Blackstone (Discontinued)

Chapter 3

1 Year Later

Naruto was now 6 years old, he was no longer the malnourished and neglected boy he once was. He still had his scars but instead of seeing them as a burden, he carried them with pride. They showed that he survived his hell, he was now someone who was strong enough not to fall.

We now find our protagonist reading the book his mother found while they were getting away from Konoha, "Mom, can you help me read this?" Naruto asked, turning to Apollyon, who was sharpening her sword with her helmet off. It wasn't dull, but Apollyon had the habbit of sharpening her weapons when she was bored.

"What is it?" She asked as she walked over to her son. When Naruto first saw her without the helmet, he nearly had a heart attack for one reason. Apollyon could have honestly passed for his former mother's twin, though she had white hair and amber eyes instead of red hair and violet eyes. "What does this say?" He asked, pointing to the passage in the book.

"It says, 'Justice may not be absolute, but justice is true. To follow true justice is justice itself' ," Apollyon read.

"Oh. What does it mean?" Naruto asked, still confused.

"It means that laws must always be followed, though there are some exceptions to these laws," Apollyon explained to him.

"Okay. When can I start training?" Naruto asked a bit eager to get away from his books.

"What's wrong with what I'm teaching you now?" Apollyon asked, making Naruto pout.

"All you taught me so far is math, reading, writing, history, some science, battle strategy, fighting tactics, and lots of other thing but I want to learn how to fight!" Naruto whined, making Apollyon chuckle.

"Fine, fine. Get your sword and meet me outside," Apollyon said before watching as his eyes lit up with excitement.

"YES!" Naruto shouted and raced to his room.

Apollyon walked outside and stepped through a thin sheets of snow that covered the ground. She looked out at the surrounding trees and the far away mountains. They arrived in the Land of Iron 10 months ago. With training in between, it took them 5 months to finish building a house, they now lived in a large cabin with five bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and three bathrooms. She was still not used to the idea of using a toilet, but she was starting to understand it.

"Alright, I'm ready!" The sound of Naruto's excited voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned around and saw him with his wooden sword held firmly in his hand.

"Good, now I want you to get in your stance and attack me," Apollyon told him. He nodded and got into one of the stances that she taught him. He held the sword firmly in both of this hands and looked for an opening. When he found one, he quickly charged at her and swung the wooden sword at her, only for her to block it with her sheathed sword. She pull him in and kneed him in the chest, forcing the air out of his lungs and putting him on the ground.

"That is why you need more time, do you want to try again?" Apollyon asked as he stood back up, rubbing his sore chest while catching his breath.

"As if I'd give up!" He said with a determined look.

"Hmm... Then come, my young wolf!" Apollyon grinned as she kicked his sword back to him.

Quickly picking up the sword, Naruto once again charged at his smirking mother with a smirk of his own, "HAH!"

2 Years Later:

A eight year old Naruto was trudging up the mountain with a large log strapped on his back as he pulled a sled that had a lazy Daichi resting comfortably, "H-how...m-much longer?!" Naruto asked through panting breaths, his mother watching from the sidelines.