Naruto: Rise of the Uzumaki by X009

Chapter 13

Today was the day.

It had taken Naruto over a week. Lots of work with shadow clones and many deflated rubber balls, but now, he had it.

In the same rocky terrain that they'd started in, Naruto stood before his sensei, who looked on silently with his hands in his pockets. He was glaring down at a white rubber ball in his hand.

He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply, then, with a growl, he channeled a surge of chakra into the ball. Rotating the chakra within, he watched the ball distort until finally...

Pop!

The ball exploded, sending out a burst of wind that ruffled his hair. As its pieces fell to the ground, he turned and grinned at Kakashi before raising a fist in the air in triumph. "Alright!" He then made a V with his fingers. "Told you I had it!"

"Very good," His sensei said with a nod. "It's time you move on to the final step."

Naruto grinned. "Lay it on me, Kakashi-sensei! I'll get it down in no time!"

Just one more step and he'd not only add a super-awesome jutsu to his arsenal but a technique left by his father.

"I wouldn't be too sure. This steps the hardest of all." Kakashi warned.

The silver-haired jonin then reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll. Naruto looked on in anticipation as his sensei used the unsealing technique. In a burst of smoke, his final test lay before him.

Naruto blinked. "More balloons?"

"Yep," Kakashi nodded as he picked one up. He then gestured for Naruto to approach." Can't throw these."

Naruto soon saw why. It was an ordinary balloon filled with air.

"Care to guess what the aim is this time? It's a bit different than the other steps."

Naruto frowned as he thought back to Kakashi's explanation of their training. The answer quickly came to him. "Oh, I get it. This time, I need to keep from popping the balloon!"

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Right. Take all that you learned from the last two steps, and keep it all contained within that flimsy balloon, and you'll have it."

Naruto nodded and then concentrated on the balloon in his hand, determination clear on his features. This was it, the final step. All he had to do was keep this balloon from bursting. Easy, right?

He had this.

He formed an orb of chakra within the balloon.

It exploded almost immediately.

Sakura knocked on the door before her and waited, putting her hands behind her back.

"Be right there," She soon heard a familiar voice say. The door opened to reveal Naruto, who grinned. "Hey, Sakura, good to see you."

"Sakura, glad you made it!" She heard Fuu call from her place at Naruto's table. She saw the green-haired girl raise a bag. "I brought snacks!"

"Well, I see someone got here early," Sakura noted with a smirk. "So, are we just waiting on Sasuke?"

"Yep. Knowing him, he should be here any minute." Naruto said as she stepped inside.

"Oh," She muttered as something occurred to her. "Um, Fuu? What kind of snacks did you bring?" She asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

Fuu smiled, closing her eyes. "Some sweets from Gekkoyume. They make some of the best mochi I've ever had!"

She and Naruto looked at each other. "Oh boy." She muttered before looking at Fuu, who looked at her curiously. "Sasuke hates sweet things."