(At Myōboku Mountain)
Naruto's two Fuuton Rasengan and Jiraiya's two double sized Rasengan collided head on, resulting in a huge explosion that blew both them away from each other. Both Sage and Sage trainee were thrust through the air and skidded hard across the ground. Quickly getting back off the floor, Naruto, using Wind Speed Force rushed at Jiraiya in an attempt to ram him head on as he focused all of his wind chakra into one central point. Jiraiya however manuvered himself away from Naruto's attack just seconds before Naruto aimed and blasted the Wind Speed Force into the ground Jiraiya was just lying on. The result was an explosion of dirt and strong and dangerous winds blasting a cloud of rocks and dirt all over the place. The Sannin was pelted hard with some of those rocks but his Sage Mode minimized the amount of injuries he would had from being assaulting by the wind driven rocks.
"Alright Naruto," Jiraiya declared, "Get ready because I won't be going easy on you!"
Thirty minutes went by since that declaration. Naruto and Jiraiya went at it and battled each other with their respective Sage Mode forms and, needless to say, the surrounding landscape had seen better and happier days as everything around them now laid in ruins.
Naruto soon pulled away to catch his breath while he was holding his chest. He was breathing hard and looked very worn out and sore. His clothes were completely ragged, covered with sweat, dirt, and some blood stains. The sleeves of his tattered orange jacket were shredded off, reducing his jacket to something akin to a sleeveless vest. Naruto himself sustained a series of injuries and bruises all over his body as blood was seeping down both sides of his mouth. Like his clothes, Naruto himself had dirt and mud stains on his body with open cuts all over the place.
He's harder to fight than Orochimaru was, Naruto thought seriously, his lungs still gasping for air, Then again, Orochimaru isn't a Sage. Even after dropping my gravity and chakra restraint seals to a very low level and taking advantage of what I know about Sage Mode, Jiraiya is still able to give me a difficult fight. Either I'm slipping, or he's stronger than he lets on. In addition to that, I can only maintain Sage Mode for only a few minutes at my current level before I'm forced to try to gather nature chakra again. The problem with that is that I have to be completely motionless as I bring nature chakra into my body. I'm going to have to come up with a method or two in order to remedy that.
That boy is still conscious and standing, looking like he wants to fight to his last breath, Jiraiya thought with admiration. Even he didn't come out of the match unscathed. Even with imperfect Sage Mode, Naruto was able to stand his ground against me. Then again, my Sage Mode isn't perfect either. I can only imagine what this boy will be able to accomplish in a month's time.
Naruto was about to say something to Jiraiya when something in his mind caused him to fall into a sudden trance.
(Naruto's Mindscape)
Naruto found himself in a lit up brick tunnel. Observing his surroundings, he deduced that he was somewhere in his mind again, but not in the same place as where he met Susanoo.
"Looks like I'm back inside my head," Naruto remarked before he started down the corridor. While walking, he heard a loud beastly growl coming from the end of the tunnel.
"That growl," Naruto muttered. "Could it be..."
Naruto continued and soon turned the corner as he followed the booming echoes of the growls he was hearing. A few moments later, he eventually found himself standing in front of a towering two-door steel gate that had a paper with the word "seal" written on it placed on the gate. Naruto looked through the bars of the cage to a see a gigantic creature that was locked away behind it. The creature behind the gates looked down to see the Uzumaki standing before him.
Seeing this creature for the first time, Naruto remarked, "You're the ugliest bunny I've ever seen. You're nothing like my Moon Rabbit."
"I'm not a rabbit, you foolish mortal, and I'm not a female either," the creature replied darkly.
"You have long ears like a rabbit," Naruto joked. "And you're in a cage like one too."
The giant creature snarled and calmed down.
"...Come closer boy," the creature replied. Naruto approached the gates and as he did, three massive claws came at him between the bars restricting the creature. Naruto stood where he was, the middle claw only an inch from his face.
"Greetings to you too, Kurama," Naruto remarked cynically. "I trust your captivity within my body has been most pleasant."
"You dare address me by my name mortal!?" Kurama said angrily, "Only the Sage of the Six Paths was worthy of calling me by that name!"
"Seeing that I'm that Sage's descendant," Naruto retorted, "I'll address you by your real name, like it or not. Deal with it! Unless you prefer I address you by a more derogative name or title because I know plenty of colorful names to address you by."
"You humor me, brat," Kurama said as he retracted his claws and stared down at Naruto. He then continued, "The first seven years of your life were pitiful. However, I watched over the years how you made extraordinary changes to both yourself and the Hyuuga heiress you plan to have as your mate. It was entertaining watching you humble and butcher everyone who dared defy you. It made my time here less unpleasant."
"Be that as it may, Kurama, I've been meaning to see and talk to you for a while now. I just didn't know how to reach you," Naruto said.
"I'm aware of that, Naruto," Kurama said, "You're seeking answers to what happened thirteen years ago when I was put under a genjutsu and forced to attack Konoha."
"You're the only witness to that event that I can easily get to," Naruto replied, "Can you tell me who it was that manipulated you into attacking Konoha after you were extracted from my mother's seal?"
"You seek my help in solving this mystery?" Kurama questioned and then said, "Even I don't know the identity of the Uchiha who became your parents' attacker. All I know was that he was wearing an orange mask with black markings around it, with a lone Sharingan showing from the right eye of the mask. He was also wearing dark robes, gloves, and a hood over his head. He made quite an effort to conceal his identity save for the fact that he was an Uchiha."
"I see," Naruto accepted with a tone of disappointment, "Another dead end."
"However," Kurama continued, "Before he managed to put me under his control through the use of that cursed Mangekyou Sharingan of his, I managed to get one good smell of that man's scent."
Naruto's head shot up on hearing that. "What can you tell me?"
"The culprit's scent was mixed with an aura similar to that of Senju Hashirama. Somehow, he managed to get ahold of some of the Shodai's cells," Kurama informed.
"That's interesting to know," Naruto said. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"
"I would have been able to match the scent to the Uchiha who was the culprit, however Itachi did me the service of exterminating that accursed clan," Kurama commented. "Though he spared Sasuke for whatever reason. I don't understand why. It doesn't add up whenever I think about it."
"You suspect there was an ulterior motive to Itachi sparing Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"Whatever the motive, I'm sure it will amount to nothing but a waste of everyone's time," Kurama snarled.
"Whatever," Naruto remarked.
"Your father had a safe house outside of Konoha's walls," Kurama said, "He teleported both me and himself there before sealing half of me into you before talking the other dark half of me with him into the Shinigami. I don't know if that house is still there or if it was sealed off. You might find something of value there, if anything."
"Seals are my specialty," Naruto remarked, "If it's sealed off then I'll find a way to break it and access that safe house. But why are you telling me this?"
"Because that's where I tried to kill you to prevent myself from being sealed away again. It's also where your parents died, protecting you from the very claw I lashed out at you just moments ago," Kurama replied darkly, "Then again, your parents were going to die regardless, since I was extracted out of your mother and your father had summoned the Shinigami. All I did now that I think about it was speed up the process."
"Aren't you full of such tender mercies?" Naruto mocked cynically.
"Think what you will of me mortal," Kurama retorted, "It's of no concern to me."
There was a brief moment of silence between Kurama and Naruto. After another moment...
"Give me your chakra," Naruto said authoritatively.
"Excuse me!?" Kurama retorted.
"You've been living inside my body over thirteen years, and you owe me rent in the form of your chakra," Naruto replied.
"And what makes you think I'd freely give you my chakra?" Kurama replied.
"You can either cooperate, or watch me get beaten to a pulp by my godfather, whom I've been meaning to vent my pent up anger on," Naruto answered, "And even if you don't cooperate, knowing you, you'll still use your chakra to repair my broken body, seeing as you don't like looking weak in front of anyone, even if it's through your host."
Kurama smirked and gave a dark chuckle, "You amuse me, brat. Considering the life you've lived, it would be foolish on my part to believe you'd simply cower before me and not make demands of me."
Kurama sent out a pool of red chakra through the bottom of the bars to Naruto. The ckakra wrapped tightly around the Uzumaki.
"Use my payment wisely, mortal," Kurama said.
(Meanwhile)
Jiraiya was about to go on the offensive again when he suddenly felt a massive power spike coming from Naruto. He looked to see red chakra bubbling out of the young teenager before it burst forth into a flaming aura. Naruto grew fangs as his whisker marks became more feral. His eyes turned red, his pupils turned into cat-like slits, and his nails turned into razor sharp claws. Looking back at Jiraiya, he gave his godfather a defiant look.
"He managed to tap into Kyuubi's chakra," Jiraiya said seriously. "I don't know how much control of himself he'll have since he's never resorted to using it before."
"There's no telling how this will end, but we better be prepared for anything Jiraiya-chan," Fukusaku warned. Just then, Naruto bit his thumb and raced through a set of hand seals and slammed his palm into the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out before a massive burst of white smoke appeared and covered a large region of land. When the smoke cleared it revealed Naruto standing on top of Gamabunta.
"That gaki managed to summoned Gamabunta in his first attempt at summoning?!" Jiraiya exclaimed.
"What the?!" Gamabunta shouted. "Jiraiya, why did you summon me out here when I was in the middle of having some good sake!?"
"I didn't summon you! That blond gaki standing on your head did!" Jiraiya corrected.
"I have a name Jiraiya, and it's not gaki!" Naruto retorted.
"You're telling me that that Naruto was able to summon me out here?" Gamabunta asked in surprise.
"That Uzumaki child we told you and Elder Sage about is quite a ninja Gamabunta!" Shima said, "Presently we're testing to see how far we can gauge his abilities and from what we're seeing he's a handful, even with Sage Mode!"
"That's saying something!" Gamabunta remarked.
"Gamabunta," Naruto called out, "I need your help in fighting my godfather! Since he's using Fukusaku and Shima against me, I need your strength to level the playing field."
"From the looks of the landscape I'd say that the playing field is leveled enough," Gamabunta joked.
"Whatever," Naruto remarked, "Anyway, here's what I need from you."
Naruto lowered his voice enough for only Gamabuna to hear. Jiraiya and the Sage toads saw that Naruto was secretly explaining something to the giant toad.
"I'm not so sure about that," Gamabunta replied, "I was never skilled in that jutsu."
"Don't worry about that," Naruto assured, "Let me handle the required seals while we combine our chakra for the jutsu."
"Normally I'd require a test of endurance from a new summoner before allowing him to become one of my summoners. But I'll make this test you're having with Jiraiya, Fukusaku, and Shima a substitute," Gamabunta commented before getting himself ready to battle.
"He's using Gamabunta as his partner against us," Jiraiya warned. "Be prepared for anything."
Fukusaku and Shima nodded and got ready to fight again. Naruto put out more of Kyuubi's chakra and after performing the required hand seals, Gamabunta rushed and leaped forward before he and Naruto burst into a huge cloud of smoke. From the white smoke came "Kurama", roaring in all his primal glory.
"WHAT THE!?" Jiraiya yelled before he hurriedly jumped out of the way of the massive clawed right hand that nearly smashed him deep into the ground. Jiraiya backed away and looked at the creature before him.
"That gaki executed a fusion henge with Gamabunta! He's using the form of Kyuubi against us!" Jiraya realized. "Kurama" snarled at Jiraiya, scratching his craws into the ground with his nine tails swinging and whipping around into the air.
"Anyone got a plan?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes," Fukusaku replied, "Run and get out of the way!"
No sooner than he said that, Jiraiya hurriedly jumped out of they way a second before one of "Kurama's" tails whipped forward and nearly smashed him into the ground. "Kurama" was not deterred, whipping out another tail that caught Jiraiya by surprise. The Sannin was sent flying through the air before "Kurama" appeared above him and punched him hard into the ground, cratering it on contact. Jiraiya coughed and struggled to get back up. That was when "Kurama" went on the offensive and took to fighting Jiraiya, Fukusaku, and Shima in a fierce bout. It didn't help that Gamabunta was very familiar with Jiraiya's style of fighting, thus he knew how to get around and counter Jiraiya's attacks.
Jiraiya soon created some distance between himself and "Kurama." He took a moment to catch his breath and think of a means to counter the fused duo.
"It's been a long time since I had a fight this hard," Jiraiya said, feeling worn down. "And part of me thinks Gamabunta's enjoying this."
"Well you wanted to test Naruto's skills and learn how much he hides from your former sensei and everyone else," Fukusaku remained.
"I expected a lot of things, but this sort of development is nuts," Jiraiya replied before he saw "Kurama" preparing his next attack.
"Kurama" raised his head and opened his mouth wide and brought all nine tails toward his mouth. Red chakra, concentrated wind chakra and Gamabunta's oil in gas form started swirling and gathering together into one huge ball. When that was done, the ball condensed into a smaller one releasing a large energy wave that cratered the ground in front of the "bijuu" in the form of a circular crater.
"Kurama" then swallowed the ball into his mouth. Lowering his head, "Kurama" looked at Jiraiya and with narrowed eyes.
"Oh no!" Jiraiya said in realization, "They're doing an imitation Bijuudama!"
"Kurama" opened his mouth as white light appeared before a powerful white fireball was blasted from out of his mouth and straight in Jiraiya's direction.
"I THINK THAT GAKI IS REALLY TRYING TO KILL ME!" Jiraiya screamed.
"WHAT ABOUT US!?" Shima yelled back before the three of them narrowly evaded the attack that exploded violently in an earth shaking blast that blanketed the region in pure white light and heat. The explosion lasted for a couple of moments before it gradually died down.
When it did, the landscape was entirely burned and in ruins. All that remained was a gigantic crater with smoke ascending to the skies. Jiraiya, with Fukusaku and Shima, emerged from the rubble. Although alive, they were bruised up and burnt. The combined trio looked to see "Kurama" still standing in the same spot as before with his tails swirling and swinging in the air freely.
"Let's call it a draw," Jiraiya suggested. "Any further and we'll end up destroying each other."
The fusion henge was dispelled, revealing Naruto standing on top of Gamabunta's head. By this time, the red chakra around Naruto was gone and Naruto's feral features returned to normal.
"That was an amazing display of power, Naruto," Gamabunta praised, "I was skeptic at first, I admit, but I must confess how wrong I was about you. You've more than earned your role as our new summoner and Toad Sage trainee. But you must do one more thing to make this official."
"And what's that?" Naruto asked
"You must have a drink with me!" Gamabunta laughed, causing Jiraiya, Fukusaku, and Shima to groan in annoyance. Naruto laughed and said, "Sure! Why not? Old enough to kill, old enough to drink yourself stupid, as I'm sure some crazy hot lady once said."
(Back In Konoha)
Anko sneezed loudly as she was walking with Kurenai with three sticks of dango and a cup of red bean soup in her hands.
"That was quite a sneeze," Kurenai stated, "Are you coming down with something?"
"Either that or someone with a death wish is thinking about me in an inappropriate way," Anko remarked before taking a bite out of one of her dango and sipping some of her red bean soup.
"When do inappropriate and you not mix?" Kurenai teased.
"Someone has spunk today," Anko remarked before she asked suggestively, "Did Asuma show you a good time?"
"Anko!" Kurenai exclaimed with a dark blush as Anko gave her a mischievous smile. Deciding to change the subject Kurenai said, "Anyway, Hinata has come a long way in her training with genjutsu. I didn't think I'd be able to train any of my Genin in that field, but Hinata has taking a liking to it."
"With the way you treat that girl, I'm surprised you haven't tried adopting her from her clan," Anko remarked, "But I don't see myself acting like that with any Genin, if I were ever given any to train in the first place. It isn't my thing."
Anko continued eating her dango and red bean soup as she spent the day hanging out with Kurenai.
(Three Hours Later; On Top Of The Hokage Monument)
Naruto, Jiraiya, Fukusaku, and Shima had teleported back to Konoha just minutes ago. Naruto had insisted on returning as soon as possible in order to make preparations for his girlfriend's new training regiment which was to begin tomorrow morning. Despite his fatigue and chakra exhaustion from earlier, he still had some strength left. Jiraiya told him that they would resume the Sage training later tomorrow after his time training Hinata. The Sannin also told Naruto that he would have to begin training using his lightning element and the Kiba Blades. Naruto agreed before hurrying on his way.
"That boy is a handful," Fukusaku commented.
"Even so, he's going to go far, and with everything we've seen so far, he'll be a force to be reckoned with," Jiraiya commented.
Despite his limited amount of chakra, Naruto summoned three kage bunshin and sent them out to get everything set up for tomorrow. The clones dispersed and went on their way.
After they left, Naruto made his way to Ichiraku and when he got there, he ordered and started eating bowl after bowl after bowl of beef and pork ramen. Ayame and her father Teuchi saw the horrid condition of Naruto's clothes, and Naruto explained what happened during his training session with Jiraiya. All the while, Naruto just continued stuffing his face with as much food he could eat. Teuchi and Ayame knew how much Naruto could eat, but his appetite that evening was just ravenous. They were thankful that Naruto was able to pay for all the food he ate after he was done.
"Gee kid, the way you were eating, I was afraid you'd eat everything we have," Teuchi commented.
"It was tempting, but I didn't want to be too gluttonous," Naruto replied, "Besides, I haven't eaten much of my favorite food in days because of my godfather's idea of trying out new foods. I swore that I'd get back at him somehow and I did with some pocket money I got managed to get out of him which I'm very appreciative of."
"We heard from Kakashi that you made it to the Chuunin Exam Finals," Ayame said, "Congratulations on getting this far."
"You sound more enthused than usual, Ayame," Naruto remarked.
"And why not," Ayame replied, "It's not everyday we hear that our favorite customer will become a Chuunin after the finals."
"You sound confident that I will pass," Naruto said.
"There's no reason not to after everything my father and I heard about you from your peers and others," Ayame stated, "We know you're going to pass and make Chuunin."
Naruto smiled and nodded, "Thanks for your confidence and support."
Just then Naruto got the memories from his clones and saw that the preparations for Hinata's new training were complete. But that wasn't the only thing Naruto learned from his clones. He also found out that Honoka and Karin moved everything from his old apartment into their new home, the house that once belong to Minato and Kushina. This took place during the three days Naruto was away from Konoha. The two girls dusted and cleaned everything inside the house. It helped that Honoka knew Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
So Jiisan kept his word in giving me my parents' house, along with everything that belong to them, Naruto acknowledged through the memories of his clones.
"Well, it's getting late and I think I'm going to turn in for the rest of the night. See you both later," Naruto said as he got up and went on his way.
"Goodnight Naruto-kun, and do try to stay out of trouble," Ayame said while Naruto left their stand.
"C'mon Ayame!" Naruto replied, "How much trouble do you think I get myself into?"
His eyes then caught sight of Anko leisurely walking by herself, apparently heading somewhere.
That reminds me, Naruto grinned mischievously, I've been meaning to gather some intel on that woman.
Deciding to follow her and see where she was going, Naruto kept a safe distance while keeping out of sight. After a while, he saw her entering his favorite bathhouse. Naruto grinned and thought, Peeping on Anko might help me relax after a hard day. And when I think about it, she gives me the impression of an older badass version of Hinata-chan. Which gives me an idea...
Naruto recalled the night before the second part of the Chuunin Exams when one of his clones spied on Anko and found that she loves eating dango, red bean soup and drinking sake. Armed with his information, he hurried to the nearest dango shop.
Meanwhile, Anko went into the bathhouse and got herself ready to get into one of the baths. After making herself comfortable, Anko went into the female section and found it was empty with no one but her present, which suited her just perfectly since she didn't want to be bothered by anyone. But as an extra precaution, Anko summoned deadly pit vipers and scattered them around the area, having them hide in inconspicuous locations. When that was done, she removed her towel, set it down, and sat herself on one of the wooden stools before washing herself thoroughly. After a good wash and rinse, Anko got up and walked over to one of the warm baths.
"Mmmmm," Anko moaned contently as she slowly stepped in and descended into the warm water, "Now that hit the spot."
Anko relaxed into the water and sighed peacefully. All the while Naruto, while using his transparency jutsu, was hiding high among the beams in the ceiling with his notepad and pen in hand. He wrote down every descriptive detail about Anko's mature figure and breasts, though he took note of some of the battle scars around parts of her body; a sign of a veteran kunoichi that had experienced many dangerous missions and close calls. He soon noticed the curse seal mark that was present on Anko's neck, the same type that was on Sasuke's neck.
It's evident that there's more to Anko than I was aware of, Naruto contemplated. I wonder what her past with Orochimaru was.
Naruto was so engrossed with his thoughts concerning Anko's past with Orochimaru that he didn't sense the diamondback rattlesnake quietly slithering its way over to him. By the time Naruto realized there were vipers hiding and slithering around the women's section of the bathhouse...
Shit! She can summon snakes like Orochimaru! That means she was his student at one time! But that also means that I walked right into a trap! Naruto realized this too late when that same diamondback rattlesnake suddenly lashed out and bit his left forearm.
"Argh! Goddamn it!" Naruto swore after being bitten by the rattlesnake. Naruto immediately stabbed and killed the viper with one of his kunai as the reptile set off an alert rattle. Seeing the intruder, the other pit vipers quickly made their way up and over to Naruto as they slithered up the beams.
"Terrific," Naruto cringed as he dispelled his transparency jutsu and grabbed hold of his wounded left forearm as the pain felt like being stabbed with two hot hypodermic needles, "My cover has been blown for the second time this week. Now I'm really starting to become like my godfather. Despite my transparency jutsu, those snakes could still pick up on my body heat."
One of the vipers shot forward towards Naruto but the Elite Genin fell backwards off the beam and landed down on the floor skillfully on his feet. A second later, he quickly ducked backwards just in time as a kunai flew over him and embedded itself into a wall. No sooner than that, Anko, still wet and with a short white towel around her body which did little to cover her figure, summoned two pythons from her arms, which hissed venomously at Naruto.
"Like what you see?" Anko teased with a deadly tone.
"I took notes," Naruto joked despite the intense pain his arm was in as swelling and discoloration of the affected limb was starting up. Lowering his gaze, he added, "I wasn't aware you shaved down there."
Her pythons rushed at Naruto, attempting to grab and constrict him. Quickly, he shunshin'd twenty feet behind Anko, however the venom injected into his arm started spreading, leaving his left arm disabled. The Special Jounin turned and looked at her prey with her pythons ready to strike again.
Just my luck, Naruto thought sourly. I went from fighting against amphibian summons and their summoner earlier today to fighting reptilian summons and their hot but crazy summoner. Funny how Ayame's advice is now coming back to haunt me.
"Naruto," Anko said with a twisted smile and sweet tone, "Since I'm a nice woman, I'll let you choose: a painful death by my snake's venom which is already working its way through your body or constriction by my pythons until all of your bones break before being swallowed by one of my snakes."
Jiraiya was beaten by Tsunade to within an inch of his life for peeping at her. This woman wants to bring me to the end of my life for doing the same thing. I really have to start taking Susanoo's advice about keeping my inherited peeping habit in check, Naruto thought as he found that his infected and disabled left arm made him unable to use any ninjutsu effectively. The spreading pain wasn't helping, either.
The venom must be attacking the nerves in my arm while trying to spread through my body, Naruto realized. Despite his predicament, Naruto remained calm and collected. Naruto could have easily undermined Anko by reminding her that he was once attacked and swallowed whole by one of Orochimaru's gigantic vipers before destroying the giant reptile entirely. But instead Naruto decided to play on Anko's belief that she was the one in control of the situation.
"How about a deal instead Snake Charmer?" Naruto offered, Hey Kurama, while I stall her, how about vaccinating and removing the venom from out of my body?
'I ought to just watch you suffer through the venom for your stupidity,' Kurama replied, 'But I don't like dying and I was entertained by how you effectively used my image to battle your godfather earlier today. It'll take some time to remove the venom since you already wore your chakra reserves down to a very low level. You're fortunate that none of your veins or arteries were struck by that rattlesnake, otherwise you'd have been in even worse shape.'
"A deal?" Anko asked with an unamused look, "Naruto you're at death's door and you're talking about making deals with me?"
With his usable arm, Naruto took out a scroll and opened it. As he laid it down on the floor, Anko saw the kanji for "Peace Offering" written in the center of the seal in the scroll it was written on. She kept her eyes on alert in case Naruto tried any funny business.
Naruto smacked his right hand down on the floor and yelled, "Kai!"
The scroll burst into a pool of white smoke. When it cleared, Anko's eyes widened when she saw an entire full menu of dango along with some bowls of red bean soup and a large bottle of fresh sake all laid out on a white picnic sheet.
"How did you know these are my favorite kinds of food?" Anko asked with a surprised look.
"I'm not the number one most surprising ninja for nothing, Snake Charmer. I have my sources," Naruto replied, "Included in this peace offering is a special new recipe I paid the chef to make. That recipe won't be on the market for another week."
Grinning toothily, Anko retracted the snakes back into her arms and returned all of the vipers, including the one Naruto killed, back to their realm. With her left hand on her hip, Anko said, "Gaki, you're off the hook for now! But if I catch you peeping on me again then you'd better have ten times the amount of dango and sake to try and bribe me into sparing you."
That's why my digital camera and those pictures of you in the nude I took will serve as my insurance, Naruto thought and said, "I understand Snake Charmer. But you wouldn't happen to have anti-venom for that particular rattlesnake that bit me, would you?"
"Do I look like I carry anti-venom for every kind of viper I summon?" Anko asked.
"No. I wasn't foolish enough to count on it, either," Naruto replied.
"You might want to run to hospital now if you don't want to die within the hour," Anko advised.
"No, I'm good. I'm not in the mood to fill out paperwork," Naruto remarked, feeling Kurama's chakra working on his left arm. The pain gradually started to die down.
"You must have a death wish if you're willing to take your chances with the venom of that diamondback rattlesnake instead of heading to the hospital now," Anko remarked.
"Like I said, I'm not willing to explain how and why I got poisoned. Anyway, I'm writing a new book series called "The Moon's Eye Above The Fireworks" and I want to use you for inspiration as the main female character. I offered my girlfriend the role first but she turned me down hard. But you look like what Hinata-chan could look like in a few years, and that could come in handy with my writing," Naruto explained.
"You got balls, gaki. You seriously expect me to believe that you're writing a book series, and that you want my permission to use me as inspiration material for your book?" Anko asked skeptically.
"Feel free to ask Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and Sakura if you don't believe me," Naruto suggested, "I'll give you ten percent of my earnings when my book series becomes successful."
"Confident, aren't we?" Anko smirked.
"I took a deadly risk coming here, so that should tell you something about how far I'm willing to go to accomplish my goals," Naruto replied, "Not to mention that I'm wining and dining you while you're wearing nothing but that skimpy towel around your body. Now what man can say they did that with you and remained conscious?"
"You're crazy if you're willing to go this far in the face of possible death just to get inspiration," Anko laughed, "Seeing as you beat the shit out of Orochimaru, I have to say I really like you gaki! OK, it's a deal!"
Before Naruto could say a word of thanks, Anko produced and held a syringe in her right hand.
"Here's the anti-venom," Anko offered, "This will cure the infection. I'll apply it to where you were bitten."
"Where did you hide that?" Naruto inquired curiously.
"That's none of your business," Anko replied with a grin, causing Naruto to blush darkly at the many possibilities.
As Anko applied the anti-venom into his left arm, she asked, "By the way, what the hell is up with you dressing like a homeless beggar?"
"Preparing for the Chuunin Finals. Training did a number on my clothes," Naruto said. After applying the anti-venom, Anko put the syringe away to dispose of it later.
"Alright Naruto," Anko said. "That should do it."
"Thanks," Naruto replied before going to where her kunai was embedded in the wall. He pulled the kunai out of the wall and...
"Catch!" Naruto shouted as he threw the kunai at Anko's head. The Special Jounin caught the kunai but the second she turned to look back at Naruto, he was already gone.
"I have to say, that gaki has style," Anko remarked before looking back at the food and sake Naruto left for her, "Too bad he isn't a few years older and still single."
In the meantime, Naruto was on the roof of the bathhouse. The anti-venom combined with Kurama's chakra completely restored his arm.
"I'll let what happened be a lesson for being sloppy and careless," Naruto said to himself. "But on the plus side of things, I got the Snake Charmer to cooperate in letting me use her description in my book series, and I have souvenirs of the occasion to add to my scrapbook."
After taking a breath of the refreshing night air, he leaped from the roof to the next roof as he began his trek to his new home where Honoka and Karin were waiting. He was in need of a good shower and much sleep.
Thank you godfather for giving me some spending money, Naruto thought happily since he used Jiraiya's money to pay for all the beef and pork ramen he ate, along with all of the food and sake he bought for Anko. It really came in handy.
(All The While)
"Minato's brat mugged me!" Jiraiya realized when he found that his wallet had only half the money it previously had. He was in the Red Light District at the other end of Konoha when he finally noticed how light his wallet was.
"Wait till I get my hands on that gaki!" Jiraiya grumbled.
(The Following Morning)
Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino were walking though town, making their way to meet up with Asuma. As they walked, they came across Gai and his team. Neji was being pushed in a wheelchair by a fully healed Lee who was back in his regular green clothes.
"Wait a minute," Chouji questioned. "Wasn't Lee hospitalized in the intensive care unit because of his severe injuries?"
"I'm surprised you haven't heard the news yet," Ino commented.
"Heard what?" Chouji inquired.
"Someone came the other night and restored Lee to full health," Shikamaru explained, "According to the doctors after their examinations on Lee, whoever did it must have had skills as great as Tsunade-sama's."
"You're joking, right?" Chouji asked in disbelief despite seeing the proof in front of them, "The injuries that Lee had should have rendered him unable to ever be a ninja again from what I heard."
"Be that as it may, someone out there clearly didn't want to see that happen," Shikamaru replied, "Whoever that person was, I'm certain they have Lee and Gai's unending thanks."
"With that kind of healing power, I'm surprised that this mysterious medic-nin wishes to stay anonymous," Chouji stated.
"This news even reached the Hokage's ears, in fact," Ino added, "He wonders who'd go through such trouble to completely heal one of his Genin. He also wants to know if this mysterious healer has an ulterior motive."
"How troublesome," Shikamaru remarked.
"Perhaps time will reveal the identity of this unknown healer," Chouji said.
(Meanwhile)
Naruto was sleeping comfortably in his new room of his parents' old house. Soon, sunlight shined through the blinds onto Naruto's face. The blond groaned and groggily stirred as he gradually woke with a stretch and yawn.
"Man, do I feel so much better," Naruto sighed happily. However his joy was short-lived when he turned to see what time it was.
"9:30 AM!" Naruto shouted with widened eyes "Damn it! I overslept! I was suppose to meet up with Hinata-chan two hours ago!"
Realizing his situation, Naruto jumped out of bed and hurriedly dressed himself in new clothes, throwing his ragged and ruined orange jumpsuit and black t-shirt in the garbage. His new training attire consisted of dark blue ninja pants and a Gi with a dark orange t-shirt worn under the Gi. Around his waist was a belt that matched the color of both his pants and the Gi. He now had leg bandages tied around his ankles and lower legs. He was thankful that he took a shower the night before though he still had to brush his teeth.
After dressing himself, he made his way to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and washed his face. After doing that, he left the bathroom and ate some fruit granola bars with some juice for his breakfast. He then made some kage bunshin and instructed them to take care of Karin's needs and to keep her occupied. Fortunately, Honoka left early and wasn't going to be back until later that evening, leaving Karin to have the place to herself along with Naruto's clones. With that out of the way, Naruto then hurried out the door and made his way to where he was to meet Hinata at.
"I hope Hinata-chan wasn't waiting too long for me," Naruto said as he use Wind Speed Force to dash through the forest and over to the waterfall he instructed Hinata to meet him at for her new training. Soon his destination came into view and when it did, he was able to see not only Hinata but also Hanabi there waiting with him at the base of the waterfall.
"What's Hanabi-chan doing here with Hinata-chan?" Naruto wondered out loud to himself before amplifying his Wind Speed Force to thrust himself to where Hinata and Hanabi were like a missile.
"He's late," Hanabi remarked impatiently. "What's taking him so long?"
"He'll be here Hanabi," Hinata assured. The older Hyuuga remembered to bring cinnamon rolls, herbal tea, fruits and some of her cooking, which Naruto asked her to bring. All of those things were sealed into a scroll Hinata was keeping inside her jacket.
"Well he better get here soon because I don't like wasting my ti-"
Hanabi didn't get to finish because something crashed right into the water behind them. The powerful impact created a large wave of water that came their way. Hinata didn't have time to react with her water manipulation when she and Hanabi were both splashed by the incoming tides, knocking them to the ground.
The waters soon receded back into the river, allowing the now soaked girls to get back off the now wet ground. As they were doing so, Naruto emerged out of the river and rushed at them with a Rasengan in his hand. Hinata grabbed Hanabi and moved quickly out of the way before the Rasengan collided into the ground. The collision into the ground created an explosion that blew the two girls away from Naruto with dirt and mud being blasted at them. Hinata and Hanabi got back up quickly and entered their respective Juuken stances, ready to fight.
"Good!" Naruto greeted with a large smile, "Now that you both are fired up, we can get this day started!"
"What the hell was that all about!?" Hanabi asked before she and Hinata took notice of Naruto's new appearance.
"One, an enemy ninja never announces his arrival," Naruto replied, "Two, I was going through some harsh and deadly training of my own for the past few days; I almost died from it too! Three, why are you here, Hanabi-chan?"
"How did somebody as strong as you nearly die?" Hanabi asked.
"I truly appreciate how highly you think of me Hanabi-chan, but even I'm not invincible," Naruto answered and asked, "So now, why are you here with Hinata-chan?"
"I'm here for the training you promised me!" Hanabi said before point her right finger at him, "You've been neglecting me and unfairly spending all your time with Neesan! I'm not having that! Neesan isn't the only one who wants your time and attention as my father made it clear that he expects great things from my time training with you."
"Therefore, you found a way to blackmail Hinata-chan into bringing you here as a tag-along," Naruto figured out. "That's the only way she'd have allowed you to be here at our secret training ground, correct?"
Hinata lowered her head when she saw his gaze directed at her. Seeing her older sister's reaction to Naruto's tone and gaze towards her, Hanabi was about to say something when...
"Well done my Little Nighttime Firecracker!" Naruto applauded. Both Hinata and Hanabi looked back at Naruto in disbelief.
"Say what?" Hinata asked in confusion.
"Hanabi-chan has been looking for ways to develop her skills in spying, information gathering and blackmailing," Naruto explained as he walked over to them, "She's been training with me in those areas, and seeing how she managed to get you to bring her here to this secret spot that no one else but you and I knew of, that means that Hanabi-chan must have gotten some juicy dirt on you, my Moon's Eye Rabbit! You did this in exchange for her silence, am I right?"
Hinata blushed darkly and quietly nodded her head when she saw how Naruto figured everything out.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask what that secret was," Naruto assured, "I'm sure it's not my place to know anyway."
Naruto saw the look of relief in Hinata's face, which showed him that whatever it was, she didn't want to talk about it. So he decided not to embarrass his girlfriend on the spot. Plus, Naruto knew he could always find out from Hanabi later.
A moment later, Naruto created a kage bunshin and sent the clone over to Hanabi.
"Come with me Hanabi-chan," the Naruto clone instructed. "We'll do some training in another part of the forest away from here. I'll introduce you to some new moves I'm sure you'll enjoy."
"Why can't I stay?" Hanabi argued as she turned to Naruto. "I came and want to be trained by you personally, Naruto-kun! You promised!"
"And you will be," Naruto assured, "But I have to divide my attention between you and Hinata-chan at the same time, thus whatever my clone instructs you in will be the exact thing I myself would have done and said and when it dispels itself, everything it learned and experienced will be transfered and infused into my being.
"Thus, with what I gain out of my clone from his training you today, I will be able to assess what I need to train you in, as well as what areas you're lacking in that have to be improved. I've done this many times with Hinata-chan, so please don't feel that I'm cheating you out of anything. I promise you won't spend the whole day with my clone if that's what you're worried about."
"When you put it that way, it's hard to dispute you," Hanabi conceded with a bit of reluctance. Hinata saw that Hanabi actually wanted to be in Naruto's company. But she was happy that Naruto tactfully managed to calm Hanabi down and get her to comply without much of a headache since she knew how stubborn Hanabi could be.
Hanabi still likes Naruto-kun, even though she said she wouldn't try to rival me for him, Hinata thought to herself with a sigh. But then again, Naruto-kun promised and gave his word to Hanabi that he would train her, which he's already been doing for some time now. Hinata inwardly snorted. Though Naruto-kun won't tell me what he's training her in, father expects great result from Hanabi being taken under Naruto-kun's wings. I can only wonder what will happen in the future.
Naruto watched his clone escort Hanabi away to another location of the forest until they were out of sight.
"OK then," Naruto said to himself, "I have my clones taking care of both Hanabi and Karin, leaving me to have my way with my little Moon Rabbit."
Naruto walked over to Hinata and before she could get a word out to him, he grabbed and pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her hotly. Given no room to argue, not that she ever would when it came to this, Hinata happily accepted and embraced him as she returned the kiss with the same amount of passion. It was their need for air that made the young couple reluctantly pulled their lips away from each other.
"I will never get tired of doing that," Hinata said. "Nice clothes by the way."
"Thanks," Naruto smiled, "But we're going to have to put our pleasure time on hold in order to begin your new and much harder training today."
The two teens released each other from their embrace.
"From what you saw from the Forest of Death and the preliminaries, Gaara is a most deadly Genin and Jinchuuriki and we both know that he won't hesitate to kill you. What we also know is that you're a water-type ninja while he's a sand type ninja, which is a problem since earth drinks water," Naruto started.
"Gaara is also a long range fighter and his sand will block and prevent me from getting close to him. He can also use his sand to cocoon and completely crush his enemies like he did to those three Ame Genin in the Forest of Death," Hinata added. "Lee had to open his gates in order to attack Gaara directly, which led to severe injuries of his own."
"Which is why you're going to increase the levels of both of your gravity and chakra restraint seals," Naruto stated, "You've been trained by a Jinchuuriki, and now I'll teach you how to fight one. For the next month, Hinata-chan, you're going to be in for the long haul."
"So where do we start?" Hinata asked.
"First, tell me in detail how much you know about human anatomy," Naruto instructed.
(Meanwhile)
'Naruto' was beginning his tutelage with Hanabi in another sector of the forest.
"Alright, now that we got our warm ups done and out of the way," 'Naruto' started, "We'll begin your training with Drunken Fist."
Hanabi was standing at attention, eagerly awaiting what 'Naruto' had to teach her. She waited a long time for this, and she wasn't going to miss out on it now.
"Drunken Fist is a category of techniques, forms, and fighting philosophy that appear to imitate the movements of a drunkard. The movements are sloppy, uncoordinated, and most importantly, completely unpredictable. It's considered to be among the most difficult styles to learn due to the need for powerful joints and fingers, something you as a Hyuuga are trained to develop from the time you can walk. Am I correct?"
Hanabi wordlessly nodded her head in agreement.
'Naruto' continued, "While in fiction practitioners of Drunken Fist are often portrayed as being actually intoxicated, Drunken Fist techniques are highly acrobatic and skilled and require a great degree of balance and coordination, such that any person attempting to perform any Drunken Fist techniques while intoxicated would be likely to injure themselves. Except for you, because I know you're a drinking pro."
"Very funny, Naruto-kun," Hanabi snorted with a blush.
'Naruto' went on, "But, seriously, don't ever actually drink alcohol when performing or practicing Drunken Fist. Remember, this style is design to imitate a drunk, not to actually make you one. Actually being drunk while trying to execute Drunken Fist can lead to accidents or even death. The only exception I know of is my friend Rock Lee, who can only seem to use Drunken Fist when he's actually drunk. To this day, I have yet to figure out how that's possible."
"Well don't expect me to," Hanabi remarked.
"I wouldn't count on it either," 'Naruto' replied, "But going back to the original topic, even though the style seems irregular and off-balance, it actually takes almost perfect balance to be successful. To excel, one must be relaxed and flow with ease from technique to technique. Swaying, dipping, and falling are used to throw off opponents. When the opponent thinks the drunken fighter is vulnerable, he is usually well balanced and ready to attack. When swigging a wine cup the drunken fighter is really practicing grabbing and striking techniques. The waist movements trick opponents into attacking, sometimes even falling over. Falls can be used to avoid attacks but also to pin attackers to the ground while vital points are targeted, in your case, chakra points. Do you understand?"
"Yes Naruto-kun," Hanabi said.
"What's also true is that Drunken Fist also puts intense amount of strain on the core of your body. Therefore, you'll be doing a healthy amount of sit-ups and leg-lifts each day, along with other work-outs for your core. Also, core strength and endurance will help with balance and surprise attacks.
"Alongside this, you'll really need to strengthen your hands since even during a punch it stays neutral. Therefore, you'll being doing push-ups on your wrists then switch to the back of the wrist, switching on each push up."
"Switching between the front and back of my wrists with each push up?" Hanabi asked, "Is that possible?"
"I'm not expecting you to get this right, right away," 'Naruto' replied, "I know it's not easy to do. And since you as a Hyuuga understand how important is it to have strong wrists and fingers, you'll need some stronger fingers in order to use some of the Drunken Fist techniques I'll be teaching you. Finger pushups are best for that. Plus you'll be doing an exercise called "Bear Walk." Basically, get into a push-up position and crawl like that on your fingers. This exercise will strengthen your fingers and give them endurance.
"Lots of stretching before doing actual Drunken Fist is vital so be sure to always do this.
"This is going to be very hard and strenuous training, and you won't simply carry out my training, you'll live through it."
"That's what Neesan told me about how you trained her," Hanabi recalled.
"I'm happy that you're aware of that. Now let's gauge the level of endurance with your joints, core and fingers," 'Naruto' suggested, "We'll start with you doing the Bear Walk and what better place than in the woods where bears thrive?"
Hanabi got into the bear walk position 'Naruto' described earlier. She found that maintaining that position on her fingers wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, especially with her weight adding to the pressure.
"You'll have to practice this exercise everyday my Little Firecracker," 'Naruto' instructed, "If need be, even at home, regardless of whether your father, Hinata-chan or others see you."
"You can't be serious," Hanabi blushed with embarrassment at the thought of walking around the Hyuuga compound in that position.
"I am. Now start walking," Naruto said. Hanabi took a couple of steps forward despite her body shaking sideways from the lack of balance. She soon fell over to her left while feeling the soreness in her fingers.
"Before running, you must first learn to walk. And before walking, you must first learn to crawl," 'Naruto' remarked as he stood in front of Hanabi, "And today you just took your first steps."
"Funny," Hanabi replied.
"But like all babies, you have to get up and try again," 'Naruto' replied with a smile, "Now let's continue. I'm sure you don't want Hinata-chan to leave you in the dust, and you've seen where her training with me got her."
That was all it took. Being told that Hinata would leave her behind was something completely unacceptable to Hanabi. The young Hyuuga got up and tried again and again. She wouldn't allow Hinata to outdo her. She was determined to catch up, one way or another.
(Elsewhere, In The Uchiha District)
Presently, Sasuke was in his clan's training dojo, trying to master the curse seal. It was a difficult task, and Tayuya was a strict teacher. No matter what, she never went easy on Sasuke, and personally she liked that kind of training, and Sasuke never backed down from it as he found that such intensity would make him stronger.
"Now's not the time to pussy out on me dick face," Tayuya remarked after Sasuke stopped to take a needed break, "We still have much to do."
This girl really has a foul mouth, Sasuke thought to himself. But at least she's a strong ninja, so I can deal with it.
From what Sasuke knew about her, Tayuya was a genjutsu type fighter, and a member of a team called The Sound Four. Sasuke was getting what he wanted to learn, and she was teaching him just that. Evidently, Sasuke found that the curse seal was much more than what he thought it was. Tayuya didn't know everything about the seal, however she taught and explained everything she knew.
"If you're done catching your balls, I'd like for us to continue," Tayuya remarked. Sasuke wordlessly grunted after feeling some of his strength return to him. As he called upon his powers, he soon saw dark markings appearing over his body and soon after he felt the strength flow into him.
"Don't forget, you have to have continuous control over that power. If you lose control then you can't concentrate on the battle," Tayuya instructed as she demonstrated the use of the curse seal on herself as dark lines flowed all over her body, "When you can control and master this, the marks will cover your entire body like mine and not half of it like yours."
"So the full result is to get the marks over my whole body?" Sasuke asked her.
"In doing so, you'll will have mastered the first level of the curse seal," Tayuya informed.
"First level?" Sasuke asked with a surprised look, "So there's another level to this seal?"
"Dumbass please, you're nowhere close to start training to reach the next stage. The curse seal when first applied has a nine in ten chance of killing you. You were damn lucky that you survived. However, in order to gain the next level, you have go that extra step and die."
"Excuse me?" Sasuke retorted, "I can't afford to die. What the hell do I get out of dying?"
"You dickless idiot. You don't stay dead," Tayuya went on to explain further, "There is a particular ritual you have to go through and at one point during the ritual, you're truly dead. However, once you get past that, you will gain a whole new power. The second level, the power you can get with Orochimaru, will only be the start of things. It opens the doorway to so many techniques, many of which are forbidden."
Tayuya saw Sasuke thinking deeply about everything she was saying. She was instructed to use any and all means to entice him to join Orochimaru and she saw that some more persuasion was needed. What she was also aware of was that Sasuke had a certain issue that was a real hindrance to his development, a problem Tayuya had to see dealt with. A moment later...
"You honestly think you have what it takes to rival Naruto-kun," 'Hinata' said, causing Sasuke to turn to her.
"When did you show up here?" Sasuke asked in surprise, forgetting that Hinata had never been over before.
"You try and try more than I can count to rival my Naruto-kun," 'Hinata' reminded, "But what truly troubles my mind and vexes my spirit is that you seek to try to steal me from Naruto-kun when I made it perfectly clear that I have no interest or love for you. I don't know why you refuse to let go of this unrealistic desire to have me and it's tiring. You lack true strength, strength to let me go."
"What?" Sasuke retorted.
'Hinata' continued, "I don't need to remind you that it was Naruto-kun who made me into a powerful woman and in turn, I helped him became a stronger ninja. We compatibly work as one, Sasuke, and I'm sure over the years you've seen this but refuse to accept it."
Sasuke growled lowly while trying keep himself under control.
"Naruto-kun told me how you often talk about wanting to rebuild your clan and I'm sure you thought I would have been the ideal mother for your children. But the truth of that matter is that I don't want you for a love interest and it's time you stopped fantasizing that I'll love you. It'll only hinder your growth as both a man and a ninja, something Naruto-kun learned from his own experience."
Again, Sasuke fought to keep his anger in check, despite the truths he was hearing.
'Hinata' continued, "Many of the girls of this village desire your time, attention, affection, and so much more. But you seek a female who's strong, intelligent, capable, and knows what it means to be a true ninja. While all that is good in itself however, your foolish mistake is that you're seeking that through another man's woman, which will make for a weak foundation for your clan because of the corrupt ground you're trying to build it on."
"Kai!" Sasuke shouted, dispelling the genjutsu Tayuya cast over him. 'Hinata' vanished, leaving only Tayuya standing in front of him with her flute in her hands.
"Truth is a bitch, isn't it?" Tayuya remarked. Losing his temper, Sasuke lunged at her and engaged her in a fierce taijutsu bout. In the end, after a span of ten minutes, Sasuke found himself lying on his back with Tayuya standing over him with her right foot on his chest holding him down.
"You gave me an even better fight just now than you did the other night," Tayuya commented, "But take my warning seriously. Your pursuit of that pale-eyed bitch you have a hard-on for will be your undoing. It's your worst weakness, which I easily exploited and capitalized on, as did Orochimaru-sama if I recall."
Sasuke tried to get up, but Tayuya stomped her foot down on his chest hard, forcing him back down on his back as she held him down again. Despite the pain he felt from his chest, Sasuke looked back at her defiantly, but her gaze at him hardened.
"I hate wasting my time on you, you shitty bastard! But Orochimaru-sama believes you have potential," Tayuya went on. "But your potential will never be realized if all you do is seek to fight Naruto for a woman who doesn't want you! The very thought that you would stoop to that disgusts me! And you call yourself a proud Uchiha!? That's why you're so goddamn weak! And you'll stay weak if you keep this shit up, you spineless worm! Is that what you want!?"
Sasuke wanted to argue but he found no words to refute what she said, especially after seeing and hearing what 'Hinata' was telling him. Even though Sasuke realized it was a genjutsu, the words that came from 'Hinata' struck a cord within him. While his mind was processing everything that happened and all that he was told just moments ago, the young Uchiha again smelled the scent coming off Tayuya's body, and for reasons he couldn't understand, he quietly inhaled more of her scent, but discreetly. Tayuya saw that her genjutsu and words were beginning to work their way into Sasuke's thinking.
"You talk as if you know everything there is to know about me," Sasuke remarked, "But the truth is that you don't know everything about me or the hell I've been through while living in this village."
Tayuya looked around the dojo and as she did, it was easy to see what made him the way he was. Being here, seeing all the empty rooms and houses; they brought back memories of her own dark past.
"This place was once home to many people, young and old. My parents; they worked and lived here for years. But now it's been reduced to a silent tomb no thanks to my traitorous older brother," Sasuke said, "I vowed to restore this clan and the prestige it once carried after I kill my brother and I want a strong and capable woman at my side as I do so."
Tayuya looked him straight in the eyes. She saw the same fury and zeal that once burned inside of her soul not too long ago. She wanted the same power Orochimaru had offered and given to her and with it, she had right the wrong that was done to her years ago. Since then, Tayuya loyally served Orochimaru and never looked back.
She removed her right foot from Sasuke and turned to leave the dojo. Sasuke stood back up and watched her leave. After she reached the door, with her back facing Sasuke, she asked, "You think you're the only one who's suffered? You think you're the only one that wanted revenge for being cruelly wronged?"
"And what would you know, huh!? You never wanted revenge for anything in your life! You never had a family or clan that was slaughtered!" Sasuke retorted.
"Yes I did you stupid asshole!" Tayuya yelled at him as she turned to face and stare him straight in the eyes, "And what pisses me off further about you is that you think that you're the only one that knows that kind of pain!"
Sasuke looked at her for a moment; he didn't expected that, but looking into her eyes he could see she was telling the truth. Those eyes, eyes filled with pain, anger, and need for vengeance; those were the eyes he saw in the mirror all the time.
"I'm going out for a walk. I need time to clear my head. You can do whatever the hell you want," Tayuya turned and left him there, letting her words and everything else she said before echo in Sasuke's mind.
Sasuke just stood there and thought about everything that transpired. Tayuya wasn't just some kunoichi from Otogakure sent to train him in the curse seal. She knew and understood his pain, his loneliness, and his desire for revenge. Not even Hinata understood that kind of suffering, but Tayuya did. Sasuke could only wonder what happened in Tayuya's past.
(Back At The Waterfall)
"You clearly have an in depth understanding of human anatomy," Naruto complimented.
"Following your example," Hinata explained, "I use my kage bunshin to read up, study, and practice not only the jutsu and elemental scrolls you give me, but also to study things about the human body and its weaknesses in order to improve the effectiveness of my fighting style and Byakugan."
"That's very good," Naruto praised and continued, "And since you're armed with such knowledge and experience, we're going to use that in our objective to upgrade your water manipulation and fuse it with Juuken. As I stated earlier, water is weak against earth. But I'm going to train and have you develop a strength against such a weakness and use it not only against Gaara, but others as well. Now tell me again, the human body is composed of seventy percent of what element?"
"Water," Hinata answered.
"And with that, you're going to create and master a whole new manipulation," Naruto said.
"What do you mean?" Hinata inquired curiously. Naruto looked directly at her and stated like a master to his disciple, "I'm going make you into the world's first Blood Manipulator."
As the Chuunin Exam Finals approach, Naruto begins training the Hyuuga siblings and helping them create new forms and styles of fighting, and he's set on getting them to newer levels. But will Hinata and Hanabi master Naruto's new and more advanced training? What will blood manipulation entail, and how will Naruto teach Hinata to master it before the Chuunin Finals?
Tayuya is training Sasuke in the use of the curse seal, but after a violent storm of frustration and anger, an atmosphere of mutual understanding between them was triggered. What happened in Tayuya's past that sparked Sasuke's curiosity? Find out next time.