Day 3
-Essentials-
"I'm sorry-ttebayo?" He crossed his arms and raised a brow. "Did you just tell me Tsunade-baachan told you to give me ballet lessons?"
"Of course that's how you interpreted it." Shizune shook her head. "Your balance, flexibility and agility. I'll be touching up all those little things that will help your foundation... unless you want more writing lessons?"
Even though she said that, Shizune had gotten all the other Naruto Kage Bunshins to study with a barely powered Shizune-Bunshin supervising them anyway.
Naruto gave an instinctive shiver before he paused- "It actually wasn't that bad-ttebayo. It was like drawing... ish. And what you said about my... Clan was um... interesting, I guess..."
Shizune paused, bracing herself for the question about his parents. Although his features didn't outwardly change, she could sense the barely suppressed curiosity radiating from the boy. ...But the question never came.
"So anyway, didntcha say that we're doing um whatsitmacallit? Chogegrophacy?"
"Choreography." Shizune corrected with a smile. "And Tsunade-sama meant that as in planning out your katas and moving around everything so that it suits you. Not really dancing. But you'll actually be doing similar training to those who practise ballet."
Naruto sputtered.
"In shinobi terms." Shizune deadpanned. "Flexibility speaks for itself. Leaping translates to jumping and landing. Spinning and other similar movements are testing your vertigo and spatial awareness. Dancers need to be beautiful and light. Similarly, shinobi need to be elegant, graceful and stealthy. Quick feet, precise bodily control blah blah. Do you want me to go on?"
"So we aren't actually dancing." He confirmed with a suspicious tone.
Shizune pressed her lips together. "No, but you ask again and I'll get Tsunade-sama to enter you in a dance lesson."
"Shizune-san, you wouldn't dattebayo." Naruto blinked up and her with a smile. "I'm your favourite."
For the dozenth time, Shizune spun the boy around like a spinning top before halting him with a hand on top of his head, calling out: "What direction is the sun?"
"South!" Naruto woozily screamed, pointing at the ground as he toppled over, rolling to his feet just in time to avoid Shizune's foot aiming for his gut. He tripped over his knee and somehow got his head lodged in the crook of his elbow as he stumbled away from the hail of blunted kunai and shuriken aimed his way. Naruto gave a sigh of relief as he managed to evade the attack. Scrambling to his feet, he bumped into Shizune who was standing in front of him.
She was holding his wrist with a smile on his face.
"Oh no..." He breathed before the grip on his wrist tightened.
"Safe landing!" She hollered as she lobbed him over her head.
"Nrggh-aHHH-" Naruto screeched as Shizune shoved his back down a little more. He was in a seated straddle stretch and it was five minutes into the last part of the lesson- the first parts had been bearable in comparison to this. Balancing and dodging stuff, weird stretches and repeated movements... But this. Oh no. Oh god. Oh not this.
He decided that he'd much rather write the hiragana chart a thousand times over.
"I-thought-I-was-your-favourite-why-are-you-killing-me-Shizune-sa-AHHHH-"
"Naw, don't be a baby." Shizune released the hand pressing him down and took a few steps away, shaking her head when Naruto immediately curled into a foetal position. He clasped his hands together with a breath of- 'I thought I was going to lose my legs-ttebayo'.
She waved a bit to catch his attention before she put her leg onto a rock, sliding into an oversplit until Naruto winced and slapped his hands over his eyes. "Yooowch. Shizune-san, what."
Shizune rolled her eyes as she pulled herself up. "Tsunade-sama used to gag me and force my legs into a split. I think I had almost tore a muscle or two." She laughed when Naruto gave a shiver and clamped his mouth shut. "Obviously, overplits are extra and I won't make you do them. You just need to have strong enough hips and be flexible enough so that you don't strain something when you deliver attacks."
She then picked up the fairly heavy and large looking rock and threw it into the air, almost vertically above herself. Centring herself, the Jonin's leg shot upward into a side split kick and the rock all but disintegrated into little pieces. Shizune batted away the remaining shards as they fell back down towards her.
"Attacks like that." She nodded at the openly gaping boy. "You should appreciate how much more lenient I am compared to Tsunade-sama in these areas."
Naruto violently flinched, shuddering as he remembered Shizune's legs stretching so far. It just couldn't be humanly possible!
"You are my favourite, Naruto. That's why I'm going to do it the nicest way-"
Then that smile. Naruto will soon come to learn to hate that sweet, angelic smile on Shizune's face.
"-The easiest way." Shizune winked at him. "Believe it."
T/S priv notes:
- Symptoms of ADHD or other detected (in both the main body and the Bunshin). Hyperactivity, urges to interrupt or hurry along things, restlessness, impulsiveness, attention difficulty.
Naruto is forcibly trying to quell them. However, it limits his potential in studying as most of his energy is wasted on trying to focus. Probably a kinaesthetic learner. Adjust lesson plans.
- Naruto is young and therefore has a rather malleable physique. Flexibility is going along fine.
His balance is atrocious and he is fairly awkward and sometimes clumsy (there are hints of wrong techniques and bad habits in his movements).
But on the other hand, on reflex, his balance and agility are heightened subconsciously. His spatial awareness is above average for a student (a skill probably honed from running from shinobi).
-Chakra control-
"What did Shizune do to you?" Tsunade shook with mirth as the two Kage Bunshin dumped Naruto onto the grass in front of him.
"Sh- She-devil..." He gurgled.
"I'm so glad that I don't get the physical ouchness of that dattebayo. Haha." The first Bunshin gave a curt laugh.
"You still get the trauma." The second Bunshin pointed out, jabbing the first in the ribs. "Don't be mean to Boss." He glanced backwards from where he came from before violently shivering. "I can still feel the phantom pain-ttebayo."
"We're made of chakra." The first Bunshin mentioned, informing all of them with a technicality they never knew existed. "We don't actually feel pain because our bodies are just chakra- there aren't pain retr- recke- recept- reket-... pain-ding-a-ling-alarms unless Boss actually tries to focus and make a real person-ttebayo. We just run out of chakra when we get damaged and our minds make us think we're hurt. Boss wasn't really focusing just then when we were created and made the Bunshin he usually creates. If he was to focus now and make a Bunshin, that Bunshin would also have all the physical ouchness that Boss has because he'd think his clones are also hurt. Or something dattebayo, I don't know."
"I-" Tsunade stared hard at the two Bunshin, thousands of new ideas blooming into her mind. "Ok then why do you understand that?"
The first Bunshin shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I dunno, Baa-chan, I just do?"
"We're dismissed. I think." The second Bunshin snapped a salute. "Have fun with Boss dattebayo! I'm going back to draw words. Bunshin point one, come and draw words with me."
"What is this-ttebayo?" Naruto looked dully at the water which hung in the air after his first attempt. "Why is this so easy, Baa-chan? And I had to struggle so much yesterday as well dattebayo!"
He was still half-lying, half-sitting on the floor and his entire body was slowly becoming more sore as they caught up with Shizune's strange exercises of doing a handstand (and crashing onto his head) and dodging random senbon being hurtled at him (and having to trip over his feet several times).
But despite all his mess, the chakra control came easier to him.
Tsunade gave a low whistle, dragging him up by his shoulders and thus making him drop the water. "I can't believe you, Naruto. Your chakra actually got stimulated after Shizune's session because it tried to help you complete the activities."
"Then why did I suck at those activities-ttebayo?" Naruto droned, remembering back to his stumbling.
"Because chakra can't really help you in that sense. Chakra can't really help you get more flexible or agile." Tsunade easily answered. "And now, it's still hovering all over the place, trying to heal your body when your body technically doesn't need much healing. Nothing's broken and nothing's bleeding but all your bones and muscles have been stretched rather harshly. And because your chakra is all over the place, it's saturating everything that's around it."
"Which means?"
"Which means I just realised you can technically master any element you want granted you have enough chakra." Tsunade leaned back, linking her fingers together behind her head. "It's completely insane. It's so obvious yet I hadn't even thought about it because it was so insane."
"So what, Baa-chan?"
"You know how I said that I would get you to 'use' your chakra to move the water?" Tsunade waited for Naruto to nod. "But because you have so much chakra, you can shove it all into the water until your chakra takes over the water and then it's easy peasy to control. You don't use chakra to get the water, for example, you control the chakra that's been saturating the water. It's just like Kiri's famous Kirigakure no Jutsu. The mist one."
"But-" He noticed with a sharp look in his eyes. "But that means that I won't be controlling my chakra-ttebayo. If I shove it all into the water, isn't that wasteful? Isn't that unefficient?"
"Inefficient." Tsunade reflexively corrected before she patted his head with a large smile. "Perfect. You caught that exactly. I will get you to do what I just described in case of near-future fights but for the long term, I won't get you to waste all that chakra- I'll get you to savour and be stingy with every last drop."
- Naruto's Bunshin's personalities can differ depending on Naruto's current mood. Surprisingly, intellect focus levels change in some. Use to advantage.
- Naruto turns out to be very good at wasting chakra to perform miraculous Elemental Jutsu. Shape Transformation needs to be started on. Naruto's chakra is very loyal and stubborn to manipulate through a second/third party- I can feel that his main element would be wind.
- Turns out that in worse conditions (less chakra etc.), Naruto's control gets more refined. This is surprising because usually it's the opposite. The idea of splitting/sealing Naruto's chakra is reinforced. Research possibilities. Byakugo no In can only be conducted with fine control; there may be alternate options.
Day 20
-Essentials-
"Ok." Shizune made a gesture to sit down and Naruto, who wasn't even out of breath, complied. "That's all the Konoha Genin stances and katas. We'll move onto Chuunin level ones now but they're technically the same thing- just with extensions. Many Jonin Senseis don't teach this because shinobi have their own inherited Clan techniques to adjust to like the Nara- who need to keep a mid to long distance for fighting- or the Akimichi- who have to get in close but still have enough space to extend their limbs and not catch others in crossfire."
"But there isn't an Uzumaki stance, is there?" Naruto scratched his head.
"Actually," Shizune tilted her head. "There is. It's almost identical to the standard Konoha Chuunin ones because the Uzumaki Clan were the most flexible. They had long distance for the Adamantine Chains, middle range for Fuuinjutsu masters and of course the short range who are generally the ones who tank and lead a battle. The best shinobi from the Clan could adapt to all ranges as they all have monstrous chakra levels, Fuuinjutsu as a tradition and Adamantine Chains as a Kekkei Genkai."
"For full-blooded people," Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm definitely not full-blooded."
"No, Naruto, you are half blooded but the Uzumaki genes are generally pretty strong and you've inherited their chakra capacity as well as their Kekkei Genkai."
"Wait-" Naruto startled, "Wait, how do you know that I inherited the Chains?"
Because Kushina was an absolute master at them. Shizune smiled slightly, she didn't have much to say about Kushina as she hadn't really seen her that much, but she had at least known her proficiency in using them. Tsunade had told Shizune about the certain 'aura' that Naruto had that some half-blooded Uzumakis didn't have.
"I'm confident Naruto has the full capabilities of a full-blooded Uzumaki. The Uzumaki Jinchuuriki are always chosen and even though it was under dire circumstances, the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki could seal the Kyuubi into an infant without it getting rejected which is generally a hard thing to do with it being the strongest Bijuu. They'd need to have a compatibility which is rare even amongst the Uzumaki Clan."
"The Uzumaki Clan is the Royal Clan of The Land of Whirlpools- one of the most prestigious Clans. Kushina, being as part of the Main Line, was chosen to inherit the Kyuubi because of her intense manifestation of the Clan's chakra."
"I was considered a candidate to inherit the Kyuubi for a while but I wasn't 'Uzumaki' enough. Mito-baasama had told me that some Uzumaki-blooded people were just 'different from others'."
There was an unspoken agreement between the two that Shizune'd talk about the Uzumaki Clan every now and then. She was just waiting with bated breath for Naruto to confront them about the topic of his parents. It had been more than a fortnight yet he still hadn't made a move to breach the topic.
"Give him time." Tsunade had said with a frown. "He needs to understand that he needs to come to us for information as well. He needs to understand that this relationship isn't one sided. We aren't his bosses. He's my- and also your- student."
They hadn't even been present on the Kyuubi night; it was a topic that Tsunade and her had secretly exchanged with regretful tones when Naruto was unconscious. (Jiraiya was brought up multiple times in quietly hissed rants.)
But though they hadn't been there at the vital time, they were here now. They had answers (even if it was only their names and a scrap bit of information) and they were waiting for Naruto to approach them.
"With your brand of chakra and how you inherited their physique, I'm fairly certain you have it in you as well. It'd just be astronomically hard to activate them. Tsunade-sama and I both don't know how they work either."
Naruto bit at his nail. On one hand, having an extra weapon was always helpful; not to mention, he wanted to learn his family's techniques. On the other, it would be time consuming and there still lay a chance that it wouldn't happen; then not only he, but also Tsunade and Shizune would be frustrated and burnt out.
"Well, Shizune-san, are you going to teach me them now? The Chuunin blah blah stances-ttebayo?" Naruto grinned and Shizune looked a tad relieved, shooing him up to stand again.
-Chakra-
"Now, I know you've been waiting for 'cool' Jutsus, but let me just give you a heads-up." Tsunade placed her two hands onto her hips. "I don't know much Ninjutsu."
"...What." Naruto pressed his lips together. "I thought the Legendary Sannin could do that sort of stuff though! Like, knowing all Jutsus and being able to do ground-breaking BOOM's and BANG's... dattebayo..."
"That's Orochimaru." Tsunade deadpanned, laughing when Naruto's expression clamped down in an 'oh'. "And I didn't say I didn't know any Jutsus. Like 'Raiya, I still have secret techniques that are specialised for me. It's not like I can do all the Jutsus under the sun like Sarutobi or Orochimaru but I could get to their level of Ninjutsu if I tried."
"But Baa-chan, you said you were as strong as them though!"
"What did I say about that?" She raised a brow. Naruto sighed, "Yeah, yeah, coolness doesn't translate to strongness-ttebayo."
"Strength." She corrected.
"Strength-ttebayo." Naruto repeated, waving a lackadaisical hand around. "And so? Are you gonna teach me your specialised stuff? Or- or-" Sparkles, well, sparkled in his eyes. "Or are you gonna let me make my own-ttebayo?"
"I-... Yes." She slapped her forehead. "Eventually. I'm going to get you to learn a few of mine- because I'm going to have to teach you Iryo Ninjutsu sooner or later- and then I'll get you to do a few normal, handy Ninjutsu techniques of all Natures. Only after I declare you proficient enough will you be able to make your own ones."
"But I've already made my own ones-ttebayo!" Naruto waved a fist before solemnly announcing: "Oiroke no Jutsu. Harem no Jutsu."
Tsunade flicked a finger against his forehead with another fonder sigh. "You're a ridiculous kid but yes, that does count. Just remember everything I said about that, ok?"
"Mhm." He chirruped. "So, Baa-chan, teach me your shtick! Whadda we doing?"
She dragged him over to a large rock. "Nintai."
"Nin... tai...? Wh- EEK!"
Tsunade raised a smooth skinned fist and gave it a half-hearted knock. The rock caved under an invisible force, cracking outwards and away in a strange popping noise followed by a loud crash and crunches of the stone disintegrating.
"C- cool... ttebayo..." He eyed her fist then looked up at her bemused face. "That's what you did a few weeks ago. Can I really learn that? It looks pretty um hard, y'know?"
"Don't tell me... are you still doubting my capability as your Shishou?"
"No way dattebayo. I never did."
Day 32
-Konoha-
Sarutobi looked down at the letter and sighed for what felt like the thousandth time. He always knew he should've continued to put Naruto under ANBU watch. The Elders were correct in what he had said about the Kyuubi; Tsunade shouldn't be trusted with the child.
But... then there was the agreement. The request. The compromise.
He couldn't exactly take his word back. But he didn't expect Tsunade to make such a sneaky move: not giving him all the information necessary- (what disrespect, what insubordination.)
Naruto being taken under Tsunade's wing was just ludicrous. That boy was hardly...
Besides, Tsunade was afraid of blood and was absolutely not suited for protecting a ward as politically significant as Uzumaki Naruto. Not to mention, with her type of personality, she might forgo with her filter and speak of his parents. Perhaps, she'd even talk down the role of a Hokage.
Minato's offspring could not become someone like Tsunade.
No, Naruto must inherit Minato's ideals and goals.
If Naruto was just going to dawdle around somewhere like Tsunade did, then what was the point of him coaxing the Will of Fire out of Naruto? What was the point of him earning the role of Naruto's 'grandpa'? The Jinchuuriki, as much as Sarutobi hated how it was phrased, at the end is just a human weapon made for the battlefield.
Sarutobi looked down the letter and realised that he needed to be a stricter Hokage; Danzo was correct: he was too lenient on Tsunade.
It was time to do his job correctly and it started with bringing the Sannin, Tsunade; Shizune; and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Naruto, back to where it belonged.
-Classroom-
Iruka clapped his hands together to gather the students' attention. It worked and all of the children fell silent.
(It usually wouldn't because Naruto would still talk and grumble about Sasuke while the girls would aggressively defend him. Kiba would snort loudly about Naruto being an idiot and it'd somehow end up in another big, annoying mess.
Iruka missed that annoying mess.)
This was a good class, Iruka convinced himself as he eyed each of the students.
(The desks were full with three students on each of them. All of them were full apart from the desk of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. He looked down his list of students and tried not to pause at the handwritten cross on the name 'Uzumaki Naruto'.)
"As I mentioned a while ago, multiple times, we will now be commencing the Genin Exams. Please wait here until directed in. When I call your name, follow me into the other room. First up: Hima Abiko."
"Hai, Iruka-sensei!"