Tazuna's House Third Person's P.O.V.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walk through the front door. Sasuke and Sakura are using each other for support, and both look utterly exhausted.
Kakashi glanced over to the pair. "What happened to you two? He chuckled to himself, at the look of his team.
"When it comes to training, Naruto is a slave driver!!!" Seriously, Sakura feels like she was about to die from chakra exhaustion. Is this really how The Pinkette was supposed to enlarge her chakra reserves?
"Don't worry Sakura. It'll get easier the more you work at it. In a couple of weeks, you should be able to perform more advanced Jutsu. That's a plus right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Now we know why you look like that. But why does he?" Kakashi gestures to the Raven haired Genin.
"I m-made it to th- the top of the tree." Man The Uchiha was exhausted. But he was finally getting stronger. He'll be stronger than Naruto in no time.
He already made it to the top. He must have been really motivated. It's probably because he hates being behind Naruto all the time. Well any motivation is better than nothing. "Good, now you and Sakura can go protect Tazuna tomorrow."
"No disrespect Sensei, but I'll protect Tazuna tomorrow. They both still need more training, if we're going to face Zabuza and the Hunter-Nin. Sasuke and Sakura need to use this time to train as best they can. Being with Tazuna is only going to hinder their progress."
"I guess you're right. I'm sure you can handle it by yourself. Now come sit down. Tsunami's almost done making dinner."
Tsunami brings out some sauteed vegetables with mashed potatoes. A peaceful quietness surrounds the group until it's broken by Inari.
"Why are you guys training so hard? You'll never be able to defeat Gato."
"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, training is better than doing nothing." Naruto replies in a calm tone, with a look of indifference.
"You can train until you drop, it won't matter. The weak are always defeated by the strong. You don't know anything about this country. You come in here with a positive attitude all the time, without a care in the world. All the while, people like me live in turmoil. You don't know what it's like to suffer!!"
After Inari's outburst, the remaining people in the room turned to Naruto. Sakura, remembering the old Naruto, expected him to lash out at the kid irrationally. They were all surprised when Naruto quietly stood up from his seat. What he did next, made all of them drop their mouths in shock. He walked towards Inari, stared down at the boy, raised his hand above his head, and slapped the kid right across the face, leaving a hand shaped mark on his cheek where his hand connected. The room was silent. No one knew what to do. When Naruto spoke up, it gave them all chills. His voice was deeper and resonated an anger and hatred that they never witnessed from the blond boy before.
"Don't talk about things you don't know or understand. My life is far worse than yours. So are a lot of the people's lives in your country. You have a warm place to live, food to eat, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and a Mother and grandfather that would do anything for you. Other people, older and younger than you are homeless, by themselves, and lucky if they get something to eat once a week. So don't you dare start complaining about how hard your life is. You lost your dad, I get it. That's awful, but it doesn't mean you can just sit around all day moping about your life, when compared to others, your life is great... By the way, Gato isn't strong. He's just a scrawny wimp, who has enough money to pay other people to do his dirty work. He hides behind his guards. He's a coward and so are you. If your life is so horrible, then do something and change it. If you don't, then do us all a favor and stop antagonizing those who do. And for the love of Kami, stop crying you little baby!!" Naruto heads towards the door.
"Naruto!! That was totally uncalled for. You went to Fa-"
"Sakura! Do me a favor, and shut the hell up!" He put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door.
"Where are you going, Naruto?" Kakashi asked with a hint of worry In his voice.
"I need to go blow off steam. Sasuke, Sakura meet me in the forest tomorrow at 7 A.M. for more training."
"7!! Are you serious?"
"Yes, you need as much training as possible. Be glad I didn't say 5!"
"What about you huh? You don't honestly believe you can take on Zabuza at your current state, do you!!?" Besides Chakra control, he is just as weak as her!! Sasuke on the other hand, is stronger than them, and could take on Zabuza easily!!
"I think I could probably fight Zabuza. But of course, I'll be training as well. Just not with the same things. Now I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye!" He was done with the conversation. He left out the door, and down the road, towards the forest.
"Well, that was unexpected. Naruto hardly ever acts out in anger. Except maybe when he's pranking somebody."
"Inari, are you okay," His Mother asked tentatively, while reaching out to pull him into her, in case he needed to be soothed after the actions of the blonde. Inari jerked away from his mother, and ran outside toward the dock, with tears in his eyes.
"Inari!!"
"I'll go talk to him." Kakashi left in the same direction as Inari, to hopefully, make the kid feel better.
The room was silent, and nobody moved, just opting to stare at the door. A minute later, Sasuke went to his room, closely followed by Sakura, but separating, as they got to their respective lodgings.
With Kakashi and Inari (Third Person's P.O.V.)
Inari was sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling above the water, a look of sadness on his face. Kakashi came right up to the side of the boy, and looked at him for a moment before letting his presence be known. "Mind if I sit down?"
"Sure." Inari continues staring off into the distant sea, barely paying attention.
"Naruto didn't mean what he said."
"Then why'd he say it?"
"He has his own special way of dealing with people. Naruto doesn't have a father either. actually, Naruto never had any parents, and doesn't have a single friend in our village"
"Really! How come?"
"He's blamed for something of which he has no control over. The people in our village, who are old enough to know what it is, are not allowed to discuss it. But, that did not stop them from making sure his life was as horrible as possible. They told their children to stay away from him. So he was never able to make any friends his age. I think out of everybody here, Naruto can relate to you the most. He knows how you feel, better than we ever could. In the time I've known him. He has never cried. Naruto doesn't know the meaning of give up. He always fights for what he wants, and is never deferred. He's probably tired of crying all the time, and wants to do everything in his power, to be acknowledged by people in a positive way. That's why he's so hard on you. He wants you to be strong. Heed his words. If your life isn't the way you want it. Then do everything you can to change it. That's what Naruto would do, and your father as well... Tazuna told us all about him. It is sad, but Naruto's right. Just because something horrible happens in your life doesn't mean you can just cry all the time." Kakashi gets up and walks back toward the house. "Later." He says turning his head over his shoulder, with his signature eye smile.
With Naruto
Naruto was in a huge clearing fighting about 200 of his clones. Occasionally changing which Taijutsu style he was using. That way, he can maximize his training results. "The nerve of that kid, spouting off all that crap, thinking he knows me and my life! He needs a lesson in the ways of the real world."
"Calm down Kit, he's just a child."
"I don't care!! People like that need to just shut up. They have no idea what they are talking about!"
"I understand, but that doesn't excuse the way you treated him."
"I just showed him a little tough love," Naruto explains innocently.
Uh huh, sure!
"Yeah I know!! It's just... people like that make me so angry!!!"
After the final clone was defeated, Naruto conjured up about 400 more and switched to one of his more vicious fighting styles, The Doragon no honō (Dragon Flame). The Dragon Flame is a style that relies more on offence than defense. Using fast and precise punches and kicks to prevent any opening for attacks. You can relentlessly beat on your opponent, until they're either dead or unconscious, or just until they're unable to fight anymore. This style requires your Taijutsu speed to be really fast. He himself wasn't able to perfect the style, until he could move at speeds which only a Jonin or higher could still see him. After he destroyed all of his clones, he collapsed from exhaustion.
The Next day (Naruto's P.O.V.)
what time is it Kurama?" He was still groggy, having just woken up.
"About 6:55, you need to go see your teammates. They're probably already waiting for you at the trees."
Naruto Created 5 clones and sent them off to protect Tazuna at the bridge. Then he ran to the trees. About 3 minutes later he arrived and saw them staring at him. "What? Do I have something on my face?"
Third Person's P.O.V.
Sakura stares at him. "You look exhausted! What exactly were you doing all night?"
"Training."
"What are we going to be doing today!?" Sasuke was clearly losing his patience.
Naruto Smirked before pulling out a couple Kunai. "You'll be facing me, 2 against one in a Kenjutsu sparring match."
Sasuke grinned and pulled out a Kunai of his own.
"Are you sure that's a very smart idea, Naruto? You could get hurt?" Chaaa, now's her chance to prove that she is useful to Sasuke!! Sorry Naruto, but your going down!!!"
"Before we start, there is a catch." He began to take off his headband, and wrap it around his eyes. "As you can see, I will not be able to see during our match. Consider it a handicap, to make it easier for you guys." He was aggravating them on purpose.
Sakura balked at his display. "Are you stupid, Naruto, now you'll definitely get hurt!!?"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, if I were you"
In one swift move, Sasuke threw one Kunai towards Naruto, while at the same time, rushing at him from behind, with the other one. He smirked, thinking he had Naruto beat. Then something unbelievable happened. Naruto caught the first Kunai in his left hand, and whirled around just in time to intercept the Kunai that Sasuke was aiming toward his neck, with the other Kunai in the Uchiha's right hand.
Naruto smirked. "Nice try, Sasuke!"
"What- how!?"
"I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. I've barely scratched the surface of my skills with you. Even with Kakashi, I was still holding back." he handed Sasuke back his Kunai.
Sasuke took the Knife. "How strong are you Naruto?"Anger was evident in Sasuke's body language
"Guess you'll just have to wait and see." Naruto smirked one last time, before looking in Sakura's direction, which probably creeped her out, because she doesn't know that Naruto can sense her presence. "Why didn't you try to come at me, Sakura? Remember what I told Kakashi on day one. Your enemy won't wait for a start, so don't expect one. Unless of course it's a test. Then you need to wait for a start.
Sakura was flabbergasted. How did he do that? Also, how did he know where she was? He shouldn't even be able to see her. Cha!!! What the heck was that!! He stopped Sasuke without even looking!!!"
How did that even happen? He barely even had time to know where The Raven-haired boy was coming from. Yet, he blocked his attack perfectly, without even breaking a sweat. Sasuke figures the blond could be just as strong as Kakashi without the Sharingan.
"Are you guys ready to go again? And for future reference, you should both come at me together. Remember, Teamwork is a great way to take down a foe, who might possibly be stronger than you."
"Give me a break. Like you're actually strong enough, that all that will beat you, is teamwork! You're not the Sensei Naruto. You won't be that difficult?" A look of smugness graced Sakura's features.
"Well, if you're so sure about that. Then why don't you both come and fight me at the same time? I won't even use my clones to win. It'll just be me. Care to put your money where your mouth is?" Naruto smirks, infuriating her more.
Sakura was so angry, she whipped out 2 kunai and threw them both at Naruto, aiming for his head. To which he ducked avoiding them easily. This made Sakura even angrier, causing her to charge at Naruto with 2 more Kunai aimed toward his legs. All he had to do was lift his foot and step on the arm with the first kunai. Followed by a simple kick with the opposite foot, knocking the second Kunai out of her hand and back a few feet. Naruto vanished, grabbed Kunai before it hit the ground, and reappeared before she could even do anything more. All the while, still having the headband wrapped around his eyes.
"I thought I told you to both come at me. If you're not gonna take this seriously, and just waste my time. Why should I even bother training you?" With nothing else needing to be said,Naruto began to walk away knowing that that would get them to take this seriously. He was not disappointed as he sensed 4 kunai coming at him from 2 different directions. He smirked, before blocking the 2 on his left, and sidestepping the 2 on his right.
Dammit!! They got to get him to run out of usable Kunai before they would even have a chance at defeating him. "Sakura!!"
"Huh?"
"Follow my lead. We need to somehow get him to lose both kunai. That way he won't be able to block or repel our attacks anymore."
"Yeah!! Then we'll crush him!! Right Sasuke?"
"Is that so!? I hope you can back that up Sakura, Sasuke"
Sasuke rushed Naruto with his first Kunai. Knowing this would cause him to block the attack, leaving an opening for Sakura to knock it out of his hand. He smirked, when Naruto began to block the attack. Just like he planned. "Now Sakura!!"
Sakura threw her kunai at Naruto, effectively knocking the kunai he was holding out of his hand. Sasuke smirked, until he saw Naruto grin, right before summoning a third kunai to intercept Sasuke's. Sasuke jumped back, before rushing at Naruto again. Right as he was about to jab at his torso, Naruto vanished and reappeared Behind Sasuke, holding a kunai to his throat.
"You lose," He announces calmly.
"What!! That's Ridiculous! You had to have che-"
Naruto vanished once again, before appearing behind Sakura, with a kunai held to her throat as well. "You fail as well. You shouldn't have let your guard down, Sakura." Naruto says in a scolding manner. "Well now that we're done with that, it's clear we need to work on your speed and strength." Naruto vanishes and reappears a second later with 2 sets of arm and leg weights. "Here put these on. 25 pounds each arm and leg for you Sakura, and 50 pounds each arm and leg for you Sasuke."
"What are these supposed to do? Other than make you look atrocious to the human population."
"These 'Atrocious fashion wear' as you so eloquently put it, will help you become stronger and faster. Once you can move normally with this much weight on you, add ten more pounds. Then once you can handle that add, another 10 pounds, and so on."
"There is no way I'm wearing these. They're ugly!!"
"I'm sorry. I wasn't' aware your appearance was more important to you, than impressing Sasuke." Naruto retorts, knowing exactly how to get her to concede.
"How much weight are you wearing Naruto?"
"About 70 pounds on my arms, and 100 on my legs."
"Well if you can handle that, I should surely be able to handle more."
"If you're so sure about that, then try this much." He then handed Sasuke 120 lb. leg weights and 80 lb. arm weights. "See how well you can move in those." He said with a knowing grin.
Sasuke put on the weight and felt somewhat ok on his feet.
A cocky smile takes over Sasuke's face. "Told you loser!"
"Come ON Naruto, you didn't honestly believe you were stronger than Sasuke, did you?" She said with an incredulous tone.
"Uh huh, why don't you try moving now."
The second Sasuke took a step forward, he fell flat on his face. To which Naruto just laughed. Sakura ran to Sasuke making sure he was alright. Then she turned and glared at Naruto.
"What's wrong with you Naruto?! How can you laugh after something like that happened to one of your teammates."
"I told him he wouldn't be able to handle it. It's not my fault he's so stubborn and has to prove he's the best all the time." Naruto defended against Sakura's temper, which didn't faze him whatsoever.
Naruto took off the extra weight, and Sasuke was finally able to stand back up. He was also able to move, with only a little resistance from the weight. "By the way Sasuke, thanks for reminding me, that I need to upgrade my weights." He then proceeded to add 20 pounds to his legs, making the weight on his legs 120 lbs and 30 pounds on his arms, making the weight on his arms add up to 100 lbs each. Naruto however was still able to move fairly well, barely being restricted at all. So he added 20 more lbs to each of his limbs. Now there was 140 lbs on each leg and 120 lbs on each arm. Now it was more difficult to move freely. This of course, just caused Sasuke to growl in anger.
"What do we do next?"
"You guys are going to do more tree climbing, to get your body situated with the extra weight. This will also make you stronger and better with your chakra control, seeing as the heavier the object, the more chakra is needed to maintain contact with the tree."
"Alright, what will you be doing?" Maybe if he tells him. He can ditch this training and do what he does, and then he'll become stronger than him. Sasuke's musings were cut short. The Uchiha did not get the answer he was hoping for.
"None of your business, Sasuke!" Naruto increased his K.I., showing there was no room for discussion.
Sakura started visibly shaking under the intensity of Naruto's glare. So did Sasuke, but he hid it better. Naruto had noticed anyway, which made him smile, before he vanished in a flash of orange.
Kakashi's P.O.V.
Kakashi wanted to see how Naruto was doing with the team training, So he summoned his Ninja dog Pakun to sniff them out, and followed the trail. When they got there, he was... surprised, to say the least, when he saw Naruto taking on both Sasuke and Sakura simultaneously. All while wearing a blindfold. From the look on his face, he wasn't really trying at all. At best, he was probably just trying to gauge their skills, as of this moment in their training. He then gave them some weights so they could condition their bodies. Sasuke being who he was, of course tried to show off. This in turn, led to him just embarrassing himself by falling flat on his face, into the ground. But what really put him on edge, is the amount of K.I. that Naruto put into his stare. Even The Jonin tensed up a little bit, watching him glare at his teammates with a look that promised pain, if there was any opposition to his commands. He wonders if Naruto even knows how strong he himself is. Or how strong he can become. After that, Kakashi walked back to the house so he could lay down some more. Naruto sure is an interesting teacher.
With Naruto (Third person's P.O.V.)
Naruto was training another one of his taijutsu styles Hóu quán (Monkey Fist) with about 200 clones. This style relies on strength and agility. You have to constantly be moving while taking any openings you can. Once you find one, increase the chakra to your hands or feet depending on what you're attacking with and hit the target as hard as you can. When you're on defense, it's a similar concept. Increase chakra to your arms and legs. That way when you get hit, you're about as immovable as a gorilla. This technique is called Monkey fist, because you attack and defend with the strength rivaling a gorilla. It is mainly used when facing an enemy who is bigger and stronger than you, thus removing any disadvantages caused by size and strength. After four hours of each clone practicing the style against another clone, Naruto purposely dispelled all of them at once. That way the memory overload would knock him out, giving him some much needed rest.
The Next Morning
Under the shade of the large overgrown trees, we see a girl, about 12 years of age, picking some medicinal herbs. She slowly and carefully places each plant into her basket with tender care. When she notices the Uzumaki laying down 20 ft. from her position. She stands up and begins to walk in his general direction. When she gets to the body, she kneels down and slowly reaches her hand out to his neck, thinking it would be so easy to kill him right now. She instead, chooses to grab his shoulder and shake him awake.
"Hey wake up! Seriously you'll catch a cold if you continue to sleep out here."
"Ugg." He slowly sits up and leans his back against a tree. "It's OK, I don't ever get sick." He said with a warm smile which made the young girl loosen up a bit, thinking he wasn't a threat to her at this moment.
"That's cool, anyway what are you doing out here in the cold for?" She gave the blond an amused smile.
"I was just resting for a while after my training exercise."
"What are you training for?"
"I'm a ninja, and I'm on a mission to protect someone from a pretty dangerous man. This guy is building a bridge that is the hope of this country. That's why I must be as strong as possible. If Tazuna dies, so too does the hope for this place, to ever get any better."
"That's noble."
"So now that that's out of the way, what are you doing out here? A knowing smirk crosses his countenance. It put the Hunter-Nin back on edge.
"I'm collecting herbs with medicinal properties, so I could help an injured friend recover faster."
"Can I help?"
"Sure, by the way. What's your name? If you don't mind my asking?"
"It's cool, my name is Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. What's yours?"
"Haku."
"Nice to meet you, Haku." He smiled and began helping her collect the herbs. After an hour or so, they were done and Naruto got up, and began to walk away. Before he left, he turned to the girl with a smirk. "By the way, Haku!"
"Yes?"
"One question. When should I be expecting to run into you and Zabuza again?" He smirked at the shocked look on Haku's face, and flashed away in a blur of orange.
Over the next few days, team 7 continued their individual training. Naruto practiced his Taijutsu while Sakura and Sasuke strengthened their chakra control, enhanced their chakra reserves, and conditioned their bodies with the weights.
Tazuna's House (Third Person's P.O.V.)
"Now that it's been about a week since our last encounter with Zabuza. I think it's safe to say, he'll be coming after you tomorrow. This will most likely happen at the bridge. So no more training for now, Right Sensei?"
"Right Naruto. Now that I have completely recovered, I'll be accompanying you as well, Tazuna. Don't worry nothings gonna happen to you, if I have anything to say about it." He looked to Tazuna, who nodded in thanks.
"Was one week really enough training Sensei? Are you sure we're ready?" Sakura asked, doubt evident in her tone.
"You three are stronger than you realize Sakura. Besides if worst comes to worst, you still have Naruto and I, fighting alongside you. You'll be just fine." Jonin flashed his signature eye smile.
Sakura was defiant. "You mean Sasuke."
"What?"
"I think what you meant to say was. If worse comes to worse, at least I'll have you and Sasuke fighting alongside me. You accidentally said Naruto."
"No, Sakura! I meant Naruto. As of right now. He is stronger than Sasuke, and would be far more useful in the fight."
"What!!!! How can you say that!!? Sasuke is way stronger than Naruto. Naruto's pathetic and never does anything right. Sasuke is the one who always saves the day! If it wasn't for him, we never would have beat Zabuza last time!!"
"Whatever you say, sakura." Naruto rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with his pink haired teammate.
"You know it's true, Naruto!! You're useless!!" No one even wants you he-." She was cut off by Naruto knocking her out with a chop to the neck.
"Naruto! Why did you do that?"
"I did it, to get her to shut up." With that said, Naruto went up to his room to sleep, and get prepared for what tomorrow may bring. No one else said anything more, and just slowly walked off to their separate rooms to get some sleep.
Naruto and Sasuke's room (Sasuke's P.O.V.)
Sasuke went up to his and Naruto's room to get some sleep. When he walked in,the blond was awake, just staring at the ceiling. "What are you doing?"
"Thinking."
"About?"
"Nothing that has to do with you."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Why didn't you prove Sakura wrong? Why let her talk to you like that, when you know What Kakashi said was true?"
"What's the point?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let's look at it like this. 1) She's your fan girl, so no matter what I do, she will always see you as better. 2) When you have to constantly prove yourself better than others, it kind of diminishes the point of it bit by bit, don't you think?"
"I guess, I never thought of it that way."
"Now you will. Goodnight Sasuke." He rolled over and went to sleep.
"Goodnight Naruto."
The next Morning (Third person's P.O.V.)
Everybody but Naruto wakes up and prepares for the possibility of coming across Zabuza at the bridge.
"Naruto's exhausted himself from the constant rigorous training he does. When he wakes up, tell him he has the day off."
Tsunami smiles at The Jonin. "Of course, see you later!"
"How can Naruto say he's stronger, and yet he is the one who is asleep, cause he's too tired to function properly." Sakura was completely oblivious to the annoyance of her fellow teammates.
Ugg, why did Naruto and him have to get stuck with her as our third member? Come on seriously, both of them would have preferred anybody else but her.
Kakashi was regretting passing Sakura. Sasuke has gotten more respectful with his teammates. At least with Naruto, Sakura, not so much. Sasuke has begun to rely on Naruto, and their teamwork has increased immensely. Maybe Sakura will come around, eventually.
The bridge
When Team 7 minus Naruto arrived at the bride it was too late. once the fog cleared. All anybody could see were bloody corpses sprawled across the entire bridge and the smell of the rotting bodies, was enough to make anybody nauseous.
"Well, well, well, look who finally showed up. The Monkey and his little teammates!"
To be continued
Alright everyone, I'm back. Sorry it took so long, but after I was allowed to use the computer again. I was only able to write some of this chapter, as I stumbled on some writers block. But I'm back now, and I will try to update once a week.