Kakashi blinked slowly at the sight before him. A largely empty training ground, ANBU keeping out interlopers of all kinds, and the Hokage giving a lecture on chakra natures with help from Sakura.
“...so elemental releases other than the five true elements are restricted to certain special bloodlines,” Sarutobi finished. “Your ability to do Ice Release, the Hyoton, is apparently unique to you, as the Uzumaki clan was noted for their stamina and chakra, not any element kekkei genkai.”
“So I'm awesome by my own, eh dattebayo?” Naruto asked with a cocky grin. At some point he'd created what appeared to be a lounging chair out of ice. Kakashi winced – that couldn't be comfortable.
“Good of you to join us, Kakashi,” Sarutobi deadpanned.
The chronically late jonin shrugged. “I was lost on the road of life.”
“LIKE HELL!” the genin yelled.
Sarutobi sighed. High level ninjas and children...ugh. “Which leads me to the real topic: the Dragon Slayer jutsu.”
“Eh?” Naruto asked, sitting up straight. “You know what that is?”
“I don't know how it manifested in you, Naruto, but yes. The Dragon Slayer jutsu is an ancient secret in the ninja world, an S-rank kinjutsu. We are in possession of one of the few scrolls that describe it, but most of the details are vague or missing.”
“Really? It isn't that hard,” Naruto said. By his reckoning the moment he'd spent encased in ice had been just a few years, four years ago. And most of that was practice, not instruction.
“Those lessons are missing completely,” Sarutobi confessed. “The problem is that from what we know, it can only be learned by the young, well before elemental affinities and chakra potential can be tested by normal means. The technique requires a great deal of chakra, and so only the strongest in a generation, those that absolutely had enough chakra, were ever taught it.”
“What happened if someone with weak chakra tried to learn it?” Sakura asked, thinking of herself. She knew her reserves were below average; that's why she focused so much on control and academics.
“They die,” Sarutobi said severely. “The Dragon Slayer Jutsu is not a technique that is learned, it is a path that is chosen. There's no turning back from it.”
Sakura blanched. “Nevermind then,” she whimpered.
Sasuke snorted. “So the dobe can do jutsu without handseals. What's the big deal?”
“Naruto?” Sarutobi asked.
“Eh?”
“Think fast.”
Naruto had about half a second to deal with Kakashi throwing a log at him.
CRACK. Naruto punched the log head on, splintering it around his fist with enough force that the pieces exploded away from him.
Sauske looked over the remains of the heavy chunk of wood. The splinters closest to Naruto's punch were covered in frost and steaming as the rapidly changing temperature forced moisture out of the wood. “What was that?”
“A Dragon Slayer's body is filled with elemental chakra. It strengthens the muscles and shores up the flesh. It also makes him largely immune to the element in question.”
“Immune?” Sakura asked. “But, Naruto's chakra isn't one of the five elements. What does that mean?”
“I don't know,” Sarutobi said. “Very few kekkei genkai clans risked their young with Dragon Slayer training. We don't have a full accounting of their abilities. It could be that Naruto has power only over ice. Or, he could have power over Wind and Water chakra, but only when they're used together. Or he could have power over both separately. And there are even stranger possibilities.”
“Stranger,” Sasuke grunted. “It is Naruto after all.”
Kakashi nodded. “Maa, he has a point there.”
Sarutobi coughed. “Naruto, I want a full report on your experiences learning this jutsu. A full report. Once that is filed, I believe I will have a C-rank mission for Team Seven.”
Sasuke and Sakura perked up at that and turned to Naruto.
Naruto shrugged. “There isn't that much to talk about.”
Sakura pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper. “Looks like I'll have to take over,” she said eagerly. “Don't worry, I'll pull everything I can out of him.” Anything to get Sasuke a proper mission!
Naruto regarded Sakura in confusion. He knew, now, how barely tolerant she was of him. And now she wanted to spend time with him? Well, whatever. He idly wondered what Hinata was doing. That was going to be...awkward.
Naruto sighed. “Isn't that enough questions?” he whined.
“For now,” Sakura said. “I'm getting hungry.”
“See you later then,” Naruto said, suddenly turning off the road and heading away from Sakura.
Sakura blinked, having been ready to turn down a date to Ichiraku's out of sheer habit. She smiled. “Well at least he isn't being annoying anymore,” she said with satisfaction. She frowned again. “But...Ichiraku's is that way? Where's Naruto going?”
Naruto sniffed the air slightly. His nose had always been pretty good, but now he would probably be mistaken for an Inuzuka. Well, not that good. But he knew that scent, lavender and spice in a spring rain. Hinata's scent. It was coming from...that way. He jumped onto a low roof and started running.
Team Eight was finishing up a training session. Kiba and Akamaru were panting, utterly worn out. Hinata was slouched nearby, but managed a bit more grace in her tired. Shino...was Shino. Anyone who could tell anything of what he was feeling would have to be clairvoyant. Kurenai was off to one side, watching them recover with mild interest and all the body language of “if none of you need me in the next ten seconds I'm going home.”
Kiba looked up first, a slight frown crossing his features. “Naruto's coming,” he announced. He took a few more sniffs. “And he smells like...iguana ramen?”
Akamaru sniffed. “Arf.”
“So not iguana. Some kind of lizard.”
Hinata looked over at them and frowned. “They make lizard ramen?”
“Maybe he smells like lizard and ramen?” Kiba wondered.
“I do not think Naruto associates with lizards,” Shino said suddenly.
Naruto ran up waving and smiling. “Hi guys! Hi, Hinata.”
Hinata jumped at the sound of her name and spun towards Naruto. “N-n-Naruto?”
Naruto walked over towards Hinata, who increasingly looked like a deer in the headlights. “You guys done training for the day?”
Kiba glanced at Hinata and decided she was in no condition to answer. “Yeah,” he said.
“Cool. Hinata, you want to go grab something to eat?”
“Eep!” Hinata's blush went nuclear as she tried to process Naruto asking her out. Tried, failed, and pushed the abort button.
“What?” Naruto started to ask, but it came out as “Whaauah!” turning into a yelp as he leaped forward to catch Hinata from fainting. “Hinata? Hinata? Are you okay? Hello?”
Kurenai took one look at the silly grin on Hinata's face, shook her head, and walked over. “Was I ever that young?” she muttered.
Naruto looked up at Kurenai. “I think something is wrong with Hinata.”
“She's just tired,” Kurenai reassured.
“Oh,” Naruto said, sounding relieved. He looked down at the happy, sleeping Hinata. Shouldn't being that tired hurt or something? “Well, she doesn't look in pain,” he reasoned. That was a good thing, right?
“I'd say pain is the last thing she' feeling,” Kiba muttered. Shino nodded.
“Hive her to me,” Kurenai said. “I'll make sure she gets home safely.”
“Okay,” Naruto said with only a hint of reluctance. He still needed to talk to Hinata; he'd have to catch her earlier in the day when she was rested!
Kurenai raised an eyebrow as Naruto stood up, cradling Hinata in his arms and showing all the strain of lifting a feather. Hinata wasn't a large girl (at least in terms of weight, for her age. The Hyuuga bloodline was already showing itself and declaring a future of...largeness.) but Naruto wasn't a large boy. Something had happened.
In Naruto's arms, Hinata shivered as if cold. Kurenai raised her other eyebrow. When she took Hinata from Naruto, and her hands felt that the air around him WAS cold, she needed a third eyebrow to convey surprise with. “Naruto?”
“Oh, sorry. Kekkei genkai. Still working on fine control. Well, I'm off to Ichiraku's.” He ran off, calling over his shoulder, “tell Hinata I'll try and catch her tomorrow!”
Kiba looked at Shino, aghast. “Naruto has a kekkei genkai?”
Kurenai looked down at Hinata, no longer looking so happy. “Somehow,” she murmured yet again, “I think you'll catch her every time she needs it.” She smiled. It was about time he figured it out.
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(Posted Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:00)
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