Chapter 3
Naruto stands in front of the Hokage’s desk, shuffling his feet.
“Naruto, you should be in class right now.” The Hokage severely eyes the boy in front of him. “Not asking me to look at your mother’s scroll.”
The boy visibly gathers his courage and looks the Hokage in the eye. “I did nothing wrong, Jiji. But the instructor still threw me out.” He quietly explains, rage and indignation warring in his eyes.
The Hokage raises a brow. Something is afoot.
“He did?” The Hokage probes.
And it all comes spilling out.
Apparently Hidaka Yoru-sensei was exercising his rights as an authority figure too much, throwing Naruto out for a lot of his ninjutsu and history classes, no matter what Naruto did. This of course caused Naruto to fall behind his classmates and later fail due to his substandard lessons on the Academy Three Jutsu.
And it wasn’t just his ninjutsu and history classes either. Some of the other teachers refused to even acknowledge Naruto, so if he had a question, they wouldn’t call on him. There was no way for him to improve his taijutsu, as the teacher walked right past him to the other students.
The other kids picked up on the teacher’s behavior and sometimes caused situations that the teachers used as excuses to throw Naruto out. Actually, that was one of Hidaka’s favorite excuses to kick Naruto out.
Sarutobi sighs, massaging his forehead. ‘When will this idiocy end?’ He gets up and unseals the scroll from the wall.
“... Alright. You can look at the scroll.” Naruto cheers, “But Naruto, I will be looking into this,” Sarutobi warns. “If my investigation discovers that you aren’t telling me the truth, there will be consequences.”
Naruto squawks indignantly, “But I am, Jiji! ‘ttebayo!”
The Hokage gives a smile with just a hint of teeth. “Then you have nothing to worry about.”
Naruto nods obliviously, making grabby motions at the scroll in the Hokage’s hands. The Hokage lets him take it and the boy zips over to his new spot in the office’s corner and immediately settles down.
Sarutobi quietly watches him as the blond unravels the scroll to a new storage seal, eagerly disgorging and carefully pawing through the contents.
‘He’s surprisingly focused.’ The Hokage notices. ‘It seems that anything that holds his interest has his entire focus… So is being thrown out of class truly the teachers fault, or is Naruto’s attention span at fault here?’
The Hokage flicks his fingers and quietly orders his Anbu to have someone watch the teacher’s of Naruto’s class and report their findings back to him.
- Three Days Later -
Sarutobi’s knuckles whiten on his clenched fists. “Are you sure?” He growls.
“Yes, Hokage-sama!” The shadowy figure crouched before him replies.
Sarutobi bares his teeth in a semblance of a grin. “I want Instructors Hidaka and Kozumi in my office first thing tomorrow. No excuses. Drag them to me if you have to.”
The Anbu salutes smartly, rapping out, “Yes, Hokage-sama!”
A thought strikes Sarutobi. “Also, have Iruka brought to me after I’ve dealt with the instructors. I have a new job for him.” The Anbu nods.
“Dismissed.” The figure vanishes in a shunshin. The Hokage turns his chair to look out the windows behind him. “I’ve failed you once again, Minato…” He whispers, staring out at the faces on the Hokage’s Monument.
His face hardens. “But no more. This farce ends now.”
- Later -
“—But Hokage-sama!” Hidaka protests.
“No buts!” The Sandaime shouts, slamming his hands on his desk. “You shirked your duty in imparting invaluable life lessons to those students in the academy! Their lives depend on your teachings! To even think of sabotaging a student is unforgivable, much less doing it!!”
“But he’s the Kyubi!” The assistant chunin instructor, Kozumi blurts.
The whole room falls deathly silent, the two people before the Hokage choking on his KI.
In a deadly calm tone, Sarutobi inquires, “Are you telling me that you think the Fourth Hokage didn’t deserve his position?”
“Wha—” The chunin gasps.
“—Because that is exactly what you are doing.” The Hokage barrels on, interrupting the taijutsu instructor, “The Fourth Hokage himself sealed the Nine Tails into Naruto. By saying Naruto is the Kyubi, you are saying that you doubt the Fourth Hokage’s work; that the Fourth, a master of fuinjutsu, did not properly seal the Kyubi away.”
The chunin before him goggle at Sarutobi. How could he say to them that they didn’t respect their savior, the Fourth Hokage?!
The Hokage sits back down in his chair and narrowly gazes at the two academy sensei. “Let me enlighten you about the nature of jinchuriki fuinjutsu. The name itself is a dead giveaway. The person the demon is sealed into is a ‘human sacrifice’, taking on the burden of holding the demon at bay from everyone else. But it only works if the jinchuriki is alive.”
He glares at the now trembling duo before him. “By sabotaging his education, you give our enemies a greater chance of killing Naruto. Thus, you spit on the Fourth’s efforts, significantly increasing the odds that his work is undone and endangering the village.”
His KI fills the room, stifling everything. The shellshocked chunin sink to the floor and Hidaka in particular loses control of his bodily functions.
The Hokage leans forward in his seat, his hat shadowing his face. “And you know the most interesting thing about Naruto’s seal? It’s one of a kind. If he was desperate enough, or hated the village and its inhabitants enough, he could undo the seal himself and let the Kyubi loose…” The ninja before him pale even more. “Of course, that would kill him as well…”
The Hokage trails off pointedly, staring at them. His Intent coated words strike the three with the force of hammer blows. “And it would be. All. Your. Fault.”
The two chunin barely remain conscious. Kozumi joins Hidaka in messing himself.
Sarutobi’s lips curl derisively, “You disgust me. You’re not ninja, nor true inhabitants of Kohona. You do not see underneath the underneath, or act with the Will of Fire.” The Hokage finishes, “You are so blinded by your hate that you betrayed your own village. Take them away.”
Anbu swiftly drag the gibbering wrecks out of the office. Sarutobi hollers after them, “And someone come clean up this mess!”
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Naruto stares wide eyed at the semi comatose people dragged past him by the Anbu as he enters the hokage’s office. “Hey Jiji, what was that all about?”
“Nothing, Naruto.” The Hokage smoothly replies, carefully straightening his paperwork on his desk.
He looks up to eye Naruto. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
“Yeah, but that was Kozumi-sensei being dragged out, right?”
The Hokage nods.
Naruto grins, rocking back on his heels. “Well, Kozumi-sensei’s the one that usually does our taijutsu class. Since he wasn’t at the academy for taijutsu class and it was our last class of the day, the other instructors gave us free time. I’d rather look at mom’s things again since there’s nothing better for me to do.”
The Hokage thinks it over then nods. “Alright. But don’t make a habit of this, Naruto. I will not reward you for skipping class.”
The grin on Naruto’s face grows. “Sure thing, Jiji!” He cries.
From that moment on, if Naruto was not in class, at Ichiraku, planning or executing a prank, he could be found carefully working his way through his mother’s things at the Hokage’s office. If Naruto did skip class, he used that time to hang out with Shikimaru, Choji and Kiba or to pull pranks.
He didn’t dare to try skipping to try and look at his mother’s things. Naruto knew that the Hokage would somehow find out and then ban him from the scroll as punishment.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Several chunin mill about a conference room in the hokage tower. A few kunoichi are seated together, quietly gossiping.
“Hey, do you have any idea why we were all called here?” One male chunin asks another.
“Nope, just got the summons this morning.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, if you could all take your seats.” The Hokage calls, sweeping into the room, the white veil of his hat and his robes of office fluttering around him.
There’s a scramble as the assembled chunin hastily sit down around the conference table. Hardly anyone notices Iruka entering the room behind the Hokage, a thick stack of files and papers in his arms.
Hiruzen takes his place at the head of the table and takes his seat.
Iruka quietly sets down and arranges the assorted paperwork in front of the military leader, then steps back and to the side of the Hokage to signify the chunin is acting as the Hokage’s aide.
The Third Hokage steeples his fingers in front of him as he surveys all of the assembled ninja. “As you all know, there was an incident in the Academy where several instructors were found deliberately sabotaging students, both previous and current attendees. As such, they have been stripped of their hitai-ate and their rank and are now residing in the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility.”
This pronouncement causes a stir.
The Hokage clears his throat and continues. “I have called you all here today as prospective replacements for those instructors.”
The chunin react with surprise and wide eyes as they glance at one another. The murmuring of the group increases.
“That said,” The Hokage releases a burst of Intent, the chunin jerking in their chairs and falling silent. “I will ask you to only take the position if you are willing to treat all of the academy’s students fairly. All of them.”
The room stills as several of the shinobi present twig onto the unspoken message. Don’t mess with the jinchuriki attending the Academy OR ELSE.
The Hokage reins in his Intent, seeing that the whole room got his message. “If you cannot handle that or think you are fit for the position, the door is right there.” Hiruzen waves his hand to said door.
There’s a pause as people process what’s being asked of them. A chair screeches against tile as it’s pushed back, obnoxiously loud in the ringing silence.
“Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama.” An unremarkable brown haired chunin says, bowing to his leader. “But I will not be able to fulfil the requirements you asked of me.”
The man straightens and without looking back, marches right out of the room. The chunin’s departure prompts a flurry of ninja bowing to Hiruzen and then silently leaving the room.
Soon, only two chunin remain. One is a kunoichi with long black curly hair and oval glasses. The other is a sturdy male chunin in the standard flak jacket and shinobi blues. His spiky hair is slicked back with a single bang hanging over his forehead.
Hiruzen resists letting out a relieved sigh. “Thank you for staying Suzume, Yonemura.” The Third Hokage rumbles, addressing the two remaining ninja.
Both chunin nod. Suzume reaches up to affix the glasses on her nose while Yonemura crosses his beefy arms, a serious scowl on the man’s face.
Iruka quickly sorts through the pile of folders and papers, finding and placing both ninja’s files in front of his leader while taking the rest into his arms. Hiruzen looks through both files then nods.
“You both have the qualifications to teach at the Academy. I will ask one last time. Are you sure about this?” The Hokage’s gaze bores into both chunin. “You cannot take this back and if I find you mistreating and abusing the students you’re teaching…” The Hokage trails off ominously.
“I understand, Hokage-sama.” Suzume declares, pushing up her glasses yet again. “Those shinobi who committed such acts are deplorable and do not have the right to be teaching our future generations. Rest assured, I will do my best to not follow in their footsteps.”
“That’s all I can ask.” The Hokage replies. He turns his attention to Yonemura. “And you, Yonemura?”
“The kid won’t be an issue.” The man grunts.
A small smile spreads on the Hokage’s lips. “Good.”
Hiruzen clears his throat as he stands, beckoning his subordinates to stand before him. Both chunin quickly move before the Hokage and fall to one knee.
“Suzume and Yonemura, do you both swear to uphold the Will of Fire and as Academy sensei, guide those who learn from you to the best of your abilities?”
“Yes, Hokage-sama.” The two chunin chorus, their heads bowed.
“Do you swear to treat each student fairly, no matter their circumstances?”
“Yes Hokage-sama.”
“Then I am pleased to appoint you as sensei for our future generations.” The Hokage nods above the kneeling ninja. “You may stand.”
Iruka silently steps up beside the Hokage as the two chunin straighten. He holds out two packets of paperwork to the chunin.
“Fill out this paperwork and report to the Academy office at 6am sharp on Sunday.” The Hokage finishes, smiling gently. “Congratulations chunin.”
The two chunin respectfully bow to their leader. They take the paperwork from Iruka then leave.
As soon as the two chunin leave the conference room a small frown appears on the Hokage’s face. ‘I am still one instructor short for the Academy.’
*Rustle Rustle*
The Hokage glances over at the sound.
Iruka is re-gathering all the files and paperwork on the conference table, rearranging them in preparation to be filed in the hokage tower archives.
The sight of the scarred chunin reminds Hiruzen of his past idea, hatched the moment the three traitors were dragged out of his office.
‘Yes, I think Iruka will do just fine as my eyes and ears in the Academy. I’ll have my Anbu grab his file for me.’
The moment the Third Hokage is back in his office, he signals one of his Anbu to go to the archives and grab Iruka’s personnel file.
The Hokage pulls out his pipe and tamps tobacco in it before lighting it with a minor Fire jutsu. He puffs contentedly on it as he watches Iruka putter around his office, filing away the various paperwork in his arms.
A file silently appears next to Hiruzen’s elbow. The Hokage uses his free hand to flip it open and peruses the contents.
‘Good with children, hmm? Yes, he will do just fine… Ah.’ The Hokage pauses when a line of text catches his eye. The Hokage’s lips tighten around the tip of his pipe.
Iruka’s parents, Ikkaku and Kohari Umino were KIA during the Incident on October 10th.
Do not let this shinobi near Naruto Uzumaki. His current psych evals show extreme hatred, blaming Uzumaki for the events on the 10th.
‘Blast it. That throws a huge wrench in my plans.’ The Hokage leans back, letting out a stream of smoke as he thoughtfully regards Iruka’s turned back. ‘Still, I need one more shinobi to fill the last personnel slot in the Academy. At the very least, I would be satisfied by Iruka remaining neutral in his interactions with Naruto-kun. I’ll test him, see what he thinks about this.’
His decision made, Hiruzen clears his throat just as Iruka is leaving through the doors to the Hokage’s office. “Ah, Iruka-kun.”
The chunin’s head pops up, surprised at being addressed so suddenly. The chunin quickly turns around and moves to stand before the Hokage’s desk. “Yes, Hokage-sama?”
“How would you feel about teaching in the Academy?”
Iruka’s eyes bug out. He barely keeps himself from using his Big Head no Jutsu. “WHAT?! M-me?”
“Yes, you.” The Third Hokage replies, amused. He takes another pull from his pipe as he watches the brunette dither.
“I… I don’t know, Hokage-sama.” The man hesitantly states, absently rubbing at the scar on his face.
“The reason I ask this of you, Iruka-kun, is that I trust you.” The Hokage begins, gazing steadily at the shaken chunin. “You have proved yourself to me in your hard work and steady service, both in the Intelligence and Barrier divisions. I have seen your dedication myself ever since you were transferred to work in the tower."
Iruka nods, stunned. He never expected such praise! And from the Hokage no less! The scarred chunin barely keeps himself from squealing.
The Hokage continues, unaware of Iruka’s current thoughts. “It’s been noted in your file that you are particularly good with children.”
“Y-yes. I am.” The chunin replies. The chunin’s expression firms and the man stands taller, his chest puffed out. “I would be happy to teach in the Academy, Hokage-sama.”
The Hokage nods. He pauses for a bit, debating on whether to spring the next part of his plan.
‘Well, in for a ryo and all that.’
“I would also like to ask a favor of you, Iruka-kun.”
The chunin jerks. “Of course Hokage-sama!” Iruka exclaims.
“While you’re teaching at the Academy, I would like you to keep an eye on Naruto-kun for me.”
The chunin stiffens. His face turns ashy grey as he visibly struggles to process his leader’s words.
“I… I…”
“I’m not asking you to personally teach him or give him special attention.” The Hokage smoothly interjects, pulling his ever-present pipe from his lips. “Just that you keep me apprised of his progress and if anything, or anyone is hindering it.”
Iruka gulps. He forces himself not to wipe away the sweat trickling down his forehead. “I-I can do that, Hokage-sama! I won’t let you down!” The chunin cries, giving Hiruzen a robotic salute.
“Thank you, Iruka-kun. I appreciate it.”
The chunin nods and at the Third Hokage’s wordless dismissal, all but bolts for the door.
The Third Hokage’s attention is drawn from watching the rapid exit of the chunin by a monotone voice murmuring, “Hokage-sama.”
Hiruzen turns. He blinks when he finds an uncamouflaged Neko standing in front of him.
‘How unusual. Neko never leaves her post while on duty.’
“Yes, Neko?” The Hokage inquires.
The masked Anbu agent falls to one knee. “Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama.”
“Rise.” The Hokage commands softly. “You may de-mask, Neko.”
The kunoichi nods and takes off her mask as she stands. Behind the purple marked cat mask is the pale face of Uzuki Yugao. She smoothly hooks the mask on her belt then clasps her hands behind her.
“Thank you Hokage-sama.” The kunoichi softly begins. “You asked me a few days ago if I would be willing to teach Uzumaki Naruto.”
‘Ah. So this is what she wanted to talk about.’ The Hokage wordlessly encourages the kunoichi to go on.
“I’ve decided that I will teach Naruto how to care for himself.”
The Hokage smiles at the purple haired kunoichi as he puffs on his pipe. “I am pleased to hear that, Yugao-chan.”
“...May I request something, Hokage-sama?”
The Hokage blinks at the kunoichi’s hesitant tone. It’s quite unlike Yugao, who normally exudes calm confidence.
“Certainly.”
“May I also teach Naruto the Uzumaku Shio(Swirling Tides) kenjutsu and our other clan traditions?”
Hiruzen beams at the kunoichi, thrilled that she’s willing and wanting to take his request a step further. “You certainly may Yugao-chan. But please run your lesson plans by me first.”
The kunoichi thinks it over, then nods her agreement. It’s a reasonable request.
A throat clearing brings Yugao’s attention back to the Third Hokage.
“If you would be so kind as to sate an old man’s curiosity. What made you want to teach Naruto?”
“...I was part of the team that investigated the Academy, Hokage-sama. Seeing how those… those pieces of trash–” Yugao spits, her eyes blazing with hatred, “–treat our precious heir like that… I cannot stand by and do nothing!”
Yugao looks up and gazes into the Hokage’s eyes with her own. Her hands flex from where they’re clasped behind her back.
“What made my decision for me is seeing how he’s been treated in the past and how much he’s struggling in his classes right now. Naruto’s so far behind Hokage-sama. Most of what he’s learned in the Academy is completely wrong and will have to be unlearned before he can begin to improve.”
The pipe in Hiruzen’s hand creaks as the man’s knuckles go white.
Yugao goes on. “I’m honestly surprised he’s gotten as far as he has. But if things stay the way they are, Naruto won’t catch up in time for the last graduation. He also needs to learn our clan’s training methods on top of his remedial lessons. Without them he runs the risk of irreparably damaging his body and his chakra coils.”
Yugao’s gaze is earnest as she finishes. “I can give him the help he needs. That’s why I’ve agreed.”
The Hokage nods, having gone back to his smoking as he listens. “And I’m sure it has nothing to do with wanting to jump start your relationship with Naruto, now that you know he’s from the Uzumaki clan, hmm?”
Yugao twitches, admitting, “Yes… That too.”
The Hokage huffs. “I’ll let Naruto know of his new tutor. You two will meet and you can set up his lessons from there.”
A bright smile breaks out on Yugao’s face. “Thank you Hokage-sama!”
Hiruzen chuckles and waves her off. The kunoichi redons her mask and melts back into her position posing as a filing cabinet in the office.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Naruto pauses at the front gates of the Academy in confusion. Practically all of the kids in the academy are clustered in the training grounds abutting the side of the academy’s building, where the taijutsu grounds, kunai and shuriken range and obstacle courses are located.
‘What’s going on?” He wonders, cocking his head.
“Uzumaki-san. Please go to the training grounds.” An academy sensei says as he passes the blond, heading for a group of students who are walking into the building.
“Hey! You three!” The man shouts, “Go to the training grounds outside the academy, not your classroom!”
Naruto blinks. ‘What the- that was Daikoku-sensei! He’s never treated me this nicely! What is going on?!’
The flummoxed blond absently follows the academy instructor’s directions and joins the teeming throngs of kids wandering at the side of the building.
It’s not long until whatever everyone was gathered at the training grounds for starts. A large smoke cloud erupts in front of the mass of students. It’s swiftly blown away by the wind, revealing the entire Academy staff, plus three newcomers.
The kids are quick to notice the new people standing with the rest of the Academy’s staff and whisper to one another.
“Who are they?” “Why are they standing with our teachers?” “Are they new staff members?” “Ooh, the new guy is really hot!”
Upon hearing that Yonemura sweatdrops. ‘I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?’
“Ahem! Attention please!” The head of the academy calls out.
The students fall silent and as one, turn their attention to the man.
“We’ve gathered you all here today to go over some changes to the Academy. First off—”
Naruto lets out a quiet groan. ‘This old wind bag takes forever to say something! Ugh!’ His eyes glaze over as the man drones on. Images of dancing ramen bowls fill Naruto’s vision, causing the boy to drool.
“—Finally, I would like to welcome our three new chunin instructors: Miyadera Suzume, Kosaku Yonemura and Umino Iruka.”
Naruto snaps awake from his daydream when everyone around him starts clapping. He hastily starts clapping too.
“Suzume-sensei will take over the kunoichi classes on Saturday and act as a homeroom teacher for class 2-C. Yonemura-sensei will take over the weapons and taijutsu classes in place of Kozumi. Finally, Iruka Umino will be the history, ninjutsu and homeroom teacher of class 3-A.”
Again, the students clap for each teacher that’s introduced and several girls in the crowd squeal with excitement at the thought of the hunky chunin teaching them hand to hand.
“With that, everyone can return to their classrooms!”
The teachers all usher the kids into the building, where they separate into their assigned homerooms.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Naruto sits at the back of the class, bored out of his mind as the new homeroom teacher introduces himself.
“Hello class, my name is Umino Iruka!” The scarred chunin chirps. “I’m a 19 year old chunin and I used to work in the Hokage tower and Intelligence and Barrier divisions before I came here. Does anyone have questions for me before we get started?”
Naruto rolls his eyes and zones out again, this time daydreaming of swimming in an oversized bowl of ramen and it’s supersized ingredients. “Ehehehe…”
Minutes pass by until…
“–aruto! Uzumaki Naruto!”
Naruto jerks upright, wiping the slobber from his chin. Everyone is looking at him.
“Uzumaki Naruto, are you present?” Iruka calls again, looking around the classroom with an annoyed expression.
“Ah, here sensei!” Naruto yelps, waving a hand in the air. “I’m here, dattebayo!”
The scarred chunin shakes his head. A vein pulses on the man’s forehead. “Pay attention when I’m taking roll! If you don’t answer then I’ll just mark you absent!”
“Yes, sensei.” Naruto mutters, sinking deeper into his chair with a pout.
Thankfully, Iruka leaves him alone after that and continues down the list, making sure all of the students are present.
Naruto’s a bit surprised. Usually by this time he’s thrown out of the classroom by Hidaka-sensei.
‘But Hidaka isn’t here anymore.’ Naruto realizes. The boy sits up properly in his seat as hope stirs in his chest. ‘Maybe, just maybe this year will be different for me!’
And he wasn’t singled out by this new instructor either! Shikamaru’s also yelled at when he’s too slow to respond to Iruka calling his name, the groggy boy needing Choji to wake him from his pre-class nap.
‘All in all, things were really starting to look up for me!’ Thus cheered up, Naruto fixes his attention at the front of the classroom while homeroom starts.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
“Alright! Gather around you runts!” Yonemura-sensei rumbles. The man stalks back and forth before Naruto’s class on the white painted starting line of the the kunai range. “Listen up! Today’s the day you’re gonna learn how to hold and throw kunai, the most basic weapon a ninja can have! Knowing how to use these babies can mean the difference between life and death!”
A couple of girls titter and swoon as the chunin lectures.
The burly chunin’s head swings around to glare at a certain pair of giggling female students. The two civilians are clearly fangirls, complete with heavy makeup and stylish feminine clothing that impedes any movement. It’s clear that they aren’t taking the shinobi way of life seriously.
The two girls eep and shrink away from Yonemura’s intimidating look.
Yonemura snorts. He turns away from the two and continues. “Line up and I’ll pass out your kunai holsters. I expect you all to wait until I’m done and have gone over all the rules with you before you even hold your new weapons.”
The man takes a deep breath and roars, “AM I CLEAR?!”
The entire group jumps. “Yes sensei!” They all chorus.
“Good. Now get moving.” Growls Yonemura.
The children all quickly form a line and Yonemura hands out the holsters one by one. The kids who have the weapons already scatter into their cliques, chattering with one another.
One particularly bright student has the great idea of ignoring Yonemura’s instructions and pulls out one of the blunt training kunai. The kid laughs as he starts slashing and jabbing with the knife towards one of the nearby kids.
Yonemura is there in an instant, snatching the kunai and holster out of the boy's hands while dumping him in the dirt with a smooth leg sweep.
“WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU, GAKI!” The man roars in the shocked kid’s face. “DO. NOT. PULL. OUT. YOUR. KUNAI!”
The startled boy bursts into tears. The instructor grumbles to himself as he straightens. He looks over the rest of the class, his gaze grim.
“Let me tell you all a story from when I was a kid in the academy.” The man growls in a much quieter register, forcing the kids to pay close attention in order to hear him.
“An idiot by the name of Sada Kansuke had the bright idea of doing what young Mochida here was doing at the beginning of the year. The instructor didn’t notice what was going on as they were too busy helping another student. Sada accidentally let go of the kunai while he was swinging it around. Guess what happened.”
Silence.
After waiting a few beats, Yonemura continues. “The kunai ended up hitting another student right in the leg.”
Horrified gasps sound from the crowd of students gathered around him.
Yonemura nods. “I’ve never heard someone scream so loudly until then. Sada was in BIG trouble. He ended up being drummed out of the ninja corps.”
“W-what happened to the student who was injured, sensei?” One brave student asks.
“That student ended up having to go to the hospital to get their wound treated. They ended up staying there for several days.”
The wide eyed students gawk at him and at each other.
Yonemura smirks. ‘That seems to have done the trick. Heh, this bunch is too gullible. I made sure to leave out that Sada was kicked out from failing the academy test too many times and the kid who was hurt wouldn’t have stayed longer than a few hours in the hospital. The only reason they kept ‘em there was that the medics caught an underlying condition that would have affected the kid later on in life and insisted on treating it.’
The chunin shrugs to himself. ‘Eh, they’ll learn sooner or later to look underneath the underneath. Until then, I’ll use any advantage I can.’
Yonemura claps his hands, drawing the entire class's attention.
“Let this be your first lesson! Kunai and other weapons are not toys!” The man bellows. “They are tools used to kill others and are dangerous if not used properly! Treat them with respect, otherwise you or someone you know will get hurt!
Also, when I tell you something, you’d better damn well listen! Especially when you’re handling weapons! I’ll only say something if there’s a reason for it, got it?!” Yonemura waits until the students bob their heads.
“Now, the few who haven’t gotten their kunai packs, come up here and grab them. I’ll start going over the rules for weapons class.”
The few kids who have yet to get their kunai quickly get them then retreat into the safety of the crowd. No one wanted to be called out by this chunin instructor, especially after what just happened.
One thing can be said about Yonemura -- when he gets serious, he means business.
Naruto reels from his spot at the side of the crowd. He stares at the innocent black leather holster lying in his open palms. The blond’s mind races, having made the connection between Yonemura’s story, why the Hokage was so upset with Naruto several days earlier and why the old man took away Naruto’s sword.
The blond is horrified.
‘I never thought about it that way.’ The blond fights the tears that start to well in his eyes, his gut heavy with guilt. ‘Jiji was right, I was acting like a stupid kid when I was waving that sword around. Someone could have gotten hurt and it would have been all my fault!’
Naruto sniffs and quickly uses his sleeve to wipe at his face, holding the holster with his other hand. ‘I’ll have to apologize to Jiji when I’m done for the day.’ Naruto nods to himself and looks back up, determination shining in those bright blue eyes.
“Alright, everyone should have their holster now. Gather around, runts!”
The last kid who got their holster scampers into the crowd that circles around the muscular chunin. Yonemura smoothly reaches down and withdraws a kunai from the holster on his leg. He gets into a slightly crouching stance, one foot behind the other and his torso turned to the side.
“This is the starting stance for knife fighting. It’s best for using a kunai in slashing and jabbing motions. Keep your feet shoulder width apart and one foot back. Your feet are turned 90° from where you are facing. Your torso is turned towards one side so you present less of a target. Both hands are to be slightly extended in front of you. We will go over this later. I will correct your stances as you try to mimic what I’m doing now.”
Various heads nod in understanding.
“Good.” Yonemura grunts, resheathing his knife. ”Now, the rules for using kunai. You are to follow them at all times in this class until I say you’re experienced enough to disregard them. Understand?”
By this time the class knew the drill. “Yes sensei!”
Yonemura nods at them, a pleased look on his face. “Rule #1: Always hold your kunai at the base. The handle of your kunai is your best friend! Hold the handle with a firm grip and all of your fingers wrapped around the hilt. This will keep your hand from sliding and cutting yourself on the blade.
Rule #2: Hold the kunai away from your body at all times. I will not have any of you impaling yourselves on my watch!” The man’s declaration prompts a few nervous chuckles from the group.
“Rule #3: Keep your knife in front of your body! You want your enemies to have to get past your weapon first to get at you! Don’t keep your arm fully extended and have your other arm up as well, like this!” Yonemura falls into the stance again, slightly shaking both of his upraised arms to emphasise his words.
Rule #4…”
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
- Later, Hokage’s Office -
*Knock Knock Knock*
Hiruzen smiles as he looks up from the paperwork in front of him. A familiar chakra presence is at the hokage’s office door, knocking to be let in.
‘Well, what do you know? That boy has finally learned some manners.’
“Come in, Naruto.” The Third Hokage calls.
The door creaks open, allowing the orange clothed boy to slip through. Naruto quickly closes the door behind him and slowly walks to stand in front of Hiruzen. The boy’s feet shuffle nervously as the boy looks down.
The behavior is unlike Naruto. Hiruzen silently raises an eyebrow. The aged Hokage gets up from behind his desk and walks over to the blond, crouching down before him. He uses a finger to lift the blond’s chin.
“What is it, Naruto?” The Hokage gently prompts.
“Um… ummm.” Naruto fidgets then blurts, “I–I’m sorry Jiji! I’m sorry for treating mom’s sword as a toy–it’s not it’sa weapon and—”
“Whoa. Whoa, Naruto.” The Hokage holds up a hand, chuckling. “Slow down there. Now what’s this about your mother’s sword?”
Naruto’s shoulders slump.
“You were right, Jiji.” The boy quietly admits. “I wasn't machu...machir–” The blond’s face screws up as he struggles to pronounce the word right. “Uh, what was that word you used again?”
“Mature, Naruto?”
“Yeah, that! Anyway, I wasn’t ready to have the sword yet. I wasn’t treating it with the respect it deserves and you were right in taking it away, dattebayo...” The boy trails off, his eyes flicking to Hiruzen’s face and away again.
“I forgive you, Naruto.” Hiruzen warmly states, standing back up. The man groans as his back cracks. The Hokage reaches down and ruffles the boy’s hair. “And I must say, it makes me proud to see you’ve grown enough to recognise and admit your mistake.”
Naruto waves his hands, squawking in protest.
The Hokage chuckles and thoughtfully regards the blond in front of him. “Though I am curious. What made you realize this, Naruto?”
“Well, we got new teachers at the Academy, dattebayo.”
“Really?” Hiruzen raises an eyebrow. “And how did they treat you?”
“Eh,” Naruto shrugs. “I only met two of ‘em but they’re ok. I know they don’t like me but at least they aren’t mean. Iruka-sensei yelled at both me and Shikamaru for not responding to the roll right away, but at least I didn’t get thrown outta class again. Yonemura-sensei’s kinda scary. He told us a story about one of his classmates getting hurt when someone was messing with a kunai. His story made me realize why what I did was wrong.”
“I see.” The Third Hokage murmurs, stroking his thin beard, “And when did he tell you this story?”
“It was during weapons class, Jiji. One of the civilian kids thought it’d be ok to pretend to attack another student with a kunai. Yonemura was right there and *Bam!* Took the kid down! Then he told us the story.”
“I’m glad you made the connection, Naruto. You’re growing up.” The Hokage goes and sits back down in his chair. He takes and fills his pipe with fresh tobacco then lights it. After drawing in a lung full of smoke the Hokage breathes out, “And how was the rest of your day, Naruto?”
“It was pretty good,” Naruto replies, shrugging. “Nothing really special happened.”
“I see. Sometimes it’s good to have a normal day.”
Naruto makes a face. ‘Sometimes the things that Jiji says make no sense.’ The blond shrugs it off as an errant thought crosses his mind.
“Hey Jiji?”
“What is it, Naruto?”
“Do you… d’you think I can have my sword back now?” The blond’s blue eyes shine earnestly as the blond begs, “I promise that I’ll take better care of it and treat it with respect, dattebayo!”
“No Naruto. I will not give it to you right now.” Hiruzen answers.
Naruto wilts. He opens his mouth, about to object when the Hokage continues.
“I will give it to you when you are a genin, when you can show me you are able to wield it properly.”
The boy cocks his head, confused.
“That said, no one knows how to wield a sword without proper training. As such, I have found a tutor for you. They have also agreed to teach you life style skills, such as cooking your own food, washing your laundry and other things, along with how to wield the sword.”
Naruto beams at the Third Hokage and practically launches himself into the old man’s legs, hugging Hiruzen for all he’s worth.
“ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!” The boy chants.
Hiruzen pries the boy off of him and then calls out, “Koizumi, please send in Yugao-chan.”
After a moment the office door swings open, admitting a tall and lithe purple haired kunoichi.
Naruto stares up at the kunoichi with wide eyes.
“You’re pretty.” He blurts out. The moment the blond utters the words, his face blushes bright red and he claps his hands over his face.
This adorable reaction makes Yugao chuckle and recall the time she said that when she was young.
“I said the same thing about your mother when I first met her, Naruto-kun.” The woman purrs in a low husky voice.
“Really?” The blond questions, the word slightly muffled from his hands over his mouth.
Naruto lets his hands slide off his face and Yugao kneels down so she’s at the same eye height as Naruto, softly gazing into the boy’s eyes. “Yes Naruto. I did. She was gorgeous that day."
Yugao’s eyes glaze over as she remembers. The kunoichi is only snapped out of it when Naruto waves a hand in front of her face. “Hey! Hey, lady! Are you really gonna teach me about swords?”
The smile slips off of Yugao’s face. “I am not going to teach you about ‘swords’, Naruto. I am going to teach you the Uzumaki kenjutsu style, Uzumaku Shio(Swirling Tides). But there are a few things we must do first before we can get to that lesson.”
Naruto sags, eyes glistening from the betrayal. “B-But, Jiji! You said that she was gonna teach me about swords, dattebayo!” The boy wails, turning to his pseudo grandfather.
“I will Naruto, I promise.” Yugao turns the boy back towards her and crouches so she’s at the same height as the blond. “But I want to make sure you can take care of yourself first. Tell me, after several hours of training, would you rather come home to a hot meal, or ramen?”
“Ramen, dattebayo!” The boy instantly replies.
Yugao sweat drops. ‘That’s right. This boy is as zealous about ramen as his mother was. I’ll have to change my tactics here to appeal to him.’ “Let me rephrase that. What’s better: fresh, piping hot ramen like you get at Ichiraku’s, or that little cup of ramen you get at the store?”
“Uh…” Naruto’s brain goes into overtime, trying to process the impossible question given to him.
‘How dare she compare the two! Ramen is the food of the gods! Any ramen is good ramen! ...But if I had to choose, it’d be…’
“Ichiraku ramen, dattebayo!”
“Right. How about this? If you learn how to cook first, I’ll show you how to cook ramen from scratch, just like Kushina-sama made it.” Yugao cajoles.
Now Naruto is truly torn. On one hand, kenjutsu lessons-- the dream of any aspiring male shinobi. On the other, learning how to make fresh ramen, from a recipe that came from his mother!!
Naruto bites his lower lip. “I…”
Everyone pauses when a hungry stomach makes it’s complaint. Naruto blinks, realizing how hungry he is. Just like that, the scales are tipped and his decision is made.
“Can we make the ramen now?” He asks his new sensei, tugging on her pants leg.
Yugao fights to keep her amusement off of her face. “Sure. Why don’t we eat lunch then go get what we need.”
“Yatta!” Naruto yells, throwing a fist in the air. “C’mon, let’s go, let’s go!”
Hiruzen watches, smirking as Naruto drags Yugao out of the office by her hand, partially bent over because the boy’s so much shorter than she is.