True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 23//Hitting The Breaks

Disclaimer: Sorry, do not possess any Naruto rights to give. If I don't have any for myself, I don't have any to give. Sorry :(

Author's Note: Really, what is the point of an author's note at the top of my story? I always save the things I have to say for the bottom anyway. Well, whatever. Here's the chapter! Hope you enjoy :P

Twenty-two days since the preliminary exam. One week until the third exam.

Naruto created a shadow clone to work with Kurenai on his training. Ibiki had requested to spend the day working with the original Naruto. The blonde waited impatiently for the scarred tokubetsu jōnin to begin their training.

"It's getting close to time. There's only one more week left until the exam." Ibiki stated to the boy. "We don't have much time, so we have to make every second count."

"I understand." Naruto nodded in response. The blonde gulped a little at the thought of the exam. He wasn't scared, but it was exciting to know that the exam was coming up so soon.

"Again, I don't want to waste any time. We talked about this before and I made a promise to you, but I want to know: do you really wish to learn the shunshin now?" Ibiki asked.

Naruto's eyes widened at hearing that the elusive 'Shunshin no Jutsu' that he had wanted to learn was being offered to him again. A grin appeared on his face.

"Of course!" Naruto said excitably.

"Why?" The first exam proctor questioned as he stared at Naruto intently.

Naruto's eyes lit up as he started to discuss to the jutsu. "It helps improve the user's speed and their evasion. With the shunshin, I would be able to use it to avoid attacks that I normally couldn't and to help with my positioning in a fight."

"So you actually have a plan on how to use this jutsu? You don't wish to learn it simply because Anko uses this jutsu a lot?" Ibiki further questioned, his stare turning into a slight glare.

The Uzumaki's excitement faded slightly and he sighed. "Well, I am going to admit, that's what started my interest in the jutsu. It was just plain annoying watch her use it over and over again!" Naruto's excitement then returned to his eyes. "But then I actually studied the jutsu on my own one time and learned what it was really used for and I knew I needed to learn it. I know it'll make me stronger and improve some of the skills I am kinda lacking in."

Ibiki closed his eyes in thought. Naruto stared at the tokubetsu jōnin nervously, waiting to hear what the man was going to say. A few seconds passed before Ibiki opened his eyes and pulled out a scroll in his pocket.

"If you actually have a plan on how to properly use this jutsu in a fight, then I will teach it to you. It's always good to have a jutsu like this in your arsenal." Ibiki noted as he tossed the scroll to Naruto.

The blonde caught the scroll in his right hand. A large grin crossed his face as he opened it and started to study the jutsu more.

"You seem to know about the fundamentals and some of the general uses of the jutsu. So let's not waste time Naruto. Look for any new information you need in the scroll, then we'll start working on it. Since we are going to practice this, I want you to be ready to use this jutsu in the third exam." Ibiki ordered.

"Gotcha!" The blonde replied.

Naruto continued to study the jutsu, looking for any new information that would be able to help him in understanding and mastering the jutsu as quickly as possible.

At the far edge of Konoha in a training ground littered with rocks, Uchiha Sasuke was panting heavily. The boy's body was covered in bruises and cuts. Sasuke also had weights on his legs. These weights made it difficult for him to get off the ground. He, therefore, had to pull himself off the ground slowly and with a lot of effort. After finally getting off the ground, he faced the source of his injuries: Kakashi.