four
Naruto walked out of the administration building, finished for the day after a gardening D-rank. He may have been done with Gai for the day but he had every intention of going straight to the training grounds. In the month since he was shown the tree-walking exercise, he'd only made it halfway up the trunk. Gai had been nothing but accepting and encouraging but it was really starting to annoy Naruto. He would get to the top of that tree if it killed him.
Gai had really surprised him. He had taken a chance telling the jounin the real reason he became a shinobi. He knew that it was practically treason; the only thing worse was leaving and becoming a missing-nin. Naruto had considered that when he was younger but he knew it was wishful thinking. They would never let him go; the hunter-nin would find him within a day and then he’d be even more restricted. By conforming to the system, he at least would be able to leave on missions. He would take anything at this point.
His sensei had just accepted it like it was no big deal. Beneath the spandex and ‘Youth’, Gai was a lot more thoughtful than he let on. It was so easy to be fooled into thinking he was just a cheerful, loud, obnoxious character who yells about ‘Youth’ and challenges himself all the time. Gai was all of those things but there was a brain beneath that bowl cut.
“Well, if it isn’t the dead-last. Haven’t been sent back to the academy yet?”
Naruto closed his eyes, heaving a deep sigh. Six weeks, six glorious weeks, of avoiding his former classmates. He hadn’t seen a single genin from his class and it had been fantastic. There had almost been a weight lifted; he could through his day without being insulted and put down. The villagers threw him dirty looks but at least they kept to themselves.
He opened his eyes and turned to face them, folding his arms.
“Kichi-teme, don’t tell me you passed,” he goaded. “Don’t you need brains to be a genin? Or did they just pass you to use as a grunt?”
“They didn’t even waste a team on you,” scoffed Ren. “They must not think you’re going to last that long.”
“Or maybe they knew that anyone from the academy would only hold me back,” Naruto smirked.
He had always enjoyed that shade of purple on Kichi-teme’s face. Midori hung back a few steps from the two boys; she had never given him trouble but she also ignored him completely. She refused to look at him even now. He wondered how she was managing on a team with those two terrors. She was probably getting what she deserved.
“Please, like anyone could stand to be around a demon,” Ren jeered.
“If I really was a demon,” Naruto rolled his eyes. “Do you think you would still be breathing?”
His grin was all teeth as he watched a flicker of fear pass over their faces.
“You...you can’t touch us,” Ren swallowed, trying and failing to put on a brave face. “You’re just talking shit. You can’t do anything here.”
Naruto shrugged.
“True,” he agreed casually. “I can’t touch a hair on your heads while we’re in the village. On a mission, though, those enemy shinobi are tricky. You make one mistake and you’re dead before you even realise what happened.”
He watched the dawning realisation on their faces and he turned, waving a hand before shoving them into his pockets. He stopped as Kichirou called out behind him.
“You talk a big game dead-last! But you’re the one no one will miss when you're killed on your first mission! Your own parents killed themselves just so they could get away from you!”
The words struck his heart with the force of a kunai. Anger washed over him, leaving a hollow feeling in his gut. He whipped around in fury, watching them laugh as they walked into the Hokage’s tower.
That had always been the worst insult they could throw at him. They had done it once before in the academy and Naruto had almost maimed one of them. After he narrowly escaped expulsion, they'd made the same comment over and over again; they knew he couldn’t attack them again. He couldn’t risk getting thrown out of the academy so he responded with pranks. While frowned upon, there was no serious punishment for those. After the third shaved head, the class had learned not to bring up his parents. It seemed that they thought they were safe since they weren’t in the academy anymore.
Naruto turned back around, his steps fuelled with hatred and fury as he began to think up ideas for revenge. They thought they were safe now; he would just have to remind them exactly who they were dealing with.
Gai scanned the mostly empty jounin standby station. He finally spotted the man he’d been looking for, sitting by one of the windows and slumping into the red sofa. Kakashi had been avoiding him since he found out Naruto was Gai’s apprentice and Gai had given him his space. He knew how hard Kakashi took the loss of his team and he had all but vanished into ANBU when Yondaime-sama died. It had taken almost a decade to get him back and he knew that was only because the Sandaime hadn’t given him a choice.
However, he’d given his friend enough time to wallow; his rival needed to pick himself back up and face things head on. Gai had just the thing to help him do that.
“My Eternal Rival!”
He made it a point to ignore the way Kakashi shrunk into himself at the sound of his voice. His rival was simply having a bad day.
“I am glad to have found you!” He grinned. “I have a favour I need to ask of you!”
Kakashi lowered his book slightly as he stared deadpan back at Gai. To the outside observer, Kakashi looked as relaxed and unaffected as he always did. Gai knew better; Kakashi obviously hadn’t been sleeping. The lines of his frame were tense and he knew there was a deep frown hidden beneath that mask. Hopefully Gai’s proposition would help him out of his own head.
“Gai,” said Kakashi with a flat voice. “I’m kinda busy right now. Can I take a rain check?”
“Kakashi, you need to engage with life! Reach the Springtime of your Youth! You cannot hide in your book forever!”
“Watch me,” Kakashi mumbled under his breath.
“I need your help with my young pupil!” Gai continued. “He wishes to work on his dōjutsu and with your experience with the Sharingan, I know you would be the perfect mentor to help him to achieve the prime of his Youth!”
Kakashi dropped the book into his lap, leaning forward to actively stare at Gai.
“He inherited the Emperor’s Eye?”
“Indeed, although I was not aware it was named as such. Yondaime-sama kept it close to his chest. Most of Konoha do not know he even had a bloodline limit.”
“Does Naruto know?”
“He does not speak of his personal life but he is an intelligent young man. I do not doubt that he has figured it out.”
Kakashi slumped back in his seat.
“Shit.”
“Kakashi, you are the best person in the village to help him harness it,” Gai insisted. “You have your own experience and skill with your own bloodline limit and you saw the Emperor’s Eye up close when you trained under the Yondaime.”
He could feel his rival wavering and he grinned. This would be a fantastic partnership not only for the genin, but Kakashi too. Before the other jounin could answer, a voice called out from behind them.
“Gai!”
He turned to see one of the other jounin-sensei approaching, his expression thunderous as he stomped over to them.
“You need to tighten your leash on the Kyūbi brat!”
Gai’s grin fell.
“I am not sure what you mean, Hayama. I do not have Naruto on a leash.”
“Obviously,” Hayama scoffed. “You fucking need one. That brat needs some sort of fucking discipline and if you don't give it to him, someone else will.”
The threat registered and Gai narrowed his eyes, his usual cheerful demeanour absent.
“Naruto is my apprentice, Hayama, and he is my responsibility. He does not deserve this kind of treatment and I assure you, if you place a finger on him, I will take my own decisive action.”
Shirakumo Hayama was an excellent jounin and Gai had worked well with him in the past. The man was usually calm and collected; he was the one who carefully assessed the situations on missions and decided on the appropriate course of action. He had never seen the man lose his temper like this. His grey hair was falling out of his high ponytail and his uniform was rumpled.
“What did Naruto do?” Kakashi spoke up, breaking their impromptu staring contest.
“He traumatised my genin is what he did!” Hayama threw up his arms in frustration. “Midori won’t leave her house and Ren and Kichirou won’t talk to me! They won’t talk to anyone!”
“How do you know Naruto was responsible?”
“Someone mentioned his name around Kichirou and the kid flinched so hard he fell off his bed. I did the same with the other two and they had the same reaction. That isn’t a coincidence.”
“Do you know what he did?” Gai asked quietly.
“I think it was some sort of prank gone wrong.” Hayama ran a hand through his hair, loosening his ponytail further. “Naruto did plenty of them while he was in the academy but he's a genin now. It’s unacceptable, Gai.”
“What did they do to him?”
They both turned to Kakashi as he rose to his feet.
“I don’t know,” Hayama sighed. “They really don’t like him but I can’t imagine them doing anything to warrant this level of retaliation. This is my first team and now I have to spend the next few days picking up the pieces.”
Gai considered his words. There was something missing. Naruto would not do anything like this unless he was provoked. The kid kept to himself; he hated speaking to other people. Gai had witnessed the genin go to extreme lengths to avoid any sort of conversation. If these kids already had a history, then whatever happened must be worse than Hayama was imagining. He knew Naruto was better than this.
Hayama also had a point. This kind of behaviour may have been tolerable at the academy, where they could assign extra work or detentions, but Naruto was legally an adult. The moment he had been handed that headband he was judged by the same standard that all Konoha shinobi were. He could not prank other shinobi out of revenge or malice. There were other ways of resolving conflict.
“I will speak to Naruto,” Gai said gravely, earning twin looks of surprise from his colleagues. “I will ensure this does not happen again.”
Hayama nodded, the anger leaving his frame and weariness replacing it.
“You also need to speak to your own students,” Gai continued. “Naruto would not do this unprovoked. They did or said something that I am sure was just as unprofessional. My student is not the only one at fault.”
Hayama rested his hands on his hips as he tilted his head back, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.
“I know,” he admitted. “I’m not naive enough to think that they’re innocent. I’ll speak to them.”
He shot them a weak grin and turned, waving goodbye as he exited the building. Gai turned over the conversation in his head, trying to think of the best way to approach this. He had only had his student for two months; there was still a lot of work to do in bringing him to the full bloom of his Youth. This might set them back.
“I’ll do it.”
He glanced over at Kakashi, the man’s eye still fixed on where Hayama had left.
“I’ll teach him.”
Gai clasped Kakashi on the shoulder in thanks, before he began walking to the exit himself. The joy from his rival accepting his proposition warred with the concern and sadness that resulted from his talk with Hayama. He needed to find Naruto.
Naruto punched the wooden target, following it up with a kick and another punch. Sweat ran down his back as he continued the pattern, the dull ache in his fists beginning to travel up his forearms. He’d been at it for three hours now and his mind had zoned out.
This was his favourite training exercise; just him and a wooden training post, going through the same movements over and over again. He loved the freedom of it, as all other thoughts emptied from his mind. He could forget the village and the anger and frustration that came with it. The warmth of his muscles and the stretch and strain from the katas kept his mind from wandering completely so he felt like he was floating. He threw a particularly hard punch, smiling as the pain thrummed up his arm.
“Naruto-kun.”
He swung a wide kick into the side of the post, hoping they would go away.
“Naruto.”
He threw one final punch, feeling the sharp pain through his fingers as he stepped back from the post. He turned to look at Gai, his chest heaving and the sweat dripping into his eyes.
“What, Gai-sensei?”
Gai was uncharacteristically grim, his bright smile missing and his exuberant energy subdued. His thick brows were furrowed into a frown and his arms were crossed.
“We must discuss your recent actions towards Team Five.”
Naruto racked his brains; who were Team Five? He hadn’t been present at the team assignments and he hadn’t bothered to find out after.
“The team under Shirakumo Hayama,” Gai elaborated.
Naruto hoped his blank expression would clue his sensei in. He had no idea who these people were. Gai was unimpressed.
“Midori, Kichirou and Ren.”
It clicked.
“So they’re Team Five?” He said. “I had no idea. It wasn’t as if I was there when the teams were assigned.”
Gai sighed deeply and Naruto eyed him strangely. It was weird dealing with a Gai that wasn’t smiling and bouncing around and yelling about youth at the top of his lungs. He had found the whole charade annoying until now; maybe the enthusiasm was better than the stone faced jounin he was faced with now.
“Naruto-kun, you cannot prank your fellow shinobi. I understand it was something you engaged in during your time at the academy, but you are a genin now. It is not Youthful to treat your fellow shinobi this way.”
“Who said I pranked them?” Naruto asked, feigning surprise.
Gai just looked at him and Naruto gave up the innocent act, grumbling about snitches beneath his breath. He should have known one of those cowards would go crawling to one of the adults. They thought themselves so high and mighty when they dished it out but couldn't take it when faced with a little bit of payback.
“I was just letting off some steam, Gai-sensei. I didn’t do any harm.”
“Midori will not leave her home and the boys are similarly traumatised.”
“Then maybe they shouldn’t be shinobi,” Naruto shot back, frustrated.
Gai uncrossed his arms.
“What did you do, Naruto-kun?”
“I just surprised them!” Naruto retorted defensively. “They were in one of the forests for some team training exercise and their jounin wasn’t around so I ambushed them henged as Iwa nin.”
Gai looked at him for a long moment, one of his bushy brows raised. Naruto huffed, expanding on his explanation.
“I henged myself and a few clones and dropped on them from above. I let off a few explosion tags and stuff but I didn’t actually hurt them! It’s nothing that they wouldn’t face on a real mission!”
Gai remained silent and Naruto kept talking, trying to fill the empty air that his sensei would normally fill. It was unsettling; Naruto knew he would not normally spill so much information but Gai’s silent treatment was more effective than he would have thought. For some reason, the thought of Gai being disappointed in him sat heavily in his gut. He would take the angry yelling of the rest of his teachers any day.
“Okay, so maybe I threatened to torture and kill them...and one of my clones was henged as their sensei and was disembowelled and stuff.”
“You said you did not know who Hayama was.”
“I didn’t know his name,” Naruto huffed. “I just knew what he looked like; I saw him running them through katas last week.”
“And the clones?” Gai said.
“I spent the last two weeks learning Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.”
“Specifically for this prank?”
Naruto was the silent one now. He didn’t think admitting that he snuck into the chunin section of the library and stole a scroll to learn a clone technique only for the purpose of a prank would go down well. He also decided not to mention the red food dye he had added to the water that made up his clones; it had worked surprisingly well as blood after he'd thickened it with cornflour.
Gai let out a heavy sigh, the stone façade finally breaking into exasperation.
“Naruto-kun, while it is impressive that you taught yourself a clone jutsu you cannot do this again. If you have grievances to bring against your fellow shinobi, you must follow the proper procedures. Raise it with me and I will handle it, escalating it if need be.”
“Okay, okay,” Naruto raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll do that next time. It’s not as if I knew I could do that.”
Gai’s frown returned.
“As far as I am aware they have this system in place at the academy.”
“Yeah, but not for me,” Naruto shrugged, looking away. “No one would do anything if people picked on me or wrecked my stuff, so I had to create a deterrent. After the fifth kid ended up with nails in their chair they started to leave me alone. I’m the Kyūbi brat; the rules have never applied to me.”
Gai nodded, his expression softening.
“I swear on the Springtime of Youth, Naruto-kun, that I will not be like your former instructors. I will be here for you and I will support you. I only ask for your trust.”
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the jounin. Gai had been better than any of his other teachers combined and it had only been two months. He was also the most genuine person Naruto had ever met; once you got past the spandex and Youth, Gai was reliable and...kind. Naruto had never had a kind teacher before.
“Okay,” he nodded slowly. “I’ll trust you.”
Something loosened in Naruto’s gut as Gai’s smile returned, his teeth shining and his demeanour brightening. The man began to talk loudly about his water clones and Naruto relaxed as things went back to normal. Maybe adding one more person to his small circle of precious people wouldn’t be so bad.
Kakashi loitered at the edge of the training ground, watching Minato-sensei’s son scream expletives at a scuffed and damaged tree. He may have inherited Minato-sensei’s bloodline limit but that temper was all Kushina. He was trying to do the tree-walking exercise and he appeared close to reaching the top.
“My Eternal Rival!” Gai bounced up behind him, throwing an arm around Kakashi’s shoulders. “I am so happy you could come!”
“You asked me to be here,” Kakashi replied quietly, still watching the genin.
“He has far too much chakra for his age,” Gai answered his unspoken question, his volume lowered. “He has been attempting this exercise for two months.”
Kakashi looked at him in surprise.
“Two months? Really?”
“He had no chakra control at all when he was first apprenticed to me.” Gai removed his arm from Kakashi’s shoulders. “He has no interest in ninjutsu or genjutsu; that said he learned the water clone technique in less than two weeks.”
Kakashi was going to ask about that but Gai shoved him forward without warning.
“Naruto-kun!” The blond turned to them; blue eyes narrowed and face like thunder. “It is time to train your bloodline limit!”
Like the flick of a switch, the anger vanished and he grinned brightly. Kakashi’s heart hurt at the sight; he was too much like his parents.
“Finally!” He ran over to meet them. “Is this a new teacher or something?”
“Kakashi is one of the finest jounin in the village!” Gai laughed. “He is my Eternal Rival! He also has a dōjutsu so he is well equipped to aid you in developing yours!”
Naruto looked at him with no recognition in his gaze. Kakashi hid his wince and waved a hand half-heartedly.
“Yo.”
Naruto looked at him for a long moment before he turned back to Gai.
“Are you sure?”
Gai laughed.
“Of course, Naruto-kun! There is no one I trust more with your dōjutsu training!”
Naruto shrugged.
“If you say so, Gai-sensei.”
Kakashi shook off his thoughts, switching into his professional persona. It might make it easier to deal with Minato-sensei’s son.
“Why don’t you tell me what you have figured out?”
“It’s all observational as far as I can tell,” Naruto began to list. “It’s great for dodging, keeping track of projectiles, covering blind spots, reading taijutsu moves and people’s body language. I can see the smallest movements in muscles, breathing and expressions so I know when people are lying. My taijutsu is good; I can see moves before they’ve been made and feints don’t work on me.”
Kakashi considered the genin’s words. That lined up with what Minato-sensei could do; it was one of the reasons he was capable of the Hiraishin. Most could not keep up with the processing speed and reaction times of the technique. Minato-sensei’s bloodline limit eliminated the difficulties and drawbacks of the technique.
“So it’s mainly taijutsu orientated,” Kakashi mused, pretending that he had no knowledge of the Emperor’s Eye. “No chakra involved.”
“Pretty much,” Naruto shrugged. “It’s basically a shitter, taijutsu-based version of the Sharingan. It has some similarities to the Byakugan too as far as the field of vision is concerned.”
Kakashi frowned; while it did seem like a lesser version of the Sharingan there was a lot more to the Emperor’s Eye. He had seen Minato-sensei use it to its full potential and it was an incredible weapon. He hadn’t ever seen Minato-sensei taken by surprise or successfully fooled. It always seemed like he was seeing something no one else could; not even Kakashi with Obito’s Sharingan. That was without taking into account the Zone component of the bloodline limit.
“It seems like there is more to it,” Kakashi started. “It also sounds like the stronger the user, the more you will be able to bring out the full strengths of the bloodline limit. Have you tried copying taijutsu moves yet?”
“What, like the Sharingan?”
“Essentially yes, but you need to stop comparing your dōjutsu to the Sharingan. While similar, they are not the same. The Sharingan is capable of a lot, yes, but there are things that only the Emperor’s Eye can do.”
“How’d you know what it’s called?” Naruto asked suspiciously. “I didn’t tell you and Gai wouldn’t have told you. I asked him not to tell anyone.”
“Gai let it slip when he asked for my help,” Kakashi lied quickly, before he cursed at the sight of Naruto’s eyes flashing silver.
“Sure...” Naruto deadpanned. “So what are we doing now?”
Kakashi let out a breath as Naruto appeared to let the lie go. He definitely caught it; he should probably expect an interrogation sometime in the future.
“For now, copy Gai’s katas as closely as you can. We’ll start there.”