19

Itachi – Uchiha Itachi here with the newest chapter of PHD. Kisame would not be able to join us this time, he's still a little freaked by chapter 473 of the manga. So accompanying me today is Rock Lee.

Lee – Yosh! I'm really happy to be here Itachi-san!

Itachi – Happy to have you. First we will like to apologize for how long it took for this update.

Lee – Phoenixsun has been trying to finish this chapter since October, we never expected that he'll have so many problems.

Itachi – Also, there is the results from the poll concerning the rewrite of the first chapters…

Lee – The results are that…

Itachi – (Cuts in) We'lll leave the results until the end of the chapter.

Lee – But…!

Itachi – Let it go, Lee. In the meantime, here is PHD's chapter 19…

A Matter of Control

"Remember what I said, Naruto-kun…Become stronger." Itachi added before the two Akatsuki members disappeared.

Naruto gritted his teeth and tightened his fist at his failure before returning to his task of reaching his comrade. "Sasuke…Are you alright…?" He asked as he shook his friend's body, but got no respond.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" Kakashi's shouts were growing louder and hurried footsteps could be heard.

Turning on his back, the blond Jinchuuriki glared at the sky. "Damn it…" He cursed. "I am not strong enough…I'm not strong at all…!" Naruto managed to shout before his strength finally gave up and his world turned into darkness.

The absoluteness of the darkness was comforting, Naruto bitterly realized. Right now, it was the perfect place for the beaten Jinchuuriki to hide his shame. He felt that he could simply give up and drift through the oblivion of darkness forever, without having to face the harsh reality that the light fell upon.

"You have to give in to that thirst for power…"

Naruto gritted his teeth as the voice broke through the darkness.

"…If you truly want to become stronger."

Itachi's words resonated, disturbing, what would be, the blonde's peaceful respite.

"Heheheh… That Uchiha truly did a number on you." Kyuubi's voice suddenly cut in, causing his host the frown. The boy was in no mood to deal with the fox at the moment. "Now this is more like it… This feeling of helplessness and defeat suits you better, Kit. Hahahah!"

The young Leaf nin try to push the Bijuu's words away. The genin just wanted to be left alone so he could pretend he wasn't as weak as he felt at the moment.

Ignoring the boy's distress, the fox continued. "But you know… That Uchiha spoke the true." Kyuubi's mocking tone was replaced by a serious one. "During the last couple of months, your growth as a shinobi has been nothing short of exceptional." The fox said in one of his rare complements. "But you are still nothing compared to the monsters that are out there. Hell, you are not even worthy to escape the sun in your father's shadow."

The Jinchuuriki continued to grit his teeth to the point pain spread from his jaw. "Then what the hell am I suppose to do?!" The boy roared. "Follow Itachi's advice and selfishly seek more power at the expenses of everyone else?!

"It is not a bad idea…" The Bijuu pointed out. "That man's strength is almost as terrifying as the founder of the Uchiha clan, and I for one would not mind my vessel commanding such power." Kyuubi admitted. "But…" The fox began again. "I can assure you that there are other paths that you can follow in your search for power."

Naruto's eyes snapped open in the darkness. "What do you mean…?" The genin asked.

A couple of moment of silence followed before the Bijuu answered. "If Kami truly does exist, he must have been bored the day that you were born." Kyuubi started explaining. "You are the convergence point for so many forces that should have never met. I am a particularly curious, and somewhat wary, of the potential for growth that you posses."

The blonde's eyes frowned at the explanation, unsure if the fox's comment was a praise or an insult, though he was leaning towards the latter. "But that doesn't tell me anything." He stated. "How else can I become stronger?"

Kyuubi's booming laughter answered. "Hahahah… If I were to tell you, then how would that be funny for me?" The Bijuu teased. "You just wait, soon your true role will be revealed."

"And what do you mean by that?!" Naruto shouted, already losing his temper. "What role?! What are you talking about?! Tell me, Kyuubi!" The Jinchuuriki called out in desperation, but received no answer. "Tell me! Tell me! How do I become stronger?!" The young man pleaded.

The darkness did not feel welcoming anymore; instead it suffocated and irritated the genin. Now he wanted out, he wanted to return to the blinding light that shined over all of his flaws so the he could fix them and finally get rid of them.

Still, the fox refused to answer his pleads and remained silent.

"Tell me, damn it…" Naruto tightened his fist until he could field the streaks of blood running through his fingers. A surging feeling suddenly exploded inside the Jinchuuriki's body, swelling up and overwhelming his body. "Tell me!"

Light suddenly rushed into the blonde's eyes as he felt his world going vertical once more.

"Yosh! I didn't know you wanted to learn my exercise regimen that badly, Naruto-kun." A voice cut through the brightness.

Shaking away the nauseous feelings of exhaustion, Naruto's eyes started to make out the forms around. It did not take long for the Leaf genin to realize he was in one of many dull and depressing rooms in the Konoha Hospital.

As he scanned through the room, the Jinchuuriki's gaze fell on the older boy seating by his bed. The usual vibrant smile adorned Rock Lee's face as he sat wearing a hospital robe and a set of crutches lied on his side.

"What… What happened…?" Naruto asked the older boy.

The taijutsu user looked confusingly at his fellow dead-last. "Don't you remember, Naruto-kun?" He wondered before explaining. "Gai-sensei and the others brought you here to the hospital. It seems that you were left in pretty bad shape after a big fight."

Naruto remained silent for a couple of seconds considering the black haired boy's words. "Yes…" The Sharingan user finally said. The images of his second encounter with Uchiha Itachi were far too clear in the Jinchuuriki's mind, and the mere memory of them caused his fist to tighten out of reflexes.

"You have been out cold." Lee continued. "So I tried seeing if maybe you would wake up if someone talked to you. Went I was getting to my daily training, you suddenly started screaming at me to tell you."

By now the memories of fight ran so wild inside the blonde's head that he could barely register his comrade's words. Managing to push back images of Itachi's haunting gaze, Naruto took a deep breath. "How long was I out?" He asked.

Lee took a couple of second to think. "Well... You were brought here on Kakashi-san's back yesterday after noon…" He commented. "And is almost noon today, so about nineteen hours." The young man answered with a smile. "We saw you been brought in and decided to keep you company, and I guess we ended up spending the night without realizing."

The Jinchuuriki tilted his head. "'We'?" Suddenly, the Sharingan user felt something stir by his side. Looking down, Naruto could not stop a smile from forming at the sight.

A blue haired girl seemingly slept with her head resting just by the blonde's pillow.

"Hmm…" Hinata stirred slightly before her head slowly started to rise from the hospital mattress.

Naruto watched with a mix of curiosity and amusement as the Hyuga drowsily looked from Lee to the, very awake, blond.

The black haired boy smiled brightly. "Yosh, Hinata-san! You are really a heavy sleeper; Naruto-kun has been awake for a while now." The taijutsu user nonchalantly commented.

The kunoichi's face immediately took and impressive blush as she gazed at the spiky haired boy in front of her. "Na... Naruto-kun… I was… Yesterday I was… Neji-nii… And then they brought you here… And I just…" She seemed unable to neither complete a sentence nor look away from the boy's sapphire eyes. "I… I mean, how are you feeling, Naruto-kun?" The girl managed to ask.

The Jinchuuriki smiled. "Much better than yesterday, thanks for asking." He answered warmly.

Hinata smiled back at blond. "I am so glad, Naruto-kun…" She stated as she continued to gaze adoringly at the pair of azure orbs. Realizing that she had been staring, the Hyuga immediately stood up as her blush returned with a vengeance. "I… I have to go see Neji-niisan, sorry…" The Byakugan user excused herself before swiftly escaping the room.

Naruto tenderly watched the young Hyuga as she disappeared from his line of sight.

"Ok! See you later, Hinata-san!" Lee called out from his seat, completely oblivious of the girl's distress.

Sighing, the Sharingan user forced his way out of the bed sheets and off the mattress. The moment his weight fell on his legs, the blond could feel his body screaming to lie back down as the exhaustion forcibly reminded the genin of its presences.

Lee look at the spiky haired boy. "You shouldn't overexert yourself. Both of you were admitted here with severe chakra exhaustion. Truthfully, I'm surprise that you were able to wake up so soon." The older boy explained.

The blond nodded in agreement before his eyes suddenly widened. "Sasuke!" The Jinchuuriki exclaimed. "Where is Sasuke?!"

The taijutsu user bit his lip as he took a couple of seconds pondering. Without looking at Naruto, Lee stood up with his crutches and moved towards the door. "Intensive Care…" The normally energetic genin said softly. "Follow me, I'll take you there…" He stated before crossing the threshold.

Naruto silently followed the older boy through the hospital's halls. Each moment that the youthful genin remained quiet increased the blonde's worry.

"When they brought the two of you in…" Lee finally began, breaking the silence. "Both of you were covered in bruises and you chakra was alarmingly depleted…" He explained while keeping his eyes up ahead. "You were completely unconscious and unmoving, but Sasuke-kun… Sasuke-kun's body was shaking uncontrollably. The medics said he was in the worse condition out of the two of you."

The Jinchuuriki's eyes were downcast. Only Kami knew what Itachi had shown his younger brother in the Tsukuyomi world. Flashes of his own experience in the wrong side of the genjutsu coursed through his mind, causing the boy's fist to tighten.

Lee finally turned around to look at the younger shinobi. "Though now that I think about…" He eyed the spiky haired boy. "Most of your wounds have healed." Naruto's body immediately tensed up, but any worry that might risen was put to ease when the taijutsu user suddenly smile. "I guess you must have a very youthful spirit." The genin stated.

The Sharingan user managed to return the smile. "You are welcome…" The boy heard a certain Bijuu said as he and Lee reached the end of the hall and turned left.

"It's just at the end of this hall." Lee informed as he pointed forward.

Looking at the door that the older boy was pointing at, Naruto was taken back when a pink blur passed from the hall adjacent to the door and entered. The two young men simply glanced at each other before continuing on their way.

Right before they reached the door, a bright smile replaced Lee's troubled expression. "Sakura-san! I'm so happy to see you!" The black haired boy exclaimed as he looked inside the room.

Immediately, the kunoichi inside gave a slight jolt. She turned around and her gaze, which was previously set on the body lying on the bed, fell on the two boys. "Na… Naruto! Lee-san!" Sakura said in surprise. The girl's eyes shifted from one teenager to the other before they settled on the blonde's azure eyes. Emerald looked into sapphire for an instant, but the connection was broken when Sakura quickly looked away.

Naruto eyes remained on his teammate for a couple of seconds longer, but memories of their last encounter, and of all the weakness he ha shown her, caused him to look away as well.

"So, have you heard about Sasuke-kun's condition, Sakura-san?" Lee cut in, breaking the awkward moments between the teammates.

Sakura gave another small jolt. Composing herself, the pink haired girl look at the boy lying on the bed in the middle of the room.

Sasuke's skin was extremely pale and it was marked by bruises, scars, and cuts all over. The only sounds that could be heard in the room for the next couple of moments were those from the machines attached to the raven haired boy's body.

"Kakashi-sensei told me this morning what happened…" The kunoichi began. "I came here right away. The medics told me that me that they managed to stabilize Sasuke-kun overnight, his chakra is been replenished, and, while he's currently out of danger, he is… Sasuke-kun is…" She chocked slightly as one of her hands moved to the unconscious Uchiha's. "The medic said that Sasuke-kun's mind is unresponsive… It seems that he had some nerve damage and they… They don't know when he'll wake up…" Sakura struggled to inform.

Naruto took a couple of steps forward. The blonde's eyes fell on his unconscious teammate as he remembered the how Sasuke's body had stopped moving as he fell prey to Itachi's genjutsu.

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes shot to the spiky haired boy that was now standing next to her. "Naruto, I… I was going to visit you too…!" She stated. For some reason, the pink haired girl felt that she had to let her teammate know that she had not forgotten about him, that she was worried about him, and that his wellbeing mattered to her. "After I had check on Sasuke-kun, I was going to see you!" The girl desperately said as she looked pleadingly into the young man's eye.

The Jinchuuriki maintained eye contact with her teammate. Naruto was confused, he had never seen such a concerned look on Sakura's eyes while they were looking at him, but then again, he had stop taking the time to carefully observe those emerald orbs since long ago.

"Oi! There you are, brat!" A strong and rough voice was heard, immediately causing the pair of young shinobi to realize that they had been staring at the other's eyes. They broke eye contact right away.

Fighting the embarrassment that threatened to overwhelm his face, the Sharingan user glanced at the new arrival. "Ero-sennin?"

Right at the door's threshold stood the legendary Jiraiya, grinning broadly at the group of genin. "I was told you got worked over pretty good." The white haired man commented as he looked at the blond. "But seeing you walking around like this, I guess you probably were overreacting about a mere scrap."

Naruto glared at the iconic figure. "So you track me down just to make fun me?" He asked dryly.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, obviously having recover from her own bout of embarrassment. "How can you talk to a sannin that way?" She asked bewildered.

"Hahahah!" Jiraiya boomingly laughed. "She's just as quick to reprimand you as my teammates were with me!" He commented, looking fondly at the pair. "Anyways, I have something important I need to discuss with you." The white haired joking tone died out slightly. "Why don't you and your friends come with me to the cafeteria and talk there? I haven't had anything to eat the entire day." The sannin said as he led the way out.

"So you're Gai's student, uh? I should have guessed!" Jiraiya exclaimed. The sannin and the three genins sat on a table in the hospital's cafeteria. The white hared man had insisted that they ate first before getting to more serious matters, and now eight empty cups of the hospital's instant ramen lied table, five of which had been eaten by Naruto.

Lee took the white haired man's comment as a complement and immediately smiled brightly. "Yosh! I am Rock Lee, the proud student of Miato Gai, the strongest jounin in the Konoha!" The boy proclaimed.

"Hahahah! I like that spirit!" The legendary shinobi stated as he smiled at the energetic boy. "I'll tell you what, Lee-kun." Jiraiya started as he searched for something in his pockets. "I'm going to show you something that I never showed you sensei because I thought he would not be able to handle." The man smiled slyly. "But I believe that you might be able to pull it off."

The taijutsu user's round eyes widened as he could barely contain his excitement. The young man's wild imagination had already several mental pictures of this mystery 'thing' that was too youthful for Gai-sensei.

Continuing to smile, Jiraiya finally brought out an orange book from one of his pockets. "This…" He signaled to the object in his hand. "Is the best book series in the world, written by yours truly, and only a selected few can comprehend its tremendous power." The white haired man cunningly said.

A trembling hand moved towards the book. Just before Lee's finger could touch the book, a hand swiftly came down, slamming the orange object into the table.

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama…" Sakura softly spoke. "But I do not believe that Lee-san is the right person to read this type of book." She said with a small, sweet smile. The pink haired kunoichi had immediately recognize the book as the one her sensei so disturbingly enjoyed, and for the sake of the Hidden Leaf, Sakura could not allow someone as impressionable and energetic as Rock Lee to be corrupted those type of books.

Needless to say, the sannin was taken back. It wasn't so much at the girl's actions, but because of how much it reminded him of a certain blonde woman right before she drove her fist into his gut.

"Oh… If Sakura-san says I should not read that book, then I must respectfully decline your generous offer, Jiraiya-sama." The black haired genin lamented as he stole one last glance at the orange book.

A sigh escaped the experienced shinobi; he knew he had lost this chance to further promote his book. "Well, to the real reason I came here today." The white haired man started as his eyes set on the blond who had successfully watched the entire scene develop while fighting off the desire to smirk. "I have very important mission that I want you to accompany me on." Jiraiya stated with a serious face.

"But Naruto has been injured!" Sakura immediately voiced her response to sannin's revelation. "He's in no shape to go on missions, especially very important ones, which just means it's going to be very dangerous!" The kunoichi said with true concern in her voice.

The white haired man immediately moved to calm the young girl down. "It's just a searching mission." He assured her. "We will be looking for a person that is very important for Konoha, especially at a time like this." The man explained.

Naruto's curiosity immediately sparked. "How so?" The Jinchuuriki asked. The Sharingan user had to be sure this was truly an important mission and not merely one of Ero-sennin's expeditions of inspiration. The blond had to start his training as soon as possible and he could not allow himself to be sidetracked, no matter how funny Jiraiya was while been chased out of a bathhouse by a mob of angry women.

Jiraiya was a little disappointed; he had expected the young man to be jumping with joy for a chance to leave the village for a while, especially considering all the things that had happened. "Well, for one, she is the best medic-nin this village has ever seen, and I'm sure she could help both Lee-kun and the Uchiha over at the intensive care wing." The man informed as he carefully observed the young Jinchuuriki.

The blonde's mind immediately started processing the information, and Lee's hopeful eyes staring at him were not helping. He really wanted to help his friends recover as soon as possible, but a search mission could take several weeks and even month when it came to tracking down one person, and he really needed to start training.

Another sigh escaped the sannin as he watched the spiky haired boy's struggle with a decision. "Let me sweeten the deal…" Jiraiya stared. "What if I teach you an extremely powerful jutsu while we're on the mission?" He said with a smile. "A jutsu created by a certain Hokage…" The man softly added.

Naruto's eyes immediately widened at the offer. It could certainly take care of his training problem while allowing the boy to help his comrades. "I… Guess…" The Sharingan user slowly said.

Immediately, Jiraiya stood up. "Great!" He exclaimed. "Meet me at the village entrance in two hours and be sure to pack for a long trip!" The man stated before darting out of the cafeteria, before the pink haired girl channeled Tsunade again and forced Naruto to change his mind.

Hatake Kakashi had never been a frequent visitor of the jounin-lounge. The silver haired man preferred to laze around at random places in the village, but since the events that occurred right before the Chuunin Exam, he had opted to spend more and more time hiding in the room reserved for the top shinobi in Konoha. Also, the fact that it had a bar was an added bonus.

"Kakashi!" Gai called out as he burst into the room, causing the Sharingan user to cringe. "What is this I heard about Jiraiya-sama taking Naruto-kun out of the village for a mission?" The taijutsu specialist asked as he moved towards his rival.

The copy-nin simply looked back down at his drink. "It's for the better…" He commented.

Gai's eyes narrowed. "For the better?!" He repeated in disbelief. "Just yesterday we had to carry him to the hospital! The kid was a bloody mess!" The man exclaimed. "You're his sensei, you should not allow that he'll be place in danger like this while in that condition!" The black haired jounin said as he slammed his fist on the bar table.

Kakashi seemed to recoil in his seat. "Me been his teacher has brought him nothing but trouble…" The man commented. "A couple of months ago, my decisions concerning him ended up with…" He could not finish his sentences.

A glare formed on Gai's face. "So you screw up, big deal!" He exclaimed. "At least Naruto-kun is still alive and you have a chance to make this right with him, but, Kami forbid, things might not always be like that, so you can't just turn you back at been his sensei!" The taijutsu user declared.

"And what can I do?!" Kakashi exclaimed as he stood up, anger and frustration finally flaring out. "I'm not fit to be his teacher! All that I can do for him is bring him pain and sorrow! I have failed my student, my teammate, and my own sensei!" He expressed, his voice was a mix of anger and guilt. "Naruto would be better off with any other jounin as a teacher! He'll be safer with a hunter nin from Mizu even! Hell, if I still have to make his life miserable by been his sensei, he'll be better off dea…!"

The silver haired man's sentence we left unfinished as the taijutsu user's fist was driven into his jaw, sending the copy nin falling back to the floor. The other jounins in the room immediately stood in alert of the commotion.

Gai towered over his fallen comrade, the man's normally cheerful and optimistic eyes were now shrouded with disdain and disgust. "You…" He spat out. "You are just too sorry to look at right now." His glare seemed deadlier than a Sharingan. "Consider our rivalry over… I'm not going to waste my time with someone as pathetic as you…" The black haired jounin commented before turning around and exiting the room.

Kakashi remained on the floor after the door was slammed close. Under other circumstances, he would have been glad, joyous even, that Gai had finally decided to leave him alone, but now, it simply hurt. He had let yet another person down.

Naruto ransacked through his apartment as he placed any essential he could think of into his bag. So far, the content of the sack was made up of ten cups of instant ramen, the blond still felt uneasy about such small number but he had forgotten to go shopping, the boy's ninja tools, and two changes of clothes.

The Jinchuuriki knew he was severely under packed, especially in the ramen department, for a potentially long mission, but the truth was the spiky haired boy was in a hurry. The Sharingan user was not worry about been late to meet with Jiraiya. The blond was sure that the old pervert wouldn't leave without him and he did not mind making the sannin wait a while. The problem lied somewhere else.

Back at the hospital, Naruto had left a near-hysteric Sakura. Needless to say, the pink haired girl was against her teammate going off n a mission the day after he was admitted into the hospital for sever chakra exhaustion, among other things. The kunoichi had slammed her hand onto the table and demanded the blond not to go through with the mission, she had said that she was worried about blond and did not wanted him to be placed in such a dangerous situation, even if it meant helping Sasuke waking up.

Realizing what his teammate's words had meant, a smile formed in the Jinchuuriki's face and he felt a little guilty at having dashed out on her. "I hope Lee can calm her down…" The boy commented as he closed his bag, still paying attention to the hall outside in case his heard his teammate approaching.

The genin was making his way out of his apartment, when suddenly a searing pain shot through his entire body. Naruto had to scramble to place a hand on one of his desks to prevent himself from falling onto the floor.

Panting, the Sharingan user tried to calm his body down as the pain started to recede. Finally regaining his composure, the blond started to pick up whatever he had drop when he sought support from the table.

As he stood up, the Jinchuuriki observed the black scroll he had just picked up. It was the Magenkyou Sharingan scroll that the Old Geezer had given him to learn how to use Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi all those months ago.

"When you obtain your third…I will come and find you."

Sapphire eyes frowned at the memory of the older Uchiha's words. Opening the scroll, Naruto scanned through it.

The text gave an explanation of both Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, depicted how chakra had to be controlled and distributed when performing the dojutsus, and warned about the draw backs of long term use of the jutsus.

No matter how much the blond read the scroll, there was no mention of a third dojutsu. Sighing in frustration, Naruto put the scroll away, deciding that it would be best to examine it more thoroughly some other time.

Resuming his way out the apartment, the young man prepared for a long and consuming mission.

Jiraiya stretched in his futon with a yawn. Shaking the drowsiness off, the legendary shinobi glanced at the unrolled mat next to him. "So he stayed out all night again…" He commented as he took out one of his notebooks and read the notes written on it.

According to the text, Jiraiya and the brat had been out of Konoha on their mission for about four weeks now. Needless to say, they had not been successful so far.

The sannin scratched his head. "What am I doing wrong?" The man wondered. He and the boy had hit all the right places in all the towns they had visited, every casino, lottery stand, fancy restaurant, expensive shop, even a couple of arcades, but there was no trace of his former teammate.

Sighing, Jiraiya continued to grimace. The only thing that they had been able to learn during their travels was that the blond was exceptionally lucky at games of chance. Three times already his departed student's son had won the jackpot in slot machines.

The frustration of their fruitless search and the jealousy of the brat's good luck in casinos would have driven the sannin to simply abandon his mission and hit the nearest brothel, had the legendary man not found a new source of entertainment.

If the two Leaf nin had been on their mission for four weeks, then Naruto had been trying to learn the Rasengan for three and a half weeks, and the key word was trying.

After enduring four days of the blonde's constant nagging and pestering about the new jutsu he had promised him, Jiraiya had finally shown him the technique that Minato had developed.

It came as a shock to the seasoned ninja when Naruto had effortlessly succeeded through the water balloon and rubber ball stages. The young Jinchuuriki was making the jutsu that had cost the Konoha Yellow Flash three years of his life look easy. That was when Jiraiya introduced the spiky haired boy to the third stage of the jutsu, and the fun started.

The white haired man fondly remembered Minato's many attempts at forming the perfectly shape chakra sphere, as well as the cuts, explosions, and collateral damage that resulted out of them. Jiraiya had never expected that he would be granted an encore to that show, but the last three weeks with Naruto had present him a performance as magnificent as his former student had unwittingly given.

For all the chakra control the young genin had, and the leaps and bounds that he had done toward mastering the jutsu, the young man simply could not form a sphere. What the Jinchuuriki could do was create craters, cut himself all over, and sent his own body flying several feet in the air. It was a blast for old Jiraiya to see the brat struggle trying to learn the Rasengan.

Chuckling to himself, Jiraiya picked up some of the bandages discarded all over the floor. It appeared that the Naruto's regenerative power were no match for the Rasengan. The boy was getting cut faster than he could heal himself, and temporarily leaving scars for the first time the Sharingan user's body. Watching the brat wrestle with is own bandages was quite an amusing sight.

Throwing the dirty straps of cloth in the garbage, the sannin moved towards the room's window where a glorious sunrise could be witnessed. "Don't kill yourself, kid…" The white haired man softly said. "I wouldn't be able to bear another lost." Jiraiya stated before starting to prepare for the day.

Pants were the only thing that could be heard through the devastated field. Forcing his body to move, Naruto managed to crawl his way out of the sizeable crater that he had created during his attempts.

"Damn it…" The blond swore. "What the hell is wrong with this jutsu?!" He exclaimed as he held his right arm with is left hand.

The Jinchuuriki's right limp appeared as though it had gone against barrage of shuriken and lost. There were so many cuts running down the length of Naruto's arm that his regeneration abilities could not keep up. Wounds were healing at a much slower rate now and there were a couple of scars been left behind.

Lying on his back, the pair of sapphire eyes observed as yellow streaks broke through the darkness of night. "Great…" The blond complained. "I didn't even realize that I wasted the whole night…"

Naruto remembered when he first started learning the Rasengan. Bursting the water balloon and rubber ball had been easy enough, the boy simply had to send chakra down his arm and released from his palm. Inside those two sphere objects, the Sharingan user's chakra behaved just as it was supposed to, just as Jiraiya had instructed. But once the guides were taken away, the mere thought of shaping his outpouring chakra would cause the pseudo-Rasengan to blow up in Naruto's face.

"I just can't control my chakra!" The spiky haired boy shouted as he pushed his body off the ground and sat up. "Shaping the chakra, it's… It's impossible for me, completely out of my control…" He told himself as he clutched his right arm harder.

"It's not a matter of control, Naruto-kun…"

The blonde's eyes snapped open as memories started rushing into his mind.

"Sometimes, chakra can be neither be forced nor controlled. Instead, you have to let its flux continue, and merely… Nudge it… The way you want it to go."

Standing up, the Jinchuuriki extended his right arm.

"For someone like you, it might be better to simply close your eyes, and let your instincts take over. I have complete confidence in you, Naruto-kun."

A pair of azure eyes closed, following the advice that the Old Geezer had given during the time they had spent training.

Naruto forced his body to relax. His mind endeavored to push away all thoughts of failure, his experience with Uchiha Itachi, his inability to protect those he cared about. Instead, the blond thought about the time he spent playing in the Sandaime's office, eating ramen with Iruka-sensei, and those moment when he felt like he truly belong in Team 7. With his mind in an unfamiliar, yet pleasant peace, the genin started to gather chakra in the palm of his hand.

He didn't try to force the chakra, he didn't attempt to bend it to his will, and he didn't bother to foolishly try to control it. He simply let it flow, trying to track the chakra's movements as he imagined a perfectly shaped Rasengan.

The Jinchuuriki could hear the leaves twirling around him, could smell the morning dew from the nearby trees, feel the soft breeze touching his skin, as well warm ray of the rising son, and sense the powerful mass of chakra he was holding.

Slowly opening his eyes, the blond glanced at the end of his extended arm. Sapphire eyes widened and an old, almost goofy, grin formed in Naruto's face at the sight of a perfectly spherical jutsu. His chakra spun and danced beautifully and vigorously in his hand, as a Rasengan.

The grin soon ascended into a smile. "I… I did it!" The Sharingan user exclaimed happily, unable to take his eyes off the Rasengan. "I did it!"

A moment later, young shinobi went momentarily deft as the accumulation of chakra burst in a massive explosion, creating an even bigger crater and sending the spiky haired boy flying back.

"Heheh…" An odd laugh escaped Naruto as he found himself lying on the ground yet again. "Hahahah!" The blond laugh, and he continued laughing until his side hurt and tears escaped his eyes. "I did it… I did it…" He repeated as he remembered his successful Rasengan. "For those few seconds… I became stronger…"

Itachi – And so, we reach the end of another chapter.

Lee – Can we tell them the results now?

Itachi – (Sighs) Yes… According to the poll, 53%, that is 29 out of the 54 readers who voted, opted to leave them as they are. So, we're going with that one.

Lee – "So stop bitching and wasting our time and your with flames, you whiners." Kisame-san asked me to read that, but that doesn't sound very youthful…

Itachi – (Sighs) Anyways, we will do a similar poll sometime in the future. Now, for this chapter…

Lee – Phoenixsun wants to make two things clear. First, this and the next couple of chapters might feel a little rushed.

Itachi – Yes, there won't me that many changes and Phoenixsun wants to get to more… Important… Chapters as soon as possible.

Lee – Second, there is still no paring for this fic, the Naru/Hina and the Naru/Saku scenes were only there for Naru/Hina and Naru/Saku fans to enjoy.

Itachi – Furthermore, the scene with Kakashi-sempai was not for bashing. Kakashi-sempai is one of Phoenixsun's favorite characters and he only wrote the scene for drama and to appease some of the readers that were crying out for his blood.

Lee – I think Gai-sensei was great in the scene!

Itachi – That he was. Now that only leaves…

Lee – The next chapter! Well, we don't really have a title for it yet…

Itachi – Phoenixsun wants to write it before the year ends, but you can't hold him to his word when it comes to updates…

Lee – So all we can say is that an Akatsuki member will be appearing in it. Try to guess who it is!

Itachi – And with that, we leave you. Thanks for reading and please review, it helps Phoenixsun's writing a lot.