Bonds

Resentment

"Hate...such a dangerous thing...if used correctly, it could destroy anyone who ever did you wrong. Tear them down multiple pegs before finishing them off. If used incorrectly, then you could end up destroying yourself. That truly makes you wonder... blinding yourself by such rage would be a foolish decision, no? If such catastrophic consequences could possibly come from giving in to it, why would you?"

"The reward...the possible outcomes of being successful in using your rage...using your hate...that is why you would use such things."

"It makes me wonder then...how was I able to deal with such rage so long ago?" the figure finished as they looked up at the brightly lit night sky. They reached their hand out and squeezed it into a tight fist. "How did everything change? Where did I go so wrong?"

They closed their eyes as they turned away from the moon. They looked down at their hands, a soft expression resting on them. They slowly balled into fists as they grit their teeth together.

"None of that matters now." they mumbled as their hands dropped to their sides. They took the hood of their cloak and placed it over their head.

"All that matters is the future."

*Current Time*

*Pop*

Jiraiya flinched at the third rubber ball popping in the last three hours. He looked over his shoulder with a twitching eyebrow. Naruto was scratching his chin as he looked at the newly popped ball.

"Did it again, I'd say I found a fair consistency." Naruto stated as he removed the pieces of the ball from his hand. Jiraiya sighed as he stopped in his tracks.

"If you think you're ready, then lets start the next step!" he exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. "The last one is pretty simple on paper, but if by far the most difficult to complete."

Naruto nodded his head as he stared at his teacher, signaling him to continue.

"You'll be using the same method that you used to destroy the water balloon and rubber ball to make a perfectly round and blue sphere. This time however, you won't be manipulating the water and air like before. You have to make it from scratch with no aid or crutches."

"Wouldn't I be manipulating air anyways? It is all around us after all. If I just focused hard enough on the air that surrounds my palm, I could just focus on it, making it no different than popping the ball." Naruto challenged, but Jiraiya shook his head.

"Oh my naïve little student, I applaud you for the confidence. I believe you overestimate yourself in this category, however." Jiraiya smirked as he picked up and extra rubber ball and threw it up and down. "The amount of air in this ball is high, yes, but it is also packed tightly into a small ball. You'd be attempting to do something like that with a world full of air, a near impossible task if you think of it like that."

"Yet you're able to form a Rasengan." Naruto retorted. Jiraiya shook his head.

"Hence the difference between a high ranked Sanin, and a lowly Genin." Jiraiya mocked. Naruto rolled his eyes as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"We're here aren't we?" he switched the topic as Jiraiya looked up, nodding.

"Yeah, lets head in."

*Kakashi*

A kick connected with Kisame's mid-section, causing him to jump back. While doing so, he stabbed the ground with his sword, allowing it to stick out of the ground. He squinted at Kakashi and Asuma as they stood tall. Kurenai, however, was nowhere to be seen.