Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ To Measure My Capacity ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

 

Two days later, Kyuubi had still not talked to Naruto. Naruto had tried everything he could think of the get the fox's attention, even going into his mind and walking through the sewer-like corridors to Kyuubi's cage. He expected to have no problem talking to her in this way, but Naruto could not see Kyuubi through the bars of her cage. Although he would never admit it to her, Naruto missed the fox's company.

 

Naruto's first mission with Team 7 was a D-rank assignment that would have been better handled by 5-year-olds. Capturing an `escaped' cat was about the most boring and pointless thing Naruto could think of a shinobi doing, short of watching grass grow. At least you could use a jutsu to make grass grow faster! Hinata's Byakugan made finding the cat easy, and their elite shinobi skills made apprehending the cat just as easy, but it was without a doubt the most boring and ultimately pointless mission Naruto had ever allowed himself to take part in.

 

The only upside to the mission was that he got Hinata to train with him afterwards, increasing his knowledge of the Jyuuken art. Naruto was quickly discovering exactly how precise the strikes must be in order for the Tenketsu of the victim to be opened or closed. It certainly required a strike that would be impossible without the Byakugan, and even then the strike would have to be executed with perfect accuracy otherwise only muscle damage would be caused, having similar effects as Naruto's own style. As Hinata had not activated her Byakugan in their training, Naruto had yet to discover the problems closing and opening each Tenketsu would cause as she had yet to do so. He intended to find out today when he met up with Hinata exactly what the affects would be.

 

There was one problem, however. Naruto was currently on a mission, and he doubted it would be completed anytime soon. The house wouldn't paint itself, no matter how much Naruto wanted it to.

 

“So… stupid…” Naruto muttered as he applied yet another coat of paint to the house he was ordered to repaint. “I can't believe I'm letting myself do this when I could be training!”

Sasuke, who was hurriedly painting the fence of the house white, grunted in agreement. He didn't like the blonde, but he couldn't help agreeing with his team mate as his thoughts were exactly the same. `I can't kill Itachi by waving a paint brush at him!'

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke finally spoke up, stopping the monotonous up and down movements his arm was making.

 

Kakashi briefly looked towards the three Genin busily painting to show he was listening, before focusing his attention back on the `book' he was `reading'.

 

“What is it, Sasuke?” Kakashi said when it became apparent Sasuke hadn't caught his glance.

 

“Why are we doing these pointless missions?” Sasuke said in an annoyed tone. “We're shinobi, not painters.”

 

“You're unproven Genin.” Kakashi corrected. “We get requests every day for odd jobs such as this, and requests for assassinations, guard missions, and so on.”

Kakashi turned a page. “We cannot send unproven shinobi such as yourselves on the more dangerous missions, so you're assigned tasks like this until you have proven yourselves strong shinobi of Konohagakure.”

 

“By painting houses?” Naruto asked coldly.

 

Kakashi shrugged. “You have to start somewhere, Naruto.”

 

“Acting as slave labor proves nothing, Hatake.” Naruto said.

 

Kakashi sighed and closed his book. “It proves you're willing to do whatever Konoha requires you to do, however pointless it may seem. It also allows the three of you to work as a team to accomplish goals.”

 

Naruto laughed mentally. `If it weren't for the Hokage assigning all missions, I would assume these “missions” were just ways to test the Council's control over the newly returned “demon”.'

 

“These missions are especially significant for you, Naruto.” Kakashi added. “You should do them without complaint.”

Naruto acted as though he hadn't heard Kakashi, while mentally he muttered what he wanted to say. `Because I need to prove I'm not the Kyuubi, right Hatake? Whatever happened to being “innocent until proven guilty”? Stupid Konoha.'

 

Hinata, who had been methodically painting the window frames of the house, found Kakashi's comment about Naruto interesting.

 

“A-ano, Kakashi-sensei?” Hinata said.

 

“Yes, Hinata?” Kakashi said, lazily focusing his one visible eye on Hinata.

 

“Why is it significant for Naruto-kun to do these missions?” Hinata asked.

Sasuke had also been wondering the same thing. Naruto was on their team, so why should he get special consideration?

 

“Well…” Kakashi started, thinking. He couldn't tell them about the Kyuubi, which was the real reason it was important Naruto be seen as a good Konoha shinobi. “Naruto left Konoha 6 years ago, and since he has only returned recently we have to be sure he's ready to be a Konoha shinobi. These missions are a good way for Naruto to prove himself.”

 

Hinata accepted the explanation and the team returned to the mind numbing task of painting. The hours crawled by in relative silence and the house eventually began to shine with glee as its old, flaking paint was replaced. Finally, the job was complete and the three painters - err, Genin - were dismissed. Sasuke left as quickly as possible, while Naruto stayed behind. He needed information.

“Oi, Hatake.” Naruto said, stopping Kakashi who was about to head home.

 

“It's Kakashi-sensei, Naruto.” Kakashi said, his one lazy eye focusing on Naruto.

 

“You haven't taught me anything, Hatake.” Naruto said. “Maybe if you answer a few of my questions, I'll call you Sensei.”

Kakashi's eye narrowed. “No, I won't tell you what's under my mask…”

“I don't care about that.” Naruto said.

“Well, what is it then?” Kakashi asked, his eye returning to its usual lazy look.

 

“Tell me how the Sharingan first manifests itself.”

Of all the things Kakashi thought Naruto would ask him, this certainly wasn't one of them. The only reason Naruto would be asking him personally would be because Naruto knew he had the Sharingan. While his Sharingan was not a huge secret, it wasn't common information. Kakashi assumed Jiraiya told Naruto about it.

 

`But why does he want to know?' Kakashi could think of no reason Naruto would want to know the answer to his question. His surprise was obviously quite obvious as Naruto continued, answering Kakashi's mental question.

“I thought if I could get the Uchiha to active his Sharingan we'd be better as a team.” Naruto explained. “With both the Sharingan and Byakugan working together we would have an advantage no other team would have.”

 

`Hatake should accept that explanation,' Naruto thought. `I can't tell him the real reason, after all. I promised Itachi-sensei that if I were to meet his little brother I would help him and learn off him. About the only thing I can learn off the Uchiha right now is how the Sharingan works, and how to counter it. Only, he doesn't have the Sharingan yet, so he's useless to me until he does.'

 

“Well, I guess… I don't really know.” Kakashi finally said. Thinking back on what he knew of the Sharingan, and how he acquired it, Kakashi gave it his best guess. “It activates when you need it.”

“That really doesn't help me much.” Naruto said, folding his arms.

Kakashi elaborated. “I guess it responds to the will to protect yourself, providing the odds are big enough. It's not going to manifest if you just want to see the wind blow. But if you're going to die if you don't see the wind blow, it will. It's not like the Byakugan, which everyone in the Hyuuga clan is born with. It only appears in a few of the Uchiha - those who encounter life and death situations.”

 

“Life and death, huh?” Naruto said, thinking.

 

Kakashi nodded. “Sasuke is still pretty young, though, so even if such a situation arises it may not manifest. Only one person has activated their Sharingan before the age of twelve, so it would be a remarkable occurrence.”

 

“We'll see.” Naruto said, the smirk on his face hidden by his high collar.

 

“Whatever you're planning, Naruto, make sure you don't actually kill Sasuke.” Kakashi added in a warning tone. “I don't even want to think about the chain of events that would lead to.”

 

Naruto didn't answer, but nodded.

“Is that all you wanted to ask me?” Kakashi said.

 

Naruto nodded once again. “For now.”

Kakashi turned to leave. “See you tomorrow then. I suggest you see what Hinata wants. She's been waiting patiently for us to finish.”

Naruto turned, unsure of what Kakashi meant, only to see Hinata watching him. Remembering they had planned to train together today, he quickly jogged over to the waiting Hyuuga.

 

“Ah, sorry about that, Hinata!” Naruto said, grinning sheepishly. “Are you ready to train?”

 

Hinata nodded. Naruto grasped Hinata's hand, and began to lead her toward the nearest training field, apparently unaware of the sudden redness appearing on Hinata's cheeks.

 

Hinata let herself be led by Naruto. Looking at their joint hands, a tiny, happy smile appeared on her face.

 

She couldn't see Naruto's smirk.

 

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Naruto watched passively as Hinata destroyed another clone, while mentally he gained the clone's knowledge. `She's doing well.' Naruto thought, pleased. He had asked Hinata to activate her Byakugan and practice hitting the Tenketsu of moving targets. With her Byakugan activated, Hinata was very good at both defending and attacking, seeing weakness easily and taking advantage quickly. So far, no clone had landed a significant blow on Hinata, despite it currently being four against one. Through the clone's knowledge, Naruto realized Hinata's accuracy when trying to hit Tenketsu precisely was relatively low, but seemed to be improving. Naruto had no doubt that one day Hinata would hit with 100% accuracy.

 

Naruto created yet another clone to attack Hinata, only to have it destroyed in a matter of seconds. `This is too easy for her.' Naruto thought. He decided to mix things up a little. Creating another clone, Naruto waited in anticipation of what was to come.

Hinata was actually enjoying herself. She blocked a weak kick to her side easily, slamming her fingers into the clone's leg and shutting a Tenketsu off then grabbed the clone's arm, spun and threw the wounded clone into another that was about to stab her back with a kunai. The two clones vanished in a cloud of smoke, only to be replaced by two more charging through the smoke. Hinata simply slammed each of her palms into the clones' chests and released a burst of chakra, increasing the size of the smoke cloud that now engulfed her. Seeing through the smoke with her Byakugan, Hinata rushed towards the last remaining clone. Seeing the clone cover its face with its arms, trying to block the attack, Hinata couldn't help but feel… giddy. You can't a block Jyuuken attack!

 

Thrusting her palm forward, Hinata suddenly found her target completely surrounded by a sphere of yellow spikes. Unable to stop her hand's progress in time, the Hyuuga let out a cry of pain as her hand found itself impaled on the long, hard, needlelike spines. Still managing to release a burst of chakra despite the pain, Hinata was engulfed by a cloud of smoke as the clone was destroyed. Falling back and clutching her hand to her chest, she watched as hundreds of droplets of blood appeared on her hand and arm.

 

Hinata looked up as Naruto crouched beside her, unshed tears in her Byakugan-engulfed eyes.

 

Naruto pulled a bandage out of a coat pocket and began bandaging Hinata's hand. He never really knew why he kept bandages, since he always healed so quickly, but now he was thankful that he did. As he was dressing the wounds, Naruto spoke softly.

 

“Whenever you attack someone, they're going to be looking for ways to attack you. You must always expect a counterattack, and it could come in any form.”

 

Naruto finished what he was doing and stood. “You cannot always be reliant on one technique to fight everybody, Hinata, no matter how perfect it seems. Jyuuken may be one of the most powerful Taijutsu styles, but there are counters to it. I hope I've proven that to you.”

 

Hinata nodded, her eyes no longer threatened by tears. “I-I understand, Naruto-kun.”

 

Naruto smiled. “Great! You were doing awesome before that, Hinata. I had to make it harder for you because it was too easy!” `And now I know that Hari Jizo isn't the best counter to Jyuuken. If they release enough chakra, it could still enter the body from a distance and do damage.'

 

Hinata stood, smiling softly at Naruto's praise. It was good that he was mixing their training up. She wouldn't get strong enough to lead her clan by killing defenseless clones! But if the clones fight back using jutsu like that, maybe then… maybe then she would get enough experience to fight properly when the time came.

 

“How about we call it a day?” Naruto asked Hinata.

Hinata nodded, thinking it would be best to get some rest and heal up a little before doing any more training. “I will go home now and have lunch, Naruto-kun.” Hinata said.

 

“Alright. I think I'll train by myself for a bit.” Naruto said.

 

Hinata looked at her feet. She had hoped that Naruto would want lunch as well, and if so, maybe… they could have lunch together. Hinata struggled with herself, trying to find the courage to ask her blonde team mate if he was hungry.

As Hinata opened her mouth to speak, Naruto's voice stopped her. “I guess I'll see you later then, Hinata!”

“B-bye, Naruto-kun.” Hinata said softly, and turned to leave.

 

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Naruto sighed in frustration. He simply could not figure out a way to adapt his Taijutsu style to incorporate a weapon. The idea of wrist blades, while initially appealing as they provided a new, deadly and surprising addition to his Taijutsu seemed to be more of hassle than an advantage. Naruto could not find a way to smoothly change between an open palmed attack and bladed wrist attack. Naruto had the change the style of his attack before the blow would land in order to utilize a wrist weapon, which would be obvious to his opponent who could the take proper counter measures.

Naruto tried a few different attacks in different stances before finally admitting to himself that wrist blades wouldn't be a viable choice of weapon for him. Releasing the stance he had been in and returning to his normal, relaxed posture, Naruto became aware that someone was watching him. Activating his Akaigan and preparing his body for instantaneous action if necessary, Naruto turned to face the direction of the intruder. Naruto expected the intruder to be an assassin, as no one else would have reason for visiting him at this training ground. He was surprised then when his eyes feel upon the kunoichi he had met on the day he became a Genin.

 

Realizing she had been spotted, the kunoichi walked towards Naruto. “Fancy meeting you here again. It's Naruto, right?”

Looking around, it became clear that this training field was indeed the place they had first met.

 

“Tenten?” Naruto said half to himself as he wasn't entirely sure the name was right. As the kunoichi nodded, an idea came to Naruto. “You're just the kind of person I need to talk to.”

“Why is that?” Tenten asked, confused.

“After our first meeting, I had thought about combining a weapon with my Taijutsu style, but I can't get anything to work.” Naruto said.

“What weapons did you think of?” Tenten questioned.

“Wrist blades,” Naruto said, acquiring a loose Hyuuga stance, “but I'll show you my problem.”

Making a few weak attacks against his imaginary target, Naruto explained to Tenten the problems he had when trying to use his imaginary wrist blades. Slipping into another stance to further demonstrate, Tenten's eyes widened slightly. As Naruto continued to explain the complications he was having, Tenten's curiosity got the best of her.

“Naruto, that style - what is it?” Tenten said.

 

“It doesn't have a name.” Naruto said, instantly suspicious. `This could be bad.' “Why do you ask?”

 

“It just looks very similar to the Taijutsu my team mate uses.” Tenten said.

 

`That does not bode well at all.' Naruto thought. “That's strange. Who is your team mate?”

“Hyuuga Neji.” Tenten said, confirming Naruto's suspicions. `Shit!'

 

“Wow!” Naruto chuckled, easily hiding his anxiety. “I didn't know it looked similar to the famous Hyuuga Taijutsu! But don't you need some kind of Bloodline Limit to use their style?”

 

Tenten nodded. There was no way you could use Jyuuken without the Byakugan. “Yes. It must just be a strange coincidence that your stances are similar.”

Naruto continued to chuckle. “Yes, strange indeed! What are the odds of that?”

Seemingly dismissing the strange occurrence, to Naruto's unseen relief, Tenten continued to evaluate his problems. “It seems to me that trying to add weapon attacks with that kind of style would be pointless. It's Taijutsu for a reason - you only use your hands and feet. Adding weapons seems to make the Taijutsu pointless, don't you think?”

 

Naruto agreed with Tenten's assessment. Well, he was willing to agree to anything if it didn't involve the words `Hyuuga' or `Jyuuken'.

 

“But…” Tenten said, thinking. “It seems to me it's not really the weapon you want, but the surprise elemental they could have.”

 

Naruto was surprised by this. He hadn't thought of it that way, but Tenten was exactly right. Not showing his lack of thought, Naruto simply nodded. “That's correct.”

“I may have the perfect thing for you, Naruto!” Tenten said, an excited look crossing her face. “My father has been working on a new weapon for years, and it is now ready to be tested. I think it fits your personality perfectly.”

“My personality?” Naruto asked, confused.

Tenten gave a short nod, a smile on her face. “You'll understand when you see it. Follow me!”

Naruto, curious and perplexed at the same time, allowed himself to follow the older Genin out of the training field, and into Konoha.

 

***************************************************************** *******

 

Tenten finally stopped outside a two storied building. Entering the building, Naruto realized it was a large weapons store. Leading Naruto past the rows of weapons, Tenten ascended a staircase at the back of the store. Following, Naruto entered onto the second floor which turned out to be a workshop. Benches and walls were lined with various tools and broken weapons, all neatly arrayed until they needed to be used or fixed. Standing in front of a long bench set into the back wall, a large man appeared to be working on something.

Tenten wasted no time, quickly walking over to the muscular man.

 

“Papa, there's someone I'd like you to meet.” Tenten spoke, getting the man's attention.

 

The man looked at Tenten, before briefly glancing in Naruto's directly. Turning back to his work, he spoke to Tenten.

“He doesn't look like a Hyuuga.” The man, who Naruto now knew to be Tenten's father, said in a deep voice.

“Papa!” Tenten exclaimed, before lowing her voice. “This isn't Neji.”

Naruto noticed a slight color change in Tenten's complexion with his Akaigan, but said nothing as Tenten's father put his tools down and faced him.

“What's ya name, boy-o?” The man asked gruffly.

“Uzumaki Naruto.” Naruto said, noticing no change in the man's attitude as he said this.

 

“Name's Kaji.” The man said, extending his hand which Naruto shook, his own hand dwarfed by Kaji's. “Now, what can I do for ya?”

“Uhh…” Naruto said, looking to Tenten.

Tenten, as if remembering why she brought Naruto here, answered for him. “I thought he would be a good candidate for your new invention.”

 

Kaji gave Tenten a searching look. “Is that so?”

 

Looking Naruto up and down, he rubbed his unkempt beard with a scarred hand. “He does look the type. Hides himself with that big coat. Keeps a poker face on, too. Probably hides meaning in his words, too. Weapon's gotta fit the user's personality, right Ten?”

 

“That's why I brought him, Papa. He wants a weapon he can surprise people with.”

 

Kaji chortled, his muscular chest straining against the man's too-tight shirt. “He can certainly surprise with this.”

Walking to a cupboard, Kaji removed what looked to Naruto like two hilt-less double-edged blades.

“My own invention.” Kaji stated proudly. Seeing Naruto's confused look, Kaji turned a blade over to show it had a strange contraption with a strap `attached' to it near the blade's tip. Realizing Naruto needed more explanation, Kaji strapped the contraption to his wrist. Surprisingly, the blade, though not physically attached to the contraption, actually was. How Naruto couldn't tell.

“Watch.” Kaji said. The blade, which was around 12 inches in length, currently ran along the underside of his arm. Instantaneously, the blade had extended itself so that it was protruding out a good 10 inches from where it was strapped. Naruto knew that without his Akaigan he would not have seen it move as it was too fast.

Just as quickly, the blade retracted to its original position. Kaji quickly threw a punch, and just as the impact of the punch would have hit his invisible target, the blade instantly shot out, probably stabbing entirely through the torso of Mr.Invisible.

 

Naruto was quite impressed. It was an easily hidden weapon that seemed incredibly powerful. It didn't get in the way unless he needed it, and it was instantaneous. He pictured in his mind an opponent evading his Taijutsu attacks. Frustrated, Naruto threw another palm attack, only to have it miss by mere inches. The next attack was another palmed one, but this time, just as the opponent thought he was safe, a blade instantly made itself noticed. It was in his stomach.

 

Kaji seemed to know Naruto was impressed. “Ya like?”

 

“How does it work?” Naruto asked.

Kaji beamed at the question. “Ya use ya chakra to make the blade extend and retract. As for how did I make it, I'm not gonna say. I plan to sell these beauties and retire early, so no way am I gonna let secrets out.”

“Where do I come in then?” Naruto said.

“These are only gonna sell if they get proven on the battlefield.” Kaji admitted. “I retired from being a ninja when the wife died, and Ten prefers ranged attacks, so I can't have `er do it. She asked `er team since they're both Taijutsu crazies, but they refused; one sayin' the weapons are `cowardly', crying that it was gonna `darken his flames of youth', whatever the hell that means. And the Hyuuga... well, he's a Hyuuga.”

 

“Why not get a Konoha Jounin to `prove' them?” Naruto asked. Why would Kaji entrust a new weapon to him of all people?

Kaji shrugged his massive shoulders. “Most are too old to appreciate a new thing like this. They prefer to stick to the old tricks that they know they can rely on in a fight. Too set in their ways for their own good.”

Naruto nodded, accepting the explaination. “How much?” He asked, remembering how much money he had: none.

“They're free, boy-o.” Kaji said, smiling. Seeing Naruto's unbelieving look, he continued. “Ya will repay me by telling me everything ya learn about `em, so I can take that information and improve them. We got a deal?”

Naruto barely thought before agreeing. A little information was nothing. After Kaji gave a quick tutorial on how to use the blades, Naruto was able to extend and retract the blades as quickly and easily as Kaji had. The blades were invisible under the long sleeves of his coat. All and all, they were perfect for Naruto.

“Thanks, both of you.” Naruto said.

 

“Ya better treat `em right, boy-o, or there'll be trouble.” Kaji threatened.

 

Naruto nodded, promising he wouldn't treat Kaji's children badly. Looking to Tenten, Naruto spoke. “I'd like to practice with these a little. If you have time now, would you be able to help me, Tenten?”

 

“Sure thing, Naruto. I'd like to see them in action.” Tenten said.

“Great!” Naruto said, looking to Kaji. “Thanks again, Kaji. We'll be leaving now.”

 

Kaji watched as Naruto and Tenten walked away from the store. Folding his gorilla arms, he smiled.

”I'd rather a boy like that for my Tenten than any Hyuuga.”

Kaji knew his wife was agreeing with him.