Tsunade sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose after retaking her seat. It was just like Naruto to go and surprise her like this… she had a feeling that if she lost track of him for even a second Konoha would be flooded with grinning, chattering fox-boys. The blonde Hokage really wished Shizune hadn’t found her stash of sake at times like this.
“Tell me again, about these ‘lycanthropic’ features.” Tsunade said slowly as she leaned forward and steepled her fingers in front of her face. “You can change between your normal form and this ‘hybrid’ form at will, you regenerate…”
Naruto grinned widely and wagged his tail as he turned to face Tsunade. “I have a full fox form, too, but I’m kind of small in it, ‘tebayo…” he mumbled, his ears drooping slightly before perking up again. “Oh, I’m stronger and faster like this, and I can smell stuff from further away. Sheila-neechan said my hearing isn’t as good as a werejaguar’s, and I don’t think I want it to be.” The kitsune boy grinned at the look of confusion on Tsunade’s face. “That ‘hear everything within... maa, eighty feet’ thing sounds like it’d get annoying really fast, dattebayo.”
“And it’s only in this form that your physical abilities are any different?” Shizune asked before pondering the medical ramifications of that after Naruto nodded. “But… your original accelerated healing? You still have that, don’t you?”
The Hokage sighed and leaned back in her chair to glance at the ceiling. “Haa… well, Naruto, I was going to test how you’ve grown these past two years under Jiraiya by having you face Kakashi alongside Sakura,” she began, a distant look on her face. ”But in light of this change, I’m beginning to think that it should be a solo battle, against…” the blonde tapped the tips of her fingers together thoughtfully for a moment, “Anko, perhaps? No… that might be a bit much for your first day back. Don’t want to mentally scar you. Asuma? No, too destructive.”
“So Kakashi-sensei’s the only good choice?”
Tsunade groaned and muttered that they had more Jonin than that before slapping a hand on her desk. She grinned widely at a suddenly nervous Naruto before announcing that he would be facing Might Guy.
“Maa, hime-chan, that’s being a bit rough on the brat, don’t you think?” Jiraiya asked, a bemused look on his face. ‘A beastly boy against Konoha’s ‘Noble Green Beast’… and Naruto left out a few tiny details. He may have actually picked up on how to be a real shinobi after all.’
The Hokage waved off Jiraiya’s ‘concerns’ and shooed the two male shinobi off to Training Ground 5 while dispatching an ANBU to tell Guy. She would have loved to see the fight herself, but paperwork - the enemy of all Kage - wouldn’t allow for that. If only she’d picked up that crystal ball jutsu from Hiruzen before her… sabbatical.
Ten minutes later, Naruto stood in the center of Training Ground 5, bouncing from foot to foot while his tail waved about behind him. The young ninja didn’t have much longer to wait as Guy arrived with his usual ‘youthful vigor,’ almost knocking Jiraiya over. Despite the odd situation, Guy had maintained his usual enthusiasm, having always been one of those that could see the scroll despite the kunai, as it were.
“Yosh! Naruto-kun, your fires of youth have grown!” Guy exclaimed, throwing his arms up exuberantly. “So, this shall be a simple match, no lethal blows, but don’t hold back for my sake, Naruto-kun.”
Naruto blinked and scratched the back of his head. “Ahehehe… err, okay, Super Fuzzy Brows sensei.” he said, still sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
The battle began with a burst of speed from Guy. The older ninja rushed forward, his body twisting as he leapt into the air, a leg extended and the simple cry of ‘Leaf Hurricane!’ on his lips. Naruto swiveled his ears back and dropped to all fours, looking for all intents and purposes like a short-snouted, one-tailed version of the Kyuubi while Guy sailed overhead. The fox-boy grinned toothily as his tail lashed out, its end curling as it neared Guy’s ankle.
Tail whipping was not meant to be, however, as Guy quickly replaced himself with a log. The Taijutsu master appeared behind Naruto, a foot raised high into the air for a heel drop. His heel barely made contact with the back of Naruto’s head before the neo-redhead’s tail snagged a stump and pulled him away. Guy’s eyes widened in surprise as his foot cratered the earth and a tail wrapped around his waist, flinging him up into the air.
Guy again replaced himself with a log, clapping once he reached the ground. “Yosh! Your skill with your tail is commendable, but your youth must explode!!!” he shouted, raising his arms before rushing toward Naruto in a typical ‘ninja’s run.’
The lycanthropic ninja ducked a straight punch, his ears splaying outward while his tail lashed over his head like that of a scorpion. His eyes widened when Guy grabbed the tip and tugged… hard. Naruto yelped as he was spun over the older ninja’s head like a stone in a sling before being released towards a tree. His eyes narrowed before he focused and his second tail grew in just in time for him to fling both tails in front of him to stop from crashing.
“Ne, ne! Watch this, Super Fuzzy Brows! It’ll be really cool, dattebayo!” Naruto chirped after landing on all fours and shifting position so he was sitting like a dog. “Summoning jutsu!”
The jonin shielded his eyes from the explosion of smoke invoked by Naruto’s jutsu. His danger sense, honed from years of experience and hours upon hours of anti-Sharingan training, allowed him to avoid the tendrils snaking towards him through the smoke. He continued to leap out of the way as the tendrils followed him. Guy wondered for a moment if Naruto had managed to summon multiple toads with a single summon. He’d heard that Orochimaru and Anko could summon multiple snakes at once, but never anything sizable…
The ground shook as a massive figure bounded out of the smoke, landing on the edge of the training ground with wisps of smoke trailing its form. A resounding ‘Ribi!’ echoed across the field as the bulky monster opened its maw wide, a nest of sinuous tongues wriggling before shooting towards Guy. The jonin’s eyebrows shot up into his hair as he zipped around the field, a high-pitched cry on his lips as he rocketed towards the creature, a fist held forward.
In a matter of seconds, Guy was bouncing back, a shocked look on his face. He knew the frog-like creature had bulk, but for it to react to a punch like that was unreal!
“Hehe, how do ya like that, Super Fuzzy Brows?” Naruto asked, a toothy grin on his face as his tails wagged behind him. “That’s a… uh… Koaldrin Frawg! They’re really hard to hurt with blunt stuff when they get that big, dattebayo!” The were-kitsune blinked and scratched his cheek. ‘Which element were the Koaldrin ones immune to? Does Super Fuzzy Brows even use ninjutsu?’
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(Posted Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:31)
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