Kakashi suppressed a yawn as he stepped into the bathroom. While normally he woke up early, today he decided that everyone had earned a good night sleep. It wasn't everyday that a genin team was able to take down a borderline S-rank nukenin, potentially secured a powerful kekkei genkai for their village, had a team member unlock another, and then rounded it all out by effectively exterminating an entire army of bandits. Then, to make matters even more interesting, one of his cute little genin lost his innocence in battle then followed it up by almost losing his 'innocence' to a hot older kunoichi, a nukenin whose shapely little ass he'd kicked just hours before. It brought a tear to his eye. They grow up so fast!
Glancing about for a moment to make sure the coast was clear, Kakashi pulled down his mask and began to brush his teeth, letting his mind wander back to his previous train of thought.
Ah, Naruto. Boy really was full of surprises. Until now he'd had the sinking suspicion that the kid had inherited his father's hair, his mother’s personality, and neither of their talent... but in this case it seems that the biggest mouth came with the biggest set of teeth. He almost wished that Sasuke had taken his time before going for a bath. Dealing with the 'aftermath' would have been damned annoying, but after Naruto's exemplary performance that day, he felt a just bit guilty for cock blocking the poor kid.
Kakashi was willing to admit that even he would have had a bitch of a time dealing with all those bandits, at least without pulling out some of his more destructive area of effect jutsu that would have done as much damage to the bridge as to the bandits. Naruto on the other hand just pulled his own army out of his ass and met them head on. He lost a couple points for style, for just charging in without a plan, but still the boy had still earned an A for Awesome.
He moved his toothbrush about and nodded. Thinking back to Haku, Kakashi himself had to admit that while she was a bit on the young side, he'd have had a hard time saying no to a teenage hottie like that. Although it had been called for under his duty as a teacher to embarrass his students at any and all opportunity, it still was an unforgivable breach of Man Law that demanded recompense. He'd definitely have to make it up to the kid for, as Gai would put it, 'dousing the flames of his youth'.
He bit the toothbrush head and wiggled the handle from side to side, thinking. How to make it up to the boy? Considering how jutsu mad the gaki was, he knew all would be forgiven with a new technique; he couldn't just teach the kid a new one. It would be unfair to his other students and teaching them all a new technique would undermine the entire point. What to do... What to do...
He grinned. Oh yeah. He'd simply pass the kid a copy of the standard Shadow Clone scroll from the Jonin Library when they got back home. Now while it might seem like a weak way to say 'sorry', considering that the brat already knew the damned technique, the simple fact was that Naruto had learned it by reverse engineering Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu into the standard version. The standard scroll's instructions included essays on a number of creative uses for the techniques. Everything from serving as the perfect expendable scout, to speeding up your learning time, to helping you deal with unwanted paperwork. The Forbidden Scroll on the other hand, he had a strong feeling the use instructions consisted of all of one word: 'Don't'.
He'd also have to exhibit Bushin Bakuha no Jutsu at some point. If anything could get a kid who was able to safely use Mass Shadow Clones to sit down, shut up, and do what he was told, it was the offer of the Explosive Clone Technique. Now, he knew he wouldn't be able to lord it over the kid forever, but by the time he was sick of chasing that carrot on a stick, Sasuke would be ready to learn some advanced Katon techniques and he guessed he could ship Sakura off to the hospital for some medic training, or something along those lines.
Sakura. He sighed. Honestly, he wasn't exactly sure what to do with the girl. She was simply not suitable for the kind of training he could teach effectively. All of Kakashi's own strengths were her weaknesses. He was a ninjutsu specialist who focused on heavy combat and assassination, most of which were highly complicated techniques that benefited from good control but required great deal of power. Sakura on the other had some of the best and finest control he'd ever seen from a genin, but almost laughable chakra reserves. In other words, she was a natural Genjutsu type. Not for the first time he regretted that he hadn't put more effort into talking Kurenai out of the Hyuga heir. Under Kurenai she would have been able to play to her strengths, and away from Sasuke she'd have had a chance to become something more than the head of the last Uchiha's cheerleading section. He shook his head. With a Hyuga he could have done so much more. Oh well, hindsight was 20/20, and this wasn't greatest mistake he'd made in his life.
He opened his Sharingan eye and looked into it before letting it morph into its advanced form. No, very far from it.
Closing Obito's eye, he spit out the toothpaste in his mouth and drew a glass of water from the sink. Taking a sip of it he started to swish it through his mouth, still thinking. Banishing his momentary melancholy, he smiled. Naruto and Sasuke on the other hand had the potential to be a source of infinite amusement. Now that Sasuke had unlocked his Sharingan, he'd literally be able to learn new techniques at a glance. He'd expected this and had been preparing for it
Naruto on the other hand was a pleasant but unexpected surprise. He'd expected a loud mouthed moron and hadn't been disappointed. Much to his own disgust, he'd almost been ready to simply dismiss the kid as more dead weight, but then he'd gone and proven Kakashi wrong. Oh, he was still a loudmouth, but the kid seemed to work well under pressure and had proven to be the greatest master of the Shadow Clone technique he'd ever seen. He'd been able to learn the kinjutsu version in just one night and was able to create literally an army at will. For all of his faults, one couldn't question the boy's work ethic; and with his mastery of Kage Bunshin, he'd be able to literally log thousands of man-hours of training in a single day.
The genius bloodline of the Uchiha clan versus the ultimate genius of hard work. Would be one hell of a show. He chuckled. He'd have to keep this quiet. The last thing he wanted to deal with was Maito Gai trying to fan their Flames of Youth. Double true if he brought his team. Gai could be bad enough alone, Gai plus his creepy little Mini Me was downright excessive.
3
Sasuke scowled for probably the fifteenth time in so many minutes as he picked at his breakfast completely ignoring the world around him. In all honesty he was in a pretty foul mood after the humiliating display the night before, and was only compounded by one especially painful fact. The dobe was closer to rebuilding his clan than Sasuke himself. Sasuke had no doubts that the fool was from some ninja clan. His insane endurance, near bottomless chakra reserves, and rapid healing couldn't be anything but a kekkei genkai. It made him question why the other boy was so hated by the villagers. Was he the only survivor of a clan of traitors?
Sasuke snorted. It didn't matter. He refused to judge a person on the sins of his kin; otherwise he might be forced to draw comparisons between himself and That Man. He could safely say he disliked Naruto on his own merits. He was a blithering idiot who refused to accept the superiority of the natural genius of the Uchiha clan over the power of his own bloodline, no matter how formidable it may be. Now that he'd unlocked his own kekkei genkai, Sasuke was sure that he leave the dobe in the dust, though even if he didn't, he did respect the fools tenacity, not that he'd ever admit it aloud.
Forcing his thought processes back on track, he raged at the indignity of it all. The idiot had been moments away from going all the way with an extremely beautiful and skilled girl, the kind of woman that Sasuke would have a hard time saying no to. It was just unfair! The dead last moron from a clan that had obviously done some ill so great that the adults were forbidden to speak of them had strong and beautiful kunoichi attracted to him, while he, the last member of the greatest clan in the whole of the elemental nations had fucking Pinky and the Blonde, along with the rest of the legion of useless fangirls trailing behind him like goldfish shit.
While he wasn't old enough to rebuild his clan as of yet, when he was, in a couple of years, he'd require women who were emotionally and physically prepared to go about the long and bloody work of rebuilding his clan. He needed mothers, not a pack of vapid, romance addled fangirls who were too blind to see the world as it was beyond their own petty delusions. Hell, even he Hyuga would be a step up. Sure there was the overriding issue of doujutsu incomparability which made such a coupling untenable, but at least she seemed to have a reasonable level of emotional and mental maturity, even if she was a doormat. She had a clear enough head to understand that he had no time for foolish romance and probably the fortitude and definitely the patience to be a good mother. She also had great tits for her age. Oh, why couldn't he attract older women, like Kiba's hot sister, or even that scantily clad psychopath that worked for ANBU T&I?
It that wasn't humiliating enough, that entire 'gay' scene made him look like a complete and utter tool. How was he supposed to know she was a woman? It was misty in there, he couldn't see any of her goods from where he'd been, and had taken the dobe's word for it, damn it! Still, it hasn't been a total loss. He'd seen her boobs and he had to admit, that they were a damned fine set. He smirked. It made him want to start 'interviewing' potential Uchiha mothers right away.
There was one negative side effect though. He simply couldn't ignore the poorly hidden glances that Sakura was sneaking at him and Naruto. That creepy, lecherous smile of hers was even worse. He grimaced and tried to side away from her, but she slid right back up next to him. He hadn't been of a mind to really consider it at the time, but she'd collapsed with a nosebleed when he'd mentioned that Haku and Naruto were being 'gay' in the bath. He shuddered. Not only was she useless, but she was also into Yaoi. And she had the gall to call Naruto a pervert because he'd been clever enough to create a technique as effective, abet silly, as the Orioke no Jutsu? Hypocrite.
3 3
Kakashi cheerfully entered the room with a smile under his mask. As per the norm, he was late. After all, he did have a reputation to uphold. As he'd expected, everyone was already at the table. Sasuke seemed to be in an especially foul mood today, something most people wouldn't be able to tell, considering his moods tended to hover between grumpy, grouchy, and pissy at all times.
Also per usual, Sakura was hovering over him like a vulture circling a dying yak, blissfully unaware of the fact that the object of her affection was completely ignoring her at best, and remaining silently contemptuous of her affections at worst. Naruto was surprisingly bright eyed and cheerful for someone who'd drained half a bottle of cheap, high potency sake the night before, and was sitting tellingly close to Haku. Now as for the pretty little nukenin, she looked exactly as you'd expect of the person who'd drained the other half of aforementioned bottle of rot-gut: absolutely miserable, and much to Kakashi's eternal amusement, was shooting telling glances at his most loud mouthed genin.
Ah, young sexual tension, it was just like Icha Icha!
Now, the civilians seemed to be mostly an improvement from their normal pitifully obnoxious states. Tazuna was actually sober for once, standing tall, proud, and actually managing to not smell like a distillary. Inari seemed almost irritatingly happy and content with himself, which was a major improvement from the annoying, pessimistic little shit he'd acted like up to this point. Tsunami on the other hand was shooting an almost unbelievable amount of killing intent for an untrained civilian at him. He was impressed. If she'd been trained she'd probably be able to kill a lesser man with it. Now, he didn't know what he'd done to piss the MILF off, but if it made her this angry, finding out was probably a good idea.
"Good morning!" he happily announced.
"You're late." Sakura snapped.
Kakashi happily ignored her griping, as usual, and looked to the bridge builder's hot daughter as he took his seat. Tsunami's eyes narrowed and a very palpable chill made its way up his spine. Damn! Woman had missed her calling! If she'd been trained as a ninja, she'd might even be scarier than Anko, and that's one freaky bitch!
"Is something the matter?" he asked, wondering exactly what had gotten her silky whites in a bunch.
"I do not appreciate you sending a young man into my furo with a bottle of sake while it was occupied by a teenage girl," she snapped in response.
Naruto blushed brightly and looked over to her. "Um. Don't be mad at Kakashi-sensei, Tsunami-neechan."
Tsunami glared at him expectantly so he continued, "Yesterday, when I fought all those thugs," he took a deep breath, "I'd never killed anyone before."
Naruto's statement crashed over the room like a wave. Immediately all eyes were on the boy. Sasuke was looking at him with a palpable sense of respect, and nodded in acknowledgment of his ability, a first. Sakura was agape, probably not having been able to look past Sasuke during the fight to even realize that Naruto'd been protecting them. Haku smiled sadly and placed her hand on Naruto's to comfort him. Tsunami was simply agape, her civilian mind having probably not comprehended that a boy barely into his adolescence could be a killer, even in the aftermath of a pitched battle, Inari was looking at Naruto with the complete admiration that only hero worship could bring, and Tazuna, Tazuna stood up from his place at the head of the table.
The drunken bridge builder looked at Naruto with hard eyes for a moment, taking the boy in, and then he bowed, deeply. "Thank you very much, Naruto-kun."
Kakashi grinned. Even with such a serious subject, it was entertaining to see Naruto's blushing like mad and scratching the back of his head with a stupid smile on his face, basking in the well deserved attention.
"You know," Kakashi remarked, "Naruto took out the thugs, but it was Haku who killed Gato." If credit was being passed around, the girl deserved some. That had been one hell of a shot. Artistically done and with outstanding timing, if he had to say so himself.
Tsunami turned to Haku and after a moment of thought, bowed slightly to her. "Thank you, Haku-san. By killing Gato you have done my people a great service. I apologize for my harsh treatment of you."
Haku smiled at the older woman. "Thank you, Tsunami-san, but it is I who should be apologizing to you. I aided in attempts to kill one of your loved ones, yet you still have found it within you to open your home to me. It is I who should be apologizing to you."
Tsunami flushed slightly and smiled. "You are not what I expected Haku-san."
"You expected someone colder and more bloodthirsty?" Haku asked.
Tsunami nodded with frown.
"I am Shinobi," Haku replied, "I have no animosity towards your father and do not wish him any harm, but Zabuza-san took the contract from Gato and so I was required to act against him. As cold as it may sound, it was not personal and I'd have much rather have left you to live your lives in peace."
Tsunami scowled. "The life of ninja sounds very cold and unfeeling."
Haku nodded, sadly. "That it is. There are times I envy you civilians and your ability to live your lives free of the callous and impersonal nature of the ninja way."
"It almost sounds like you don't really want to be a ninja," Sakura thought aloud.
"No," Haku said, clarrifying. "It is not that I did not wish to become a ninja and more that I was never given a choice. It was the dictate of my bloodline."
Sakura blinked. "What do you mean?"
"That," Haku replied, calmly but with a slight chill to her voice, making it clear she did not want to discuss it. "Is an intensely personal question that touches upon parts of my past that I'd rather not speak of."
"Hm." Sasuke nodded to Haku in understanding.
Kakashi rolled his eye at the breakfast table drama unfolding before him and helped himself to some rice, miso, and a bit of grilled fish. Once everything seemed back on track, he turned to Tazuna and absently asked, "Our contract requires us to remain here until the bridge has been completed. I need to know how long it will be before it is finished."
Tazuna sighed. "Two months."
"Oh man," Naruto whined. "We're going to be stuck here forever!"
The old man scowled and shot the genin a dirty look. "Listen, kid, we have to repair all of the equipment that Zabuza smashed, then I'm going to have to replace all of the workers that Gato ran off while I was out of the country. All of this takes time. So, unless you can pull an army out of your...," the old man trailed off then smiled from ear to ear, looking at the genin the way a bear might look at an especially plump hiker. "Say, kid, you ever consider working in construction?"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"I mean with that clone thing you can do I won't have to worry about finding new workers."
"Sure," Naruto replied. "Anything to get out of here."
Kakashi coughed, attracting both of their attentions. "There are bylaws in the Konoha Mission Codes that cover ninja doing side jobs while on assignment. If he accepts you'll be required to file it as a long duration D-rank mission and pay accordingly. I'd go into more detail, but it's all in the contract scroll you got when you hired us."
Tazuna nodded. "Alright. I'll read over it."
Kakashi nodded. "Fair enough. We also need to discuss how you're going to pay the difference between the C-ranked escort mission you hired us for and the A-ranked bodyguard mission it turned out to be. Because of the desperate situation your people were in, I'm going to ask the Hokage to waive the punitive fines but you're still going to have to pay the difference.â€
Tazuna grimaced. "Does it have to be all at once? Can't you just take it out of the bridge tolls or something?"
"We'll see. When we get back to Konoha I'll speak to the Hokage about it on your behalf,†he paused before adding, “Though I strongly suggest you never attempt anything like that ever again. We are willing to forgive, but we do not forget.â€
The old man paled slightly and bowed his head. “I never will, and you have my thanks for your understanding.â€
“Ma, ma, don't thank me. It's rare that in the execution of our duties that Ninja are able to do something truly and undeniably good in nature.†He glanced at the man sideways, “Had you actually come clean from the beginning about what you were dealing with, we probably would have handled this for you pro bono.â€
Tazuna blinked. “You're serious?â€
He nodded. “Yes, high profile 'Good Guy' jobs like this are good for a village's reputation. If your little stunt hadn't put my genin's lives in danger I might have been even been tempted to ask the Hokage to excuse the difference on your behalf.â€
“Ah. I see. You have my thanks, Kakashi. You're an honorable man†Tazuna smiled and finished off his tea. "Ah! Well, now that's taken care of, time to get to work!" He stood up and smiled at Konoha's loudest genin. "Naruto, I look forward to showing you how the other side makes an honest living."
Naruto grinned, "Yeah, we'll see you old drunk."
Inari smiled and looked at his mother who nodded. Pushing up from the table he ran over to Tazuna. "I'll walk you to work, grandpa!"
Kakashi simply smiled as he table began to empty, with everyone going about their daily tasks, leaving just Tsunami waiting so he could finish. Looking back to his meal and picked up a piece of fish and began to eat.
"Tsunami-chan, have I told you that you're a wonderful cook?"
The woman frowned, and placed her hands on her hips. While she was not releasing the staggering amount of killing intent she had been before, it was apparently clear that she was annoyed. "Just hurry up and eat. I have to clean the dishes."
"You know," Kakashi observed, "It's rude to rush peoples digestion."
"It's rude to be late for a meal," she countered.
Kakashi simply took a sip of tea and shrugged.
Touche.
3 3 3
Haku smiled as she walked next to Naruto as the two left Tazuna's house. She didn't know where he was going but it was pleasant to walk with her friend regardless. Closing her eyes and took a deep breath knowing that she had a very busy day ahead of her. There were simply too many things that needed to get done and with her physical injury combined with her chakra fatigue she didn't feel in much of a condition to accomplish it. Still, she had to get it done regardless.
Looking at the younger boy next to her she pursed her lips thoughtfully. While she still didn't know Naruto very well, she was already well aware that he was the quite possibly the most energetic person she'd ever met. His personality was vibrant to the point of being overwhelming and his stamina was downright superhuman. While she hadn't seen it, she'd been told about the Shadow Clone army he'd used to defeat Gato's men. It was a little selfish, but just maybe- She smiled.
"Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.
"Yeah, Haku-chan?" the orange clad boy asked, looking up to her with a smile across his face. "What do you need?"
"Where are you headed?" she asked.
Naruto smiled. "I'm going into the woods to train. How about you?"
"Becoming stronger to protect your precious people?" Haku asked, wistfully.
"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm going to get stronger so I can protect you and everyone else I care about! Then I'll become Hokage and be able to protect everyone, and they'll have no choice but to acknowledge me because I'll be somebody that everyone can look up to!"
Haku's smile grew as she took in Naruto's words. It was strange to her that she was already beginning to feel the same kind of selfless dedication for him that she'd felt for Zabuza-san, but she guessed it was due to his nature. Already he counted her among his most precious people and it warmed her heart. He was a pure spirit, heroic and kind. The type of person who made you feel stronger just for knowing him, and who's radiance could bring the best out in people. This did make her wonder though.
Naruto had a passion for training that was beyond impressive, his spirit made him a natural leader of men, and his charka reserves were beyond ludicrous. Even discounting her own suspicions as to the nature of his frightening hidden power, he had the potential to become one of the most powerful ninja in the elemental countries, yet he was woefully under trained.
During their battle she'd clearly seen glaring weaknesses in his fighting style. The only ninjutsu she'd seen him use was the shadow clone technique and his taijutsu was a mess. It was inefficient and flashy. That wasn't to say that he wasn't any good. Strip her of her tools, and Haku had little doubt that she'd be hard pressed to keep up with him. Technically her skill level was superior, but he had superior strength and stamina, as well as the passion for taijutsu that she lacked. Haku despised pure hand to hand combat. She'd rather use weapons or close range ninjutsu then use taijutsu any day of the week. Yet despite his strengths and his passion, his skills were sorely lacking.
For some strange reason, Naruto's training was a joke, and she failed to get the punchline.
Haku suppressed a snort. She was reminded of something Zabuza-san had once said to her in passing. When you have a problem, you solve it. Now, when he'd said that he'd been speaking in reference to an especially tenacious hunter-nin, and his method of solving the problem had been to split the man from groin to scalp, but still, the point did stand. This was a problem and she was going to solve it.
"There are several things I must handle in the village, Naruto-kun," she said. "I was going to ask if you'd accompany me, but I have no wish to disturb your training. I will be in town most of the day."
Naruto's eyes widened and he began to make warding gestures with his hands. "It's okay, I can just train later!"
Haku smiled, though not with complete honesty. She felt a bit guilty about manipulating the boy. Naruto was lonely and he held onto moments of companionship like a drowning man gulps for air. Her only comfort was that by doing so she'd be furthering both their interests.
"But Naruto-kun, if you skip your training then how will you become strong enough to protect me?" she asked him, playfully.
Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed but emboldened by the closeness implied in the remark. "Well, I-," he trailed off, seemingly unsure of what to say
Haku pursed her lips and rubbed her chin, making a show of thinking before smiling once again, this time more honestly. "I've got it," she said.
Naruto grinned. "So you gonna teach me a cool new jutsu or something?"
"Actually," Haku replied, "Yes."
Naruto's eyes went wide as saucers and his jaw dropped. He actually looked something like a fish. He was utterly speechless. The look in his eyes was telling though. Before, the offer of a day's companionship was like a breath to a drowning man, but this was something that went above and beyond even that. I seemed like he was having trouble understanding that someone would actually say 'yes' to that question. There was total love and admiration in those eyes, and it angered her. Was he so neglected in his training that the simple offer of a new jutsu was something that meant so much to him?
Regaining his wits Naruto started to run and bounce around her like a hyperactive child, which in some ways he still was. She fought back a laugh. He must have been a terror as a student.
She paused for a moment and looked at the boy sadly. Her eyes had an immediate effect on Naruto. His energy stilled itself and he frowned slightly. "Are you alright, Haku?"
She fought down what she really wanted to ask and instead decided that she needed to keep to business. "Naruto-kun, what elemental affinity are you attuned to?"
Naruto blinked, obviously confused. "Elemental what?"
Haku frowned. She'd heard mention that in many countries they didn't bother to test for Elemental affinity until a ninja reached Chunin rank, but Zabuza had always said that was foolish. Elemental affinity was easy to test for and critical for a ninja's development. Even if you couldn't teach nature transformation to a Genin, you could still teach them jutsu of their element so they'd already have a repertoire of appropriate techniques at the ready when the time came.
"I don't have any bloodlines or anything," he continued. "I can't use ice or anything like you do."
Haku resisted the urge to grit her teeth. Again obvious holes in his education presented themselves. What was Konoha thinking sending him into the field so unprepared? What was that cyclopean scarecrow teaching him? It was making her headache come back.
"Honesty," she admitted, “I'm wondering how you can even use ninjutsu without knowing about basic chakra transformation. The Uchiha has his Fire Release technique so you have to have been taught at least a fundamental understanding of elemental chakra."
"Sasuke's known that jutsu for like ever," Naruto replied. "So what are you talking about?"
"Most ninja have an elemental affinity," she said. "A few have more than one. Out of those few, some have the natural ability to mix their affinities and create new elements. My elemental natures are wind and water, but my bloodline grants me the natural ability to combine them to create ice."
Naruto blinked. "Does that mean you can only use elemental jutsu that you have an affinity for?"
"No, it just makes creating them much easier,†Haku paused for a moment and then decided to explain in full. “Using your elemental affinity is simple once you've learned how. It becomes literally second nature to you. Much of the work is instinctive and your chakra is able to naturally form that element with only minimal effort. Without an affinity, a jutsu will require additional hand seals to mold your raw chakra into that element. Would you like me to demonstrate?â€
Naruto grinned. “Yeah, sure!â€
“Alright. I will show you the Wild Water Wave technique as an example,†she replied.
Dragon.
Tiger.
Hare.
She slowly moved her hands through the three seals needed to perform the technique so Naruto could see and then took a deep breath.
“Suiton: Mizurappa!â€
She spat, shooting a small water jet across the clearing. Normally the power of her technique would have been much more impressive, but as she was low on energy and only giving Naruto an example, she had no desire to use more than the bare minimum of chakra.
“Huh, that's pretty cool, Haku-chan!†Naruto said with a smile. “Could you teach me that? Please?â€
She smiled. “Maybe later, Naruto-kun, right now I'd like to finish what I'm doing first.â€
He grinned, clearly satisfied with her answer
“Now, I will show you it again using nature transformation. Observe.â€
This time, she only formed the Hare sign and repeated the technique, again shooting a small stream of water across the clearing.
“Do you see what I mean?†she asked.
“Yeah, you only had to use one hand seal this time,†he observed.
“Correct,†she replied, “Elemental mastery not only allows for faster performance of techniques, but it makes them more efficient, allowing for much greater power. That is why I asked you your elemental affinity.â€
“I get it now! Thanks Haku.†He blushed, “I guess I don't know my affinity.â€
She nodded. “We will have to get some chakra testing papers soon. Besides my Hyoton abilities, I have mastered both Water and Wind transformation and know a number of Suiton and Futon jutsu. If either of them are your elemental nature I believe I could be of help to you,†she paused for a moment, “Though if you're another elemental type, I will do what I can but I'm afraid I won't be much assistance."
“That's okay, Haku,†he paused and then grinned widely, “So think we could get started now, even though we don't know my element?â€
“Possibly,†Haku rubbed her chin slightly, "Naruto, if I may ask, what has your sensei been teaching you?"
"Well, he taught us how to stick to trees," Naruto said.
She frowned deeply. "I was taught that when I was seven."
"Woah, seriously?" Naruto asked wide eyed. "You must be really strong!"
Ugh. What the hell was Konoha thinking? "Has he even started teaching you water walking?"
"No," Naruto admitted.
“Has he taught you anything else?â€
Naruto frowned. “Not really. It's mostly been sparing and teamwork stuff.â€
"How long has he been your sensei?"
Naruto sighed. "A few months."
"And all he's taught you is tree climbing?" she asked, almost not believing her ears. Of all the lazy useless- it made her want to scream! She frowned and shook her head, speaking as much to herself as to him. "You'll never get anywhere at this rate."
"I know, and it sucks!" Naruto exclaimed. He glared at her. The look of betrayal in his eyes was painful to behold "I thought you're different, but now you're telling me I'm a dobe too?"
"No," She said, putting her hand on the shorter ninja shoulder. "You're not a dobe. I think you have the potential to be the strongest ninja in the world."
"Really?" he asked, the anger and frustration in his voice vanishing instantly as if it had been cast to the wind.
Haku smiled. "Yes I do. I just think you need some individual instruction."
He looked hopefully at Haku. "So does that mean you're offering to train me?"
"Yes. Yes I am, Naruto-kun. I'll teach you whatever I can"
Naruto's smile as infectious. "Awesome! So we're going to start with that cool water jutsu, right?"
She shook her head.
He frowned. “Come on, Haku!â€
She looked at him and crossed her arms. “Zabuza-sama always said that if you're going to learn to use Water Jutsu you better know how to walk it first.â€
“Oh,†Naruto looked down for a moment before grinning and looking back up. “And then you'll teach me that one?â€
She shook her head. “Naruto, I can't promise you that it will be next, but I will teach it to you. I do promises you that.â€
His smile grew even more. The look on his face only cemented her intention. She'd never seen anyone as happy as Naruto seemed to be right now. It reminded her of the drunken oaths they'd sworn to each other. She promised to help him achieve his dream, and he swore to protect her as one of his precious people. He was strong, and she believed in him.
"Though I warn you now though that you have a great deal to learn. Your fighting style is very sloppy."
Naruto frowned and looked at his feet. Unlike before he wasn't taking offense to her observations, rather he was listening to them, and while he didn't seem to like it, he was paying attention to them. "Well, yeah," he admitted, a little reluctantly. "I had to teach myself a lot."
That surprised her. A self taught ninja from one of the five main ninja villages? "Doesn't Konoha had a Ninja Academy."
"It does, but few of the instructors had the time for me," Naruto said, scowling. "I tried to learn the forms everybody else did but when I needed help, nobody really gave me any. Except Iruka-sensei, but well-" Naruto sighed. "He tried his best, but he still had a whole class and all."
Haku grimaced. It was worse than she thought. "Were all of your instructors like that?"
Naruto nodded sadly. "Pretty much. Mizuki-sensei gave me some time, but considering he tried to kill me, I don't think that counts."
Haku blinked. Then she blinked again. What the? "You're telling me one of your teachers tried to kill you?"
"Yeah," Naruto admitted. "I failed the genin exam three times. They always asked us to do Bunshin no Jutsu but that's my worse technique. After I failed, he told me there was another secret test."
Haku grimaced. She didn't like where this was going.
"He told me that all I had to do was steal the forbidden scroll of sealing from the Hokage Tower and learn a jutsu from it, so I did." He grinned. "I even knocked out the old man with my awesome original jutsu."
"Huh?" Haku blinked. Did she just hear him right? Did a genin have a jutsu so powerful that he could bring down a kage? She had to know this technique! While it would do her little good now, she couldn't help but remember fighting the Mizukage and his terrible power. She had to believe there was something that could take that monster down, and if this was it, she had to see it. "Show me this jutsu," she demanded.
Naruto grinned. "Oiroke no Jutsu!"
In a burst of smoke, Naruto was replaced with a beautiful girl with long silky hair, generous curves, and not a stitch of clothing. In fact the only thing protecting her modesty at all was a few whiffs of smoke that actually seemed to be more strategically placed to draw attention to her assets than to hide them from view.
Haku felt her eyebrow twitch slightly. So, the Sandaime Hokage was a dirty old man and Naruto defeated him by flashing him. Wouldn't be of any use against Yagura, that was for sure. Though if she ever needed something with which to blackmail a Kage, this was certainly it. "What a tasteless technique."
Naruto giggled like the kind of shallow, air-headed civilian girl who liked to stalk her when she dressed as a boy and blew her a kiss. It made her skin crawl. "Tasteless, but effective!"
With a poof of smoke, Naruto changed back and grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Haku frowned. Part of her wanted to smack him up the back of the head for coming up with such a perverse jutsu, but she had a feeling that this was one of those cases where if it was stupid and it worked, it wasn't stupid. Just never expect her to use it in the field. The idea of flashing her enemies into submission simply didn't appeal to her.
“I am impressed that you have been able to master Henge to a degree that allows you to perform it with only a single hand seal.â€
Naruto deflated somewhat, disappointed by the fact that she was not as amused by the technique as he was, but still encouraged by by her mild praise.
"Please, continue the story," she said, not wanting to discuss the technique anymore.
Naruto nodded. "Okay. So I got the scroll and started to study it. A few hours later Iruka-sensei showed up and asked me what I was doing. I told him, then Mizuki-sensei showed up and-" Naruto trailed off. He bit his lip and looked uncomfortable for a moment. He continued, but by the tone of his voice, she had a feeling he was leaving something out. "Mizuki-sensei tried to kill us. Iruka-sensei got hurt protecting me, so I used the technique I learned from the scroll, Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and kicked Mizuki-sensei's butt." He smiled. "After that, Iruka-sensei told me to close my eyes, and when I opened them I was a genin, dattebayo!"
Haku blinked. "Hold on, you're telling me you learned the kinjutsu version of an advanced level jutsu in only a couple of hours?"
"Yeah. Pretty cool, right?"
"And they call you a dobe?"
He nodded.
"Fools."
Naruto beamed. "Thanks Haku!"
She frowned and looked over at the boy. "Naruto, what did this Mizuki teach?"
"Taijutsu mostly, why?"
She couldn't help but facepalm. "That explains a lot."
Naruto blinked in confusion. "What?"
"Please, do not take this the wrong way, but your taijutsu..." She paused for a moment trying to think of a diplomatic way to put this. “...Is in need of serious refinement.â€
Naruto grimaced for a moment opened his mouth to retaliate, but after a moment snapped it shut and looked at Haku in annoyance before saying, "What do you mean? I thought I was pretty good. Mizuki-sensei always complimented me on my skills!"
"This being same Mizuki-sensei who tried to kill you, correct?"
Naruto blinked, blushed, and scratched the back of his head with a laugh, "Well, when you say it like that, I guess I see your point."
She nodded with a grim look on her face. "I believe he sabotaged your efforts by intentionally teaching you the wrong way to do things."
Naruto blinked. "But thats where I got all my best grades and Mizuki-sensei wasn't the only testing us in taijutsu!"
Haku nodded. "I believe that is due to your own natural aptitude. I have seen you fight, and you are strong and fast, with impressive stamina and an unpredictable fighting style. Your own innate ability makes you a dangerous opponent. The problem is that your fundamentals are flawed, and this lowers your effectiveness greatly. As much as it pains me to say this; I'm going to have to teach you the basics of taijutsu."
Naruto frowned. "Why does it pain you to say that? I thought you wanted to teach me!"
"I do," she replied, "It is just that I'm a ninjutsu specialist. I have little talent for taijutsu, and while I know the forms well enough, I find little pleasure in it."
"Oh." He blinked. "So how about you teach me a cool Jutsu?"
She sighed, “Naruto...â€
“Please?â€
She paused for a moment of thought then nodded. Alright, fine. If he needed the basics, she's start with absolute the basics. "Very well, I will show you a technique, but afterwards I'm going to teach you water walking and you will not complain. Understood?â€
“I got ya, Haku-chan!†he exclaimed, almost hopping in place with excitement, “So what are you going to teach me?â€
“I will teach you a basic technique taught to all Kiri-nin. It is technically a water release technique, but it is simple enough that it can be performed using only the most elementary understanding of elemental nature. You've seen this technique before. It is a technique that Zabuza-san used against your sensei: the Kirigakure no Jutsu."
"Awesome!" Naruto grinned. "If it can work against Kakashi-sensei's sharingan, then it'll sure work against that bastard Sasuke's!"
"Unfortunately, I am unable to demonstrate it for you." Haku blushed. "I'm still low on chakra, and showing you the Mizurappa was somewhat reckless on my part."
Naruto shrugged. "It's alright. I've already seen it done."
"Good, I just didn't want you to be disappointed. I will show you the hand seals and tell you what to do. Alright?"
Naruto grinned. "Yeah!"
Haku took a deep breath and began. “The basic seals are Ox, Hair, Ram. It works by using your charka to increase the local humidity by drawing out the surrounding water and changing the localized temperature gradient by rapidly cooling in order to create a thick blinding fog. Do you understand?"
Naruto paused for a moment and nodded. "So I do those hand sighs, draw out some water and cool down the air to make it fog up?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Alright! This'll be easy, dattebayo!" With a manic grin on his face Naruto formed the hand signs. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"
Haku blink in surprise as the entire world went completely white. She'd seen some pretty thick mists created before. It had been Zabuza's favorite technique and her duel elemental nature strengthened both the water gathering and atmospheric cooling aspects of the jutsu, but this was just ridiculous. She could barely see her hands in front of her face.
"Naruto?" She called out, stepping forward in the direction that he'd been in. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah, Haku-chan," He replied. "I think I used too much chakra."
"Naruto-kun, are you still maintaining the technique?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Haku sighed and shook her head."Stop. It should dissipate momentarily.."
"Oh." Naruto replied. "Okay."
She sighed and crossed her arms, waiting for it to fade. "Naruto-kun, we really need to work on your control."
"Um, I guess so."
“Huh...†Haku thought to herself for a moment. Naruto was overpowering that technique immensely. When she'd begun training as a ninja her above average reserves made training difficult until she'd mastered basic chakra control techniques. Considering Naruto's sheer volume of power that could have been the reason for some of his problems.
“Naruto, when the mist fades, I want you to make a clone for me."
“Right, one Kage Bunshin coming right up!â€
“No,†she replied, “I want you to create a normal clone.â€
"Oh, man!" Naruto whined. "I suck at that technique."
Haku raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't that be reason enough for you to improve it?"
"But I already know how to make Shadow Clones!" Naruto said, "Why do I need stupid, regular clones?"
Haku thought for a moment. "Regular clones are insubstantial. Being hit won't destroy them."
"Yeah, but they can't actually do anything."
"They'd draw attention off of your shadow clones. If you had a few Bunshin to serve as decoys for every Kage Bunshin then the enemy would have a much harder time destroying them. Besides, if seeing hundreds of you is intimidating, what would thousands be like?"
Naruto blinked and then smiled savagely "I never thought of it that way!" he paused before adding, "I still hate that technique though."
Haku smiled. She had a feeling she could motivate him. "Let's make a deal. If you can create a single perfect clone, I'll teach you a very special jutsu, one that is very useful but requires a great deal of control to use."
"Oh? What technique?"
Haku smiled. Hook. Line.
"Shunshin no Jutsu."
"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll master it in no time, dattebayo!"
Haku grinned like a Hoshigaki. Sinker.
"So, Haku?"
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Do you have um, any tips for me?"
She paused for a moment and bit her lip. "Naruto, my instinct is that you're overpowering the technique. Just try and make as many clones as possible using as little chakra as you can and work your way down from there."
"Oh." He paused. "Haku-chan?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"Shouldn't the mist have cleared up by now?"
She frowned. Yes. It should have. It normally cleared up in just a couple of minutes if that, and even now she was barely able to make him out through the fog, which was pretty incredible considering he was less than ten feet away from her. "Exactly how much charka did you use?"
"Er, I don't know. I just put in as much as I could?"
Haku opened her mouth to reply but was cut off from a cry from the distance.
"Naruto-kun? Haku-san?" It was Sakura. "Are you out here? Hello?"
"Oi! Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "We're right here!"
"Right where?" she asked, "This blinding fog is covering most of the town! What happened? Where is everyone?"
Haku winced. Oh yeah. She was going to get him started on water walking as soon as possible. She'd heard of chakra control issues, but this was just ridiculous.
Glancing about for a moment to make sure the coast was clear, Kakashi pulled down his mask and began to brush his teeth, letting his mind wander back to his previous train of thought.
Ah, Naruto. Boy really was full of surprises. Until now he'd had the sinking suspicion that the kid had inherited his father's hair, his mother’s personality, and neither of their talent... but in this case it seems that the biggest mouth came with the biggest set of teeth. He almost wished that Sasuke had taken his time before going for a bath. Dealing with the 'aftermath' would have been damned annoying, but after Naruto's exemplary performance that day, he felt a just bit guilty for cock blocking the poor kid.
Kakashi was willing to admit that even he would have had a bitch of a time dealing with all those bandits, at least without pulling out some of his more destructive area of effect jutsu that would have done as much damage to the bridge as to the bandits. Naruto on the other hand just pulled his own army out of his ass and met them head on. He lost a couple points for style, for just charging in without a plan, but still the boy had still earned an A for Awesome.
He moved his toothbrush about and nodded. Thinking back to Haku, Kakashi himself had to admit that while she was a bit on the young side, he'd have had a hard time saying no to a teenage hottie like that. Although it had been called for under his duty as a teacher to embarrass his students at any and all opportunity, it still was an unforgivable breach of Man Law that demanded recompense. He'd definitely have to make it up to the kid for, as Gai would put it, 'dousing the flames of his youth'.
He bit the toothbrush head and wiggled the handle from side to side, thinking. How to make it up to the boy? Considering how jutsu mad the gaki was, he knew all would be forgiven with a new technique; he couldn't just teach the kid a new one. It would be unfair to his other students and teaching them all a new technique would undermine the entire point. What to do... What to do...
He grinned. Oh yeah. He'd simply pass the kid a copy of the standard Shadow Clone scroll from the Jonin Library when they got back home. Now while it might seem like a weak way to say 'sorry', considering that the brat already knew the damned technique, the simple fact was that Naruto had learned it by reverse engineering Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu into the standard version. The standard scroll's instructions included essays on a number of creative uses for the techniques. Everything from serving as the perfect expendable scout, to speeding up your learning time, to helping you deal with unwanted paperwork. The Forbidden Scroll on the other hand, he had a strong feeling the use instructions consisted of all of one word: 'Don't'.
He'd also have to exhibit Bushin Bakuha no Jutsu at some point. If anything could get a kid who was able to safely use Mass Shadow Clones to sit down, shut up, and do what he was told, it was the offer of the Explosive Clone Technique. Now, he knew he wouldn't be able to lord it over the kid forever, but by the time he was sick of chasing that carrot on a stick, Sasuke would be ready to learn some advanced Katon techniques and he guessed he could ship Sakura off to the hospital for some medic training, or something along those lines.
Sakura. He sighed. Honestly, he wasn't exactly sure what to do with the girl. She was simply not suitable for the kind of training he could teach effectively. All of Kakashi's own strengths were her weaknesses. He was a ninjutsu specialist who focused on heavy combat and assassination, most of which were highly complicated techniques that benefited from good control but required great deal of power. Sakura on the other had some of the best and finest control he'd ever seen from a genin, but almost laughable chakra reserves. In other words, she was a natural Genjutsu type. Not for the first time he regretted that he hadn't put more effort into talking Kurenai out of the Hyuga heir. Under Kurenai she would have been able to play to her strengths, and away from Sasuke she'd have had a chance to become something more than the head of the last Uchiha's cheerleading section. He shook his head. With a Hyuga he could have done so much more. Oh well, hindsight was 20/20, and this wasn't greatest mistake he'd made in his life.
He opened his Sharingan eye and looked into it before letting it morph into its advanced form. No, very far from it.
Closing Obito's eye, he spit out the toothpaste in his mouth and drew a glass of water from the sink. Taking a sip of it he started to swish it through his mouth, still thinking. Banishing his momentary melancholy, he smiled. Naruto and Sasuke on the other hand had the potential to be a source of infinite amusement. Now that Sasuke had unlocked his Sharingan, he'd literally be able to learn new techniques at a glance. He'd expected this and had been preparing for it
Naruto on the other hand was a pleasant but unexpected surprise. He'd expected a loud mouthed moron and hadn't been disappointed. Much to his own disgust, he'd almost been ready to simply dismiss the kid as more dead weight, but then he'd gone and proven Kakashi wrong. Oh, he was still a loudmouth, but the kid seemed to work well under pressure and had proven to be the greatest master of the Shadow Clone technique he'd ever seen. He'd been able to learn the kinjutsu version in just one night and was able to create literally an army at will. For all of his faults, one couldn't question the boy's work ethic; and with his mastery of Kage Bunshin, he'd be able to literally log thousands of man-hours of training in a single day.
The genius bloodline of the Uchiha clan versus the ultimate genius of hard work. Would be one hell of a show. He chuckled. He'd have to keep this quiet. The last thing he wanted to deal with was Maito Gai trying to fan their Flames of Youth. Double true if he brought his team. Gai could be bad enough alone, Gai plus his creepy little Mini Me was downright excessive.
3
Sasuke scowled for probably the fifteenth time in so many minutes as he picked at his breakfast completely ignoring the world around him. In all honesty he was in a pretty foul mood after the humiliating display the night before, and was only compounded by one especially painful fact. The dobe was closer to rebuilding his clan than Sasuke himself. Sasuke had no doubts that the fool was from some ninja clan. His insane endurance, near bottomless chakra reserves, and rapid healing couldn't be anything but a kekkei genkai. It made him question why the other boy was so hated by the villagers. Was he the only survivor of a clan of traitors?
Sasuke snorted. It didn't matter. He refused to judge a person on the sins of his kin; otherwise he might be forced to draw comparisons between himself and That Man. He could safely say he disliked Naruto on his own merits. He was a blithering idiot who refused to accept the superiority of the natural genius of the Uchiha clan over the power of his own bloodline, no matter how formidable it may be. Now that he'd unlocked his own kekkei genkai, Sasuke was sure that he leave the dobe in the dust, though even if he didn't, he did respect the fools tenacity, not that he'd ever admit it aloud.
Forcing his thought processes back on track, he raged at the indignity of it all. The idiot had been moments away from going all the way with an extremely beautiful and skilled girl, the kind of woman that Sasuke would have a hard time saying no to. It was just unfair! The dead last moron from a clan that had obviously done some ill so great that the adults were forbidden to speak of them had strong and beautiful kunoichi attracted to him, while he, the last member of the greatest clan in the whole of the elemental nations had fucking Pinky and the Blonde, along with the rest of the legion of useless fangirls trailing behind him like goldfish shit.
While he wasn't old enough to rebuild his clan as of yet, when he was, in a couple of years, he'd require women who were emotionally and physically prepared to go about the long and bloody work of rebuilding his clan. He needed mothers, not a pack of vapid, romance addled fangirls who were too blind to see the world as it was beyond their own petty delusions. Hell, even he Hyuga would be a step up. Sure there was the overriding issue of doujutsu incomparability which made such a coupling untenable, but at least she seemed to have a reasonable level of emotional and mental maturity, even if she was a doormat. She had a clear enough head to understand that he had no time for foolish romance and probably the fortitude and definitely the patience to be a good mother. She also had great tits for her age. Oh, why couldn't he attract older women, like Kiba's hot sister, or even that scantily clad psychopath that worked for ANBU T&I?
It that wasn't humiliating enough, that entire 'gay' scene made him look like a complete and utter tool. How was he supposed to know she was a woman? It was misty in there, he couldn't see any of her goods from where he'd been, and had taken the dobe's word for it, damn it! Still, it hasn't been a total loss. He'd seen her boobs and he had to admit, that they were a damned fine set. He smirked. It made him want to start 'interviewing' potential Uchiha mothers right away.
There was one negative side effect though. He simply couldn't ignore the poorly hidden glances that Sakura was sneaking at him and Naruto. That creepy, lecherous smile of hers was even worse. He grimaced and tried to side away from her, but she slid right back up next to him. He hadn't been of a mind to really consider it at the time, but she'd collapsed with a nosebleed when he'd mentioned that Haku and Naruto were being 'gay' in the bath. He shuddered. Not only was she useless, but she was also into Yaoi. And she had the gall to call Naruto a pervert because he'd been clever enough to create a technique as effective, abet silly, as the Orioke no Jutsu? Hypocrite.
3 3
Kakashi cheerfully entered the room with a smile under his mask. As per the norm, he was late. After all, he did have a reputation to uphold. As he'd expected, everyone was already at the table. Sasuke seemed to be in an especially foul mood today, something most people wouldn't be able to tell, considering his moods tended to hover between grumpy, grouchy, and pissy at all times.
Also per usual, Sakura was hovering over him like a vulture circling a dying yak, blissfully unaware of the fact that the object of her affection was completely ignoring her at best, and remaining silently contemptuous of her affections at worst. Naruto was surprisingly bright eyed and cheerful for someone who'd drained half a bottle of cheap, high potency sake the night before, and was sitting tellingly close to Haku. Now as for the pretty little nukenin, she looked exactly as you'd expect of the person who'd drained the other half of aforementioned bottle of rot-gut: absolutely miserable, and much to Kakashi's eternal amusement, was shooting telling glances at his most loud mouthed genin.
Ah, young sexual tension, it was just like Icha Icha!
Now, the civilians seemed to be mostly an improvement from their normal pitifully obnoxious states. Tazuna was actually sober for once, standing tall, proud, and actually managing to not smell like a distillary. Inari seemed almost irritatingly happy and content with himself, which was a major improvement from the annoying, pessimistic little shit he'd acted like up to this point. Tsunami on the other hand was shooting an almost unbelievable amount of killing intent for an untrained civilian at him. He was impressed. If she'd been trained she'd probably be able to kill a lesser man with it. Now, he didn't know what he'd done to piss the MILF off, but if it made her this angry, finding out was probably a good idea.
"Good morning!" he happily announced.
"You're late." Sakura snapped.
Kakashi happily ignored her griping, as usual, and looked to the bridge builder's hot daughter as he took his seat. Tsunami's eyes narrowed and a very palpable chill made its way up his spine. Damn! Woman had missed her calling! If she'd been trained as a ninja, she'd might even be scarier than Anko, and that's one freaky bitch!
"Is something the matter?" he asked, wondering exactly what had gotten her silky whites in a bunch.
"I do not appreciate you sending a young man into my furo with a bottle of sake while it was occupied by a teenage girl," she snapped in response.
Naruto blushed brightly and looked over to her. "Um. Don't be mad at Kakashi-sensei, Tsunami-neechan."
Tsunami glared at him expectantly so he continued, "Yesterday, when I fought all those thugs," he took a deep breath, "I'd never killed anyone before."
Naruto's statement crashed over the room like a wave. Immediately all eyes were on the boy. Sasuke was looking at him with a palpable sense of respect, and nodded in acknowledgment of his ability, a first. Sakura was agape, probably not having been able to look past Sasuke during the fight to even realize that Naruto'd been protecting them. Haku smiled sadly and placed her hand on Naruto's to comfort him. Tsunami was simply agape, her civilian mind having probably not comprehended that a boy barely into his adolescence could be a killer, even in the aftermath of a pitched battle, Inari was looking at Naruto with the complete admiration that only hero worship could bring, and Tazuna, Tazuna stood up from his place at the head of the table.
The drunken bridge builder looked at Naruto with hard eyes for a moment, taking the boy in, and then he bowed, deeply. "Thank you very much, Naruto-kun."
Kakashi grinned. Even with such a serious subject, it was entertaining to see Naruto's blushing like mad and scratching the back of his head with a stupid smile on his face, basking in the well deserved attention.
"You know," Kakashi remarked, "Naruto took out the thugs, but it was Haku who killed Gato." If credit was being passed around, the girl deserved some. That had been one hell of a shot. Artistically done and with outstanding timing, if he had to say so himself.
Tsunami turned to Haku and after a moment of thought, bowed slightly to her. "Thank you, Haku-san. By killing Gato you have done my people a great service. I apologize for my harsh treatment of you."
Haku smiled at the older woman. "Thank you, Tsunami-san, but it is I who should be apologizing to you. I aided in attempts to kill one of your loved ones, yet you still have found it within you to open your home to me. It is I who should be apologizing to you."
Tsunami flushed slightly and smiled. "You are not what I expected Haku-san."
"You expected someone colder and more bloodthirsty?" Haku asked.
Tsunami nodded with frown.
"I am Shinobi," Haku replied, "I have no animosity towards your father and do not wish him any harm, but Zabuza-san took the contract from Gato and so I was required to act against him. As cold as it may sound, it was not personal and I'd have much rather have left you to live your lives in peace."
Tsunami scowled. "The life of ninja sounds very cold and unfeeling."
Haku nodded, sadly. "That it is. There are times I envy you civilians and your ability to live your lives free of the callous and impersonal nature of the ninja way."
"It almost sounds like you don't really want to be a ninja," Sakura thought aloud.
"No," Haku said, clarrifying. "It is not that I did not wish to become a ninja and more that I was never given a choice. It was the dictate of my bloodline."
Sakura blinked. "What do you mean?"
"That," Haku replied, calmly but with a slight chill to her voice, making it clear she did not want to discuss it. "Is an intensely personal question that touches upon parts of my past that I'd rather not speak of."
"Hm." Sasuke nodded to Haku in understanding.
Kakashi rolled his eye at the breakfast table drama unfolding before him and helped himself to some rice, miso, and a bit of grilled fish. Once everything seemed back on track, he turned to Tazuna and absently asked, "Our contract requires us to remain here until the bridge has been completed. I need to know how long it will be before it is finished."
Tazuna sighed. "Two months."
"Oh man," Naruto whined. "We're going to be stuck here forever!"
The old man scowled and shot the genin a dirty look. "Listen, kid, we have to repair all of the equipment that Zabuza smashed, then I'm going to have to replace all of the workers that Gato ran off while I was out of the country. All of this takes time. So, unless you can pull an army out of your...," the old man trailed off then smiled from ear to ear, looking at the genin the way a bear might look at an especially plump hiker. "Say, kid, you ever consider working in construction?"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"I mean with that clone thing you can do I won't have to worry about finding new workers."
"Sure," Naruto replied. "Anything to get out of here."
Kakashi coughed, attracting both of their attentions. "There are bylaws in the Konoha Mission Codes that cover ninja doing side jobs while on assignment. If he accepts you'll be required to file it as a long duration D-rank mission and pay accordingly. I'd go into more detail, but it's all in the contract scroll you got when you hired us."
Tazuna nodded. "Alright. I'll read over it."
Kakashi nodded. "Fair enough. We also need to discuss how you're going to pay the difference between the C-ranked escort mission you hired us for and the A-ranked bodyguard mission it turned out to be. Because of the desperate situation your people were in, I'm going to ask the Hokage to waive the punitive fines but you're still going to have to pay the difference.â€
Tazuna grimaced. "Does it have to be all at once? Can't you just take it out of the bridge tolls or something?"
"We'll see. When we get back to Konoha I'll speak to the Hokage about it on your behalf,†he paused before adding, “Though I strongly suggest you never attempt anything like that ever again. We are willing to forgive, but we do not forget.â€
The old man paled slightly and bowed his head. “I never will, and you have my thanks for your understanding.â€
“Ma, ma, don't thank me. It's rare that in the execution of our duties that Ninja are able to do something truly and undeniably good in nature.†He glanced at the man sideways, “Had you actually come clean from the beginning about what you were dealing with, we probably would have handled this for you pro bono.â€
Tazuna blinked. “You're serious?â€
He nodded. “Yes, high profile 'Good Guy' jobs like this are good for a village's reputation. If your little stunt hadn't put my genin's lives in danger I might have been even been tempted to ask the Hokage to excuse the difference on your behalf.â€
“Ah. I see. You have my thanks, Kakashi. You're an honorable man†Tazuna smiled and finished off his tea. "Ah! Well, now that's taken care of, time to get to work!" He stood up and smiled at Konoha's loudest genin. "Naruto, I look forward to showing you how the other side makes an honest living."
Naruto grinned, "Yeah, we'll see you old drunk."
Inari smiled and looked at his mother who nodded. Pushing up from the table he ran over to Tazuna. "I'll walk you to work, grandpa!"
Kakashi simply smiled as he table began to empty, with everyone going about their daily tasks, leaving just Tsunami waiting so he could finish. Looking back to his meal and picked up a piece of fish and began to eat.
"Tsunami-chan, have I told you that you're a wonderful cook?"
The woman frowned, and placed her hands on her hips. While she was not releasing the staggering amount of killing intent she had been before, it was apparently clear that she was annoyed. "Just hurry up and eat. I have to clean the dishes."
"You know," Kakashi observed, "It's rude to rush peoples digestion."
"It's rude to be late for a meal," she countered.
Kakashi simply took a sip of tea and shrugged.
Touche.
3 3 3
Haku smiled as she walked next to Naruto as the two left Tazuna's house. She didn't know where he was going but it was pleasant to walk with her friend regardless. Closing her eyes and took a deep breath knowing that she had a very busy day ahead of her. There were simply too many things that needed to get done and with her physical injury combined with her chakra fatigue she didn't feel in much of a condition to accomplish it. Still, she had to get it done regardless.
Looking at the younger boy next to her she pursed her lips thoughtfully. While she still didn't know Naruto very well, she was already well aware that he was the quite possibly the most energetic person she'd ever met. His personality was vibrant to the point of being overwhelming and his stamina was downright superhuman. While she hadn't seen it, she'd been told about the Shadow Clone army he'd used to defeat Gato's men. It was a little selfish, but just maybe- She smiled.
"Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.
"Yeah, Haku-chan?" the orange clad boy asked, looking up to her with a smile across his face. "What do you need?"
"Where are you headed?" she asked.
Naruto smiled. "I'm going into the woods to train. How about you?"
"Becoming stronger to protect your precious people?" Haku asked, wistfully.
"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm going to get stronger so I can protect you and everyone else I care about! Then I'll become Hokage and be able to protect everyone, and they'll have no choice but to acknowledge me because I'll be somebody that everyone can look up to!"
Haku's smile grew as she took in Naruto's words. It was strange to her that she was already beginning to feel the same kind of selfless dedication for him that she'd felt for Zabuza-san, but she guessed it was due to his nature. Already he counted her among his most precious people and it warmed her heart. He was a pure spirit, heroic and kind. The type of person who made you feel stronger just for knowing him, and who's radiance could bring the best out in people. This did make her wonder though.
Naruto had a passion for training that was beyond impressive, his spirit made him a natural leader of men, and his charka reserves were beyond ludicrous. Even discounting her own suspicions as to the nature of his frightening hidden power, he had the potential to become one of the most powerful ninja in the elemental countries, yet he was woefully under trained.
During their battle she'd clearly seen glaring weaknesses in his fighting style. The only ninjutsu she'd seen him use was the shadow clone technique and his taijutsu was a mess. It was inefficient and flashy. That wasn't to say that he wasn't any good. Strip her of her tools, and Haku had little doubt that she'd be hard pressed to keep up with him. Technically her skill level was superior, but he had superior strength and stamina, as well as the passion for taijutsu that she lacked. Haku despised pure hand to hand combat. She'd rather use weapons or close range ninjutsu then use taijutsu any day of the week. Yet despite his strengths and his passion, his skills were sorely lacking.
For some strange reason, Naruto's training was a joke, and she failed to get the punchline.
Haku suppressed a snort. She was reminded of something Zabuza-san had once said to her in passing. When you have a problem, you solve it. Now, when he'd said that he'd been speaking in reference to an especially tenacious hunter-nin, and his method of solving the problem had been to split the man from groin to scalp, but still, the point did stand. This was a problem and she was going to solve it.
"There are several things I must handle in the village, Naruto-kun," she said. "I was going to ask if you'd accompany me, but I have no wish to disturb your training. I will be in town most of the day."
Naruto's eyes widened and he began to make warding gestures with his hands. "It's okay, I can just train later!"
Haku smiled, though not with complete honesty. She felt a bit guilty about manipulating the boy. Naruto was lonely and he held onto moments of companionship like a drowning man gulps for air. Her only comfort was that by doing so she'd be furthering both their interests.
"But Naruto-kun, if you skip your training then how will you become strong enough to protect me?" she asked him, playfully.
Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed but emboldened by the closeness implied in the remark. "Well, I-," he trailed off, seemingly unsure of what to say
Haku pursed her lips and rubbed her chin, making a show of thinking before smiling once again, this time more honestly. "I've got it," she said.
Naruto grinned. "So you gonna teach me a cool new jutsu or something?"
"Actually," Haku replied, "Yes."
Naruto's eyes went wide as saucers and his jaw dropped. He actually looked something like a fish. He was utterly speechless. The look in his eyes was telling though. Before, the offer of a day's companionship was like a breath to a drowning man, but this was something that went above and beyond even that. I seemed like he was having trouble understanding that someone would actually say 'yes' to that question. There was total love and admiration in those eyes, and it angered her. Was he so neglected in his training that the simple offer of a new jutsu was something that meant so much to him?
Regaining his wits Naruto started to run and bounce around her like a hyperactive child, which in some ways he still was. She fought back a laugh. He must have been a terror as a student.
She paused for a moment and looked at the boy sadly. Her eyes had an immediate effect on Naruto. His energy stilled itself and he frowned slightly. "Are you alright, Haku?"
She fought down what she really wanted to ask and instead decided that she needed to keep to business. "Naruto-kun, what elemental affinity are you attuned to?"
Naruto blinked, obviously confused. "Elemental what?"
Haku frowned. She'd heard mention that in many countries they didn't bother to test for Elemental affinity until a ninja reached Chunin rank, but Zabuza had always said that was foolish. Elemental affinity was easy to test for and critical for a ninja's development. Even if you couldn't teach nature transformation to a Genin, you could still teach them jutsu of their element so they'd already have a repertoire of appropriate techniques at the ready when the time came.
"I don't have any bloodlines or anything," he continued. "I can't use ice or anything like you do."
Haku resisted the urge to grit her teeth. Again obvious holes in his education presented themselves. What was Konoha thinking sending him into the field so unprepared? What was that cyclopean scarecrow teaching him? It was making her headache come back.
"Honesty," she admitted, “I'm wondering how you can even use ninjutsu without knowing about basic chakra transformation. The Uchiha has his Fire Release technique so you have to have been taught at least a fundamental understanding of elemental chakra."
"Sasuke's known that jutsu for like ever," Naruto replied. "So what are you talking about?"
"Most ninja have an elemental affinity," she said. "A few have more than one. Out of those few, some have the natural ability to mix their affinities and create new elements. My elemental natures are wind and water, but my bloodline grants me the natural ability to combine them to create ice."
Naruto blinked. "Does that mean you can only use elemental jutsu that you have an affinity for?"
"No, it just makes creating them much easier,†Haku paused for a moment and then decided to explain in full. “Using your elemental affinity is simple once you've learned how. It becomes literally second nature to you. Much of the work is instinctive and your chakra is able to naturally form that element with only minimal effort. Without an affinity, a jutsu will require additional hand seals to mold your raw chakra into that element. Would you like me to demonstrate?â€
Naruto grinned. “Yeah, sure!â€
“Alright. I will show you the Wild Water Wave technique as an example,†she replied.
Dragon.
Tiger.
Hare.
She slowly moved her hands through the three seals needed to perform the technique so Naruto could see and then took a deep breath.
“Suiton: Mizurappa!â€
She spat, shooting a small water jet across the clearing. Normally the power of her technique would have been much more impressive, but as she was low on energy and only giving Naruto an example, she had no desire to use more than the bare minimum of chakra.
“Huh, that's pretty cool, Haku-chan!†Naruto said with a smile. “Could you teach me that? Please?â€
She smiled. “Maybe later, Naruto-kun, right now I'd like to finish what I'm doing first.â€
He grinned, clearly satisfied with her answer
“Now, I will show you it again using nature transformation. Observe.â€
This time, she only formed the Hare sign and repeated the technique, again shooting a small stream of water across the clearing.
“Do you see what I mean?†she asked.
“Yeah, you only had to use one hand seal this time,†he observed.
“Correct,†she replied, “Elemental mastery not only allows for faster performance of techniques, but it makes them more efficient, allowing for much greater power. That is why I asked you your elemental affinity.â€
“I get it now! Thanks Haku.†He blushed, “I guess I don't know my affinity.â€
She nodded. “We will have to get some chakra testing papers soon. Besides my Hyoton abilities, I have mastered both Water and Wind transformation and know a number of Suiton and Futon jutsu. If either of them are your elemental nature I believe I could be of help to you,†she paused for a moment, “Though if you're another elemental type, I will do what I can but I'm afraid I won't be much assistance."
“That's okay, Haku,†he paused and then grinned widely, “So think we could get started now, even though we don't know my element?â€
“Possibly,†Haku rubbed her chin slightly, "Naruto, if I may ask, what has your sensei been teaching you?"
"Well, he taught us how to stick to trees," Naruto said.
She frowned deeply. "I was taught that when I was seven."
"Woah, seriously?" Naruto asked wide eyed. "You must be really strong!"
Ugh. What the hell was Konoha thinking? "Has he even started teaching you water walking?"
"No," Naruto admitted.
“Has he taught you anything else?â€
Naruto frowned. “Not really. It's mostly been sparing and teamwork stuff.â€
"How long has he been your sensei?"
Naruto sighed. "A few months."
"And all he's taught you is tree climbing?" she asked, almost not believing her ears. Of all the lazy useless- it made her want to scream! She frowned and shook her head, speaking as much to herself as to him. "You'll never get anywhere at this rate."
"I know, and it sucks!" Naruto exclaimed. He glared at her. The look of betrayal in his eyes was painful to behold "I thought you're different, but now you're telling me I'm a dobe too?"
"No," She said, putting her hand on the shorter ninja shoulder. "You're not a dobe. I think you have the potential to be the strongest ninja in the world."
"Really?" he asked, the anger and frustration in his voice vanishing instantly as if it had been cast to the wind.
Haku smiled. "Yes I do. I just think you need some individual instruction."
He looked hopefully at Haku. "So does that mean you're offering to train me?"
"Yes. Yes I am, Naruto-kun. I'll teach you whatever I can"
Naruto's smile as infectious. "Awesome! So we're going to start with that cool water jutsu, right?"
She shook her head.
He frowned. “Come on, Haku!â€
She looked at him and crossed her arms. “Zabuza-sama always said that if you're going to learn to use Water Jutsu you better know how to walk it first.â€
“Oh,†Naruto looked down for a moment before grinning and looking back up. “And then you'll teach me that one?â€
She shook her head. “Naruto, I can't promise you that it will be next, but I will teach it to you. I do promises you that.â€
His smile grew even more. The look on his face only cemented her intention. She'd never seen anyone as happy as Naruto seemed to be right now. It reminded her of the drunken oaths they'd sworn to each other. She promised to help him achieve his dream, and he swore to protect her as one of his precious people. He was strong, and she believed in him.
"Though I warn you now though that you have a great deal to learn. Your fighting style is very sloppy."
Naruto frowned and looked at his feet. Unlike before he wasn't taking offense to her observations, rather he was listening to them, and while he didn't seem to like it, he was paying attention to them. "Well, yeah," he admitted, a little reluctantly. "I had to teach myself a lot."
That surprised her. A self taught ninja from one of the five main ninja villages? "Doesn't Konoha had a Ninja Academy."
"It does, but few of the instructors had the time for me," Naruto said, scowling. "I tried to learn the forms everybody else did but when I needed help, nobody really gave me any. Except Iruka-sensei, but well-" Naruto sighed. "He tried his best, but he still had a whole class and all."
Haku grimaced. It was worse than she thought. "Were all of your instructors like that?"
Naruto nodded sadly. "Pretty much. Mizuki-sensei gave me some time, but considering he tried to kill me, I don't think that counts."
Haku blinked. Then she blinked again. What the? "You're telling me one of your teachers tried to kill you?"
"Yeah," Naruto admitted. "I failed the genin exam three times. They always asked us to do Bunshin no Jutsu but that's my worse technique. After I failed, he told me there was another secret test."
Haku grimaced. She didn't like where this was going.
"He told me that all I had to do was steal the forbidden scroll of sealing from the Hokage Tower and learn a jutsu from it, so I did." He grinned. "I even knocked out the old man with my awesome original jutsu."
"Huh?" Haku blinked. Did she just hear him right? Did a genin have a jutsu so powerful that he could bring down a kage? She had to know this technique! While it would do her little good now, she couldn't help but remember fighting the Mizukage and his terrible power. She had to believe there was something that could take that monster down, and if this was it, she had to see it. "Show me this jutsu," she demanded.
Naruto grinned. "Oiroke no Jutsu!"
In a burst of smoke, Naruto was replaced with a beautiful girl with long silky hair, generous curves, and not a stitch of clothing. In fact the only thing protecting her modesty at all was a few whiffs of smoke that actually seemed to be more strategically placed to draw attention to her assets than to hide them from view.
Haku felt her eyebrow twitch slightly. So, the Sandaime Hokage was a dirty old man and Naruto defeated him by flashing him. Wouldn't be of any use against Yagura, that was for sure. Though if she ever needed something with which to blackmail a Kage, this was certainly it. "What a tasteless technique."
Naruto giggled like the kind of shallow, air-headed civilian girl who liked to stalk her when she dressed as a boy and blew her a kiss. It made her skin crawl. "Tasteless, but effective!"
With a poof of smoke, Naruto changed back and grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Haku frowned. Part of her wanted to smack him up the back of the head for coming up with such a perverse jutsu, but she had a feeling that this was one of those cases where if it was stupid and it worked, it wasn't stupid. Just never expect her to use it in the field. The idea of flashing her enemies into submission simply didn't appeal to her.
“I am impressed that you have been able to master Henge to a degree that allows you to perform it with only a single hand seal.â€
Naruto deflated somewhat, disappointed by the fact that she was not as amused by the technique as he was, but still encouraged by by her mild praise.
"Please, continue the story," she said, not wanting to discuss the technique anymore.
Naruto nodded. "Okay. So I got the scroll and started to study it. A few hours later Iruka-sensei showed up and asked me what I was doing. I told him, then Mizuki-sensei showed up and-" Naruto trailed off. He bit his lip and looked uncomfortable for a moment. He continued, but by the tone of his voice, she had a feeling he was leaving something out. "Mizuki-sensei tried to kill us. Iruka-sensei got hurt protecting me, so I used the technique I learned from the scroll, Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and kicked Mizuki-sensei's butt." He smiled. "After that, Iruka-sensei told me to close my eyes, and when I opened them I was a genin, dattebayo!"
Haku blinked. "Hold on, you're telling me you learned the kinjutsu version of an advanced level jutsu in only a couple of hours?"
"Yeah. Pretty cool, right?"
"And they call you a dobe?"
He nodded.
"Fools."
Naruto beamed. "Thanks Haku!"
She frowned and looked over at the boy. "Naruto, what did this Mizuki teach?"
"Taijutsu mostly, why?"
She couldn't help but facepalm. "That explains a lot."
Naruto blinked in confusion. "What?"
"Please, do not take this the wrong way, but your taijutsu..." She paused for a moment trying to think of a diplomatic way to put this. “...Is in need of serious refinement.â€
Naruto grimaced for a moment opened his mouth to retaliate, but after a moment snapped it shut and looked at Haku in annoyance before saying, "What do you mean? I thought I was pretty good. Mizuki-sensei always complimented me on my skills!"
"This being same Mizuki-sensei who tried to kill you, correct?"
Naruto blinked, blushed, and scratched the back of his head with a laugh, "Well, when you say it like that, I guess I see your point."
She nodded with a grim look on her face. "I believe he sabotaged your efforts by intentionally teaching you the wrong way to do things."
Naruto blinked. "But thats where I got all my best grades and Mizuki-sensei wasn't the only testing us in taijutsu!"
Haku nodded. "I believe that is due to your own natural aptitude. I have seen you fight, and you are strong and fast, with impressive stamina and an unpredictable fighting style. Your own innate ability makes you a dangerous opponent. The problem is that your fundamentals are flawed, and this lowers your effectiveness greatly. As much as it pains me to say this; I'm going to have to teach you the basics of taijutsu."
Naruto frowned. "Why does it pain you to say that? I thought you wanted to teach me!"
"I do," she replied, "It is just that I'm a ninjutsu specialist. I have little talent for taijutsu, and while I know the forms well enough, I find little pleasure in it."
"Oh." He blinked. "So how about you teach me a cool Jutsu?"
She sighed, “Naruto...â€
“Please?â€
She paused for a moment of thought then nodded. Alright, fine. If he needed the basics, she's start with absolute the basics. "Very well, I will show you a technique, but afterwards I'm going to teach you water walking and you will not complain. Understood?â€
“I got ya, Haku-chan!†he exclaimed, almost hopping in place with excitement, “So what are you going to teach me?â€
“I will teach you a basic technique taught to all Kiri-nin. It is technically a water release technique, but it is simple enough that it can be performed using only the most elementary understanding of elemental nature. You've seen this technique before. It is a technique that Zabuza-san used against your sensei: the Kirigakure no Jutsu."
"Awesome!" Naruto grinned. "If it can work against Kakashi-sensei's sharingan, then it'll sure work against that bastard Sasuke's!"
"Unfortunately, I am unable to demonstrate it for you." Haku blushed. "I'm still low on chakra, and showing you the Mizurappa was somewhat reckless on my part."
Naruto shrugged. "It's alright. I've already seen it done."
"Good, I just didn't want you to be disappointed. I will show you the hand seals and tell you what to do. Alright?"
Naruto grinned. "Yeah!"
Haku took a deep breath and began. “The basic seals are Ox, Hair, Ram. It works by using your charka to increase the local humidity by drawing out the surrounding water and changing the localized temperature gradient by rapidly cooling in order to create a thick blinding fog. Do you understand?"
Naruto paused for a moment and nodded. "So I do those hand sighs, draw out some water and cool down the air to make it fog up?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Alright! This'll be easy, dattebayo!" With a manic grin on his face Naruto formed the hand signs. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"
Haku blink in surprise as the entire world went completely white. She'd seen some pretty thick mists created before. It had been Zabuza's favorite technique and her duel elemental nature strengthened both the water gathering and atmospheric cooling aspects of the jutsu, but this was just ridiculous. She could barely see her hands in front of her face.
"Naruto?" She called out, stepping forward in the direction that he'd been in. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah, Haku-chan," He replied. "I think I used too much chakra."
"Naruto-kun, are you still maintaining the technique?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Haku sighed and shook her head."Stop. It should dissipate momentarily.."
"Oh." Naruto replied. "Okay."
She sighed and crossed her arms, waiting for it to fade. "Naruto-kun, we really need to work on your control."
"Um, I guess so."
“Huh...†Haku thought to herself for a moment. Naruto was overpowering that technique immensely. When she'd begun training as a ninja her above average reserves made training difficult until she'd mastered basic chakra control techniques. Considering Naruto's sheer volume of power that could have been the reason for some of his problems.
“Naruto, when the mist fades, I want you to make a clone for me."
“Right, one Kage Bunshin coming right up!â€
“No,†she replied, “I want you to create a normal clone.â€
"Oh, man!" Naruto whined. "I suck at that technique."
Haku raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't that be reason enough for you to improve it?"
"But I already know how to make Shadow Clones!" Naruto said, "Why do I need stupid, regular clones?"
Haku thought for a moment. "Regular clones are insubstantial. Being hit won't destroy them."
"Yeah, but they can't actually do anything."
"They'd draw attention off of your shadow clones. If you had a few Bunshin to serve as decoys for every Kage Bunshin then the enemy would have a much harder time destroying them. Besides, if seeing hundreds of you is intimidating, what would thousands be like?"
Naruto blinked and then smiled savagely "I never thought of it that way!" he paused before adding, "I still hate that technique though."
Haku smiled. She had a feeling she could motivate him. "Let's make a deal. If you can create a single perfect clone, I'll teach you a very special jutsu, one that is very useful but requires a great deal of control to use."
"Oh? What technique?"
Haku smiled. Hook. Line.
"Shunshin no Jutsu."
"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll master it in no time, dattebayo!"
Haku grinned like a Hoshigaki. Sinker.
"So, Haku?"
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Do you have um, any tips for me?"
She paused for a moment and bit her lip. "Naruto, my instinct is that you're overpowering the technique. Just try and make as many clones as possible using as little chakra as you can and work your way down from there."
"Oh." He paused. "Haku-chan?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"Shouldn't the mist have cleared up by now?"
She frowned. Yes. It should have. It normally cleared up in just a couple of minutes if that, and even now she was barely able to make him out through the fog, which was pretty incredible considering he was less than ten feet away from her. "Exactly how much charka did you use?"
"Er, I don't know. I just put in as much as I could?"
Haku opened her mouth to reply but was cut off from a cry from the distance.
"Naruto-kun? Haku-san?" It was Sakura. "Are you out here? Hello?"
"Oi! Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "We're right here!"
"Right where?" she asked, "This blinding fog is covering most of the town! What happened? Where is everyone?"
Haku winced. Oh yeah. She was going to get him started on water walking as soon as possible. She'd heard of chakra control issues, but this was just ridiculous.
