Inheritance

CHAPTER 23

The Genin nodded, signalling his understanding to his teacher ,and turned towards his Kage Bunshin, who had been practicing the techniques Jiraiya had been showing him. The two had stopped for the night in a small clearing by a shallow stream that ran swiftly through the densely wooded forests surrounding Konoha. Jiraiya had started by showing the techniques to the blonde, and left a Kage Bunshin to watch him practice, while the original Sannin set up a fairly meagre camp, which consisted of a humble two-man tent and a fire. There had been several different techniques, all of which geared towards killing the target as quickly, and quietly, as possible. And preferably with as little mess as possible, too.

Most of them centered around striking a point above the sternum called the suprasternal notch, allowing you to drive down into the heart for a quick, painless and clean kill. Ideally he would approach the target from behind, or the side to allow him to cover the target's mouth, which would prevent any noise. This was especially important with the kind of strike he was going to use, because it tended to force air up from the lungs and through the voice box, causing a kind of 'artificial' scream.

He shook his head, in an attempt to break up his train of thought. He could ponder the morbid nature of the mission later, he still had work to do. Without a word, the Bunshin began to dispel themselves one by one, and Naruto himself turned towards Jiraiya, who leant casually against a tree across from where Naruto had been practicing. The Genin couldn't help but notice that the man had been watching him intently since they had left the village, and especially since their talk earlier, with an unreadable expression on his face. Usually he would have been delighted that somebody at least seemed worried about him, but at this point, it just reminded him about what he was being asked to do.

Briefly, he felt the urge to try and stop this from happening at all rise, before he forced it down, and walked over to where his sensei stood in order to start work on what the Sannin wanted him to try and learn.

"So what's this jutsu you want to teach me, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, making sure to address him with the nickname Naruto had given him, to try and alleviate some of the older ninja's concerns. "You better be telling the truth when you said no-one else my age knows it." He threatened half-heartedly, causing the Sannin to break into a smile.

"Not even that Uchiha kid you don't seem to like will know this one, I guarantee it."

"What makes you say that? I mean, the Uchiha library must be packed with jutsu for him to learn... Unless it's particularly rare, or powerful?" At that, Jiraiya laughed, causing Naruto's confusion to rise.

"I say that because it is neither rare, or powerful. In fact, it's technically not even a combat technique, which is precisely why most Uchiha neglected it until they have to, and why you little friend won't know it either. Hell most don't learn it until they try and make Jonin."

"Why is that? If you're going to teach it to me, it has to be useful, so why wouldn't others learn it as soon as possible."

"Useful is an understatement and a half gaki. It's a technique that you have to be able to demonstrate to a sufficient level in order to become Jonin, such is it's value. However, typically, it doesn't hold much value until you are a Jonin."

"So, it's a technique that's only useful for missions that Jonin are likely to undertake?"

"You're pretty much right on the money. It's an infiltration technique that makes it easier to avoid detection by sensors or other shinobi. Obviously, as Konoha doesn't tend to send anyone but Jonin 'behind enemy lines' so to speak, it doesn't really become necessary until you want to attain that rank, which is why so few bother to learn it until they learn the requirements."

"You think there'll be shinobi in the base then?" Naruto asked, as Jiraiya's implication went directly against what his information told him.

"I think it's better to be safe than sorry, especially since I won't be right there with you. Gatou Corp has hired shinobi before, and it wouldn't take anything other than a mediocre sensor to pick up your chakra and give you away. This jutsu will help with that, although a really skilled sensor type would be able to find you regardless."