A normal guy from our world is transmigrated into the world of Naruto, before the third ninja war happened. What changes will his presence cause ?
Satoru ( Naruto OC/SI fanfic)
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Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 90
Just because you transmigrated into a different, albeit more interesting, world doesn't mean you suddenly become successful.
I was still the same lazy-ass coward of a guy, as I was in my previous world. In fact I was much worse off here, there was no internet, no cable tv or online gaming. At best there were fantasy novels.
All those fanfics were utter bullshit, the protagonist wakes up in a new world and suddenly becomes super productive. If they could do that they would have been successful back in their own world too.
I am now in the world of Naruto, although much earlier than canon, there were just three faces in the Hokage Mountain.
I ... have yet to feel any motivation, to being the strongest ninja or saving 'my' people. I do not believe anything like that is going to happen to me.
I was an introvert, I am an introvert. Just talking at the counter of a convenience store is a task for me, I am not going to get any more popular here, so that means no responsibility of saving 'my' people.
Whoever sent me here must be a cruel, sadistic person, one world was not enough, now I need to suffer here too.
My now... past life, was bad in some aspects and good in some. I had my parents, they loved me, though they loved money more. I had friends, not many but enough. Though I was not able to meet them once I started working, as I had move to another state and we naturally became distant.
I lost my trust on my parents when they started asking for money, for me to take loans and give to them, I helped them but over the years the only calls I received were for money and when I couldn't give them more, no calls came.
I didn't like my job, I wanted to leave it and do something else, but the shackles that my parents became, made me unable to do that. So I hated them, my parents, my job even my friends.
So despite my grumbling about being transmigrated here, I was glad I came here. Away from all the things I hated.
Remembering my previous life, I felt like screaming but it was night time and people were sleeping. Just because my issues kept me awake doesn't mean I should wake up others too. I had manners.
But... really what should I do now.
In this world I was Satoru, a ten year old, final year, ninja academy student.
It has been nearly three months since I woke up here, in Konoha. After my initial confusion and panic, I got used to my daily life.
I had to cook and clean and in general take care of myself and the one room house that the village had provided me.
Then there was academy.
When I woke up here, memories of the person before me also integrated with me, for which I was immensely thankful.
I wouldn't have survived if I couldn't even communicate.
The ... person who occupied this body before me was an orphan. A quiet kid who kept to himself and didn't had any friends.
I... hope he is now in better place.
But coming back to academy, my final year was just going by, I attended my classes daily , took my notes, did my tasks, did my homework and whatever I needed to do.
Unfortunately unlike in fanfics that I read, I did not suddenly became a genius. There was some maths that I could easily tackle, being a college graduate, but my curriculum involved more than just that. There was taijutsu, ninjutsu, kunai and shuriken throwing and worst of all, physical conditioning.
Even if you leave out the physical stuff, academic part was different, a different history and geography. We were taught battle strategies, weak points of a human body and other ninja stuff that was brand new to me.
And lastly it was not easy because chakra which had improved their physical attributes to super human level had left impact on their brain too. If you leave out issues with their lack of interest they were able to understand and remember better than any ten year old back on earth, unless my memory was failing me and I had just become stupid... I was not.
So all in all... I was just average here.
And after everything that I did in a day, I hardly felt like doing more.
Though I did experiment with chakra, I could feel it, like I could see my nose, with just little bit of concentration. It was such a foreign feeling that no person from my world would have missed it.
A warm tingling sensation, almost like you are feeling your blood flowing, except you could control it.
For the last three months I had been practicing chakra control, to be specific, tree walking, except on the wall of my room. With nothing to entertain myself with I had started doing this and it had been going well, my fear of height had me cautious and perhaps slowed my progress a bit but now I was able to reach top of the wall in a slow pace.
Tomorrow after class I should head to training ground with a lake, it was time for water walking.
Beep... beep beep...
Also it was time to sleep.
I adjusted the clock and just fell on my bed.
One good thing about such a busy routine was that I fell ... asle .eep as soon as... I lay down.
Day 91
Next day, I was bit excited to try water walking, I endured through the class and was out the moment bell rang.
Regarding training ground there were some for which you needed permission, then there were some which were reserved, generally for Jounins or the Chunins and lastly you got the free ones.
I ran through the grounds looking for a small lake.
After a bit more searching I finally found it.
Quickly changing to just swimming trunks, I was glad weather was still warm. I concentrated moving chakra towards my feet, after few seconds I took my first step and to my surprise it held, quickly taking my second step also held but then my next step was not so lucky and I was in water, again thanking that the weather was warm.
I practiced for almost three hours before my hunger got the best of me. My best was ten steps, it looked like I will be mastering water walking sooner than tree walking. I was not sure why.
Changing back to dry clothes, I slowly walked back to my room, enjoying the atmosphere. One thing I had to admit that I came to like about Konoha was this, this peaceful and friendly atmosphere.
People were happy here and it showed. They were polite to each other and quick to help anyone in trouble, there were hardly any conflict and people tried to be mindful of others. It didn't mean they neglected their own work, in fact they had a deep sense of pride in the work they did, no matter how trivial.
All of this, somehow impacted me too, I felt not quiet happy but... content, I felt like I would be willing to help someone if I saw them in trouble.
I would never have done that back in my world it was always best to avoid trouble and helping others might have landed you in trouble too, so you avoided it.
I bought some food and reached my room, I felt like treating myself today so I had bought some expensive stuff, there was no homework assigned, so I had plenty of time to cook my delicious meal.
And so my day ended, I went to bed with a content feeling.
A/N: Please visit patreon for advanced chapters
Day 90
Just because you transmigrated into a different, albeit more interesting, world doesn't mean you suddenly become successful.
I was still the same lazy-ass coward of a guy, as I was in my previous world. In fact I was much worse off here, there was no internet, no cable tv or online gaming. At best there were fantasy novels.
All those fanfics were utter bullshit, the protagonist wakes up in a new world and suddenly becomes super productive. If they could do that they would have been successful back in their own world too.
I am now in the world of Naruto, although much earlier than canon, there were just three faces in the Hokage Mountain.
I ... have yet to feel any motivation, to being the strongest ninja or saving 'my' people. I do not believe anything like that is going to happen to me.
I was an introvert, I am an introvert. Just talking at the counter of a convenience store is a task for me, I am not going to get any more popular here, so that means no responsibility of saving 'my' people.
Whoever sent me here must be a cruel, sadistic person, one world was not enough, now I need to suffer here too.
My now... past life, was bad in some aspects and good in some. I had my parents, they loved me, though they loved money more. I had friends, not many but enough. Though I was not able to meet them once I started working, as I had move to another state and we naturally became distant.
I lost my trust on my parents when they started asking for money, for me to take loans and give to them, I helped them but over the years the only calls I received were for money and when I couldn't give them more, no calls came.
I didn't like my job, I wanted to leave it and do something else, but the shackles that my parents became, made me unable to do that. So I hated them, my parents, my job even my friends.
So despite my grumbling about being transmigrated here, I was glad I came here. Away from all the things I hated.
Remembering my previous life, I felt like screaming but it was night time and people were sleeping. Just because my issues kept me awake doesn't mean I should wake up others too. I had manners.
But... really what should I do now.
In this world I was Satoru, a ten year old, final year, ninja academy student.
It has been nearly three months since I woke up here, in Konoha. After my initial confusion and panic, I got used to my daily life.
I had to cook and clean and in general take care of myself and the one room house that the village had provided me.
Then there was academy.
When I woke up here, memories of the person before me also integrated with me, for which I was immensely thankful.
I wouldn't have survived if I couldn't even communicate.
The ... person who occupied this body before me was an orphan. A quiet kid who kept to himself and didn't had any friends.
I... hope he is now in better place.
But coming back to academy, my final year was just going by, I attended my classes daily , took my notes, did my tasks, did my homework and whatever I needed to do.
Unfortunately unlike in fanfics that I read, I did not suddenly became a genius. There was some maths that I could easily tackle, being a college graduate, but my curriculum involved more than just that. There was taijutsu, ninjutsu, kunai and shuriken throwing and worst of all, physical conditioning.
Even if you leave out the physical stuff, academic part was different, a different history and geography. We were taught battle strategies, weak points of a human body and other ninja stuff that was brand new to me.
And lastly it was not easy because chakra which had improved their physical attributes to super human level had left impact on their brain too. If you leave out issues with their lack of interest they were able to understand and remember better than any ten year old back on earth, unless my memory was failing me and I had just become stupid... I was not.
So all in all... I was just average here.
And after everything that I did in a day, I hardly felt like doing more.
Though I did experiment with chakra, I could feel it, like I could see my nose, with just little bit of concentration. It was such a foreign feeling that no person from my world would have missed it.
A warm tingling sensation, almost like you are feeling your blood flowing, except you could control it.
For the last three months I had been practicing chakra control, to be specific, tree walking, except on the wall of my room. With nothing to entertain myself with I had started doing this and it had been going well, my fear of height had me cautious and perhaps slowed my progress a bit but now I was able to reach top of the wall in a slow pace.
Tomorrow after class I should head to training ground with a lake, it was time for water walking.
Beep... beep beep...
Also it was time to sleep.
I adjusted the clock and just fell on my bed.
One good thing about such a busy routine was that I fell ... asle .eep as soon as... I lay down.
Day 91
Next day, I was bit excited to try water walking, I endured through the class and was out the moment bell rang.
Regarding training ground there were some for which you needed permission, then there were some which were reserved, generally for Jounins or the Chunins and lastly you got the free ones.
I ran through the grounds looking for a small lake.
After a bit more searching I finally found it.
Quickly changing to just swimming trunks, I was glad weather was still warm. I concentrated moving chakra towards my feet, after few seconds I took my first step and to my surprise it held, quickly taking my second step also held but then my next step was not so lucky and I was in water, again thanking that the weather was warm.
I practiced for almost three hours before my hunger got the best of me. My best was ten steps, it looked like I will be mastering water walking sooner than tree walking. I was not sure why.
Changing back to dry clothes, I slowly walked back to my room, enjoying the atmosphere. One thing I had to admit that I came to like about Konoha was this, this peaceful and friendly atmosphere.
People were happy here and it showed. They were polite to each other and quick to help anyone in trouble, there were hardly any conflict and people tried to be mindful of others. It didn't mean they neglected their own work, in fact they had a deep sense of pride in the work they did, no matter how trivial.
All of this, somehow impacted me too, I felt not quiet happy but... content, I felt like I would be willing to help someone if I saw them in trouble.
I would never have done that back in my world it was always best to avoid trouble and helping others might have landed you in trouble too, so you avoided it.
I bought some food and reached my room, I felt like treating myself today so I had bought some expensive stuff, there was no homework assigned, so I had plenty of time to cook my delicious meal.
And so my day ended, I went to bed with a content feeling.
A/N: Please visit patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 97
It was 10 am and I was still lying in my bed because it was Sunday. I couldn't help but smile. I could just laze around all day.
So that's what I did, I slept till evening but my hunger finally got me out of bed.
I opened up the fridge and not finding anything to my liking, I decided to go shopping.
Fried chicken and cola, just thinking made my stomach rumble more, when I suddenly heard a snicker.
I looked around to find Kaori or more accurately Kaori Nara, standing behind me. She was one of my classmates from academy but we never really interacted before.
"Care to share the joke chuckles? " I asked rhetorically.
"I think yo... your stomach already shared it." She completed before dissolving into full blown laughter
I smiled more at her laughter then the situation
"Sure, sure, make fun of the hungry guy"
"Sorry sorry but this street is generally quiet, so when I heard the... sound and then you, somehow I couldn't control myself "she explained finally calming down.
I looked around to the wall that stretched out in both ends for miles and listening to her talk about the area with familiarity, huh, looks like I was shopping near Nara compound, it was quiet near to my place too, and that was a surprise.
"So what are you doing out? "She asked
"Shopping" I said starting to walk again and she followed.
"Hmm, late lunch? "
"Yup "
"What are you going to make "
"You are full of questions huh? "
"I was bored "she shrugged.
I stared at her before sighing, looks like she will be accompanying me to market.
"I am making fried chicken "I answered finally.
"Ohh…, I love fried chicken "she exclaimed.
"Good for you "she was quite bubbly, who would have thought, she was pretty quiet in the academy.
"You know I would love to try your fried chicken, I can pay for the ingredients? "She suddenly asked, acting cutely hands folded in front. Does she like fried chicken that much?
It will be... troublesome but I was going to make for myself anyway and I could save some money. Still I warned her
"I can't guarantee it will taste good, I have made it before but just for myself "
She just gave me a thumbs up.
Well looks like I was making for two.
We went to the convenience store and bought all ingredients I paid for my cola separately despite her protests. She got orange juice for herself.
We then walked back to my room in silence.
"Umm... please wait here."
I opened my room and did a look around for any objectionable thing, once done with bit rearrangement, I called out.
"You can come now "
She had been quiet throughout the way back, I just chalked it up to something, and I really didn't care for the reason.
"Make yourself comfortable, I will get started on the fried chicken right away"
"Ah, umm do you need any help "she asked hesitantly.
Looks like she was feeling bit awkward now, she should have thought of that before asking random guy for food.
"No, you paid for the ingredients, let me handle making them, there are some novels and magazines on the shelf, you can check them out if you want"
Saying that I quickly started preparation.
Room fell into silence, apart from the occasional utensils making noise. After some time, once I was done frying chicken, I looked around to see Kaori deeply engrossed reading novel.
I cleared my throat, but she still was engrossed in the book, so I called out.
"Nara San, fried chicken is ready "I shouted, she heard that.
"Oh, this story is very interesting Satoru san "she said quickly getting up.
"You can take it with you if you want, I am done reading it, and it is indeed very good" I offered
" Really , thank you so much I will return it as soon I am done reading, I am a very fast reader "
"I am not in hurry, you can take your time, now, shall we eat? "
We brought all the fried chicken to table and I brought out cola and orange juice from the fridge.
I waited for her to take first bite "So how is it?" even though I acted nonchalant I took some pride in my cooking skills.
"Oh these are very good Satoru san "she said happily.
After that we ate in silence, I was too hungry to talk and by the looks of it she was too.
Once we were done she broke the silence
"You know Satoru san, this was my late lunch too, actually I had not eaten anything since morning "I simply nodded, not thinking much of it but she continued
"I had a fight with my parents last night and when the morning came I just didn't want to face them so I quietly slipped out of my house "again I nodded, not interrupting her.
"They... they want me to drop out of academy "
"Hmm…"I said, a bit curious.
"They said life of ninja was very dangerous and that I could lead a happy life as a clan member, I do not need to take this risk. To be honest I... they never wanted me to be ninja, I had to really convince them to let me go to academy. I guess... now that my graduation is near they are back to worrying"
I listened quietly, not sure how to respond, the previous owner of this body never really had a choice, and from what memories I got of him he thought of being ninja as an opportunity for better life.
Still I felt like I needed to say something
"Nara San I ..."
" Oh I am so sorry Satoru san, burdening you with my problems, you don't need to respond to me, I am just grateful you listened to me , I hope you forgive me for today , I know I have been too pushy " saying that she bowed.
She was a smart and polite girl, I felt myself relax a bit
"You don't need to apologise so sincerely "I huffed a sigh deciding to speak my mind
"You, Nara san, seem like a good person and seeing you and what I know of your clan, I can only assume good things about your parents too. So when good people fight, it is only their worry and love for other person that make them do so." I paused suddenly remembering my old life, missing my parents. I hated them, but I loved them too.
"Talk to your parents Kaori san and convince them again about your decision if you need to, be grateful you have them in your life, be grateful they love you enough to worry about you. These are invaluable things "
That should be enough I thought
" I am so sorry Satoru san " and she started crying, I didn't know what to do so I just gently patted her back, looks like she misunderstood something , after some time she finally calmed down.
"I am really sorry Satoru san, here I am complaining about my parents when you have lost yours, I am really sorry I didn't mean to hurt"
Sigh, she thinks about too many unnecessary things.
"Nara San you don't need to apologise, I have long come to terms with my situation, and really you think too much. So can we please stop this "
She nodded, I was suddenly feeling very tired.
"You should go and talk to your parents now" I said shooing her out, I was completely exhausted.
She hesitated a bit eyeing the dirty dishes still left at the table
"Just go "
She sent a final apologetic glance and then she was out.
She had really been hurt by her parents' words, that's why she couldn't think straight.
I closed the door, putting dishes in the basin, I will wash tomorrow.
Looking at the clock it was already 8:30 pm, I will turn in early for the night.
Kaori POV
I rushed out of Satoru san's house. I will have to sincerely apologise to him tomorrow. Right now I just wanted rush to my parents.
I never had a fight with my parents till yesterday, they were my rock and warmth. But suddenly when they talked about dropping out of academy, I was deeply hurt. I understood it as them not believing in me.
Satoru san had been right, I couldn't think straight beyond feeling hurt.
I reached my home, opening door I saw both my parents siting at the dining table.
"Kaori, are you ok? We were so worried" mom immediately engulfed me in a hug and I could no longer control my tears.
"Mom, dad...I am so sorry "I didn't care how I sounded, without understanding how they felt, I had fought with them and hurt them.
"Hush my child its fine, its fine "
After some time I finally calmed down.
"Kaori I am sorry, it's my fault for not explaining and speaking without thinking "dad said
"It's just that we panicked, no I panicked. I never got over what happened with... my father. Let me tell you about him" I nodded, grandpa had been a taboo topic since forever, dad never talked about him.
"My father, your grandpa, he was a successful Jounin, but more than that he was a kind and gentle person. When second ninja war broke out he was called to frontline, when he came back from the war, he was a changed man. Gone was my gentle father , what came was an empty man who could no longer accept the realities of this world and lashed out angrily at anything that's near him... soon after he killed himself. "
When my father was finished with grandpa's story the house fell silent, I could see my parents struggling to decide what to say. I got up and hugged my father
"I just don't want you to turn out like him. I want you to have a happy life. We were lucky to avoid war, so when your mom and I retired from active duty, we decided to build business so that our child will have a secure future without being a ninja" I hugged my father tighter, patting his back.
After some time my mom got up "I think this is enough for today, we will discuss further in the morning, Kaori why don't you wash up and then we can eat dinner."
I followed her instructions without thinking much, I was still going through everything that was said. I never really thought about difficulties of a ninja life, being a ninja was honourable and ...cool for me, I had seen my fellow clan members going about in vest and hitai-te, marking them as Konoha's ninja. I envied them. I never understood why my parents never became one.
"Kaori,... Kaori "my mom called out and I realised I had been just stirring rice with chopstick.
"Ah sorry mom "I quickly took a bite and felt my stomach bursting
" Actually mom I have something more to tell you" so I told my parents about Satoru san, how he had prepared fried chicken for me without any complain, and how it was his advise that finally helped me see truth.
But my parents started acting weirdly, my father was twitching and my mom was giggling
"Oh my, honey our Kaori has grown up"
Sometimes my parents were weird but I still loved them.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 97
It was 10 am and I was still lying in my bed because it was Sunday. I couldn't help but smile. I could just laze around all day.
So that's what I did, I slept till evening but my hunger finally got me out of bed.
I opened up the fridge and not finding anything to my liking, I decided to go shopping.
Fried chicken and cola, just thinking made my stomach rumble more, when I suddenly heard a snicker.
I looked around to find Kaori or more accurately Kaori Nara, standing behind me. She was one of my classmates from academy but we never really interacted before.
"Care to share the joke chuckles? " I asked rhetorically.
"I think yo... your stomach already shared it." She completed before dissolving into full blown laughter
I smiled more at her laughter then the situation
"Sure, sure, make fun of the hungry guy"
"Sorry sorry but this street is generally quiet, so when I heard the... sound and then you, somehow I couldn't control myself "she explained finally calming down.
I looked around to the wall that stretched out in both ends for miles and listening to her talk about the area with familiarity, huh, looks like I was shopping near Nara compound, it was quiet near to my place too, and that was a surprise.
"So what are you doing out? "She asked
"Shopping" I said starting to walk again and she followed.
"Hmm, late lunch? "
"Yup "
"What are you going to make "
"You are full of questions huh? "
"I was bored "she shrugged.
I stared at her before sighing, looks like she will be accompanying me to market.
"I am making fried chicken "I answered finally.
"Ohh…, I love fried chicken "she exclaimed.
"Good for you "she was quite bubbly, who would have thought, she was pretty quiet in the academy.
"You know I would love to try your fried chicken, I can pay for the ingredients? "She suddenly asked, acting cutely hands folded in front. Does she like fried chicken that much?
It will be... troublesome but I was going to make for myself anyway and I could save some money. Still I warned her
"I can't guarantee it will taste good, I have made it before but just for myself "
She just gave me a thumbs up.
Well looks like I was making for two.
We went to the convenience store and bought all ingredients I paid for my cola separately despite her protests. She got orange juice for herself.
We then walked back to my room in silence.
"Umm... please wait here."
I opened my room and did a look around for any objectionable thing, once done with bit rearrangement, I called out.
"You can come now "
She had been quiet throughout the way back, I just chalked it up to something, and I really didn't care for the reason.
"Make yourself comfortable, I will get started on the fried chicken right away"
"Ah, umm do you need any help "she asked hesitantly.
Looks like she was feeling bit awkward now, she should have thought of that before asking random guy for food.
"No, you paid for the ingredients, let me handle making them, there are some novels and magazines on the shelf, you can check them out if you want"
Saying that I quickly started preparation.
Room fell into silence, apart from the occasional utensils making noise. After some time, once I was done frying chicken, I looked around to see Kaori deeply engrossed reading novel.
I cleared my throat, but she still was engrossed in the book, so I called out.
"Nara San, fried chicken is ready "I shouted, she heard that.
"Oh, this story is very interesting Satoru san "she said quickly getting up.
"You can take it with you if you want, I am done reading it, and it is indeed very good" I offered
" Really , thank you so much I will return it as soon I am done reading, I am a very fast reader "
"I am not in hurry, you can take your time, now, shall we eat? "
We brought all the fried chicken to table and I brought out cola and orange juice from the fridge.
I waited for her to take first bite "So how is it?" even though I acted nonchalant I took some pride in my cooking skills.
"Oh these are very good Satoru san "she said happily.
After that we ate in silence, I was too hungry to talk and by the looks of it she was too.
Once we were done she broke the silence
"You know Satoru san, this was my late lunch too, actually I had not eaten anything since morning "I simply nodded, not thinking much of it but she continued
"I had a fight with my parents last night and when the morning came I just didn't want to face them so I quietly slipped out of my house "again I nodded, not interrupting her.
"They... they want me to drop out of academy "
"Hmm…"I said, a bit curious.
"They said life of ninja was very dangerous and that I could lead a happy life as a clan member, I do not need to take this risk. To be honest I... they never wanted me to be ninja, I had to really convince them to let me go to academy. I guess... now that my graduation is near they are back to worrying"
I listened quietly, not sure how to respond, the previous owner of this body never really had a choice, and from what memories I got of him he thought of being ninja as an opportunity for better life.
Still I felt like I needed to say something
"Nara San I ..."
" Oh I am so sorry Satoru san, burdening you with my problems, you don't need to respond to me, I am just grateful you listened to me , I hope you forgive me for today , I know I have been too pushy " saying that she bowed.
She was a smart and polite girl, I felt myself relax a bit
"You don't need to apologise so sincerely "I huffed a sigh deciding to speak my mind
"You, Nara san, seem like a good person and seeing you and what I know of your clan, I can only assume good things about your parents too. So when good people fight, it is only their worry and love for other person that make them do so." I paused suddenly remembering my old life, missing my parents. I hated them, but I loved them too.
"Talk to your parents Kaori san and convince them again about your decision if you need to, be grateful you have them in your life, be grateful they love you enough to worry about you. These are invaluable things "
That should be enough I thought
" I am so sorry Satoru san " and she started crying, I didn't know what to do so I just gently patted her back, looks like she misunderstood something , after some time she finally calmed down.
"I am really sorry Satoru san, here I am complaining about my parents when you have lost yours, I am really sorry I didn't mean to hurt"
Sigh, she thinks about too many unnecessary things.
"Nara San you don't need to apologise, I have long come to terms with my situation, and really you think too much. So can we please stop this "
She nodded, I was suddenly feeling very tired.
"You should go and talk to your parents now" I said shooing her out, I was completely exhausted.
She hesitated a bit eyeing the dirty dishes still left at the table
"Just go "
She sent a final apologetic glance and then she was out.
She had really been hurt by her parents' words, that's why she couldn't think straight.
I closed the door, putting dishes in the basin, I will wash tomorrow.
Looking at the clock it was already 8:30 pm, I will turn in early for the night.
Kaori POV
I rushed out of Satoru san's house. I will have to sincerely apologise to him tomorrow. Right now I just wanted rush to my parents.
I never had a fight with my parents till yesterday, they were my rock and warmth. But suddenly when they talked about dropping out of academy, I was deeply hurt. I understood it as them not believing in me.
Satoru san had been right, I couldn't think straight beyond feeling hurt.
I reached my home, opening door I saw both my parents siting at the dining table.
"Kaori, are you ok? We were so worried" mom immediately engulfed me in a hug and I could no longer control my tears.
"Mom, dad...I am so sorry "I didn't care how I sounded, without understanding how they felt, I had fought with them and hurt them.
"Hush my child its fine, its fine "
After some time I finally calmed down.
"Kaori I am sorry, it's my fault for not explaining and speaking without thinking "dad said
"It's just that we panicked, no I panicked. I never got over what happened with... my father. Let me tell you about him" I nodded, grandpa had been a taboo topic since forever, dad never talked about him.
"My father, your grandpa, he was a successful Jounin, but more than that he was a kind and gentle person. When second ninja war broke out he was called to frontline, when he came back from the war, he was a changed man. Gone was my gentle father , what came was an empty man who could no longer accept the realities of this world and lashed out angrily at anything that's near him... soon after he killed himself. "
When my father was finished with grandpa's story the house fell silent, I could see my parents struggling to decide what to say. I got up and hugged my father
"I just don't want you to turn out like him. I want you to have a happy life. We were lucky to avoid war, so when your mom and I retired from active duty, we decided to build business so that our child will have a secure future without being a ninja" I hugged my father tighter, patting his back.
After some time my mom got up "I think this is enough for today, we will discuss further in the morning, Kaori why don't you wash up and then we can eat dinner."
I followed her instructions without thinking much, I was still going through everything that was said. I never really thought about difficulties of a ninja life, being a ninja was honourable and ...cool for me, I had seen my fellow clan members going about in vest and hitai-te, marking them as Konoha's ninja. I envied them. I never understood why my parents never became one.
"Kaori,... Kaori "my mom called out and I realised I had been just stirring rice with chopstick.
"Ah sorry mom "I quickly took a bite and felt my stomach bursting
" Actually mom I have something more to tell you" so I told my parents about Satoru san, how he had prepared fried chicken for me without any complain, and how it was his advise that finally helped me see truth.
But my parents started acting weirdly, my father was twitching and my mom was giggling
"Oh my, honey our Kaori has grown up"
Sometimes my parents were weird but I still loved them.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 98
Next day I got up early, as I had went to sleep much earlier and also because I remembered that I needed to wash dishes from yesterday night before I could prepare breakfast and lunch for today.
Once I was done with everything, it was time to head out to academy. I had not gone far from my room when suddenly I heard my name being called out
"Satoru san, good morning" it was Nara san.
"Good morning Nara san "was she waiting for me? Surely not, must be coincidence.
"Oh you can call me Kaori, I think we know each other well enough for at least that "she said smiling. I nodded, thinking about yesterday night, I reached inside my bad and took out the novel she said she liked yesterday.
"Here, you said you wanted to read it "I handed the novel to her.
" Oh thank you so much Satoru san" she looked really happy , I sighed in relief as I was bit nervous if her comment yesterday was just out of politeness it would have been awkward.
I was happy she had liked it, it will be good if more people read novels, that will increase to popularity and earning to author and thus they will write more novels. Patting myself for a job well done in fighting against evil that was boredom, we silently started walking towards academy.
We walked in silence for a while when Kaori san suddenly spoke again.
"Once again thankyou and sorry for yesterday, I will surely make it up to you"
"You don't need to "I answered.
I was bit curious about what happened with her parents but I was not sure if I should bring it up but before I could ask Kaori San spoke again
"I had a long talk with my parents yesterday and even today morning, it was bit intense but we were able to properly communicate and explain our worries. For now I was able to convince them to let me continue the academy in one condition. "
I looked at her, silently asking what it was.
"I need to graduate top of the class"
Well that was... reasonable.
"Well you are smart, I am sure you can do it "I said, it was not an empty gesture, I genuinely thought so. She was already in top ten.
She didn't say anything but just smiled at me.
We reached academy soon but before I could enter the gate Kaori San stopped me.
"Satoru Kun let's be friends" she said with strange seriousness and determination in her eyes.
I noticed that she called me '- Kun', thinking about it, friends should be able to comfortably speak with each other.
Therefore "Sure "I replied, "Kaori ".
Her eyes widened, feeling anxious I was about to apologize for crossing the line but then she gave me a beautiful smile.
"Yes Satoru Kun let's be friends from now on, we will top the class "somehow I got added in with her aim to graduate top of the class.
I shrugged not caring that much. She was just excited, she would calm down.
But my thoughts changed when suddenly in class she shifted to sit beside me.
"Friends should sit together "she explained
"Don't you have other friends? "
"No "was her immediate response. I thought she was popular. I ignored the stares that the class was giving us and soon Hito sensei came and class officially started.
Once class ended I packed up and headed towards training ground, I was now able to walk twenty steps in water, I was expecting maybe a week or two and I would be able to stand in water without any issue, though mastering it will take more time.
"So Satoru what do you do after class "I jumped up a bit, I had not noticed Kaori walking beside me. She was good at being sneaky.
"I train for a while before heading home to make dinner "I said
"What are you practicing "
"Chakra control"
She tilted her head at that so I decided to explain further.
"It like advance version of leaf sticking exercise, I umm ... Saw some Chunin practicing it, when I asked they said this helps to do better at ninjutsu and ...stuff"
I looked at Kaori, her eyes were sparkling, and I think I can guess what she was going to say next.
"Satoru Kun, no Satoru sensei, please help me, I am still struggling with substitution and clone jutsu, please… please "
"Umm... sure"
"Thank you so much"
"You don't need to thank me actually. Can you please help me with taijutsu? "
I was generally doing well in class, theory and ninjutsu were no issue and I was performing above average if not good in these. My skill at kunai and shuriken throwing was average, honestly I did not feel much scope for this subject as ninja generally could move much faster unless they were bound or very close, but that was just my private opinion. I was satisfied with my skill level in these subjects.
But taijutsu was bringing me down and it was not a subject that I can train by myself, I needed to gain experience fighting someone and here I felt like I had just been given golden opportunity.
"I would love to help you, let's go now "
We arrived at training ground and I walked Kaori through tree walking exercise, once she started practicing I gave few pointers and then walked away to practice water walking.
We continued to practice till eight in the night, she wanted to do more but I stopped her
"Let's stop here for now, anything in excess will only harm us and I need to make dinner "
She was finally convinced and we parted ways as I needed to shop for food, we had decided to train each other on alternate days, and tomorrow she would help me with taijutsu.
Soon afterwards I reached home, I washed up and started preparing dinner. Finally done with everything I hit the bed.
Day 99
After we were finished with classes we arrived at training ground.
"Satoru Kun, lets spar "she exclaimed.
I got into stance and when I didn't attack, she rushed at me, a fist was thrown to my right side, I blocked it away, immediately another first followed now on my left side, I blocked this too but it felt off, like there was no power in it.
Suddenly I felt my head being pressed down and a knee hit my gut and I doubled over coughing.
"Sorry Satoru kun, are you ok? "
"Yes… Yes, I am cough... I am fine just give me a second 'I just sat on the ground and soon pain faded away
"Wow you are really good at this, I mean I was expecting it since you rank among top but still... you are strong "Kaori smiled bashfully at that.
I was not kidding I was in middle rank in class and I usually fought with others of similar rank, I had not been good at taijutsu but I have never been defeated within what three moves.
" So Satoru I watched your fights in class too, I noticed, you have your basics down " she paused before continuing "but you fight too defensively, you need to think of attack too"
I nodded at that, thinking over it, I preferred to wait for my opponent to make mistake to attack them but I was getting overwhelmed before fight gets to that point.
We continued practising like that for two hours more, after that Kaori went through all the things that she noticed about our fight and how I could do better.
I was embarrassed at myself when Kaori had to help me stand-up, my whole body was in pain and I had tried and stumbled twice trying to stand and walk.
"I am sorry Satoru kun, perhaps I was too harsh "she apologized
"No… no, this is what I asked for, please don't go easy on me, I need this to improve "I said honestly though my body protested silently with throbbing pain all over.
Somehow I got to room, not having energy to make anything, I ate instant noodles and quickly feel asleep without even washing up. I will do it tomorrow.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 98
Next day I got up early, as I had went to sleep much earlier and also because I remembered that I needed to wash dishes from yesterday night before I could prepare breakfast and lunch for today.
Once I was done with everything, it was time to head out to academy. I had not gone far from my room when suddenly I heard my name being called out
"Satoru san, good morning" it was Nara san.
"Good morning Nara san "was she waiting for me? Surely not, must be coincidence.
"Oh you can call me Kaori, I think we know each other well enough for at least that "she said smiling. I nodded, thinking about yesterday night, I reached inside my bad and took out the novel she said she liked yesterday.
"Here, you said you wanted to read it "I handed the novel to her.
" Oh thank you so much Satoru san" she looked really happy , I sighed in relief as I was bit nervous if her comment yesterday was just out of politeness it would have been awkward.
I was happy she had liked it, it will be good if more people read novels, that will increase to popularity and earning to author and thus they will write more novels. Patting myself for a job well done in fighting against evil that was boredom, we silently started walking towards academy.
We walked in silence for a while when Kaori san suddenly spoke again.
"Once again thankyou and sorry for yesterday, I will surely make it up to you"
"You don't need to "I answered.
I was bit curious about what happened with her parents but I was not sure if I should bring it up but before I could ask Kaori San spoke again
"I had a long talk with my parents yesterday and even today morning, it was bit intense but we were able to properly communicate and explain our worries. For now I was able to convince them to let me continue the academy in one condition. "
I looked at her, silently asking what it was.
"I need to graduate top of the class"
Well that was... reasonable.
"Well you are smart, I am sure you can do it "I said, it was not an empty gesture, I genuinely thought so. She was already in top ten.
She didn't say anything but just smiled at me.
We reached academy soon but before I could enter the gate Kaori San stopped me.
"Satoru Kun let's be friends" she said with strange seriousness and determination in her eyes.
I noticed that she called me '- Kun', thinking about it, friends should be able to comfortably speak with each other.
Therefore "Sure "I replied, "Kaori ".
Her eyes widened, feeling anxious I was about to apologize for crossing the line but then she gave me a beautiful smile.
"Yes Satoru Kun let's be friends from now on, we will top the class "somehow I got added in with her aim to graduate top of the class.
I shrugged not caring that much. She was just excited, she would calm down.
But my thoughts changed when suddenly in class she shifted to sit beside me.
"Friends should sit together "she explained
"Don't you have other friends? "
"No "was her immediate response. I thought she was popular. I ignored the stares that the class was giving us and soon Hito sensei came and class officially started.
Once class ended I packed up and headed towards training ground, I was now able to walk twenty steps in water, I was expecting maybe a week or two and I would be able to stand in water without any issue, though mastering it will take more time.
"So Satoru what do you do after class "I jumped up a bit, I had not noticed Kaori walking beside me. She was good at being sneaky.
"I train for a while before heading home to make dinner "I said
"What are you practicing "
"Chakra control"
She tilted her head at that so I decided to explain further.
"It like advance version of leaf sticking exercise, I umm ... Saw some Chunin practicing it, when I asked they said this helps to do better at ninjutsu and ...stuff"
I looked at Kaori, her eyes were sparkling, and I think I can guess what she was going to say next.
"Satoru Kun, no Satoru sensei, please help me, I am still struggling with substitution and clone jutsu, please… please "
"Umm... sure"
"Thank you so much"
"You don't need to thank me actually. Can you please help me with taijutsu? "
I was generally doing well in class, theory and ninjutsu were no issue and I was performing above average if not good in these. My skill at kunai and shuriken throwing was average, honestly I did not feel much scope for this subject as ninja generally could move much faster unless they were bound or very close, but that was just my private opinion. I was satisfied with my skill level in these subjects.
But taijutsu was bringing me down and it was not a subject that I can train by myself, I needed to gain experience fighting someone and here I felt like I had just been given golden opportunity.
"I would love to help you, let's go now "
We arrived at training ground and I walked Kaori through tree walking exercise, once she started practicing I gave few pointers and then walked away to practice water walking.
We continued to practice till eight in the night, she wanted to do more but I stopped her
"Let's stop here for now, anything in excess will only harm us and I need to make dinner "
She was finally convinced and we parted ways as I needed to shop for food, we had decided to train each other on alternate days, and tomorrow she would help me with taijutsu.
Soon afterwards I reached home, I washed up and started preparing dinner. Finally done with everything I hit the bed.
Day 99
After we were finished with classes we arrived at training ground.
"Satoru Kun, lets spar "she exclaimed.
I got into stance and when I didn't attack, she rushed at me, a fist was thrown to my right side, I blocked it away, immediately another first followed now on my left side, I blocked this too but it felt off, like there was no power in it.
Suddenly I felt my head being pressed down and a knee hit my gut and I doubled over coughing.
"Sorry Satoru kun, are you ok? "
"Yes… Yes, I am cough... I am fine just give me a second 'I just sat on the ground and soon pain faded away
"Wow you are really good at this, I mean I was expecting it since you rank among top but still... you are strong "Kaori smiled bashfully at that.
I was not kidding I was in middle rank in class and I usually fought with others of similar rank, I had not been good at taijutsu but I have never been defeated within what three moves.
" So Satoru I watched your fights in class too, I noticed, you have your basics down " she paused before continuing "but you fight too defensively, you need to think of attack too"
I nodded at that, thinking over it, I preferred to wait for my opponent to make mistake to attack them but I was getting overwhelmed before fight gets to that point.
We continued practising like that for two hours more, after that Kaori went through all the things that she noticed about our fight and how I could do better.
I was embarrassed at myself when Kaori had to help me stand-up, my whole body was in pain and I had tried and stumbled twice trying to stand and walk.
"I am sorry Satoru kun, perhaps I was too harsh "she apologized
"No… no, this is what I asked for, please don't go easy on me, I need this to improve "I said honestly though my body protested silently with throbbing pain all over.
Somehow I got to room, not having energy to make anything, I ate instant noodles and quickly feel asleep without even washing up. I will do it tomorrow.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 127
It had been a month since Kaori and I started practicing together, I was now comfortably able to walk on water and nowadays I did exercises on top of water, to increase my mastery over it.
Right now I was meditating on top of water, feeling my chakra flow throughout my body and then going out through the parts that were touching water and helping me stay afloat. It was a unique experience.
I slowly opened my eyes, at distant I could see Kaori practising water walking, she had gotten through tree walking much quicker than me and by the looks of it she was halfway done with water walking too.
This arrangement of ours have already started showing results, she was able to do clone and substitution jutsu without any issue now.
My taijutsu has also improved, nothing dramatic but I was steadily climbing up in the class ranks.
"Let's stop here Kaori "I called out.
Our time spent together had led me to another new realisation, not all Nara's were lazy. In fact Shikamaru just had been an exception and to a degree his dad too.
Once I had accidentally muttered troublesome in front of Kaori, and the way she had stared at me like I was some lowlife, I could never forget, I had not dared to mutter it again, neither did I ask her anything about her hatred towards this word, I understood it as a taboo subject and simply moved past it, I was not scared of her.
"Umm. Satoru Kun can we talk for a minute "we were about to part ways when Kaori stopped me.
"Sure "
"Umm actually I told my parents about you and they are very eager to meet you, I have been delaying them for a while but they are constantly bugging me to invite you to dinner, so umm...would you like to come this weekend? "
It would be my first time in this world to meet a family in this setting, but I can understand their reason and free food was always welcome I have no reasons to reject it.
"I would be honoured "I answered
"Really, I mean thank you Satoru Kun, I will let them know "
"Umm ... do I need to wear a kimono or do I need to bring anything, I am sorry it is bit forward but it would be my first time being invited for dinner and I don't want to appear rude" I inquired , bit embarrassingly
" you don't need to do anything Satoru Kun, please wear whatever you are comfortable in "she answered with a soft voice.
Her reply eased my anxiety a bit but still I determined to think it through and dress and behave the best I can, I didn't want to embarrass my first and only friend in this world.
Wow, I was lonely, my mind supplied perhaps I should try befriending more people in my class.
Day 128
Next day we had a sudden taijutsu evaluation and I was matched with Kenji. It was bit of surprise as he was well known for his taijutsu and was among top ten in our class, I looked at Hito sensei and he just gave me an encouraging smile. I huffed and got into fighting stance, I was not sure what Hito sensei was thinking but let's do our best.
Maybe I could be friends with Kenji, I will try talking after this fight.
"Begin" Hito sensei shouted and I rushed in, opening with jab and one two combo.
He simply slipped inside my guard and threw an uppercut that I barely dodged but it was followed by a front kick which I tried blocking but power behind the kick pushed me back and down on the ground, he didn't attack me but just stood still smirking at me.
I got up and tried attacking him but before I could reach him he swept my foot and I was back on ground staring at his dumb smirking face.
I was starting to hate him, all thoughts of making more friends flew out of my mind, and I just wanted to wipe the smirk of his face.
I got up and attacked him aiming to swipe his left leg, he lifted his leg to avoid it and jump kicked me with his back leg.
But I was able to catch the leg , making him loose his balance and he began to fall or I thought he did, he went down and pushed the ground with his hand and then he was in air with his one leg still held by me he side kicked me to the face and I went out.
I opened my eyes in the medical room. I saw Kaori sitting and reading a book.
"Kaori "
"Sat...Satoru Kun "she replied bit flustered. Looks like I startled her.
"What time is it "I asked getting up, my head lightly throbbing.
"Past five, classes ended, Nagumi sensei checked you and said you were fine and to just let you rest"
I nodded at that, getting up from bed
"Let's go "
On the way out, we stopped and informed both Nagumi sensei and Hito sensei that I had woken up and that I was feeling fine.
"So what did I do wrong "I asked Kaori as we were headed towards training ground.
" Hmm, there were few minor things throughout but the biggest one was you held onto that leg too long, making you unable to defend from that side " she commented.
"You did well Satoru Kun, Kenji is really good at taijutsu, and he is low in ranking because he is bad in theory, if not for that he would contest with top five or even top three."
I nodded at that, but somehow remembering his smirk made me irritated even now, I wanted revenge.
"So what can I do? " I asked
"To defeat him? You will need to physically level up, he was not only more experienced than you but also stronger faster and more flexible."
I thought about the fight and accepted that. I will need to do some extra training but that was of no concern I felt full of motivation.
We arrived at the training ground and reviewed my fight, Kaori showed me what I could have done better from blocking and dodging to counter attacking. I attentively listened and practised the new pattern and moves she showed.
After four hours Kaori called a stop, teasing me for catching workaholic disease. I arrived home, washed up, made and ate dinner and fell asleep.
But before that, I put an alarm for morning five, like Kaori said I needed to physically level up.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 127
It had been a month since Kaori and I started practicing together, I was now comfortably able to walk on water and nowadays I did exercises on top of water, to increase my mastery over it.
Right now I was meditating on top of water, feeling my chakra flow throughout my body and then going out through the parts that were touching water and helping me stay afloat. It was a unique experience.
I slowly opened my eyes, at distant I could see Kaori practising water walking, she had gotten through tree walking much quicker than me and by the looks of it she was halfway done with water walking too.
This arrangement of ours have already started showing results, she was able to do clone and substitution jutsu without any issue now.
My taijutsu has also improved, nothing dramatic but I was steadily climbing up in the class ranks.
"Let's stop here Kaori "I called out.
Our time spent together had led me to another new realisation, not all Nara's were lazy. In fact Shikamaru just had been an exception and to a degree his dad too.
Once I had accidentally muttered troublesome in front of Kaori, and the way she had stared at me like I was some lowlife, I could never forget, I had not dared to mutter it again, neither did I ask her anything about her hatred towards this word, I understood it as a taboo subject and simply moved past it, I was not scared of her.
"Umm. Satoru Kun can we talk for a minute "we were about to part ways when Kaori stopped me.
"Sure "
"Umm actually I told my parents about you and they are very eager to meet you, I have been delaying them for a while but they are constantly bugging me to invite you to dinner, so umm...would you like to come this weekend? "
It would be my first time in this world to meet a family in this setting, but I can understand their reason and free food was always welcome I have no reasons to reject it.
"I would be honoured "I answered
"Really, I mean thank you Satoru Kun, I will let them know "
"Umm ... do I need to wear a kimono or do I need to bring anything, I am sorry it is bit forward but it would be my first time being invited for dinner and I don't want to appear rude" I inquired , bit embarrassingly
" you don't need to do anything Satoru Kun, please wear whatever you are comfortable in "she answered with a soft voice.
Her reply eased my anxiety a bit but still I determined to think it through and dress and behave the best I can, I didn't want to embarrass my first and only friend in this world.
Wow, I was lonely, my mind supplied perhaps I should try befriending more people in my class.
Day 128
Next day we had a sudden taijutsu evaluation and I was matched with Kenji. It was bit of surprise as he was well known for his taijutsu and was among top ten in our class, I looked at Hito sensei and he just gave me an encouraging smile. I huffed and got into fighting stance, I was not sure what Hito sensei was thinking but let's do our best.
Maybe I could be friends with Kenji, I will try talking after this fight.
"Begin" Hito sensei shouted and I rushed in, opening with jab and one two combo.
He simply slipped inside my guard and threw an uppercut that I barely dodged but it was followed by a front kick which I tried blocking but power behind the kick pushed me back and down on the ground, he didn't attack me but just stood still smirking at me.
I got up and tried attacking him but before I could reach him he swept my foot and I was back on ground staring at his dumb smirking face.
I was starting to hate him, all thoughts of making more friends flew out of my mind, and I just wanted to wipe the smirk of his face.
I got up and attacked him aiming to swipe his left leg, he lifted his leg to avoid it and jump kicked me with his back leg.
But I was able to catch the leg , making him loose his balance and he began to fall or I thought he did, he went down and pushed the ground with his hand and then he was in air with his one leg still held by me he side kicked me to the face and I went out.
I opened my eyes in the medical room. I saw Kaori sitting and reading a book.
"Kaori "
"Sat...Satoru Kun "she replied bit flustered. Looks like I startled her.
"What time is it "I asked getting up, my head lightly throbbing.
"Past five, classes ended, Nagumi sensei checked you and said you were fine and to just let you rest"
I nodded at that, getting up from bed
"Let's go "
On the way out, we stopped and informed both Nagumi sensei and Hito sensei that I had woken up and that I was feeling fine.
"So what did I do wrong "I asked Kaori as we were headed towards training ground.
" Hmm, there were few minor things throughout but the biggest one was you held onto that leg too long, making you unable to defend from that side " she commented.
"You did well Satoru Kun, Kenji is really good at taijutsu, and he is low in ranking because he is bad in theory, if not for that he would contest with top five or even top three."
I nodded at that, but somehow remembering his smirk made me irritated even now, I wanted revenge.
"So what can I do? " I asked
"To defeat him? You will need to physically level up, he was not only more experienced than you but also stronger faster and more flexible."
I thought about the fight and accepted that. I will need to do some extra training but that was of no concern I felt full of motivation.
We arrived at the training ground and reviewed my fight, Kaori showed me what I could have done better from blocking and dodging to counter attacking. I attentively listened and practised the new pattern and moves she showed.
After four hours Kaori called a stop, teasing me for catching workaholic disease. I arrived home, washed up, made and ate dinner and fell asleep.
But before that, I put an alarm for morning five, like Kaori said I needed to physically level up.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 132
I looked at the mirror, my hairs neatly combed and gelled , I was wearing pressed shirt and pants and I have used moisturizing cream for my face, feeling satisfied, I started heading towards Kaori's home.
I was carrying a fruit basket, which the convenience store employee near the Nara compound had recommended.
Feeling bit anxious, I arrived at the Nara compound gate sooner than I would have liked.
" Hello I was invited by Shoichi Nara " I gave Kaori' father name to the inquiring guards and I was directed towards their home.
It was my first time inside clan compound, I looked around and felt like I was in a upper suburban area, with houses built with mix of traditional style and modern architecture, with plenty of space between two houses and a forest surrounding them.
I walked for quiet a bit, longer than what I did for coming to Nara compound. I heard that central location inside clan compounds are usually occupied by prestigious members of clans.
Was Kaori related to Shikaku ?
Before I could dwell on it further I saw Kaori , waving at me.
" Hey " I greeted Kaori, my anxiety starting to peak.
" Good evening Satoru" she smiled looking at me then commented " you look good "
" Thanks " god , I was giving one syllable answers.
If I could ever talk directly to my brain and ask that why was it for some situation I was so unconcerned that people thought I was carefree and for some I became an anxiety machine, where speaking becomes a task and I come off as arrogant.
Sighing I took a deep breath, running simulations inside my head on how to greet Kaori's parent.
If Kaori said something I didn't hear it but soon I was being led inside the house by hand.
" Mom, dad Satoru is here " Kaori shouted as we entered the house.
I was brought to living room where a middle aged man with short spiky hair was reading something, he was wearing glasses. Noticing our presence he put down the book he had.
" So you are Satoru " he said with a serious face, I felt like he already disliked me.
" Hello you are correct, I am Satoru, Kaori's friend, your daughter have been very kind and helpful" I bowed saying that.
His response was further narrowing his eyes.
" So you are just using my Kaori for your benefit " he said and I was left speechless.
Did I say something wrong, my mind became blank
" No not at all, I .. we are " seriously what could I say to that.
" Mom, dad is being weird again " Kaori came to my rescue and suddenly her mother came to the living room.
Wearing an apron with long black hair, she looked beautiful. She wacked Kaori's father with a ladle I had not noticed.
Turning towards me she greeted
" Hello Satoru kun, oh my you are so handsome"
" Ah he.. hello, its...nice meeting you , you are very beautiful " I gave up my anxious mind was now being assaulted from very opposite direction, I think I could smell lavender.
" Oh " she looked bit stunned by my weird comment but then smiled beautifully.
" Thank you for your compliment"
" Umm these are for you.. I mean your family " I said giving the fruit basket.
" Come lets go to my room " Kaori pulled me and I gladly followed too overwhelmed to do anything else.
I was sitting in a chair , as I looked around the room, it was .. nice.
" Wow, I have never seen you nervous before " Kaori said staring at me.
" Well .. I am not good with new people or situation" I answered honestly.
" He he... It was funny "
" Well I am glad to provide amusement " I answered, finally feeling like myself
" Ah grumpy Satoru is back " she said disappointedly.
We talked for a while mostly regarding training, she had told me about few exercises that I was following for my morning routine.
Afterwards we were called up for dinner.
" It's really delicious " I commented honestly to Kaori's mom .
" Thank you, you are really polite" she replied
" Ah no no, it really is, I cook for myself and I know how hard it is , I have never really been able to bring out this much flavour " I almost thought of asking her recipe but than stopped thinking it may be an unnecessary burden on her, I will try to recreate it through memory. I started eating with concentration trying to memorize the flavour.
Kaori walked besides me as I was headed home.
Dinner was fun, her mom made me take dishes , so that I could eat at home, which I was secretly grateful for.
" It was really fun, thank you for inviting me " I said to Kaori
" Well I am glad, my parents enjoyed your company too , you know"
" Even your dad? " she laughed at that
" Even my dad, specially when you compliment mom's cooking"
Talking like that, soon we arrived at the gate
" Good night Kaori " I called out
" Good night Satoru kun, see you tomorrow "
As I walked back to my room , I remembered my family, in between all the hate and fighting, there were moments where we acted like family.
I remembered having dinner late night with my parents, as we watched movie.
I quietly walked alone to my room.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 132
I looked at the mirror, my hairs neatly combed and gelled , I was wearing pressed shirt and pants and I have used moisturizing cream for my face, feeling satisfied, I started heading towards Kaori's home.
I was carrying a fruit basket, which the convenience store employee near the Nara compound had recommended.
Feeling bit anxious, I arrived at the Nara compound gate sooner than I would have liked.
" Hello I was invited by Shoichi Nara " I gave Kaori' father name to the inquiring guards and I was directed towards their home.
It was my first time inside clan compound, I looked around and felt like I was in a upper suburban area, with houses built with mix of traditional style and modern architecture, with plenty of space between two houses and a forest surrounding them.
I walked for quiet a bit, longer than what I did for coming to Nara compound. I heard that central location inside clan compounds are usually occupied by prestigious members of clans.
Was Kaori related to Shikaku ?
Before I could dwell on it further I saw Kaori , waving at me.
" Hey " I greeted Kaori, my anxiety starting to peak.
" Good evening Satoru" she smiled looking at me then commented " you look good "
" Thanks " god , I was giving one syllable answers.
If I could ever talk directly to my brain and ask that why was it for some situation I was so unconcerned that people thought I was carefree and for some I became an anxiety machine, where speaking becomes a task and I come off as arrogant.
Sighing I took a deep breath, running simulations inside my head on how to greet Kaori's parent.
If Kaori said something I didn't hear it but soon I was being led inside the house by hand.
" Mom, dad Satoru is here " Kaori shouted as we entered the house.
I was brought to living room where a middle aged man with short spiky hair was reading something, he was wearing glasses. Noticing our presence he put down the book he had.
" So you are Satoru " he said with a serious face, I felt like he already disliked me.
" Hello you are correct, I am Satoru, Kaori's friend, your daughter have been very kind and helpful" I bowed saying that.
His response was further narrowing his eyes.
" So you are just using my Kaori for your benefit " he said and I was left speechless.
Did I say something wrong, my mind became blank
" No not at all, I .. we are " seriously what could I say to that.
" Mom, dad is being weird again " Kaori came to my rescue and suddenly her mother came to the living room.
Wearing an apron with long black hair, she looked beautiful. She wacked Kaori's father with a ladle I had not noticed.
Turning towards me she greeted
" Hello Satoru kun, oh my you are so handsome"
" Ah he.. hello, its...nice meeting you , you are very beautiful " I gave up my anxious mind was now being assaulted from very opposite direction, I think I could smell lavender.
" Oh " she looked bit stunned by my weird comment but then smiled beautifully.
" Thank you for your compliment"
" Umm these are for you.. I mean your family " I said giving the fruit basket.
" Come lets go to my room " Kaori pulled me and I gladly followed too overwhelmed to do anything else.
I was sitting in a chair , as I looked around the room, it was .. nice.
" Wow, I have never seen you nervous before " Kaori said staring at me.
" Well .. I am not good with new people or situation" I answered honestly.
" He he... It was funny "
" Well I am glad to provide amusement " I answered, finally feeling like myself
" Ah grumpy Satoru is back " she said disappointedly.
We talked for a while mostly regarding training, she had told me about few exercises that I was following for my morning routine.
Afterwards we were called up for dinner.
" It's really delicious " I commented honestly to Kaori's mom .
" Thank you, you are really polite" she replied
" Ah no no, it really is, I cook for myself and I know how hard it is , I have never really been able to bring out this much flavour " I almost thought of asking her recipe but than stopped thinking it may be an unnecessary burden on her, I will try to recreate it through memory. I started eating with concentration trying to memorize the flavour.
Kaori walked besides me as I was headed home.
Dinner was fun, her mom made me take dishes , so that I could eat at home, which I was secretly grateful for.
" It was really fun, thank you for inviting me " I said to Kaori
" Well I am glad, my parents enjoyed your company too , you know"
" Even your dad? " she laughed at that
" Even my dad, specially when you compliment mom's cooking"
Talking like that, soon we arrived at the gate
" Good night Kaori " I called out
" Good night Satoru kun, see you tomorrow "
As I walked back to my room , I remembered my family, in between all the hate and fighting, there were moments where we acted like family.
I remembered having dinner late night with my parents, as we watched movie.
I quietly walked alone to my room.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 167
It was Sunday and I was feeling bored, I was pretty much done with chakra control exercise and so was Kaori, we had started doing practice battles over water. Our whole jutsu catalogue was just basic academy jutsu.
I thought she would know Nara clans signature shadow bind jutsu by now, but apparently I was mistaken. Shikamaru really had been a genius.
I was feeling quiet unsatisfied with our current jutsu list.
I was trying to remember something useful from my anime and manga knowledge .
Can we start with nature transformation? I hardly knew anything except for wind nature transformation that Naruto went through.
Shape training? Naruto trained with a rubber ball for rasengan, but will it be helpful? I don't think either Kaori or me had enough chakra to waste , to learn rasengan in months time like Naruto, shape training in general may help but I was looking for quicker results, by the time we graduate we should know at least one jutsu more than the basic three.
I kept on thinking throughout my day , as I cooked and cleaned
Great fireball jutsu ! I suddenly remembered Fugaku teaching Sasuke.
If a young Sasuke can do it, then I guess it should be doable for us too, as long as our chakra nature was fire.
Tomorrow let's buy chakra testing paper. I didn't know if they were sold over the counter or how much they cost but I will face that issue tomorrow.
Day 168
After classes I ran out , I told Kaori I will meet her in training ground.
Store was not far from academy
" Welcome to hattori ninja supplies, how can I help"
The shopkeeper was friendly looking middle aged person with a moustache and big belly.
" Umm... Do you have chakra testing paper ? " I asked bit hesitantly.
" We do " was his immediate reply.
" I will take two , how.. how much is the cost "
" They cost 1000 yen, but may I check your ninja identification"
Hearing about the cost was a relief but his next words killed my hope
" I am an academy student "
" Ah then I am sorry to say, I cannot sell you the item, you need to be at least a genin for me to buy chakra paper "
He said with finality
Disappointed I came out of the store, I didn't have any connection who could help me buy this, least of all I didn't had any convincing ability to ask a random stranger.
Disappointed I slowly walked towards training ground, thinking about it . Perhaps I should just do trial and error, but it was risky. If I was not fire natured , the jutsu will not work and if I continue to push it, I might accidentally mess up my chakra.
" Hey where have been? " Kaori appeared suddenly in front of me.
" Ahh... God make some noise, please " I was ...bit startled .
" So ? " she asked again ignoring my outburst.
I sighed and explained the whole situation not telling her that I was thinking about doing trial and error. She would kill me for that.
" I think I know someone" she said after some time.
" Who? I don't think your parents will help " I asked curious but her face turned very grim like she was remembering a very bad memory.
" Umm..Kaori .. Kaori "
" Huh " she responded as if startled
" Are you ok ? " I was getting really concerned.
" Just remembered something " she said sighing
"You know we find another way, maybe I can first try the jut.."
" NO.." she yelled suddenly
" We will get those damn chakra papers, just.. just be with me tomorrow when I talk with that troublesome person "
" Sigh... troublesome, go away " was how Shikaku greeted us.
My guess had been correct, Kaori was related to Shikaku, they were cousins. Shikaku was a year older then her.
I was back in Nara compound for second time, we travelled even deeper inside compound to reach Shikaku's home.
" Nii sama, I have not said anything yet " Kaori said.
I could see her trying to control her anger
Shikaku responded by turning to the other side while still lying on his bed
" Nii sama, please help us with getting chakra papers " Kaori continued.
" Please Onii Sama ."
" You are academy student, you don't need them, go away " Shikaku answered.
" Let's have proper conversation nii sama get up " Kaori started pulling Shikaku.
" I don't want to " Shikaku resisted
I was just standing there watching this unfold not sure what to do.
" Fine fine you troublesome women, stop pulling me I will get up" Shikaku finally relented against Kaori's persistence.
Kaori gave me a thumbs up, smiling like she had won a great victory, not sure about that but trusting Kaori I gave a shaky thumbs up. She was the expert here.
" I will give you two minutes convince me or I am going back to bed " Shikaku said firmly to her , then glanced at me. I bowed greeting him.
" Hello I am Kaori's friend , my name is Satoru "
He nodded at me , looking between me and Kaori then sighed again.
" Nii sama... " Kaori started explaining but was stopped by Shikaku.
" Let's hear it from the person ,whose idea it actually is " he said looking at me.
At this sudden situation my mind became blank, I had not thought of anything, letting Kaori take the lead.
Shikaku was still waiting looking at me, I decided to voice my honest thoughts
" I am worried that I am ... we are too weak Shikaku san, just knowing academy jutsu, it's not enough " I recalled the type of missions team 7 did after becoming genin.
" We are ninja or we will be by the end of this year, our future is not guaranteed, we don't know what kind of missions we will take or what we will need to do to survive, all we can do is prepare, prepare now, when we can " I tried to bring as much sincerity and seriousness as I could in my voice to make him understand that I was honestly worried.
Third ninja war, I was not clear when it breaks out but it will in the near future, I have never heard of satoru in canon, nor was Kaori mentioned ever. I was hoping, it was because we retired or were unimportant, and not because we were dead.
" Please help us Shikaku san " I said finally bowing.
A hand grabbed my shoulder, I looked up and it was Kaori,
" Satoru kun I didn't know you were so worried" she said , her eyes wet.
" We will learn new jutsu, I will find a way , I will not let you die. "
Kaori turned to Shikaku with eyes full of anger
" Onii sama, will you help or not ?"
I think I overdid it.
" Troublesome " Shikaku muttered.
But it worked.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 167
It was Sunday and I was feeling bored, I was pretty much done with chakra control exercise and so was Kaori, we had started doing practice battles over water. Our whole jutsu catalogue was just basic academy jutsu.
I thought she would know Nara clans signature shadow bind jutsu by now, but apparently I was mistaken. Shikamaru really had been a genius.
I was feeling quiet unsatisfied with our current jutsu list.
I was trying to remember something useful from my anime and manga knowledge .
Can we start with nature transformation? I hardly knew anything except for wind nature transformation that Naruto went through.
Shape training? Naruto trained with a rubber ball for rasengan, but will it be helpful? I don't think either Kaori or me had enough chakra to waste , to learn rasengan in months time like Naruto, shape training in general may help but I was looking for quicker results, by the time we graduate we should know at least one jutsu more than the basic three.
I kept on thinking throughout my day , as I cooked and cleaned
Great fireball jutsu ! I suddenly remembered Fugaku teaching Sasuke.
If a young Sasuke can do it, then I guess it should be doable for us too, as long as our chakra nature was fire.
Tomorrow let's buy chakra testing paper. I didn't know if they were sold over the counter or how much they cost but I will face that issue tomorrow.
Day 168
After classes I ran out , I told Kaori I will meet her in training ground.
Store was not far from academy
" Welcome to hattori ninja supplies, how can I help"
The shopkeeper was friendly looking middle aged person with a moustache and big belly.
" Umm... Do you have chakra testing paper ? " I asked bit hesitantly.
" We do " was his immediate reply.
" I will take two , how.. how much is the cost "
" They cost 1000 yen, but may I check your ninja identification"
Hearing about the cost was a relief but his next words killed my hope
" I am an academy student "
" Ah then I am sorry to say, I cannot sell you the item, you need to be at least a genin for me to buy chakra paper "
He said with finality
Disappointed I came out of the store, I didn't have any connection who could help me buy this, least of all I didn't had any convincing ability to ask a random stranger.
Disappointed I slowly walked towards training ground, thinking about it . Perhaps I should just do trial and error, but it was risky. If I was not fire natured , the jutsu will not work and if I continue to push it, I might accidentally mess up my chakra.
" Hey where have been? " Kaori appeared suddenly in front of me.
" Ahh... God make some noise, please " I was ...bit startled .
" So ? " she asked again ignoring my outburst.
I sighed and explained the whole situation not telling her that I was thinking about doing trial and error. She would kill me for that.
" I think I know someone" she said after some time.
" Who? I don't think your parents will help " I asked curious but her face turned very grim like she was remembering a very bad memory.
" Umm..Kaori .. Kaori "
" Huh " she responded as if startled
" Are you ok ? " I was getting really concerned.
" Just remembered something " she said sighing
"You know we find another way, maybe I can first try the jut.."
" NO.." she yelled suddenly
" We will get those damn chakra papers, just.. just be with me tomorrow when I talk with that troublesome person "
" Sigh... troublesome, go away " was how Shikaku greeted us.
My guess had been correct, Kaori was related to Shikaku, they were cousins. Shikaku was a year older then her.
I was back in Nara compound for second time, we travelled even deeper inside compound to reach Shikaku's home.
" Nii sama, I have not said anything yet " Kaori said.
I could see her trying to control her anger
Shikaku responded by turning to the other side while still lying on his bed
" Nii sama, please help us with getting chakra papers " Kaori continued.
" Please Onii Sama ."
" You are academy student, you don't need them, go away " Shikaku answered.
" Let's have proper conversation nii sama get up " Kaori started pulling Shikaku.
" I don't want to " Shikaku resisted
I was just standing there watching this unfold not sure what to do.
" Fine fine you troublesome women, stop pulling me I will get up" Shikaku finally relented against Kaori's persistence.
Kaori gave me a thumbs up, smiling like she had won a great victory, not sure about that but trusting Kaori I gave a shaky thumbs up. She was the expert here.
" I will give you two minutes convince me or I am going back to bed " Shikaku said firmly to her , then glanced at me. I bowed greeting him.
" Hello I am Kaori's friend , my name is Satoru "
He nodded at me , looking between me and Kaori then sighed again.
" Nii sama... " Kaori started explaining but was stopped by Shikaku.
" Let's hear it from the person ,whose idea it actually is " he said looking at me.
At this sudden situation my mind became blank, I had not thought of anything, letting Kaori take the lead.
Shikaku was still waiting looking at me, I decided to voice my honest thoughts
" I am worried that I am ... we are too weak Shikaku san, just knowing academy jutsu, it's not enough " I recalled the type of missions team 7 did after becoming genin.
" We are ninja or we will be by the end of this year, our future is not guaranteed, we don't know what kind of missions we will take or what we will need to do to survive, all we can do is prepare, prepare now, when we can " I tried to bring as much sincerity and seriousness as I could in my voice to make him understand that I was honestly worried.
Third ninja war, I was not clear when it breaks out but it will in the near future, I have never heard of satoru in canon, nor was Kaori mentioned ever. I was hoping, it was because we retired or were unimportant, and not because we were dead.
" Please help us Shikaku san " I said finally bowing.
A hand grabbed my shoulder, I looked up and it was Kaori,
" Satoru kun I didn't know you were so worried" she said , her eyes wet.
" We will learn new jutsu, I will find a way , I will not let you die. "
Kaori turned to Shikaku with eyes full of anger
" Onii sama, will you help or not ?"
I think I overdid it.
" Troublesome " Shikaku muttered.
But it worked.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 168
We were standing near a Lake inside Nara compound. Shikaku had brought us chakra paper and we were ready to test it out.
" Just start already" Shikaku commented
" Why are you still here ? " Kaori asked heatedly
" And what? Leave you two alone ? Not a chance , my mom and your parents will kill me if anything happened to you, because of this" Shikaku explained
" We will be fine "
" Sure "
" Ahh... " Kaori screamed un frustration, it was amazing to see them interact.
Shikaku saw my smile and narrowed his eyes.
Lets not make a Nara genius mad at us.
I pushed chakra into the paper.
One half got burned and another half crinkled.
" Fire and lightning " Shikaku said, his voice sounding very close to me, making me jump.
Was it just a common trait of Nara's, to be stealthy.
" Wow , Satoru kun, dual nature is rare " Kaori said smiling.
" Your turn "
Kaori nodded , holding chakra paper up and soon the paper became brittle and fell apart .
" Earth. Good , congratulations. I am out of here " Shikaku said walking away.
Kaori looked disappointed. I was too, I had started this initially to help Kaori.
I didn't know what to say to her now.
" It's ok, it's ok, I ... Will find another way " She mumbled, slowly gaining more voice.
" I will ask my parents to teach me clan jutsu " she said suddenly.
" I will meet you tomorrow Satoru kun" she said and hurried back, towards her home I assumed.
I returned back to training ground, we had moved to Nara compound as Shikaku wanted to keep an eye and stay at home or as near to home as possible.
Concentrating on present I went through my checklist, I had bought several water bottles and safety gloves as precaution. In the anime Sasuke gets burned near mouth while learning. So I planned to modify my attempt a bit.
Standing at the edge of Lake , I inhaled , thinking of my chakra mixing with air and converting into fire , I went through hand seals and exhaled forcefully through my mouth, bringing both of my hands near it and forming a circle.
I felt a burning sensation around my lips but nothing came out, I drank some water and then tried again and again.
After my tenth try their was sudden light and flash of fire.
I smiled and kept on trying
I was not sure how many more tries I did but I could feel it working, finally a large fireball came out of my mouth , illuminating everything around me
I felt happy but soon my lips started burning, I stopped the flow of chakra and everything went dark again.
My lips were in pain like something searing hot touched them, but thankfully area around my lips was protected by gloves. Despite the pain, I couldn't help but laugh.
I did it, take that Sasuke I did it, my chakra control training must have helped. Finally when I can down from my high and I started feeling more pain, I headed to medical store.
Idiot when I thought of water bottle I should have thought of burn medicine too.
I bought some disinfectant and burn cream.
Fortunately it was not bad, it looks like the transformation happens just in front of mouth as the air mixed with chakra is exhaled.
I would have to try again but I felt confident that one week would be enough to master it.
Day 174
It's been ...some days since I started training for great fireball jutsu, I was able to successfully do it on first day itself, but it still felt unusable in real fight, so I practised.
While taking break I thought about it, Now that I remember, Great fireball jutsu was not really useful in real fight, in the manga or anime. I never really saw it being used as a finishing jutsu like rasengan or chidori or even water dragon jutsu.
Was my expectation for a jutsu being useful too high? The jutsu can be used to distract or even hit a immovable target. It's power was unquestionable and with Kaori learning her clans jutsu, it will be a good combo.
But I kept thinking could I do something more with it? Basically issue with great fireball jutsu was it was slow, to be really successful with this jutsu , you needed to make it big enough that it packed a punch, but in a short time so that your opponent cannot escape.
The jutsu had another issue, it obstructed users view, if opponent had escaped it , they can now counter attack you and you will not know till you see your opponent.
What can be done? Can I supress the fire mixed with chakra and make it more directed and fast ?
I got up, lets try it.
I again took in air, went through hand signs , mixing chakra with air and then exhaled but I brought my hands in front of my mouth, trying to compress the chakra that came out of my mouth. I immediately felt my hands burning and I stopped.
Fuck it hurts, I had stopped using gloves as I was no longer burning my mouth. I should start using them again.
But... will I be able to control chakra through the gloves. Will I be able to even tell the difference? I was not able to compress it with or without the gloves.
Sigh... no gloves it is. I will have to just power through it and in worse case I had hospital.
Medical jutsu was like magic, what would have taken several days in my old world, gets healed in seconds.
Done with my planning I started practicing again, this time opposite happened, I was compressing the chakra so much that even a small fire stopped coming.
It's going to take a while. I didn't feel like going to academy today, I just wanted to practice this, despite everything I was enjoying this, this trial and error practising, I have always liked experimenting.
Trying to remember if there was any important test today, but luckily there was not, I decided to skip academy .
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 168
We were standing near a Lake inside Nara compound. Shikaku had brought us chakra paper and we were ready to test it out.
" Just start already" Shikaku commented
" Why are you still here ? " Kaori asked heatedly
" And what? Leave you two alone ? Not a chance , my mom and your parents will kill me if anything happened to you, because of this" Shikaku explained
" We will be fine "
" Sure "
" Ahh... " Kaori screamed un frustration, it was amazing to see them interact.
Shikaku saw my smile and narrowed his eyes.
Lets not make a Nara genius mad at us.
I pushed chakra into the paper.
One half got burned and another half crinkled.
" Fire and lightning " Shikaku said, his voice sounding very close to me, making me jump.
Was it just a common trait of Nara's, to be stealthy.
" Wow , Satoru kun, dual nature is rare " Kaori said smiling.
" Your turn "
Kaori nodded , holding chakra paper up and soon the paper became brittle and fell apart .
" Earth. Good , congratulations. I am out of here " Shikaku said walking away.
Kaori looked disappointed. I was too, I had started this initially to help Kaori.
I didn't know what to say to her now.
" It's ok, it's ok, I ... Will find another way " She mumbled, slowly gaining more voice.
" I will ask my parents to teach me clan jutsu " she said suddenly.
" I will meet you tomorrow Satoru kun" she said and hurried back, towards her home I assumed.
I returned back to training ground, we had moved to Nara compound as Shikaku wanted to keep an eye and stay at home or as near to home as possible.
Concentrating on present I went through my checklist, I had bought several water bottles and safety gloves as precaution. In the anime Sasuke gets burned near mouth while learning. So I planned to modify my attempt a bit.
Standing at the edge of Lake , I inhaled , thinking of my chakra mixing with air and converting into fire , I went through hand seals and exhaled forcefully through my mouth, bringing both of my hands near it and forming a circle.
I felt a burning sensation around my lips but nothing came out, I drank some water and then tried again and again.
After my tenth try their was sudden light and flash of fire.
I smiled and kept on trying
I was not sure how many more tries I did but I could feel it working, finally a large fireball came out of my mouth , illuminating everything around me
I felt happy but soon my lips started burning, I stopped the flow of chakra and everything went dark again.
My lips were in pain like something searing hot touched them, but thankfully area around my lips was protected by gloves. Despite the pain, I couldn't help but laugh.
I did it, take that Sasuke I did it, my chakra control training must have helped. Finally when I can down from my high and I started feeling more pain, I headed to medical store.
Idiot when I thought of water bottle I should have thought of burn medicine too.
I bought some disinfectant and burn cream.
Fortunately it was not bad, it looks like the transformation happens just in front of mouth as the air mixed with chakra is exhaled.
I would have to try again but I felt confident that one week would be enough to master it.
Day 174
It's been ...some days since I started training for great fireball jutsu, I was able to successfully do it on first day itself, but it still felt unusable in real fight, so I practised.
While taking break I thought about it, Now that I remember, Great fireball jutsu was not really useful in real fight, in the manga or anime. I never really saw it being used as a finishing jutsu like rasengan or chidori or even water dragon jutsu.
Was my expectation for a jutsu being useful too high? The jutsu can be used to distract or even hit a immovable target. It's power was unquestionable and with Kaori learning her clans jutsu, it will be a good combo.
But I kept thinking could I do something more with it? Basically issue with great fireball jutsu was it was slow, to be really successful with this jutsu , you needed to make it big enough that it packed a punch, but in a short time so that your opponent cannot escape.
The jutsu had another issue, it obstructed users view, if opponent had escaped it , they can now counter attack you and you will not know till you see your opponent.
What can be done? Can I supress the fire mixed with chakra and make it more directed and fast ?
I got up, lets try it.
I again took in air, went through hand signs , mixing chakra with air and then exhaled but I brought my hands in front of my mouth, trying to compress the chakra that came out of my mouth. I immediately felt my hands burning and I stopped.
Fuck it hurts, I had stopped using gloves as I was no longer burning my mouth. I should start using them again.
But... will I be able to control chakra through the gloves. Will I be able to even tell the difference? I was not able to compress it with or without the gloves.
Sigh... no gloves it is. I will have to just power through it and in worse case I had hospital.
Medical jutsu was like magic, what would have taken several days in my old world, gets healed in seconds.
Done with my planning I started practicing again, this time opposite happened, I was compressing the chakra so much that even a small fire stopped coming.
It's going to take a while. I didn't feel like going to academy today, I just wanted to practice this, despite everything I was enjoying this, this trial and error practising, I have always liked experimenting.
Trying to remember if there was any important test today, but luckily there was not, I decided to skip academy .
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 218
Shikaku POV
I watched as a blue flame came out of Satoru mouth, but then immediately disappeared.
Since earlier this week he has been able to produce these blue flames but not more than that .
A few months ago if someone told me I would be watching over someone , while hidden I would have scoffed. But here u was.
Initially it was a sense of responsibility that forced me to check up on Kaori's friend. After all he was the one who had provided chakra paper.
The kid had gotten hold of fire ball jutsu quiet soon and taking proper safety measures. I was impressed and grateful.
But then the kid kept going, I was not sure what he was after, I heard him mumble useless jutsu. Well the great fireball jutsu had its own uses, an Uchiha could probably write an essay on it, but I would agree it was not as combat effective as some other jutsu.
I was somewhat intrigued, so I kept checking on kid when I had free time and this particular branch of tree was quiet comfortable. Then this week started and finally there were some noticeable changes, the flame turned blue.
A blue flame meant it was going to be much hotter. If the kid could make it work even in short range with sufficient speed it would be deadly.
I saw the kid was back in front of Lake, he had taken to writing in the notebook since some time. I assumed it was about the jutsu the kid was making.
I watched as kid did the hand seals and brought one hand in front of his mouth, a blue flame like beam of light came out with astonishing speed , travelling over lake and burning a hole through tree that was on opposite end of lake. I can't believe it, looking back at kid he started falling down, fuck, I moved and caught the kid just before he hit water.
The kid was out cold, most likely chakra exhaustion, I should still take him to hospital and after that perhaps someone higher up should know about this jutsu.
Sigh... troublesome.
Looking at kid and remembering the blue flame, Minato's face came to my mind. Looks like Konoha will have another monster among us.
Satoru POV
I opened my eyes to an angry Kaori. I looked around I was in hospital. Trying to remember how I got here, I was practicing and I had succeeded, but then I couldn't remember anything afterwards.
" Onii sama brought you here " Kaori suddenly spoke as if reading my mind.
" You got lucky, onii sama was passing by, what would have happened if no one noticed " Kaori said sighing
" Sorry " was all I could say.
She huffed at that, getting up " You have chakra exhaustion, doctor said you can leave in the morning, I am going to bring some food "
" Also tomorrow show me your jutsu, onii sama said it was troublesome" she said smiling
Alone, I laid down again. I had been pushing myself past few days, specially after the blue flame came out. Remembering the feeling of finally getting the jutsu right, filled me up with energy again. I immediately wanted to do it again.
Kaori and I had just finished eating and were just talking, when I heard some noise outside and door suddenly opened.
My eyes widened
" Ho..Hokage sama" Kaori was already bowing ninety degree before I could react.
" Ah Kaori chan, I heard about you from Shikaku " Sandaime said smiling and walked up to bed.
Coming to my sense I made to stand and bow but a firm hand stopped me.
" Satoru Kun it's fine " Sandaime said.
I have only seen him in anime and manga, this was my first time meeting him in real life. He had a calming aura about him, but he looked young, younger then what I was used to seeing him as. He still had black hair, though there were grey mixed in.
" I apologise for my sudden visit but when I heard you have invented a new jutsu, I couldn't help but be curious " he said
Well at least he was truthful, if he would have said that he came to visit me , after hearing I was in hospital. That would have been weird.
I was exhausted and my thoughts were scattered, trying to concentrate, I tried to respond.
" It's an honour Hokage sama, but I just modified the great fireball jutsu. A bit ." I said honestly .
" Hmm... Still I would like to see it for myself, if you don't mind. "
" Sure I can show you now..." I tried getting up but again a firm hand stopped me.
" Satoru kun, please stay in bed. " Sandaime said his voice bit strained
" You are in bed rest for tonight, how about we meet tomorrow evening? Please visit my office and we can take it up from there " Sandaime said and left.
" Wow " I said once he was gone, I got to meet " the professor ", my favourite Hokage in the anime.
Me and Kaori talked for a little while longer before she too left.
Alone in the room , I thought about today, it was indeed a ninja village, nothing goes unnoticed.
But I was not really worried about it, I had no issue with Konoha knowing or using my jutsu.
But was my jutsu really that impressive, I was bit anxious.
With such thoughts and an unknown environment I went to sleep late at night.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 218
Shikaku POV
I watched as a blue flame came out of Satoru mouth, but then immediately disappeared.
Since earlier this week he has been able to produce these blue flames but not more than that .
A few months ago if someone told me I would be watching over someone , while hidden I would have scoffed. But here u was.
Initially it was a sense of responsibility that forced me to check up on Kaori's friend. After all he was the one who had provided chakra paper.
The kid had gotten hold of fire ball jutsu quiet soon and taking proper safety measures. I was impressed and grateful.
But then the kid kept going, I was not sure what he was after, I heard him mumble useless jutsu. Well the great fireball jutsu had its own uses, an Uchiha could probably write an essay on it, but I would agree it was not as combat effective as some other jutsu.
I was somewhat intrigued, so I kept checking on kid when I had free time and this particular branch of tree was quiet comfortable. Then this week started and finally there were some noticeable changes, the flame turned blue.
A blue flame meant it was going to be much hotter. If the kid could make it work even in short range with sufficient speed it would be deadly.
I saw the kid was back in front of Lake, he had taken to writing in the notebook since some time. I assumed it was about the jutsu the kid was making.
I watched as kid did the hand seals and brought one hand in front of his mouth, a blue flame like beam of light came out with astonishing speed , travelling over lake and burning a hole through tree that was on opposite end of lake. I can't believe it, looking back at kid he started falling down, fuck, I moved and caught the kid just before he hit water.
The kid was out cold, most likely chakra exhaustion, I should still take him to hospital and after that perhaps someone higher up should know about this jutsu.
Sigh... troublesome.
Looking at kid and remembering the blue flame, Minato's face came to my mind. Looks like Konoha will have another monster among us.
Satoru POV
I opened my eyes to an angry Kaori. I looked around I was in hospital. Trying to remember how I got here, I was practicing and I had succeeded, but then I couldn't remember anything afterwards.
" Onii sama brought you here " Kaori suddenly spoke as if reading my mind.
" You got lucky, onii sama was passing by, what would have happened if no one noticed " Kaori said sighing
" Sorry " was all I could say.
She huffed at that, getting up " You have chakra exhaustion, doctor said you can leave in the morning, I am going to bring some food "
" Also tomorrow show me your jutsu, onii sama said it was troublesome" she said smiling
Alone, I laid down again. I had been pushing myself past few days, specially after the blue flame came out. Remembering the feeling of finally getting the jutsu right, filled me up with energy again. I immediately wanted to do it again.
Kaori and I had just finished eating and were just talking, when I heard some noise outside and door suddenly opened.
My eyes widened
" Ho..Hokage sama" Kaori was already bowing ninety degree before I could react.
" Ah Kaori chan, I heard about you from Shikaku " Sandaime said smiling and walked up to bed.
Coming to my sense I made to stand and bow but a firm hand stopped me.
" Satoru Kun it's fine " Sandaime said.
I have only seen him in anime and manga, this was my first time meeting him in real life. He had a calming aura about him, but he looked young, younger then what I was used to seeing him as. He still had black hair, though there were grey mixed in.
" I apologise for my sudden visit but when I heard you have invented a new jutsu, I couldn't help but be curious " he said
Well at least he was truthful, if he would have said that he came to visit me , after hearing I was in hospital. That would have been weird.
I was exhausted and my thoughts were scattered, trying to concentrate, I tried to respond.
" It's an honour Hokage sama, but I just modified the great fireball jutsu. A bit ." I said honestly .
" Hmm... Still I would like to see it for myself, if you don't mind. "
" Sure I can show you now..." I tried getting up but again a firm hand stopped me.
" Satoru kun, please stay in bed. " Sandaime said his voice bit strained
" You are in bed rest for tonight, how about we meet tomorrow evening? Please visit my office and we can take it up from there " Sandaime said and left.
" Wow " I said once he was gone, I got to meet " the professor ", my favourite Hokage in the anime.
Me and Kaori talked for a little while longer before she too left.
Alone in the room , I thought about today, it was indeed a ninja village, nothing goes unnoticed.
But I was not really worried about it, I had no issue with Konoha knowing or using my jutsu.
But was my jutsu really that impressive, I was bit anxious.
With such thoughts and an unknown environment I went to sleep late at night.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 219
After classes I said good bye to Kaori and headed towards Hokage office. I was anxious, impossible scenarios came to my mind, making me worry even more. Will there be a Yamanaka to read my mind ? There was no reason for it but still you never know. Will my secrets of past life revealed, what will happen to me?
My legs felt heavy and my heart heavier still I continued to move towards Hokage building.
I entered the building and after asking was directed to Hokage's office. I told the secretary there my reason to visit and she nodded and made me sit.
Now I was nervous and excited at the same time, I had watched this office in anime, I wonder where ANBU were hiding? In the roof ?
I was brought back to present when suddenly the door opened and out walked Sandaime.
" Satoru kun, good to see you well " he commented as I bowed and greeted him.
" Let's go " he said and I followed him, people looked at us we walked down the building, most gave a respectful bow or nod and then went on to doing their tasks. While some noticed me and stared a bit.
Fuck. Suddenly I remembered Danzo. Why did I never think of Danzo? Will I be kidnapped tonight? No. Hokage knew me and so did Kaori and to some extent Shikaku and Kaori's parents. If I suddenly disappeared, it would not go unnoticed or without alarming some important people. Danzo would not, should not take that risk. I desperately hoped.
I was lost in my anxiety when suddenly Sandaime spoke
" So Satoru kun, how do you find academy "
" it..it's fine . I mean good Hokage sama. I enjoy it and I am grateful the village gave me an opportunity to attend " I said. I was in formal mode.
" Really ? I heard you skipped quiet a few days in past month" he asked.
We were still walking and I couldn't see his face. What was happening here? Was I being scolded?
" My apologies Hokage sama, I would make sure not miss any further class" I said.
Still I felt unsatisfied and added" I was actually too absorbed in practising jutsu. Still I made sure to attend academy, when there were tests"
I braces myself for further scolding but I heard a laugh instead
" You remind me of myself, Satoru kun, "
He said glancing at me, with a smile in his face.
We walked in silence after that, we had left the main village part and now were walking a quiet path surrounded by trees. I looked around and still I didn't see any ANBU following. Were we alone or was I just not able to detect them ?
Soon a clearing opened with plain field and a small waterfall falling into a stream, which divided the plain field into two.
I noticed a man standing near the stream.
" Hokage sama " he greeted with short nod.
" Ah Fugaku san, thanks for coming I hope you didn't wait long"
Fugaku? As in Fugaku Uchiha? I finally noticed the Uchiha symbol of fan at his back. What was he doing here ?
He looked at me and I gave a respectful bow, to which he nodded. Was he already the clan head? I knew he was older than Minato. Looking at him, he looked to be in twenties.
" Satoru Kun let's start" I was brought out of my musings by Sandaime.
Nodding at him, I walked to the edge of stream and looked ahead, there was a tree at the end of clearing, let's aim for that.
I went through the hand seals , brought my hand towards my mouth and then exhaled. A blue flame immediately came out , it travelled straight without expanding and looking more like a beam and hit the tree , I was aiming for, it burned a hole through that and I stopped the supply of chakra, ending the jutsu
I heard " Remarkable" before I started feeling light headed and I stumbled but strong hands held me and made me sit.
Once the world stopped spinning. I looked up, Sandaime was looking at me with concern and so was Fugaku but with a stoic face.
" I am fine , I am fine, my apologies " I said as I stood up. Sandaime held me I got up.
" I am fine Hokage sama, it's just ... looks like it will take some time for me to get used to doing this jutsu" i said embarrassingly
" No Satoru kun, I am sorry, I shouldn't have made you perform this jutsu just a day after you got out of hospital. I apologise" Sandaime
" Ah.. no..no.. Hokage sama, you don't need to apologise " I could feel he was really concerned. He didn't need to be , I was fine.
" This jutsu is remarkable " suddenly Fugaku commented
" The seals are for great fire ball but you have successfully compressed and directed it . It would have needed great affinity and control" he gave me a nod that said good work before looking back at Sandaime.
" Hokage sama this jutsu should be added to Konoha jutsu repository "
What ? There was something like that. A list of jutsu that village knows or have created. Once you think about it, it make so much sense, it almost is obvious. Huh.
I was still thinking when Fugaku dropped another bomb.
" Also Uchiha clan will gladly sponsor Satoru "
What ? Sponsor?
" Fugaku san, I think you are rushing a bit" Sandaime said frowning.
" Hokage sama with all due respect, the Senju clan sponsored Minato previous year. It will be unfair to Uchiha clan, if we are not allowed to do same " Fugaku replied with same stoic face but I could feel his emotions in his words.
I was not aware of any of this happening in canon, was Minato sponsored by Senju?
" You know that was because Jiraiya wanted to take Minato as apprentice and made Tsunade do it, so he can override normal team assignment process"
I think they were discussing something that I was not supposed to hear.
" Hokage sama, it may be true but on outside it appears as if Senju clan were able to take a talented shinobi under their control . It disturbs clan balance "
Fugaku then sighed finally showing some emotion on his stoic face.
" The elders are not satisfied with how Uchiha clan is being treated, we were the founding clan along with Senju, that established Konoha, but no Uchiha ever became Hokage nor any person associated with us. Currently no Uchiha occupies any significant post outside of Konoha police force. " by the end of his speech he was breathing heavily.
Yup I was definitely not supposed to hear that. I don't think Fugaku was supposed to behave like that in front of Hokage.
I looked at Sandaime and his face held deep lines.
I don't this happened in canon, my slight modification of jutsu led to this moment, I can't believe it.
" My apologies Hokage sama, I... said some unnecessary things. But please try to understand Uchiha clans concern" Fugaku said with deep bow, his apology and request were both mixed in that bow.
" Fugaku san, I.. can understand you are in great deal of pressure as the new head of Uchiha clan. Truly I can empathize. I was given this hat quiet young too" Sandaime said softly. He paused before continuing.
" I will not stop Uchiha clan from sponsoring Satoru, my only condition being Satoru kun should also be in agreement "
At that suddenly both turned to me, I thought they had forgotten about me and was planning to quietly leave.
" What do you say Satoru kun " Sandaime asked with a slight smile. I could feel Fugaku stare at me.
I was starting to hate Sandaime, a little.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 219
After classes I said good bye to Kaori and headed towards Hokage office. I was anxious, impossible scenarios came to my mind, making me worry even more. Will there be a Yamanaka to read my mind ? There was no reason for it but still you never know. Will my secrets of past life revealed, what will happen to me?
My legs felt heavy and my heart heavier still I continued to move towards Hokage building.
I entered the building and after asking was directed to Hokage's office. I told the secretary there my reason to visit and she nodded and made me sit.
Now I was nervous and excited at the same time, I had watched this office in anime, I wonder where ANBU were hiding? In the roof ?
I was brought back to present when suddenly the door opened and out walked Sandaime.
" Satoru kun, good to see you well " he commented as I bowed and greeted him.
" Let's go " he said and I followed him, people looked at us we walked down the building, most gave a respectful bow or nod and then went on to doing their tasks. While some noticed me and stared a bit.
Fuck. Suddenly I remembered Danzo. Why did I never think of Danzo? Will I be kidnapped tonight? No. Hokage knew me and so did Kaori and to some extent Shikaku and Kaori's parents. If I suddenly disappeared, it would not go unnoticed or without alarming some important people. Danzo would not, should not take that risk. I desperately hoped.
I was lost in my anxiety when suddenly Sandaime spoke
" So Satoru kun, how do you find academy "
" it..it's fine . I mean good Hokage sama. I enjoy it and I am grateful the village gave me an opportunity to attend " I said. I was in formal mode.
" Really ? I heard you skipped quiet a few days in past month" he asked.
We were still walking and I couldn't see his face. What was happening here? Was I being scolded?
" My apologies Hokage sama, I would make sure not miss any further class" I said.
Still I felt unsatisfied and added" I was actually too absorbed in practising jutsu. Still I made sure to attend academy, when there were tests"
I braces myself for further scolding but I heard a laugh instead
" You remind me of myself, Satoru kun, "
He said glancing at me, with a smile in his face.
We walked in silence after that, we had left the main village part and now were walking a quiet path surrounded by trees. I looked around and still I didn't see any ANBU following. Were we alone or was I just not able to detect them ?
Soon a clearing opened with plain field and a small waterfall falling into a stream, which divided the plain field into two.
I noticed a man standing near the stream.
" Hokage sama " he greeted with short nod.
" Ah Fugaku san, thanks for coming I hope you didn't wait long"
Fugaku? As in Fugaku Uchiha? I finally noticed the Uchiha symbol of fan at his back. What was he doing here ?
He looked at me and I gave a respectful bow, to which he nodded. Was he already the clan head? I knew he was older than Minato. Looking at him, he looked to be in twenties.
" Satoru Kun let's start" I was brought out of my musings by Sandaime.
Nodding at him, I walked to the edge of stream and looked ahead, there was a tree at the end of clearing, let's aim for that.
I went through the hand seals , brought my hand towards my mouth and then exhaled. A blue flame immediately came out , it travelled straight without expanding and looking more like a beam and hit the tree , I was aiming for, it burned a hole through that and I stopped the supply of chakra, ending the jutsu
I heard " Remarkable" before I started feeling light headed and I stumbled but strong hands held me and made me sit.
Once the world stopped spinning. I looked up, Sandaime was looking at me with concern and so was Fugaku but with a stoic face.
" I am fine , I am fine, my apologies " I said as I stood up. Sandaime held me I got up.
" I am fine Hokage sama, it's just ... looks like it will take some time for me to get used to doing this jutsu" i said embarrassingly
" No Satoru kun, I am sorry, I shouldn't have made you perform this jutsu just a day after you got out of hospital. I apologise" Sandaime
" Ah.. no..no.. Hokage sama, you don't need to apologise " I could feel he was really concerned. He didn't need to be , I was fine.
" This jutsu is remarkable " suddenly Fugaku commented
" The seals are for great fire ball but you have successfully compressed and directed it . It would have needed great affinity and control" he gave me a nod that said good work before looking back at Sandaime.
" Hokage sama this jutsu should be added to Konoha jutsu repository "
What ? There was something like that. A list of jutsu that village knows or have created. Once you think about it, it make so much sense, it almost is obvious. Huh.
I was still thinking when Fugaku dropped another bomb.
" Also Uchiha clan will gladly sponsor Satoru "
What ? Sponsor?
" Fugaku san, I think you are rushing a bit" Sandaime said frowning.
" Hokage sama with all due respect, the Senju clan sponsored Minato previous year. It will be unfair to Uchiha clan, if we are not allowed to do same " Fugaku replied with same stoic face but I could feel his emotions in his words.
I was not aware of any of this happening in canon, was Minato sponsored by Senju?
" You know that was because Jiraiya wanted to take Minato as apprentice and made Tsunade do it, so he can override normal team assignment process"
I think they were discussing something that I was not supposed to hear.
" Hokage sama, it may be true but on outside it appears as if Senju clan were able to take a talented shinobi under their control . It disturbs clan balance "
Fugaku then sighed finally showing some emotion on his stoic face.
" The elders are not satisfied with how Uchiha clan is being treated, we were the founding clan along with Senju, that established Konoha, but no Uchiha ever became Hokage nor any person associated with us. Currently no Uchiha occupies any significant post outside of Konoha police force. " by the end of his speech he was breathing heavily.
Yup I was definitely not supposed to hear that. I don't think Fugaku was supposed to behave like that in front of Hokage.
I looked at Sandaime and his face held deep lines.
I don't this happened in canon, my slight modification of jutsu led to this moment, I can't believe it.
" My apologies Hokage sama, I... said some unnecessary things. But please try to understand Uchiha clans concern" Fugaku said with deep bow, his apology and request were both mixed in that bow.
" Fugaku san, I.. can understand you are in great deal of pressure as the new head of Uchiha clan. Truly I can empathize. I was given this hat quiet young too" Sandaime said softly. He paused before continuing.
" I will not stop Uchiha clan from sponsoring Satoru, my only condition being Satoru kun should also be in agreement "
At that suddenly both turned to me, I thought they had forgotten about me and was planning to quietly leave.
" What do you say Satoru kun " Sandaime asked with a slight smile. I could feel Fugaku stare at me.
I was starting to hate Sandaime, a little.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 220
I told Kaori what happened yesterday, as we walked to academy.
" So this weekend you are invited into Uchiha compound, wow, I have never been to Uchiha compound " she exclaimed
" Are we really concentrating on that ? " I asked staring at her
" What else should we discuss then? A clan, no, The clan, offered to sponsor you. You just nod and say thank you. There is no point in discussing about it"
" Really? You can't think of any negative? What about those who don't like Uchiha? Or what if Uchiha clan asks me something unreasonable to do ?" now I was arguing for the sake of arguing, more because I felt she was not taking it seriously.
She sighed as she stopped walking and stared at me.
" Are you thinking of rejecting Uchiha clan sponsorship? "
" No "
She smiled at that and started taking about Uchiha clan compound again.
Yesterday once Fugaku has left, I had asked Sandaime about sponsor. What exactly does it mean and does he opinion about it.
( Flashback to Day 219)
" It's for clans prestige and honour Satoru kun." Sandaime said looking at something in distance.
" A clan inside the village cannot battle another to determine which among them is better. So they do it through other means. They compete over who sits closest to Hokage, or which clan shinobi occupies high posts, how many Jonin's and so on " he looked back at me with a smile.
" A clan sponsoring you means, they will help you grow, by helping you financially helping you with jutsu, helping you with teachers or helping you simply through their influence , to get you, to where you want to go. " I nodded at him as he continued
" in return any good you do or will do , like making this jutsu , will reflect back to the clan. " he paused and looked at Hokage mountain.
" it's a good opportunity for you Satoru kun, it will help you greatly but like I said decision will be yours. "
Was Sandaime subtly hinting no to accept it ? I banged my head at the desk. I don't know. I knew I was thinking too much but I didn't know how to do it otherwise.
And I was bit biased against Uchiha, after watching the anime. They were not really portrayed in good light.
But like Kaori said, I was not really in position to say no to Uchiha clan and make unnecessary enemies out of them.
So it was decided then.
" Satoru stop spacing out" Hito sensei called
"Yes sensei" lets deal with this on Sunday.
After school we came to training ground. We now met weekly thrice, as Kaori was training in her clan jutsu. She said she was very close to learning shadow bind. I was eagerly waiting, as I wanted to test it in our mock battles.
Shikamaru used nothing but shadow bind, in terms of jutsu, to get himself promoted to Chunin. How far will Kaori be able to take it? She was no Shikamaru or Shikaku but she was brilliant in her own way.
" Satoru , everything alright? " Kaori asked
" Hmm... Yeah yeah, everything' s fine ." I quickly reassured her
"So what are we doing today " I asked
" we have been doing lots of mock battles, I want to do something different " she said.
Once my taijutsu improved to sufficient standard as per Kaori. We had been practicing mock battles, using just the academy jutsu. We had fought on level ground, on the water even jumping through tress.
On a side note , fighting while traveling through trees, was not as easy as anime made out to be.
Thinking what can we do I sat down and soon Kaori joined me.
" Earlier were you thinking about this Sunday " Kaori asked
" No but it's on my mind. I have decided to deal with it on Sunday only, no use overthinking about it " I replied
" Wow Satoru deciding not to overthink. Am I in a dream "
I did not reply to her teasing. I had decided not to overthink about it, after I had done my overthinking.
Sighing, I laid flat on the ground, I was feeling lazy today.
" In a few months we will be genin " I said out loud. We will have our finals in three months and then If everything went well I will be an actual ninja.
" Do you think we will be on same team " suddenly Kaori asked
I thought about it, I knew how team 7 was formed but I don't think they did that every year. There were no one from Akimichi or Yamanaka clans in our class. So no team like team 10.
" Who knows " I said failing to think more about it.
A nice gentle breeze was flowing and suddenly I was feeling very sleepy.
" Are you seriously sleeping" I heard Kaori say but I kept quiet.
" Really... Sigh. It will be nice if we could be on same team too. It will be so much fun. Who will be our sensei? I wonder if we will get lucky and it will it be one of the Sanins like last year. "
" hmm..." I made an agreement noise to keep her talking. It was helping me fall deeper in sleep.
" Jiraiya sama is already busy but he only took one apprentice maybe we both can join his team? Or Tsunade sama, I always wanted to be strong like her. I don't know much about Orochimaru sama but he must also be really strong to be part of Sanin"
Lying on cool grass at the training ground, with a gentle breeze blowing and with Kaori's voice as my background I fell asleep.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Day 220
I told Kaori what happened yesterday, as we walked to academy.
" So this weekend you are invited into Uchiha compound, wow, I have never been to Uchiha compound " she exclaimed
" Are we really concentrating on that ? " I asked staring at her
" What else should we discuss then? A clan, no, The clan, offered to sponsor you. You just nod and say thank you. There is no point in discussing about it"
" Really? You can't think of any negative? What about those who don't like Uchiha? Or what if Uchiha clan asks me something unreasonable to do ?" now I was arguing for the sake of arguing, more because I felt she was not taking it seriously.
She sighed as she stopped walking and stared at me.
" Are you thinking of rejecting Uchiha clan sponsorship? "
" No "
She smiled at that and started taking about Uchiha clan compound again.
Yesterday once Fugaku has left, I had asked Sandaime about sponsor. What exactly does it mean and does he opinion about it.
( Flashback to Day 219)
" It's for clans prestige and honour Satoru kun." Sandaime said looking at something in distance.
" A clan inside the village cannot battle another to determine which among them is better. So they do it through other means. They compete over who sits closest to Hokage, or which clan shinobi occupies high posts, how many Jonin's and so on " he looked back at me with a smile.
" A clan sponsoring you means, they will help you grow, by helping you financially helping you with jutsu, helping you with teachers or helping you simply through their influence , to get you, to where you want to go. " I nodded at him as he continued
" in return any good you do or will do , like making this jutsu , will reflect back to the clan. " he paused and looked at Hokage mountain.
" it's a good opportunity for you Satoru kun, it will help you greatly but like I said decision will be yours. "
Was Sandaime subtly hinting no to accept it ? I banged my head at the desk. I don't know. I knew I was thinking too much but I didn't know how to do it otherwise.
And I was bit biased against Uchiha, after watching the anime. They were not really portrayed in good light.
But like Kaori said, I was not really in position to say no to Uchiha clan and make unnecessary enemies out of them.
So it was decided then.
" Satoru stop spacing out" Hito sensei called
"Yes sensei" lets deal with this on Sunday.
After school we came to training ground. We now met weekly thrice, as Kaori was training in her clan jutsu. She said she was very close to learning shadow bind. I was eagerly waiting, as I wanted to test it in our mock battles.
Shikamaru used nothing but shadow bind, in terms of jutsu, to get himself promoted to Chunin. How far will Kaori be able to take it? She was no Shikamaru or Shikaku but she was brilliant in her own way.
" Satoru , everything alright? " Kaori asked
" Hmm... Yeah yeah, everything' s fine ." I quickly reassured her
"So what are we doing today " I asked
" we have been doing lots of mock battles, I want to do something different " she said.
Once my taijutsu improved to sufficient standard as per Kaori. We had been practicing mock battles, using just the academy jutsu. We had fought on level ground, on the water even jumping through tress.
On a side note , fighting while traveling through trees, was not as easy as anime made out to be.
Thinking what can we do I sat down and soon Kaori joined me.
" Earlier were you thinking about this Sunday " Kaori asked
" No but it's on my mind. I have decided to deal with it on Sunday only, no use overthinking about it " I replied
" Wow Satoru deciding not to overthink. Am I in a dream "
I did not reply to her teasing. I had decided not to overthink about it, after I had done my overthinking.
Sighing, I laid flat on the ground, I was feeling lazy today.
" In a few months we will be genin " I said out loud. We will have our finals in three months and then If everything went well I will be an actual ninja.
" Do you think we will be on same team " suddenly Kaori asked
I thought about it, I knew how team 7 was formed but I don't think they did that every year. There were no one from Akimichi or Yamanaka clans in our class. So no team like team 10.
" Who knows " I said failing to think more about it.
A nice gentle breeze was flowing and suddenly I was feeling very sleepy.
" Are you seriously sleeping" I heard Kaori say but I kept quiet.
" Really... Sigh. It will be nice if we could be on same team too. It will be so much fun. Who will be our sensei? I wonder if we will get lucky and it will it be one of the Sanins like last year. "
" hmm..." I made an agreement noise to keep her talking. It was helping me fall deeper in sleep.
" Jiraiya sama is already busy but he only took one apprentice maybe we both can join his team? Or Tsunade sama, I always wanted to be strong like her. I don't know much about Orochimaru sama but he must also be really strong to be part of Sanin"
Lying on cool grass at the training ground, with a gentle breeze blowing and with Kaori's voice as my background I fell asleep.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for advanced chapters
Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 222
It was Saturday , when I met Fugaku Uchiha again, he was standing at the academy gate as we were exiting academy.
" I will go ahead , meet me at the training ground" Kaori said as she left me alone with Fugaku.
" Good evening Fugaku sama" I greeted him respectfully, confused by his presence here.
He nodded at my greeting " let's walk "
And so I followed him. He was silent and led me to a restaurant in middle of Konoha. We were shown private rooms.
Once green tea was placed in front of us and we were alone again, he finally spoke.
" Have you made up your mind" as he sipped tea. I don't know why but completely out of left field my mind supplied, he looked bit cool doing that.
Remembering his question, I thought briefly before I replied
" Yes. " I bowed while sitting " I will be honoured to accept Uchiha clan sponsorship"
" Good " he said but his face showed no change.
I hesitated , thinking if it was right time, but then went ahead
" If you don't mind, I had few questions regarding sponsorship "
He stared at me and then nodded.
" I know generally what it would mean to be sponsored, but can you give me exact detail what it would mean for me"
Fugaku took a sip of tea before he replied
" Mainly it means two things, you will start receiving stipend from Uchiha clan, based on your rank and position in village, they will increase as you are promoted and you will be assigned a person to help you train" he paused to sip the tea.
He must really like it
" The rest of it is more conditional, like you will have backing of our clan to help you with promotion or in case of disputes, but it doesn't mean we will support you against our own cause. "
He stopped and I thought it was over but suddenly he spoke again.
" In return, you will wear Uchiha clan symbol, whenever you are working in any official capacity. You will do your best to grow as a shinobi. Lastly you will be respectful towards Uchiha clan and avoid anything that may cause harm to it."
I nodded at him and took my first sip of tea, it was still warm and I liked the bitter taste of it.
And that was it, for next few minutes we drank tea in silence. As we were leaving he handed me a package.
" Wear this for tomorrow evening " and he was gone.
I slowly walked towards training ground, thinking about what happened.
It was a short meeting, I had thought that I will be giving my answer tomorrow when I visited the clan compound but this happened, was there any deeper meaning associated with it ?
I kept thinking about it all the way back to training ground. Once I met up with Kaori I voiced my thoughts.
" You might meet clan elders tomorrow, if you rejected them there it would be considered a dishonour. So Fugaku sama made sure to know your opinion beforehand to plan ahead. " Kaori replied like it was obvious.
Which it was now that she explained it like that. Then why not say to me just that.
" It' s confusing " I said honestly.
" Our family, while not the main branch, still are close enough that we have to sometimes engage in clan politics" she said her face scrunching up.
" It gets very frustrating at times " she continued
" There is lot of posturing and saying what they don't mean. You will need to learn too. Uchiha are practically known for their intense clan politics."
I sighed " let's just train. I am exhausted just thinking about it"
Day 223
It was evening I was dressed in kimono for the first time. I had needed help getting dressed up and Shikaku San had come forward after some pleading from me.
It would have been easier if I had asked Kaori but I didn't want Kaori to know. If she volunteered her dad's help. I might not be able to decline politely, I had got the impression that her dad didn't like me.
So I managed to find Shikaku and get his help and now I was ready.
" So any advise for me ? " I asked, my anxiety flaring up.
" Don't talk if you are not sure about it. At worst it will be awkward or they might deduce that you do not have knowledge about the subject but there will always be doubt. If you talk there is no room for doubt"
" Wow , I wasn't expecting that " I said , honestly surprised.
He smiled at that " Good luck " he said and walked away.
Yup lets do this, what's the worst that could happen? I might offend a great clan so much, that they want to off me.
I could live with that.
I was in middle of a large hall surrounded by Uchiha elders, Fugaku san was standing next to me. We had finished greeting them and were now just standing quietly. There were five of them, the Uchiha elders. All of them looked ancient.
" So this is the child you talked about Fugaku, he looks a bit weak" a bald man, with salt and pepper beard said. He was sitting to the far left.
" Now, now Isamu Dono, he is still quite young, I am sure with our help he will become strong" the old man with glasses on the far right commented.
" I don't know Fumihito Dono, a mouse can never grow to be a tiger " the now identified Isamu spoke again.
Was this hazing?
" I must agree with Isamu Dono here, even the child's chakra seems small, a younger kid from our clan will easily surpass him in terms of chakra" the man sitting next to Isamu said in a deep voice.
This was definitely hazing or some version of it, I had thought it would just be a simple ceremony of sort. Just to officiate that I was sponsored by Uchiha.
I kept silent, as I notices Fugaku had yet to speak. If they were insulting me, doesn't that mean they were insulting Fugaku's choice. Was this some sort of power struggle?
I was starting to regret coming here or accepting this sponsorship.
" Did you forget about blue flame and how the child has already contributed to Konoha jutsu repository" old man next to the glasses wearing one commented.
It looked like two elders were with us and two elders were against us. The one in middle kept silent with closed eyes.
Is he sleeping? My mind supplied and I covered my laugh as cough.
The elders looked at me and then ignored me and continued their debate
" Jiro Dono , you are right but we are talking about future potential here " the fierce looking one said
"Kaito Dono, potential can not be assessed simply by chakra capacity, specially one who is still growing"
And on and on the elders continued to debate, I was not sure how much time passed , when a throat clearing noise was made.
" Ah , what do you think Haruto Dono"
Well at least now I know all five of their names .
" Fugaku, you have listened to our worries about the child, do you still want to sponsor the child " Haruto asked
" Yes Haruto sama" Fugaku replied shortly.
" Hmm very well, we will trust in your judgement "
Well that was quick.
" Satoru "
" Ye... Yes Haruto sama"
" Your actions, your achievements and also your failures, now reflect back on this esteemed clan of ours. Make sure not to sully it. "
I bowed and that was the end of my hazing.
I was given a scroll that made my sponsoring official. Apparently I was the first ever non clan member to be sponsored.
I was told a list of expectations that I was now supposed to fulfil. That included graduating top of class. Fugaku told me , it was added once the elders came to know that Hiashi Hyuuga was in my class and occupied the top position.
I thought Fugaku was as exasperated as I was , with this. He showed it by frowning ten degrees more. In his stoic face any change was massive.
I would try as Kaori was anyway aiming for top, but if it didn't happen then it didn't happen. If they cancelled my sponsorship over it, then I was totally fine with it. I was not exactly fan of Uchiha elders and by the looks of it, they ran the show. I don't remember them being a thing in the anime.
Anyway I also came to know the amount , I will be receiving as stipend. It was a lot, almost thrice what I received from village.
Soon after everything was done and I slowly walked out of Uchiha clan, feeling exhausted unlike anything I had felt before.
Thinking back to my hazing, was their sole purpose to undermine Fugaku? Why ?
Well whatever . I will now have more money. I was happy with that. It was enough for now.
Let's celebrate tonight with some good food.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters
Day 222
It was Saturday , when I met Fugaku Uchiha again, he was standing at the academy gate as we were exiting academy.
" I will go ahead , meet me at the training ground" Kaori said as she left me alone with Fugaku.
" Good evening Fugaku sama" I greeted him respectfully, confused by his presence here.
He nodded at my greeting " let's walk "
And so I followed him. He was silent and led me to a restaurant in middle of Konoha. We were shown private rooms.
Once green tea was placed in front of us and we were alone again, he finally spoke.
" Have you made up your mind" as he sipped tea. I don't know why but completely out of left field my mind supplied, he looked bit cool doing that.
Remembering his question, I thought briefly before I replied
" Yes. " I bowed while sitting " I will be honoured to accept Uchiha clan sponsorship"
" Good " he said but his face showed no change.
I hesitated , thinking if it was right time, but then went ahead
" If you don't mind, I had few questions regarding sponsorship "
He stared at me and then nodded.
" I know generally what it would mean to be sponsored, but can you give me exact detail what it would mean for me"
Fugaku took a sip of tea before he replied
" Mainly it means two things, you will start receiving stipend from Uchiha clan, based on your rank and position in village, they will increase as you are promoted and you will be assigned a person to help you train" he paused to sip the tea.
He must really like it
" The rest of it is more conditional, like you will have backing of our clan to help you with promotion or in case of disputes, but it doesn't mean we will support you against our own cause. "
He stopped and I thought it was over but suddenly he spoke again.
" In return, you will wear Uchiha clan symbol, whenever you are working in any official capacity. You will do your best to grow as a shinobi. Lastly you will be respectful towards Uchiha clan and avoid anything that may cause harm to it."
I nodded at him and took my first sip of tea, it was still warm and I liked the bitter taste of it.
And that was it, for next few minutes we drank tea in silence. As we were leaving he handed me a package.
" Wear this for tomorrow evening " and he was gone.
I slowly walked towards training ground, thinking about what happened.
It was a short meeting, I had thought that I will be giving my answer tomorrow when I visited the clan compound but this happened, was there any deeper meaning associated with it ?
I kept thinking about it all the way back to training ground. Once I met up with Kaori I voiced my thoughts.
" You might meet clan elders tomorrow, if you rejected them there it would be considered a dishonour. So Fugaku sama made sure to know your opinion beforehand to plan ahead. " Kaori replied like it was obvious.
Which it was now that she explained it like that. Then why not say to me just that.
" It' s confusing " I said honestly.
" Our family, while not the main branch, still are close enough that we have to sometimes engage in clan politics" she said her face scrunching up.
" It gets very frustrating at times " she continued
" There is lot of posturing and saying what they don't mean. You will need to learn too. Uchiha are practically known for their intense clan politics."
I sighed " let's just train. I am exhausted just thinking about it"
Day 223
It was evening I was dressed in kimono for the first time. I had needed help getting dressed up and Shikaku San had come forward after some pleading from me.
It would have been easier if I had asked Kaori but I didn't want Kaori to know. If she volunteered her dad's help. I might not be able to decline politely, I had got the impression that her dad didn't like me.
So I managed to find Shikaku and get his help and now I was ready.
" So any advise for me ? " I asked, my anxiety flaring up.
" Don't talk if you are not sure about it. At worst it will be awkward or they might deduce that you do not have knowledge about the subject but there will always be doubt. If you talk there is no room for doubt"
" Wow , I wasn't expecting that " I said , honestly surprised.
He smiled at that " Good luck " he said and walked away.
Yup lets do this, what's the worst that could happen? I might offend a great clan so much, that they want to off me.
I could live with that.
I was in middle of a large hall surrounded by Uchiha elders, Fugaku san was standing next to me. We had finished greeting them and were now just standing quietly. There were five of them, the Uchiha elders. All of them looked ancient.
" So this is the child you talked about Fugaku, he looks a bit weak" a bald man, with salt and pepper beard said. He was sitting to the far left.
" Now, now Isamu Dono, he is still quite young, I am sure with our help he will become strong" the old man with glasses on the far right commented.
" I don't know Fumihito Dono, a mouse can never grow to be a tiger " the now identified Isamu spoke again.
Was this hazing?
" I must agree with Isamu Dono here, even the child's chakra seems small, a younger kid from our clan will easily surpass him in terms of chakra" the man sitting next to Isamu said in a deep voice.
This was definitely hazing or some version of it, I had thought it would just be a simple ceremony of sort. Just to officiate that I was sponsored by Uchiha.
I kept silent, as I notices Fugaku had yet to speak. If they were insulting me, doesn't that mean they were insulting Fugaku's choice. Was this some sort of power struggle?
I was starting to regret coming here or accepting this sponsorship.
" Did you forget about blue flame and how the child has already contributed to Konoha jutsu repository" old man next to the glasses wearing one commented.
It looked like two elders were with us and two elders were against us. The one in middle kept silent with closed eyes.
Is he sleeping? My mind supplied and I covered my laugh as cough.
The elders looked at me and then ignored me and continued their debate
" Jiro Dono , you are right but we are talking about future potential here " the fierce looking one said
"Kaito Dono, potential can not be assessed simply by chakra capacity, specially one who is still growing"
And on and on the elders continued to debate, I was not sure how much time passed , when a throat clearing noise was made.
" Ah , what do you think Haruto Dono"
Well at least now I know all five of their names .
" Fugaku, you have listened to our worries about the child, do you still want to sponsor the child " Haruto asked
" Yes Haruto sama" Fugaku replied shortly.
" Hmm very well, we will trust in your judgement "
Well that was quick.
" Satoru "
" Ye... Yes Haruto sama"
" Your actions, your achievements and also your failures, now reflect back on this esteemed clan of ours. Make sure not to sully it. "
I bowed and that was the end of my hazing.
I was given a scroll that made my sponsoring official. Apparently I was the first ever non clan member to be sponsored.
I was told a list of expectations that I was now supposed to fulfil. That included graduating top of class. Fugaku told me , it was added once the elders came to know that Hiashi Hyuuga was in my class and occupied the top position.
I thought Fugaku was as exasperated as I was , with this. He showed it by frowning ten degrees more. In his stoic face any change was massive.
I would try as Kaori was anyway aiming for top, but if it didn't happen then it didn't happen. If they cancelled my sponsorship over it, then I was totally fine with it. I was not exactly fan of Uchiha elders and by the looks of it, they ran the show. I don't remember them being a thing in the anime.
Anyway I also came to know the amount , I will be receiving as stipend. It was a lot, almost thrice what I received from village.
Soon after everything was done and I slowly walked out of Uchiha clan, feeling exhausted unlike anything I had felt before.
Thinking back to my hazing, was their sole purpose to undermine Fugaku? Why ?
Well whatever . I will now have more money. I was happy with that. It was enough for now.
Let's celebrate tonight with some good food.
A/N: Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters
Enjoyable read besides some grammatical errors here and there it's interesting. Chapter lengthing consistency could be a bit longer and pacing is adequate for the amount of chapters written. Hope you improve and continue writing this tale
Chapter 12 - Kenji Musume
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 224
After the hectic week that I experienced, I was glad to get back to my normal schedule, that included going to academy.
I met up with Kaori and she immediately asked me about previous night, so I summarised and explained it to her.
"Wow, Fugaku sama is being tested quite harshly" she commented.
"Yeah, the way the elders treated him, you wouldn't think he was clan head" I said remembering the elders openly questioning Fugaku's decision. Even I felt offended when they questioned my potential , I never thought of myself as someone on Minato or Sandaime level potential.
But, I was not weak, thinking about it brought up past memories that I kept suppressed, of me being helpless, of people ignoring me, of me feeli...
"Satoru Kun you alright " I jumped a bit, hearing Kaori so close.
"Stop doing that" I said reflexively.
"Not my fault this time, you were last in your thoughts with a frown in your face" she replied instantly.
I ignored it.
"Anyway I am sure Fugaku sama, will be able to deal with them and come on top" I said as there were no Uchiha elders in future.
"Ohho... , looks like someone is fan of Fugaku sama" she said excitedly.
"What? No" I denied it honestly, but she kept pestering me, as we reached academy.
It was noisy as we entered the room, both me and Kaori took our usual seats, she was quiet now, she didn't speak much while at academy, and I was glad she had dropped that nonsense of me being Fugaku fan. It was ridiculous , I hardly knew the man. If in Naruto world I admired someone, it was Jiraiya.
I liked how he didn't belong to any major clan and still became one of the most powerful ninja.
But he still remained kind and sympathetic to those who were weak. He took in and trained Nagato, Konan and Yahiko, when he didn't need to.
I also liked how he roamed the world, writing stories and having his adventures.
And lastly his dream of world peace was something that anyone could get behind and it was his disciple who was finally able to achieve a part of it.
I think Jiraiya would have made a much better protagonist than Naruto. But that was just my bias.
As I was looking around the class, while lost in my own thoughts, I noticed Kenji staring at me. I moved my head asking him what he was looking at but he turned back. That was weird. Before I could think further on it Hito sensei entered and the class quieted down.
After class as I was getting ready to leave I heard a cough beside me.
"Did you cough at me?" I asked Kenji
"What ? No." He replied a bit flustered.
"Yes you did, I heard it and I think I saw your spit flying" I said
"No way, I was ... I was just trying to get your attention" he said stepping back
"Couldn't you have done that normally, like" hey sorry to bother you but can we talk" " I said standing up, I was deliberately teasing him, but I had not forgotten him smirking, during our last fight. I was being petty.
"Well..." he started to say but I cut him off.
"Instead you introduced your spit around me, is that how you normally introduce yourself. You know that's weird right" I continued on
"Well I .. I " his face was red with embarrassment, it was funny but I should stop now.
"Satoru kun, be nice" Kaori said looking between him and me
"Musume san right? I am Nara Kaori" she greeted him .
"Yes, of course Nara san, who doesn't know you, please call me Kenji" Kenji muttered
"Then please call me Kaori, no need for excessive formality, we are all classmates here" Kaori replied with a smile to which Kenji nodded.
"So what do you want?" I asked
He looked around, the class had emptied out.
"Please help me" he suddenly shouted looking intently at me.
Once I heard Kenji's explanation, I finally understood his weird behaviour.
To summarise, he was on the verge of failing class. His taijutsu was still impressive and what kept him hopeful but he was far behind in theory and ninjutsu.
He had planned to pass on sole merit of taijutsu but as both me and Kaori had improved and climbed up in the ranks, it had inadvertently impacted him and just yesterday Hito sensei had told him that he needed to perform better in theory or ninjutsu to pass.
As to why he asked for my help? Well top two ranks were held by Hyuuga brothers, third was Kaori and finally forth was me.
All top three were clan kids, so he picked a fellow civilian to ask for help.
"I can give you money, in return for your help. My parents are rich" he offered.
I scratched my head, thinking about it. I looked at Kaori who gave me an encouraging nod but I was not sure what she meant by that.
I interpreted it as she was fine with whatever I decided, in that case
"Let's do this, come with us to training ground, I will check at what level you are and then make my decision"
He nodded at that and we all left academy and headed to our regular training ground.
On the way I asked what was bothering me.
"So Kenji san, you said you come from rich civilian family, right?"
He nodded at me, so I continued.
"Then why become a ninja? You could live a comfortable life"
I could feel Kaori's stare but she kept silent, Kenji meanwhile looked down with a heavy frown on his face. After few moments he spoke
"I am the oldest, after me I have a younger brother and sister. My father is a very successful businessman, he inherited it from grandfather and took it to new heights"
I was not sure where this was going but I kept listening.
"I ... am not like my father, I was never interested in studying or in business and my father noticed it too. So he is focusing on my younger brother and is growing him as his successor"
"And you don't like that?" I asked impulsively.
"What? No. My brother is much smarter than me, he should inherit it. He actually likes it too. Thinking about turnover, profit, margin and stuff like that."
"How old is he? " Kaori asked
"Ten, he is a year younger than me but he already skipped two grades in his school" Kenji smiled broadly saying that
"I want to do something useful too, to help my family. So I decided to be ninja " he said simply.
I ... accepted that, there were worse reasons to aim for something and moreover who was I to judge.
Before we reached the ground I had already made up my mind.
A/N: So after reading feedbacks, I have decided on two things, firstly I will be increasing story length starting from chapter 15, as i have already written till that point. I plan to increase it to atleast 3k+ per chapter, but starting might have few 2k+ chapters. Secondly I will start giving titles to chapters, that will give a general idea what the chapter is about.
That will be all for this week, please review and comment, will love to hear from readers.
Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters
Day 224
After the hectic week that I experienced, I was glad to get back to my normal schedule, that included going to academy.
I met up with Kaori and she immediately asked me about previous night, so I summarised and explained it to her.
"Wow, Fugaku sama is being tested quite harshly" she commented.
"Yeah, the way the elders treated him, you wouldn't think he was clan head" I said remembering the elders openly questioning Fugaku's decision. Even I felt offended when they questioned my potential , I never thought of myself as someone on Minato or Sandaime level potential.
But, I was not weak, thinking about it brought up past memories that I kept suppressed, of me being helpless, of people ignoring me, of me feeli...
"Satoru Kun you alright " I jumped a bit, hearing Kaori so close.
"Stop doing that" I said reflexively.
"Not my fault this time, you were last in your thoughts with a frown in your face" she replied instantly.
I ignored it.
"Anyway I am sure Fugaku sama, will be able to deal with them and come on top" I said as there were no Uchiha elders in future.
"Ohho... , looks like someone is fan of Fugaku sama" she said excitedly.
"What? No" I denied it honestly, but she kept pestering me, as we reached academy.
It was noisy as we entered the room, both me and Kaori took our usual seats, she was quiet now, she didn't speak much while at academy, and I was glad she had dropped that nonsense of me being Fugaku fan. It was ridiculous , I hardly knew the man. If in Naruto world I admired someone, it was Jiraiya.
I liked how he didn't belong to any major clan and still became one of the most powerful ninja.
But he still remained kind and sympathetic to those who were weak. He took in and trained Nagato, Konan and Yahiko, when he didn't need to.
I also liked how he roamed the world, writing stories and having his adventures.
And lastly his dream of world peace was something that anyone could get behind and it was his disciple who was finally able to achieve a part of it.
I think Jiraiya would have made a much better protagonist than Naruto. But that was just my bias.
As I was looking around the class, while lost in my own thoughts, I noticed Kenji staring at me. I moved my head asking him what he was looking at but he turned back. That was weird. Before I could think further on it Hito sensei entered and the class quieted down.
After class as I was getting ready to leave I heard a cough beside me.
"Did you cough at me?" I asked Kenji
"What ? No." He replied a bit flustered.
"Yes you did, I heard it and I think I saw your spit flying" I said
"No way, I was ... I was just trying to get your attention" he said stepping back
"Couldn't you have done that normally, like" hey sorry to bother you but can we talk" " I said standing up, I was deliberately teasing him, but I had not forgotten him smirking, during our last fight. I was being petty.
"Well..." he started to say but I cut him off.
"Instead you introduced your spit around me, is that how you normally introduce yourself. You know that's weird right" I continued on
"Well I .. I " his face was red with embarrassment, it was funny but I should stop now.
"Satoru kun, be nice" Kaori said looking between him and me
"Musume san right? I am Nara Kaori" she greeted him .
"Yes, of course Nara san, who doesn't know you, please call me Kenji" Kenji muttered
"Then please call me Kaori, no need for excessive formality, we are all classmates here" Kaori replied with a smile to which Kenji nodded.
"So what do you want?" I asked
He looked around, the class had emptied out.
"Please help me" he suddenly shouted looking intently at me.
Once I heard Kenji's explanation, I finally understood his weird behaviour.
To summarise, he was on the verge of failing class. His taijutsu was still impressive and what kept him hopeful but he was far behind in theory and ninjutsu.
He had planned to pass on sole merit of taijutsu but as both me and Kaori had improved and climbed up in the ranks, it had inadvertently impacted him and just yesterday Hito sensei had told him that he needed to perform better in theory or ninjutsu to pass.
As to why he asked for my help? Well top two ranks were held by Hyuuga brothers, third was Kaori and finally forth was me.
All top three were clan kids, so he picked a fellow civilian to ask for help.
"I can give you money, in return for your help. My parents are rich" he offered.
I scratched my head, thinking about it. I looked at Kaori who gave me an encouraging nod but I was not sure what she meant by that.
I interpreted it as she was fine with whatever I decided, in that case
"Let's do this, come with us to training ground, I will check at what level you are and then make my decision"
He nodded at that and we all left academy and headed to our regular training ground.
On the way I asked what was bothering me.
"So Kenji san, you said you come from rich civilian family, right?"
He nodded at me, so I continued.
"Then why become a ninja? You could live a comfortable life"
I could feel Kaori's stare but she kept silent, Kenji meanwhile looked down with a heavy frown on his face. After few moments he spoke
"I am the oldest, after me I have a younger brother and sister. My father is a very successful businessman, he inherited it from grandfather and took it to new heights"
I was not sure where this was going but I kept listening.
"I ... am not like my father, I was never interested in studying or in business and my father noticed it too. So he is focusing on my younger brother and is growing him as his successor"
"And you don't like that?" I asked impulsively.
"What? No. My brother is much smarter than me, he should inherit it. He actually likes it too. Thinking about turnover, profit, margin and stuff like that."
"How old is he? " Kaori asked
"Ten, he is a year younger than me but he already skipped two grades in his school" Kenji smiled broadly saying that
"I want to do something useful too, to help my family. So I decided to be ninja " he said simply.
I ... accepted that, there were worse reasons to aim for something and moreover who was I to judge.
Before we reached the ground I had already made up my mind.
A/N: So after reading feedbacks, I have decided on two things, firstly I will be increasing story length starting from chapter 15, as i have already written till that point. I plan to increase it to atleast 3k+ per chapter, but starting might have few 2k+ chapters. Secondly I will start giving titles to chapters, that will give a general idea what the chapter is about.
That will be all for this week, please review and comment, will love to hear from readers.
Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters
Last edited:
Hello thankyou for the feedback, glad you liked the story.
Regarding chapter length, I have taken note of feedback and plan to increase it from chapter 15.
Regarding grammatical errors, currently I am posting all these through mobile due to some reasons, while I am going through spelling checks, still some errors are being missed apparently. Will try to avoid this going forward.
- Location
- England
Should be "quite".
Some of your Kenjis lost their capital K.
Missing 'a' from "become a ninja".
Last edited:
Thanks corrected.
Chapter 13 - More Friends and Happiness
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Once we reached the training ground, Kenji went through all three academy jutsu, or tried to do all three, the best he could do was transformation and the horrifying creature that we saw made Kaori throw up. Perhaps Kenji had invented a new jutsu that T&I (Torture and Intelligence ) department should look into.
Well at least he was not as bad as Lee, I could work with that. It was just a case of not doing chakra control exercise, at all. He couldn't even do leaf sticking exercise, when questioned about it, he replied.
"I didn't think it was important, sticking leaves in your hand, is that actually doing anything, doesn't leaves stick to your hand if you pressed hard enough?"
His logic was so sound that, for a moment I was unable to reply. In the end I made him do it with threats of leaving him on his own. He was still reluctant but seeing no other option he started practicing leaf sticking.
And I must admit once he made up his mind, he practiced diligently without complaint. After three hours we called it a night, with a promise to meet here again, tomorrow after school.
"Wait Satoru san!" I was about to leave when I heard Kenji. I stopped and waited for him to speak but he kept hesitating.
"Kenji san I need to go home and cook, I would appreciate if you would hurry." I was being courteous since Kaori told me who he was, when he said his family was rich, he was actually understanding it.
Apparently they were very rich, rich that should be spelled with capital 'R'. His family owned most of convenience store in Fire nation, including the ones in Konoha.
So I was trying to be polite and maintain good relationship, but I was hungry and he was still not talking.
"Look is it important enough that you ask today? You can ask tomor.."
"You never said what you wanted in return" he cut me off finally saying what he wanted to.
"And please don't say nothing, it will be uncomfortable for me and I will not be able to concentrate on training." He said seriously.
"I could give you ten..."
"Lets just be friends." It was my turn to cut him off.
"Wha..t? " He was confused, I felt embarrassed but I soldiered on.
"My only friend is Kaori, here." I said pointing to a widely smiling Kaori.
"So I am low on... umm... friends. So let's be friends." And I extended my hand forward, utterly embarrassed and feeling like a fool. If he leaves me hanging, I will dig a hole on this very ground and bury myself.
But soon he extended his hand too, with a serious face he said.
"Deal, we are friends from now on." We shook on it and that was that, he could take my help as a friend without feeling burdened.
On the way back to my room, Kaori spoke up " I think you did good Satoru kun."
"Kenji? I was in a hurry and I didn't want to overcomplicate teaching chakra control" I said.
"Yes, but I saw his smile when you asked him to be friends. I think it was his first time, of someone asking him to be friends instead of asking for his money." She said quietly.
I looked at her downcast face. Did she had similar experience? Because she was from clan? Is that why she had no friends before we met?
My thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly turned around and said loudly.
"You know, he was about to offer hefty sum before you cut him off."
Really? I had half listened, as I was in hurry and thus had just asked what came first to my mind.
Damm, more money wouldn't have hurt. And we already shook on it.
"Whatever I don't care, I just want to eat and sleep." I said bit grumpily which made Kaori smile bigger.
====================================
Day 246
I watched Kaori's shoulder, as she moved forward, she was going to throw right hook, I watched the trajectory and parried it away and tried to attack her now undefended right side, but she used the momentum of parry and rotated and immediately I had to block the round house kick that came towards my head.
I tried catching her leg but the kick was strong enough that it pushed me a bit and I lost the timing. But I went on attack and moved forward. I aimed to swipe her front leg as she was still putting her back leg on ground.
But she used her single front leg to jump and flip over me. Damm.
Before I completely turned around her hands lightly tapped my temple.
"Surrender?" She asked.
"Yup." I replied.
We both sat down after that, we have been going at it for past two hours. I had improved but Kaori was still ahead of me. Out of ten matches I could win two or maybe three on a good day. Each time I thought I had caught up, she just levels up.
I watched as Kenji ran up to a tree but after few steps slid down.
It was slow going for Kenji in regards to chakra control, but he was persisting. He had finally started on tree walking exercise few days ago. Most days he was busy with this only, stopping sometimes to ask Kaori or me for few pointers and then practising chakra control again.
But on days he was bit bored, he would join me and Kaori for taijutsu. And that had been a revelation, perhaps I was bit biased but I never thought Kaori would lose against Kenji, so one-sidedly, but she did.
She had around same win/lose ratio against Kenji as I had against her. But Kenji was gracious about it and would ait down and point out to her what she could do better. I would listen in as well.
On the days Kaori practised her clan jutsu remained at clan compound I practiced my fire jutsu, which Sandaime informed me, have been named blue fire jutsu by chakra repository department. Truly a department for genius.
I was called to Hokage office some time ago, there Sandaime had informed me that no one had been able to replicate my jutsu yet despite going through notes I provided. So they wanted to check me to see if there was something different about my body. I had been bit nervous if there would be any mind probing but again it had been an unnecessary fear.
A guy looking like doctor or med nin had just taken my blood. It came out nothing special, just that I had high affinity for fire, higher than normal. Sandaime had just nodded at that and said he would test the jutsu himself and a few weeks after that I had been informed that Sandaime has been successful in recreating it.
Thus my jutsu was officially included in konoha's jutsu repository, I got an official looking scroll that proves that. My jutsu was listed as A rank.
But what made me happy and jump with joy was the amount deposited as a result of that. Apparently based on your invented jutsu rank, you received monetary reward and A rank was the second highest. I felt like a rich man.
"Are you thinking about money again?" I was brought to present by Kaori's question.
"No.....no, I was just checking on Kenji's progress and thinking what can we do to further help him. What made you think that?" I said honestly, because I had thought that before and that counted.
"Liar, you get this sleazy smile whenever you think about money, anyone who knows you can point it out."
I gave up after that, we practiced a bit more and then went out separate ways, let's have something good again tonight. Since I got the money I had been eating quiet well.
I had money, friends and good food, I was happy.
A/N: Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Once we reached the training ground, Kenji went through all three academy jutsu, or tried to do all three, the best he could do was transformation and the horrifying creature that we saw made Kaori throw up. Perhaps Kenji had invented a new jutsu that T&I (Torture and Intelligence ) department should look into.
Well at least he was not as bad as Lee, I could work with that. It was just a case of not doing chakra control exercise, at all. He couldn't even do leaf sticking exercise, when questioned about it, he replied.
"I didn't think it was important, sticking leaves in your hand, is that actually doing anything, doesn't leaves stick to your hand if you pressed hard enough?"
His logic was so sound that, for a moment I was unable to reply. In the end I made him do it with threats of leaving him on his own. He was still reluctant but seeing no other option he started practicing leaf sticking.
And I must admit once he made up his mind, he practiced diligently without complaint. After three hours we called it a night, with a promise to meet here again, tomorrow after school.
"Wait Satoru san!" I was about to leave when I heard Kenji. I stopped and waited for him to speak but he kept hesitating.
"Kenji san I need to go home and cook, I would appreciate if you would hurry." I was being courteous since Kaori told me who he was, when he said his family was rich, he was actually understanding it.
Apparently they were very rich, rich that should be spelled with capital 'R'. His family owned most of convenience store in Fire nation, including the ones in Konoha.
So I was trying to be polite and maintain good relationship, but I was hungry and he was still not talking.
"Look is it important enough that you ask today? You can ask tomor.."
"You never said what you wanted in return" he cut me off finally saying what he wanted to.
"And please don't say nothing, it will be uncomfortable for me and I will not be able to concentrate on training." He said seriously.
"I could give you ten..."
"Lets just be friends." It was my turn to cut him off.
"Wha..t? " He was confused, I felt embarrassed but I soldiered on.
"My only friend is Kaori, here." I said pointing to a widely smiling Kaori.
"So I am low on... umm... friends. So let's be friends." And I extended my hand forward, utterly embarrassed and feeling like a fool. If he leaves me hanging, I will dig a hole on this very ground and bury myself.
But soon he extended his hand too, with a serious face he said.
"Deal, we are friends from now on." We shook on it and that was that, he could take my help as a friend without feeling burdened.
On the way back to my room, Kaori spoke up " I think you did good Satoru kun."
"Kenji? I was in a hurry and I didn't want to overcomplicate teaching chakra control" I said.
"Yes, but I saw his smile when you asked him to be friends. I think it was his first time, of someone asking him to be friends instead of asking for his money." She said quietly.
I looked at her downcast face. Did she had similar experience? Because she was from clan? Is that why she had no friends before we met?
My thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly turned around and said loudly.
"You know, he was about to offer hefty sum before you cut him off."
Really? I had half listened, as I was in hurry and thus had just asked what came first to my mind.
Damm, more money wouldn't have hurt. And we already shook on it.
"Whatever I don't care, I just want to eat and sleep." I said bit grumpily which made Kaori smile bigger.
====================================
Day 246
I watched Kaori's shoulder, as she moved forward, she was going to throw right hook, I watched the trajectory and parried it away and tried to attack her now undefended right side, but she used the momentum of parry and rotated and immediately I had to block the round house kick that came towards my head.
I tried catching her leg but the kick was strong enough that it pushed me a bit and I lost the timing. But I went on attack and moved forward. I aimed to swipe her front leg as she was still putting her back leg on ground.
But she used her single front leg to jump and flip over me. Damm.
Before I completely turned around her hands lightly tapped my temple.
"Surrender?" She asked.
"Yup." I replied.
We both sat down after that, we have been going at it for past two hours. I had improved but Kaori was still ahead of me. Out of ten matches I could win two or maybe three on a good day. Each time I thought I had caught up, she just levels up.
I watched as Kenji ran up to a tree but after few steps slid down.
It was slow going for Kenji in regards to chakra control, but he was persisting. He had finally started on tree walking exercise few days ago. Most days he was busy with this only, stopping sometimes to ask Kaori or me for few pointers and then practising chakra control again.
But on days he was bit bored, he would join me and Kaori for taijutsu. And that had been a revelation, perhaps I was bit biased but I never thought Kaori would lose against Kenji, so one-sidedly, but she did.
She had around same win/lose ratio against Kenji as I had against her. But Kenji was gracious about it and would ait down and point out to her what she could do better. I would listen in as well.
On the days Kaori practised her clan jutsu remained at clan compound I practiced my fire jutsu, which Sandaime informed me, have been named blue fire jutsu by chakra repository department. Truly a department for genius.
I was called to Hokage office some time ago, there Sandaime had informed me that no one had been able to replicate my jutsu yet despite going through notes I provided. So they wanted to check me to see if there was something different about my body. I had been bit nervous if there would be any mind probing but again it had been an unnecessary fear.
A guy looking like doctor or med nin had just taken my blood. It came out nothing special, just that I had high affinity for fire, higher than normal. Sandaime had just nodded at that and said he would test the jutsu himself and a few weeks after that I had been informed that Sandaime has been successful in recreating it.
Thus my jutsu was officially included in konoha's jutsu repository, I got an official looking scroll that proves that. My jutsu was listed as A rank.
But what made me happy and jump with joy was the amount deposited as a result of that. Apparently based on your invented jutsu rank, you received monetary reward and A rank was the second highest. I felt like a rich man.
"Are you thinking about money again?" I was brought to present by Kaori's question.
"No.....no, I was just checking on Kenji's progress and thinking what can we do to further help him. What made you think that?" I said honestly, because I had thought that before and that counted.
"Liar, you get this sleazy smile whenever you think about money, anyone who knows you can point it out."
I gave up after that, we practiced a bit more and then went out separate ways, let's have something good again tonight. Since I got the money I had been eating quiet well.
I had money, friends and good food, I was happy.
A/N: Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Last edited:
- Location
- England
Should be "complaint" or "complaining".
Corrected, thanks.
Chapter 14 - Progress and Preparation
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 323
So the days passed and year came to end, and with that it was time for our final exams.
The past few months had been filled with hard work, growth and improvement. Not only for me but for my friends as well.
Kaori had finally been able to learn her first clan jutsu, shadow imitation technique and she had already started experimenting with it. Her jutsu involved manipulating her shadow to reach her opponents shadow. Once she was successful her opponent was immobilised and was forced to replicate whatever action she did.
I had watched Shikamaru do it many times but I was still impressed the first time Kaori showed it or more accurately ,used it against me.
It was a terrifying feeling, not being able to move at all and then suddenly your body starts moving without your control.
I remembered how Shikamaru used to utilize this jutsu, making his enemy hold kunai, while he was empty handed.
Kaori also went in similar direction at first but then she started experimenting, like after putting me under jutsu, she just started walking towards water and used chakra control to stand on it while I sank and got wet.
But we learned an important fact from that. Despite being under her jutsu's influence, when she used chakra to walk on water, I didn't replicate that.
The imitation was purely physical. Once she realised that, an evil smile spread across her face that made me shudder.
Were Nara's secretly sadist? The jutsu that they used were... questionable. Binding, imitation or the one that Shikamaru used to choke someone with a shadowy hand.
Let's... just not think about it, It was not good for mental health.
Anyway since then she was trying to learn a second jutsu that will compliment her shadow imitation jutsu, but earth jutsu users were not common in Konoha. So that plan was on hold.
Still her parents came through once she told them about her plans. They too didn't know any earth jutsu, but on the topic of jutsu complementing their clan jutsu, they proposed learning Genjutsu.
It was a brilliant idea and so Kaori was now learning a genjutsu. Once she is able to integrate it with her clan jutsu, she will be terrifying. A genjutsu that you can't avoid or get out of easily because your body is immobilised by another jutsu.
I wonder why Shikamaru never used his clan jutsu like that? Chakra control issue? Or did he try and failed to integrate? Or laziness? With shikamaru, I beleive, laziness can always be the reason, though he did get better in later years.
Anyway coming to Kenji, he finally completed water walking but was still prone to losing his concentration when fighting but he was slowly getting there.
His original goal was already achieved. He was now able to do all three academy jutsu without any issue.
He has now started experimenting with taijutsu, he got the idea of pushing chakra out forcefully to move quicker, when learning tree walking.
He was now trying to integrate it in his taijutsu, like pushing chakra through his feet to increase power of his kicks.
I saw him even try to use it for punches, he got into stance to throw a right hook only this time his left hand instead of guarding his head , was beside his right hand and then he pushed chakra out it, giving his body extra momentum.
Unfortunately it was not successful and he just lost control and fell but I could see the theory behind it, if he succeeded it would be incredible.
Integrating taijutsu with chakra, if you leave out the unique taijutsu of Hyuuga clan, I only knew few others who were able to use it. Tsunade, Raikage A, if you added eight gates user than Dai, Gai and Lee.
All of them were top notch shinobi. Perhaps Kenji will take his place alongside them.
We have become... proper friends, once the initial awkwardness passed. He even moved his seat to sit with me and Kaori.
He was a nice guy, who was actually quite talkative once he opens up. We were regaled with his many... many adventures with his family.
A few of them were actually quite interesting like when his family was invited to Daimyo court and Kenji had punched a noble's kid who had made fun of his nervous little brother. Their father had to sort out the matter but he never once scolded Kenji.
He seems to have a good family. Each protecting one another.
Coming back to me, there was sadly nothing new, I still practised my blue fire, but it was still incredibly exhausting, even if I cut the jutsu short.
It was tough, training or experimenting with this jutsu because each use left me almost completely depleted of chakra. I needed to find something else, a jutsu that was actually impactful but didn't leave me this exhausted.
But now that exams were near, I was busy preparing for it and had thus made no progress.
Also, I had come to ... appreciate the Uchiha stipend, specially after I read the contract more thoroughly.
The stipend was going to increase ten times, after I became a genin. That was huge amount and will be very useful as I would no longer receive any stipend from village, after graduating and will have to pay rent for my current house.
But for me to remain as an Uchiha sponsor I needed to graduate top of the class. While my performance had improved over the months, I was still not at the top.
In theory classes, most tests I was receiving full marks. Same was true for jutsu practical's.
But when it came to taijutsu and physicals in general, I was falling behind, top two were Hizashi Hyuuga and Hiashi Hyuuga, then was Kenji and Kaori and after them it was me.
While I didn't expect this to change even in finals, in my attempt to still try, I tried developing plan to counter the Hyuuga's.
I took to observing their fights during class and started making notes. Which side they preferred attacking, what attack made them uncomfortable, how they responded to particular attacks and so on.
After I told both Kenji and Kaori about it, we started simulating fights, using the notes, in our evening practises.
So the last few days of my academy went by fast and soon it was the day of final exams.
A/N: So this will hopefully be last of 1k+ chapter, starting next week I will be posting chapters with at least 2k+ words.
I have already written till chapter 17 and have been able to successfully maintain the word length of 2k+, so fingers crossed.
Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Day 323
So the days passed and year came to end, and with that it was time for our final exams.
The past few months had been filled with hard work, growth and improvement. Not only for me but for my friends as well.
Kaori had finally been able to learn her first clan jutsu, shadow imitation technique and she had already started experimenting with it. Her jutsu involved manipulating her shadow to reach her opponents shadow. Once she was successful her opponent was immobilised and was forced to replicate whatever action she did.
I had watched Shikamaru do it many times but I was still impressed the first time Kaori showed it or more accurately ,used it against me.
It was a terrifying feeling, not being able to move at all and then suddenly your body starts moving without your control.
I remembered how Shikamaru used to utilize this jutsu, making his enemy hold kunai, while he was empty handed.
Kaori also went in similar direction at first but then she started experimenting, like after putting me under jutsu, she just started walking towards water and used chakra control to stand on it while I sank and got wet.
But we learned an important fact from that. Despite being under her jutsu's influence, when she used chakra to walk on water, I didn't replicate that.
The imitation was purely physical. Once she realised that, an evil smile spread across her face that made me shudder.
Were Nara's secretly sadist? The jutsu that they used were... questionable. Binding, imitation or the one that Shikamaru used to choke someone with a shadowy hand.
Let's... just not think about it, It was not good for mental health.
Anyway since then she was trying to learn a second jutsu that will compliment her shadow imitation jutsu, but earth jutsu users were not common in Konoha. So that plan was on hold.
Still her parents came through once she told them about her plans. They too didn't know any earth jutsu, but on the topic of jutsu complementing their clan jutsu, they proposed learning Genjutsu.
It was a brilliant idea and so Kaori was now learning a genjutsu. Once she is able to integrate it with her clan jutsu, she will be terrifying. A genjutsu that you can't avoid or get out of easily because your body is immobilised by another jutsu.
I wonder why Shikamaru never used his clan jutsu like that? Chakra control issue? Or did he try and failed to integrate? Or laziness? With shikamaru, I beleive, laziness can always be the reason, though he did get better in later years.
Anyway coming to Kenji, he finally completed water walking but was still prone to losing his concentration when fighting but he was slowly getting there.
His original goal was already achieved. He was now able to do all three academy jutsu without any issue.
He has now started experimenting with taijutsu, he got the idea of pushing chakra out forcefully to move quicker, when learning tree walking.
He was now trying to integrate it in his taijutsu, like pushing chakra through his feet to increase power of his kicks.
I saw him even try to use it for punches, he got into stance to throw a right hook only this time his left hand instead of guarding his head , was beside his right hand and then he pushed chakra out it, giving his body extra momentum.
Unfortunately it was not successful and he just lost control and fell but I could see the theory behind it, if he succeeded it would be incredible.
Integrating taijutsu with chakra, if you leave out the unique taijutsu of Hyuuga clan, I only knew few others who were able to use it. Tsunade, Raikage A, if you added eight gates user than Dai, Gai and Lee.
All of them were top notch shinobi. Perhaps Kenji will take his place alongside them.
We have become... proper friends, once the initial awkwardness passed. He even moved his seat to sit with me and Kaori.
He was a nice guy, who was actually quite talkative once he opens up. We were regaled with his many... many adventures with his family.
A few of them were actually quite interesting like when his family was invited to Daimyo court and Kenji had punched a noble's kid who had made fun of his nervous little brother. Their father had to sort out the matter but he never once scolded Kenji.
He seems to have a good family. Each protecting one another.
Coming back to me, there was sadly nothing new, I still practised my blue fire, but it was still incredibly exhausting, even if I cut the jutsu short.
It was tough, training or experimenting with this jutsu because each use left me almost completely depleted of chakra. I needed to find something else, a jutsu that was actually impactful but didn't leave me this exhausted.
But now that exams were near, I was busy preparing for it and had thus made no progress.
Also, I had come to ... appreciate the Uchiha stipend, specially after I read the contract more thoroughly.
The stipend was going to increase ten times, after I became a genin. That was huge amount and will be very useful as I would no longer receive any stipend from village, after graduating and will have to pay rent for my current house.
But for me to remain as an Uchiha sponsor I needed to graduate top of the class. While my performance had improved over the months, I was still not at the top.
In theory classes, most tests I was receiving full marks. Same was true for jutsu practical's.
But when it came to taijutsu and physicals in general, I was falling behind, top two were Hizashi Hyuuga and Hiashi Hyuuga, then was Kenji and Kaori and after them it was me.
While I didn't expect this to change even in finals, in my attempt to still try, I tried developing plan to counter the Hyuuga's.
I took to observing their fights during class and started making notes. Which side they preferred attacking, what attack made them uncomfortable, how they responded to particular attacks and so on.
After I told both Kenji and Kaori about it, we started simulating fights, using the notes, in our evening practises.
So the last few days of my academy went by fast and soon it was the day of final exams.
A/N: So this will hopefully be last of 1k+ chapter, starting next week I will be posting chapters with at least 2k+ words.
I have already written till chapter 17 and have been able to successfully maintain the word length of 2k+, so fingers crossed.
Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Last edited:
- Location
- England
Should be "losing".
On balance, I think that should be "A few of them". If it was "Few of them" then it would have an overall negative nuance. e.g. "TikTok has taught me many things; few of them were of any use." (TikTok has mainly taught me garbage). "A few of them" seems like a more neutral or positive nuance. e.g. "I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid; a few of them remain as precious memories to this day."
Last edited:
Thanks, corrected.
"A few of them" does sound more positive than "Few of them". Appreciate the explanation.
Chapter 15 - Final Exam
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Day 330
I put down my pen and got up.
"Sensei I am done" I said as I stopped near the desk, where the examiner was sitting. I didn't know him or even his name.
"Ok, as instructed, go to track field for you physicals" he said monotonously and then went back to reading the book he was holding.
Was he related to Kakashi?
I internally wondered, as I walked out of classroom.
Theory exam was done. It went well, I was confident I had answered most questions correctly, I was not sure about just two.
Still it was done and I felt my heart getting lighter. I had not expected this habit or condition of mine to have followed me here.
This always happened to me back in my old world, on the days of exams, I would be unable to eat anything. If I ate I would immediately throw up.
I always went through my exams on an empty stomach. Even thinking about eating made my stomach uneasy.
So I was following the same here. But the issue is... Now practical exams will happen . Running, push-ups and so on leading to taijutsu fights.
It felt foolish not eating anything, but at the same time my body continues to reject even the thought of food.
Well nothing can be done now. I moved towards ground and I could see some students already there and again an unknown sensei standing among them.
We had four sections of 4th year academy students, these unknown sensei must have taught those classes.
"Satoru kun , how was your exam" I was surprised by the sudden appearance of Kaori in front of me but by now it has become normal.
She was really stealthy, and no I was not lost in my own world and this is not notice her. Done arguing with myself I finally replied.
"It was ok, I think I may have gotten two questions wrong."
"Oh was one of them, question number 31, I don't think they ever taught it in class." She replied as we started discussing the theory paper.
"Ok students gather here, we will start now, in batches of five" the examiner started explaining.
I listened attentively and soon after I was running laps of the field.
Pace your breath, one two three breathe in, one two three breathe out, I kept repeating in my head as I continued to run full speed.
Once done we moved to pull-ups, push-ups, squats and so on.
I endured through it, trying my best. My months of morning exercises and physical conditioning helped.
I found out that while doing any exhausting exercise, I just needed to concentrate on my breathing and continue its rhythm. Also to not think of anything else.
It wasn't easy, basically meditating while doing things. But not having to fight with your own thoughts was huge plus. The dark whispers that promised instant relief or instant gratification, not caring about future.
I hated myself for falling for it, I knew i shouldn't overeat, I knew I shouldn't waste time laying around, but I was almost addicted to feeling good, through these actions.
I shuddered recalling all these things. I stopped thinking about anything other than my breathing as I went through the exam.
One two three... One two three.
Finally after three hours, I was done.
I laid down on the grass and closed my eyes.
A slight breeze was blowing, good.
"Good work" I heard , I looked up to see Kenji holding water.
I extended my hand asking for water and he gave it smiling.
Cold water, nice.
"Thanks" I said as I slowly got up and handed the bottle back.
"How was your exam till now" I asked
"I just rushed out of theory as soon as I could but still I answered ten questions." He said bit proudly.
"Nice" I complimented.
We walked silently towards the ground where taijutsu exams will take place.
It was being held tournament style.
People were ranked based on their taijutsu performance through the year and then divided into groups of five with similar performance.
Then the person with second highest rank in the group will fight third highest and so will forth fight with fifth. Whoever wins will fight each other and lastly will fight the highest rank person in the group.
Also the highest rank person the group can challenge the highest person of the group above him to improve his rank.
It felt bit complicated but in total just sixteen group formed and most people didn't challenge higher groups.
Basically your taijutsu marks were already determined by your performance through the year. This exam was your chance to improve it.
I was in group one, with both Hyuuga brothers, Kenji and Kaori.
Lets do this. I hyped myself as I moved to stand against Kaori.
"Good luck" I shouted to Kenji, as he moved to stand against Hiashi Hyuuga.
I had already given both Kenji and Kaori my notes containing my observation about Hyuuga brothers.
Even If I don't win, I wanted at least one of us to defeat them. Nothing against them, I have hardly ever interacted with them. This was purely competitive.
I looked at Kaori and she had her game face on.
Soon the examiner signalled and I launched myself towards her taking initiative.
I jumped and aimed for a kick to her head, she dodged by ducking beneath the kick and then kicked me in my liver as I was turning.
But I already predicted it and grabbed her leg or tried to, the kick to liver was a bluff and she used the same leg to aim at my unguarded head.
Her kick connected but I rolled with it, lessening it's impact and moving out of her range.
Damm that didn't work. I knew I needed to do something different if I wanted to win against her. She was too used to fighting against me and winning.
This time I stayed my ground and signalled her to come but unlike my reckless aggression she slowly circled around me, throwing kicks at my leg.
Fuck, it hurt, I cursed as one of her kick hit the muscle just above my knee.
I was blocking her kicks but her footwork was good and she kept finding an angle as she circled me.
Meanwhile my left leg started to hurt as I moved.
I thought about attacking her again but stopped myself. A plan forming in my head.
I continued to block her kicks as I moved back. We were fighting in a circle and you lost the moment you stepped out of it.
I moved close to the circle to stop her from circling me, it was risky standing this close to line but till now she had avoided direct contest of strength.
I will bank on that.
She narrowed her eyes and stepped back. I thought she was trying to pull me back in middle but she suddenly stopped and rushed at me.
Going down she tried sweeping my leg. I couldn't jump or lift my front leg as my left leg was throbbing now.
I needed to do something unexpected, so I endures through my left leg throbbing and let her kick my right leg as I moved my body further towards ground to avoid getting swept
It worked and now she was off balance with one leg extended , I moved to close the distance and grabbed and lifted her , she was light.
I tried throwing her but she held onto my head with her legs.
I was exhausted and she was choking me.
Fuck it. I simply walked out of bound while still holding her above my head.
"Match over, it's a draw" examiner called out as I was finally released from choke hold and I fell to the ground utterly exhausted.
Kaori would be mad, but I felt myself smiling a bit, relieved it was over.
I was in no shape to fight another match.
"You ok?" I heard Kaori asking.
I was still laid on the ground.
I moved to sit, everything hurt, as I moved my body.
"Yeah, you?" I asked
"Yup" I looked at her, she was looking at match between Kenji and Hiashi.
"Mad ?" I asked, I had thought about throwing away the match to help Kaori, even Kenji was on board, but the moment she found out she scolded us so hard that her voice was hoarse the next day.
It's good to have morals, I was not sure if I would have accepted such help or not in her situation.
I was still waiting for her reply, she finally said.
"No, not at this, just at the situation, I don't think I will be topping the class and my family will again tell me to quit as I failed to fulfil their condition"
"Hmm..." I had no answer for her. She was a strong person and will become excellent ninja in future if she continued. But ultimately it was between her and her family.
So we silently watched the match.
Kenji ended up defeating Hiashi but lost against Hizashi.
We congratulated him and even Hizashi came and shook his hands, as his brother Hiashi looked at us from distance.
We moved back inside academy for final part of exams.
We were called one by one and both Kenji and Kaori went ahead of me.
Finally I was called and I went inside the class room, limping.
Hito sensei smiled as he looked at me
"Satoru kun, tough fight?" he asked
"Yup, exhausting" I replied.
He nodded sympathetically at that.
"Let's start, I will call out jutsu name and you need to do it within five seconds of jutsu name being called. Understood ?"
I nodded
"Good, clone jutsu" he called and I immediately performed the seals for clone jutsu and soon with a puff three clones were standing beside me.
"Transformation jutsu" I transformed into today's examiner of theory part. I was also holding a book. My clones transformed too, each at different pose.
I heard a loud cough and Hito sensei was holding his mouth.
"Haah...good, good work Satoru kun" he said finally
"Now.. substitution jutsu" I immediately substituted with the tree log in front of me.
" well done Satoru kun, you have successfully passed all your exams, congratulations you are a genin now" Hito sensei said with a big smile and handed me forehead protector with konoha's symbol etched on it.
I was a genin now. Huh. I walked out of that room in daze. As soon as I was out I was met with Kaori and Kenji.
"Yes, all three of us passed" Kenji shouted.
"Were you expecting anything else" I asked amusedly.
"Nope never had a single doubt" h e replied confidently.
"Anyway congrats again to both of you, but I need to go now, I need to tell my family" Kenji said and rushed out, waving us goodbye.
Me and Kaori walked silently back. I knew she was worried, the ranks will be announced next week, before team assignment.
"..." I tried to say something but I hesitated. Giving any advise that's not well thought will lead to disaster.
Sometimes it's best to remain silent.
So we continued to walk in silence. We reached my house soon after but both of us just stood still.
"Satoru Kun any advice?" she asked with a smile.
"I never dealt with such situation, I am not sure what to tell you" I said honestly , still I wanted to encourage her.
"You remember what I told you the first time we met?" She nodded at that
"After meeting your family, my opinion for them only increased. They love you, talk to them sincerely. They must have seen how hard you worked these past few months. They are worried, but your actions must have shown how serious you are about this and ..." I paused before smiling.
"Whether you plan to continue as a ninja or not, we can always train together, you have yet to beat Kenji properly."
She finally smiled at that "yup."
"See you next week" I called out as she started walking away. She didn't turn but raised her hand to give a thumbs up.
Huh, need to try that sometime, it looked cool.
A/N: Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Day 330
I put down my pen and got up.
"Sensei I am done" I said as I stopped near the desk, where the examiner was sitting. I didn't know him or even his name.
"Ok, as instructed, go to track field for you physicals" he said monotonously and then went back to reading the book he was holding.
Was he related to Kakashi?
I internally wondered, as I walked out of classroom.
Theory exam was done. It went well, I was confident I had answered most questions correctly, I was not sure about just two.
Still it was done and I felt my heart getting lighter. I had not expected this habit or condition of mine to have followed me here.
This always happened to me back in my old world, on the days of exams, I would be unable to eat anything. If I ate I would immediately throw up.
I always went through my exams on an empty stomach. Even thinking about eating made my stomach uneasy.
So I was following the same here. But the issue is... Now practical exams will happen . Running, push-ups and so on leading to taijutsu fights.
It felt foolish not eating anything, but at the same time my body continues to reject even the thought of food.
Well nothing can be done now. I moved towards ground and I could see some students already there and again an unknown sensei standing among them.
We had four sections of 4th year academy students, these unknown sensei must have taught those classes.
"Satoru kun , how was your exam" I was surprised by the sudden appearance of Kaori in front of me but by now it has become normal.
She was really stealthy, and no I was not lost in my own world and this is not notice her. Done arguing with myself I finally replied.
"It was ok, I think I may have gotten two questions wrong."
"Oh was one of them, question number 31, I don't think they ever taught it in class." She replied as we started discussing the theory paper.
"Ok students gather here, we will start now, in batches of five" the examiner started explaining.
I listened attentively and soon after I was running laps of the field.
Pace your breath, one two three breathe in, one two three breathe out, I kept repeating in my head as I continued to run full speed.
Once done we moved to pull-ups, push-ups, squats and so on.
I endured through it, trying my best. My months of morning exercises and physical conditioning helped.
I found out that while doing any exhausting exercise, I just needed to concentrate on my breathing and continue its rhythm. Also to not think of anything else.
It wasn't easy, basically meditating while doing things. But not having to fight with your own thoughts was huge plus. The dark whispers that promised instant relief or instant gratification, not caring about future.
I hated myself for falling for it, I knew i shouldn't overeat, I knew I shouldn't waste time laying around, but I was almost addicted to feeling good, through these actions.
I shuddered recalling all these things. I stopped thinking about anything other than my breathing as I went through the exam.
One two three... One two three.
Finally after three hours, I was done.
I laid down on the grass and closed my eyes.
A slight breeze was blowing, good.
"Good work" I heard , I looked up to see Kenji holding water.
I extended my hand asking for water and he gave it smiling.
Cold water, nice.
"Thanks" I said as I slowly got up and handed the bottle back.
"How was your exam till now" I asked
"I just rushed out of theory as soon as I could but still I answered ten questions." He said bit proudly.
"Nice" I complimented.
We walked silently towards the ground where taijutsu exams will take place.
It was being held tournament style.
People were ranked based on their taijutsu performance through the year and then divided into groups of five with similar performance.
Then the person with second highest rank in the group will fight third highest and so will forth fight with fifth. Whoever wins will fight each other and lastly will fight the highest rank person in the group.
Also the highest rank person the group can challenge the highest person of the group above him to improve his rank.
It felt bit complicated but in total just sixteen group formed and most people didn't challenge higher groups.
Basically your taijutsu marks were already determined by your performance through the year. This exam was your chance to improve it.
I was in group one, with both Hyuuga brothers, Kenji and Kaori.
Lets do this. I hyped myself as I moved to stand against Kaori.
"Good luck" I shouted to Kenji, as he moved to stand against Hiashi Hyuuga.
I had already given both Kenji and Kaori my notes containing my observation about Hyuuga brothers.
Even If I don't win, I wanted at least one of us to defeat them. Nothing against them, I have hardly ever interacted with them. This was purely competitive.
I looked at Kaori and she had her game face on.
Soon the examiner signalled and I launched myself towards her taking initiative.
I jumped and aimed for a kick to her head, she dodged by ducking beneath the kick and then kicked me in my liver as I was turning.
But I already predicted it and grabbed her leg or tried to, the kick to liver was a bluff and she used the same leg to aim at my unguarded head.
Her kick connected but I rolled with it, lessening it's impact and moving out of her range.
Damm that didn't work. I knew I needed to do something different if I wanted to win against her. She was too used to fighting against me and winning.
This time I stayed my ground and signalled her to come but unlike my reckless aggression she slowly circled around me, throwing kicks at my leg.
Fuck, it hurt, I cursed as one of her kick hit the muscle just above my knee.
I was blocking her kicks but her footwork was good and she kept finding an angle as she circled me.
Meanwhile my left leg started to hurt as I moved.
I thought about attacking her again but stopped myself. A plan forming in my head.
I continued to block her kicks as I moved back. We were fighting in a circle and you lost the moment you stepped out of it.
I moved close to the circle to stop her from circling me, it was risky standing this close to line but till now she had avoided direct contest of strength.
I will bank on that.
She narrowed her eyes and stepped back. I thought she was trying to pull me back in middle but she suddenly stopped and rushed at me.
Going down she tried sweeping my leg. I couldn't jump or lift my front leg as my left leg was throbbing now.
I needed to do something unexpected, so I endures through my left leg throbbing and let her kick my right leg as I moved my body further towards ground to avoid getting swept
It worked and now she was off balance with one leg extended , I moved to close the distance and grabbed and lifted her , she was light.
I tried throwing her but she held onto my head with her legs.
I was exhausted and she was choking me.
Fuck it. I simply walked out of bound while still holding her above my head.
"Match over, it's a draw" examiner called out as I was finally released from choke hold and I fell to the ground utterly exhausted.
Kaori would be mad, but I felt myself smiling a bit, relieved it was over.
I was in no shape to fight another match.
"You ok?" I heard Kaori asking.
I was still laid on the ground.
I moved to sit, everything hurt, as I moved my body.
"Yeah, you?" I asked
"Yup" I looked at her, she was looking at match between Kenji and Hiashi.
"Mad ?" I asked, I had thought about throwing away the match to help Kaori, even Kenji was on board, but the moment she found out she scolded us so hard that her voice was hoarse the next day.
It's good to have morals, I was not sure if I would have accepted such help or not in her situation.
I was still waiting for her reply, she finally said.
"No, not at this, just at the situation, I don't think I will be topping the class and my family will again tell me to quit as I failed to fulfil their condition"
"Hmm..." I had no answer for her. She was a strong person and will become excellent ninja in future if she continued. But ultimately it was between her and her family.
So we silently watched the match.
Kenji ended up defeating Hiashi but lost against Hizashi.
We congratulated him and even Hizashi came and shook his hands, as his brother Hiashi looked at us from distance.
We moved back inside academy for final part of exams.
We were called one by one and both Kenji and Kaori went ahead of me.
Finally I was called and I went inside the class room, limping.
Hito sensei smiled as he looked at me
"Satoru kun, tough fight?" he asked
"Yup, exhausting" I replied.
He nodded sympathetically at that.
"Let's start, I will call out jutsu name and you need to do it within five seconds of jutsu name being called. Understood ?"
I nodded
"Good, clone jutsu" he called and I immediately performed the seals for clone jutsu and soon with a puff three clones were standing beside me.
"Transformation jutsu" I transformed into today's examiner of theory part. I was also holding a book. My clones transformed too, each at different pose.
I heard a loud cough and Hito sensei was holding his mouth.
"Haah...good, good work Satoru kun" he said finally
"Now.. substitution jutsu" I immediately substituted with the tree log in front of me.
" well done Satoru kun, you have successfully passed all your exams, congratulations you are a genin now" Hito sensei said with a big smile and handed me forehead protector with konoha's symbol etched on it.
I was a genin now. Huh. I walked out of that room in daze. As soon as I was out I was met with Kaori and Kenji.
"Yes, all three of us passed" Kenji shouted.
"Were you expecting anything else" I asked amusedly.
"Nope never had a single doubt" h e replied confidently.
"Anyway congrats again to both of you, but I need to go now, I need to tell my family" Kenji said and rushed out, waving us goodbye.
Me and Kaori walked silently back. I knew she was worried, the ranks will be announced next week, before team assignment.
"..." I tried to say something but I hesitated. Giving any advise that's not well thought will lead to disaster.
Sometimes it's best to remain silent.
So we continued to walk in silence. We reached my house soon after but both of us just stood still.
"Satoru Kun any advice?" she asked with a smile.
"I never dealt with such situation, I am not sure what to tell you" I said honestly , still I wanted to encourage her.
"You remember what I told you the first time we met?" She nodded at that
"After meeting your family, my opinion for them only increased. They love you, talk to them sincerely. They must have seen how hard you worked these past few months. They are worried, but your actions must have shown how serious you are about this and ..." I paused before smiling.
"Whether you plan to continue as a ninja or not, we can always train together, you have yet to beat Kenji properly."
She finally smiled at that "yup."
"See you next week" I called out as she started walking away. She didn't turn but raised her hand to give a thumbs up.
Huh, need to try that sometime, it looked cool.
A/N: Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Chapter 16 - Negotiation
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Fugaku Uchiha POV
Day 334
I entered the office and bowed.
"Hokage sama."
"Fugaku san, please have a seat." Sandaime offered.
I sat down, I noticed his table was more messy than usual, must be academy work.
"Tea?"
"Yes, thank you" I watched silently as Sandaime took out an extra cup from beneath the table and then poured the tea into two cups. Once done he placed the cup in front of me.
I lightly bowed as I took the cup and sipped. It tasted quite good.
"It's delicious Hokage sama." I completed genuinely.
He smiled at that.
"A merchant from capital recently gave it as gift and I have come to like it quite a bit." He said, as he lighted his pipe. There was no matches or lighter used, he just breathed into pipe and immediately the pipe was lit. Such control over chakra and so effortlessly done.
Someone less observant could easily be fooled by the age lines and gentle smile into thinking of Hokage as an old man in decline. Some of Uchiha elders were on that list.
But in Fugaku's eyes there was no doubt who the strongest person in Konoha was.
Truly idiotic, how could the elders not realise, when the news came about blue fire jutsu.
Initially they had scoffed after they heard that no one at the Jutsu Repository department had been able to recreate the jutsu, then in a brilliant move by department they had opened it for all, to learn and try to recreate the jutsu.
The best of Uchiha clan had tried and failed in recreating it. Once the rumour about the validity of jutsu itself started spreading, the Hokage himself declared that he will test it.
Soon after he had succeeded and matter was put to rest. The elders in their pride had again scoffed at that, declaring jutsu as an academic nuance, that only a researcher like 'The Professor' could have succeeded, as a proof. Thus disregarding Satoru also.
Currently Konoha had only two people who could perform Blue fire jutsu, one was a kid about to graduate and the other was Hokage himself.
I didn't miss significance of that.
Thus I must be successful today.
"Hokage sama, I apologise for my sudden visit but I have two requests." Sandaime arches his brows but didn't stop me.
"Satoru should be awarded grace marks." As soon as I said that, he sighed.
"You know I can't do that Fugaku san."
"Does creating a jutsu while still in academy, not significant enough?" I questioned immediately.
"They do not need to be related, he has been already rewarded by village for his invention." He said firmly.
But I couldn't back down.
"Hokage sama, the award given by village acknowledged his invention, but where is his acknowledgement of doing it at such a young age. The award would have been given even if he was a middle aged person. Is there no difference then? Will Konoha, with its history of birthing geniuses and raising them greatly, choose to neglect this time?" I had come prepared, it was matter of my position inside Uchiha clan.
Satoru was someone, who I had recommended, while I still believed my judgement to be correct. The elders had opposed it from starting, seeing it as my attempt to gain more power.
They would not miss this opportunity, I already knew that Satoru had failed to graduate top of the class, one of the conditions for his continued Uchiha sponsorship.
Thus I was here.
"Fugaku san, tell me the truth. Why are you here?" Sandaime asked seriously, the gentle expression completely gone.
I debated internally, can I trust him?. His strength was never in doubt but his intentions were. He was the student of Nidaime. The one person, all Uchiha hated as much as Madara. Nidaime had, through deliberate policies, isolated the Uchiha clan. Made them weak inside the very village they helped to found and build.
The elders in all their delusions, were right on this, they had lived through that era. Thus now their goal was to regain the lost power and place that the Uchiha clan rightfully deserved.
But their paths were different. They would have never trusted Sandaime. And therefore I must.
"I need Satoru to top the class, to acquire strength to steer the Uchiha clan in direction that will help the village."
Sandaime remained silent after that and I waited patiently, I was not here to beg for help. I was here to negotiate. I waited to hear what he wanted in return.
"The Uchiha participation in village missions are at all time low. I need you to correct that. Can you?" He finally asked.
While Isolation to Uchiha clan was imposed by Nidaime to decrease our influence and power, slowly the clan had started to utilise it in our favour. Less missions meant, less risk and thus less deaths and through Konoha Military Police Force, we gained respect and influence among civilians of Konoha.
As a result of this the Uchiha clan thrived, our population increased, while the Senju clan, who had to take the burden of majority of missions, slowly reduced in size.
Seeing this some other clans also tried to copy it, but Nidaime put a stop to it. He created a new policy that was still being followed, all clans had to take certain percentage of missions, that Konoha received every month, depending on size of clan. The only exception were the Uchiha.
What Sandaime was asking now, was a huge thing, the majority of Uchiha who participated in missions were Genins, as they were part of team. As soon as a Uchiha genin achieved the rank of Chunin, he or she was incorporated into the military force and thus stopped taking missions.
There were few requests from wealthy merchants to Nobles, that were exceptions, but that was it.
Now to start changing that, I hesitated.
"What is your aim Fugaku san, where do you want Uchiha clan to go?" Sandaime suddenly asked.
I took a deep breath and answered.
"As I told you earlier also Hokage sama, Uchiha clan was robbed of its rightful place." I paused before verbalising my true wish.
"I want an Uchiha to be Hokage."
Sandaime simply nodded at that and spoke.
"Increasing mission participation will help with that, I am not talking about any quota that Uchiha clan need to fulfil, I am simply asking for an increase. Uchiha Chunins will have increased chances of promotion and Uchiha Jonins will have the opportunity to increase their fame. If you are truly serious about an Uchiha becoming Hokage, just strength will not be enough. You will need a popular Uchiha, with support of other clans too."
I knew that, but I was hesitating because the steps I needed to take to realise my dream, if failed would ultimately result in losing even my current position.
I again took a deep breath and offered.
"How about starting small, I would take Satoru as my apprentice." I had already thought of this as a backup in case I failed to convince Sandaime. The elders would cancel the sponsorship but Satoru would continue to be related to Uchiha clan through me and so would be his achievements.
Sandaime smiled for the first time in a while.
Soon after we reached an agreement, Satoru would be given grace marks but only enough to be on same level as Hiashi Hyuuga, the current topper. Through this Sandaime cleverly avoided upsetting Hyuuga clan, while there will still be some voices, it will not be significant enough.
In return I would not only take Satoru but a whole team as a Jonin sensei.
A few finer points were discussed and it was done. I felt satisfied with what I was able to achieve.
"Hokage sama, it was a pleasure talking to you." I said honestly as I got up from my seat and bowed.
"Believe me, it was my pleasure." He replied smiling.
I had achieved what I planned for but his smile made me doubt, did I miss something?.
================================
Sandaime Hokage (Hiruzen Sarutobi) POV
I laughed lightly after Fugaku exited the office. Lighting my pipe again, I took a deep puff.
I should not have teased him in the end. But I couldn't help it, there were fewer things you enjoyed as you grow old.
So when an opportunity came like this...
Truly since the night I met young Satoru at the hospital, days have become more interesting.
I knew about Fugaku's struggle as a clan leader, so when I came to know about young Satoru's invention. I had immediately invited him to demonstration of blue fire jutsu the next day, to entice him to participate as a Jonin sensei in the upcoming graduation and also to pacify the Uchiha clan after last year's event with young Minato.
I had not expected Fugaku to be so proactive as to offer a sponsorship. He was truly different from the Uchiha elders.
Moreover when the news came of no one being able to perform blue fire jutsu, I was even more surprised.
After many years I got to research a new jutsu and what a jutsu it is, a combination of simplicity and difficulty.
The jutsu itself was quite simple, you compressed the fire coming out of your mouth. That was the essence of it. But what was difficult, was the level of control, one needed, to compress and control the fire enough that it gets hotter and hotter and eventually turns blue.
That was the hard part, the control that it required was beyond a normal chakra control.
Later through testing it was proven, that young Satoru had unnaturally high affinity towards fire, what was not mentioned was he had the same unnaturally high affinity with electric too.
Only two more person in Konoha ever, in its history, had the unnaturally high affinity towards elemental chakra.
First was his sensei, the Nidaime Hokage, with his high affinity with water, he was able to produce water out of thin air.
Second was myself, due to which, I earned my title of 'The Professor'. It helped me mix and combine two differently natured chakra, some times to the level of a Bloodline Limit user.
And now Konoha had another. If only I was a decade younger I would have taken young Satoru as my own apprentice. But that matter was settled now.
And Fugaku's participation helped with another issue.
The Uchiha clan's low mission rate in itself was not an issue, but other clans, specially the Hyuuga had started asking for revision of sensei's policy.
They wanted to remove the law that mandated them to do a certain percentage of missions every month.
Thankfully, along with Hyuuga, only few minor clans were in support of it.
And with Fugaku now taking on a team, the Hyuuga will want one of their own too for young Hiashi and Hizashi. Thus abandoning their demand, at least for a short while.
In the long run, if Fugaku really wants his dream to come true, he will need to increase the mission rate for Uchiha clan, which in turn Hyuuga clan will have to match, because they were that competitive.
Sigh. The adults acted like kids, even worse than the kids themselves. Why his own Genin team, were much more easier to handle when they were still Genins. Now as Sanins in their thirties, they seem to be in rebellious mode, causing problems every other day.
Perhaps I should arrange a team meeting, it's been some time since they all met.
With another long sigh, I brought myself to present, to my clustered and overburdened desk.
Now which of the kids will fit best with the brothers and Hyuuga sensei.
Truly a Hokage's work never ended. It was still early for retirement but perhaps in a decade. Among his students, only Orochimaru seems to be interested but he lacked the popularity and support from clans which ironically both Jiraiya and Tsunade had, but they were not interested.
An Uchiha Hokage was still too soon, and there were no candidates, Fugaku lacked in both strength and popularity.
Perhaps a new youngster will surprise us all. Maybe young Minato or Satoru, who knows, only time will tell.
================================
Day 337
Satoru POV
I was standing outside my apartment complex, waiting for Kaori. For the whole week none of us had met. Kenji, Kaori and myself.
I had spent the whole week lazing around, after all rest was important for body to recover and I had not rested for a long time.
I also did a lot of thinking. Now that my Uchiha stipend was going to end and so will the support funds from village, I needed a constant source of money.
While I had good amount of money saved up, mostly from the reward I received, I cannot rely on savings.
So I needed to pass the Jonin test to get admitted to a team and then work it out with the Jonin sensei to do at least few D rank missions every month, for me to stay afloat.
Stuck in this fantasy world, one of my biggest concerns was still money.
"Satoru kun." I was brought out of my musings by a loud voice.
"Good morning, Satoru kun. How are you? Did you had your breakfast?" A very happy and excited Kaori greeted.
"Chuckles, your true nature is showing." I said, unable to cope up with that much energy this early in the morning.
"Huh?"
"Never mind. You seem to be in good mood." I commented as we started heading towards academy.
"Yup, you remember how worried I was after final exams right?" I nodded and she continued.
"Well turns out, I worried over nothing, like you said, they just wanted to check how serious I was. So when I brought up the topic of their condition and told them I will not be graduating top of the class but I still wanted to be a ninja, they easily agreed. Told me they had already decided after I learnt my first clan jutsu." She excitedly explained everything.
"Good." I simply answered, I had been bit worried.
Soon we reached academy and met up with Kenji, Kaori again briefly repeated what happened with her family. It had been a known issue for all three of us as Kaori had been very worried about it over the days leading to exams.
"Really glad, it got sorted out. I have been praying to God and really wishing that all three of us end up together as a team. I even dreamt about it" Kenji said bit dramatically.
We walked down the hallway and their was a crowd gathered around notice board.
"So are we checking ranks now or later?" Kenji asked.
"Later." Both me and Kaori answered at the same time.
"Seriously you two, if only your enemy knew, they will just gather a crowd and both of you will surrender." Kenji said shaking his head.
"Well it's different when fighting." I said defensively.
Before Kenji could speak any further or enter the class, we were stopped by the Hyuuga brothers.
Both brothers looked alike but dressed differently enough that anyone could differentiate, the white cloth around the forehead of one Hizashi Hyuuga, was specially distinct.
"Congratulations Satoru san" Hiashi Hyuuga suddenly spoke to me.
"What?" I answered reflexively.
He raised his eyebrows at me eloquent reply.
"You must not have seen the notice board. We both are tied for the top rank"
"What?" This time Kaori and Kenji also joined me.
"I had presumed you would know, the academy decided to award you grace points for your little jutsu invention." Hiashi continued with his surprising facts.
"Well let's hope you do well as a Genin, there will be no Uchiha clan to get you grace marks in the real world." He said and left.
I heard what he said but I was still stuck where he said I topped the class.
"Let's go in. Hito sensei is coming." Kenji said as he pushed me inside the class.
What's going on? Grace points? What even was that? Haven't I received reward from the village already.
I was not really paying attention to what was going in class.
"Oy." I was suddenly elbowed by Kenji, who motioned for me to stand up.
"Satoru kun, pay attention." Hito sensei said seriously and then continued.
"Next is Kaori Nara." He called and Kaori stood up beside me.
"And lastly Kenji Musume."
"Yes." Kenji shouted, excitedly standing up.
"You will be team 2, led by Fugaku Uchiha." Hito sensei finished.
What? I was very confused right now.
A/N: So personally I feel like this was the best chapter that i wrote till now, would love to hear all of your opinions on this.
Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
Fugaku Uchiha POV
Day 334
I entered the office and bowed.
"Hokage sama."
"Fugaku san, please have a seat." Sandaime offered.
I sat down, I noticed his table was more messy than usual, must be academy work.
"Tea?"
"Yes, thank you" I watched silently as Sandaime took out an extra cup from beneath the table and then poured the tea into two cups. Once done he placed the cup in front of me.
I lightly bowed as I took the cup and sipped. It tasted quite good.
"It's delicious Hokage sama." I completed genuinely.
He smiled at that.
"A merchant from capital recently gave it as gift and I have come to like it quite a bit." He said, as he lighted his pipe. There was no matches or lighter used, he just breathed into pipe and immediately the pipe was lit. Such control over chakra and so effortlessly done.
Someone less observant could easily be fooled by the age lines and gentle smile into thinking of Hokage as an old man in decline. Some of Uchiha elders were on that list.
But in Fugaku's eyes there was no doubt who the strongest person in Konoha was.
Truly idiotic, how could the elders not realise, when the news came about blue fire jutsu.
Initially they had scoffed after they heard that no one at the Jutsu Repository department had been able to recreate the jutsu, then in a brilliant move by department they had opened it for all, to learn and try to recreate the jutsu.
The best of Uchiha clan had tried and failed in recreating it. Once the rumour about the validity of jutsu itself started spreading, the Hokage himself declared that he will test it.
Soon after he had succeeded and matter was put to rest. The elders in their pride had again scoffed at that, declaring jutsu as an academic nuance, that only a researcher like 'The Professor' could have succeeded, as a proof. Thus disregarding Satoru also.
Currently Konoha had only two people who could perform Blue fire jutsu, one was a kid about to graduate and the other was Hokage himself.
I didn't miss significance of that.
Thus I must be successful today.
"Hokage sama, I apologise for my sudden visit but I have two requests." Sandaime arches his brows but didn't stop me.
"Satoru should be awarded grace marks." As soon as I said that, he sighed.
"You know I can't do that Fugaku san."
"Does creating a jutsu while still in academy, not significant enough?" I questioned immediately.
"They do not need to be related, he has been already rewarded by village for his invention." He said firmly.
But I couldn't back down.
"Hokage sama, the award given by village acknowledged his invention, but where is his acknowledgement of doing it at such a young age. The award would have been given even if he was a middle aged person. Is there no difference then? Will Konoha, with its history of birthing geniuses and raising them greatly, choose to neglect this time?" I had come prepared, it was matter of my position inside Uchiha clan.
Satoru was someone, who I had recommended, while I still believed my judgement to be correct. The elders had opposed it from starting, seeing it as my attempt to gain more power.
They would not miss this opportunity, I already knew that Satoru had failed to graduate top of the class, one of the conditions for his continued Uchiha sponsorship.
Thus I was here.
"Fugaku san, tell me the truth. Why are you here?" Sandaime asked seriously, the gentle expression completely gone.
I debated internally, can I trust him?. His strength was never in doubt but his intentions were. He was the student of Nidaime. The one person, all Uchiha hated as much as Madara. Nidaime had, through deliberate policies, isolated the Uchiha clan. Made them weak inside the very village they helped to found and build.
The elders in all their delusions, were right on this, they had lived through that era. Thus now their goal was to regain the lost power and place that the Uchiha clan rightfully deserved.
But their paths were different. They would have never trusted Sandaime. And therefore I must.
"I need Satoru to top the class, to acquire strength to steer the Uchiha clan in direction that will help the village."
Sandaime remained silent after that and I waited patiently, I was not here to beg for help. I was here to negotiate. I waited to hear what he wanted in return.
"The Uchiha participation in village missions are at all time low. I need you to correct that. Can you?" He finally asked.
While Isolation to Uchiha clan was imposed by Nidaime to decrease our influence and power, slowly the clan had started to utilise it in our favour. Less missions meant, less risk and thus less deaths and through Konoha Military Police Force, we gained respect and influence among civilians of Konoha.
As a result of this the Uchiha clan thrived, our population increased, while the Senju clan, who had to take the burden of majority of missions, slowly reduced in size.
Seeing this some other clans also tried to copy it, but Nidaime put a stop to it. He created a new policy that was still being followed, all clans had to take certain percentage of missions, that Konoha received every month, depending on size of clan. The only exception were the Uchiha.
What Sandaime was asking now, was a huge thing, the majority of Uchiha who participated in missions were Genins, as they were part of team. As soon as a Uchiha genin achieved the rank of Chunin, he or she was incorporated into the military force and thus stopped taking missions.
There were few requests from wealthy merchants to Nobles, that were exceptions, but that was it.
Now to start changing that, I hesitated.
"What is your aim Fugaku san, where do you want Uchiha clan to go?" Sandaime suddenly asked.
I took a deep breath and answered.
"As I told you earlier also Hokage sama, Uchiha clan was robbed of its rightful place." I paused before verbalising my true wish.
"I want an Uchiha to be Hokage."
Sandaime simply nodded at that and spoke.
"Increasing mission participation will help with that, I am not talking about any quota that Uchiha clan need to fulfil, I am simply asking for an increase. Uchiha Chunins will have increased chances of promotion and Uchiha Jonins will have the opportunity to increase their fame. If you are truly serious about an Uchiha becoming Hokage, just strength will not be enough. You will need a popular Uchiha, with support of other clans too."
I knew that, but I was hesitating because the steps I needed to take to realise my dream, if failed would ultimately result in losing even my current position.
I again took a deep breath and offered.
"How about starting small, I would take Satoru as my apprentice." I had already thought of this as a backup in case I failed to convince Sandaime. The elders would cancel the sponsorship but Satoru would continue to be related to Uchiha clan through me and so would be his achievements.
Sandaime smiled for the first time in a while.
Soon after we reached an agreement, Satoru would be given grace marks but only enough to be on same level as Hiashi Hyuuga, the current topper. Through this Sandaime cleverly avoided upsetting Hyuuga clan, while there will still be some voices, it will not be significant enough.
In return I would not only take Satoru but a whole team as a Jonin sensei.
A few finer points were discussed and it was done. I felt satisfied with what I was able to achieve.
"Hokage sama, it was a pleasure talking to you." I said honestly as I got up from my seat and bowed.
"Believe me, it was my pleasure." He replied smiling.
I had achieved what I planned for but his smile made me doubt, did I miss something?.
================================
Sandaime Hokage (Hiruzen Sarutobi) POV
I laughed lightly after Fugaku exited the office. Lighting my pipe again, I took a deep puff.
I should not have teased him in the end. But I couldn't help it, there were fewer things you enjoyed as you grow old.
So when an opportunity came like this...
Truly since the night I met young Satoru at the hospital, days have become more interesting.
I knew about Fugaku's struggle as a clan leader, so when I came to know about young Satoru's invention. I had immediately invited him to demonstration of blue fire jutsu the next day, to entice him to participate as a Jonin sensei in the upcoming graduation and also to pacify the Uchiha clan after last year's event with young Minato.
I had not expected Fugaku to be so proactive as to offer a sponsorship. He was truly different from the Uchiha elders.
Moreover when the news came of no one being able to perform blue fire jutsu, I was even more surprised.
After many years I got to research a new jutsu and what a jutsu it is, a combination of simplicity and difficulty.
The jutsu itself was quite simple, you compressed the fire coming out of your mouth. That was the essence of it. But what was difficult, was the level of control, one needed, to compress and control the fire enough that it gets hotter and hotter and eventually turns blue.
That was the hard part, the control that it required was beyond a normal chakra control.
Later through testing it was proven, that young Satoru had unnaturally high affinity towards fire, what was not mentioned was he had the same unnaturally high affinity with electric too.
Only two more person in Konoha ever, in its history, had the unnaturally high affinity towards elemental chakra.
First was his sensei, the Nidaime Hokage, with his high affinity with water, he was able to produce water out of thin air.
Second was myself, due to which, I earned my title of 'The Professor'. It helped me mix and combine two differently natured chakra, some times to the level of a Bloodline Limit user.
And now Konoha had another. If only I was a decade younger I would have taken young Satoru as my own apprentice. But that matter was settled now.
And Fugaku's participation helped with another issue.
The Uchiha clan's low mission rate in itself was not an issue, but other clans, specially the Hyuuga had started asking for revision of sensei's policy.
They wanted to remove the law that mandated them to do a certain percentage of missions every month.
Thankfully, along with Hyuuga, only few minor clans were in support of it.
And with Fugaku now taking on a team, the Hyuuga will want one of their own too for young Hiashi and Hizashi. Thus abandoning their demand, at least for a short while.
In the long run, if Fugaku really wants his dream to come true, he will need to increase the mission rate for Uchiha clan, which in turn Hyuuga clan will have to match, because they were that competitive.
Sigh. The adults acted like kids, even worse than the kids themselves. Why his own Genin team, were much more easier to handle when they were still Genins. Now as Sanins in their thirties, they seem to be in rebellious mode, causing problems every other day.
Perhaps I should arrange a team meeting, it's been some time since they all met.
With another long sigh, I brought myself to present, to my clustered and overburdened desk.
Now which of the kids will fit best with the brothers and Hyuuga sensei.
Truly a Hokage's work never ended. It was still early for retirement but perhaps in a decade. Among his students, only Orochimaru seems to be interested but he lacked the popularity and support from clans which ironically both Jiraiya and Tsunade had, but they were not interested.
An Uchiha Hokage was still too soon, and there were no candidates, Fugaku lacked in both strength and popularity.
Perhaps a new youngster will surprise us all. Maybe young Minato or Satoru, who knows, only time will tell.
================================
Day 337
Satoru POV
I was standing outside my apartment complex, waiting for Kaori. For the whole week none of us had met. Kenji, Kaori and myself.
I had spent the whole week lazing around, after all rest was important for body to recover and I had not rested for a long time.
I also did a lot of thinking. Now that my Uchiha stipend was going to end and so will the support funds from village, I needed a constant source of money.
While I had good amount of money saved up, mostly from the reward I received, I cannot rely on savings.
So I needed to pass the Jonin test to get admitted to a team and then work it out with the Jonin sensei to do at least few D rank missions every month, for me to stay afloat.
Stuck in this fantasy world, one of my biggest concerns was still money.
"Satoru kun." I was brought out of my musings by a loud voice.
"Good morning, Satoru kun. How are you? Did you had your breakfast?" A very happy and excited Kaori greeted.
"Chuckles, your true nature is showing." I said, unable to cope up with that much energy this early in the morning.
"Huh?"
"Never mind. You seem to be in good mood." I commented as we started heading towards academy.
"Yup, you remember how worried I was after final exams right?" I nodded and she continued.
"Well turns out, I worried over nothing, like you said, they just wanted to check how serious I was. So when I brought up the topic of their condition and told them I will not be graduating top of the class but I still wanted to be a ninja, they easily agreed. Told me they had already decided after I learnt my first clan jutsu." She excitedly explained everything.
"Good." I simply answered, I had been bit worried.
Soon we reached academy and met up with Kenji, Kaori again briefly repeated what happened with her family. It had been a known issue for all three of us as Kaori had been very worried about it over the days leading to exams.
"Really glad, it got sorted out. I have been praying to God and really wishing that all three of us end up together as a team. I even dreamt about it" Kenji said bit dramatically.
We walked down the hallway and their was a crowd gathered around notice board.
"So are we checking ranks now or later?" Kenji asked.
"Later." Both me and Kaori answered at the same time.
"Seriously you two, if only your enemy knew, they will just gather a crowd and both of you will surrender." Kenji said shaking his head.
"Well it's different when fighting." I said defensively.
Before Kenji could speak any further or enter the class, we were stopped by the Hyuuga brothers.
Both brothers looked alike but dressed differently enough that anyone could differentiate, the white cloth around the forehead of one Hizashi Hyuuga, was specially distinct.
"Congratulations Satoru san" Hiashi Hyuuga suddenly spoke to me.
"What?" I answered reflexively.
He raised his eyebrows at me eloquent reply.
"You must not have seen the notice board. We both are tied for the top rank"
"What?" This time Kaori and Kenji also joined me.
"I had presumed you would know, the academy decided to award you grace points for your little jutsu invention." Hiashi continued with his surprising facts.
"Well let's hope you do well as a Genin, there will be no Uchiha clan to get you grace marks in the real world." He said and left.
I heard what he said but I was still stuck where he said I topped the class.
"Let's go in. Hito sensei is coming." Kenji said as he pushed me inside the class.
What's going on? Grace points? What even was that? Haven't I received reward from the village already.
I was not really paying attention to what was going in class.
"Oy." I was suddenly elbowed by Kenji, who motioned for me to stand up.
"Satoru kun, pay attention." Hito sensei said seriously and then continued.
"Next is Kaori Nara." He called and Kaori stood up beside me.
"And lastly Kenji Musume."
"Yes." Kenji shouted, excitedly standing up.
"You will be team 2, led by Fugaku Uchiha." Hito sensei finished.
What? I was very confused right now.
A/N: So personally I feel like this was the best chapter that i wrote till now, would love to hear all of your opinions on this.
Please review and comment. Please visit Patreon for next three advanced chapters.
- Location
- England
Fire affinity + Electric affinity = Plasma affinity.
