Chapter 13

Naruto simply ignored her as he stared into Kakashi's eye, awaiting the answer to his question. Kakashi mentally shivered but said, "Alright, I need to talk to Naruto. Sakura-chan, Sasuke, please head to the Hokage tower and wait for us so we can pick up our mission for the day." he turned to them and eye smiled as he mentally prepared himself for this talk. His tone of voice was polite but it was an order.

Sakura's face lit up as she heard she would be alone with her crush, it was slightly dampened by the annoyance she felt towards Naruto. Though she found him an annoyance, she did wonder what would possess him to leave their training early, he had always been one to love training, always asking for more. But she quickly brushed that aside as she nodded to her sensei before turning and looking for Sasuke, only to find he had already started walking away from the bridge.

Sasuke didn't wait around. He was glad to escape such a gaze, had it registered that it was Naruto who was the owner of said gaze, he might have become angry but the reappearance of those memories kept him from realizing this fact, and so he simply escaped so he could sort out his confused thoughts.

As his two teammates left, Naruto's icy blue eyes seemed to regain their usual brightness as he leaned against the bridge's railing and looked over the river underneath their bridge. He didn't look up at his sensei as Kakashi leaned against the rail next to him. Naruto's mind was in turmoil. He couldn't believe how his teammates treated him! He had greeted them happily and they had ignored him, in Sasuke's case, or beat him before berating him, in Sakura's case. Neither of them checked to see if it might have been something wrong, as people who care about others usually did. Neither of them even thought he might have a good reason for walking off, regardless of the fact he didn't, it was the principle of the matter. His eyes stung as tears threatened to come to his eyes, but he blinked them back. Naruto's resolve was set in stone before Kakashi even spoke, he would never attempt to help his teammates, outside of practice, again.

Kakashi sighed as he stood next to Naruto. He couldn't tell what the blonde was thinking and it scared him. He was usually a good reader. He could almost always tell what a person was feeling or the direction of their thoughts, when he had gotten the sharingan it had only improved his already keen insight. This was the reason he was able to fight S-rank Ninja. The reason he was S-rank himself when he used his sharingan. But this Naruto had somehow managed to go from a complete open book two days ago, to an unreadable ninja in the same time. Kakashi looked down, saddened that this had happened but he knew he needed to speak with Naruto for this team to work.

"Naruto." Kakashi began slowly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Naruto didn't even look up as he answered his sensei in a fake happy voice that almost had Kakashi fooled, "Nothing Kakashi-sensei! What did you want to speak about?"

Kakashi wasn't fooled, he could see something was bothering Naruto and it was affecting the team's teamwork he sighed before standing away from the railing and facing Naruto with the full force of his presence bearing down on his student, "Naruto, whatever is happening with you has been affecting the team's efficiency and ability to work together." Kakashi stated in a firm tone, the first time Naruto had seen him be serious about something. Still, Naruto did not look up at his sensei as he contemplated what Kakashi was saying, "I try to keep from invading your personal lives but when it comes to this team, you need to be able to work with your teammates and obviously, something from your life is affecting that. I need you to tell me what that is." Kakashi said. Still, Naruto would not look up.

Naruto heard everything that his sensei was saying but he was mentally screaming in his head, "This isn't a team and you do not teach us anything!" as his mind replayed the events on the bridge for the past two days. He cringed slightly when he thought of the overwhelming sense of hate that had emanated from himself when Sakura had reached out to touch him again. He, somehow, knew he had tapped into that forbidden and evil chakra laying dormant inside him. He shivered as he thought of the unrestrained bloodlust that had engulfed him when he had only barely touched the vast ocean that was Kyuubi. Though he had managed to keep a lid on the feelings so his team wouldn't see or sense anything, he had bore the full brunt of the feeling. That was why he could almost shrug off Kakashi's presence even while he was standing so close to him. The lingering feeling of Kyuubi's oppressive nature overshadowing anything his sensei could provide.

Kakashi waited for Naruto to answer, but when there was no visible affect of his words, Kakashi resorted to something he had hoped never to use against the blonde, "Naruto." he stated his voice firm and carrying a tone of authority that had not been there before, the tone of an ANBU captain, "I am going to have to suspend your ninja license if you can not tell me what is wrong," Here, Naruto's air of fake happiness and restrained disappointment turned to one of shock, Naruto could not see the frown on Kakashi' face, "It will be suspended until such a time that a mental fortitude test can be taken and a ninja psychiatrist has deemed you fit to return to duty. Your attack on your comrade earlier today shows that you need help and if you are not willing to talk to me then I must, as your sensei, protect you and my other students." he said.

Naruto finally turned to look at his sensei, his eyes still had that shine from before but Kakashi could see the hint of icy blue beneath them. Naruto stared into Kakashi's lone eye for a few seconds before his eyes turned icy cold again and Kakashi mentally cringed, "Wrong move Kakashi." he thought to himself.

"Team?" Naruto stated incredulously, "This is no team Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi's eye widened, "If I am to be brought to the psychiatrist then Sakura should be sent for repeatedly attacking me outside of a spar and the Uchiha should be sent on counts of insubordination as he constantly ignores you." Naruto said in a odd voice. "Our teamwork is horrible but you already knew that didn't you?" he questioned rhetorically, "You are even worse," Naruto said while pointing at Kakashi, "you don't teach us anything and you expect us to work together simply because we were put on the same team," Kakashi's eye hardened, but Naruto didn't seem to notice, "I will no longer attempt to make friends with my teammates," Kakashi's eye widened slightly but the fierce gleam in his eye told anyone that he would have words about this, "They do not want my friendship, during missions and team exercises I will attempt to work together but outside of that, this team is dead and it is a disappointment to the Will of Fire Jiji speaks of." Naruto said as he glared into his sensei's shocked eyes.

Naruto blinked and his eyes seemed to lose some of it's icyness. He looked shocked that he had said everything he did but he shrugged it off before nodding his head and turning to walk away.

Kakashi looked down, saddened that Naruto actually thought that. But he was adamant that his teaching methods were the correct path. Their teamwork needs the most work and he was going to make sure that they worked as a cohesive unit when working on missions. His eye picked out Naruto as he vanished into the crowd of people heading to the Hokage tower. He shook his head, deciding to consult the Hokage before making any further decisions regarding Naruto. He disappeared in a swirl of leaves to meet his team at the Tower for their mission.

(Scene Break)

Naruto plastered a big smile on his face as he walked towards the Hokage Tower leaving his sensei behind. He didn't know why he said all those things. He had no idea he even thought that until just now when he voiced them. He mentally frowned as he realized that he had not actually contemplated saying those things until Kakashi had threatened him. Despite this, he could not figure out why he had said such hurtful things. His team may not be perfect but they were still decent companions when they were forced to work together right?

"You know exactly why you said those things Naruto." an ethereal voice whispered to Naruto. Naruto stopped and his eyes unfocused as he was caught by surprise. He looked around swiftly, his blonde locks swishing in the air as he tried to find the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" he asked quietly. His eyes darted around trying to find his opponent, "Show yourself!" he almost yelled drawing the glares of the populous to him. Naruto immediately looked sheepish from all of the glares and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he smiled at them all. Most just scoffed and muttered under their breath before continuing their walk. The others continued to glare at him as he started to walk again.

Naruto walked through the village with little care in the world as the incident with the voice had been written off as Naruto's lack of sleep because he was getting up earlier than normal for practices. Naruto continued towards the Hokage Tower, completely ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that sounded like it let go an exasperated sigh.

(Scene Break)

Naruto walked onto Training ground 7 with a smile on his face as he noticed that Shikamaru was already there. He put the horrible D rank mission behind him. His team had been forced to capture Tora the cat again and they had spent most of the day attempting to catch it. Oddly enough, Naruto had been the one to capture Tora, and upon petting the demonic kitten, the thing had turned into a motorboat as it purred all the way to the Hokage Tower while sitting docilely in Naruto's arms.

True to his word, Naruto had worked well with his teammates, at least as well as was possible with their current teamwork, and the mission had gone rather smoothly. Kakashi had seemed mildly shocked but still not happy. Naruto had all but crushed his loudmouth nature next to his teammates through sheer willpower alone. It had created an awkward tension between the team but they had worked together nonetheless. Naruto couldn't be happier.

As Naruto drew closer however, his smile faded as he saw a pile of books sitting next to Shikamaru. By the time he was near Shikamaru he was eyeing the books with a wary eye as he greeted his friend, whose amused expression did not bode well for Naruto. "Konnichiwa Shikamaru." Naruto greeted loudly as he grinned happily despite the growing feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Konnichiwa Naruto." Shikamaru said in his usual lazy drawl. He withheld the smirk that threatened to come to his lips as he saw Naruto eye the pile of books beside him with disdain. He knew Naruto was not very good at reading books but he had made sure, after a long talk with his parent's about what he could remove from their library, the books were fairly easy on the comprehension needed. "I brought you a few things I thought you might like." he said to Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened and he started to jump on the balls of his feet, "Ne ne, is it some cool jutsu that we can use to burn those books?" he said while pointing at Shikamaru's pile of books. Naruto's smile was ear splitting.

Shikamaru sweatdropped, "How can he be so serious and down to Konoha one moment while being completely out the village the next?" he questioned to himself before looking at Naruto and shaking his head, "No," he said which prompted Naruto to stand still and begin to glare at the books. "I brought you some books on what I think would help you immensely." he said.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru with a full on pout, "Mou! But I hate reading!" he complained.

Shikamaru sighed and with a muttered "troublesome" began to hand each book over to Naruto one at a time as he watched Naruto grab them reluctantly.

Shinobi Rules

Basic Chakra Control + Advanced methods for those with large reserves

History of Konoha

How to train

Genjutsu for beginners

Were the five books that Shikamaru handed to him. Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at them. He opened his mouth and exclaimed, "What would I need History of Konoha for?" he asked, "History won't teach me how to be a better ninja." he exclaimed.

Shikamaru almost frowned but replied, "It will teach you how to use that mind of yours Naruto." he said while chuckling at his own joke, Naruto pouted.

"I can do just fine without this thanks!" he said as he was about to hand the book back, Shikamaru decided to play his trump card.

"But did you know there was a passage about a clan named Uzumaki?" he asked quietly. He knew Naruto did not know who his parents were, as such he was hesitant to bring up the information. He shouldn't have been worried as Naruto's eyes widened and he almost dropped the book before trying to rush through the pages to look at his own clan. Shikamaru smiled slightly as he knew Naruto would be interested then. He looked on as Naruto almost tore a page out of the book and decided to stop his frenzy, "I know you're eager Naruto but there are some other books, besides you get to keep these." he said while smirking.

Naruto's face lit up like a light bulb when he heard he owned something his friend had given to him. He smiled broadly at Shikamaru, his book left laying in his hands as he thanked his friend. "Arigatou, Shikamaru." Naruto said.

Shikamaru nodded and waved at the other books, "Any other questions?" he asked lazily as he slouched down and could feel the need for cloud watching reappear.

Naruto looked at the rest of them before saying, "What's this about genjutsu?" he asked which caused Shikamaru's bored expression to go right back to interested, "I want to blow someone up not try to get into their brains!" he complained loudly.

Shikamaru merely leaned back against a tree trunk and said, "This is probably the best branch of Shinobi arts you can use Naruto." he said. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he replied.

"Nuh uh!" he said, "Jiji said that I would be perfect for ninjutsu."

Shikamaru nodded his head, acceding to the old man's point but disagreed, "Naruto, your mind is a veritable maze of crazy ideas. As a result, you are not the smartest of us." he said drawing a pout from Naruto. "However, when the going gets tough you always seem to come up with some plan or some action that manages to bring you to complete your task better than anyone else can." he explained as he finally looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "Genjutsu would be the perfect area for you as you would be able to create your own jutsu." he explained. Naruto's face had gone from pouting to excitement at hearing him make his own jutsu. "On top of that, with all of your ideas, you would be the most versatile shinobi since the Yondaime Hokage." Naruto's eyes widened.

Time for the icing on the cake, "Plus, so few people think that genjutsu is any good..." he started drawing Naruto's attention back to him from his excitement, "It is said that being a genjutsu master is a waste of time and that only the weakest of shinobi would study this." Shikamaru said drawing a thoughtful look from Naruto, "It is said that to be a master of illusions would be a waste of time and that anyone could beat them. No one ever takes genjutsu seriously." Naruto frowned about to ask why he should even try it then, "So, imagine what everyone would think when you manage to be the most powerful ninja in this village with a specialization in something that everyone else sees as worthless?" Shikamaru finished with a smirk on his face, knowing that would stoke Naruto's flames.

Shikamaru knew Naruto craved acknowledgement. From everything Naruto had told him, he had easily picked out that aspect of Naruto. So, he knew that phrasing his explanation about why genjutsu would be the perfect way to get Naruto to take it up. He was not lying and trying to make him use the wrong branch of jutsu, he truly believed that Naruto would be perfect with genjutsu. His extremely analytical mind while within combat would be an asset to any aspiring genjutsu users. Additionally, Naruto's pranks showed that he had a creative mind and this would put that creativity to use instead of it being squandered by preset ninjutsus that Naruto would be consistently firing off. On top of all of that, Naruto's stealth was phenomenal. If Naruto used his stealth in combination with even a basic sense altering genjutsu, Naruto would be one of the greatest assassins the world had ever seen.

Knowing Naruto would crave acknowledgement, Shikamaru planned to make him a genjutsu master on par with Yuuhi Kurenai. He knew that taking advantage of Naruto's craving for acknowledgement might be considered unfriendly, but Shikamaru was using it to Naruto's own advantage as, if he was useful with genjutsu, then any ninjutsu he learned would be excess as he wouldn't have to rely on them as most ninja did. He was hoping to make Naruto into an unstoppable force on the battelfield and help him achieve his goal of being Hokage. Shikamaru was smart enough to know that Naruto's natural charisma, which had managed to spark his own curiousity, would benefit Konoha best from within the Hokage position. That is not to say he was doing this for Konoha. Naruto wished it and it just so happened to coincide nicely for Konoha's future, should Naruto decide to give up on being Hokage, Shikamaru would support his decision. After all, Shikamaru was more of a friend than he would ever be a shinobi.

Naruto's eyes roared with a fire from within him as he looked at Shikamaru's smirk. "They don't think that genjutsu is any good?" he stated incredulously, "I'll show them!" he proclaimed as he raised his fist to the air, "I will become a master of genjutsu and then become Hokage to show them all that genjutsu isn't worthless!" he shouted.

Shikamaru leaned back and smiled a lazy smile, "Then I guess you have no more questions about those books?" he asked. Naruto looked back at Shikamaru and grinned foxily.

"Nope. Arigatou Shikamaru!" he said loudly. Shikamaru simply nodded lazily.

"If you need anymore books Naruto, just ask." he said before starting to walk away. "You can come eat dinner anytime at my house, my troublesome mother has invited you." he said as he left the training grounds.

Naruto smiled and looked down at his books. He was eager to read about his clan but the genjutsu book as well, "Kurenai-san is a master of genjutsu. I wonder if..." he thought to himself, "Nah, she already denied me. I will train by myself. Besides, she has her own team. I will prove that Genjutsu is useful." That was part of the reason he had agreed with Shikamaru at the end of his speech, unknown to the boy himself. Naruto had remembered that Kurenai was a master of genjutsu and he would be damned if her art was looked down upon. Naruto suddenly smiled foxily, his mind already coming up with different ways to use illusions. After all, this was the same mind that came up with the Oiroke no Jutsu.