Ascendance of the Flash

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: Holy shit! I expected that you people would like the chapter, but man! The responses blew all my expectations! Now I'm getting kinda nervous about disappointing you guys. But I did say that I would try my best, so I won't back down from that.

For those of you who noticed it, yes, I did bring some real taekwondo kicks for Naruto's taijutsu. I really am a big fan of Scott Adkins martial arts stunts, and I was kind of inspired. I'll bring some more when I can.

I've got quite a few complaints about the OC and the name though. I won't remove him from the story. I also won't change the name. I'm quite confident in my writing so as to not confuse the readers. As long as you can keep track of a conversation, you won't get confused.

Also, I know that Kurama can give his chakra to others, manifesting it in a form of a cloak. But I'm a bit surprised and frankly, disappointed that no one picked up the reference from how Naruto froze Jiraiya by trapping him in his own energy.

Anyways, I've said enough. One last thing, I hope ya'll are keeping safe.

That said, let's move on to the story!

The sun rose up ever so slowly over the hills, casting its glow over the earth. Wildlife slowly woke up from their sleep, getting ready to hunt for the day. It was the kind of day that was rather rare, but the feeling that anyone would get was always positive.

Such was the case with the shinobi sleeping in a tent by the riverside. Jiraiya kept snoring away like a pig, never having cared whether his heavy snoring would disturb other people in the vicinity. Naruto had heavily stuffed his ears with cotton, for Jiraiya might very well be running a chain saw right next to him, his sensitive hearing not allowing him to ignore the snores.

Haruto was in the same boat as his cousin, his ears almost overflowing with cotton. At first, he was quite annoyed when he slept with Naruto and Jiraiya for the first time since leaving with them. But due to the fear of being left behind because he annoyed them, he kept quiet. It was Naruto who discovered his problem and silently offered a solution. Since then, both the Uzumaki slept peacefully as if Jiraiya wasn't even there.

The sun rays hit the wall of the tent, causing it to glow a little. Naruto's eyes crinkled as the light hit his eyes, fluttering open slowly. He released a groan as he pulled the covers over his eyes, wanting to sleep only a little more. He had been experiencing quite a pleasant dream of being back with Temari, in their bed and trying out a new move that he-

His eyes snapped open and he shot up like a spring.

That's right! Today's the day we go back! I get to see my Temari again!

The mere thought itself had him vibrating in excitement. Shooting up from his bed, he exited the tent to go over his morning rituals. Knowing Jiraiya, he would be up shortly. And that man never allowed anyone to sleep once he had woken up. He was stingy like that.

In his excitement, it took him a mere fifteen minutes to get ready. Just as he was tying up his headband, he saw Jiraiya exiting the tent, Haruto following shortly. He greeted them cheerfully, knowing it would only annoy Jiraiya more. "Top of the morning to you, ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya grumbled, eyes still droopy and posture still a bit stiff. "Kami, it hurts to even look at him. Where does he get all that energy?"

While Jiraiya was still a bit graceful in his walk, Haruto was more or less wobbling, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Geez Naruto, how can you be so cheerful so early?"

Naruto adjusted his arm bands a little. "We get to go home today! How can you not be excited?!"

Haruto gave a small, sleepy smile. He was excited in his own way, because he would finally have a proper home for the first time in his life, close to his family. He started walking towards one side of the riverbank when Naruto called out to him. "Jiraiya's on that side."