Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Clone ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

A/N

 

 

 

Well, it turns out that I was motivated to write so this is out much earlier than it should be. Not much to say as an opening, I just noticed the email I tried to post last time is messed up on ff.net for some reason. A big shout out to all my readers so far, most especially to Dragon man 180 who has reviewed all my chapters so far. At last count I have 11 favorites and 26 alerts, which is why I can't understand my review count. I know as a reader that taking the time to review is not always the first thing you want to do. Heck there are some stories I love that I've only reviewed once or twice. That said as an author I would really appreciate it if you reviewed my work. My main goals in writing fan fiction are to firstly increase my writing skills and secondly gain experience in constructing a guideline for a long-term project and adhering to it. It would help a lot if I got feed back from readers telling me what exactly I'm doing wrong. All that said I am as eager to get to the story as you are. On with Naruto!!!

“Human speech”

“ Demon or summon speech”

“Human thoughts”

“Demon or summon thoughts”

Disclaimer: Jeez this is tedious; I do not own Naruto… short and sweet.

 

 

Chapter 5: Two one eyed jonin

 

 

Hinata struggled to rise for what seemed like the umpteenth time. Her hair was plastered to her forehead with a mixture of grime and sweat. Finally she rose and reassumed a fighting position. She waited for the whistling sound before reactivating her clan bloodline.

 

FLASHBACK

 

“This is Mekakushi”, Hinata looked at her instructor dubiously. He had a clean white bandage covering his eyes; apart from that he was old, very old. Nearly bent double over a crooked walking stick he didn't look like he could be the active ninja his forehead protector declared him to be. She wasn't entirely sure Kakashi hadn't given her the short end of the stick but she resolved that no matter what she would keep up with her two teammates. After Naruto went back home and Sasuke left with Kakashi Hinata was left alone with her instructor.

“You are the Hyuuga heiress correct?”

 

“No, I am sister to the Heiress Hanabi Hinata.”

 

“Ahh my apologies, my information is somewhat outdated, tell me what do you know about the Byakugan?”

 

“The Byakugan is the prized bloodline of Konoha, it is an eye based bloodline with abilities ranging from 360 degree vision to X ray vision.”

 

“Good… for a Hyuuga let me show you something.” Mekakushi slowly reached up to his face and removed his eye bandage and forehead protector. Hinata nearly lost her stomach when she was what was under the bandage. His right eye was missing, leaving a gaping pit in its place. What shocked her most though was the cursed seal on his forehead.

 

“Hyuuga!”

 

“ Yes surprising isn't it? I willingly received the cursed seal and left the clan over a… dispute years ago. Let us just say your father and I don't see byakugan to byakugan.”

 

“I refuse to be trained by a man that holds enmity with the head of Hyuuga.”

 

“ My dear we don't have a choice in this matter, trust me when I say I only came out of retirement at the express wish of our venerable Hokage. Now lets get down to business how developed is your byakugan?”

 

END FLASHBACK

 

Hinata could barely see through the strips of heavy cloth Mekakushi had placed over her eyes. This time however she made out a fast approaching blur heading for her head she ducked down palming the ground and felt a tremor below her alerting her to another attack coming from below she quickly pushed up with her palms and legs sailing into the sky, she couldn't avoid the last projectile coming for her and it caught her in the center of her chest sending her falling to the ground with a heavy thud. She didn't know how long it took her to regain consciousness but when she was up the bandage was off her eyes and someone had bandaged her bruised chest, she blushed slightly at the thought of her eccentric teacher having to take of her vest but she banished the thought, she was a kunoichi not some civilian housewife. It had gotten dark and there was a fire between her and Mekakushi. The man was silent simply poking at the fire with his walking stick.

 

“Sensei, what was the point of the exercise?”

 

“So you've finally come round? Simply put it is the first stage of the combat style I will be teaching you.”

 

“Combat style? As a Hyuuga should I not learn the Jyukken?”

“That would be what your father wanted… however why do you assume that the gentle fist is the only way to exploit your bloodline? Or that your petite build is suited to the jyukken battle style?”

 

“All main house members learn the Jyukken, it is the tried and tested style of our clan” Mekakushi noted that her voice was tinged with doubt however; his job would be easier then. Hinata was not as steeped in the principles of clan solidarity and custom as he had first assumed.

 

“Each clan member is different, what suits one may not suit another. Are you completely closed to learning something that may prove to help you get stronger?”

 

“No…”

 

“Good apart from that what jutsu do you know?”

 

“The Hyug-”

 

“ Enough of that it seems that is another mistake I will have to rectify. But enough of that let us analyze your performance today, at first you did badly when I impaired your sight why is that?”

 

“ … Because I'm used to operating with my Byakugan at full power?”

 

“ Right and wrong, Your Byakugan was at full power but your vision was impaired, the main problem however is that you are not used to utilizing your other senses.”

 

“ What do you mean?”

 

“ It's the problem with many bloodline clans, you concentrate on utilizing your ability to its full ability at the detriment of the rest of your abilities. Let us assume for example you are a natural Genjutsu type you would concentrate on your Byakugan and not develop your skills in that area. In this case your Byakugan is strong for your age, but as a consequence your other four senses have suffered.'

 

“ But if I can see my enemy coming would I need to hear or smell them?”

 

“ Okay in the last exercise we had how did you sense the wood pole underneath you?”

 

“ I… felt it.”

 

“Exactly, the combat style I want to teach you originates with the first nomadic Hyuuga. They relied extensively on ALL their senses to detect and dodge enemy attacks making them nearly untouchable. With the Byakugan all they needed was a single strike to neutralize enemies.”

 

“How did the type of training we did help me with that?”

 

“ I won't lie to you, you have a ways to go. Until you can dodge 10 consecutive attacks I will not start teaching you the actual style. Your chakra capacity and control also have to increase exponentially, before I can teach you the techniques they used to supplement their abilities.”

 

“How did you learn so much about these Hyuuga? Why do you have the cursed seal? What is your real name? Why do you care enough to teach me a style that apparently only you know?”

 

Mekakushi stood abruptly belying his age. He grasped his walking stick and fumbled in his robe for something, producing a scroll he threw it at Hinata. “Perform the stretching exercises in there every morning before we meet and after we finish. I only have one rule, no questions about my past.

 

“Wait!” but he didn't, banging his staff on the forest floor once he disappeared in a swirl of leaves and smoke.

 

Completely worn out emotionally and physically Hinata trudged back to the Hyuuga mansion, for once glad to be going back to that accursed place.

 

Sasuke meanwhile was having as hard a time as Hinata; Kakashi had taken him back to the same waterfall where he had saved Naruto. The jonin was currently trying to teach him how to channel his chakra to drastically increase his speed. The exercise was pointless to say the least. Sasuke was supposed to climb all the ledges to the top of the waterfall within 15 seconds; his best time so far was 30. Kakashi had soon realized that Sasuke didn't have enough natural speed or chakra control to augment his speed enough to reach the top in time. Stopping the exercise and instructing the boy in the basics of water-walking Kakashi rushed off to find an old friend.

 

When Kakashi left him to train on his own Sasuke was pissed, he resolved to finish the water walking before the jonin returned. He was sure that Naruto's SANNIN wasn't as slack on his training, it wasn't fair that he shouldn't receive the best Konoha had to offer while some no name no clan… Sasuke's frustrations were affecting his training adversely. He had not managed to stay on top of the water for more than 3 seconds before he sank. This continued for 2 hours before Kakashi came back with a package and ordered a soaked Sasuke to take a break.

 

“I can still go on you know.”

 

“Falling ill wont accomplish anything, I didn't expect you to finish the exercise in just a few hours anyway.”

 

“ You're saying am not good enough for the exercise? Maybe you would rather train Naruto than me?”

 

“Naruto has his own trainer.”

 

Kakashi's calm replies were not having the effect he wanted; instead of calming the Uchiha they were aggravating him.

 

“That's the point exactly!, he gets a Sannin while am stuck with a mere jonin.”

 

The temperature seemed to drop by 10 degrees, Kakashi's single eye which had been on his book snapped up to the Uchiha “I hope your not questioning my ability as a teacher and ninja.”

 

Sasuke tried to hold the man's gaze but to his shame couldn't, he looked down at the ground in defeat.

 

“From now on when referring to me you will show the appropriate respect, is that clear?”

 

“…”

 

“Is that clear?”

 

“Yes Kakashi… sensei.”

 

“Good, drop and give me 300”

 

“What?”

 

“Make that 400”

 

Sasuke dropped to the ground and started the push ups, when he was halfway through Kakashi came over and placed one leg on his back. He finished the last 200 with some difficulty tired out after the long day, Kakashi wouldn't let him rest though ordering him back into the stream to practice the water walking. Sasuke ran out of chakra twice and each time Kakashi let him rest for an hour before giving him a soldier pill and ordering him to continue. They continued until dawn with Sasuke mastering the principle of the technique before the first rays of light shone through the clearing unto the stream.

 

Finally Kakashi ordered him to take a break and gave him permission to skip group training for the day. Before he left Kakashi handed him the package he had gone to get, Sasuke accepted it wearily and trudged back home, not bothering to open it before he collapsed on his bed and fell asleep.

 

The next day Naruto arrived at the meeting spot slightly the worse for wear. Hinata was already there though there was no sign of Sasuke.

 

“good morning Hyuuga-san, have you seen the teme?”

“Must you call me that?” Hinata blurted out before she realized what she was saying.”

 

“ of course not Hinata-chan!”

 

“Show some respect for the Hy-”

 

“As you say Hyuuga-san.”

 

Hinata settled for glaring at him, albeit halfheartedly. It was hard to be truly angry with someone with such an open smile. Before there could be any more interaction between them however Kakashi appeared.

 

“Good morning team.”

 

“You're late sensei.”

 

“Yes Naruto I had to help an old lady-”

 

“Yes, yes what are we doing today?”

 

“Patience Naruto, unfortunately Sasuke is… indisposed and will not be joining us today for our first mission.”

 

“Mission? So no group training?” Both of his students looked interested at this revelation, more so Naruto who was probably afraid of being dropped down another waterfall.

 

“Yes mission. This is our objective…”

 

2 hours and numerous scratches later Naruto returned the cat to the first lady of the fire country. Needless to say he was disappointed in the level of their mission. After they collected their pay the team once again dispersed Naruto heading straight home. Jiraiya put him through the same grueling course. It seemed to last even longer than the last time. Finally Naruto was sitting across from Mikio ready for another session in tactics. Forming the Rasengan he waited for the old man to begin speaking. It was incredibly hard for him to split his attention between this and paying attention to the man.

 

“Before we begin I want to know if you read the schedule Jiraiya gave you?”

 

“Yes I did, Monday and Tuesday afternoons physical and chakra conditioning, Wednesdays and Thursdays Taijutsu, Friday through Sunday jutsu perfection and learning. And every evening I have tactics with you.”

 

“Good you memorized it, tell me why tactics is daily while the rest are only on specific days?”

 

“I guess because Jiraiya thought it would take me longer to absorb all of this tactical stuff?”

 

“Aha no your wrong, because though having techniques is important knowing how to properly use them is the best skill for a Shinobi.”

 

“I don't think I'm following you.”

 

“Fair enough let us take your Kage Bunshin for example, how do you use it.”

 

“Ahh mostly in combat situations for example when I want to swarm an enemy.”

 

“What if I told you that was a bad application of the technique?”

 

“Bad application?”

 

“Kage bunshin is Konoha's advanced version of Bunshin no jutsu, what does Bunshin do?”

 

“Well though I've never used it, it is used mostly for evasive purposes no?”

 

“Exactly and since Kage Bunshin is an advanced version of that then logically what is it's purpose?”

 

“Evasion as well?” Naruto looked confused, he was being told that one of his best combat techniques actually had little combat applications.”

 

“Exactly Kage Bunshin is an advanced recon or evasion technique, superior to Bunshin because the clones have a limited ability to respond to enemy attacks.”

 

“So I've been using it all wrong?”

 

“Yes though because of your high chakra capacity your use of it has been successful so far.”

 

“But isn't there a technique that produces more… durable clones?”

 

“Not in Konoha”

 

“Let's say I wanted to create a clone as strong and durable as myself.” Naruto persisted how would I set about it?”

 

“Creating a clone as strong as a human… that is outside the realms of us mortals I'm afraid, what you're talking about is a chakra entity.”

 

“Chakra entity?” Naruto was puzzled, there were so many things he didn't know and Mikio seemed to be a treasure trove of knowledge.

 

“ A chakra entity or construct, take a summon for example It exists as an intelligent chakra consciousness on another plane and only has a physical body in our own world. For a human to have enough chakra to create such a thing is impossible.”

 

“It's easy for a demon”

 

Naruto flinched slightly when he heard the unmistakable voice of Kyuubi but filed the information away for later. Mikio looked at the boy curiously, he had flinched and almost released the half complete rasengan for some reason. Resolving to think about it later he began his lesson. “So Naruto you and your team are surrounded on all sides…”

 

TIME SKIP

 

Weeks and then months passed in a haze of training for team 7. They blazed through team training exercises and D rank missions like wildfire and poured their very souls into their personal training. Each had a reason to be the best; each would never lose to the others. Physically the most changed was Hinata, she still had her feminine curves and beauty but under that was whipcord muscle. Training with Mekakushi she had reached the point where he agreed to start teaching her the basic stances of the esoteric and almost forgotten graceful-panther style. Based on perfecting the four senses and Byakugan to be perfectly in tune with the users surrounding. A master could avoid getting hit indefinitely, and finish a fight with a single blow. In terms of chakra capacity Hinata had also improved the most with reserves that rivaled Sasuke's if not Naruto's.

 

Sasuke on the other hand was flourishing under Kakashi's tutelage though he did not realize it. As an Uchiha he already had an innate knack for copying what he was shown, Kakashi had taught him 5 new jutsu, his chakra capacity and control had increased, as had his speed. The package Kakashi had gotten him turned out to be a weighted training suit that helped him build up strength and speed far superior to what a genin should have possessed.

 

To a civilian it would seem as if Naruto improved the least out of his team. To a Shinobi however he would appear to be a prodigy. His training with Jiraiya had gradually stopped focusing on the physical and instead he had improved his mastery of his jutsu and chakra control. Under Mikio his intelligence had also spiked. The new Naruto was 5 times more efficient than the old, using his jutsu's properly and efficiently. Though he was not as fast as Sasuke his sheer stamina and chakra capacity meant he was more than a match for the Uchiha. Under Jiraiya he had developed an improvement on the Kage Bunshin that made even the frog hermit proud.

 

It was during this time of growth and optimism that disaster struck.

 

A/N

Boom! I end it there; sorry guy's but cliffhangers is one of the pleasures of my job. All my Japanese is gotten from a translator so if any one writes good Japanese and is willing for me to run jutsu names by them drop me a line in a review. Till next week.

 

Darklighter