Rewriting the Future

Chapter 8: Jutsu

One morning as Naruto arrived in class, he looked over to his best friend and it was obvious Sasuke was depressed for some reason. Something was up with the Uchiha, but Naruto wasn't really sure just yet. He was sure the massacre had not even happened yet as he still had about a year to go until that, so it had to be something else.

"Hey Sasuke, is everything alright?" asked Naruto, deciding just to dive right in.

"Hn" was all Sasuke responded with.

"Oh come on, Mr. Sourpuss. If nothing's wrong, then quit pouting" Naruto knew that in the previous timeline, that would have earned him a strong punch to the face. However, already being friends, Sasuke just shot the blonde an annoyed look.

"Just be quit, class is starting" said Sasuke. For Naruto, this normally meant nap time, and seeing as today's lecture was on the Yondaime Hokage, it seemed like a perfect time to catch up on the sleep Naruto missed the previous night from trying to refine his chakra control. Last night, he managed to get the tree/wall walking technique while his parents were asleep and weren't looking.

Naruto managed to get about 20 minutes through his nap before an eraser upside the head knocked him awake. Looking around, he also saw Shikamaru rubbing an eraser-mark on his forehead. The two boys looked at each other and the conversation that could be summed up by their looks went something along the lines of 'troublesome, isn't it?'

At lunch Naruto managed to catch up with Sasuke in the courtyard of the academy. Both boys pulled out their bento boxes that their mothers had given them for lunch. It was a shame that Naruto couldn't have ramen for lunch anymore. Even though both he and his mom would be considered ramen addicts, Kushina still insisted upon Naruto getting the proper nutrition and as such, the variations of food that he ate compared to the previous timeline increased drastically.

"Come on, something's up" said Naruto to Sasuke.

"It's…it's nothing really. Just my dad" said Sasuke. Naruto put a little more pressure on him, trying to get a little more out of the Uchiha. Finally, Sasuke gave in. "You know how I'm always annoyed by being compared to my brother?" Naruto nodded. "Well, this past week, father's been teaching me one of our clan's jutsu, the Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu." (Great Fireball Jutsu)

"And? How's It going?" asked Naruto.

"Hn. I can't get it. I don't know why…and every time, he just looks at me…disappointed" said Sasuke, clutching his fist. Naruto never had any idea Sasuke's childhood was really like that. He had believed that Sasuke's life and his relationship with his family was perfect, that is until Itachi killed the clan, but he was never expecting Sasuke to be seen as a disappointment by someone.

"Hmm…you said Fire-style, right?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, but you don't have anything that can help. If I'm correct, your dad's a wind- and lightning-style user" said Sasuke. "And I think your mom is an earth-style user."

"Well, my mom can use fire-style and water-style as well, but that's not who I was thinking about" said Naruto. "Jiraiya-oji is in town today and he's really good with the fire. I'm sure he'll be able to help, and even better you won't have to worry about the pressure of your father being there."

Sasuke liked this idea. It would be good to train for once without his father breathing down the back of his neck.

When the day came to an end, Jiraiya was there to pick up his godson as Minato was busy with Hokage work and Kushina was out of the village on a mission. This was perfect for Naruto as he could ask Jiraiya right away to see if Sasuke could train with him today.

"So how was your day today, Gaki?" asked Jiraiya.

"When are you going to stop calling me that?" responded Naruto.