From Darkness to Light (The Little Senju Series Book Two): A Naruto Fanfiction

Izumi and Naruto's Training

Izumi's POV

Kakashi Sensei looked a lot better than the last time I'd seen him. The man sat up in bed reading Make Out Paradise. "I see you're the new team member." He said. "Sai, was it? Nice to meet you." Naruto and Sai were still rubbing their cheeks after the fight with Sakura just before. "Sakura... Izumi... Could you two come here a minute?" He waved us over. We walked closer to his side as he leaned closer. "Those two are hurt... Did they fight or something?" He shifted his glance to the two boys. "It'd be no stretch of the imagination with someone hot-tempered like Naruto..."

I chuckled as I shot a teasing glance at the pink-haired girl who blushed lightly. "Well, that's an interesting story, isn't Sakura?" I nudged against the girl with my elbow.

"Izumi!" She said. Her voice was a soft shout as she waved me away. "N-no, nothing happened at all...We're getting along fine!"

"Oh, I see..." The man didn't seem convinced but didn't push the issue further. "Then, I guess it's okay.

Naruto stepped forward. "Kakashi Sensei... About our previous mission..."

"I heard about everything from Yamato." Our sensei said. "About Sasuke too..." We all fell silent apparently thinking about our recent encounter with the raven-haired boy.

"We don't have time..." Naruto said. "At this rate, he'll soon be..." I swallowed and stuffed my hands in my pockets. If we didn't do something, then Orochimaru would... "But I can't bring Sasuke back with the power I have now..." The blond's face turned to the floor as he wore a disappointed expression. "He's gotten too powerful..."

"Hey!" I strode closer to the blond before giving his back a light pat. "It's not just you." My lips formed a sympathetic smile. "Let's get stronger together."

My thought was cut off by our Sensei speaking again. "Well, then you just have to get more powerful, right?" His words were casual as he flipped a page in his book.

"But... the speed of Sasuke's development was extraordinary even in my eyes," Sakura said. She bore a somber expression. "When I asked Lady Tsunade, she said there's a possibility that they're using a Forbidden Jutsu and perhaps drugs in his training... And, they've got Kabuto with them, so... There's probably no way to find out in a book like this, how people who conduct experiments on humans think..." Her fingers squeezed around the book in her hand.

Kakashi still seemed unphased as he turned another page. "Then we just have to rapidly get more powerful."

"But how do we do that?!" Sakura shouted.

"Did you think I was just lying here not thinking about anything?" Our Sensei Asked. He didn't seem offended by Sakura in the slightest. "I thought about that the whole time. And..." The man paused still not looking up from his book. "I figured it out. However, this approach is suited for Naruto..." I looked at the blonde who seemed the slightest bit surprised. "Or... Rather I should say it's an approach only Naruto can do." Kakashi finally looked up from his reading material. "In that training in that sense, you might just exceed me, Naruto."

The blond seemed even more surprised now. "I'll... exceed you, Kakashi Sensei...?" His expression was awestruck with his mouth falling wide.

"That's right." There was no sign of comedy in the man's voice. "I'll be with you the whole time on this training. And it will be a different type of training..."

"Wh-what are we going to do?" Naruto asked. A line of sweat slipped down his neck.

"We're going to create a Ninjutsu of ultimate strength just for you." His voice was calm as he explained. "In other words, you're going to learn a new Ninjutsu that will exceed the Rasengan. However, the acquisition of such a power will require an enormous amount of time and effort." We were all silent as we stared at the man. This was certainly to be quite the undertaking for both of them, right? "You can't get strong instantly after just a few days like a hero in a novel." He shook his book for emphasis. "And it's completely different from being carefully taught and learning a Jutsu like the Rasengan that has already been created."

"An enormous amount of time..." Naruto was less than impressed. "But I just said we don't have time! Sasuke will be..."

"Ugh...!" I groaned. My hands were clamped over my ears as a closed one eye in annoyance. "Come on, how many do I have to tell you not to be so loud? I have sensitive ears, ya know?" I gave him just hard enough a push to get the message. "Just let the man finish speaking, will you?"

Kakashi Sensei continued as though our outburst hadn't happened. "What I'm saying is, I figured out a way to do it in a short amount of time."

"How do we do it?"

"How're you doing, Kakashi?" The thought was lost as someone entered the room.