Not Alone

Chapter 18

     Naruto was positively vibrating on the way back from the Hokages office. He figured he could eat some breakfast since he didn't eat that morning. He bounced his way over to Ichiraku's and got himself a bowl.

"Thank you!" He yelled before stuffing his face with as many bowls of ramen he could eat.  When he finished, he ran over to the clearing in the forest. There he waited for Shikamaru, who took a bit longer than usual.

     "Good, you're here; I brought you a gift," Shikamaru said, walking into the clearing.

     "A gift? Why?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

     "To help you with your training, now don't keep me waiting and open it. I worked extremely hard to get these," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes and handing the box to Naruto. Naruto opened the box, only to be met with the three-pronged kunai. His eyes sparkled; they were the exact same as the ones they found in the Hokage Office, with the writing on the hilt and all. Naruto picked one up and turned it in his hands; they were actual, real, Kunai.

"Shikamaru, how did you-" Naruto began, only to be cut off.

"It took me a lot of arguing to get these for you. Of course, I had some help, but it doesn't mean I didn't work hard." Shikamaru said, sitting down in front of Naruto.

"Help? From who?" Naruto asked, holding the Kunai in his hands.

"Sasuke, of course. If anyone has connections in this village, it's sasuke." Shikamaru said, and Naruto felt his heart skip a beat.

'Sasuke helped with this? He wanted to help me?' Naruto thought, his ears going pink for a moment.

"Relax, I didn't tell him anything about what we're doing; I just told him I needed special Kunais' made; he didn't even see them," Shikamaru said, leaning back on his hands. Naruto nodded, a determined grin on his face.

"Now I can start training!" He said, standing up and laying out his scrolls.

"Yeah, you've already almost got the seal down, so you're almost good to go," Shikamaru said, standing up with the boy.

"Yeah! Let's start now!" Naruto said. Shikamaru nodded and sat next to him.

•Time Skip•

Naruto flopped back. That's it; he got the seal perfected, now all he needs is the jutsu.

"Good, we have the seal, now try using the seal," Shikamaru said, observing the notes from the fourth Hokages house. Naruto placed the seal down on a tree and moved back. Closing his eyes, he focused his Chakra, concentrating on the seal. He felt part of him dissolve almost, and then he felt his body get sucked in by the seal, and then he was released from it. He opened his eyes and was met with Shikamaru's shocked face, and he was standing next to the seal.

"Y-Your body just flickered. What the hell. You moved at the speed of light; that's insane." Shikamaru said, putting a hand on his head. Naruto's eyes sparkled for a moment, and he jumped in the air.

"I DID IT! I DID IT! KURAMA, ARE YOU WATCHING ME? I'M GETTING YOU OUT IN NO TIME!" He screamed, a massive grin on his face. Shikamaru chuckled.

"Not just yet, now, since you have the seal down, try it with the kunai. Throw it, and then teleport to it," Shikamaru said, tossing Naruto one of the Kunai. Naruto grabbed it and placed the seal on it, then threw it right by Shikamaru's head and flickered behind him, with the Kunai by his throat.

"I think I'm ready to get my fox back, Shikamaru." He said, a grin on his face.

"Maybe I shouldn't have helped you learn this Jutsu," he said, sighing. Naruto chuckled a bit and practiced some more with the Kunai.

•Time Skip•

Naruto's face planted into the floor, laughing. He did it. He finally mastered the Flying Thunder Kunai. Now he was strong enough to get Kurama back. He got up and ran over to Shikamaru, jumping up and smushing him in a huge hug.

"IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU; YOU GOT ME THE KUNAIS AND HELPED ME LEARN, WHEN I BECOME HOKAGE, YOU'RE GOING TO BE MY RIGHT-HAND MAN!" Naruto proudly screamed, a smile plastered on his face. Shikamaru laughed, patting him on the back before releasing himself from the hug.

"Alright, alright, relax. So now that you've done the Jutsu, anything else you need my help with, because if not, then that'll be my last day helping you for now. My mom is starting to think I'm up to something, and I don't wanna make her mad." Shikamaru said, putting his hands behind his head. Naruto smiled and chuckled a bit.

"When I need to learn another Jutsu, I'll call you, but for now, I don't think I need any more help. I'm going to focus on my body rather than chakra for now!" He said, putting a thumbs up in Shikamaru's direction. Shikamaru nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Then I'm off; remember to need any help, call me." He said before walking off. Naruto smiled, watching him walk off.

"Right! Time to go do my other training!" He said, summoning some shadow clones to help push the logs for him to dodge. As he was avoiding one of the logs, he got knocked off by another. He felt himself plummeting towards the spikes. Why the hell did he add those again? In the heat of the moment, he used the flying Thunder Kunai to transport himself back to the tree, and it worked.

     He stared for a moment and then cheered for himself before getting back to work.

•Time skip•

     Naruto slumped into his house; his whole body hurt.

     'I went overboard on the training today, gosh,' he thought before heading into the shower. After his shower, he slumped into his kitchen to make himself some ramen.

     'I'll use my limited edition one since today's a celebration!' He said, peeling off the shimmery gold lid. Waiting for the three minutes, he slurped it down until it was gone. Throwing away the cup once he was done, he walked over to his bed, flipping down on it. He didn't last too long since the second his head hit the pillows, he was drifting off to dreamland.

'Kurama, I'm close; I'll get you back, don't worry.'

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Hello! Sorry for the late update, I was kind of busy! But it's here now, and also, it's my birthday today! Happy Birthday to me! But anyways, hope you liked the chapter, and have a great day!