Chapter 2: My new beginning.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The next morning, Naruto woke up early, feeling fresh as a daisy, despite having been up late the night before to help deal with a traitor and the shocking revelations that followed. He stood up and stretched, sorting out some of the problems he had the night before, and after that he began to prepare for the day: he showered, got dressed, ate his ramen, and then headed to the library.

As he walked down the street, Naruto ignored the stares and murmurs they sent his way. While they still bothered him a bit, he refused to let them get to him anyway. Now that he knew why they hated him, he was more determined to make them see that he was not a demon. That he was a proud shinobi of Konoha.

He would start by following his grandfather's advice, and he would become stronger and smarter. Hence the reason he was heading to the library to study. He wasn't too keen on the idea of ​​studying, but he had promised Sarutobi that he would be a future Hokage, so he had to do it. And if there was one thing Naruto would never do, it was go back on his word.

Who knows, maybe it would actually help.

Naruto walked into the library and looked around, feeling his eyes widen at the sight before him. He had never been in the library before and was surprised at how big the place was. There were about four floors to the library in total, and along the walls and in the hallways leading down the library were books, piles and piles of books.

It gave him a headache just looking at them.

Just as Naruto was about to head towards the ninja section of the library, he was stopped by the janitor.

― I'm going to have to ask you to leave, boy. ― Said the janitor, a woman who looked to be in her fifties, spitting out the word "boy" with venom.

Naruto's first desire was to jump on the woman and start yelling at her that she couldn't kick him out. However, he had promised Oji-san that he would be an amazing ninja and that ninjas were mature and didn't lose their emotions over something as simple as this. Instead, he simply looked at the woman calmly as he spoke.

― Listen, young lady, I happen to be a Konoha shinobi, and it is illegal to ban me from the library. ― To emphasize his point, Naruto pointed to his headband, causing the woman to pale a bit. ― Of course, if you feel that this is still a problem, I'm sure I could accompany you to see Hokage-oj-sama and we can work it out with him. ― Naruto breathed a sigh of relief; he had almost called the Hokage Oji-san, but that wouldn't sound right if he called the Hokage like that right now. After all, most people would never be able to get away with calling the most powerful ninja in the village an elder.

The woman took a step back in shock for a second, unsure of what to do in this situation. The boy had never been to the library before, so this hadn't really been a pressing issue. However, like the people who worked elsewhere, she didn't want the demon in her presence or near stores of knowledge that could potentially help him shed his human flesh. However, she soon realized that there was nothing she could do. It was well known that the Hokage was rather partial to the boy and would "favor" him over her. Frowning, she turned around and left, but not before giving him some "advice." ― Okay, you can stay, though I suggest you be careful when reading, Boy. If any of these books are misplaced or damaged in any way, I hold you responsible.

Naruto snorted as the woman walked away. Seriously, did she think someone like her could scare the great Uzumaki Naruto with such a lame threat? Shaking his head now that the crisis had been averted, Naruto headed to the Shinobi section of the library. He placed his hands on a ram seal and created five kage bunshin.

― Alright, I want you guys to find some books and look them over. Anything you can find on chakra, seals, taijutsu, and basic shinobi skills will be fine. Also, find a book on… politics, whatever that is. Ji-san said it was important for a Hokage to know, so I need to know about it. Take them home and start reading them.

― Wait, what are you doing? ― One of the clones asked, angry that his creator was imposing his reading on them.

― I'm going shopping. ― Naruto said. He hated having to buy new clothes, but then again, he had promised Oji-san that he would buy new clothes, and the man had made his point clear. After all, he wanted people to take him seriously, and if this helped, so be it. ― After all, if I want to be a good shinobi, I have to look great too.

Naruto sighed as he was kicked out of another shop. As he walked away, Naruto tried to think of a way to get into a shop. Unlike the library, which was owned by the government, aka the Hokage, the shops were all owned by civilians, so they could kick him out if they didn't want to do business with him. Which basically meant that every shop he had gone to had kicked him out, as they didn't want to sell anything to the Kyubi brat.

Looking around, the blond found a shop that looked rather nondescript; the only sign that told him it was for Shinobi was the rather large kunai symbol above the door and the sign that read "Higarashi Weapon Shop." Deciding to give this place a chance, Naruto walked in.

Looking around, the first thing Naruto noticed was that whoever owned this place had an obvious love for weapons. There were racks and racks of weapons covering the entire shop. Swords, staffs, scythes... It seemed like anything anyone could name was there. He had never seen so many different weapons in one place, and some of those weapons he had never seen at all. It was enough to make even someone like Naruto, who knew almost nothing about weapons, drool.

― Can I help you?

Naruto stiffened and nearly screamed as he turned around. Behind him was a young girl who was maybe a year older than him, wearing a pink qipao-style tank top, dark green cargo pants, and had her hair tied up in two buns. To Naruto, they made her look like a panda. Or a mouse. Naruto tried his best not to laugh at the thought.

― Hellooooo? ― Naruto blinked as the girl waved a hand in front of his face.

― Um... what? ― Naruto said, blushing in embarrassment as he took a step back and put a hand behind his head.

The girl looked at him before rolling her eyes at the boy's lack of attention and shrugging. ― I was asking if you needed help finding something.

― Uh... ― Naruto blinked in surprise. ― You work here?

― That's right! ― The girl said. ― My name is Tenten. My father owns this shop, so I come to help when I'm not on missions.

― So, you're a ninja? ― Naruto asked curiously.

― Yeah, I've been a ninja for almost a year now. ― Tenten replied.

― That's great! ― Naruto said with a big smile. ― I just graduated... ― He blinked as he remembered why he was there. ― You know you can help me, I was looking for new clothes!

― I get it. ― Tenten said with an amused smile. ― Your clothes are horrible.

― Hey! ― Naruto said, feeling the need to defend his clothes. ― These clothes are warm and comfortable and...

― Ugly. ― Tenten finished with a smile. ― Seriously, who wears neon orange?

― I like orange! ― Naruto shouted indignantly. Seriously, why did people keep criticizing the color orange? It was the best color in the world! ― It's my favorite color!

― Ok, I get it. ― Tenten replied, finding the boy's defensive attitude amusing. ― But this shade of orange is very bright.

Naruto clenched his fists slightly as he resisted the urge to shout. ― Remember your promise to Oji-san. ― Naruto had to remind himself. ― You promised to act like a real shinobi, and real shinobi don't get mad at stuff like this. Damn you for making me promise this! He's so lucky I promised not to prank anymore or I'd be pranking him until next week! ― He took a deep breath before letting it out. Feeling a little more in control, Naruto looked at Tenten. ― Look, can you help me with my clothes or not? ― Naruto asked when he felt he had calmed down enough.

― Sure. ― Tenten replied, amused by Naruto's reaction. She led him to the clothing section of the store. ― So, what exactly are you looking for? ― She asked.

Naruto thought about how he wanted to look. He needed something that would make him look cool and add a mysterious personality to him. Something that screamed power and awesomeness! Something...

― You know... I'm not sure. ― He said timidly. ― He'd never gone clothes shopping before, so...

He had actually tried to go clothes shopping once when he was six and had just gotten an apartment, but the store owners had kicked him out before he could buy; that same day he found his overalls in the trash after the very store he tried to buy from had thrown them away.

― You're kidding, right? ― Tenten looked at him in disbelief. When he shook his head, she sighed. ― Then it seems we'll have to see what works. ― She led him to the clothing section of the store, where she began grabbing different styles of clothing and then had him change into many styles she gave him, essentially turning him into a life-sized dress-up doll.

Finally, he found a style that suited him. Naruto was now wearing dark blue shinobi pants that were tucked into a pair of black shinobi sandals. He had a long-sleeved black shirt, but with the trim of the sleeves and the edge of the torso being dark orange. His arms were also covered in black bandages at the wrists. Over this, he had a burnt orange vest with a black turtleneck. Lastly, he changed the strap of the headband, giving it a black cloth.

― You look much better now. ― Tenten said, smiling at him. In fact, he looked much better, now that she saw him without all the neon orange; he actually looked cute.

― You think so? ― Naruto blushed as he scratched the back of his neck.

― Of course! Will that be all? ― Tenten asked.

― Yeah, I… ― Naruto paused for a moment, his eyes glazed over as memories of one of his clones hit him.

― Hello, is anyone home? ― Tenten asked as she saw the distracted blond again. This boy is very strange.

― I actually need a few more things. ― Naruto said, turning his attention back to Tenten, who was looking at him with her head cocked. ― First, do you have any training weights I can buy?

― Of course. ― Tenten said, leading Naruto towards a section of the store. She walked over to a shelf and grabbed a box. ― This one has two pairs of training weights, one for your arms and one for your legs. To change the weight, you simply channel chakra into them and to release the weights, you simply place your hand in the release seal and use your chakra.

Naruto nodded at the explanation as he took the box in his hand. ― Next, I need a standard set of kunai, shuriken, explosive notes, smoke bombs and ninja wire, flash tags, a sealing scroll to put it all in and… ― Naruto closed his eyes as information from another clone hit him; this would take some getting used to. ― And a Bo staff.

― A staff, huh? Well, you're in luck because we have all of that stuff. ― Tenten said, leading him through the store once more. ― So, what kind of staff are you looking for? ― She asked as she grabbed some of the other equipment he had asked for.

Naruto blinked as he looked over the information on his clone. ― It needs to be made of a light material, but have heavier ends for added strength. If I can get something that has studs or some kind of protrusions to do more damage, that would be great too. And I want to be able to channel chakra through it.

― Wow, that item you want is quite detailed.

― AH, AH!

Both Naruto and Tenten screamed as they turned around.

Naruto found himself looking at a huge, large man with a build similar to that of a brick house. The man had muscles in every part of his body that Naruto could see; he even had muscles in his muscles! He had brown hair and brown eyes, much like Tenten. He wore a white shirt, brown pants, and a pair of brown boots.

― Damn it, tou-san! ― Tenten shouted as she clutched her chest with one hand. ― How many times have I told you not to catch me by surprise? And especially when I'm with a client!

Tenten's father simply laughed. ― Calm down, Tenten. Besides, aren't ninjas supposed to be more aware of their surroundings?

― Do you want to be used as a practice target again? ― Tenten asked with a manic glint in her eyes and had one of her hands inside her kunai pouch.

Her father only sweatdropped before coughing and turning his attention to Naruto. ― Then I heard what you want. That's a pretty descriptive weapon. You're lucky I have just what you need!

Naruto watched with a mix of surprise and exhaustion as the man led him and Tenten into the back room, which turned out to be a forge. The burly man grabbed a ladder and placed it on a climbing rack. Not finding what he was looking for, he climbed down and repeated the process several more times.

― I know I put it somewhere… but where…? Aha! Here it is! ― the man said as he climbed down the ladder with a large object wrapped in cloth. ― Actually, this was custom made for someone else, but well, he had died before I could give it to him. Since it's just been collecting dust over the years, I figured I might as well get rid of it.

Naruto and Tenten followed the large man to the front, where he called out to Naruto.

― Now everything you have there will be worth about 1,000 Ryo. ― Tenten's father said.

Naruto cringed a little, but pulled out the necessary money, which would cost him a lot, especially since he couldn't get a stipend from the Hokage anymore since he was a ninja. That meant he would have to find another way to get food, so he could use the money he had left to pay for utilities.

― Um… I don't think I can reach the staff, sir. ― Naruto said as he realized the staff should be much more expensive than all his other stuff combined.

― No, it's fine. ― the man said with a dismissive wave of his hand. ― You can keep it to commemorate your first purchase here.

Tenten gasped. Her father had never given anything away, ever. Yet he had just gifted her what Tenten could tell was one of her father's finest pieces of art, and to someone she had just met!

Naruto was even more shocked; this man had to know about his status as the Kyubi's container, there was no possible explanation for him not knowing. Oji-san had told him that everyone old enough to remember that night knew of his status. Yet here he was giving him something that looked like it had taken more time and effort to make than all the time and effort Naruto had put into all his pranks put together.

― Why? ― Naruto asked in an unusually calm voice. ― You know who I am... ― Both Tenten and her father saw Naruto's hand unconsciously go to his stomach; one looked at him with understanding while the other was simply confused.

― Because I'm not like most of the fools in this village, kid. ― The brown-haired man smiled at the blonde. ― Besides, it's not like I'm giving this away! ― Naruto looked at him. ― I hope you come here for all your shinobi needs! ― Naruto looked at the man in surprise; he realized that this man was also someone he could trust to see him as he was and not as what he had. He gave the two present there one of his brightest smiles. ― Thank you, sir... ― ― Goro, Goro Higarashi. ― The man replied.

― Thank you, Goro-san. ― Naruto bowed before taking his equipment and running off with a smile. ― I'll make sure this staff becomes famous when I'm Hokage! ― He shouted as he left.

Tenten looked at her father with undisguised curiosity. ― What was it about? ― He asked.

― Nothing to worry you about right now, Tenten. ― Goro replied as he looked to where the blonde had gone.

― Minato, Kushina, I hope this helps his legacy grow; it's all I can do for him...

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(The next day.)

The next day, Naruto was at a training camp working on several different aspects of shinobi. He had summoned about a hundred clones to help him and had divided them into groups of twenty-five.

The first group was working on chakra control. From what Naruto's clones had read yesterday, the reason he couldn't do a standard bunshin was because he had extremely large reserves and almost no control, at least that was the theory he had come up with from what he had read. So he would have to fix that by getting better control.

Right now they were working on the leaf floating exercise, the first and most basic one. It basically involved floating a leaf over the palm of his hands and spinning it. Right now it was only on one hand, but Naruto eventually planned to increase the number of leaves he could spin, figuring that the more leaves he could float at once, the better his control would be. It wasn't in the scroll he'd read, but Naruto had always been innovative when coming up with pranks, and that skill easily carried over into other aspects of his life and career if he really put his mind to it. He wanted to at some point be able to spin a leaf on each finger at the same time, rather than using his palms, before moving on to tree climbing, which was the next exercise he saw when he turned to the intermediate chakra control book – just to see what it contained, of course.

Another group of clones were working on their taijutsu. At the academy, he'd been told the wrong stances by Mizuki-teme, who'd been in charge of taijutsu lessons, so he didn't really have a style, fighting more on instinct than anything else. Originally, he'd taken a scroll on the basic taijutsu style from the academy. However, he'd soon found that even with how simple they were, the style just didn't fit him for some reason. It was strange because he'd only just started working on it today. But for some reason it felt… wrong, was the best way he could describe it. Like his body type just didn't have what the style required, or maybe his mindset just didn't work for him. Whatever the case, the style didn't work out, and he had to find another one.

Luckily, his clones had found several other styles that they felt would be useful. He planned to learn them all so he could figure out which style would work best, and eventually combine the styles into something he could call his own style, which would be totally awesome, and then he could shove it in Sasuke-teme's face that he had created his own style.

One of the things he had read (his clones had read) that led him to make the decision to create his own style was the knowledge that most shinobi stick to one style that suits them, and only one style. But Naruto had read in one of the basic scrolls that certain styles worked better against other styles, such as the Uchiha Clan's fighting style which worked well against most styles but was particularly good against styles that relied on taijutsu techniques that they could copy and use against their opponents. But he was susceptible to styles that relied on being faster than your opponent and styles that relied on unpredictable, untelegraphed movements. He figured that with the Kage Bushin he could learn them all, even if he wasn't proficient with them, and develop them into something better.

At the time he was learning a style called Muay Thai, a style that was based on foot strikes along with various grappling techniques. Taijutsu was also known as the "Art of Eight Limbs" because it was based on punches, kicks, knee strikes, and elbow strikes instead of just fists and feet. So far, this style was the one he was most comfortable with as it was a more direct style and Naruto was always a bit of a brawler. Once he had mastered this style, he would begin to build his own around it once he started adding other styles to it.

Another group was working on his new staff. He had found an old bojutsu scroll and had decided that a good weapon would help him get stronger. He had decided on the staff because of its reach, which he admittedly was short (something he hoped to correct soon). Much like his taijutsu clones, they were going over the style kata slowly at the moment, making sure the muscle memory was etched into their minds for when they transferred them over.

There was really only one problem with using Kage Bushin to train in a physical activity like taijutsu and weapons training. They could learn the kata of a style due to the fact that muscle memory was a mental faculty, but without a proper training partner, that wouldn't do much good. He could completely master all the kata of a style, but even then, if he faced an opponent more experienced than him, he would lose. Still, at least this would mean that he could make his taijutsu as flawless as possible before finding a training partner to truly improve.

Their last group was split into two. One group was reading; most of the reading was about basic chakra theory (yin energy and yang energy, chakra, yin chakra and yang chakra), the use of hand seals, trap making, fuinjutsu, and various other shinobi aspects. All of them were beginner books written to teach the basics. The other group was working on their calligraphy.

Naruto had decided that he was going to be better than all the Hokage and had figured that surpassing the Yondaime at what he knew him best would be the best way to prove how amazing he really was. The first thing Naruto had learned about the complex art of sealing was that it required a steady hand and absolutely perfect brush strokes. One wrong mark on a seal and the results could be… explosive. This meant that he had to work on his calligraphy, because even if he didn't want to admit it, his handwriting sucked.

So Naruto was forced to delegate to a group of clones the task of improving his calligraphy. It was a basic skill that he needed to learn and while it was a pain, he remembered Sarutobi's advice about basic knowledge being the fundamental stepping stone to reaching more advanced things.

At least he was pretty sure that was what he had said. The man had talked so much when he was giving advice that Naruto wasn't sure he understood it all.

Meanwhile, Naruto worked on the physical aspects of his training. He would start with laps around the training ground he had chosen, training ground forty-three, a training ground right next to the Forest of Death; not that he knew, as it was completely isolated. He was currently doing twenty laps around the training ground, with his extra weights being ten kilos for his wrist guards and fifteen kilos for his legs; even he got tired. He planned to increase the amount of laps he could do in an hour to increase his speed. He also did fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, fifty pull-ups on one of the trees, one hundred squats, one hundred log punches with each fist, and one hundred kicks with each leg.

And that was his morning routine.

Naruto found himself lying on the ground as he panted; tiredness was taking over him. It was a strange feeling, he mused. Naruto had never really felt tired before, something he was beginning to suspect he had inherited from the Kyubi. Oh sure, he could get sleepy sometimes, but never from a lack of energy. By this time he was truly exhausted.

With a sigh, Naruto sat down; he was done with his morning training, but he still had half a day left. Turning to his clones, Naruto gave the order to dissipate.

Unfortunately, they all decided to dissipate at once; even with his enhanced healing factor, Naruto couldn't handle having a hundred clones dissipate at the same time, which, when combined with his exhaustion from his new morning routine, ended up rendering the blond unconscious.

Almost an hour passed when Naruto woke up, looked up at the sky, and sighed in relief as he realized that not much time had passed. He promised himself that he would have his clones disperse in groups to avoid the massive headache next time. Naruto stood up and made a few more clones.

― Go hunt and see if you can find something to eat. ― Naruto said. He was hungry and needed some food, as the money he had spent on buying clothes was almost gone and Naruto didn't want to waste it trying to get a decent meal.

While his clones did that, Naruto set about making a fire pit, digging a small trench before collecting rocks and putting them in a circle around it. He gathered some dry wood and put the pieces in the middle of the pit. Once that was done, Naruto performed some hand seals and used a small Katon (Fire Release) jutsu that he knew. It was a fairly basic jutsu that was ridiculously easy to learn and was taught by the ninja academy for its use in starting a fire for occasions like this. The jutsu was easy as well; it required very little control to create and one didn't need an affinity for fire to use it, meaning that anyone who had the ability to channel chakra could learn it.

― Hey boss!

Naruto turned to see his clones; the middle one, who had spoken, was carrying several fish that they had managed to catch.

― Good job. ― Naruto said, feeling a little awkward knowing that he was basically congratulating himself. ― Go ahead and dissipate.

The clones nodded and dissipated as Naruto set about cooking his meal.

After lunch, Naruto created another batch of a hundred clones and had them restart everything they had been doing previously.

Meanwhile, Naruto tried to meditate. In the book on the basics of chakra theory he had read that by meditating a ninja could sharpen their senses as well as their mind and become familiar with their chakra. So Naruto sat down and began to sense the chakra in his body. It wasn't difficult, Naruto had always had plenty of chakra; in fact, finding his chakra had been the only thing he had been able to do before the other students at the academy. He simply had so much that he didn't need to waste time looking for it; it was already there.

Once he sensed it, he began to channel chakra into his ears. He grimaced at first, having channeled too much chakra and hurting his eardrums as the various sounds of the world invaded them. But after a while he managed to find an appropriate balance of chakra. He listened to the different sounds of the forest or training ground. He could hear various birds chirping and some animals running around on the ground. He heard running water, so there was a pond or stream not too far from him; it had probably been where his clones had caught those fish.

He also heard other sounds coming from the Forest of Death, roars, hisses, and other strange noises that seemed to come from some kind of ferocious beasts. The place sounded like something out of a nightmare.

He shook that thought out of his head and began channeling chakra into his nose. Once again, he channeled too much and had to immediately cut back. However, when he found the right amount of chakra where it no longer hurt, he began trying to differentiate the smells he was sensing. It was difficult, as he didn't know what some of the things he could smell were. But he managed to pick up the scent of the trees, the dirt, and the grass of the field. He could smell other scents, but he just didn't recognize them.

After a while, Naruto stood up; he didn't know how long he had been meditating, but he was getting bored. And a bored Naruto was a dangerous Naruto.

Naruto decided to test his limits in taijutsu and put his hand in a ram sign.

Tajuu Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!

There was a huge explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, Naruto could see almost four hundred more clones than there were on the field.

― Alright! All of you I just summoned, this is going to be a free-for-all, all of you against me! ― Naruto grinned as he got into the starting Muay Thai stance. His stance was as perfect as it could have been on his first day. ― Let the ass-kicking begin! ― Without delay, Naruto charged headfirst into his clones.

What he didn't know was that a curious observer passing by was watching him from afar.

----------

Naruto groaned as he plopped down onto the bed, not even bothering to take off his clothes. Not only was he completely exhausted, but he was also in pain in places he didn't even know existed. The numerous cuts and bruises he had all over his face and body were only just beginning to heal.

Maybe fighting four hundred of his clones hadn't been such a good idea. Butt kicks, yeah right, more like getting his butt kicked. Naruto rubbed his sore butt where several of his clones had kicked him.

Despite the pain Naruto was feeling, it felt good, really good. All that hard work had given him a strange sense of satisfaction, and while Naruto didn't feel like he had gotten super strong from that session, he believed he had made decent progress.

This day had also been an eye-opener for the young blond. Before today, Naruto had never really trained; he would occasionally go out to an empty training ground and work out fairly often. But he had never done anything like this. Most of his time was spent throwing kunais and hoping they hit, or trying to come up with some weird move that he thought would look cool, with a name like Uzumaki Bombing or some other self-serving name. He realized that on those occasions he had never made much progress.

He also felt like he was a little more mature. Maybe it was because of the clones he had been using; maybe they accelerated his mental age, since he technically lived all of those clones' lives, or at least remembered those clones living their lives from his perspective. Or it could be the meditation he had done at the end; he still hated it, but he had felt better afterward; well, better until his clones had brutally beaten him. Stupid clones.

Or maybe his change in mindset was due to the events that had happened and led him to where he was now. Before Naruto had been ignorant; He hadn't known why he was hated, or why he was treated unfairly in class by most of the teachers, or why the other students constantly made fun of him and belittled him.

Now he did; the Mizuki incident had opened his eyes. And he had promised not only himself, but also the Hokage, a man he looked up to like a grandfather, that he would become the greatest shinobi and Hokage of all time. And he would be the greatest Hokage of all time; Naruto was sure of that. All he had to do was prove to the people of this village that he wasn't the Kyubi, earn the respect of the people by becoming a powerful ninja, and show how far he was willing to go to protect the village. Then they would see him for what he was.

Easy, right?

Naruto looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 10:00. With a stifled yawn, Naruto closed his eyes and passed out.

Tomorrow and the rest of the week would be just as busy as today had been; hopefully he could get stronger before the time came for the genin deployment.

----------

(The next day).

The next morning, Naruto did pretty much the same thing as the day before. His clones had split into four groups of twenty-five, and they would go back to working on chakra control, taijutsu, bojutsu, and then reading and fuinjutsu (calligraphy for the time being).

Meanwhile, Naruto would do his physical work. It was a bit harder than before; Naruto had decided to increase the weight by five kilos, so he was having some trouble. But he still managed to carry out his routine and this time he wasn't as exhausted, as his body was already adjusting due to the Kyubi.

Naruto began to have his clones disperse into groups of ten; that way he wouldn't pass out from memory overload. He created four more and told them to go out hunting.

Meanwhile, Naruto was gathering the things needed for the campfire. However, as he walked, he heard the distinctive whistling of a kunai, a sound he had become intimately familiar with the day before during their battle royale.

Naruto dropped the rocks in his hand and rolled forward, pulling a kunai out of his pouch at the same time. Standing up, Naruto looked back to where he had been and saw a strange flat kunai sticking out of the ground. Looking around, the blond tried to find where the person who threw the kunai was located, even going so far as to channel chakra through his nose and ears. When he found no one, Naruto grew impatient.

― Hey! Show yourself before I kick your ass! ― Naruto shouted, regaining a bit of his old self.

Several kunai were thrown from within the trees. Naruto dodged some and blocked others, throwing his kunai back into the trees they had come from. He wasn't very good at throwing kunai, having focused on other aspects, but he had simply wanted his opponent to reveal himself.

A woman who jumped out from between the trees. As she landed on the ground in front of him, Naruto took a good look at the woman. Said woman was wearing clothing that could be considered more of a lack of hers than anything else. She was wearing a dark orange miniskirt that barely covered her privates, a fishnet top that once again did nothing to cover her up; it was especially bad since she had no bra underneath as far as Naruto could see. Over that she had a tan trench coat that covered just enough of her breasts that Naruto couldn't see her nipples. She was wearing a standard pair of shinobi sandals with shin guards over them and had a Konoha headband on her head that held up dark purple hair that somewhat resembled Shikamaru's pineapple hairstyle.

The sight of this woman, who Naruto found really beautiful (read sexy, he's too innocent to think that right now) and yet at the same time terrifying for some reason, made him blush and look away.

Of course, this made the woman smile at him. ― I guess you like what you see, boy.

― W-well... I... um... it's... er... ― Naruto blushed as he began to babble nonsensical words.

Anko's smile widened. ― You know I usually castrate men who stare at me, so you should be lucky that I make an exception this time.

Those words seemed to reset Naruto's mouth as he turned to her. ― You know, I really don't think you have the right to attack men for staring at you. Since the clothes you're wearing, or perhaps I should say the clothes you're 'not' wearing, make you stand out more than Sasuke-teme when he runs from his fangirls around town.

― Oh, hoh. ― Anko said with an amused smile. ― So the gaki can talk after all; you know I had almost taken you for a mute.

Naruto frowned. ― Look, I'm not in the mood to play with you... whoever you are. I need to get back to my training, so why don't you tell me why you're here or leave?

― Don't talk to me like that, gaki. ― Anko said in a mocking tone. Before Naruto could even blink, Anko threw a kunai at him that cut his cheek before reappearing behind him, with another kunai at his neck.

― Shit! ― Naruto thought, widening his eyes. ― She's fast! I didn't even see her move!

― I was curious to see who was training here. ― Anko said with a grumpy sounding voice as she wrapped her arm around his neck and pressed her chest against his back. She smiled when Naruto let out an involuntary shudder and his blush returned in full force. ― Seriously, I mean when you have a new neighbor it's common courtesy to greet them.

― Neighbor? ― Naruto asked as he tried to ignore the feeling of the woman's breasts pressed against his back. Having never had to deal with any kind of physical contact from a member of the opposite sex, save for the times Sakura would hit him, he didn't have the slightest idea of ​​what to do in this situation.

― Yes, yes! ― Anko said with a smile as she leaned towards him. Naruto blushed as the woman licked the blood off his cheek, causing Anko's smile to widen, though she was a bit disappointed and confused when she saw that she was already healed. ― This training ground is right next to my home away from home. ― She pointed towards the Forest of Death.

― Train there! ― Naruto asked in disbelief. He didn't know what was in there, but if what he had heard the other day was any indication, it wasn't a nice place.

― Yes! ― Anko said, smiling at him. ― It's a wonderful place, with all the creatures in there that would want nothing more than to kill you, the giant tigers that love to feast on human flesh, the spiders, the man-eating plants...

As Anko continued to list all the "amazing" animals that could be found within the forest, Naruto was thinking of other things. ― Dear god! This woman must be fucking crazy to go in there! And listen to her talk, it's like she likes life or death situations! ― As he continued to listen, his mind went down a different path. ― Even though she seems strong, I didn't even see when she threw that kunai and then moved right next to me in an instant. It was obvious that when she first caught my attention, she was just playing with me. I wonder...

― You know, you never told me your name. ― Naruto interrupted the scantily clad kunoichi, who was currently talking about the best way to eat dango; how she got to that topic without Naruto noticing is anyone's guess.

― Well, since you ask, why don't you tell me your name first, Gaki? ― Anko said.

Naruto gave her a cheeky grin. ― Since you interrupted my training to introduce yourself, I think it's only polite that you give your name first.

― Well, I guess you've got me now. ― Anko smiled. ― Okay! I'm the super sexy Mitarashi Anko!

Naruto smiled at the woman as he turned around after she let go of him. ― And I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto! The future Hokage of Konoha! ― He held out his hand. ― Nice to meet you!

Anko blinked in surprise. ― Wait, this is the Kyubi Gaki? Last time I saw him, he was wearing that orange jumpsuit. ― She hadn't seen the boy often. She usually saw him after he had pulled some sort of prank and started running away from the chunin, jonin, and occasionally ANBU afterwards. She actually found the boys' pranks to be rather funny and had always looked forward to seeing what sort of havoc he would cause next.

Anko looked the boy up and down. ― Well, he definitely 'looks' more like a shinobi in that. I wonder what happened to his suit.

― It's nice to meet you, gaki. ― Anko said, taking the hand and shaking it.

One of Naruto's eyes twitched. ― You know I told you my name so you would use it.

Anko's smile threatened to split his face. ― I know...

Naruto was about to growl at her when he remembered how fast she had been and his discontent faded. ― Hey, Anko-san. ― he said to the woman looking at him. ― It was really amazing how you were able to throw that kunai so fast, and then get behind me super fast. So, I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me with my training.

Anko's eyes widened for a second. She hadn't thought he would actually ask for something like that, or that he would ask for anything at all. She was really just curious to see who was near her territory, as most people stay away from any training grounds near the Forest of Death, and she hoped he would amuse her.

She thought about the request though; she wouldn't be able to spend much time with the boy, but she was curious. She knew about the boy, hell, everyone knew about Uzumaki Naruto. Aside from just being the "Kyubi brat" as some of the civilians had called him, he was also known as the prankster king of hell, as well as the bottom of his class. In fact, she had heard that the only reason he graduated was because he managed to help that Chunin academy teacher, Iruka, catch Mizuki with a high-level jutsu.

Yet here he was, training with a bunch of Kage Bushin, a truly ingenious training method and something she suspected only he could do. He was still totally rough; she could tell he had only just begun to learn his style of taijutsu. Even with the clones, his movements were sloppy. Better than most on their first day, but still sloppy.

― What makes you think I would want to train a brat like you? ― Anko asked.

Naruto growled as his eyebrows raised. ― Hey! I'm not a brat! You were… ― He stopped right there and clenched his hands, taking several deep breaths. Regaining control, he looked at Anko and smirked. ― Because if you train me, you'll get to brag about how you trained the future Hokage of Konoha.

― Future Hokage of Konoha, huh? ― Anko muttered with a mocking smile. She was already getting bored of the monotony of her life anyway; who knows, maybe training some brat would actually be fun. ― Okay, you have a deal, Gaki, just meet me at the entrance of training ground forty-four, tomorrow, and we'll begin the to… I mean, the training.

― Which training ground is training ground forty-four? ― Naruto asked, completely oblivious to her slight slip-up.

Anko smiled and pointed at the forest where she had heard all the creepy noises the other day.

Naruto felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine, but agreed anyway.

After all, how often was there anyone other than the old man paying attention to him?

----------

(The next day.)

Naruto cursed as he dodged the snakes that lunged at him from the left. Jumping to the next tree branch, Naruto panted a little as his cuts healed and the little snake venom in his body was cleared. Naruto stood up and looked around in fear.

He had met Anko today just outside of training camp forty-four, as she had asked. Naruto had been hesitant to follow her when she had started walking through the forest, but at her insistence he had followed her. Almost immediately after that, the hunt had begun and he had been on the run ever since.

Anko had disappeared and then started playing tag, using snakes, kunais, and whatever else she could think of to throw at him. He had yet to see her again since; he had only seen her briefly here and there, just before she threw a snake or some other projectile at him.

To top it off, there were all the creatures that were here that seemed to be flocking to the noise he was making in his haste to get away from the mad snake using the tokubetsu jōnin. Everything from giant spiders to large man-eating plants were there, and all of them trying to kill and devour him. So it wasn't just Anko he had to worry about, but the creatures of the forest as well.

― Training me, my ass! ― Naruto growled to himself. ― I'm starting to think she just wanted to torture some poor fool, and I was just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. ― He was starting to regret asking Anko to help train him.

Hearing a snap behind him, Naruto rolled to the left, dodging a giant spider that had tried to land on him. Wincing, Naruto grabbed a kunai and wrapped it with an explosive tag. He had tried killing these things in other ways that were less wasteful, but he had learned that he still didn't have enough physical strength to kill them with muscle power alone, even when enhanced by his chakra. And Naruto hadn't bothered learning jutsu either, preferring to improve his basic skills in chakra control, taijutsu, and bojutsu.

He told himself that as soon as he got out of there, he would learn some jutsu that would allow him to pierce through the things' exoskeleton.

As the spider began to move towards him, Naruto threw the kunai; it managed to hit the creature right in the left eye, one of its only weak spots. This was the only good thing this damn forest had given him right now: better aim, as without it he would have been killed for wasting so many kunai.

The creature screeched and writhed in pain, but continued to attack Naruto. Naruto put his hands in a ram seal and activated the explosive tag. He leapt off the branch as the creature's head exploded in a spray of blood.

Naruto bounced from branch to branch and finally landed on the ground. He leaned against the tree, panting as he tried to catch a breath.

However, before he could do so, several kunai came at him from above. Naruto pulled out his own kunai and deflected a few of them as he rolled across the ground. Standing up, Naruto's eyes went wide as Anko lunged at him like some sort of bird of prey.

He dodged her first kunai attack, jumping back as she threw her own kunai at him. Anko simply caught it and threw it back twice as fast. Naruto was able to dodge the attack, but he wasn't fast enough to do so completely and ended up getting a cut on his left arm.

Naruto decided to test his taijutsu and ran towards Anko, but ignored the fear that gripped him when he saw her smile.

Anko spread her hands and thought. ― Sen'eijashu! (Hidden Shadow Snake Hand). ― Several snakes shot out from her sleeves. She had used this jutsu enough during the time he had been running away from her, so Naruto had already expected it and dodged to the right.

What he didn't expect was for the snakes to change direction, appearing towards him from behind and wrapping around him tightly.

― You know that attacking an opponent who is clearly superior to you is just stupid. ― Anko said with a big smile on her face; she had really had fun today.

Naruto winced in pain as his bones compressed. ― Yeah, I figured that, but right now I don't have many jutsus to use. Kage Bunshin, Henge, Kawarimi, and my own Oiroke No Jutsu and that's it. None of them can be used for long range attacks, and you're too fast for me to keep up with you to even think about using my kunai.

Anko nodded. ― True, but you should have taken the time to think ahead and prepare some traps or something.

― It's kind of hard to do that when you're busy fighting for your life. ― Naruto deadpanned as Anko's snakes disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Anko rubbed the back of her neck. ― Yeah, I guess so, huh? ― Naruto arched an eyebrow. ― But, in real life, you'll have to think fast or you and others will get killed on the battlefield.

Naruto grimaced as he rubbed his sore ribs. ― Yeah, I know…

― Now then. ― Anko rubbed her hands together. ― Since I was so kind to help you train, you're going to buy me some dango!

― What? ― Naruto asked thinking he hadn't heard her clearly.

― Yeah, that's right, you're going to buy me some dango since I was kind enough to help you. ― Anko stated.

― But... That's... but I... fine. ― Naruto sighed as he saw her pouting, this would probably take the last of his money, but she had helped him, and now that she had brought the trump card of "I helped you," he would feel guilty if he didn't do as she asked. ― Where are we going? ― She asked with her head down as she lamented the impending loss of her money.

Anko smiled as she grabbed Naruto and began dragging him towards her favorite dango stand.

----------

― Ah! That was good. ― Anko said, patting her stomach in satisfaction. She had taken him to the place she usually got dango, and as she had asked (ordered), he had paid for her meal...

...of fourteen plates of dango. Naruto wasn't sure whether to be surprised or impressed that this woman seemed capable of eating almost as much as he did.

― I'm glad you liked it. ― Naruto said dryly, hearing his stomach gurgle a little.

Anko blinked at the sound. ― If you're so hungry, why didn't you eat too?

Naruto sighed, thinking about lying to her, but he had been talking to her, or at least, he had heard her rambling, and he found out that her profession was torture and interrogation, so she would specialize in catching lies.

― You already left me penniless. ― Naruto said with a sigh, picking up his empty frog wallet. ― Until I start going on missions, I don't even have enough money to pay for utilities.

Anko actually looked down at that, starting to feel bad for having practically devoured all of his money. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't a heartless bitch like most of the villagers made her out to be. However, she had to be firm or the villagers would try to bully her like they had done to her sensei... She shook her head to get that thought out of her and looked at the blonde in front of her. ― So why did you agree to pay for my food?

― Because you helped me. ― Naruto shrugged as if that explained everything. ― You're the first person to help me in such a direct way. Not even Hokage Oji-san has helped me in such a way.

Anko actually felt worse hearing that. ― What about your stipend? You're an orphan, right? Don't you get some kind of monthly allowance or something?

Naruto shrugged. ― Yeah, when I was a civilian. But now that I'm a shinobi, I won't have one anymore because I'm considered an adult. ― He noticed her guilty expression and sighed. ― Look, don't worry about it, I can get some kind of part-time job when I'm not on missions, so it should be fine. That is, if someone actually lets me work.

Anko looked at him strangely before shaking her head. ― You know, you're a weird kid. I eat the last of your money and you tell me not to worry about it. Great… Now you really made me feel bad. ― She groaned for a moment and looked at Naruto. ― So I'll tell you what, I'll help you train when I'm not on missions or torturing some poor fool, for free." In exchange, all you have to do is start giving me a good fight.

Naruto looked at Anko for a moment, thinking about the offer. It wasn't bad considering all things. Yes, she scared him a little… actually, she scared him a lot. But she was also super strong from what he had been able to determine today. Strong enough to defeat him, at least. He gave her a big smile. ― You have a deal!