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Chapter Text

The Sandaime Hokage sat behind his desk in his office in the Hokage Tower. Across from him stood the various jōnin-sensei with eligible genin teams who were interested in taking the Chūnin Exams. For the first time in nearly two years, they were finally being hosted in Konoha once more, and the preparations for such an event were strenuous for the Sandaime, but most of the details were finally sorted out, so all that was left was the entrance of the candidate genin teams and commencement of the exams.

"I take it all here are aware of the eligibility requirements for entrance in the Chūnin Exams," the Sandaime Hokage stated rhetorically. They would not be gathered here if they were not aware, but he wanted to be sure, on the off chance that someone had wandered in here without understanding the purpose of the meeting. It had happened three times during Hiruzen's long tenure, and it was always a hilarious affair, but the various nods and grunts of confirmation seemed it a fourth time would not occur. It was too bad; Hiruzen could always use some more entertainment in his life.

"Iruka-kun, if you would please list off the teams," the Sandaime Hokage commanded softly to the sole chūnin in the meeting. Hiruzen could admit to some fondness for the man and a great degree of trust having witnessed the growth and maturity he underwent from the orphan child Hiruzen had occasionally looked after.

Iruka nodded as he pulled up a sheet of paper and began reading them off, starting with Team One. Tokizawa, the jōnin-sensei for that team confirmed his intention of entering his team, but personally, Hiruzen had his doubts. While it was entirely likely that many of these genin teams were qualified for chūnin rank, he doubted that the Chūnin Exams were the correct format for their promotion.

It was not known to many, but the Chūnin Exams was not the normal path for promotion; often it came from field promotions and exemplary mission records after a few years of genin work. Only the best of the best or the showiest of genin were likely to be promoted through the Chūnin Exams. The entire point of the exams was for the promotion of their junior shinobi to prospective clients, instituting a low-stakes method of working out aggression between shinobi villages, and enabling experience for their young shinobi to battle other shinobi in simulated combat.

Unfortunately, this meant that though participation was high, most were not expected to succeed. That didn't mean that the jōnin before him did not train their genin appropriately as all sensei wanted their students' success and hoped they would be promoted in the limelight instead of through field promotion, peer review, and exemplary mission records.

Hiruzen focused back into the meeting when Iruka came to the bottom of the list, where the rookie genin teams were listed. He did not tune back in because he was so interested, not that he wasn't, seeing as his own son was leading one of those teams, but Hiruzen's attention was caught on the rapidly approaching mass of abundant chakra heading his way, who could only be one person.

Just as not-so-little-anymore Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, the doors slammed open, revealing one of Hiruzen's favorite people, not that he would ever admit such a thing. He was already receiving an annoying number of whines and grumbles from his old teammates about the teenager, he could not show any explicit favoritism.

"Jiji!" Naruto said, literally jumping over the crowd of jōnin and landing in the deliberately empty space in front of Hiruzen's desk that enabled him to scan the entire crowd, "We need to talk, like, right now!"

The boy seemed a bit frantic and panicked, even by Naruto's usual standards, which worried Hiruzen a tad. Naruto knew better than to interrupt a meeting of jōnin, or any meeting of his, but for him to do so anyways was troubling.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Iruka said, instantly stepping forward to berate the young genin. "You cannot just barge into the Hokage's offi–"

"S-rank priority information!" Naruto said frantically, looking directly at the Hokage, instantly cutting off Iruka and draining away the humor from the room that both the Hokage and the amassed jōnin found at the young blond's antics.

"Clear out immediately," the Sandaime Hokage commanded to the room, "Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, you are to inform Iruka of your recommendations tomorrow and I will review them and arrange a follow-up meeting should it be necessary."

The various jōnin-sensei left instantly, with only a few grumbles. They understood the importance of S-rank priority information, requiring immediate action that was likely necessary if it was time-sensitive, more so than a routine meeting that could be picked up whenever. While it was implausible that a genin such as Naruto would have such information, the importance of the protocol needed to be respected. Within a minute, only Hiruzen, Naruto, and Kakashi remained behind with the doors firmly sealed shut by Hiruzen's ANBU detail.

"Er, Hokage-jiji, could it just be me and you, not the ANBU or, um…" Naruto started before trailing off, glancing at Kakashi bashfully.

"Of course, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen replied reassuringly, ignoring the annoyed look from Kakashi as the man exited the room, replaced with a dawning sense of dread. Naruto was one of the most trusting people Hiruzen knew, and for him to want to exclude even his own jōnin-sensei was worrisome.

"It's not like I don't trust Kaka-sensei," Naruto started to babble, unknowingly comforting Hiruzen that this had nothing to do with his team, "But this is kinda hard to say, and, well, not really, but a little, you know, uh, treasonous?"

Hiruzen blinked at that, struggling to keep both his shock out of his face and pushing down the instinct to go full 'God of Shinobi mode', as a young Jiraiya once put it. There was a decent chance that Naruto simply did not understand the word or the implication behind it. At least, Hiruzen dearly hoped so. "What?"

"Okay, look, technically, you started this, so, it's totally not my fault, at least, not, like, entirely, okay?" Naruto started confidently before faltering. "I mean, I was just following what you said, and, well, things got a bit, out of hand, and I swear I didn't mean to be treasonous, and technically, I wasn't before I was a genin, sort of–"

"Naruto," Hiruzen cut the boy off, his tone sharper than he had ever taken with him, but Hiruzen ignored that, focusing on the boy's claims. "Genin Uzumaki, report."

Oddly enough, that seemed to do the trick. The teenager snapped to attention, his spine straight as his arms snapped behind his back, all the obvious signs of anxiety disappearing from the teenager's frame, just as it was trained so in the Academy.

Hiruzen found he did not like it, not from this boy, from his successor's son, who has always been so full of joy, recklessness, and casually respectful disrespect, oxymoronic as it may seem.

"Jiji," Naruto replied more put together, but the boy's address for Hiruzen helped settle his nerves, until he opened his mouth and stated, "I am pretty sure that Sand and Sound are planning an invasion during the Chūnin Exams."

"Explain." Hiruzen commanded clearly. This was very serious, though he did wonder how this could be treasonous. Naruto was not the type to consider himself as such, so that made this even more curious not to mention vexing.

"Well, it's a bit difficult to explain, and really complicated," Naruto said nervously, one of his hands coming up to rub the back of his neck.

"Naruto, this is a very serious accusation," Hiruzen stated as he looked at his honorary grandchild, "I need to know how you know this."

Naruto remained silent for a few moments, not resisting so much as trying to figure out how to convey his information properly.

"Alright, you know that conversation we had like two years ago?" Naruto finally spoke. At Hiruzen's quirked eyebrow, Naruto expounded, "The one about Mist and me not becoming Hokage."

Hiruzen sat back at that, taking a moment to ponder. Assuming Naruto was talking about that specific conversation, which he had declared to be an S-rank secret, then Hiruzen could immediately form a dozen theories of what was going on, but he needed more information before he could be sure.

"Naruto, why exactly do you believe Sand and Sound are planning an invasion during the Chūnin Exams," Hiruzen asked calmly.

"A Sand shinobi told me that there was going to be an invasion and there are a bunch of Sound shinobi that are gathering in Fire Country," Naruto admitted.

Hiruzen could only sigh. It would seem Naruto had truly done the impossible.

"You found a solution," Hiruzen stated more than asked.

Naruto smirked before it settled down into a more contemplative look, "Maybe not perfected, but yeah, I found a solution, a pretty damn awesome one too."

Hiruzen couldn't help the smile that came over him. He had presented Naruto with an impossible challenge almost two years ago and the boy seemed to have not only delivered but shot far over his expectations.

"Tell me everything," Hiruzen stated, grabbing his pipe and lighting it with a spark of Fire chakra. He knew he should worry about Naruto's claim of potentially treasonous actions, but considering Tsunade's abandonment of the village, Jiraiya's numerous 'vacations' and almost pathological avoidance of Konoha, Orochimaru's previously legal turned illegal experiments, and Danzō's disbanded Root shinobi, Hiruzen had a high tolerance for treasonous activity. He owed so many of Naruto's deceased relations and the teenager himself that so long as he wasn't as bad as Orochimaru had been, he was sure he could find a way to overlook it or frame it in an official capacity.

The fact that he wanted someone that he could at least vaguely trust to take this damn hat off his head as soon as possible had nothing to do with his suddenly loose morality and disregard for military protocol.

"Well, it all started that night, or, at least, the morning after," Naruto began.

Two years ago

"Hokage-sama," one of his ANBU detail, Goose, appeared in front of his desk.

The Sandaime did not immediately address the man. He took a moment to gaze out of the window, looking upon the Hokage Mountain. The four faces there chiseled out of stone, Earth chakra molded over the faces to prevent the wear of weather conditions and inscribed with durability seals, all towered over the village. They were resolute and proud, with all the stoicism and hardiness a shinobi required, a message to the shinobi the tenacity of their leaders.

Hiruzen personally agreed with the Shodaime over his own teacher when it came to those faces; he hated how they looked, the ideal put forth to the shinobi that gazed upon such monumental figures.

Hiruzen did not remember the Shodaime as some hard-faced man, he remembered the man's laughter and frequent attempts to dodge his own wife and brother's scolding; Hiruzen did not remember the Nidaime as some stick in the mud, pontificating about the rules and lack of emotions that Danzō did, he remembered the kind man that pushed them over their limits over and over again because he did not want to see his precious students hurt or killed; Hiruzen certainly did not like his serious visage watching over the village, as if judging them, a ridiculous notion when he so often made just as many if not more severe mistakes than anyone else in the Hidden Leaf Village ever had.

Then there was the Yondaime, whose effigy was accurate, though only through the eyes of his enemies. The Yondaime was a kind and silly man, despite his ridiculous prowess, and the perfect successor who held the Leaf's ideals more seriously than Hiruzen could claim even of himself. And yet, what would he say to the man when the Shinigami came to collect him? What could he say to the man, of how he had utterly failed his most precious and beloved legacy, his very own son?

"Naruto-kun has arrived?" Hiruzen stated more than asked. The vibrant source of chakra outside his office doors was more telling than Goose's presence, but it wouldn't be polite to let the man know that.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Goose replied.

Hiruzen let out a sigh before he faced forward, tidying up his desk as best as he could so that there were no distractions for the following conversation. "Let him in. Seal the room from the outside until I tell so."

Goose let out an affirmative before he opened the doors.

Hiruzen prepared himself. He knew he was gambling here, potentially crushing the boy's dreams and damning himself to an eternity of torture and agony in the Pure Lands by the hands of the Uzumaki and Senju clans, but this was the best path forward he could see.

"Hey Jiji," Naruto said, his chakra as bright and disarming as the smile on his face, "The weird mask ninja said you wanted to see me."

Despite himself, Hiruzen found himself smiling at the young man in front of him. So full of life and positivity despite his harsh circumstances, it truly broke his heart a little to even speak, but he was not the longest standing Hokage for his softness, despite what his teammates thought.

"I did, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen stated, the grandfatherly smile taking over his face of its own accord, "please, sit, tell me how you are doing."

"I'm great, you know that," Naruto said with a smile, taking the sole chair he’d had placed in front of his desk for this conversation. Naruto remained quiet for a moment before his demeanor became serious, or as serious as Naruto allowed himself to be, "What's going on?"

The narrow-eyed squint from the recently turned thirteen-year-old elicited another sigh from Hiruzen. The boy knew him well enough to know that this was a serious matter.

"Naruto, this entire conversation will be an S-rank secret until the appropriate time, do you understand?" Hiruzen started out. "You cannot speak of this until I decree it."

Naruto was surprised and seemed to decide on being worried instead of excited, reading Hiruzen's unguarded emotions and realizing that something was up.

"You got it Jiji, I promise, I won't tell anybody," Naruto said seriously.

Hiruzen paused for a moment, deliberating on how to deliver this news. He decided that context was important for Naruto to accept this. "Naruto-kun, what do you know of Hidden Mist?"

"The Hidden Mist Village in Water Country?" Naruto said, confused, "uh, they're pretty good with water techniques?"

"Yes, that is true," Hiruzen stated, smiling a bit, before he stopped stalling so much and carried on, "what many do not know is that the Yondaime Mizukage has started a bloody attack on his own village, rooting out all he considers to be dissenters, spies, and generally anyone he doesn't like. The village is currently in a state of tyranny, and one of the most heavily targeted populations are those who possess Bloodline Limits, often referred to as bloodline users."

"What?! How could a Kage kill their own like that, especially these, um, bloodliners?" Naruto said with appropriate indignation and predictable confusion considering his shaky understanding of shinobi affairs.

"Bloodline users are those with special chakra traits, think of the Uchiha's Sharingan or the Nara's Shadow Techniques," Hiruzen clarified for the boy.

"But that makes no sense," Naruto said even more confused, "those guys are supposed to be super strong, right? Why would the Mizukage kill his strongest ninja?"

Hiruzen opted not to respond to that, well aware of the slight tensions between clan shinobi and non-clan shinobi even in Leaf, instead choosing to focus on getting to the meat of their conversation. “It is confusing, but what matters is that the Yondaime Mizukage's reign has been a nightmare upon their land. A nightmare that many among their population simply cannot allow to continue."

Naruto perked up at this and asked, "A rebellion?"

Hiruzen nodded his head, "Yes, we have received information that an exceptionally powerful kunoichi has been amassing a rebel force to end the Mizukage's reign. Though they are not quite ready for their counterassault, the leader has contacted Leaf agents and passed along a preliminary alliance document that will be go into effect when she is crowned the Godaime Mizukage."

"So cool!" Naruto asked, not quite understanding the tragedy of the situation or the part he will play. He stopped himself from rambling before looking at Hiruzen with that narrow-eyed squint again that he always used when he noticed an incongruity, eliciting another sigh from Hiruzen as Naruto asked the words that would force Hiruzen to stop stalling. "What does this have to do with me though?"

"Naruto-kun, you have to understand, we have had numerous alliances and treaties from any number of nations and hidden villages, but they have been, at best, pieces of paper that we squabble over," Hiruzen said, "I am sure you have learned that despite the founding of the hidden villages happening not even a century prior, there have three shinobi wars, all devastating and full of broken treaties and strained alliances."

Naruto, for once, seemed entirely serious as he nodded. Hiruzen could see that, despite the teenager's general disinterest in the more intellectual aspects of the Academy, he knew enough about the bloody history of shinobi to understand at least this much.

"Taking this into account, the leader of the rebellion has stated that if Leaf is willing to lend them material aid in bringing about change, she will not only align the Hidden Mist Village with the Hidden Leaf Village," Hiruzen began, "she will personally submit herself to a political marriage, binding the two villages together in matrimony, something not so easily broken as a simple piece of paper."

Naruto looked shocked for a moment before a look of equal parts dread and suspicion took over his face, bringing out a soft frown from Hiruzen. "In order to ensure that neither party will betray the other, the marriage needs to be between significant individuals from each village. The leader of the rebellion meets this criteria as she will be the Godaime Mizukage, but that means that we will need to offer an equally important person from our village to prove ourselves committed to this alliance."

"No, Jiji, you can't–," Naruto started before his face lit up with hope, "I'm not that important to the village. I mean, sure, I'll be Hokage in the future, but right now I'm just an orphan Academy student."

Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment at the sheer desperation and hope in the boy's words. Hiruzen had decided that forcing this situation on Naruto at the last minute was one failure too many that he could not allow himself, which was why he was letting Naruto know so early, but that meant he had to tell the boy the truth, something he had been so loath to do before this moment and likely years in the future.

"You have asked me a painful question many times throughout the time we have known each other Naruto-kun," Hiruzen stated, grabbing the boy's attention, "a question that I have answered with a lie or a vague platitude, but it is time you knew the truth, though you must never repeat this truth until I tell you so. The truth about why the villagers hate you."

…

Hiruzen suspected that Naruto would be shocked and likely angry, but he now had confirmation of that fact. Naruto looked out at the village, no, the Hokage Mountain, with such a hateful look that Hiruzen feared that he may have just created another Orochimaru.

Hiruzen knew that this was the time to tell Naruto about his father, about his parents, about his birthright, not only because he was the son of the Yondaime Hokage and the third jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, the Kyūbi no Kitsune, but as the incredible young man who has persevered despite the hate and scorn he has received all his life, but he just could not, not with the way he glared at the Yondaime's effigy. It was a burden, a heartbreaking pain that he just couldn't put on the boy, not now at least.

But, as he always seemed to prove, Naruto was a better person than Hiruzen, than any of his students, and certainly better than the villagers the Sandaime had sworn to defend with his life and likely with his dying breath.

"I'll show him, I'll become a better Hokage than he ever was, so no more kids have to suffer like me," Naruto bit out with a vicious determination that was rather worrying and broke Hiruzen's heart a little as he seemed to harbor significant disdain for his own father. Hiruzen’s next words would only make it worse, but if that was what it would take, so be it.

"I am afraid, Naruto-kun, that simply will not be possible," Hiruzen said, hating himself for what he was about to say, but he assured himself that it was necessary for both the village's future and Naruto's own. The intelligence reports he had gotten from Jiraiya and distinctly odd movements from around the Elemental Nations were painting a disquieting picture and he would have to force Naruto's development along or place him in a position to be protected full-time by a village that would hopefully not hate him for his father's own vaguely horrific actions, duty to the village be damned.

"What do you mean, Jiji?" Naruto asked, more than a little rudely, but there was still that affectionate moniker, so Hiruzen would take what he could get.

"While you will likely officially be an ambassador for Leaf, you simply will not be able to become Hokage due to your marriage with the Godaime Mizukage," Hiruzen said, wincing at the hurt look in the boy's eyes. "In order for this treaty to work, you will have to play the part of a loving husband, and you would not be able to do so if you were the Hokage. You would simply be unable to devote enough time and effort as both Hokage and a political husband and ambassador are full-time roles. Do you understand, Naruto-kun?"

"But, but, Jiji, you can't do this," Naruto said, more heartbroken than Hiruzen had ever seen him. Naruto shook his head and met Hiruzen's eyes directly with more determination than he had seen on most chūnin, much less an Academy student. "No, I refuse to believe that. I will be Hokage. I guess I can't marry Sakura-chan, but I'm not gonna give up on being Hokage."

Hiruzen took a moment to carefully consider his words. This was the crucial moment, the gamble issued as a challenge that he was taking, not only for Naruto's future, but for the future of the village. Jiraiya's age-old words of a child of prophecy, the distressing movements throughout the Elemental Nations, the mysterious accelerated antagonism of the Uchiha Clan that saw to their downfall, and Hiruzen's own desperation for Naruto to both be protected and the hope that he had the combined brilliance of both his absurdly powerful parents all rested on this moment.

"Naruto-kun, the only way you could possibly become Hokage was if you were able to be in two places at once," Hiruzen said with carefully calculated resignation and incredulity, "the only one that got even close was the Yondaime, and even he wasn't able to manage it despite the incredible power of his Flying Thunder God Technique."

Naruto looked down at his lap for a moment before meeting his gaze once more. "I promise you, Jiji, I will be Hokage."

"You simply don't have enough time, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen countered, pressuring and spurring the boy on, "I am aware of your Academy grades, it is highly unlikely you would be able to surpass all of the Hokage before you that have attempted such in the time before the marriage treaty will go through."

"How long do I have, Jiji," Naruto said, entirely serious and disturbingly like his father when he had informed the Hokage that he was going after Kushina and there wasn't a damn thing the Sandaime could do about it. That the boy had the foresight to deliver the message via Shadow Clone proved that there really was nothing he could do about it.

"A little over two years at the most. The future Godaime Mizukage states that she will aim to finish the battle by the time the Chūnin Exams will commence in Konoha once again," Hiruzen stated, clarifing, "the Chūnin Exams are being hosted in Konoha next month and will cycle through all of the villages every four months before returning here."

"That's more than enough time. I will figure out how to do what the Yondaime Hokage never could, believe it," Naruto said, still unnervingly serious.

Hiruzen hummed in thought for an appropriately long enough time before he pulled three scrolls from one of his desk drawers and walked around the desk to hand them over to Naruto.

"If you are truly serious about this, then you will need these. Read them carefully, Naruto-kun, and work hard and perhaps you may just prove this old man wrong," Hiruzen said, eliciting a look of surprise from the boy before he smiled in that way that tugged right at his heartstrings.

Before the boy could think about the suspicious convenience of the scrolls for the Shadow Clone Technique, Ninjutsu Creation Fundamentals by Senju Tobirama, and a copy of the latest unpublished draft of Fūinjutsu and Other Assorted Sealing Arts for Idiots by Namikaze Minato being prepared and ready for this meeting with Naruto, Hiruzen hugged the boy. Naruto reciprocated with enough strength that had him wondering if his chiropractor was shortchanging him and sent Naruto to bed to recover from such a strenuous conversation.

"G'night Jiji," Naruto said, running out of the room, the doors being hastily unsealed before Naruto could try running through them. He wouldn't succeed but that didn't mean he wouldn't try and crack both the exquisite craft and himself.

"Good night, Naruto-kun, and good luck," Hiruzen whispered after him. He hoped this gamble would work, but he contented himself that, at the very least, Naruto would be safe with the future Godaime Mizukage's arms wrapped around him.

Mei Terumī was reported to be a kind, loyal, powerful, and beautiful woman who dreamed of having a devoted husband; should Naruto fail this gamble, to surpass his father and recreate and improve the Flying Thunder God Technique under a truly ridiculous timetable, Hiruzen was sure Naruto would bounce back and shower her and a reformed Hidden Mist with enough love that they would wage war with whomever dared harm a single hair on his head. Naruto was already making such headway inside of a village that thought he was the reincarnation of a demon that slaughtered well over a thousand of their fellow residents and Hiruzen was sure that any village would be wrapped around his fingers if he didn't have that detrimental factor against him.

Yes, Hiruzen was sure of it. Naruto would surpass his father by recreating and improving the Flying Thunder God Technique and improve it to heights that would allow him to gain the seat of Hokage without question. With the addition of Shadow Clone Technique, the main reason a man of his age was able to perform the duties of his position, Naruto's success was as assured as it could be.

Naruto was not smart. He knew that, despite what he boasted to others.

He may be willing to lie and boast and argue with others about any of his deficiencies, from his height to his grades, to his terrible chakra control, and even his intelligence, but Naruto had spent enough time alone with himself to know where he lacked, at least in his own head.

However, even an idiot like him could understand what the Sandaime Hokage wanted from him. He wanted Naruto to perfect the Shadow Clone Technique.

It was obvious, even an idiot like him could see it.

After all, why else would Sandaime-jiji give him a copy of the technique scroll and tell him he needed to be in two places at once to be both a good husband to his future wife and be a good Hokage at the same time.

Naruto meant what he said to Sandaime-jiji. Naruto would be a better Hokage than the Yondaime ever could; he would never allow another child to be sacrificed, to be hated, like he was.

How could the Yondaime, the kindest and most badass of all the Hokage do something like this to him? Because of him, he grew up hated and spat upon and now his very dreams of marrying Sakura-chan and becoming Hokage were in jeopardy.

It may be too late now to marry Sakura-chan, but he would not let himself be refused the hat. He wouldn't do it for the village, and he definitely wouldn't do it for the Yondaime Hokage. He would do it for the innocent children out there that could be hated and scorned because some asshole put a demon in his stomach.

Most of all, Naruto would not let himself be used and turned into someone he was not.

The first step, of course, was to learn the Shadow Clone Technique. Surprisingly, it was a step that came easily to Naruto, not even taking until midnight that same night to get it down. Weird, he thought it would take forever, considering how bad he was at the Academy Clone Technique, but maybe he was just so awesome that he learnt cooler techniques way better than the kiddy stuff.

Naruto moved onto the second step the next morning, which, unfortunately, was the step that he was stuck on. Reading the scrolls. He found that, even with his Kage Bunshin and its cool memory feedback ability, the scrolls were really difficult.

Naruto had immediately put the fūinjutsu scroll away after trying to read through it the first time. Hokage-jiji was obviously trying to make him like and admire the Yondaime, but joke's on him, fūinjutsu hurt his head and he wasn't going to be tricked into learning it just because Naruto didn't like one of the previous Hokage. Besides, the Yondaime Hokage was supposed to be a master and it hadn't helped him, so obviously that was the wrong way to go about things.

Instead, Naruto focused on the Ninjutsu Creation Fundamentals scroll by the Nidaime Hokage. It still hurt his head to read, but it was better than the fūinjutsu scroll and it would help him in his goal.

Naruto wasn't smart, he was kind of an idiot when it came to book stuff, but he knew that the one thing he had better than anyone was stamina, and he would persevere. He would finish this stupid scroll, and he would perfect the Shadow Clone, and he would be the bestest Hokage and husband in the world, and that was that.

Chapter Text

Day 31. 435 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 598 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

Naruto's chakra control sucked.

Naruto was aware of this, at least vaguely, but the more he read and worked from the Jutsu Creation Fundamentals scroll that Hokage-jiji gave him, the realization dawned on him more clearly.

It took a week of pouring over it with the new shadow clone training method that the technique scroll mentioned to really understand all of it. Well, most of it. Okay, so maybe Naruto only got the gist of it, but it was enough for him to try some of its chakra exercises. They were meant to help the reader get a better feel for their chakra, so that they could read and analyze the chakra manipulation and transmutation of a technique.

It was surprising to learn the real reason the Nidaime created the Shadow Clone Technique was because he had trouble reducing the hand signs of his water techniques. The Nidaime needed a way to analyze the hand signs effect from an outside perspective, thus the creation of the Shadow Clone Technique. It could perform his techniques exactly, manipulating and transmuting its chakra without being tainted by the medium of elemental clones, such as the case of water clones, allowing him to better understand his techniques. The memory feedback ability just happened to make it useful for spying and scouting.

Naruto had to admit, the Nidaime Hokage was a pretty smart guy, even if he was a boring writer; never before had he wanted to bash his head into a wall as equally as he wanted a nap.

While Naruto may have gotten a general understanding of the scroll's contents – he'd actually had to re-read it more than a few times as he worked with his chakra – putting it into practice was another story. His chakra control was too poor to use the sensor technique listed and figuring out how the shadow clones were created by slowly performing the technique and reading his own chakra without the sensor technique wasn't working. It was like trying to tell the difference between different types of ants after staring at the sun for an hour; Naruto knew something was there, but his vision was blinded by the intensity and volume of the light.

Unfortunately, this took three weeks to figure out. A month had passed since his meeting with Hokage-jiji and it felt like he hadn't made any progress. This was a problem, he had less than two years, if his calculations were right; less than eighteen months, to be exact.

Naruto didn't know why Hokage-jiji said he had two years; maybe he wanted the wedding after Naruto's fifteenth birthday since he told Naruto the day after his thirteenth birthday?

No point crying over spilled ramen.

If his chakra control sucked, then he would improve it, and there was really only one person who would be willing to help him out.

Day 32. 434 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 597 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

"Absolutely not!" Iruka said with a stern expression as he stared down Naruto from behind the podium. It was after class, after everyone else had already left that Naruto had doubled back and asked Iruka if he could teach Naruto some advanced chakra control exercises. Iruka had helped him in the past, correcting Naruto's shuriken technique and his Transformation Technique, so Iruka figured that Naruto thought he would help him with this.

Naruto was wrong.

"Come on sensei, you know my chakra control stinks, I can't even do the Academy Clone right," Naruto tried again, crossing his arms and standing tall.

Iruka-sensei mirrored him from behind the podium. "I told you already Naruto, Chūnin Instructors are not allowed to teach Academy students advanced techniques and exercises outside of the curriculum. I'm sorry, I just can't do it."

Naruto deflated. Iruka was a rule follower, something Naruto knew, making this especially odd. "Please, sensei, there has to be some way to improve my chakra control."

"Naruto," Iruka-sensei said, his stance softening slightly as curiosity overtook him, "why are you so determined to learn advanced chakra control exercises? The Leaf Sticking exercise should be enough to help with the Clone Technique."

It was odd for Naruto to demand something like this. Naruto had made such demands before, quite a few of his students had, they were children after all, but they always asked for flashy things.

The Body Flicker Technique ('super fast poofy thing' were Naruto's exact words). Elemental manipulation ('big exploding fireballs'). Explosive notes ('paper bombs'). Those were a few of the things Naruto had asked about.

Advanced chakra control? Not the sort of thing Naruto had ever shown an interest in.

"Don't you think I've already tried that?" Naruto glared up at Iruka, which Iruka returned with quite a bit of hidden amusement, "No matter how much I lower my chakra output, it always blasts away." Naruto took a moment to bask in his annoyance before, surprisingly, Naruto's shoulders slumped. "Look, I can't explain why I need better chakra control, but I can't achieve my dream of being Hokage if I don't learn them immediately, and you said that teachers are supposed to help their students with their dreams."

"Teachers are meant to provide the foundation for which students can work to achieve their dreams," Iruka-sensei said sternly, "don't go misquoting me to me."

"Well, a shinobi can't become Hokage without having super good chakra control, and that's what I am asking for," Naruto rebutted, before squinting his eyes at the older man in a way that Iruka had to restrain the urge to smile at, "and didn't you say that not all students learn the same way? Seems pretty hippocratical of you to judge me as everyone else."

"Hypocritical," Iruka corrected instinctually. It was moments like this that Iruka couldn't help but have faith in Naruto.

Naruto wasn't like Shikamaru's lazy genius, Sakura's vast intellectual prowess, Shino's quiet, steadfast performance, or Sasuke's obvious training-driven genius. There were moments, however, like now, where Naruto would squint his eyes and focus, really focus, and let out some of his own odd intelligence and talent surface.

Iruka put faith in Naruto since the first time Iruka had witnessed such a moment. Naruto had thought Iruka had shortchanged him on a test and the boy broke into his apartment and coated the underside of his coffee filter with a laxative powder. When Iruka later asked why he had done such a thing, Naruto stated that he knew Iruka never left his thermos unattended and that there was no way for Naruto to slip it in at the Academy as he always checked his meals and condiments, which he probably did at home too – Iruka did – so Naruto figured the only way was the coffee filter in Iruka's apartment.

Since then, Iruka kept a special eye on Naruto. He also switched to tea and stored all his tea making equipment in an expensive blood and chakra coded storage scroll but was beside the point.

"Come on sensei, you gotta help me out here, you know no one else is going to," Naruto said, desperation and sadness leaking into his voice. More concerning was how Naruto's hand went instinctively to his stomach, something he never did before.

Did that mean Naruto knew about the Kyūbi? Did someone tell him and break the law? Most importantly, is this the reason Naruto is so desperate to improve?

Either way, the decision was out of Iruka's hands. He was not allowed to teach outside of the Academy curriculum, even if it was for a student he liked, but not his favorite, as Iruka didn't believe in favoritism.

That didn't mean there wasn't a loophole. Iruka may have given up his prankster ways and embraced the minutia of shinobi law and governance, but that didn't mean his trickster deviance was gone; he was a shinobi, after all, they didn't believe in a fair fight.

"Naruto, I, as a chūnin and an Academy Instructor, cannot teach any of my students any advanced chakra control exercises," Iruka stated in a careful tone that immediately got him a squinty-eyed look, prompting him to continue, "However, a jōnin is, technically, allowed to instruct any student who approaches them and impresses them sufficiently, which is stated in one of the subsections of the law on technique inheritance and apprenticeships."

Naruto's head tilted a bit as he processed and analyzed it in his own odd way. "Is that the one that says a shinobi needs a technique's owner's permission before they can use a technique that isn't theirs?"

"Yes, and an interesting note is that there are certain techniques that are collectively owned by the Hidden Leaf Village as a whole, meaning that all loyal Leaf shinobi can learn these techniques," Iruka said, pausing for a moment before stating, "and it just so happens that all Academy techniques and non-clan medical ninjutsu techniques and exercises fall under this banner."

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, doesn't medical ninjutsu need like, a ton of chakra control?" Naruto said with his still tilted and his eyes still squinted.

"Yes, Naruto, yes it does, which is why many chakra control exercises are owned collectively by the Hidden Leaf Village," Iruka said with a slight smile, "and it should go without saying that shinobi sent on dangerous missions, including numerous jōnin on this very day, are required to come into the hospital for biannual check-ups, all of whom are required to have excellent chakra control to earn their rank."

Iruka looked at the clock and gathered his papers as he said, "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I cannot teach you anything outside of the Academy curriculum. It is quite late, and I need to finish grading these homework assignments now if I want to get home before sunset. Have a good night, Naruto, and, unless you have the permission of a jōnin or higher, I expect you in class first thing in the morning!"

"You aren't the boss of me!" Naruto shouted back, but Iruka could hear a familiar tone of petulance that was Naruto being ornery. Iruka couldn't help but smile fondly at it as he walked down hall, hearing Naruto's running footsteps.

"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Iruka whispered to himself, "you are going to need it."

A truer statement had never been spoken. After all, when Iruka passed by the Hokage's office this morning, he had heard Might Guy's loudly protesting the Hokage's orders for medically clearance before he could take another mission. It would seem that Guy and his Eternal Rival had at least one thing in common, and their overreaction from spending any time whatsoever in the hospital would be horrible for anyone to suffer under.

None would ever accuse Iruka of favoritism, as any and all could attest that anything acquired by impressing Might Guy could never be seen as anything other than the fruit of blood, sweat, tears, and other bodily fluid-shedding hard work.

Day 33. 433 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 596 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

"Keep running, Naruto-kun! We have only begun our warm-up for igniting the Power of Youth that burns within us!" Might Guy shouted beside the whiskered youth before increasing his pace to stay just ahead of him.

"This is just the warm-up?!" Naruto barely coughed out, no doubt staring after him incredulously.

"Of course! We shall devote our all to refining the power of our fists and legs after this!" Guy said in response, earning a choked squeal from the blond behind him. "You do still wish to learn those chakra control exercises, do you not, my Youthful Companion?"

There was a moment of silence before he heard the pace of Naruto's footfalls increase and the boy overshot him with an expression of intense concentration. "Of course I want to! I made you a promise, didn't I?! Uzumaki Naruto doesn't go back on his promises, believe it!"

This wasn't Guy's fastest, not even close, but he was still surprised and very impressed with the boy's resolve. His overall performance wasn't anything to write home about, average speed and pace for an Academy student his age with an incredible stamina, but even that was running on end. No surprise there, they had spent hours running the circumference of the village walls.

What was surprising was that this was their twenty-fifth lap. Might Guy knew jōnin that would've quit long ago; they could last longer during missions, but that was with the adrenaline and urgency of life or death stakes. For training, there were few who would or could push themselves this close to their maximum speed for so long.

Neither could the blond youth, his stamina essentially depleted, and yet he still pushed himself further, eking out energy from somewhere. It wasn't the Kyūbi, Might Guy was no sensor but even he would have easily felt that.

Guy could admit, he was rather flummoxed by this situation.

The young boy had approached Guy the previous evening in the hospital and asked for training in advanced chakra control exercises, which was a surprise. Guy had seen the boy approach a number of shinobi, including Yūgao and Hayate, both turning him down, before he finally approached Guy, something most shinobi and Academy students were hesitant and doubtful to do; they may respect him, but most kept their distance, only his year mates truly understanding his ostentatious personality.

It was the fact that young Naruto asked Might Guy for advanced chakra control exercises instead of taijutsu that drove him to agree.

While Might Guy might love taijutsu above all else, it didn't mean he was useless in the other shinobi fields. His exemplary skill with nunchucks against bladed weapons, his summons, and his occasional use of subtle and overt genjutsu to confuse his opponents were often overlooked. It chafed at him when he was looked at as just a meathead after his years of hard work in the various shinobi arts, so when the young boy asked for help in something besides taijutsu, he was more than willing.

That didn't mean Guy was willing to hand things out. He struck a deal that Naruto was required to train with him for two weeks for each chakra control exercise that Guy had to offer, of which there were only a handful, but each vitally important and potentially dangerous in an untrained child's hands. Guy's original offer had been a total of one month of training, but the young boy insisted he needed it sooner, so Guy amended the agreement to two weeks before each exercise, a penalty for impatience, which the boy surprisingly accepted, despite the increase in workload.

What confused Guy was Naruto's determination, his strength of will. He truly was surprised that Naruto was showing all the signs of exhaustion and yet, somehow, he still pushed himself. There were rumors of the boy's failing grades, but this stood as a rather glaring contradiction. Even stranger was that Guy only planned to run fifteen laps with Naruto, sure that would be enough to get the boy to quit, if he made it even halfway through. This was amended when Naruto didn't seem exhausted as expected and Guy decided to test him. If Guy had to guess, young Naruto would double that before he finally passed out.

"Keep going, Naruto-kun, this is our last lap and then we shall break for lunch before we move onto the real training. Let your Youth shine for all to see!" Guy said, as he sped past Naruto. As far as Guy was concerned, Naruto had already impressed him even though there was still two weeks' worth of training left, thus he saw no need to push the boy to total exhaustion.

"Yes, Guy-sensei!" the boy said, somehow speeding up to match his pace.

Guy liked the sound of that. He truly hoped the Hokage would grant him his request for a genin team, and he knew just what test he would put his future team through.

Naruto didn't know it yet, but he placed the seeds for Neji and Tenten's future irritation and wariness and Lee's unshakeable respect and admiration.

Guy now understood why Naruto got such low grades from the Academy. While his stamina and determination were incredibly impressive, his taijutsu was underwhelming. The boy knew the basics of how to punch and kick, the Academy had certainly imposed that, but the Academy forms were a terrible fit for Naruto.

The taijutsu master had made Naruto show off his punches and kicks, making sure his form was correct, but it was when they sparred that Naruto's deficiencies showed. Naruto could perform the various Academy forms well enough, but they ran counter to the boy's instincts, draining him of his energy and power, something Naruto seemed aware of, the reason he discarded the fighting style and relied on his innate brawling style incorporated with bits and pieces of the Academy forms.

It was unrefined, with various holes, the main reason that Naruto got hit much more frequently, but it allowed Naruto the staying power behind his blows, of which there was a lot. He may be short and skinny, but his hits carried power.

"Let us take a break, my exceptionally youthful student," Guy said, earning a familiar and amusing scowl at his 'youth' comments. While he did believe in his father's youthful ideals, that didn't mean he didn't derive pleasure from inflicting his personality on others; he and his Eternal Rival were quite similar in that regard, not that either of them would ever admit it.

Naruto took the cue and promptly collapsed on his back, sprawling out on the grass and taking large huffs. Guy allowed him a moment to relax before he spoke, "Tell me, why did you abandon the Academy Style during our spar?"

"It sucks," Naruto stated immediately. How many times had Naruto had to answer that question?

"Yes and no," Guy said, earning Naruto's full attention, "I am aware of its deficiencies as well as its positives, but can you tell me what they are, at least in a general sense?"

Naruto looked confused for a moment but, after surveying his calm and inquisitive expression, an eerily familiar expression crossed the young boy's face. The squinty-eyed look was something he had seen a few times before on the boy's mother's face, most notably when he once attacked Kakashi as part of a challenge and spilled Kushina's basket of food, but the clear blue eyes were all Minato's.

While Guy intellectually knew that Naruto was the Yondaime's son, it was startling to see those hauntingly familiar eyes analyzing him. He hoped the boy didn't catch the shiver that ran up his spine.

"It's, like, restraining. I can't use it right and I feel weaker and stupid and I'm constantly worrying if I'm using it right, even if I know I am, which isn't good in a fight," Naruto said, crossing his arms in thought. He was so much like his mother, but the shades of his father's intelligence surfaced when he put in the effort.

"And the positives?" Guy asked, testing if Naruto could work out its benefits.

"It…gives me something to go off of, so I'm not swinging around randomly like an idiot," Naruto replied hesitantly.

"Exactly," Guy said with a smile, "While there is nothing inherently wrong with the Academy Style, it was designed with the intention of providing Leaf shinobi a foundation to grow from," Guy's smile turned into a frown, "Unfortunately, it fails to work for all students, and you are such a student."

Naruto nodded along with his words, seemingly understanding them, even if he frowned at Guy's comment about him.

"It is fortuitous that we have met, Naruto-kun, as I am a taijutsu master, and I can help you with your taijutsu," Guy proclaimed with a smile and a thumbs-up.

"No, thanks," Naruto said, surprising Guy, before adding hastily, "Don't get me wrong, I'd definitely like your help, but I know that jōnin are not allowed to pass on their own styles to Academy students without the Hokage's permission."

"I am surprised you know of the technique inheritance law," Guy said, his frown belying his surprise.

"Iruka-sensei lectured me when I asked for his Big Head genjutsu," Naruto said with a sheepish expression as he scratched his cheek.

"Ah, that explains it," Guy said with a hint of amusement. While Naruto was smarter than he let on, it would be odd for him to know such a thing without good reason, "regardless, you do not have to worry, as I will not be teaching you my own personal style, merely refining what you are capable of and helping adapt the Academy forms to your instincts."

Naruto looked at him again with those squinted eyes that Guy was sure would become heart attack-inducing in the future but was currently too childish for most without the personal experiences of an irate Uzumaki Kushina and temperamental Namikaze Minato. "I thought our deal was only for the chakra control exercises."

"It is, however, they also include you in my training, and taijutsu is my specialty," Guy agreed with a rare seriousness, "I never allow a fellow Leaf shinobi that I train with to have uncorrected issues in their taijutsu, and since you are stuck with me for at least two weeks, it is my duty to assist you, my youthful comrade!"

The boy stared at him unnervingly for a moment longer before he broke out into a smile. "Yosh, Guy-sensei! Let's do it!"

Guy returned the boy's enthusiasm with a smile of his own. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy these two weeks.

Day 112. 354 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 517 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

It had been two and a half months since meeting Guy-sensei, and Naruto had finally mastered all the advanced chakra control exercises Guy-sensei taught him. Well, two of them, but the last two were really difficult and Naruto at least sort of got them working.

The first chakra control exercise Guy-sensei taught him was the Tree Climbing Exercise. It had taken Naruto and his clones two days before they could moonwalk up the side of a tree. Actually, with his clones, it only took a day, the last part was learning how to moonwalk, something that he'd dared Guy-sensei to try after hearing about it from some kids and was annoyed to realize that it took Guy-sensei only ten minutes to figure it out, and that was mostly figuring out exactly what it was supposed to look like.

The second exercise was the Water Walking Exercise, which took Naruto and his clones another day, though they felt no need to moonwalk on water since they had already figured it out on land and up trees.

The last two were the challenging ones. Muscle Enhancement was the usage of chakra to enhance the power and speed of your muscles. It was reason shinobi were so strong and fast and it required fine chakra control. Most shinobi used it in two ways: bursts of chakra-enhanced speed or strength or a constant, low-level body enhancement. The Shodaime Hokage (read: his brother) deemed it too difficult and dangerous for Academy students, but Guy-sensei honored their deal by extracting a promise from Naruto to never use it in a spar until he became a genin.

Guy had started with Isolated Muscle Enhancement, the less dangerous of the two, as it focused on boosting the muscles of an isolated muscle system. Naruto could safely enhance the strength of his hand to increase his grip strength, which is why he could now snap a tree branch by simply gripping it tightly. He once extended it to his whole arm to punch a tree, creating a vast dent in it, but nearly dislocated his arm doing it. He still had a lot of work to fine tune it.

Next was Composite Muscle Enhancement, applying the same muscle boost throughout the whole body, from sharpening senses to reflexes, speed, and strength. After just a week, Naruto could double his speed and strength, but it exhausted him nearly ten times faster. No wonder it wasn't used often or to a greater degree.

Regardless of his dubious mastery of all the chakra control exercises Guy-sensei taught him, it was enough to restart his experimentation of the Shadow Clone Technique.

"Shit!"

"Damn it!"

"Son of a tapeworm-infested, swine-fucking, bitch of an Uchiha's fermented shit stain!"

It was not going well.

Aside from the constant annoyance of his clones' memories running through his head, which he couldn't ignore if he wanted to learn effectively from them, he was beginning to get frustrated at his lack of progress.

He could admit that he had made relatively decent progress. He could accurately feel the manipulation of his chakra now that he was able to perform the Chakra Sensory Enhancement Technique on himself. He could even create shadow clones without the hand sign, though it was only a one in ten chance of working successfully.

It was only a week of progress, and he knew that it would take longer, but he felt like he was falling behind his goals. Nearly four months just to occasionally succeed in seallessly creating shadow clones. Not very impressive if he wanted any chance of becoming Hokage.

There was, however, another issue.

Naruto was being watched.

He couldn't prove it, but he was sure. He noticed it first when he was learning the Tree Climbing Exercise. He'd blasted himself off a tree accidentally using too much chakra, and he swore he heard a gasp followed by the sound of someone fleeing through the surrounding woods.

This prompted a series of questions about who was watching him and their reasons, but in the end, it was too risky to be experimenting out in the open. It was only his luck that whoever watched him had revealed themselves before he made any real progress, but it left a glaring new problem.

Where was he going to find a place to train? It had to be secret, somewhere that only he knew about, but where?

Stuck with this question, he'd sent clones out under various transformations to scout out the village training grounds, city proper, and even outside of the village walls, looking for any abandoned buildings or places where he could train in private.

Until he could find a place to train in secret, he was stuck simply observing and analyzing the chakra manipulation of the Shadow Clone Technique.

Wait, could it be the problem wasn't the technique, but him? Guy-sensei had said that one of the big differences between genin and chūnin was experience, knowing what to do on a mission or in a combat situation.

Maybe the problem wasn't that he didn't understand the Shadow Clone Technique, he didn't have enough experience analyzing ninjutsu. If that was the case, then he had three other ninjutsu he could use for testing purposes, ninjutsu that whoever was watching him already knew he was capable of.

His mind made up, he went to call out to his clones, until he realized he didn't need to. Setting a plan in his head, he created and popped a shadow clone, instantly sending it to them and charged up the Chakra Sensory Enhancement Technique to watch one of his clones perform the Transformation Technique.

Hinata's heart beat furiously. A flush covered her face as she strained her Byakugan to its limits to watch the object of her admiration, Naruto-kun.

It was approaching two months since she'd nearly been caught by Naruto-kun when he had been practicing how to run up a tree with only his chakra. It was a skill that Hinata knew how to do since she was eight years old, taught to her by her father as it was necessary for the Gentle Fist. It was here that she witnessed Naruto-kun's innate brilliance and the true difference between them.

It had taken Hinata a month for her to learn the Tree Climbing Exercise and two weeks to learn the Water Walking Exercise, and yet Naruto-kun was done with them in only three days. Truly, he was as great as she had imagined. A prodigy, in his own way.

Unfortunately, it was because of this genius and her lack of own that she'd nearly been caught. Ever since she had panicked and given away her position when he was learning tree climbing, he had been paranoid and began a thorough investigation of his training grounds before he began practicing. It was only because she had the wit to use her Byakugan that she saw him doing so and prevented herself from being caught.

It got even worse when he started using those chakra network clones. She hadn't even known there were clones that were solid and had chakra networks and yet Naruto-kun could use them! He'd nearly caught her a couple times in these last two weeks, which is why she was pushing the limits of her Byakugan, so that she stayed well out of the training grounds while observing him.

Hinata knew it was wrong to keep watching Naruto-kun like this, but she didn't know what to do. He seemed annoyed, so if she revealed herself, he might hate her, but at the same time, if she revealed herself and he didn't hate her, she wouldn't know how to talk to him. She couldn't stop watching him, he was the only blotch of light in her colorless world, and she couldn't survive without him.

Her only option was to improve her stealth skills and increase the scope and duration of her Byakugan.

Day 119. 347 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 510 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

It took a week, but Naruto finally discovered the perfect location.

Training Ground Forty-Four.

It was a massive, fenced off portion of forest, with trees at least thrice the size of those everywhere else in Fire Country, insects bigger than Naruto, massive predators, and a sign that said only those willing to forfeit their lives may enter.

Maybe 'perfect' wasn't the right word for it, but the forest was massive enough that he could leave clones hiding everywhere and he would know if anyone was watching him. Plus, he left a diversion behind by sending a clone to the training ground he previously used, which would hopefully throw off his watchers, whoever they were.

It was time to begin working on the new and improved Shadow Clone Technique in earnest. He had already observed the chakra manipulation that came with the Transformation, the Chakra Sensory Enhancement, and the Substitution Techniques.

The Chakra Sensory Enhancement Technique was, despite its chakra control requirement, very simple in action. It flooded his brain and his body with chakra and acted as a temporary intensifier and focus for a shinobi's natural ability to sense chakra. It was very odd to realize the technique he had learned didn't give him the ability to sense chakra, just enhancing a shinobi's innate talent, which explained for the Nidaime's boring name for the technique.

The Substitution Technique was odd though. It took him the longest to observe because it was so quick, but he eventually understood how it worked. The technique instantly connected a thread of chakra with its switching target while sending the user hurtling away to their destination at rapid speed and using an almost pulley-like movement that drags the switching target into the place of the user.

This explained the dragging feeling that accompanied the Substitution Technique. It literally yanked the user and the connected substitution target along to their respective destinations.

It was the Transformation Technique that revealed a clue to Naruto about the Shadow Clone Technique.

The Transformation Technique was very odd in that the more chakra Naruto put into it, the more effective it became. Naruto suspected this was why his transformations were so good, it seemingly automatically accounted for his immense chakra output. If Naruto used only a little bit, something he could do now, it worked almost like an illusion, where Naruto felt generally the same while a paper-thin sheet of chakra coated his skin.

However, when he increased the chakra capacity, instead of going outwards, the chakra went inside of him, suffusing his body and reshaping it to something physically different. The more chakra he spent, the more complete and sturdy the transformation became.

This is what gave Naruto his idea. When he analyzed the Shadow Clone Technique previously, he observed his chakra created a thin transformation of his body. If anyone were to look at them or even inside of them, they would look perfect. However, like the thin coating of a low-powered transformation, if any pressure was put on a shadow clone, it would disrupt, as it lacked the solidity of a chakra-intensive transformation to provide a firm foundation and make it more durable.

If he could just figure out a way to add the chakra-intensive transformation into the formation of the shadow clone, he would have his solution. He had already tried to have a clone transform into himself, but it didn't work, as the paper-thin shell of the shadow clone changed, but not the hollow interior.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto cried out and formed a dozen clones. "Alright, men, you know what we have to do, so figure it out! Combine the damn Transformation Technique with the Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Yes, Boss!" echoed throughout the field as a horde of identical blond boys got to work.

Chapter Text

Day 129. 337 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 500 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

Naruto groaned from his seat in the back of the classroom, his body slumped over the desk, face squashed against the surface. He was stuck in the Academy, against his will, and he was bored out of his mind.

It really wasn't his choice to be in class. What importance did trajectory angles and force calculations have for a shinobi? Throw shuriken, hit target, win fight; it was a simple three step process, and yet Suzume-sensei was making it way more complicated than it needed to be.

It could not be reiterated how much he did not like the Academy, but he was here anyways. The reason was simple: the Hokage made him do it. Granted, there may have been some blame on his part, as he did get lost in the Creepy Forest, as Naruto nicknamed it, for the last week and stayed there, but he had been so close to a breakthrough when he had started that he didn't want to stop. It seemed easier for Naruto to stay in the forest and practice than travel all the way back to the village, and he even got to put his survival skills to the test, so it was an academic experience!

Unfortunately, Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji did not agree.

"Naruto, where have you been for the last week!" Iruka-sensei shouted at him, having grabbed him and body flickered him to the Hokage's office barely twenty minutes after he had re-entered the village.

"None of your business!" Naruto shouted back, both annoyed and willing to play it up. Couldn't the man let him get some ramen before dragging him up to Hokage-jiji? That was just too cruel.

"It's my business when you skip out on classes, or did you forget you're one of my students," Iruka-sensei said, shifting between anger and worry. "I excused your afternoon classes because Guy said he was training you for a bit, but you don't have that excuse now."

"What is this about Guy?" Hokage-jiji asked, having put down his pen and sat back to kindle his pipe.

"Naruto was able to convince Guy to teach him a few chakra control exercises as long as he agreed to follow his training schedule for a few weeks," Iruka-sensei said, "I figured it might help him out, so I agreed he could alternate skipping morning or afternoon classes, especially since he failed his early graduation test once again."

"Oi, you don't have to say it like that," Naruto huffed, though he wilted under Iruka-sensei's stern glare.

"However, those lessons ended well over a week ago," Iruka-sensei said, "Naruto doesn't have a reason to be skipping classes, especially for a week straight. I couldn't find you for the whole week."

"That's because I've been training in secret," Naruto replied, crossing his arms, "and don't bother asking where, because I'm not going to tell you."

Iruka-sensei looked ready to rip him a new one but thankfully Hokage-jiji decided to cut in.

"Naruto-kun, why are you training in secret?" Hokage-jiji asked, a frown on his face, "is it because of what we talked about?"

"No," Naruto immediately rejected, before thinking about it, "well, yes, but it was because someone was watching me before."

"Watching you?" Iruka-sensei said, his spine suddenly straight and his features sharp.

"Were you able to tell who, or how many, Naruto-kun?" Hokage-jiji said, his eyes narrowed.

"Sorry jiji, but I don't know about the details, but I know someone was there," Naruto shook his head before perking up, "I could hear them, and nearly caught them a couple times, but they always kept their distance and ditched it before I got there."

"That doesn't excuse you skipping classes for a week," Iruka-sensei redirected the conversation.

"Look, I got kind of caught up in my training is all, but if it makes you feel better, I'll come back to classes," Naruto offered, before adding, "so long as you don't bother me about my training."

"You need to go to classes in order to become a shinobi in the first place, you idiot!" Iruka-sensei said in an annoyed tone, "Classes are not optional."

"I said I'd show up! Lay off me old man!" Naruto shouted back.

"Old man?! I'm twenty-two! I'm not even ten years older than you!" Iruka-sensei shouted right back.

"That's still nearly twice my age, and don't think I don't see those gray hairs of yours, gramps!" Naruto rebutted.

"Who do you think gave me these gray hairs, shrimp!"

The meeting quickly devolved after that, and now Naruto was stuck in boring classes all day. The physical activities in the afternoon were all he had to look forward to but that didn't make Suzume-sensei's math lessons any easier to swallow.

Naruto wasn't sure why it was so difficult to stomach the classes now. At first, he thought it was simply impatience; he was so close to perfecting his clones. He had finally succeeded at creating his new clones, the only reason he left the Creepy Forest.

Well, sort of. Almost.

Naruto was able to mix the Transformation Technique into the Shadow Clone Technique's initial creation. The result was a clone that could take a few punches, it could even get cut open, though it didn't bleed. Unfortunately, not only could Naruto only make five at a time, but they were also incredibly chakra taxing, draining him of nearly all his chakra. They maintained an even split amongst the five clones at the expense of his own reserves being nearly emptied.

On top of that, the continuous chakra cost of maintaining these new clones was so high that the five dispersed after half a day. If Naruto had his math right, that meant that a single clone would last two and a half days. Naruto's initial idea was to send a sturdy clone to Hidden Mist every week to be the Mizukage's husband while he remained in Leaf as the Hokage, but two and a half days wasn't nearly long enough for that trip.

There was still work to be done, so it made sense that he would hate the Academy more for keeping him from it, but even when he put it out of his mind and focused on the lessons, there was still something there.

It wasn't Guy's teaching, which was Naruto's next idea. Having a one-on-one sensei giving him useful advice and teaching him by sparring with him and showing him how to do things and what not to do had certainly colored his view of the Academy, but the afternoon physical lessons didn't help alleviate his boredom and annoyance as he expected.

Naruto knew the truth, but didn't want to admit it, not even to himself. He was never the studious or smart type, nor had he ever wanted to be, so it was only natural for him to reject it: Naruto liked figuring out how to improve the Shadow Clone Technique.

Naruto loved the shinobi arts, from awesome, cool-looking kicks in taijutsu to blowing up explosive notes, not to mention performing ninjutsu, but that didn't mean he liked learning them. His difficulties with the Academy Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique were a source of great annoyance for him and he sucked at hand signs. He wanted to go out on missions and use those techniques to rescue princesses and all that other cool stuff that shinobi did.

It was difficult for Naruto to admit that he liked working with the Shadow Clone Technique. He liked analyzing it with the Chakra Sensory Enhancement Technique and figuring out what different hand signs and changes in chakra could do to the ninjutsu he was practicing. He had only started doing so because he wanted to be Hokage, but now, he was all mixed up, and it was messing with his head.

Naruto smushed his face into the desk further and tried to shut those thoughts away. They wouldn't help him with the lessons or with his chakra draining issues. He knew where he needed to get more information, but he was reluctant to do it.

The Nidaime's scroll was as difficult to read as it was invaluable for Naruto's progress, teaching him the generalities of the different chakra manipulation principles, but also depended on a bunch of prerequisite chakra theory that Naruto didn't know. The only place that Naruto would be able to read about such things was in the one place he dreaded most of all, the Leaf Common Library.

He groaned to himself before he firmed his resolve. He was going to be the Hokage, he had a deal with Hokage-jiji, and he wasn't going to let anything stop him, even himself.

That didn't mean Naruto looked forward to it.

Day 137. 329 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 492 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

Sakura kept sneaking glances behind her. It annoyed Ino quite a bit.

It would have been odd for Sakura to do so, since everyone knew of her crush on Sasuke, who was seated in front of her, but she wasn't the only one.

Hinata, Chō, Dog Breath, even that idiot Shika, and that creepy bug kid did so. Not even Ino could stop herself, though she was discreet, unlike the other idiots except for Hinata and the bug kid; they were pretty good.

Of course, Sasuke was the best of them all, so it only made sense that Ino was only barely able to catch him looking backwards for a moment when cracked his neck as cover.

The reason? That stupid Naruto.

Naruto was, if Ino was to borrow Shika's vernacular, troublesome.

Most of the time, he was an idiot. A goofball. She would almost go so far as to say a retard. She knew her parents would be equally disappointed and angry at her for saying such a thing about anyone, but Naruto often embodied it when he went around barely knowing what chakra was, failing even the most basic of geography tests, or somehow not even knowing any of the Hokages' names. How could any Leaf citizen not know who Senju Hashirama was?! It was the name of the founder of the village!

And then there were times, moments, really, where he showed himself to be something not so easily dismissible, pranks, general shouting, and all that orange aside.

Ino could remember the first time she saw such a moment. It had been a day they had focused on taijutsu in their first year and ended the class with a sparring tournament. Ino was pretty good, but she didn't have the brute force or come from a frontline clan such as the Inuzuka, so it was obvious that she would lose against Dog Breath.

What was surprising was that Naruto, a no name orphan, whom no one believed was actually from the once great Uzumaki Clan, had outlasted the boy and somehow made him surrender. That he beat Chō afterwards, even if it was by tricking him to step out of the ring, only solidified his oddity. Naturally, Sasuke defeated Naruto, as no one could compete with him, but the fact that Sasuke had been a touch out of breath was telling.

Those moments were few and far in between, but they were there. Their existence highlighted how odd, how inconsistent Naruto was, and now, he was doing it again, just when she had nearly forgotten about those moments.

It had been happening for the last four months. No one knew exactly what caused it, but he had begun skipping classes. Naruto always skipped classes, but it increased sharply in the last four months, and, the oddest and most worrying part, there hadn't been a single prank in that time. Whatever Naruto was doing, it was enough to distract him from his usual hobbies, and that was just plain weird.

There had even been a period of around two months where Naruto had skipped the mornings or afternoons, depending on the day, but that ended three weeks ago.

The real kicker was when he skipped a week of classes straight and Iruka-sensei couldn't find him. The thought that Iruka-sensei, a chūnin who had always been able to find Naruto within an hour, was unable to find him for a whole week was mind-boggling.

Naruto had finally started re-attending as of last week, but he was still being a weirdo. This entire week he would either be sleeping, trying to sleep, or fidgeting and staring off into space, and through it all, he never shouted or made any distractions whatsoever.

In a way, the attention-seeking class clown and hyperactive prankster with only half the intelligence of Akamaru not causing any disruptions was the most unnerving part of classes. For years, they were accustomed to Naruto's role as the idiotic dead last, the loud annoyance that just wouldn't shut up. Now, he was a more energetic Shika, still more visually loud what with that hideous orange tracksuit; it was funny it was now that he got the most attentive gazes.

But that wasn't what annoyed and puzzled Ino. Ino could theorize any number of reasons for Naruto quitting his flashy, irritating personality, or why he was excused from the Academy for weeks on end, or even why he stopped pranking people and stopped being so outright competitive, but there was one thing that Ino could not work out. It was the same reason that Sakura kept peeking over her shoulder.

Naruto stopped asking out Sakura.

Four months ago, Naruto walked into class, stared at Sakura for a few moments, long enough for most of the class to notice and wait for him to pop over to ask her out, but it never happened. He looked at her with a building blush, before he let out a breath and walked to the back row, choosing to sit beside the creepy bug boy where no one else often sat and stubbornly stared at the chalkboard the entire day.

It was the first deviance in his behavior, Ino remembered. Some said that Naruto got over his crush, but Ino had been trained by her clan and she knew enough of how to read people that it was obvious that Naruto – for entirely incomprehensible reasons, in Ino's entirely unbiased opinion – was still interested in Sakura. He merely stopped asking her out or interacting with her in any way.

Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect, and got Sakura, and the rest of the class, to actually notice him for the first time. Normally, this would be entirely unremarkable, but a person that asked another out nearly every day, knowing the brutal punishment they would receive, and still kept trying did not simply give up.

It was all very annoying for Ino. She did not like to devote any more time to someone other than beating Sakura and winning over Sasuke than she already had to, but her curiosity was piqued, and she, like the rest of her clan, could not let such things go without answers.

She finally snapped when Suzume-sensei called a break and Sakura, instead of huddling over to her or moving towards Sasuke, looked back at Naruto. Ino couldn't take it anymore; Sakura was her rival, not Naruto.

This needed to be settled immediately.

Ino marched up the steps, earning the attention of the entire class, though they were better than civilians and at least tried to look uninterested, except Chō, who was focused entirely on his meal, and Shika, Sakura, and Hinata, who didn't bother to try.

"That's it, fess up, idiot," Ino said, crossing her arms from beside him. The boy looked up at her, confused, no surprise there, so she expounded for the benefit of his three remaining brain cells. "You've been acting weird for the past few months, and now you're being lazier than that pineapple head over there."

Ino ignored her likely future teammate's muttering and focused her attention and irritation on the blonde in front of her.

"What are you talking about?" the idiot said idiotically. Whether he was playing it up or sincerely confused, it worked to irritate her even further.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" Ino gritted her teeth to keep from screaming those words out. She was more worked up than she liked to admit, and his idiotic face and distracting whisker marks were not helping, "I'm talking about what's gotten you to stop being such a pest! You used to shout and complain and pull pranks and now you're not doing any of that, and I want to know why."

Naruto looked at her confused for a moment longer before he suddenly looked very awkward and struggled to meet her eyes before he glanced at her nervously and began slowly, "Um, look Ino-san, I get that you're, uh, interested in me and stuff, but I can't accept."

Ino blinked. What did this idiot just say?

"I'm not saying you aren't pretty," Naruto said, his hands flat out in defense between them as he continued with a bit of panic, "not that you aren't pretty, because you are, your green eyes are like, super pretty, and you always look super scary in the cool way when you're arguing with Sakura-chan –"

Ino found herself struggling to contain her blush at the honest statement from the blond boy; she'd heard and seen comments from other boys about her looks, but Naruto had always been infatuated with Sakura so she had never imagined he would say such a thing with those earnest eyes and was entirely unprepared for it.

"– but I can't go out with you. I hope we can still be friends," Naruto finished, unaware of his effect on Ino.

There was a beat of silence before a red-faced Ino grabbed Naruto's ear and yanked him out of his seat.

"You idiot! I don't like you at all!" Ino yelled at the boy, breaking her usual calm and superior attitude. The audacity of this idiot! How dare he think she is at all interested in him. Even more than that, how did this idiot think he's worthy enough to even consider rejecting her even in the hypothetically impossibie scenario that she was interested in him?!

She was about to tell him as much, but she realized that the entire class was watching, and could see them contemplating the situation. Even her precious Sasuke-kun was looking at them! Voicing her thoughts would only make this situation worse for her, obviously not for him, so she chose to refocus.

"What I want to know is why you stopped asking Forehead Girl out!" Ino said, letting go of Naruto's ear and shoving him back in his seat, subtly angling her body away from him to artificially create more distance from them and shift her body language to be more appropriately superior and distant from her supposed crush. The glare she could practically feel coming from a certain Hyūga may have motivated her as well.

Naruto, after he was finished rubbing his recently stretched ear, looked at her with annoyance before he crossed his arms and said, "none of your business."

Ino twitched at that before she held up her fingers and made a clamping motion with her fingers. The boy looked undeterred, though she could tell he was a lot less confident now.

"Look, Forehead and I are competing for Sasuke-kun," Ino said, figuring correctly that his rival's name would irritate him, "and Forehead was more distracted with you pestering her for dates, so I want to know why I have deal with more competition."

It wasn't the entire truth, or anything close to it. It was an outright lie, one that Shika obviously caught and was sending her a smirk for which she would take out of his hide later, but it was something that Naruto would buy.

"Look, Sakura-chan and I aren't gonna get married, so there's no point in trying," Naruto whispered, though the entire classroom could hear him due to how closely they were listening.

For Ino's part, she was surprised that Naruto even knew what marriage was. He was such an idiot that she didn't think it was possible for him to even know to think that far out. Then again, he did make proclamations about being Hokage, so maybe he wasn't as much of an idiot as she initially thought. Maybe he was as much as three quarters as smart as Akamaru, though that was pushing it.

He wasn't lying, the same as when he complimented her, not that it wasn't true even if he somehow had been. This didn't make any sense.

"Why now?" Ino said. If anything, Naruto should have given up long ago. Human psychology dictated that a habit or belief held this long without changing circumstances was unlikely to change, so why did Naruto suddenly give up on Sakura after years of rejection that had previously only served to emboldened the boy. "Do you not like Forehead anymore?"

Naruto blinked at her. "What? Why would you think th-," Naruto began, before pausing for a moment and flicking his eyes towards Sakura before flicking back in Ino's direction and settling on Ino's ear, "yes, I don't like Sakura-chan anymore."

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. Even if she wasn't a born and bred Yamanaka, she could tell he was now lying; Naruto had always been an awful liar, something he must have known as he rarely did it, except this time his face was turned away enough that only she could really tell.

"Really? After all this time?" Ino pushed a little further. She was sure Naruto would dig himself into a hole with just a little more effort on her part. He was an idiot, but an honest one, and therefore stood no chance against her impressive self.

Except, when he turned, the look in his eyes and the slightly distraught slant of his smile were entirely honest. "We both know she hates me and, really, I never had a shot with her, not that it would've happened even if I did. It's better if I get used to it now than later."

Those damn blue eyes were so expressive that Ino found herself sad for him but also surprised. Everyone knew he didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell in winning over Sakura, but he had never before shown any knowledge of that fact. A conflict remained, he obviously still liked Sakura, but Ino saw more acceptance than anything else.

It was time to end this. If Ino persisted anymore, she would come across as a bully, and she did not like being called a bully. It would only hurt her reputation more on top of this whole situation, and she doubted she would get anything useful from him anyways.

"Too bad for Forehead. Without you, she'll certainly end up all alone," Ino said with a carefully calculated shrug of indifference, the mocking edge of her tone evident for all to hear.

"What was that, Ino-Pig?!" Sakura burst out, just as Ino had planned; their bickering was a perfect segue out of this infuriating interaction and would surely bolster her reputation back where it belonged.

And yet, even as she leisurely descended the steps towards her irate rival, Ino couldn't help the nagging in her mind. There was something about Naruto's final, honest statement that seemed off. She just knew that it would irritate her to no end.

"You heard me, flatty, there's no way any man would want to go out with you now that even that idiot Naruto has given up on you," Ino said, spurring Sakura on.

"Ino-Pig!" Sakura shouted as she hurtled towards her, fist already drawn back.

With any luck, this would be the perfect distraction to get that idiot off her mind.

Shikamaru couldn't help but look at Ino with annoyance. Her Yamanaka nature wasn't going to let her let this go, and he was going to get dragged into it, he just knew it.

"You okay?" Chōji said, offering him a chip to ease him.

"Just fine," Shikamaru grumbled, but nodded thankfully at the other boy and took the offering, more for Chōji's sake than his own; Chōji came from a clan where rejecting food was seen as an omen and an insult and the last thing he wanted was to worry his friend.

While Ino was good with word games, she was at her best with expressions and body language. Often, she would only half-listen to what was said to her and instinctually replied with what would elicit the reaction she was hoping for. Because of this, Shikamaru was sure that while she knew there was an oddity in Naruto's words, the sheer sincerity of his expression and body language overwhelmed her instincts.

Shinobi were almost always careful with their speech, facial expression, and body language. They were meticulous in projecting exactly what they wanted the world to see, which is what the Yamanaka specialized in.

The Yamanaka trained to detect hidden tells and irregularities in the physical body and the tone, pitch, and rhythm of the words of shinobi. They could, of course, read civilians just fine. Most people rarely spoke their truest thoughts and it was more than enough for the Yamanaka to distinguish fact from fiction.

However, an inexperienced Yamanaka often had difficulties when faced with genuine truth and sincerity. Naruto, true to his many odd quirks, was the type of person that spoke from the heart.

When Naruto made his final statement to Ino, truly speaking from the heart and acknowledging the truth of Sakura's dislike of him, she was overwhelmed and unable to process the implications of his words. Ino was just as talented as her father, but she lacked the experience he did. Watching Naruto's heartfelt emotions was like staring into the sun, blinding her instincts.

Shikamaru had no such difficulties. His entire game was seeing underneath the underneath, as his father had once grumbled about as he squinted painfully at a mission report. He glimpsed the sincerity but focused on the words and broke them down, easily able to find the two incongruent pieces that likely nagged at Ino's subconscious.

"…not that it would've happened even if I did…"

"…It's better if I get used to it now than later."

Those two statements stuck out as related and specific to something that was not Sakura. If Shikamaru had to bet, whatever had caused Naruto to give up on Sakura was most certainly connected to his increasingly withdrawn attitude.

No, not withdrawn. Shikamaru remembered the blond's attention on his lap those first few weeks as well as the ongoing frustration building until the blond finally skipped a week straight without permission. It was a targeted focus, the likes of which Shikamaru only saw from him during Naruto's matches against Sasuke or whenever the Hokage were mentioned, not that anyone would believe it since the idiot somehow forgot their names.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled to himself.

He hoped that Ino would forget about this, but he knew it was unlikely. He would have hoped that he wouldn't be dragged into it, but he knew that was even less likely, so he didn't bother putting in the meager effort of wishing for it.

Day 150. 316 days before Leaf Graduation Exam. 479 days before Leaf Chūnin Exams.

The sound of scraping metal echoed throughout the training ground forest along with grunts of effort, the scuffle of feet, and a maniacal laughter pervasive throughout it all.

"Oi, are you trying to kill me?!" Naruto said, pausing for a moment to look at his identical clone with anger. This was a mistake as another hail of shuriken came flying at him, the maniacal laughter still prevalent.

"Of course I am!" the cackling clone said, drawing another shuriken and sending it out. The single shuriken morphed into a dozen and all but the real shuriken were thrown, causing the original to scamper away, deflecting a few that he hadn't managed to fully evade. "That's the whole point of dodge practice, or have you forgotten what Guy-sensei told us?"

Naruto grimaced as he charged another burst of chakra through his legs.

Guy-sensei said that exercise and practice was good, but true experience came from combat. Unfortunately, Naruto's clones were as insane as him, thought the same way he did, and acted on those thoughts by going at him with the intention to kill him. After all, why bother with sparring when real life or death combat would work better?

The original would have applauded this forward-thinking if not for the multiplying shuriken. During one of his Shadow Clone experiments, they had finally noticed they could duplicate the objects on them. They had always been aware of it, but it was only when practicing their throwing skills that they actually paid attention. Picking up weapons was a nuisance and got them thinking. Was there a way to increase their weaponry?

It took a little less than a week, considering their expertise with shadow clones; Naruto didn't even bother using hand signs anymore.

However, the chakra drain was somehow even worse when they had to duplicate items. Clothing wasn't too bad, only a minor drain compared to the shuriken and kunai. Naruto figured their metallic and dense nature were the reason behind the heftier cost, so they made sure to disperse them as soon as possible.

They were still getting used to duplicating their weapons before throwing them to avoid having to pick up the real thing. Once perfected, they would have a limitless weapons arsenal and never again would he spend money on weapons.

At the moment, Naruto, at least the original one, was rather annoyed at himself for creating the technique. He couldn't say he regretted doing so. He was actually very pleased with himself. There was a deep satisfaction that he had only ever felt when his pranks went off with devastating results and no one ever tied it back to him. That didn't mean that having it used against him wasn't beyond annoying.

"Why are you even multiplying them? You're a clone! There's no point in cloning cloned weapons!" Naruto shouted at the cackling clone after dodging another hail of shuriken with another burst of chakra. His legs were starting to hurt, and his awesome limitless supply of weapons was not fun to be on the other side of.

"We still need to practice the technique," the unnecessarily gleeful clone stated as he unleashed a flurry of kunai, "you know our weapons aren't as sturdy or sharp as they should be."

Naruto pouted as he dodged the newest assault. The clone was right. Naruto wasn't as successful at dodging in time as he liked to believe, and the only reason that he wasn't dead was because their imperfect technique. The clone's weapons still popped after encountering a strong enough force and they weren't very sharp.

Improving his techniques was the point of his training for the day. He needed a break from experimentation before he began repeatedly bashing his head into a tree. A few of his clones were scattered around, trying to improve on his knowledge, whether it was expanding his chakra enhancement or working on getting the substitution and transformation to work without hand signs (a thing that the Nidaime was really anal about in his Jutsu Creation and Fundamentals scroll), along with that one clone of his that was trying to get himself to explode, another future innovation mentioned in the Shadow Clone Technique scroll that was never completed.

Hell, there was even a clone that was trying to read through the fūinjutsu scroll from the Yondaime. Though, between his head spinning at everything involved and his dislike for the Yondaime, there wasn't much progress beyond replicating the storage seal, the most basic of beginner seals.

It was also why the clone harassing him and the ones working on expanding chakra enhancement were transformation clones, as he had named the sturdier variant he created. He knew from experience that all his ninjutsu got better the more he used them, so he put it into practice and could already feel the chakra drain lowering, though not enough for him to think that Hokage-jiji would accept them.

He was broken from his musing when his clone threw another arsenal of weapons, both kunai and shuriken mixed together. He sent another burst of chakra through his legs but instead of speeding away, they spasmed in pain; his chakra control had gotten sloppy enough that his enhancement damaged his muscles. This was why so few shinobi pushed this method beyond their normal limits and focused on physical exercise to enhance their strength and speed. More importantly, it meant that he was locked in a vulnerable position as a rain of weapons soared towards him.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted at his clone, kunai in hand to deflect the projectiles.

"Shit!" his clone called out as he panicked but understood the situation.

The kunai and shuriken began dispersing midair, but a few stragglers made it to him. Naruto deflected most, but a few grazed him, one nipping at his fingers, though only enough to draw blood and not amputate the appendages.

Feeling the dripping blood on his hands, Naruto's snapped up at the clone and growled. He was going to kick that little shit's ass.

His clone, being the same person, easily recognized his mood and did the only thing he could think of. He dispersed himself.

"Oh no, you are not getting out of this!" Naruto shouted as he formed the hand signs for the sturdier clone, ignoring the blood on his hands. However, when he performed the technique, something peculiar occurred.

There was a pulling sensation within him, one that he was accustomed to from ninjutsu, but for both the Shadow Clone Technique and the Transformation Clone Technique, this was unusual. Those two techniques divided his chakra. The Transformation Clone Technique had a little bit of this pulling sensation, but not anywhere to this extent.

Naruto figured it out when he noticed the most shocking difference. The blood on his hand and the various places he had been cut floated off him and joined the swirl of chakra where his clone was forming. The blood mixed with the nearly invisible chakra, illuminating it in a very disturbing manner before it stabilized, and the clone emerged.

"Look, Boss, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you up, I swear," the clone pleaded. He already knew why it had been created and clapped his hands in front of him in apology, "I tried to dispel them, I swear, I just wasn't fast enough, that's all!"

Naruto, however, couldn't care less about that anymore. What he was focused on was the clone in front of him. Naruto knew it was fundamentally different than his Transformation Clone Technique, though he had no idea why.

"Boss? You okay?" the Naruto clone asked, peering up past his hands.

The original stood up with a grunt and walked over to the clone, drawing a kunai from his pouch.

"Oi, don't do this! This would be murder, or suicide, or murder suicide," the clone panicked as the original stalking towards him with a blade before he got distracted by his own words. "You know, this might be the most appropriate use of the term 'murder suicide' in, like, all of history."

The original ignored him and grabbed ahold of one of his clone's hands. The clone immediately tried to struggle, but it was too late as the original already swiped the kunai against his palm.

"What the hell ma-," the clone began before trailing off, his eyes, along with all the other clones around him, were riveted on the slash on his grasped hand.

Blood dripped out. Precious, life-giving crimson fluid flowed from the wound.

"I'm bleeding," the clone stated breathlessly, unable to take his eyes away from his wound.

"You are," Naruto stated, gaze locked onto the dripping red fluid.

"But I can't bleed," the clone stated, more in confusion than certainty.

"Transformation clones can't bleed," Naruto corrected. It was another failure of the Transformation Clone Technique. It was so wholly made of chakra that it was impossible for it to bleed. Wounds opened on the chakra constructs, but they would not spill blood. They would eventually close, mimicking the healing process, but there would be no scars or markings.

"How the hell am I bleeding?" the clone said with confused awe.

"How's your chakra? How bad is the drain?" Naruto immediately asked.

"Um, not too bad," the clone stated, furrowing his brow, a look of shock appearing a moment later. "Actually, I can barely feel the drain, if there is a drain at all! I feel like I could go for weeks, maybe even months!"

Naruto remained silent at that, still staring at the bleeding hand that slowly healed. A moment later, he yanked his clone's hand high into the sky and screamed.

"Yatta! We did it! We fucking did it!" Naruto shouted with unrestrained joy, uncaring who heard him. Five months, nearly five months of hard work, and he was finally able to succeed. His clones got caught up in his excitement as it dawned on them as well and began hooting and hollering. Some danced weird jigs or hopped around like him, while others collapsed onto the ground and spread out with immeasurable happiness and relief.

"Blood! That was all we needed, who would have thought!" one of the clones said in happy disbelief.

"I know, right? Like, what the hell?" another clone said, equally confused but no less joyful.

"I say we stab the Boss more often since it seems to solve our problems," one of the clones shouted out, earning teasing jeers of agreement from the horde.

"I'm so happy right now that I'm going to ignore your murdery-suicidal thoughts," Naruto, the original, said, with a wide, uncaring smile. He didn't like being put down by people, especially himself, but what did that matter in this moment? "We are going to be Hokage, believe it!"

It was at that moment that one of the clones' voices cut through the celebrations by stating, "No, we aren't."

The suddenly angry horde turned towards the dissenting voice. Such pessimism was unsuitable of them, especially in a time like this, possibly the happiest, most satisfied, and most successful moment Naruto ever felt. Disagreement from himself was acceptable in certain situations, but not in this one. It was simply intolerable, a betrayal even; the offending clone needed his face kicked in, immediately.

"What was that, punk!?"

"Shut it, party pooper!"

"We have a no bastards policy here!"

"Come over here and say that!"

"Enough!" Naruto cut through his clones' arguments. He was in charge and, as much as it pained him to do this, he needed to listen to his clones. That was what Hokage-jiji did for him, even if the man had held out on him for so long.

The clones immediately shut up. There were still a few grumbles and glares, but they knew better than to go against the Boss when he was acting all Hokage-like.

It was perhaps a bit pretentious, but Naruto was going to be Hokage one day, so he may as well get into the habit of acting like one.

Well, in front of his clones, and only when it was really needed. He didn't want to become all stuffy and boring.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked his clone. He was giving himself some leeway here, but he couldn't say he wasn't pissed as well. This was the best thing that happened in his entire life, the first time he could say he truly accomplished something that no one else had. Not a single one of the Hokage had been able to, even that genius Yondaime. The Yondaime might be an asshole that Naruto hated from the bottom of his heart for what he had done to Naruto, but even he recognized the man's genius.

"We still haven't tested the technique. We need to know how long it will last, whether we can use all our jutsu, how much it can bl-," the clone started before cutting himself off with an irritated expression and facepalmed. "This is taking too long."

With that, the clone promptly dispersed, and they all understood what he was thinking. They couldn't claim the technique was complete until they were able to test it out in its entirety. It didn't cut their jubilation, only curbed it with the knowledge of what they still needed to do.

"Alright clones, you know what we need to do, so let's get to it!" Naruto shouted to the clearing. "Blood clone, I want you testing out all of our techniques and I want to see how much damage you can take while I try to create more of you, and I want sensors watching us the whole time, no goofing off or getting distracted!"

"Yosh!" the horde shouted back and settled into safe positions for them to observe.

Naruto couldn't contain his smile even if he wanted to. He was close, close enough to taste it. He was going to be a great Hokage and a great husband, and go down in history as the greatest Hokage of them all.