127Okay preface time. Seeing as how this is the first chapter of a re-write I got stuff ta say. Most will be at the end though…
Now to this re-write/re-make/redo. My original intention in Path of a Legend was for Naruto to follow in the footsteps of the third. In all my stories Naruto takes after a Hokage in some form or another (Resurgence is obviously the First and kinda the fifth, Namikaze Naruto is the fourth, and Different Beginnings is the Second). This one Naruto will take after the third like a sort of successor or inheritor. Anywhos, onto the story. I promise this is the only AN that will be longer than a sentence or two at the beginning.
Prologue:
Chapter 1: Starting Small
The Village Hidden in the Leaves was particularly nice this time of year, fall, when the leaves changed color giving the village a rusted orange glow that felt warm and inviting. Shops were open, civilians and shinobi alike were walking with skips in their steps for the annual festivities that were going to start coming around.
In the wake of the Kyūbi attack now nine years ago as of last month, the entire village was back to its' former glory. In some cases even better as those with the budget actually improved their estates during the rebuild. Things were looking up, mourning periods had past and people have started to move on from the tragedy on to better horizons. The Village Hidden in the Leaves was now rightful to call it self the strongest of the Great Five Villages. And with the Will of Fire everyone did their part to help their fellow countrymen and help those in need.
That was, when that boy wasn't around. Most shinobi felt bad the boy- understanding that it was a cry for attention, he was quite loud and always hoping to gain any sort of acknowledgment no matter the form, be it acceptance or ridicule for one of his pranks. But others would only give him the cold shoulder and glares that would silence him when he was on the receiving end of them. The young boy grew up without many who would acknowledge him for who he was, rather than for the burden he carried.
One of the few in particular was the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The man that, in the wake of Minato Namikaze's death was forced to retake the position of Hokage as no suitable replacements were willing to take the position.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was one of the few first generation shinobi still alive, others being his teammates and former 'rival' Danzo Shimura, the Sandaime Tsuchikage and Hanzo of the Salamanders. They were the last few who were born before the village system was formed and the first to actual become shinobi through the system rather than through their respective clans.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was hailed by his father, Sasuke Sarutobi, as the greatest prodigy to ever come out of the clan. During his early youth he trained at the Konoha Shinobi Academy part time and with his summons the other half. His rapid learning rate earned the attention of Tobirama Senju, the fastest shinobi alive at the time and Genius Jutsu innovator. At the young age of ten Hiruzen and two others- Koharu Mitokado and Homura Utatane became Genin under the future Nidaime Hokage. It was noticeable at a young age that Hiruzen was different than his peers as he would quickly master any jutsu given to him by either his summons, family or sensei. Seeing his potential, Tobirama bestowed the title of Hokage to Hiruzen at the age of seventeen before giving his life to save his squad from an ambush during the first war.
Hiruzen was known throughout the continent as one of the greatest shinobi to ever live, for his mastery of all five basic nature transformations and his unrivaled knowledge on the battlefield. His skills had granted him the title Shinobi no Kami during his prime for being the undisputed strongest shinobi alive, a feat only achieved by his predecessor the Shodaime Hokage and the fabled Rikudō Sennin.
Despite all the knowledge he possessed he could not seem solve the riddle of what to do with his late successors son. Naruto was an exceedingly bright boy, prodigious most likely, but all that was pushed aside by his need to be acknowledged and loved. Hiruzen knew that nobody else besides himself was going to do anything about the child's future, but he just couldn't figure out just what to do.
Maybe the boy needed an outlet, from the few examination at the academy the boy bothered to show up for he scored near or outright perfect scores. His Taijutsu left much to be desired as he was sloppy and unrefined, but as those who were unfortunate enough to be paired up against the boy during training spars, knew that it was good enough to leave them sore for days.
From what the Sandiame could guess Naruto lacked any sort of challenge in the academy, and without any reason to keep him there and nobody to scold him and force him to go he would rather skip out and do…well whatever it is he did in his free time. The Sandaime was better of being ignorant of that as it would ruin the surprise of the boys upcoming pranks that were quite entertaining to the elderly Hokage.
Perhaps it was time that Naruto be given a challenge, something to strive for, something to give him a purpose. With his bold declarations of becoming Hokage to those who asked, Hiruzen knew that the boy was serious about his shinobi career as he was far from stupid enough to think that the Hokage's position would be given to him without earning it. With that in mind Hiruzen pulled out his crystal ball to locate Naruto.
xXx
(Forests Outside Konoha)
It was often told that the forest surrounding Konohagakure no Sato was created by the Shodaime Hokage while utilizing his Mokuton Kekkei Genkai. The large trees were several meters in circumference and were filled with an abundance of chakra that gave them the abilities to grow to full size at accelerated rates.
Naruto Uzumaki knew the history of the area he was in, but disregarded it as unnecessary knowledge used to inflate the already impressive history of the village.
The young boy was on his way to his favorite spot in the world, a clearing just outside of the village that was secluded enough that it was unknown to most as Naruto has never once been found there while hiding after one of his pranks. The area had a large lagoon that was surrounded by rocks and a clearing with enough space to be called a training ground, which it was by Naruto. This was known to the blond as Uzumaki Training Ground of Solitude, it was the only place that he could blow off steam by training without being disturbed, or kicked out by a Jōnin and his Genin for using a Shinobi training ground without permission.
While the tranquility of the secluded training ground was nice, it was being disturbed by the aggravated curses of the only human inhabitant as he furiously chased around a small monkey who had stolen his favorite pair of goggles while he was napping.
"Get back here!" Shouted Naruto as he tossed a pebble at the elusive ape who was happily dodging all of the projectiles while taunting its' adversary.
Getting an idea Naruto turned away from the monkey and started walking back toward the clearing, fully intent on giving up the chase. The small monkey was throw off by the sudden change and slowly walked towards the blond. Seeing that his plan worked Naruto spun around and pounced on the monkey grabbing his goggles and blowing a childish raspberry at the monkey for his victory.
Happy now that his precious goggles were back on his forehead Naruto took off his sandals and set his feet into the cool waters of the lagoon. The goggles were one of the gifts he was given by his Ji-chan, making them one of his most precious items. Naruto brushed off his blue shorts with a twitching eyebrow and sent a glare to the monkey, who was surprisingly sitting next to him with it's feet in the water like he was, for causing him to get dirty. His white shirt could more accurately be labeled as brown with all the dirt that accumulated in his chase.
The Uzumaki was quite upset with the latest turn of events, his birthday was a few weeks ago and like always the only people who bothered saying anything was Sandaime-Jiji and his favorite ramen stand owners. He was given his goggles by the old man and a coupon for a free meal at Ichiraku Ramen by the Ichiraku family. Which was safely secured at his apartment for a rainy day.
"I must commend you on your victory Naruto-kun."
Naruto shot from the his sitting position and whirled around to see the amused face of the Sandaime.
"Jiji! Don't do that!" Shouted Naruto with a slight blush on his cheeks for letting out a small 'eep' when he jumped. "Wait. How did you find me? I didn't think anyone knew about this place."
The Sandaime chuckled at the boy, Hiruzen had been coming to this very place ever since he was a boy with his team for training. The lagoon was where he was taught Suiton manipulation by the greatest water user in history. But his young charge was right to assume he was the only one to know of the place as it had been only known to his team as their private training ground.
"No my boy, I am one of the few that do. As a Genin my team used this place to train long ago." Responded Hiruzen as he pulled out his pipe.
Naruto's eyebrows shot to his hairline after hearing that, he didn't know that his Training Ground of Solitude was actually that Sandaime's Training Ground of…cooperation? He'll think more on that later.
Instead Naruto sent a glare towards the monkey who was surprisingly quiet during the conversation so far.
"Yeah, that one stole my goggles. He was quick but I got him in the end." Naruto puffed out his chest when he finished, it was a hard fought battle as the monkey was surprisingly agile.
The Sandaime nodded at that, "Yes well he is expected to be quick so that when he grows up he will be a useful summon."
Naruto's head shot up and looked at the Hokage with disbelief. "That things a summon?! He couldn't even kill a squirrel!" The monkey took offense to that as it started squawking at the blond flinging it's arms around to emphasize it's point.
The Sandaime chuckled at the pair, they were both too prideful to back down. "Yes Naruto-kun, he is in fact a summon," The blond turned back to the Hokage to listen. "He is one of my Monkey Summons that inhabit the forests surrounding the village. They serve as a line of defense."
Naruto looked back at the monkey, re-evaluating the small ape's worth. "Huh, well that's cool I guess but what are you doing here?" Asked Naruto still not understanding why the Sandaime would want to come all the way out here just to tell him that.
"Yes well I have come with a proposition for you." Started the Sandaime and suppressed a chuckle at the undivided attention he was getting from the boy. "It has come to my attention that you have attended three of the last twenty-five academy school days. I know that you are unmotivated to attend so I have something to motivate you. If you go to class everyday for the next week and ace the exam at the end of it I will teach you a jutsu, one that I think will benefit you in the long run far more than any other."
Naruto deflated a little at hearing he was required to go to class everyday. The academy was far too boring for the blond, as he soaked up knowledge far too quick to stay attentive. It was like seeing that a painting was blue understanding the painting was blue then having to sit through a four hour lecture explaining the color of the painting. It's blue dammit he doesn't need to be told four thousand times to understand that! But pushing that aside, the tantalizing reward of a jutsu gave the blond enough incentive to nod towards the old man in acceptance.
xXx
(One Week Later: Academy)
Naruto didn't know why, but most of his classmates were sending him curious look all week. Granted he rarely showed up this consistently but they should take it in stride not gawk over him for coming to class. Especially since in the earlier days of the academy most of them would ignore him.
The past week was a complete waste of time in his opinion, jutsu theory was interesting but when half of the class was slow on the up take the lecture turned into never ending questions that usually amounted to 'how' over and over.
Surprisingly, on the second day of the week Taijutsu spars were scheduled and he was called out by half of the class to be their partners. While the blond rarely showed, when he did he was undefeated in Taijutsu spars and that cause nearly every boy to want to fight him. He ended up being paired with Kiba Inuzuka a loud barking boy that was fast and fought with ferociousness akin to that of a dog or wolf. The blond easily stumbled around the Inuzuka's attacks and slipped into his guard while delivering a solid punch to the chest that knocked wind out of him and gave Naruto the opening to end the spar.
From there the academy went back to menial classwork that was far to uninteresting to actually listen all the way through. But alas, today was the day of his exam and the last day of the challenge and he couldn't contain his excitement for his reward.
As Naruto looked over his exam he noted that he in fact didn't know everything on the test off the top of his head meaning that he did miss new information. Silently vowing to not miss so much class ever again Naruto worked through the questions slowly and carefully, deciphering the answers from his accumulated knowledge and problem solving. With his test done Naruto handed it to his instructor who graded it while Naruto watched.
Naruto's instructor was name Iruka Umino and he was one of the few who treated Naruto like a normal child. To the point of smiling at him like he did everyone else, it was one of the reasons Naruto has never pranked the Academy as nobody had wronged him. Iruka looked up from the test with an impressed smile and handed the paper back to the blond. Naruto looked over the test with apprehension, as he reached the bottom he noticed that he in fact aced his exam. New jutsu here he comes!
Iruka watched with a twitching brow as Naruto ran out of the classroom before being dismissed but shrugged it off. If the blond can ace his exams without attending class then who was Iruka to stop him…Wait! He was his instructor dammit! Starting tomorrow Iruka was going to start cracking down on the wayward blond for his attendance and frankly his attentiveness as the Chūnin noticed that he barely paid any attention to lectures.
xXx
The Hokage's office was conveniently located a few floors above Naruto's class room. The Hokage's tower was also half Shinobi Academy on one side and administrative on the other. Naruto didn't know nor did he care why that was the design but it has worked this long so no need to fix what aint broke right?
When arriving to the Hokage's office Naruto knocked a few times and only entered when given the go ahead from the other side. Naruto walked with purpose towards the old man and slapped his graded exam on the old man's desk with a triumphant expression.
Sarutobi smirked at the exam, so he was right about Naruto. The boy lacked motivation to attend the academy because he was learning every thing too quickly. From what he remembers, Jiraiya had a similar problem, something about already knowing that the painting was red, he couldn't remember.
"Congratulations Naruto-kun, if you'll follow me I think I have promised you a jutsu."
xXx
(Lagoon Training Ground)
As the arrive by use of the Shunshin no Jutsu Sarutobi allowed Naruto a few seconds to regain his balance. Tagging along with someone else's Shunshin left those inexperienced with a feeling of vertigo, more so if the user is really experience as Sarutobi was.
His young charge steadied himself and gave him his full attention. Sarutobi was hit with a strong wave of nostalgia, he has had many students during his time and teaching was one of his many passions. Especially youth that he knew would one day become great, much like his Genin team. Although, he hoped that Naruto stayed apart of Konoha despite the hardships of Shinobi life, unlike his Genin team.
Knowing that he needed to proceed less Naruto would burst from excitement he prepared himself. Sarutobi was originally going to teach the blond a Doton jutsu and keep giving him jutsu as incentive for going to class, but then he was hit with an idea. The Sarutobi clan produced excellent shinobi, that was undeniable, however he was the only one who utilized the Monkey Summoning Contract. He wanted to pass it to his sons but his oldest politely refused while his youngest joined the Shugonin Jūnishi to get away from him. Needless to say, until Konohamaru gained sufficient chakra levels the summoning contract was only going to be held by him. This idea was given to Sarutobi after Naruto's little display with one of the infant monkeys last week, despite not being apart of the clan Naruto got on quite well with it. But it wasn't his approval that Naruto needed, it was his combat partner's who was known as the Great Monkey King Enma.
"Observe." Instructed Sarutobi before biting his thumb and running through handseals to preform the Kuchiyose no Jutsu.
A fūinjutsu formula appeared on the ground and a plum of smoke erupted from the affected spot. When the smoke cleared a large easily six foot tall monkey appeared. He wore a black suit with mesh armor underneath, over which he wore a yellow tiger stripped sleeveless kimono. He had a Konoha forehead protector that held back his long unkept white hair. Naruto was caught off guard by the monkey's expression as it seemed as though he was furious, but on closure inspection Naruto chalked it up to intense focus and a penetrating eyes that could unnerve anyone.
"I didn't think that you have fallen so far as to need me to fight a child, Hiruzen." Grunted Enma who got a light chuckle out of Naruto's terrified expression.
"No, I had something even more ridiculous to offer," Enma's attention was brought back to Hiruzen from the blond boy and the latter let out a relieve sigh. "I want Naruto-kun here to sign the contract."
Enma noted that the blond was just as surprised as he was based on his jaw that had hit the ground, much to the older parties amusement. The monkey king was surprised by his partner and his clan's only current summoner, to offer a non-Sarutobi the contract was highly irregular and never been done before. While that could be chalked up to the fact that before Hiruzen was a summoner the warring states period was still happening and clans didn't share anything back then other than the sharp end of a kunai. Enma surprised himself when he realized that he was considering it, it would certainly be good for the clan to have the opportunity to see actual combat for a change, the boy would need to be tested before he allowed him the contract though.
The Monkey King stopped his inner debate and turned back to Hiruzen. "I will test him, you can leave if you want I'm sure you have work to do."
Hiruzen was grateful that Enma remembered and bid Naruto a nod, "Good luck Naruto-kun."
When they were alone Naruto hesitantly turned to the enormous talking monkey. "Hello Enma-san, my name is—" Before he could finish, Naruto was punched clear across the clearing by the monkey king.
"No talking! I will learn your name should you pass the test!" Shouted Enma, meanwhile Naruto was trying to remember why he wanted to be a shinobi in the first place after such a jarring punch. "You must impress me without dying!"
Naruto shot up at that, he had no intention of dying to some overgrown monkey on a Tuesday. He wasn't given more than a second before the Monkey King shot towards him with speeds that Naruto could only just keep up with.
Naruto rolled out of the way of the monkeys stomp and went to tackle his opponent the ground. The blond was swatted away like a fly and sent tumbling for a few seconds before he regained his footing and took his stance, which consisted of a sloppy boxer stance with both hands held up to keep his head protected.
Enma was unimpressed with the boys offense and defense, he may be a little hard on the boy as he's young and laking any sort of clan training like Hiruzen. But he did posses above average reflexes, fast enough to avoid his stomp. Time to test his endurance.
Enma shot towards Naruto with Chūnin speeds to be just fast enough for Naruto to follow but not to change the pace of the fight. Enma started off with a hammer strike that was predictably avoided by the blond before the Monkey King's leg shot out hitting Naruto in the stomach causing him to double over.
Naruto pushed the pain away and jumped away from Enma, when he saw that the Monkey King was about to charge Naruto ran away towards the trees. Momentarily thrown off by the strange tactic Enma slowly went to follow.
Naruto dived into a bush and concealed his presence as best as he could. 'There is no possible way that I can match that thing! Every hit feels like my bones are going to snap, if I'm going to impress this guy then I need to do it like a ninja.' Meaning that he would need to strike at the least expected time and place.
Naruto could hear the heavy footsteps of his adversary drawing near him. Naruto slowly and steadily reached into his thigh holster for a kunai, no way in hell was he going to be able to contend with the monkey's strength. But skin was skin and a kunai can cut skin quite easily.
Enma discretely glanced around the forests making it a point to avoid the bush where Naruto was hiding. It was a smart tactic, if you couldn't overpower your opponent then outsmart them. But the young boy wasn't experienced enough or smart enough to get one over on the Monkey King just yet. He was pleased that the blond had a brain under that thick skull of his big enough to realize that he couldn't win in flat out combat, now he just needed to see how well he did from the shadows.
'Here we go.' Naruto waited until Enma was fully faced away from him before firing out of the bushes like a cannonball towards the Monkey King. The very second that Naruto shot from the bushes Enma whirled around and caught the boy mid-air with one hand and the other stopping the kunai from slicing his throat.
"Very good! No wasted movement, right for the kill! You've the makings of a fine shinobi." Praised Enma as warmly as he could. Naruto would have been pleased but he was still in a choke hold and Enma's face never changed from his extremely intense gaze that was extremely unnerving to see as he was being praised.
The Monkey King let go of Naruto's throat, dropping him to the ground and let him regain his breath. He was impressed with the blond, he was an uncut gem for sure as Enma could see the immeasurable potential lying within him and all that was needed was a guiding hand and careful instruction. It was time, Enma supposed, that the Monkey's of Mt. Tekkijidai have a new summoner.
Naruto pulled himself to his feet with nothing less than sheer willpower, that spar, if it could be even called that, took every ounce of energy he had and right now he wanted food and a nice nap. But based on the look in that sadistic monkey's eye, the day wasn't over yet.
As if reading his thoughts Enma spoke, "I have one final task for you," Spoke Enma as he flashed through seals and summoned forth a large scroll with the symbol for Saru on the side. "I have acknowledged you as a worthy summoner and would like to offer you the chance to be our next summoner."
Naruto managed a tired grin and nodded in appreciation, the blond understood that this was one of the highest honors one could receive as a shinobi. A clan of animal summons allowing you to be their summoner, it was even more so considering that the only summoner alive for this animal was the Sandaime Hokage. Needless to say Naruto was very much looking forward to the opportunity. Enma instructed him to cut his finger and sign his name in blood before showing him the handseals.
After memorizing the seals Naruto bit his thumb and weaved through the seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A fūinjutsu formula appeared where Naruto slammed his hand and a plum of smoke burst from the ground. When the smoke cleared away a very large gorilla was in front of him, it was easily seven feet tall with fists planted in the earth to keep balance both easily larger than Naruto head. It had dark black fur with silver mane-like hair that spiked down to it's neck. It also, like Enma, wore a black suit with mesh armor underneath but was without a kimono. Overall with the ridiculously large bulging muscles and extremely intense gaze that Naruto was now linking to all Apes that he now could summon, Naruto expected these to be extremely useful and powerful allies.
"I did not think we had a new summoner Enma-sama." the Gorilla's deep gravely voice was much more intimidating than the blond thought it would be but managed to hold himself together without showing fear, or at least he hoped that was what he was doing.
"We do Sarukakan, and he is," Enma said while gesturing to Naruto. "This is Naruto Uzumaki, please inform the others of him. I expect that he will become quite familiar with them in the coming months."
Sarukakan grunted as he appraised his new summoner before returning home. He was sure that this would get mixed responses, most would be happy that they would see combat once again while others would be upset that he wasn't a Sarutobi Clan Member. But if Enma-sama approved of him then they didn't have a choice and he was sure that their King wouldn't pick a weak summoner.
Naruto blinked at the exchange before turning to Enma. "What did you mean, 'he'll become quite familiar with them in the coming months' Enma-sama?" Now using the appropriate honorific towards the King of Apes.
Naruto stepped back slightly when he was on the receiving end of one of the most terrifying grins he's ever had the misfortune of seeing.
"Naruto. As our summoner you will be spending your time training with us as well as training in the academy or with your future Sensei. Hiruzen balanced his time training with us and Tobirama during his Genin and Chūnin years and we'll expect you to do the same! You are to summon me everyday after your academy day is out for further instruction." And with that the Monkey King was gone, either back to his home or somewhere else, Naruto found himself not caring about anything other than his sore body and that ramen bowl in his cabinet back at his apartment.
xXx
(Hokage's Office)
The Sandaime leaned back in his chair idly puffing on his pipe with satisfaction, Naruto passed Enma's test with flying colors and managed to summon one of the largest summons on his first try. Excellent.
"You gave us quite the gem Hiruzen." The Sandaime was greeted by the familiar presence of his longest living friend Enma, his training partner in his adolescence and combat partner during the wars. "He is a little ruff around the edges with his lack of formal training but that gives us more to work with in the long run. More importantly is his apparent aptitude for Ninjutsu, he summoned Sarukakan on his first try. Who is this boy Hiruzen?"
The Sandaime glanced at Enma from under his hat. "He's Minato Namikaze's son, you remember the night I'm sure and you saw what became of him."
Enma did in fact remember the night of the Kyūbi attack, he also recalled the Yondaime sealing the Bijū into his son killing himself in the process. Which meant that they now had a Jinchūriki as a summoner. One with innate Ninjutsu talent and extreme levels of potential, quite the gem indeed.
"It was apparent from a young age that Naruto would amount to a splendid Shinobi, one for the history books. But with the rate he learns he lacked the motivation to attend class after learning the information which resulted in his bellow average overall ranking in the Academy. I was hoping that this would give him an outlet to train and motivation to attend class. I'm sure you can show him the importance of academic learning." Said the Sandaime with a sly expression at the end, when he says that he meant Enma would have him attend everyday otherwise he would be on the receiving end of Enma's notable wrath. Something the Sandaime was sure Naruto would be smart enough to avoid.
The Monkey King nodded towards his partner. "I will ensure his attendance," he did not miss Hiruzen's satisfied smirk. "And we will begin his training and preparation for the trial."
The Sandaime winced at that, the trial was something he doubted even Jōnin could handle. It was something he did in his younger years to receive the right to wield the Kongōnyoi. If Naruto had aspirations to be Hokage like he has proclaimed then passing the trail would certainly be the best way to show he was capable. From what the Sandaime remembered he had to have mastery of Doton, Katon and Suiton before he was ready for the trail. Naruto had a very long and difficult road ahead of him.
xXx
(One Month Later: Konoha Academy)
Naruto listened to his instructor prattle on about the many applications of Ninja Wire in the field, while Naruto acknowledged that this was actually useful information he just could bring himself to actually fully pay attention to the lecture.
He also appeared to not be the only one that other things on their mind that took precedence over the lecture.
The first one Naruto noticed was Kiba Inuzuka, the youngest child of Tsume Inuzuka, the current head of the Inuzuka Clan. He wore a grey track suit with a hooded jacket with fur lining the hood and cuffs. Kiba was quite wild looking boy with his spiky brown hair and red fang tattoos on his cheeks that was common among the Inuzuka clan, a right of passage given to those who bonded with their Ninken partner. Kiba was among the top in the physical side of the academy, he was one of the fastest in the class and held talent for his clans jutsu. So with that Kiba tended to tune out most lectures as he had no use for most of them with his clan techniques being his primary means of combat.
The next one was sitting right next to Naruto on his left. He was the last known survivor of the Uchiha Clan- Sasuke Uchiha. The Uchiha had black hair that spiked in the back and held a blueish tint to it in the light. Sasuke wore tan shorts, light blue arm warmers and a high collar blue t-shirt with the Uchiha clan's emblem on the back that signified his mastery of the Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. Sasuke was the classes resident 'genius', as such he would likely tune out any lessons that he already knew. But to Naruto's surprise the Uchiha wasn't actually tuning out the lecture or listening, he seemed to be glaring into space as he relived some sort of memory. The blond didn't know what was the worst part out of all of that.
Lastly, and the least surprising of the group was Shikamaru Nara, son of Shikaku Nara the current head of the Nara clan. Shikamaru wore grey pants and a grey shirt with green lining that was open to reveal his mesh t-shirt beneath it. Shikamaru was happily sitting close to the bottom of the class in rankings as he seemed to have even less motivation than Naruto to excel in class. It was a well known fact that Nara clan members, the men at least, were as smart as they were lazy and judging from Shikamaru's attitude in class Naruto suspected that he was some sort of mega-genius.
Naruto only barely acknowledged that Sakura who was on the far left of the bench that Naruto was sitting, answered the question that Iruka asked the class only for her to immediately and 'subtly' look towards Sasuke for acknowledgement. Naruto shook his head at that, she was far too interested in romancing her classmate than becoming a shinobi, if she didn't step up her game soon she'll be under equipped to deal with the life of a shinobi when the time came. From what Enma has described, Naruto felt as if he was going to be thrown into a battlefield right off the bat and thus required the most grueling training regimen Naruto could take. Which thanks to Naruto's apparent regenerative abilities was quite ridiculous.
The first day of training with Enma he was told that he was to attend every day of the academy without fail or he would suffer the consequences and needless to say Naruto hasn't been late to class once.
During the past month Naruto learned a lot about his summons from the Monkey King. He could summon smaller monkeys like the one he met at the lagoon to deliver messages or scout areas. Other monkeys that could ambush opponents, while physically they were lacking they possessed more than enough agility and skill with Shurikenjutsu to contribute. Then there were the specialized summons, like the howler monkeys. They utilized their howls to cast auditory Genjutsu on their opponents, it was a dangerous technique since those who didn't have the specialized training from the monkey's themselves would be susceptible to the jutsu. Which meant that he couldn't use it around comrades or they would be ensnared in the jutsu like the target.
The larger monkeys and gorillas were incredibly strong and agile. But more importantly, most of them could utilize Doton jutsu in combat. Enma even hinted that he could also utilize Katon on top of that. Naruto was told that every Summon clan had specializations, Toad with Suiton and Senjutsu and the Snakes with poisons and Senjutsu. So it would seem that the Monkey's specialized in Doton and Taijutsu, extremely powerful despite their lacking size compared to other summons.
Every day Naruto was given training from Enma or on some occasions Sarukakan in Taijutsu. The blond was told that today they would start on something else and Naruto was both apprehensive and excited of what was to come.
But before that Naruto had to get through todays Academy class. Which judging by the lecture's momentum was a long…way…away.
xXx
(Hokage's Office)
The Sandaime read through reports with a steady pace, he was both completely focused and thinking about other things. The state of the world being one thing, the country of Tani no Kuni being put under new leadership and renamed Oto no Kuni was troubling and if what Jiraiya has reported lately, the leader was supposedly an extremely powerful shinobi with a lot of influence.
This just reeked of the time before the first shinobi world war. When everyone was still drawing their lines in the dirt then fighting over the remaining land. Then their was the straining relations with Kumo after the Hyuga fiasco five years ago, they would be more than happy to sink their teeth into one of the many Kekkei Genkai that Konoha protected.
Luckily Konoha and Suna still held friendly relations since their treaty at the end of the Third Shinobi world war, despite the Kazekage's militaristic outlook he was still quite agreeable when it came to their trade.
Unfortunately, the remaining great five villages were either locked in a civil war that didn't look to be ending anytime soon or was Iwa. An Iwa shinobi was more likely to set themselves on fire than to become ally to Konoha. With all this in mind the Sandaime knew that only one possible outcome was inevitable. War.
It was the fate of the Shinobi war and the cycle of hatred that has consumed it. Every generation fated to live through war at one point or another and it seemed that this generation might see it sooner than expected.
While in the wake of the Kyūbi attack Konoha lost a significant number of shinobi but they still held a respectable twelve thousand shinobi. Other villages held far more as they refused to go into disarmament and rather further expanded their forces in secret, but nothing was secret to Jiraiya spy network. While Konoha had the smallest overall military, they held more quality shinobi that were enough to intimidate other villages from invading.
The state of the world only further cemented Hiruzen's belief that giving Naruto the Monkey Summoning Contract was right. Naruto now had the opportunity of training with extremely powerful summons that help turn Hiruzen into what he was today instead of become some trouble maker that is only looked at as a prankster rather than a future shinobi.
The Sandaime was brought from his thoughts by the sound of a cane hitting the ground every other second meaning that Danzo has decided to grace Hiruzen with his presence. The door to his office opened and in walked the villages war hawk, he was as extreme as he was loyal to the village. Which meant that Hiruzen knew that in the underbelly of the village where the roots of the tree lay held darkness that should never be given the light of day. As was their agreement all those years ago.
Danzo was an elderly looking man who's head was wrapped in bandages that covered his right eye and further pushed up his thin black spiky hair. He wore a white shirt with a black robe that covered his right arm and went down to his feet. While Danzo gave off the appearance of a frail old man he was far from it. He was one of the few first generation shinobi still alive, he was the self proclaimed 'rival' to Hiruzen Sarutobi for most of his life for jealously of the Sarutobi's prodigious talent.
"You've been quite busy Hiruzen. I have heard that you gave Uzumaki your Summoning Contract." It was an interesting turn of events from his former rival, who in Danzo's opinion has become far too stagnant as of late and was unfit to be Hokage. But he was unable to garner support to take over.
Hiruzen let out a long sigh that was further supplemented by the smoke from his pipe. "It was time he started taking his training seriously."
Danzo didn't need to voice his opinion for Hiruzen to know he agreed with him. The Uzumaki was a pathetic excuse for a shinobi from what his subordinates told him, skipping out on the academy out of boredom rather wanting to be the prankster king of the village. While even Danzo would acknowledge Naruto's potential it was completely wasted by not being given training at a young age. He could have already started utilizing the Kyūbi's chakra if Danzo had a hand in his training, but Hiruzen was far too soft when it came to the boy.
"I have come for budget approval. Should Uzumaki require more specialized training I would be happy to oblige." Danzo handed his Hokage the report to which the Sandaime immediately approved of and gave back to the war hawk.
"I'll keep that in mind." 'Not on your life.'
"Very well" With that Danzo left the office to return to do whatever it was he did now a days. Most likely overthrowing small governments because he felt they would be threats in one to two centuries. Standard Danzo stuff.
xXx
(Lagoon Training Ground)
Naruto launched himself towards the nearest tree, using his dexterity Naruto grabbed a branch and flipped himself on top of it. From his elevated position Naruto could see his opponent barreling through the forest towards him with the same extremely fierce look that he had ever since Naruto had met him.
Enma jumped through the air towards the blond who waited till the last possible second before dropping towards the forest floor, while subtly leaving three explosive notes on the underside of the branch. The Monkey King only barely smelled the burning paper in time to jump away from the tree who's bark exploded in a fiery storm of wooden shrapnel. The concussive force of the three explosive notes pushed Enma off balance long enough for Naruto to land a double heel kick on the Monkey King's head.
Despite the power behind the kick Naruto realized that Enma barely reacted to the strike and retaliated immediately. "You little bastard!" Roared Enma as he grabbed the blonds legs and spun him around before tossing him back into the clearing and into the lagoon.
Enma walked back into the clearing casually as to give time for his newest summoner to pull himself from the water. They had made progress during the month, Naruto picked up the basics to the Yonedaken remarkable fast and was now utilizing Taijutsu that didn't look completely sloppy. Enma will acknowledge that Naruto was skilled enough to fight effectively without a formal style before however.
Now it was time for Naruto to learn the next step of his training- Doton. Enma called Naruto over to him. "Now today we will start with a new jutsu, with it you can learn numerous branching and derived jutsu with minimal effort should you master it."
Enma weaved through three hand-seals before exhaling a steady stream of mud that flew through the air at unbelievable speeds. Once the stream of mud hit the targeted tree a loud crack reverberated through the clearing signifying the amount of concussive force the jutsu inflicted. When the mud fell from the tree a large piece of the trunk was missing and cracks were formed around the affected area.
Seeing his charges impressed look Enma explained. "That was Doton: Doro Dangan no Jutsu, it is highly adaptable and can be used as a stream of highly compacted mud or a stream of mud that covers the opponent that can be hardened at will. Although for the latter mastery of the jutsu is required."
With that Naruto started on the jutsu easily getting the mud to form but as noted by Enma early on it was apparent that Doton was not his affinity and Naruto would have to work extra hard to master the jutsu. But being the slave driver and perfectionist he was, Enma expected Naruto to master the jutsu today, after all it was only a C-Rank jutsu. If it takes him too long on this what happens when they get to the complex ones down the road.
It took far less time than Enma expect for Naruto to preform the jutsu to his liking- only three hours. Naruto managed to compact his mud to the point that it was nearing rock density, which meant that Naruto was already modifying the jutsu to his liking.
Naruto took in a deep breath and held the tiger seal to mold his chakra. "Doton: Doro Dangan no Jutsu!" Naruto exhaled his chakra that took the form of a stream of highly compacted mud that sped towards his targeted tree which, like Enma before, resulted in a loud crack that echoed through the forest. When the mud was falling away the tree started to buckle and break in half falling into the forest while Naruto was proud of his work he was far too tired to celebrate. Ah, he'll do that in the morning after breakfast.
Enma managed a slight smirk at the exhausted blond, he certainly didn't give in to exhaustion if his task wasn't completed. It showed tenacity and an undying will, both excellent qualities in a shinobi. He also possessed high levels of talent in Ninjutsu. While he said that Naruto had to master the jutsu today he only meant that to push Naruto to get as far as he could, especially after noticing that Doton wasn't his affinity. But Naruto managed to shatter his expectations and complete the jutsu in just under four hours with no prior training, what a monster he would become. It was almost terrifying to think of, but Enma found himself more excited than scared.
The Monkey King hoisted the passed out blond over his shoulder to take him back in his apartment. He'll leave a note for Naruto to tell him that he had tomorrow off from training, he certainly earned it.
xXx
(Later that Night: Hokage Estate)
Hiruzen relaxed in his study contemplating everything that has happened in the last month. After summoning Enma for the first time in a good eight years he was on the receiving end of a tongue lashing from his long time partner for his stagnation. So in result, every Tuesday and Thursday he and Enma would train from 5 am to 9 am before the Sandaime was required to arrive at the Hokage's office for work. His withering blade that appeared to be at an all time low was now being restored and sharpened back to a respectable level.
While his reserves where no longer the earth shaking immense levels of his youth, he still commanded a large and powerful reserve of chakra that he could use to unrivaled levels of efficiency. Oh how foolish he had been to let himself fall so far, he was just now approaching a level that was befitting a Kage. Prior to this month he doubted that he could fight his students without Enma, but given his training and maybe a few more weeks, he was sure that he could win again yet again.
During those training sessions Enma would update him on Naruto's training, much to Hiruzen's pleasure Naruto seemed to be taking to the training at incredible levels. It spoke of his prodigious talent that he could master such jutsu in record speeds.
Perhaps Naruto will rise to the occasion and not just become great but close the gap and become a legend.
Author's Notes
Now, I have read all of your guy's reviews and took them into account and will apply them accordingly. Overall based on PM's and reviews it was pretty much apparent that most either didn't care who the parring was or didn't mind who I chose. And with the direction I'm taking this story, if it turns out to be Kurenai (spoilers guys I aint telling who yet) it will be way later, I'm developing Naruto not a romance. Thats how I feel about pairings anyway- I never like when a story focuses too heavily on them when the story isn't a romance. No harem. No Yaoi. No Narusaku. No Naruhina.
When it came to Ninjutsu in the second question I think people either misread or forgot my original story. Naruto never had five affinities, he had a wind affinity and learned the elements over eighteen chapters which was like seven years. This story will sorta kinda follow a similar route in it's own kinda the same different way. That made sense to one of you i'm sure shout out to them.
Graduating early is something I just wanted to here everyone's thoughts on with the idea already in my head that he wouldn't. People usually get turned off by overflowing amounts of OC's and too much AU. This story will certainly have both but not to the point that the original work is unidentifiable and main characters pushed aside. I also want Naruto to be with his age group since when I graduated him early in the original it was hard for me to tie him to the rookie 9 since he was already a Jonin by the time they graduated. Don't worry, Naruto will certainly progress at an accelerated rate. I was happy to see that there were a lot of people who wouldn't mind him not graduating early.
And I noted that since the toads were capable of ninjutsu, apes should be able to as well. I decided to give them earth since it made sense to me. Tell me what you think!
I want reviews from everyone on how the re-write is and how my changes helped or annoyed you or whatever I just want feedback! I read all reviews and reply to the ones that require it so don't think I'll ignore you!
Original Jutsu:
Doton: Doro Dangan no Jutsu (Earth Release: Mud bullet technique) C-Rank: The user molds chakra in their chest and expels a compacted stream of mud towards the intended target, the concussive force alone is enough to kill. Masters of the jutsu can harden the mud into rock mid flight or allow the mud to cover their opponent then harden as a way to bind their opponent.