The Strength of the Weak {A Naruto Fanfiction}

The Strength of the Weak - Chapter 36

"Yes, please. You can make whatever you want, I'm not picky."

Might as well gather my strength for tomorrow.

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"Hey, Satomi-chan! I'm so happy you're awake, dattebayo! How you do feel?" Naruto cheers upon seeing me. I smile gently and walk up to him, taking note of his worn out hands. I guess this jutsu Jiraiya is teaching him is pretty hard to master.

"Much better, thank you. Ryouichi-sensei took me out here to begin teaching me a jutsu. I assume you're learning one as well?" I say casually, making small conversation. Naruto's face lights up at the mention of his new jutsu, excitement clouding his eyes.

"Yeah, and it's super cool! Pervy Sage doesn't help me, though, and it's getting on my nerves! All he cares about is going out and doing his research," Naruto grumbles. I giggle a little, which seems to lift Naruto's mood as his scowl is replaced with a small smile of his own.

"Hey, Satomi-chan... I'm really glad you're okay. It was hard seeing you and Sasuke like that, but I promise to get stronger so that I can protect you two, dattebayo!"

Naruto's heartfelt promise practically melts my heart as I hold back tears threatening to escape. This kid... he's just the sweetest person ever, I swear.

"Don't worry about us, Naruto-kun. Just focus on making it to Hokage and I'll handle Sasuke. I'm ready for anything now," I assure confidently. Naruto grins, pumping his fist in the air. 

"I'm ready to go! Let's train together, Satomi-chan!" Naruto suggests excitedly. My lips quirk up as I give him a closed eye smile, my hands clasped behind my back.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Not to interrupt, but I would like to get started, Satomi," Ryouichi-sensei interjects, a small frown on his face. I laugh, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

"Sorry, sensei. I'm ready to go."

"Good. Now before we start, the first thing you must know is that I forbid you from using your sharingan to copy this jutsu and from aiding you in learning this. Is this clear?" Ryouichi-sensei says sharply. I nod without hesitation, not afraid to learn this with my own capabilities.

My sharingan isn't going to be the reason I'm going to become a strong kunoichi. I am going to use my own strength to push through. I will not take my sharingan for granted, using it to take the easy way out.

I will show everyone that I am not a weak little girl that needs her kekkei genkai to do everything.

I will show them the strength of the weak.

"Now, for the actual technique. First a demonstration. Inferunodoragon!" Ryouichi-sensei calls, a fierce flame in the shape of a dragon's head surrounding his hand. I watch in amazement as Ryouichi-sensei darts towards a tree, punching it square in the trunk.

The tree's trunk is melted clean through, a loud explosion following the contact. My jaw drops as the bark is seared, a few wisps of flames flying out in all directions. When Ryouichi-sensei pulls his hand back, it is completely unharmed, as if a dragon's head made out of flames wasn't just surrounding his fist.

"This won't be easy, and it will take a while to master. Are you up to the challenge?" Ryouichi-sensei asks. I nod my head enthusiastically, excitement lighting up my onyx eyes.

"Wonderful. The first step, above anything else, is protecting your hand from the flames. Unlike other fire jutsus, this one is able to burn your hand pretty badly if you don't protect it right. So, in order to get you prepared, we are going to do a little... exercise."

Ryouichi-sensei walks off to the edge of the clearing, gathering a few sticks from the ground and placing them in a pile in front of me.

"Light these on fire with a jutsu," he instructs, so I produce a quick fireball and light them up. 

"Good. Next, I want you to put your hand in the fire, like so," he says, coating his hand in chakra and placing inside of the flames. Raising an eyebrow, I watch as he keeps it there for a good 15 seconds before pulling it away, once again completely unharmed. 

Focusing my chakra, I coat my hand like Ryouichi-sensei did and hesitantly push it into the fire. Almost instantly, I pull my hand away, small burns littering my hand. Why didn't it work? 

"I'll leave you to figure out how to do it. I need to go into the town to gather some information, so I'll be back later to check your progress," Ryouichi-sensei says, pushing himself up and walking off. I bring my eyes back to my throbbing hand, narrowing my eyes in confusion. 

I can coat my hand in chakra, easily. But it still isn't working... what am I doing wrong?

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Gritting my teeth, I shakily emerge my hand in flames once again. Sweat drips down my face as I try my best to concentrate on the chakra flowing to my hand, yet still, my hand is burned. I whip my hand out of the fire, dipping it in the water bucket I had gotten earlier. 

My flesh was partially melted, a good portion of my hand severely burned by the flames. No matter how hard I tried, my chakra just couldn't keep up with the flames. It's been hours since I first started, the sun beginning to set in the distance. 

From across the clearing, Naruto is laying on the ground panting, having not been able to pop a water balloon with his chakra like he was supposed to do.

"Have you made any progress, Satomi?" Ryouichi-sensei asks, appearing behind me. I glance behind me, holding up my burnt hand sheepishly.

"Not much... I just can't find the trick to this..." I mutter out, placing my good hand on my chin thoughtfully. Ryouichi-sensei sighs, closing his eyes and turning around.

"You will do the same thing tomorrow. I'm heading back to the hotel, you may stay here or come with me, your choice," he says, walking away soundlessly. I stay in my place, staring into the fire dutifully. I'm so frustrated... why can't I figure this out?

::

Clenching my eyes tight, I bite my lip as my hand is slowly burned yet again. I've made little progress in my training, a week has gone by but yet I still couldn't figure this out. Naruto had mastered the first part of his jutsu a few days ago and was now in the middle of his second step, although it looks like he isn't having much luck.

Taking a deep breath, I pull my hand out of the fire and dunk it in my bucket of water, like I've been doing for the past week and a half. Deciding to take a short break, I stand up from my seat and walk over to a log, sitting down and applying the burn gel I had bought the other day to soothe my injuries.

Sighing, I watch as Naruto struggles to pop his rubber ball, channeling his chakra through a point in his hand and rotating it in two directions. My eyes narrow as he continues applying more and more chakra, not stopping his flow. 

Perhaps... I'm stopping my chakra flow as soon as my hand is completely covered, rather than continuously adding chakra?

Standing back up, I waltz over to my small bonfire, plopping down on the ground next to it. Closing my eyes, I contort my right hand into a hand sign, concentrating my chakra to my left hand, but rather than stopping there, I slowly push it into the fire, adding more and more chakra. 

Opening my eyes, I find that my hand isn't burning anymore, merely deflecting the flames with my chakra. Sighing in relief, I pull my hand back and stop my chakra flow, laying down on the ground.

I can't believe I overlooked something so... so simple.

"I see you finally figured it out," Ryouichi-sensei notes, walking over towards me. I open my eyes and look over at him, a smile quirking my lips.

"It sure took me long enough. Once I figured out that it was just like the water walking exercise, the rest was easy," I say, sitting up and putting out the fire.

"I wouldn't say so. The fire was constantly burning away your built up chakra, making it difficult to focus so much at such a steady rate. You've done well... so it's time to move on to the next step."

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