Inheritance

Jiraiya

The Next Day...

The Sannin shifted into a sitting position as he continued to watch the spectacle in the clearing below him, from his treetop vantage hadn't been able to keep himself away. Just like with his previous students, the boy had captured his attention and just wouldn't let go. Being Naruto's Godfather, the Sannin was privy to information of the blondes training; as such, he knew that Sarutobi had no concrete plan for the taijutsu style Naruto was currently coming up with. He had simply instructed Yuugao equip him with the basics, and perhaps a little inspiration, and let the creative boy run with it. And even Jiraiya had to admit, the boy had utilised his inventiveness and taken to creating a brand new style like a duck to water.

He had learnt the basics, using his Kage Bunshin to a fairly advanced level, as well as the academy style. And while most people would attempt to combine these into rigid kata and combinations, the child had taken a completely different approach. Instead, he was using what he knew to create more of a 'fighting philosophy'; a manner of combat that could be moulded and adapted, one that could evolve with the shinobi learning it. This was in fact, how all of the 'true' shinobi taijutsu styles had come into being. Styles such as the 'Goken' focus on speed, and physical superiority, mastery of ones own body in order to master your opponent. Whereas his sensei's style, the 'Saru-ken' revolved around using the terrain to your advantage, in order to strike the enemy from unexpected angles or from outside their field of vision.

This is what Naruto had done instinctively. His 'fighting philosophy' appeared to revolve around keeping the enemy off balance, and never maintaining a rigid pattern of attacks; thus preventing the enemy from predicting your next move. This approach was supplemented by his obvious talent with the Kage Bunshin technique, using the Bunshin to work in tandem with himself to constantly keep the enemy fending off attacks from multiple directions, and often at the same time. This prevented them from gaining any kind of foothold in the fight. Of course, the obvious advantages is relative to the abilities of the enemy; which is where ninjutsu and other techniques and strategies came into play. This is where approaching taijutsu as a philosophy, rather than a rigid doctrine was essential for a shinobi. It allows the shinobi to seamlessly weave other techniques into their combat.

That Naruto was approaching his training from this angle was highly impressive, and spoke a lot for natural disposition towards the shinobi arts; despite the fact that he obviously lacked the natural talent of say, an Uchiha. This is where Naruto mirrored his Father. They were both as talentless as they came, but both were so driven and determined that their work-rate made up for the slow learning curve. And that was the problem. He was far too much like the Sannin's old student. Even now, he couldn't help but be reminded of watching his own student train; doggedly practicing and improving until they had achieved what they had set out to. He was here out of some kind of perverse and masochistic curiosity, he knew the grief that he would face every time he laid eyes upon his Godson.

But he kept coming back, kept checking up on the boy every time he was in the village. And over the years, the grief had morphed into something far, far more unbearable. Guilt. Unfathomable guilt. He knew damned well he could have improved the boy's life, helped him escape his loneliness. But he hadn't, out of pure selfishness and cowardice. And now, he wasn't sure if any relationship with Naruto would be salvageable. How could the boy forgive him?

He sighed as he watch the boy switch the focus of his training, and ten identical figures worked through several hand-seals; and all at once intoned the name of a fairly basic lightning technique. The results were mixed, but the boy hadn't used enough chakra; and only managed to channel the technique through his hand instead of extending it from his hand an obvious sign of his advancement in chakra control. However, Naruto hadn't thought about it like that. Frustration evident, he and his clones had repeated the technique several times; and each time increased the amount of chakra. Finally Naruto had grown impatient, and channelled far more chakra than he should have done.