Naruto's POV
Two days later he awoke to a knock on his door. It was only six in the morning so it made him cautious to find out who had come for a visit. He checked the peephole to find Hayate on the other side. He opened the door smiling at the man. Hayate asked coughing slightly," May I come in, Naruto?"
Naruto didn't bother to answer him instead pulling the door open wide enough for him to come in. Hayate looked around his kitchen with a critical eye. Naruto had cleaned up since the last time someone had come over. There were still a few scattered scrolls but it was much cleaner than before. Hayate took a seat at his small table and said," Naruto I have been thinking since the night of the scroll incident."
Naruto felt the blood drain from his face at the mention of that night. The night that he found out that he had the nine tailed did inside him. Hayate was going to tell him that he wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Naruto sat in the chair across from Hayate preparing for heartache. Hayate sighed tiredly as he said," Naruto, I'm not abandoning you. I came to see if you wanted me to continue to train you."
He gave a harsh cough that worried Naruto but the sickly man waved him off. That's when the words hit him and Naruto asked in disbelief," You want to train me sensei?" Hayate nodded and said," Yes... cough... I can see your potential but only if you want me to teach you." Naruto said with a giant smile," Yes sensei. I would be honored if you continued to teach me."
Hayate said nodding," Good. Naruto if I am going to teach you to it must be a secret. The Hokage doesn't exactly approve of my interest in you." He figured the man would say something like that. Still he was happy to be training with the first person to ever believe in him. Naruto said seriously," I won't tell anyone until you say I can sensei." They shook on it Hayate had an approving look on his face.
Hayate said after a moment getting to his feet," Naruto eat a good breakfast then meet me in the training grounds we usually use." Naruto nodded and a second later he was gone. Naruto quickly made a breakfast of eggs and toast. He poured a glass of milk before quickly downing his food. With his food finished and left his apartment. He went straight to the training grounds that he and Hayate used.
When he arrived Hayate was already there. The man looked up and asked concerned," Did you eat?" Naruto said," Yes sensei. Eggs and toast."
He didn't seem convinced but let the matter drop for the moment. He indicated for Naruto to come closer. On the ground before him was several plain scrolls and a pen. Off to the side there was a scroll that had a seal on it. Hayate said pushing Naruto by his shoulders so that he sat," Before I teach you anything else you must learn storage seals. Now copy the seal when your done let me see it."
Naruto spent the next twenty minutes drawing the seal. When he was satisfied with it he went to where Hayate was sharpening his sword. He took the seal from Naruto looking it over with a critical eye. He nodded approvingly as he said," Good. Go do nine more. Bring them to me when your done." With a sigh Naruto left to do as he was told without a verbal complaint. He sat back on the grass and began to redo the seal on other scrolls.
Naruto could feel the eyes of his sensei on him the entire time. When he finished his tenth seal he brought them to Hayate. Hayate said putting them in the grass," Excellent, Naruto. Now place a kunai on the seal. To put the weapon inside the scroll you focus your chakra into the seal." Naruto was about to do just that when Hayate grabbed his arm stopping him. He said seriously," Only a small amount or the it will explode."
Naruto nodded and Hayate watched him for a moment before releasing him. Naruto slowed his breathing and focused on his chakra. He placed his hand on the seal and released a small amount of chakra into it. It exploded sending him back several feet. Hayate moved a little farther away so that he could continue sharpening his blade.
He tried again and it ended up with the same results. He growled angrily and tried again. He didn't want to disappoint his sensei. He was so focused on what he was doing he didn't even notice when Hayate came up behind him. Hayate said placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder," Naruto calm down. I know it's frustrating for you but you must keep calm."
Naruto looked up at him his anger clear in his eyes. Hayate's eyes though were calm and understanding. Naruto calmed slightly and said," Yes sensei. Sorry I was just frustrated." Hayate nodded and stepped away now that his student was calm again. Naruto slowed his breathing and tried again. This time the kunai disappeared into the seal.
Hayate said looking up as he said," Again." Naruto looked up before nodding. He sent three more kunai into his seals. Hayate said patting him on the shoulder," Well done Naruto. Now how good is your taijutsu?"
He said running the back of his neck," It's not very good sensei. Not as bad as my genjutsu but still not very good." Hayate rubbed his face tiredly as he said," All right stand up. We will start working on that next."
Naruto was on his feet in an instant watching Hayate warily. He dodged a moment later when Hayate tried to attack him. Naruto had to keep moving as Hayate kept attacking him. As he stepped back away from a punch a leg came at him. It hit my square in the chest sending him flying. Naruto hit the nearest tree with a loud crack. :Ow, ow ow. Damn that hurt.: Naruto got up and was right back to dodging the man never giving him the chance to attack.
They did an hour of this before Hayate called an end to it. Hayate said," Let me see you wounds, Naruto." Naruto gave him a suspicious look. He may trust Hayate outside of training but at this moment he didn't trust him not to give him more injuries. Hayate sighed and said sitting in the grass," Naruto I won't do anything else. I just want to be sure that you don't have any broken bones."
Cautiously Naruto moved closer and sat in the grass next to the jounin. Hayate lifted his shirt pushing lightly on Naruto's ribs until he was satisfied. Every time he pushed on them Naruto would hide a wince but damn they hurt. After a moment Hayate said," Good they are not broken just bruised." Once Hayate was sure he didn't have any broken bones he went to one of the trees. He pulled out something from behind it. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw and recognized the shape. It was a sword.
Hayate held the sword out to Naruto watching him with an expectant look. He took the sword carefully from the sickly jounin and pulled the sword free of its sheath. The blade was made of tempered steel and had a faint blue tinge to it. On it also was the moon cycles. Hayate said drawing his own sword from the sheath on his back," I will teach you how to wield this blade. It will take time for you to master it and you must promise me not to use it without my permission. This is for your own protection. Do you accept my terms?"
Naruto nodded mutely staring at the gift. Hayate smiled slightly and said," Good be here at six am ready to train." Naruto said excitedly," Yes sensei!"
Hayate watched as he sealed the katana into one of his scrolls before running off. He went straight home to put his scrolls away before grabbing his headband. Today was the day that he was supposed to take his picture for his ninja id. He had almost forgotten in all the excitement of the morning. He put his headband on and ran off to the Hokage's tower.
He made his way directly to the Hokage's tower barely making it in time. Naruto gave have a cheeky grin to the camera and the old man that was a photograph glared at him. The man took the picture and handed it to him yelling for him to leave. The next stop was the Hokage's office. The old man looked up from his paperwork when he placed his id application on the desk.
Hokage said," I'm glad to see things are going well for you. You had me worried for a while. And you'll be pleased to note you've already got a C-class mission under your belt from taking on Mizuki. As he was a Chuunin, he should have been far above a Genin's capabilities, even with another Chuunin backing you up. As such, this village owes you its thanks. Without you, Mizuki would likely have succeeded."
Naruto just grinned, but looked to the door in confusion as the it creaked open slowly. A moment later, a young boy leapt in, screaming, "On guard, old man! Right?!" only to ruin his entrance a moment later by tripping over his own feet. Following the boy was a man in the black jumpsuit of a Chuunin, his hitai-ate worn like a bandanna over his black hair, and small, round, black sunglasses, rather similar to one of Naruto's classmates'.
As the kid hit the ground with a cry of "OWWW!" Naruto looked from the embarrassed Hokage to the interrupting duo in the doorway. "I get it! It's a trap? Right?!" the boy cried, sitting up and holding his head.
Shoving his sunglasses up his nose with his middle finger, the man in black swiftly asked, "A-are you alright, Honored Grandson? And for the record, there are no traps here!"
Naruto sported a disbelieving expression on his face as he looked from the man to the kid. "What's going on? Who's the kid? And who's the geek?" Naruto asked.
"Kid?" the kid yelped. The man whipped around to stare in surprise and then disgust at Naruto. The Hokage just watched the scene with a growing sense of dread.
"Aha, so you tripped me! It was you! Right?!" the kid cried, just before Naruto grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "You fell over your own feet!" Naruto yelled back.
"Unhand him, Demon! That boy happens to be Konohamaru, the grandson of our revered Third Lord Hokage!" the man cried, joining the yelling and pointing at the Hokage, who looked like he'd love to be anywhere but in the room at the moment.
Turning to look back down at the kid, Naruto almost laughed as the kid challenged, "So? Take your best shot! I dare you!" "Like I care, stupid!" Naruto yelled right back, dropping him to the ground to soundly smack him over the head.
:The kid was an idiot,: Naruto thought with a faint sense of disgust. He turned to the old man and asked," Hey old man if there is nothing else I have more training to do." The old man waved him off and Naruto left. He was going to the library so that he could look up basic sword techniques. He rubbed his left side wincing as his hand touched one of the many bruised he received. Hayate sure as he'll wasn't going easy on him earlier.
Naruto noticed immediately that someone was following him. Whoever it was, wasn't very good. That eliminated any ninja in the village that would follow him for whatever reason. He turned to face the person and they tried to hide themselves on the fence. His eye twitched in anger and he had to force himself to take a calming breath. He confronted the person," That is a horrible disguise. You had better not be an actual ninja."
The sheet hiding the person dropped and revealed the brat from the Hokage's office. The brat said smiling as he said," Thats what I would expect from you, boss." Naruto said continuing on his way," I don't have time for this."
The kid continued to follow him and he knew he couldn't borrow sword skill scrolls from the library with his little shadow. He asked trying to keep ahold of his temper," Listen..." He realized he didn't know the kid's name.
Hayate's POV
He gave a quiet cough as he made his way to the Hokage's office. He stopped when he saw his student talking with the honorable grandson. What idiot let these two meet? Someone wants trouble to happen. He heard the younger of the two say," My name is Konohamaru. And your going to be my boss." Oh no. That's exactly what they didn't need. Naruto teaching the grandson of the Hokage.
As if hearing his thoughts Naruto said," No thank you kid. I have other things to do today and they don't include you." That caught Hayate's attention. That caught Hayate's attention as far as he knew Naruto didn't have plans for the day. He noticed for the first time that Naruto had a backpack on and it but him. The boy was going to the library. His student was likely going to look for sword technique scrolls.
Konohamaru said looking hurt," I need a teacher boss. My current teacher isn't teaching me what I need to know." Hayate could see the understanding in Naruto's eyes. Hayate waited with baited breath to see what the boy would say. Would Naruto still turn away the boy? Or would he help the boy? Naruto said his shoulder showing the tension the boy no doubt felt," Fine but this once. First i have to go to the library."
With that said Naruto led the boy to the library leaving Hayate to his thoughts. :Must not go after Naruto. Must not go after Naruto. Must not... Oh who an I kidding?: He followed the two young boys as they went into the library. He hid his presence completely before following them in. Naruto went right up to the librarian and asked about basic sword technique scrolls.
Hayate watched over his student making such he got the proper techniques that would help him. He felt proud of the boy for going to look for techniques on his own instead of waiting. Naruto was going to become a great ninja one day. He just needed a push in the right direction. Once Naruto had all the needed scrolls he left and Hayate followed them out.
He was stopped by Yugoa a fellow swordman. She was the last of her clan just like him. They had been dating for a few weeks but missions had kept their time together short. She looked pushed and he had a feeling that he knew why. The question was. How did she find out?
Naruto's POV
He took the kid to one of the lesser used training grounds. He said folding his arms trying to imitate the stance of his mentor," You have a choice of techniques to choose from. One Sexy Jutsu. Or two tree walking technique." Konohamaru asked," Can I learn both?"
Naruto was about to refuse when he saw the honesty in the question. The kid truly wanted to learn them. It was the same honest expression he had when he wanted to graduate. He sighed and said," I can get you started on both techniques. You won't master both though. Not today at least."
He gave Konohamaru the basics of the sexy jutsu then supervised him as he practiced tree climbing. Like Naruto, Konohamaru struggled with the technique. Naruto knew the difficulties of it but couldn't put it into words on how to fix what he was doing. Konohamaru didn't give up though. Instead he kept trying and proved to Naruto that he truly wanted to learn. :Maybe this kid isn't so bad. Is this how Hayate sensei feels when he teaches me something new?:
Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when part of the way up the tree Konohamaru passes out. Shit! He caught the boy right before he hit the ground. Naruto started by checking Konohamaru's pulse. While faster than normal it was steady. A cold voice drew his attention to the trees," What do you think you are doing to the Honorable grandson, Demon?!"
It was the man from earlier. The man held the same cold look in his eye that everyone in the village. Naruto was sick and tired of everyone giving him that look. He was not a demon! He said angrily," I am doing your job closet pervert!" The man said equally as angry," I am not a pervert, Demon! I am a special jounin that trains the potential next Hokage candidates."
Naruto said glaring," There are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage pervert. To become Hokage you have to work harder than anyone. You have to master all sorts of jutsus and be stronger than anyone! If Konohamaru is going to be Hokage he will have to get through me first." The pervert snorted and said," Get past you. He could do that even now. You are weak Demon!"
Naruto was tired of that word. He was going to prove this bastard wrong. He brought his hands up in the now familiar hand seal and said," Shadow Clone jutsu!" When the smoke cleared theere stood ten Narutos. The pervert jumped down into the clearing.
He said angrily," Demon I'm going to teach you some manners." Naruto was about to retort when a groan made him turn his attention to Konohamaru.
The boy was sitting up and rubbing his head. He turned to Naruto and asked," What's going on boss?" Naruto turned his chin to the pervert and Konohamaru glared at his teacher. The boy said practically yelling at his teacher," You! Leave. I am learning techniques that you refuse to teach me."
Naruto gave a small smile to the younger boy. He said though his eyes turning cold as he looked back at the pervert," Konohamaru watch this. I will prove that I am better than your teacher." He brought his hands up and did the hand seal for transformation and said," Sexy jutsu."
When the smoke cleared again there stood ten blond haired naked women. It sent the pervert flying and knocked him out. Naruto dispelled the technique and said," Like I said. Konohamaru I have to go now but keep working on your techniques. Remember this though. There are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage. You have to work harder than anyone until everyone acknowledges you."
Konohamaru said tears brimming in his eyes," You called me by my name. I will work hard to make you proud. From now though we will be rivals." Naruto nodded his acceptance and picked up his bag heading home. He left the boy to take care of his sensei.
Hayate's POV
He smiled at his student that boy sure had a way with words. He might have changed the course of the honorable grandson's life. Naruto looked directly at his hiding spot as if he knew that Hayate was there. Hayate sat there barely daring to breathe waiting for the boy to move on. After a moment Naruto did.
That honestly surprised him. If Naruto caught him spying on him he wouldn't be happy. It would very well lose any ground Hayate had gained in earning Naruto's trust. For now though he would watch over the boy. Both for protection and to learn more about his student.
Sarutobi's POV
He was in his office surrounded by the jounin's that would be getting genin teams. Kakashi, his son Azuma, and Kurenia. Each were powerful jounin's in their own rights. Sarutobi said," Now that everyone's here we can get started. Do any of you have a preference to who would be on your team?"
Kakashi was the first to answer," I would prefer to train Sasuke Uchiha." Sarutobi nodded he expected that. The man would be a good teach for the only surviving Uchiha. The others already had students they preferred and no surprise no one wanted Naruto. There was also the problem that Hinata Hyuugga and Kiba Inuzaka wasn't on anyone's list.
Naruto and Kiba would both need a sensei that would teach them patience. Hinata though would need a sensei that would give her confidence and help her get over her shyness. He remembered Hayate asking him for permission to train Naruto. The man would be perfect for Naruto but there was still the problem of Kiba and Hinata. Thinking on it the old man realized that Hayate would be good for them. The only problem was pulling Hayate off of active duty to teach the genin.
As if reading his thoughts Kurenia said," I will take the brat if no one else will. I won't go easy on him though." Sarutobi was torn between letting her take Naruto and allowing Hayate to. They were both skilled jounin that shouldn't be taken off of active duty. A knock on his office door drew everyone's attention to the sickly jounin jounin that came in. If the other jounins were surprised by the man's entrance they didn't show it.
He took his place before the desk and said," You asked for me Lord Hokage." The old man rubbed his face tiredly and said," You mentioned before that you wished to take Uzumaki, Naruto as your student. Would you be willing to take a full genin team that includes young Uzumaki?"