, but the most dangerous aspect of it was the sheer force it packed. Enough to rupture blood vessels and harm internal organs in a shinobi if caught unaware. And Shiroto had been caught in the middle of six of them going off. Which made the sight before me as the cloud was swept away both surprising and then not so.

Still in what was ground zero, the missing-nin had managed to survive. Down on one knee and bleeding from his visible orifices, there was a certain sheen to his skin that was fading as I watched. Some type of body reinforcement, likely earth based like Kakuzu's. The fact that he was able to raise his defenses so quickly is commendable. A testament to his abilities. It meant that I would have to personally finish him off. Guess I would be getting that fight after all.

I dashed towards him while molding chakra for a hot water bullet. Seeing me approach, he slammed his palms on the ground after running through some seals, raising an earth wall. Launching my jutsu, I leapt into the air and above the wall using consecutive euro-steps which put him in my sight again. Forming a giant rasengan, I propelled myself off an air platform at him.

He jumped away at the last second causing me to impact the ground leaving a crater and flying debris. Ignoring that, I body-flickered behind his flying body and caught him with a roundhouse to the back sending him crashing through his earth wall. It felt like I hit a block of metal; he was handy with that defense of his.

Going on the offense once again, I reached him after he got back on both feet and we engaged in taijutsu. It was quickly obvious who was superior in that regard; he was injured which lowered all his physical attributes while I was still at a hundred percent. His only saving grace was his body armament; with proper warning he could reinforce his arms to block hits or his critical areas in time to mitigate the blows that landed.

Well if speed was one way to victory, then I had solutions.

Deflecting a left hook, I used that hand to grab the back of his neck to introduce his face to a rising knee. Letting him go, I gave him two quick strikes to the midsection, a straight to the nose sending him reeling, and then a wind bullet launching him backwards.

Whipping out another kunai, an application of chakra saw it multiplying into half a dozen that rapidly overtook his flight. This next part required a high level of concentration, but I had practiced it enough to be battle ready.

Everything seemed to slow down; my focus only on the airborne ninja and kunai. In a flash, I was off.

Three substitutions. Three rapid-fire strikes.

Knife hand to the throat.

Upward punch to the lumbar bone.

Rasengan to the sternum.

The last attack saw us in a situation to similar to how we had started, with him in a crater. Except this time, he would not rise again with half his chest shredded. Waiting until the life had left his eyes, I began to clean up.

"Weakling. That was not a match worth watching." Remarked Kurama, breaking the radio silence.

'It wasn't. But he can hardly be blamed for that.' I responded internally. Taking out a special storage scroll, I unfurled it next to the corpse.

"Because you attacked while he was unaware. I suppose the credit would go to your proficiency rather than his innate failures."

'Yeah. I doubt many people expect danger from the heights I can now reach. Very few shinobi can fly.' After some maneuvering, the body was sealed away in a puff of smoke.

"You passed the white-haired one's test. Will you return to him now?" He asked.

'I'll stop by the nearest bounty office first if it is on the way. And then I'll return.'

"Very well. Don't forget our agreement." His mental presence receding from the forefront.

Looking around the clearing one last time, I set off.

Couldn't help but think over Kurama's words. That fight had been very easy. After the failed assassination attempt, the now dead missing-nin had been off balance during the rest of the encounter. Overwhelming offense had made it hard for him to get any real attacks in, never mind the fact that he was already injured. Can't really call it a fight; more like a beatdown in my favor.

And I had no problems with that.

Having encounters end that easily is something that I know is unlikely to happen all the time, but I will keep pushing for it. If the possibility for a fatal sneak attack is there, then I can't hesitate to take it. Not with the people I am preparing to fight. People with strong abilities and years' worth of experience in combat over me. Of course, I too had a pretty good hand of cards, but stacking the deck further in my favor doesn't hurt.

'Work smarter, not harder' is a saying for a reason.

…

Turning in the bounty and getting my reward hadn't taken very long. It was a simple process with none of the annoying bureaucracy that one would have expected when dealing with such large sums of money. All the better for me I suppose. Leaving the center behind and meeting back up with Jiraiya, I had presented him with the evidence of my success and received a pretty lackluster congratulations from him. I found it odd, but a scan of his emotions had revealed a crisis of a sort raging internally. So, I had put my concerns aside for a while and simply went about the rest of the day silently after assuming that he would open up whenever he decided to.

It was as we were sitting around the campfire that he finally seemed to reach a resolution.

"Naruto." Looking up from my half-eaten deer haunch, I quirked my eyebrows at him. "I have something to tell you. You've reached a point in your life where you have the strength and maturity to be privy to this information. Especially since it regards you."

Oh. This was looking up to be a very interesting talk. And I think I already knew where this was going.

"It's about your parents." Called it. "Your father was Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage, and your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, an envoy from the Land of Whirlpools before it was destroyed. She was also the nine-tails jinchuriki before you but that is something that very few people knew. Due to this and the notoriety that your father had gained, they kept their relationship and especially your approaching birth a secret. Not that it helped in the end; the night she gave birth, something happened, and the nine-tails was released."

He gained a far off look in his eyes as he looked back to that day. Probably the worst event in Konoha's history as of yet. It cost him a lot; his student, friends, dreams for the future… But being a shinobi meant enduring and Jiraiya had.

"They managed to restrain and seal it into you at the cost of their lives. It was decided after that to keep the identity of your parents a secret to protect you. Both of them had enemies but Minato was a high-profile shinobi, any links to him would have put you under extra scrutiny. It could have revealed not only that you were his son, but that you were also the current jinchuriki which would have raised your threat assessment even higher. I can tell you more about them later, but before anything else, I want you to know that they both loved you. The months before your birth were some of the happiest for the couple and there was nothing that they wouldn't have done for you. Even sacrifice their lives to save yours."

After that spiel, he took a breath before continuing, "I would know that, because I was close to your father. Minato was my pupil just as you are now. I saw his as family and the same was true for him; he even asked me to a surrogate father to you if anything happened to him. To which I agreed not knowing what was to come. Disaster strikes and he died, leaving you an orphan. And instead of fulfilling my promise, I used my duties and lies about your safety to remain outside the village. All the while drowning my sorrows in drink and women. That is one of my greatest regrets in life: abandoning you to a village that spurned the sacrifice that Minato made. I told myself that it was safer for you, but in the end, it was me running away from what mattered most. I will understand if you never forgive me, but I want to do right by you. I want t-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," I said while lowering my hand. "There is no point in asking for forgiveness. Jiraiya, I hold nothing against you. I've been spending some time thinking about the past and the future I want, and long story short, a lot of things have changed. My dreams are not what they used to be and the way I approach problems is no longer the same. I'm a different person now with a new perspective on things. So, you can rest assured that I am not going to hate you for leaving all those years ago. You have been a good mentor and a friend to me over the time that we've been together, and I want you to know that. You may not be a father figure to me, but we can still be family as well. So, stop worrying over stuff like that, you're just adding more years to your face."

"Still…" Catching my look, he let the matter drop, "Thank you. You've really grown Naruto."

"I know." At twenty-three years old mentally, I would find it pretty offensive to have shown no growth in maturity compared to Naruto. "And to be honest, the fourth being my father isn't all that surprising. I had already suspected it after connecting some of the dots. It's the identity of my mother that was harder to pinpoint. Thank you for telling me the truth Jiraiya."

"No need to thank me. You had a right to that information and as soon as you were ready, I had no justification for concealing it. And like I said, I knew both of them and can tell you more about their personal lives if you wish."

I nodded, "I'll take you up on that in the future."

After getting that confession of his chest, Jiraiya seemed to have found his appetite again. I really hoped he took my words to heart. Putting my feelings into words had never been my strong point, but a man has to try his best sometimes. Jiraiya had quickly became a close friend to me. All the time spent traveling, training, and just conversing together had elevated him to bro status in my eyes. Making sure he doesn't get killed by Pain and finding love in Tsunade were two things that I hoped my presence here would fix. Dude deserved at least that much.

Remembering Kurama's last comment, or order basically, I broke the comfortable silence between us.

"Hey, I plan to start training with the nine-tails chakra soon." I said.

"You've finally made up your mind? I remember you saying you wanted to prepare before you messed with that. What can I do to help?" He replied. After some suggestions about using Kurama's chakra, I had told him I wanted to train my body and mind beforehand to lower the risks of me going out of control. He had accepted my reasoning back then and hadn't brought it up again.

"Hopefully you can provide me with the key to unlock the seal. I've looked at it and it appears to have limits in place to prevent me from drawing out too much chakra. I could break them myself, but I figured there was probably a safer method, hence a key."

"There is a key, but do you really have to unlock it fully?" He seemed somewhat hesitant while responding. "I had planned to loosen it when you started training but only a little bit. I don't think going that far so fast is safe."

"I can handle it. Trust me, I wouldn't suggest so otherwise." Seeing his reluctance dimming, I sweetened the deal, "And I don't plan to do it just yet, just wanted to give you advance warning and time to prepare the key if you had it. I was thinking of doing it at the end of this year. Should give me a good amount of time to adapt to it before returning to the village."

After deliberating for a while Jiraiya sighed, "Fine. We can do it then. That should give me more than enough time to arrange some precautions."

"Cool."

"Soon…"

Next chapter as promised. So I posted chapter one and then took over an hour to post this one because I forgot how I got the other one to format properly. Troublesome.

Two altercations in this chapter and as a warning, most of the fight scenes in this story will go like the second one. MC blindsides target and finishes them off quickly. I would say its because they're ninja and that's how they fight, but I'm also new to putting these type of scenes into words. Don't come at me.

And this chapter had a bit of content that the version on Fanfic.net doesn't have, figured you people here could handle it.

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Phoenix InvictusMaking the rounds.

Shouldn't the euro-step be aero-step instead? Or is that a reference I'm missing?

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Vox De HarlequinSelf-Taught Black Magic Initiate

Thanks for the chapters.

I'm obligated to ask...

Kushina route Y/N?

She's not in the shinigami's stomach 

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Emiya PendragonThe Boundary

Phoenix Invictus said: ↑

Shouldn't the euro-step be aero-step instead? Or is that a reference I'm missing?

Likely the euro fighter typhoon. The most agile fighter jet in the world.. 

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