Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Tail of Two Bijus ❯ 14th Birthday ( Chapter 25 )

 

Half an Hour Later, in the Trade District:

 

People were still gawking at the living legends walking through their town. After a few more comments at Naruto and Yukiko's physical appearance, of which some led to mirror repeats of the first one who was about to make an observation on Yukiko. Finally, they got to the food part of the trade district and let the smells and sights assault their senses. Although most of the village was just dull lifeless rock, at least the trade district had made an attempt to spruce things up. Everywhere was covered in lanterns and lights, giving the whole are a more warm, inviting feel. Quickly Naruto stiffened up. He smelt one thing which cleared his mind of everything except that one thing. (If you really need me to tell you, I'm dissapointed) Gaara may not have as sharp a nose as Naruto, but he still knew that smell when ever he smelt it, no matter how faint or mixed it was. Naruto and Gaara looked at each other and nodded.

 

“Ramen.”

 

They both charged to where the smell was coming from. Jiraiya sighed, while Sora giggled and Hotaru laughed. Yukiko just shook her head. Jiraiya spoke up.

 

“Ramen it is then.”

 

They arrived to find Naruto and Gaara already on their second bowl. When they stepped in, they took the seats either side of them. Yukiko was to Naruto's left, and Sora was to her left. Gaara was to the right of Naruto. Hotaru was to the right of Gaara and Jiraiya was on the far right. They all ordered their meals and began eating. By the time Naruto and Gaara were on their 13th bowl and most of the others not far behind them, the owner was starting to recognise their eating habits. Luckily, no one else was in the store and most people were not bothering to even look inside the stand. The owner smiled and talked to them with his back turned, preparing the next round.

 

“So, how's Teuchi and Shinji doing?”

 

Naruto, Yukiko, Sora and Gaara spluttered and Naruto got a coughing fit from a ramen noodle trying to work it's way down his windpipe. Eventually, Naruto looked up at the man.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“It's alright, I went to the same ramen school as them. (Hah! This ramen school must have been pretty popular!) They've been sending me letter after letter about their favorite customers. Judging by the way you eat and how much you eat, I'd say you're their prized customers.”

 

Naruto smiled and nodded.

 

“But please don't tell anyone about this, we're trying to keep a low profile.”

 

The man nodded in understanding. Jiraiya looked at Naruto sternly.

 

“It's not a good idea to be giving away our identities so freely.”

 

Naruto smirked at Jiraiya.

 

“It's fine. I can hear everyone's heartbeat within hearing distance of this conversation. I'd have noticed if someone was listening in.”

 

Yukiko nodded.

 

“He's right, no one's listening in.”

 

Jiraiya sighed and went back to eating. Naruto looked at the stall owner and smiled.

 

“So what's your name?”

 

The old man smiled. (GAH! How many old male ramen store owners do there have to be!?)

 

“My name is Kenji.”

 

Naruto smiled.

 

“Nice to meet you!”

 

Kenji smiled and decided to bring up some news in his most recent letter he had recievied from Shinji.

 

“Shinji told me that he made a competition called the Uzumaki Naruto eat-a-thon.”

 

Naruto smirked.

 

“Let me guess, the aim is to eat thirty bowls of ramen. What's the prize?”

 

Kenji smiled.

 

“If you meet or beat the record, the meal is free.”

 

Naruto laughed.

 

“Good luck. They'll need it.”

 

The owner of the store chuckled. He then remembered another part of Shinji's last letter.

 

“Oh by the way, Shinji asked all of his friends if they met you to ask you if he could add another prize to the competition.”

 

Naruto arched an eyebrow.

 

“And what would that be?”

 

“He wants you to meet the person who wins.”

 

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he smiled.

 

“If anyone can do it, I'll gladly meet the person.”

 

Kenji smiled and went back to cleaning the benchtop.

 

“I see. Well, I'm going to write him a letter tomorrow, as we send each other letters about every month.”

 

Naruto nodded. He looked at his friends and noticed they had all finished eating. They got out their wallets to pay but Kenji shook his head.

 

“Please, consider this on the house.”

 

Naruto smiled widely.

 

“Thanks, Ojisan!”

 

The 'Ojisan' in question laughed and waved at them as they left the stand.

 

“Please come by again!”

 

Naruto turned back and waved.

 

“We will!”

 

They all walked back to their rooms, content.

 

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9 am, Next Morning:

 

At 9 am the next morning, the group had gathered out the front of the Tsuchikage's office. At nine am sharp, the guard came out of the door and motioned for them to come inside. Once they were inside, he left and quietly shut the door behind him. The Tsuchikage looked up at his visitors and smiled.

 

“Greetings again. I trust you slept well?”

 

“We did thank you, Tsuchikage-Dono.”

 

“That's good to hear. I have found a suitable instructor for you. Please come in.”

 

As the last three words were said, the door opened and a young man walked in. He was wearing the Jounin vest of Stone Jounins. He was very bulky, not that it was fat, it was all muscle. He had wedge shaped black hair that made it look like he had two ridges on either side of his head. The ridges seemed to go down the side of his head, blending in with his side burns, which blended in with his well trimmed beard and moustache. He had plain black pants and grey sandals on. His upper body was covered by a very lose fitting piece of cloth that could almost be reguarded as a shirt. He greeted them with a bow and waited for his exact orders. The Tsuchikage smiled at him.

 

“This a one of the Rock's finest Jounin. His name is Zubin, for obvious reasons.”

 

By this time, they had all noticed a rather massive sword attached to Zubin's back. It wasn't as long as say the member of the Hidden Mist's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen they had fought in the Snow, it was wider but a bit shorter than his. He smiled at them.

 

“If you would follow me, I will begin instructing you in Doton jutsus. May I have leave, Tsuchikage-Sama?”

 

The Tsuchikage nodded and the Jounin turned and walked to the door. Jiraiya nodded and thanked the Tsuchikage and got up to follow the man, with the other five in tow. The Tsuchikage went back to his work. Once they left the office, Zubin walked down the Tsuchikage tower and when he got outside, he hopped up onto a nearby roof. They were surprised at the agility he had with his body, but they followed him never the less. Once they had exited the Village, he took a right and jumped from rock to rock much like everyone was used to jumping from tree to tree. Eventually, he stopped at a place that was pretty much the same as everywhere else. He turned around and faced them, smiling as he usually did.

 

“This is training ground number 13. This is where we will be studying for the duration of your stay. Instead of having to pick you up from Tsuchikage-Sama's office every morning, please meet here at 7 am sharp.”

 

They nodded. Zubin looked over them, before he spoke up.

 

“Do any of you have any previous experience with Doton jutsus?”

 

Jiraiya and Naruto raised their hands, however no one else did. Zubin looked at them.

 

“How much do you two know?”

 

Naruto spoke first.

 

“I only know one jutsu, Doton,Doryuudan.”

 

Zubin looked at the boy in suprise.

 

“You only know one, yet it's possibly one of the most powerful Doton jutsus out there?”

 

Naruto explained.

 

“My sensei while teaching me Katon jutsus got to the last Katon jutsu and explained that I would either have to learn all of the Doton jutsus leading up to the first part of the Katon jutsu, or I could try and go straight to the top. It took about a week of almost non stop training, but I finally did it.”

 

Zubin smiled. He turned to Jiraiya.

 

“You also have experience in Doton jutsus?”

 

Jiraiya nodded.

 

“I can do about one quarter of all known Doton jutsus, however, I would like to polish up on my skills.”

 

Zubin nodded and smiled, thinking where to start. He decided to start with an old favorite for new Doton users.

 

“Alright, I'm going to start with Doton Doruki Gaeshi. It's a fairly simple Doton technique used to gauge beginners of Doton techniques on their potential. There are no seals, however, it does require either a fair bit of strength and a small amount of chakra or a small amount of strength and a large bit of chakra. Depending on which you would rather use, I will tell you how to do it. Please pick which style you wish to use.”

 

Zubin looked at Jiraiya first.

 

“Chakra.”

 

Everyone turned to Naruto.

 

“Strength.”

 

Yukiko answered the same as Naruto. Everyone else answered the same as Jiraiya. Zubin nodded and separated them into two groups, based on which method they were going to use. He started with Naruto and Yukiko.

 

“Ok, you two have basically picked the hard way, I like that. Although it's said to be the hard way, as long as you have the strength required, I'd actually say it's easier than using mostly chakra. What you have to do is slam your hands into the ground, obviously, and then you have to immediately pump a small amount of chakra into the ground. The amount of chakra you have to use depends on the amount of strength you put into it. Less strength means more chakra. Once you slam your fists into the ground, send the chakra out in waves to help break the earth into a roughly square shapped piece of rock. Once you've done this, use that chakra to force the wall into an upright position. That's all there is too it. Give it a shot.”

 

Naruto and Yukiko nodded to each other and slammed their palms into the ground, causing the earth to rupture and crack. However, Zubin didn't expect these two teenagers to have such monsterous strength. Everyone wobbled slightly on their feet as two almost perfectly square walls rose out of the ground into an upright position. Zubin whistled as the two earth walls crumbled when Naruto and Yukiko stopped pumping chakra into them. Zubin smiled at them.

 

“That was great. I didn't expect you two to be so strong. Reminds me of myself when I was young, although even at your age, I didn't have that much strength. Give me a few minutes and I'll teach it to the others and I'll get you started on the next technique.”

 

They nodded and sat down, watching the others. Jiraiya naturally got it first go, as did Gaara. Sora and Hotaru took three turns before they finally got it. Zubin smiled and brought them together again.

 

“Hah, you guys will know all the Doton jutsus in a matter of weeks if you keep this up.”

 

“That's what we're aiming for actually, Zubin-San.”

 

Zubin arched an eyebrow at Jiraiya.

 

“Oh? Aren't you staying for very long?”

 

“Unfortunately, our business requires us to leave in two months. We need to learn as much as possible in that time.”

 

Zubin smirked.

 

“I see, well, let's keep going then. Two months is a tough schedual to deal with. Next will be Doton: Doryuu Taiga.”

 

This went on throught the rest of the day, before Zubin noticed a bird circling the sky above him. He turned back to the group and smiled.

 

“Ok, today's lesson is over, Tsuchikage-Sama is summoning me. Please be here at 7am sharp tomorrow morning.”

 

They all nodded and turned back towards the village which they could see in the distance. Right now, all of them were pretty much thinking of three things.

 

Food. Shower. Bed.

 

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A/N: There we go! So, that's the conclusion to the breaking of the seals. Did they die? Nu uh, told you I wouldn't kill my two main story characters. Also, I believe I said that this was most logical and believeable to everyone... Except gay people (again, forgive the jab at homosexuals, I just like the line without the attachment, however, if I left it off, it just wouldn't be a Joel Dawson line.) Well, the next chapter will see the 6 of them preparing for their journey to the west. Also, I'm deciding on something. In my story, the west is technilogically advanced, so I was wondering if I should eventually equip Naruto and the otherswith a some sort ofarmour that brings out their power. An example of what I mean is that Naruto might get a black gauntlet that absorbs all of his chakra when he releases it into the gauntlet and he can use it in a way that would make him more powerful (think Naruto's strong enough as is? Nope, he's still gotta take down Orochimaru and Akatsuki.) How will it make him more powerful you ask? I guess it might be that when it sucks his chakra up, it expells it in a stedy aura around the gauntlet that increases physical damage when it comes into contact with things. Imagine a less extreme version of Tsunade's punches. Oh and if you're wondering if Tsunade's going to be in this fic, don't worry, she'll still be the Godaime Hokage. Naruto's just going to have to wait in line. :P

So, the vote: Armour, or no?

(A): Yes armour:

(B): No armour:

Well, until next time my avid readers!

Ja ne,

Specula.