More Than A Name (Naruto Fanfiction)

Mentors

Anko escorted Sakura into an isolated section of the forest. After a discussion, Kakashi suggested that one of his friends could help with Sakura's training. As they stopped, Anko turned around and addressed Sakura.

"I'm not proficient enough with earth chakra manipulation to perform a defensive technique of your desired level. Ideally, you would want an Iwa shinobi to teach you. But I think you'll have better luck finding Madara Uchiha alive somewhere." joked Anko

"So, who's going to teach me," asked Sakura

"I am"

Sakura let out a small scream as she jumped away and quickly turned to see the voice's origin; behind her was a man in an Anbu uniform and mask.

Anko chuckled

"Hey, you're Kakashi's friend, right? I'm Anko, and this is Sakura."

The man reached for his mask and pulled it off.

"Pleasure to meet you both; you may refer to me as Yamato ."

Yamato wore the standard attire of the Anbu: a black, sleeveless jumper under a grey flack jacket, strapped-up shinobi sandals, arm-length gloves with guards over them, and an Anbu tattoo on his left shoulder.

"I understand that Sakura here is trying to learn advanced earth jutsu, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Sakura said quickly, trying to show respect.

"She's trying to learn an earth technique that could make her invulnerable; Kakashi said you may know of a jutsu."

Yamato nodded

"I do; it's known as the Earth Spear jutsu and is one of the hardest earth techniques to perform, not to mention master, to demonstrate."

Yamato pulled out a kunai and held the tip toward the palm of his other hand; he then began to focus as he channeled chakra to his palm, and his skin began to darken and take on a metallic texture. He then slammed the kunai down on his palm, and the kunai bounced off his palm, bending the tip slightly.

The technique quickly faded as Tenzo let out a breath of exertion. Both Anko and Sakura noticed Yamato looked noticeably more exhausted.

"The technique itself is simple in concept; you simply gather a large amount of earth chakra into the area of your body you want to protect; this will harden the area, making it impossible for most attacks to penetrate it," Yamato explained.

"I'm sensing a major, but here," said Anko.

Yamato nodded

"To use the technique, the earth chakra you use needs to be heavily concentrated; if not done correctly, the drain the jutsu can have on your chakra can be devastating. The key is to find the right balance between control and power so you can effectively use the technique, and even then, I can only do it three times a day."

Sakura began to doubt her ability to use this technique; her smaller chakra pool was one of her biggest weaknesses. Seeing Sakura start to lose confidence, Anko put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Try not to get overwhelmed; I know you can do this; like any training, you just have to pace yourself."

Yamato nodded

"That's good advice; start by trying to reinforce a small area like the tip of your finger."

"Okay, are there any steps?" Sakura asked as he looked down at the tip of her right pointer finger.

"Just try to visualize the earth chakra layering itself onto your finger. Do not get discouraged if you aren't able to do it on your first try. It took me months to see any progress..." Yamato cut himself off as he saw Sakura's take on a metallic texture and darken slightly.