Inheritance

CHAPTER 19

"Naruto." He fought back a smirk as their reactions mirrored exactly how they were a few moments ago. "I have to admit, even I didn't see it coming, but he's been working his ass off since the exam. He was like a whole knew person, guys. I learnt more about him in those three days then in the whole time we spent trying to figure the guy out in the Academy."

"That doesn't answer the question, though Shikamaru. As much as I wanna know about Naruto, God knows I've been trying to crack that particular puzzle for long enough, it still doesn't explain how you beat those statues." This time it was Ino who piped up, her own food, unlike Choji's, completely forgotten.

"It does, in a way. I told you he had worked his ass off, didn't I? Naruto fought them all pretty much by himself. His skills have gone through the roof. I was- well, I was near useless. I couldn't do a thing. He only took a hit when I got trapped and he rushed to come and save my ass. The medic on our team, Hana, was certain it should have been bad. And the guy jumps up like it was nothing when I was about to get flattened, to bail me out again."

"He's gotten that much better?" Ino sounded incredulous. And she had every right to be. They had on Genin teams for three full days when Shikamaru was summoned for the mission. By rights, he and Naruto should never have been on that mission. The fact that Naruto was now being trained by one of the most legendary ninja around in Konoha today would help explain that. But not even Jiraiya could get Naruto that good after three days. Which meant he'd done it by himself, in the month between the assignments and the exam.

"Well, that adds a whole other dimension to the puzzle." She grumbled under her breath, after seeing Shikamaru nod in confirmation.

"But Naruto isn't the main issue here, as troublesome as he is. It's the fact that someone I consider a friend had to put themselves at risk - risk their lives - because I wasn't strong enough to be useful in that fight. I don't want to be in that position again. I've been lazy about being a ninja, and because of it, Naruto nearly died trying to keep me alive."

"And take it from me, anyone else here would have been in the same position had they been there, and I know he would have done the same for any of you had it been any of you. I don't know about you guys, but I think we've been slacking off in our training, especially with Asuma, and he's been letting us get away with it so far. I say we find him, and let him know we want to take it up to the next level. What about you guys?"

Ino and Choji glanced at each other, before nodding their agreement at Shikamaru. They had learned to trust the Nara when he was serious about things over the years, and he was certainly serious now. Ino especially, would have been indignant at any hint she had been slacking, whether true or not, but she knew the look in Shikamaru's eyes. If he said they needed to step it up, then they did.

"I think I feel my ears burning... And what was that I heard about 'training'?" Their sensei's voice stopped any further conversation dead. They turned to face Asuma, who had just lit a cigarette, and placed it to his lips. "Glad to see you're ready to start getting serious about being a shinobi, the kid act was starting to get old. But, before we do anything, I want to show you all something. Follow me, I've already payed the bill."

The three Genin exchanged a curious glance, before moving to follow the Jonin out of the restaurant.

"Chakra control exercises?" Iruka scratched his chin in thought, even as he tried to hide his surprise at the question. It still surprised him quite how far Naruto had come in such a short space of time. A few months ago, he would have laughed in your face if you told him Naruto would be seeking him out looking for chakra control exercises rather than ninjutsu.

"Well, there are two that will be the most useful to you, as an active shinobi, and they are pretty much required learning for any shinobi." Naruto nodded eagerly in response, to that, his concentration totally focused on his old teacher. "The first, is called tree-walking. The idea behind it is simple, and very similar to how the ping-ping ball exercise works. You need to expel the right amount of chakra from your feet to stick you to a tree's trunk, on a constant basis. To master the exercise, will involve being able to walk, run and fight on the trunks and branches of trees."