A Year of Training

After meeting the Kyuubi, Naruto and the Hokage was making their way to Naruto's apartment to pick up his things so he can move to his new home. He was excited over the prospect of having his very own house to live in. What made it more awesome to his 8-year old enthusiasm is that he will be moving to his 'family' home.

Naruto have never been exposed to the concept of family since he has been alone all his life, except of course the Hokage which he treats like a grandfather, the Ichiraku family, and Dog. Weasel was also part of his family but the Hokage informed him that he became a missing nin. He asked why, the Hokage didn't tell him much to his annoyance.

After Naruto packed up all his things, which didn't consist much since he didn't bother to stock up on his favorite items for fear the villager would just come in and trash the place, the left again towards his new home. It took a while for them to arrive considering that his clan's compound was on the opposite side of the village, hidden in a secluded area behind the Hokage Monument.

Naruto was a shocked when he saw the gate. It was huge. The walls were purely made of stone and adorned with various symbols, which the Hokage mentioned they were seals that made up the estate's protection.

The gate was made purely of black metal, two ironbound gates locked together by a circular notch in the middle holding the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan symbol – a cross which consisted of a tri-pronged kunai standing on its hilt with a katana in the horizontally running through it in the middle. The Hokage explained the relevance of the symbol – the kunai was a signature move of the Fourth Hokage, the Hiraishin, and the katana was Kushina's trademark since she was known as the Red Death, Konoha's most powerful sword-user.

Naruto was amazed by his parent's prowess in battle and made it his dream to live up to their skills or even trump them as a child should.

They stopped in front of the massive gate and asked Naruto to place his hand on the notch in the middle and channel his Chakra through it. He explained that the gate contained a complicated security seal that the Yondaime created to protect his family. The seal can read the Chakra of the person to determine if they are part of the family to both grant and deny entrance. He also told Naruto that the library in the compound contained the instructions to allow him to add other people into the seal matrix so they can enter without his permission. He cautioned Naruto to make sure that he only add someone that he can trust. Naruto made a mental note to add both Dog and the Hokage to the matrix so they can visit him anytime.

Following the old man's advice, he placed his hand on the panel and felt his Chakra being absorbed by the seal. Nothing happened at first but the panel glowed blue before a click was heard from inside. He immediately removed his hand when the circular notch turned clockwise and the gate slid to the sides revealing a massive compound inside.

The Namikaze-Uzumaki compound was huge to say the least. The Hokage told him that it was larger than that of the Hyuuga compound which was said to be the most extensive in Konoha. The landscape was mostly intact but the flowers and weeds were all over the place since it has been 8 years since it last saw any habitation or tending. Naruto noticed that there were a lot of things that needs to be repaired. He is going to be doing this for a very long time.

When they entered the compound, he saw an oriental-styled mansion. The foundation was purely made of chiseled gray stones and the walls were of dark polished wood. His house can never be called a house, it was a mansion consisting of 3 floors. He was busy checking out the place when the Hokage called his attention.

"Now Naruto. I won't be able to show you around since I'll be busy tending to the paperwork and mission reports back in the office so I'll leave you alone to explore the place. If you want, we can hire some Genins to clean up the place but I advise against it since the Namikaze-Uzumaki compounds holds secrets that should be left alone from unwanted eyes. I will send Dog later to help you get settled in since we both know that he can be trusted. Is there anything else you need before I leave?"

"I think I'm alright jiji. I can take care of myself. I'll check out the house and I'll find some rooms I can sleep in. I'll decide what to do tomorrow since its already late." said a tired Naruto.

"Sure thing my boy. I'm not sure if there's still food inside the house but I remember Minato-kun telling me that he has preservation seals on the cabinets to keep the food fresh. You can shop for necessities tomorrow if there is any need but for now I bid you good night."

Getting a nod from Naruto, he was about to leave when he was tackled by Naruto in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around the boy that he already considered a part of his family. "Thanks a lot jiji. I don't what I'll do without you." whispered Naruto.

Clapping the boy on the back, he chuckled. "Not to worry Naruto. You're part of my family and I am more than happy to take care of you."

"Thanks again jiji. See you later."

With that, both parted with a small farewell ready to face the challenges that are to come in the future.

Naruto saw the gate slide close with a small click when the Hokage left the compound. He turned around and made his way to the front door. He saw that it was locked so he fished out the set of keys that he got from the old man and placed it on the keyhole and gave it a small twist. The door opened to reveal a beautifully-designed, yet dusty, interior that he definitely fell in love at first sight.

Like the outside, the interior was also made from dark polished wood. The furniture were in pretty good condition considering that they've been left unattended for 8 years but the dust that covered them definitely requires some serious cleaning.

A sudden thought occurred to him and activated his Kamigan. The Elemental Orb immediately materialized in front of him, ready for his will to command them. He willed the Wind Orb to go to the center of the room to create a miniature tornado to attract the dust like a vacuum cleaner. It did its job and the clear tornado now turned into a gray-colored storm due to the number of dust in it. He gently guided the tornado outside and off the compound and allowed it to dissipate to scatter its contents.

He checked out the room again and nodded for a job well done. It still needed cleaning but it wouldn't require heavy duty work to get it sparkling clean again.

He then moved to the kitchen and repeated the same technique to get rid of the dust. He checked out the cabinets and saw that it was still stocked with enough food to get him by until he finds time to do some groceries. He pulled out the storage scroll that the Hokage gave that contained his belongings and laid it open on the table. He channeled a tiny bit of Chakra to one of the Kanjis painted on it to release its content.

In a poof of smoke, which quickly dispersed, revealed mounds of his favorite ramen. He placed all of it on one of the empty cabinets but left 3 of them out for his dinner. He checked out the stove and saw that it was in working order so he took one of the pans out and laid it on top of the stove. He filled it with water from the Water Orb and directed a stream of fire from the Fire Orb to light up the stove. He waited a bit for the water to boil and prepared his ramen. Dinner was quiet as he happily slurped his food down. While he was busy eating, he decided to have a talk with his tenant to ask what to do from now on.

"Oi Kyuubi. You awake?" he mentally hollered just in case the fox was asleep.

"Pipe down you insufferable brat. You're too loud." growled Kyuubi, not amused at being woken up from his nap. "What do you want now?"

"Nothing, I was craving for your company." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Cheeky brat. What's been going on while I was asleep?" asked Kyuubi, now fully awake and giving Naruto his full attention.

"Nothing much, I moved all my stuff here at my parents house. I just wanted to talk to you what to do from now on. Maybe we can talk about my training" said Naruto excitedly. He was definitely geared towards training to get stronger.

"It's too early for that kit. Why don't you spend a few days checking out your place and take stock on what's in here. You might want to check out the library too to see what we can work with. There should be a scroll there about the Kage Bunshin. From your memories, I see that you forgot to ask the Hokage about it."

"Ooops. Sorry. I forgot all about it."

"Idiot."

"Hey. I said I was sorry didn't I. I'll check the library after I'm done."

"Good. I see you're already done so why don't you check the place out now before it gets any darker for us to see. Also check if the electricity is still on in this place. We don't want to live here without any lighting."

"Sure. I'm already done eating so I'll check the place out." agreed Naruto.

After Naruto finished eating, he threw the empty ramen cups in the garbage and started his exploration of his new home.

Naruto definitely liked his new home. No, he loved it. The place was everything he dreamed off. The first floor was composed of the family den, kitchen, and an entertainment room with a large TV. The door at the back opened up to a large hot spring that he definitely wanted to soak in later on. Kyuubi complimented the hot spring since it would be a great place to train his Chakra Control, as well as a great place to relax his sore muscles after a hard day of physical workout.

The second floor was mainly composed of bedrooms. From the looks of it, there were a total of 5 rooms on the floor, 2 large rooms and 3 small ones that looks like guest rooms. Each room has its own bathroom. He chose to stay in one of the larger rooms that look like the Master's bedroom. What endeared him to it is because of his parent's things and photos that he will definitely check out later on.

The third floor came at a big surprise to the blonde boy. The entire floor was the library and it was huge. After he opened the locked door by placing his hand on the clan insignia, he saw that the third floor was one big room with one section closed off. There were shelves after shelves containing hundreds of scrolls. One part of the room was an armory where you can see a lot of Shinobi weapons on display. One of the walls displayed dozens of his father's tri-pronged Kunai and a pedestal on the side that contained his mother's prized katana that earned her the nickname of Red Death. He vowed to learn the art of the sword to keep his mother's memory alive.

After an hour of checking out library, he was astounded with the number of scrolls in the place. It was organized according to each Shinobi field, mainly Elemental and Non-Elemental jutsus, Fuuinjutsu (sealing), Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. There was even a small alcove that contained Summoning Contracts on Tigers, Dragons, and Birds. He wondered why his parents have multiple summoning contracts so he vowed to ask the old man later.

To Naruto's luck, he was able to find the scroll for the Kage Bunshin technique in the Non-Elemental section of the library. Kyuubi told him to bring it with him to study later before he retires for the night. He promised to have Naruto practice the technique tomorrow.

It was almost midnight that Naruto finished inspecting his new home and retreated to the Master's bedroom where he spent most of the time checking out his parent's things. He fell in love with his father's coat but it was still too big for him to wear so he planned to have a tailor make one for him as part of his Shinobi outfit.

He studied the Kage Bunshin scroll for a bit before going to bed. He knew that tomorrow would be a very long day.

(NEXT DAY)

Naruto woke up early. Ever since he lived on his own after being kicked out of the orphanage when he was 4 years old, it has been his daily routine to wake up before the sun rises. He grumbled a bit and headed straight for the bathroom to freshen up. He saw that he didn't have enough toiletries so he added that to his list of things to buy. He took a cold shower to wake him up as part of his routine and adjourned to the kitchen to fix himself some ramen for breakfast. He was interrupted when Kyuubi suddenly voiced out his concerns regarding his choice of food.

"You know. Ramen will not help you become the best shinobi." the Kyuubi voiced out in his mind.

"WHAT? Ramen is the best food in the world. How dare you suggest that it won't help me become the best." ranted Naruto.

"Kit, I didn't mean to insult your favorite food but ramen won't help you much when you start with your physical training. Let's face it, what you're eating right now isn't healthy. It's because of my influence on your body right now that you're not looking malnourished. If you want your body to be in top condition, you need to eat healthy."

"I WILL NOT STOP EATING RAMEN AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!"

"IDIOT! I DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU STOP EATING RAMEN. I ONLY SUGGESTED THAT YOU EAT SOME HEALTHY FOOD ASIDE FROM RAMEN."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO IN THE FIRST PLACE."

"I JUST DID YOU IDIOT! BE THANKFUL THAT I'M EVEN HELPING YOU"

"THANK YOU."

"YOUR WELCOME. Why are we shouting?"

"Dunno. Hehehehe." said Naruto with a sheepish grin.

"Idiot." grumbled Kyuubi. "When you're done eating, I want you to go to the training ground out back and start practicing Kage Bunshin. With your Chakra reserve and tenacity, I'm sure you'll get it down with only a few tries."

Naruto gave Kyuubi a mental nod and quickly finished his meal. He ran to the bedroom and retrieved the Kage Bunshin scroll and rushed back down and out to the training ground. It was huge to say the least with wooden dummies with targets painted on them so he can practice his throwing, as well as some padded logs for taijutsu practice. The shed also contained some Physical Training gears that would definitely help him out.

He sat down on the grass, opened the scroll and started to read. He read the scroll three times and memorized the steps to Kage Bunshin. It requires a modified single-hand seal that required him to stretch his index and middle finger and form it like a cross with both hands. He is supposed to channel enough chakra to transfer to his clones and mold it before releasing the technique.

It took him almost two hours to get the technique down and was surprised with the result. He was aiming for single clone to appear but the entire training yard was covered in smoke when he shouted the technique. When the smoke disappeared, the entire yard was filled to the brim with shouting Naruto clones. His target was off the mark, he was aiming for a single clone and he got 300 instead. This is going to take a lot of work.

Kyuubi informed him that he has too much chakra so the number of clones was normal even if he tried to control the output. He practiced for another hour until he was able to reduce the clones to 100. Kyuubi instructed him to assign 50 of the clones to go to the library to find Chakra Control exercises and the rest to start cleaning up the place.

He instructed the 50 clones to go to the library to look for Chakra Control exercises and to start practicing them as soon as possible. The rest he told them to go to the shed out back to get some cleaning supplies and start cleaning up the entire house and ground. This got him a lot of grumbling from the clones and some shouts of "Lazy Ass" from a few. A short shouting match ensued but they eventually left to do what he asked. Kyuubi told him that the clones have his personality so he only has himself to blame for it. He grumbled a bit but eventually gave in.

While the clones were busy, Kyuubi instructed Naruto to start improving his body through Physical Training. He told Naruto to start with running laps around the field, as many as he can for 2 hours at full speed. After a few minutes of rest, he told Naruto to start with push-ups, sit-ups, and squats 100 each. He told Naruto to increase his set by 50 once he gotten used to it.

While he was running laps, Kyuubi instructed Naruto to do some shopping with the Hokage later on. He needs to add more to his training equipment, even some weights powered by Chakra to be used in his training. He explained that the weight would help him in increasing his overall body strength since his exercise can only do much to improve his overall physical prowess.

(TIME SKIP – 2 MONTHS IN TRAINING)

It has been 2 months since Naruto started his Physical and Mental training with Kyuubi as his instructor. His rants of 'slave driver' and 'sadistic fox' fell on deaf ears. It seems that the fox found it humorous to make his container suffer through the physical regimen. However, he can never deny the results after 2 months of hard work.

Naruto can now do at least 30 laps around the training compound for 2 hours at full sprint without tiring out. When he applied training weights to his body when he first started out practically brought the count down but he got used to it after a while. He started out with 20-pounds on both hands and leg and upped them when he got used to the weights. In only two months, each of the weights is now at 100-pounds each. Kyuubi advised him to maintain the weight for at least a month more before increasing them so his growth won't be stunted by the extra burden.

Speaking of growth, with the addition of healthy meals, Naruto's body filled out quite nicely. He is now sporting a height of 5 feet instead of his usual 4'5. His muscles were showing quite nicely but Kyuubi advised him not to overdo his weight training to avoid excessive muscles that will be a problem later on.

His Chakra Control is now in low Chunnin standard. He mastered the tree walking exercise but Kyuubi advised him to continue with the said exercise while doing a full spar while sticking on the sides of the tree. Kyuubi explained that a Shinobi should be able to instinctively do the exercise even when in full battle.

Taijutsu was slow at the moment since he found the styles in the library to be unfit for his taste. He was learning the Fox Fist from Kyuubi in the mindscape since it fits well with his build. The Fox Fist was an exclusive style of the Kitsune clan. It emulated the attack patterns of the vulpine species using speed and exceptional agility to land hits on the target. The hits were small but the continuous attacks can hold up to more damaging results. Kyuubi also told him that his current training method was for the Fox Fist style so he was determined to continue his Physical Training to be fit enough to master the style.

His Ninjutsu training was currently on hold since Kyuubi advised him to stick with expanding his mind instead of memorizing jutsus. He informed Naruto that elemental jutsus was not in a hurry for him to learn since he can easily command his Elemental Orbs to do all sorts of attacks with a simple command. The bijuu informed him that this was an advantage in the midst of battle since he is not hindered with doing hand seals to release an attack. Instead, Kyuubi instructed Naruto to read through jutsu scrolls and understand how the attack worked so he can replicate it with his bloodline. Also, knowing the different jutsu practice by Shinobis will give him an edge in battle. If he knows what his enemies are using against him then he can easily come up with a counter for it.

During his two months of scouring the Namikaze-Uzumaki library, Naruto found Fuuinjutsu to be an interesting subject. The Hokage told him that his father, the Yondaime was a Seals Master unrivaled in all the Elemental Nations so this was enough reason for Naruto to dive into the subject with gusto. However, the Hokage instructed him to just read from the books and practice his calligraphy skills so he won't have problems later on when he starts to put it into practice.

Regarding the Summoning Contracts, the Hokage told him that among the contracts, the Dragon Summoning was an heirloom of the Uzumaki Clan. The Tiger and the Bird contract were spoils of battle by Kushina. None of them was signed except for the Dragon contract. He was excited to sign all three contracts but the old man forbade him to do so until his Chakra Control progressed to Water Walking to avoid unnecessary chakra drain. He also told Naruto that he might not be able to sign all the contracts since he needs express permission from the boss of each summons to do so.

Speaking of the old man, he was a regular visitor to the compound. The Hokage made weekly visits to check on his progress and making sure that Kyuubi wasn't hurting Naruto with his training. He definitely approved of the results. He grew closer with the old man as they made periodic walks around the village or to eat some ramen with the Ichiraku family. He also noticed that the villager's were no longer hostile to him. It seemed that the council released the information about his parentage that made the all the heated glares and sneers disappear. Naruto didn't let this get to him since Kyuubi told him that these people were just impressed by his name and not him alone. This made him sad for a while but he was determined to earn their respect through his actions.

(TIME SKIP – 5 MONTHS IN TRAINING)

Naruto's Chakra Control improved enough that he was able to master Water Walking while sparring with his clones. He was excited over the Summoning Contracts that made him work twice as hard but instead of focusing on summoning animals, he diverted his attention for now to mastering his Chakra Manipulation bloodline.

Kyuubi was helpful since he was purely made of Chakra. All of his attacks were purely Chakra Manipulation so we was able to give Naruto much needed tips for him to accomplish some techniques that he invented on his own.

Naruto found out that Chakra Manipulation requires both conscious thought and deep control over his Chakra. During his experimentation, he found out that he needs to carefully channel Chakra through his tenketsus and release them while consciously molding them to a shape he wanted it to have. It took him a month before he was able to consciously release Chakra on specific tenketsu points but it was enough to get him started.

His first project was to create a blade made of Chakra. Since he wanted to honor his mother by practicing Kenjutsu, he tried to use a blade made of Chakra since his mother's Katana was too big for him to handle at his current age. He was able to create a 3-foot blade made of Chakra but he needs to improve his control if he wants to give it a sharp edge or change its size at will.

It took him another month to fully master his Chakra Blade and finally started in learning the basics of his mother's Kenjutsu style, the Whirlpool Blade Style. It was a style that made the Uzumakis deadly in battle. The style incorporated a flowing rhythm used along with speed and agility in order to outwit their opponents, disarming them, and precise strikes for damaging results. After finishing the instructions on the scroll, he found out that his current Physical Training made him a beginner in the style so he diligently practiced the basics for now before moving on to the next level.

His Taijutsu style improved as well. Kyuubi deemed him to be at least Chunnin level on the Fox Fist style. He was advised by the bijuu to practice his Chakra Manipulation to allow him to created Chakra Nails at the tips of his fingers since most of the attacks of the Fox Fist were purely on stabbing specific weak points in the human body, as well as slashing.

Naruto's training on his Elemental Orbs was coming along nicely. With his studies on various Ninjutsu techniques, he was able to utilize specific attacks and defense according to Elements. Deciding to base his attacks according to Elemental attributes, he devised various defensive measures for specific elemental attacks.

For example, if the enemy fired a lightning jutsu at him then he can easily create a defense of wind since lightning is weak against that element. He also noted on the elements that amplifies other elements as well such as wind amplifying fire-based attacks, and stronger lightning attacks because of a targets exposure to water. This way, he can avoid using elements that will bite him in the ass later on.

His Fuuinjutsu training is currently on hold since he doesn't have any experts around to check his work. Upon reading the materials from his father, a wrong stroke or activation on unfinished or flawed seals can have devastating effects or harmful to the user. It wouldn't do much good to create a flawed sealing scroll that will turn into a bomb after applying chakra to it. He continued to just read through his dad's notes on sealing and leave it at that for now.

(TIME SKIP – 1 YEAR OF TRAINING, 2 MONTHS BEFORE START OF ACADEMY)

With Kyuubi's hellish training regimen, Naruto was now judged to be from High Chunnin to Low Jounin.

His weights are now at 200 pounds each but can easily stay at Chunnin speed even with it on. Kyuubi judged him to be at almost expert level with the Fox Fist style and his Kenjutsu is basically at Low Chunnin. His Chakra Control progressed to the point that he can easily fight on any surface for hours without tiring.

His Elemental Orbs can now be called an Absolute Defense without any holes in it if he is aware of any attacks. On a subconscious level, he was able to make it to the point that his Elemental Orbs can block off any Elemental attacks using the opposite element thereby strengthening his defense. Dog was more than happy to fire his jutsus at him for this practice when he was available to help Naruto out.

Naruto's Chakra Manipulation is hampered by his large reserves. Large creations like his sword and longer nails are easy, but making something small requires him to concentrate more.

He also experimented with his Kamigan during his training and found out some interesting facts about its overall abilities.

When the Kamigan activate, it allowed him to see Chakra. This made it easy for him to utilize his Chakra Manipulation techniques since he can easily mold them to any shape if he can see what he's doing. It also lessened the concentration needed for any shape which made it possible for him to master his Chakra Nails.

Another interesting ability of the activated Kamigan is its total immunity with any forms of Genjutsu. He found out its ability by accident when Dog was teaching him the basics of Genjutsu, which is by far the worst of all his abilities. His overly large Chakra reserves made it almost impossible to create any Genjutsu but it made him immune to up to Low A Rank Genjutsus. Dog was trying to entrap him in a Genjutsu during one of their spars but he noticed that it didn't take any effect since his Kamigan was active. Dog called the spar to a halt and tested out the theory and found out that the Kamigan has an automatic defense to Genjutsu, which made Naruto immune to it if it is active. They both realized that Naruto's bloodline made him immune to any attacks short of physical.

Naruto was currently busy with his Taijutsu practice when the Hokage paid him a visit with a serious look on his face.