Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto [Book 1]

Chapter Thirty-Two: Training Continues!

Beth POV

Wondering through the streets of Konoha was both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same once. People had banded together since the attack from Orochimaru, and were rebuilding parts of the village which had been destroyed. The kindness and selflessness seen in the hospital as volunteers assisted in healing those who were injured, was humbling. And yet a silence still remained ever present. No one wanted to speak about the recently deceased Hokage. His presence slowly disappearing into shadow.

Naruto was off with Jiraiya on a top secret mission to retrieve the future Hokage Lady Tsuande. Despite my knowledge of the hardships he would face, I found myself optimistic. I knew he'd be alright, I knew that when he returned he'd be even stronger than before.

At first I hadn't wanted to train, hadn't wanted to leave my apartment much at all. But Sasuke was great. He never forced me, but always encouraged me to keep my strength up. After a few weeks of convincing we began training together consistently. We tried to train with Kakashi sensei whenever he was available, but since the death of the Hokage he had taken it upon himself to handle various duties he wouldn't normally have. When he did manage to escape the confines of the administration building, it was amazing and effective.

I was capable of performing various natured ninjutsu, thus I was able to train with Sasuke and Kakashi when they focused on fire and lightning, both Sasuke's and Kakashi sensei's specialties. Of course I still had my own private sessions with Kakashi sensei, where we focused on other elements I could create. Except Wind. Wind natured ninjutsu seemed to be unwilling to cooperate with me. I gathered then, that the Rasengan was not an ability I would add to my arsenal.

Being that Kakashi sensei was able to recreate thousands of jutsus due to his Sharingan eye, it was easy for him to teach me various techniques that he had already perfected. Though I could practically manipulate my chakra into any nature, it seemed my strengths lay in Fire, Lightning, Water and Earth. A strange combination as Kakashi sensei pointed out, but I suspected the difference lay in my origin.

Sakura came along to these training sessions but wasn't training in as many advanced techniques as I was. My studies were focused on intermediate genjutsu and advanced ninjutsu techniques, along with varying forms of taijutsu for speed and precision. Sakura was focusing on simpler ninjutsu and moderate taijutsu techniques.

Looking out at the training ground, I noticed Sasuke wasn't present, and weirdly neither was Sakura. I didn't question the absence of my teammates but the thoughts didn't go away, even as Kakashi sensei pushed me harder than usual. Focusing on my speed and flexibility, he was putting me through some of the most difficult exercise routines I'd ever done.

After a few strenuous activities, my breathing hard, Kakashi sensei suggested we engage in an extreme kind of tag. The rules were simple. He mainly ran around in circles with my objective being that I had to touch him on the shoulder. Unfortunately, it was next to impossible. He was untouchable, faster than lightning. Over the course of our training, I had secretly been attempting the Chidori, and in fact I had succeeded quite a few times. When I informed Kakashi sensei of this, he was taken aback. Not only because I hadn't received any training from him regarding the move, but also because although I was fast, I was not as fast as he or Sasuke was.

I followed Kakashi sensei as he continued to run front of me, a book in his hand, his eyes not even glancing at me. Eventually my stamina ran out. Stopping I crossed arms over my chest.

"That's it!" I puffed. "I give up. I'm... not a runner... never was. Can we... do something different?" I asked. Kakashi sensei turned and looked at me.

"Of course. Let's reverse the roles." My eyes widened.

"WHAT?! REVERSE?!" Without another word, Kakashi sensei lunged for me. I jumped backwards, performing a perfect flip. Cart wheeling to the side, I looked behind me to see that Kakashi sensei was already advancing again. Once again we were running in a circle, Kakashi sensei throwing shuriken at my feet to force me to move faster.