The More Things Change

Chapter Three

Team Seven strolled away from their training ground in good spirits. Naruto was still grinning like a loon, Sakura was humming to herself, and Satsuki had a small smile on her face. Naruto was happier than he had been in a long time. After Team Seven had been the first team to ever pass the infamous Bell Test, the blonde Genin somehow convinced the entire team to meet at Ichiraku Ramen. Kakashi said he'd meet them there, but Naruto had the feeling that the Jonin wouldn't arrive until much later, if he showed up at all.
Naruto loved the simple ramen stand for a multitude of reasons, but mainly because the owner, Teuchi, had never once been cold towards him. He and his daughter had never kicked him out of their restaurant or charged him double what the menu said, unlike many of their competitors. The Ichirakus were good people, and always made the young blonde feel welcome. Sometimes, the ramen stand felt more like home than the cold, empty apartment he slept in. When the group arrived at the restaurant, Naruto made his way over to his favorite stool at the bar. He always sat at the bar because he didn't want to make the pretty Ayame lug a dozen bowls to one of the tables.
"Teuchi!" Naruto called out. The older man looked up with wide smile. I'd like for you to meet my new team! This is Satsuki and Sakura!"
"It's nice to meet you both," Teuchi said politely, smiling at the girls. "Naruto was so excited to get a Genin team! You ladies watch out for him, will ya?"
"We will, Teuchi-San," Sakura said politely, surprised at how warm the restaurant owner seemed towards her new teammate. Most of the adults that she knew had always been distant with the blonde, no doubt due to the tactless pranks he'd pulled.
"I appreciate that. Now, what can I get for ya?"
After everyone had ordered the three Genin started talking about the bell test, then what type of training Kakashi would be giving them. Naruto was certain that their new sensei would teach them all kinds of awesome Jutsu, while Sakura argued that their sensei would probably try to improve their teamwork and chakra control first. Apparently she had read that those were the first things that pretty much every Jonin-Sensei taught a new team. Satsuki didn't feel the need to join the conversation, but seemed content to watch her teammates argue back and forth.
After everyone had their fill (some more than others), Sakura took off, claiming that her parents would worry if she didn't get back home soon and leaving Naruto and Satsuki alone in the middle of the street. Naruto tried no to let the moment get awkward, but he didn't really know what to say.
"Do you ever wonder what it's like?" Naruto blurted, breaking the silence. Satsuki arched a brow and started walking down the street, her long hair sashaying behind her. The blonde jogged to catch up. After another sufficiently awkward silence, Naruto tried again. "I meant that I wonder what it's like, sometimes, ya know? To have someone worry about me if I came late."
Satsuki's dark eyes softened a little, before her mouth pursed into a hard line. "It's annoying," she said, her eyes flashing dangerously. "They always nag you, telling you what to do. There's a million different rules and you don't have a say in any of them."
"I'm not a big fan of rules," Naruto began, but Satsuki cut him off.
"You don't realize how much you rely on those rules until no one's around to enforce them. Parents are like a safety net. As long as they're around, you have someone to pick up the pieces if you fail. You have someone to celebrate with when you succeed. You have expectations to live up to. They drive you to be better." Naruto didn't think that Satsuki was really talking to him anymore. Instead, she seemed to be thinking aloud. "When they're gone, you feel lost." The ebony haired Genin turned to her teammate. "If you ever find someone who makes you feel like that, don't ever let them go. You never know when they'll be torn from you." Naruto nodded, resolving to go talk to Iruka-Sensei at the earliest possibility. He wouldn't make the mistake of taking the Chunin's friendship for granted.
"I don't know what it's like to have never known your family," Satsuki continued, favoring him with a pitying glance. "But I'm willing to bet that losing everyone you ever cared about is much worse. To know love, then lose it all... I can't think of a worse fate." Naruto silently disagreed. To be hated by an entire village, with no one around who gave a damn was a far worse fate. Having to endure their cold glares, the whispering behind their hands was at times unbearable. Thankfully, Naruto eventually found Iruka, Shika, Choji, and to lesser extent, Kiba.
However, in Naruto's opinion, there was one thing that was worst of all: Being alone. It was something that he and Satsuki had in common. While Satsuki was relatively popular in class, she kept everyone at arms length, which offended a lot of people. The girls didn't like her because she wasn't into gossiping and boys, while the boys were too busy trying to impress her to get to know her.
Meanwhile, Naruto had his circle of friends during school hours. Occasionally, Shikamaru and Choji would stop by his house after school, but for the most part, once class let out Naruto came home to an empty apartment. A lot of his evenings were spent wandering the village. While the villagers icy stares were bad, they were better than the crushing loneliness that pervaded his apartment. He suspected that same loneliness filled Satsuki's home, as well.
Satsuki stopped in front of a large apartment complex. It was fancy, obviously way more expensive that the slum that Naruto lived in. "Goodnight, Naruto. Thanks for walking me home." She was about to say something more, but decided against it. Naruto watched her enter the building and disappear.
LINE BREAK
Team Seven trudged through town after completing their first week of D Rank missions. Naruto and Satsuki had both been extremely upset that they would be expected to do menial labor, though for vastly different reasons. Naruto had been naively expecting a quest to save a princess from a dastardly usurper king, so cleaning up dog poop and washing windows were huge let down. Satsuki, meanwhile, insisted that collecting trash was beneath her. She was the last scion of the Uchiha clan, not a garbage man. Even worse, Kakashi had forbidden Naruto from using his shadow clones to do the work. ("How else will you learn?")
Sakura, meanwhile, didn't seem to care. She took the D Ranks in stride, humming throughout the day and chatting Naruto's ears off about her boyfriend. Naruto was learning more about his rival than he had
ever wanted to know. Imagining the Inuzaka kissing techniques was the last thing he wanted. Before they became a team, she wouldn't have given the blonde the time of day, but apparently she needed an outlet for her gossip, and Naruto was apparently the best option available. Satsuki seemed thankful that the rosette hadn't chosen her to confide in.
Nevertheless, the missions had all been successful, and Naruto had happily stuffed his hard-earned cash into Gama-chan, his faithful frog-shaped wallet. However, he didn't plan on keeping the frog stuffed full for long. Today was the day that he could he afford a new wardrobe. Loathe as was to give up his jumpsuits, he knew that they'd soon be taking on missions outside the village, missions that might require him to not be so easily noticed. He knew he wanted to keep some orange, as it was still his favorite color, but he had resigned himself to a more toned down version. If only he had enough money to get some new kunai, too. He had never cared for shuriken too much, preferring the weight and feel of the larger kunai knives. Besides, a kunai was more versatile. It was effective at both close combat and at range.
Lost in thought, Naruto made an excuse to his female teammates and bid them goodnight, ducking into a ninja apparel store. Sakura had seemed surprised, but followed him inside, while Satsuki kept walking without a single comment.
"Uh... What are you doing, Sakura?" Naruto asked, confused. He hadn't expected company on this little shopping venture.
The girl scoffed. "If you're going to go clothes shopping, you'll need me along," the kunoichi quipped, a wide smile on her face as she started rummaging through the racks. "If only Ino were here,we'd get you set up really well, but I can handle this on my own. Besides, I know the owner. She's friends with my mom, so I can get you a sweet deal."
That was a relief, if Naruto was being honest with himself. He didn't think the shop keep would dare throw him out if he had Sakura with him. The villagers may be cruel to him, but they were careful to not be too prejudiced around Konoha's kids for some unknown reason. The blonde had initially hoped that people would start treating him differently once he graduated from the Academy, but sadly that had not been the case. If anything, the villagers treated him worse, like he was an explosive tag just waiting to go off.
Naruto didn't find it bothering him quite so much anymore, though. He had Iruka-Sensei, Choji and Shika to help keep him grounded, and now he had Satsuki and Sakura, too. His circle of friends was slowly but surely growing. Naruto felt a hard, but pleasant, lump in his chest at the thought. It was the same feeling he had gotten when Iruka said he was proud of him.
Iruka was equal parts father figure, older brother, and teacher to the young Genin. Naruto didn't think that 'sensei' didn't quite cover how important the scarred Chunin was to him, but he couldn't think of a more appropriate term. Kakashi-Sensei was cool, too, but in a much more distant way than Iruka. The Jonin would often offer Naruto good advice on any number of subjects, though they were usually just about Naruto's skills as a ninja and training methods. Iruka, on the other hand, had a lot of wisdom about life in general, and always knew what to say to cheer Naruto up whenever he found himself in a funk.
Watching Sakura happily start pulling clothes off the rack, Naruto's thoughts drifted towards their absent teammate. She had been distant lately, even more than usual. It had started the day after he had walked her home. He suspected that Satsuki had shared more than she had intended, and now felt uncomfortable around him. Naruto shrugged the problem away. There was nothing he could do about it, so he shifted those troublesome thoughts to the back of his mind, instead focusing on helping Sakura pick out the perfect outfit. He knew he'd have a fight on his hands to keep his favorite color in the mix.
The next morning, Naruto was the first one to the bridge off of Training Ground Seven. The bridge had become the unofficial meeting place for the team, and the blonde immediately took his usual perch atop one of the railings. The blonde felt like a million ryo. He and Sakura had spent over two hours selecting new clothes. Ino Yamanaka, Sakura's closest friend, had shown up halfway through, causing the whole process to start over again. Naruto had no idea how the fellow blonde had known that there was clothes shopping being done, but being the center of attention to two beautiful kunoichi had been a novel and pleasant experience.
He felt cool for the first time in his young life. He was wearing a sleeveless hooded sweatshirt, navy blue with a burnt orange trim around the hood and pockets. He had labored for an hour after getting home to sew the Uzumaki swirl on the back. He wore the hood down and the zipper half undone, revealing the black short-sleeved undershirt beneath. The undershirt's sleeves and collar were trimmed in same burnt orange as the jacket. His forearms and shins were hidden by navy blue warmers, once again trimmed in orange, while a pair of black knee-length shorts, with orange piping down the side, rounded out the ensemble. A pair of black ninja sandals protected his feet. He'd purchased a new headband, a full foot longer than his old one, but had made sure that the lady behind the counter had attached Iruka's leaf plate to it. He didn't want to completely do away with his mentor's gift, after all.
Even better, thanks to Sakura's 'sweet deal' with the owner, he'd been able to buy a new kunai set. It wasn't anything fancy, but the knives were leagues better than his old ones. Both Sakura and Ino had judged him 'acceptable,' and the blonde girl had even flirted with him a bit. She'd teased him gently when he'd blushed redder than he though possible. Sakura had rolled her eyes at the entire affair, muttering about how shallow her friend was.
LINE BREAK
Satsuki and Sakura walked towards the bridge in silence. The kunoichi still didn't care for one another, but the happened to be coming from the same direction and going to the same place at the same time. Satsuki couldn't tell what Sakura's deal was. The rosette seemed especially excited to get to the bridge today, and kept shooting her knowing looks. Satsuki was almost tempted into asking Sakura what was going on, but she had no doubt that that was Sakura's intentions. The Uchiha scion refused to play along with her teammate's immature game.
She was utterly stunned upon seeing that Naruto was already there. He was normally the last to arrive, but he was calmly sitting atop the bridge's railing balancing one of those stupid kunai on his finger. What really drew her attention, though, was that the blonde Genin had traded in his horrible jumpsuit. She felt her cheeks start to redden as she ogled her teammate, and immediately fought to keep down the blush. She'd never realized that Naruto was, well, hot. Who knew that he was hiding such well-developed muscles beneath that bulky jumpsuit? It seemed as if the blonde hadn't realized that the girls had arrived, or that Satsuki was still blatantly ogling him. Instead, his cerulean gaze was focused on the kunai that he was lazily balancing on one finger Satsuki tried to look away, but her onyx eyes kept shifting back towards him of their own accord. Keep your cool, girl. No matter how hot he is, he's still just a dobe.
Sakura giggled beside her, and Satsuki fixed her with her hardest glare, though the effect was somewhat tarnished by the blush still staining her cheeks. The giggle also drew Naruto's attention, and his eyes locked with Satsuki's for a brief moment. Her blush deepened, and she looked away, disgusted with her body's physical reaction. She was a kunoichi, not a bitch in heat.
"Looking good, Naruto!" Sakura squealed, sidling next to him. "Ino and I are miracle workers, I swear! If I wasn't in love with Kiba-kun, I might just make you take me out sometime." The blonde blushed furiously at the teasing, and his lack of focus caused his kunai to clatter loudly to bridge's surface. Satsuki almost wretched, Imagining Naruto and Sakura together was a new personal hell for her. Not that she'd be jealous, she told herself. It'd just be really annoying to watch them hang all over each other. She silently thanked Kami that Sakura already had a boyfriend.
Fortunately, Kakashi chose that moment to show up. If he noticed Naruto's new gear, he didn't show it. "Yo! Sorry I'm late. I had to help a baby bird with broken wing get back to its nest. I'm sure you understand." Satsuki rolled her eyes. Their sensei's excuses were getting lamer by the day.
LINE BREAK
Naruto retrieved his fallen kunai and slid it back into his hip pouch. He was pretty surprised that Kakashi was only a few minutes late today, though the Jonin's tardiness rarely followed an established pattern. Sometimes, he'd show up twenty minutes after seven, other times he wouldn't arrive till almost ten. It was maddening. Naruto couldn't anticipate when he'd have to show up to the bridge, so catching an extra hour of sleep was impossible. He suspected that it was an intentional ploy on Kakashi's part.
He hoped that they were doing something cool today. D Ranked missions were good for Gama-chan, but they were especially hard on Naruto's pride. Scrubbing dog crap out of the Inuzaka kennels while Kiba watched had easily been one of the most degrading moments of his young shinobi career. Kiba had teased him the whole time, pointing out whenever Naruto missed a pile. It didn't help that Akamaru, Kiba's familiar, had given Naruto a fresh pile to clean up halfway through. He knew that the larger boy was just giving him a hard time, but he'd had to do whole mission basically by himself. Satsuki outright refused, while Sakura seemed more focused on her boyfriend than the kennels.
Kakashi led the three Genin into the large clearing of Training Ground Seven. Naruto and Sakura shared an excited look. Normally, the Jonin took them to the Hokage tower to get a mission. Going to the training ground meant they would be learning something. While Satsuki and Naruto were far more interested in learning new techniques than Sakura, even the rosette was grateful for a break from D Ranked missions.
Satsuki usually stuck around for an extra hour or two after Kakashi dismissed them for the day, beating on the training posts, while Naruto stayed late into the evening, punching and kicking until his knuckles were bloody and his shins were numb. If he was being completely truthful with himself, he didn't really know what he was doing. He knew how to throw a punch, but he was sure that if he could get the forms right that he'd hit a hell of a lot harder. It was just so difficult for him to learn from the complicated scrolls that Iruka had given him. The older Chunin had looked sincerely apologetic when Naruto had gone to him for help with his Taijutsu forms, but Iruka had claimed that his workload had doubles since Mizuki had turned traitor. The increased strain on the Chunin's time wouldn't be relieved until a new instructor was found to replace him. Until then, Naruto would be on his own. Iruka had ruffled Naruto's shaggy blonde hair and promised that he would help his student as soon as he could, if only Naruto would hang in there in the meantime.
"Alright, my adorable little Genin, today we're going to warm up with some sparring. Afterwords, I'm going to teach you all a cool new trick." Kakashi immediately caught all three Genin's attention.
"What are you going to show us? Some bad ass new Jutsu?" Naruto could barely contain his excitement, and had inadvertently started shouting.
Kakashi sighed. "It's always Jutsu with you," he muttered under his breath. "It's not a Jutsu, Naruto, but I guarantee that it's vital to being a good ninja." The blonde was slightly disappointed, but quickly shook it off. Learning something was better than nothing, after all. "First off, we'll have Naruto face Sakura. Taijutsu only. Start and stop on my mark." Naruto and Sakura nodded and faced each other, while Satsuki perched herself atop one of the tall training stumps. Honestly, Naruto wasn't sure he wanted to fight Sakura. Sparring with her was different from sparring with Satsuki. The Uchiha was a fighter, the best in their age group. Satsuki was more of a
girl in Naruto's head. "Start."
Sakura immediately hopped backwards, settling into a defensive posture. Naruto stood his ground, lowering into his stance and cursing his misfortune. It was bad enough that he had to fight a girl, but did he have to be the aggressor, too? To quote Shika, this is troublesome,
Naruto thought, sighing aloud. Tensing, he charged towards the rosette, halfheartedly throwing a wide, looping haymaker that he knew she could dodge. Sure enough, Sakura neatly ducked beneath the blow, but instead of pressing her advantage, she merely backpedaled a few steps and resumed her defensive stance.
This is going to get annoying really fast, Naruto thought acidly. He charged again, throwing the exact same punch with the exact same result. At this rate, we'll be here for hours. Fine, I guess I'm going to have to be a jerk and hit a girl. Hopefully Kiba won't kick my ass too hard for beating up his girlfriend.
Naruto charged a third time, faking another right handed haymaker before spinning into a low leg sweep. The kick caught Sakura by surprise, and she squawked as she felt her legs fly out from under her, landing on her rear. She rolled backwards, regaining her feet before charging Naruto, her emerald eyes flashing in anger and embarrassment. Her punches and kicks were crisp and accurate, but weak. Naruto was easily able to block or absorb all of them without any trouble. Leaning sideways to dodge a punch to his face, he grabbed the offending appendage and pulled the rosette towards him. She tried to yank her arm free, but his superior strength won out, and Naruto was able to force her into a rather painful arm lock. He didn't normally use submission holds in his Taijutsu, but he figured that the arm bar would be better than just pummeling her face in. Regardless, she cried out in pain, and Naruto was about to let go before Kakashi's voice rang out.
"Stop! That's enough." Naruto immediately released his teammate, and she shot him a slightly hurt look as she rubbed the pain away from her elbow. Kakashi stepped before them, drawing their attention. "Sakura, your technique is good, though your physical conditioning leaves a lot to be desired. Have you been training?" Sakura shook her head. "Start training. Physical fitness helps more than just your speed and strength. The better shape you're in, the more chakra you'll have at your disposal." Sakura muttered a response, but none of the others were able to make out what she had said. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but you'll have to speak up."
The girl blushed furiously. "Kiba-kun doesn't like girls that are too muscular."
Satsuki laughed from her perch atop the training posts. Kakashi shot the raven-haired girl a dangerous look, silencing her, before turning back to Sakura. "This isn't a game. Do you want to die in the field?" Sakura shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. "Then do as I tell you. I don't care what 'Kiba-kun' likes. I care about keeping you alive. Do you understand?" Sakura nodded, blinking away her tears and staring at her feet. Kakashi's voice softened as he continued. "Good. If you have any questions about training methods or fitness regiments, you can always come to me. And Sakura?" He lifted her chin to meet her gaze. "If he truly cares about you, he won't care how many muscles you have." He left the girl to ponder that tidbit of wisdom before turning towards his only male student.
"Naruto, your condition is excellent. I assume you've been training?" The blonde nodded, his chest swelling with pride. "Good. Keep it up. It was smart to use your superior strength to overpower your opponent. However, whoever showed you how to fight obviously didn't know what he was doing. Most enemies would have been able to break out of that arm bar with ease." Naruto's face fell. "You need to work on your technique. Start with the basics, don't just hit the stumps. You need to master the katas and forms. Your punches should be as crisp as Sakura's. If you need help getting started, let me know." Naruto almost facepalmed. He'd never thought to ask Kakashi for help, which, looking back, was really dumb on his part.
Kakashi turned to Satsuki. "Satsuki, you're up next against Naruto. Same rules as before." She nodded, leaping down from the training stump and taking Sakura's place. "Ready? Start."
Satsuki immediately charged Naruto with blinding speed. He barely had time to block the leaping roundhouse kick, but she'd already landed, spinning around and nailing him across the face with a backhanded fist. He absorbed the blow, biting his cheek painfully, and tried to grab her like he'd done with Sakura, but she darted backwards out of range. Smirking, she lunged again, this time with a flurry of punches and kicks. He was able to block half of them and dodge a couple more, but had to eat a fist to the jaw. Before he could recover, Satsuki knocked the wind out of him, courtesy of a sharp knee to his solar plexus. The blonde doubled over and winced, expecting a follow up strike that never came. Satsuki seemed content to give him time to recover, examining the nails on her left hand with a bored look on her face.
"Ready for more, dobe?" Satsuki smirked when Naruto finally regained his breath.
"Don't get cocky," he griped in return.
"What an intimidating comeback! I'm quivering in my sandals." Her dark eyes danced with mirth and she flipped her pony tail over one shoulder. "Come on then, dobe, show me what you've got."
It was Naruto's turn to go on the offensive. With a loud battle cry, he charged his kunoichi teammate, throwing a series of punches and kicks. None of them even came close to landing. "Dear Kami, are you always this predictable, dobe? A civilian could beat you up."
"Stop calling me that!" Naruto snarled, his temper flaring.
"Why would I?" She smirked again. "That's what you are. I'm just being honest with you... dobe."
Naruto roared again, sprinting towards her. She raised her arms to defend herself, ready for another set of sloppy attacks. Instead of throwing a punch or kick, however, the blonde barreled into her, tackling her to the ground. They grappled back and forth, rolling in the grass as each tried to gain the upper hand. Finally, Naruto was able to roll her onto her back. Grasping both of her wrists, he forced her arms up and away from her body so she couldn't get any leverage. He rested the bulk of his weight on her slim waist so she wasn't able to kick free. "I win," he gloated, grinning like a loon. "Who's the dobe now?"
"You are," she replied acidly, her onyx eyes meeting her cerulean gaze. In that moment, Naruto briefly forgot where he was. Kami, her eyes are pretty . I think I could just lose myself in them forever. She gazed up at him through lowered lashes...
Satsuki seemed to recover first. "Get off of me, dobe!" Her sudden shout snapped Naruto out of his trance, suddenly realizing the compromising position they were in. His eyes bulged. Satsuki was a
girl , and he was straddling her while pinning her arms above her head. "I said, get off!" Naruto quickly complied. Blushing both Genin gained their feet and faced their sensei, who looked halfway between amused and exasperated. Sakura was staring at them, her green eyes dancing with hidden mirth. Naruto had no doubt that he'd just become a juicy piece of gossip.
"Done with your little groping session?" Kakashi chuckled, causing the pair to blush again. "Naruto, same notes as before. You have a lot of physical talent, but you need to go back to the basics. Nice... improvisation to subdue your opponent." Naruto didn't trust himself to speak, so he just nodded. "Satsuki, you did extremely well. Your technique was flawless and your speed was excellent. Your strikes didn't pack as much power as they could have, but that's something you'll likely be fighting your entire career. As it is, your strength is above average for your age and gender. However, I'd recommend you avoid grappling at all costs. Most of your opponents will be like Naruto. They'll try to physically overpower you, and you can't afford to fight on their terms. Many kunoichi employ weapons instead of relying solely on Taijutsu for just that reason. As you mature, you may want to consider picking up some Kenjutsu."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."
"Good. Now, since you've all been good little Genin and danced for my amusement, I'm going to teach you a new skill."
Naruto blinked in surprise. "Sensei, aren't Satsuki and Sakura going to spar?"
The Jonin shook his head. "There's no point. Satsuki and Sakura know what they need to improve. As I was saying, it's time to learn a new technique. Today, we're climbing trees," he said grandly. He looked at his students' blank faces before continuing. "Without using our hands."
LINE BREAK
The tree climbing exercise had been especially difficult for Naruto. The problem, Kakashi had told him, lay with his enormous chakra reserves. While most Genin could feel the very slight drain on their chakra that the exercise required, for Naruto it was like isolating an eyedropper of water from the ocean. No matter how little chakra he tried to employ, he found himself propelled forcefully from his tree. It took him almost a week of constant training, of trial after trial, error after error, for him to gauge the exact amount of chakra required to stick to the tree without launching himself through the air. He still could only take a handful of steps before his tenuous control ran out, expelling him from the tree like a rocket.
However, his ungodly chakra pool would cause far more problems than just the tree climbing exercise. He'd have to use the same system for ALL of his Jutsu to get the best effect, barring, of course, the
Shadow Clone Jutsu . He could pump as much chakra as he wanted into his signature technique and only end up with more clones. Furthermore, Kakashi told him that the Jutsu required a boatload of chakra, more than most Chunin were able to produce without killing themselves, to even produce one clone. That's why he could use the move so much better than his other ones: He could actually feel it, though only slightly.
His other Jutsu, like substitution, henge, and the regular clone Jutsu would have limited effectiveness or outright fail if he pushed too much chakra into them. A small part of the blonde was tempted to just forget those techniques and focus on mastering Jutsu that required more chakra, but he knew that he needed them. There was a reason that they were taught to every single student that went through the Academy, after all.
Further adding to his list of woes, his outlandishly large chakra pool would also make him highly susceptible to Genjutsu. Illusory techniques worked by influencing an opponent's chakra network, and Naruto was unlikely to notice the subtle manipulations until it was far too late, if at all. Furthermore, even if he did realize he was in a Genjutsu, he would have extreme difficulty escaping the hostile illusion. Dispelling Genjutsu was as simple as momentarily disrupting your chakra flow. For most ninja, this was a relatively easy task, like clogging a small stream. For Naruto, it would be like damming a wide, raging river.
However, if Naruto was able to overcome these obstacles, Kakashi told him he'd be a force to be reckoned with. His chakra reserves, which had so far caused him so much trouble, would enable him to keep fighting long after anyone else fainted from chakra exhaustion. He could potentially learn any high level Jutsu, barring Genjutsu, of course, and use them much more frequently than anyone else. After a lot of thought, Naruto decided to look at the whole thing like it was a blessing. He could learn to deal with chakra control problems. It would be difficult to master manipulating such minuscule amounts of chakra, but it was far from impossible.
LINE BREAK
Kakashi Hatake had tried not to show it during the day's training, but Naruto's chakra pool had deeply unsettled him. Even considering his lineage and tenant, there was no way that the boy should have so much chakra. The Jonin made his way towards the Hokage tower. Despite his usual apathy, Kakashi felt that this disturbing development couldn't wait. Anything regarding the Kyuubi needed to be a top priority.
He checked in with the Hokage's secretary, a cute brunette who favored him with what she obviously though was a seductive smile. He briefly considered taking the Chunin home with him when he left, but ultimately decided against it. Women like that tended to want more than he was willing to give. The young woman announced that the Hokage was ready to see him, and he passed by her without another glance nor thought.
"Kakashi! To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, know to the world as the Sandaime Hokage, was obviously advancing in years. His face was covered with a web of wrinkles, and his voice had the hoarse quality of a man who had lived long and laughed often. Many shinobi didn't live to reach the Hokage's age. It was a testament to his skill and knowledge that he had survived as long as he had.
"Hokage-sama, it's about Naruto and his burden," Kakashi replied solemnly, cutting straight to the point. The Sandaime sobered immediately, his easy smile wiped from his face in an instant.
"Tell me everything," the older man ordered.
"Honestly, I don't know," the Jonin replied. "His chakra pool is frankly terrifying. I've had them working on the tree climbing exercise for a week, and he still hasn't mastered it."
Sarutobi nodded, packing his pipe. "That's to be expected, though. Chakra control was never going to be the boy's strong suit."
Kakashi shook his head. "I didn't expect it to be this much of a problem. I've watched him go at it for hours, using as little chakra as he can, and he still can barely take half a dozen steps up the tree without launching himself twenty feet through the air."
The Sandaime frowned as he lit his pipe, taking a puff of the bittersweet tobacco within. "That does sound troubling."
Kakashi continued airing his concerns. "I had him channel as much chakra as he could for me, Hokage-sama, and he did something I've never even heard of before. I could see it roiling off of him in waves."
"What did it look like?" The Hokage asked, concern written across his face. "Was it...?"
"Bright blue. It wasn't the Kyuubi's chakra at all. I couldn't feel any malevolence from it, though the sheer amount almost overwhelmed me. I've never felt anything like it, even from you or the Yondaime at your primes."
For a long moment, the Hokage puffed on his pipe, considering this startling revelation. Kakashi had been right to bring this to him. "Very well. I'll recall Jiraiya to the village immediately. He's the only man I trust to examine young Naruto's seal."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied, visibly relieved.
"In the meantime, I need for you to do your utmost to help temper Naruto's chakra control. Perhaps the tree climbing exercise, while basic, is beyond him at the moment. Start with something more taxing on his reserves."
"As you command."