7 Chapter 7: Precious Bonds
Jiraiya was bored.
He was sitting in the same place since the past few hours waiting for the Elder Toad to wake up. If not for the prophecy he would have already left the place.
Even Shima had left saying she couldn't wait any longer to hear some dumb old frog's prophecy and she had to attend to her precious cooking.
Of course this had led to a big argument between her and Fukasaku, which ended with Shima giving him a bop on the head and leaving grumpily.
So now he and Fukasaku stood in the vacant hall waiting for the elder to wake up.
Seconds passed, minutes started passing quickly and Jiraiya was getting angry with each passing moment. After finally waiting for another hour he lost it.
"WAKE UP YOU BAKA!" yelled Jiraiya at the top of his lungs.
"Jiraiya-boy, don't speak in such a tone to the great elder," warned Fukasaku sternly.
"I'm sorry sensei, but I have been waiting for the past 10 hours waiting for him to wake up," said Jiraiya frustratingly.
"I understand, but the only time the elder is even remotely awake is when he is hungry, or if a young female toad was dancing for him," said Fukasaku warily.
Realization struck Jiraiya, how could he forget that the geezer toad was very perverted.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid," thought Jiraiya frustratingly, and smacked his forehead repeatedly on his obliviousness.
Fukasaku just watched his students antics with an amused smile on his face, even after all these years Jiraiya acted childish most of the time.
He was quite surprised when Jiraiya jumped at the elder's throne and was now standing on his chest.
"Henge."
Immediately Jiraiya transformed into a very beautiful female toad and spoke in a sultry voice.
"Please wake up..," whispered the female toad, a.k.a. transformed Jiraiya seductively into the elder's ears.
The elder's eyes slowly opened, and when he saw a sexy female toad in front of him, a sly perverted drool came on his face, and he was sent flying back into the wall behind him.
He was knocked unconscious again but there was a large smile on his old face.
Jiraiya's henge was broken when Fukasaku gave him a hard bop on his head with his cane multiple times.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" yelled Jiraiya in pain
"You idiot, what did you do!" said Fukasaku angrily.
"Huh?" asked Jiraiya in confusion, he didn't understand why his teacher was angry.
"You knocked him out cold. He'll not wake up again for a few hours!" said Fukasaku frustratingly.
Jiraiya's eyes widened when he realized what his actions had done, he couldn't believe his own stupidity.
"NO!"
Naruto stood in the training field of his house.
Today was a new day and his training had been going very successful and effortless.
His mother had even said that he was a prodigy in hiding. That had made him a little happy, but he didn't let that get to his head, as his grandfather had always told him that ego can lead to a man's downfall.
He had mastered the tree walking exercise and could now run on top of the trees with ease.
Things also seemed to be getting a little better with his father, they could now stand beside each other. They even used to talk with each other a little more now and according to Mikoto that was a great development.
Naruto had decided that he would train as hard as he could in order to protect everyone in the village.
He could now understand why the village was so important.
He still remembered his time with his grandfather Kagami and the values which he had taught him.
(Flashback)
Naruto was standing in front of the Naka River.
Today he was spending time with his grandfather, he really liked his grandfather. The man was always kind to him, although he was stricter than anyone he ever knew.
Kagami was a man of values and wisdom. He was a very calm person and was always fair to each person.
Many people expected him to teach his grandson the various ninja arts and make him a strong shinobi. But Kagami had different thoughts.
He wanted his grandson to understand what life was. He believed that instead of teaching his grandson how to use a kunai and kill a man, he should teach him how much valuable a life is.
He wanted Naruto to experience the small joys of life which he never had due to fighting in the first great ninja war.
Kagami had spent his entire life on the battlefield, he had seen countless deaths, he had fought, he had shed blood, cried, and had given everything to protect Konoha.
He had lost many friends in war and he knew the horrors every war left on people. Not just those who fought in it, but those left behind: the children, the women, the parents, the friends, and the siblings.
He knew Konoha was on the brink of another great ninja war, even though he was old, he was still one of the strongest, and the most experienced shinobi of the village. So he would have to participate in the fourth war of his life.
A war changes a person in ways that nobody could ever imagine, and when he looked at his grandson his heart broke.
The boy was so young, far too young for a war. Hell, he was not at all old enough to see bloodshed, and yet he would have to face them.
Kagami knew he couldn't control Naruto's future but he still could make efforts so that his grandson's life turns out better than his own.
"Hey Jiji, you were going to show me how to catch fish," said Naruto politely.
Kagami was brought of his thoughts when he heard Naruto's voice, he looked at the curious face of Naruto and a small smile came on his face.
He gently ruffled Naruto's sliky blonde hair and gave the signal to watch him.
"Fishing is a very unique thing. It requires a lot of patience but you will enjoy it," said Kagami with a smile.
"Teach me," said Naruto excitedly
Kagami chuckled a little on hearing his grandson's excited voice. Naruto really reminded him of Shisui, both the boys were similar to each other.
"Alright, I'll show you," said Kagami calmly.
For the next hour he taught Naruto everything he knew about fishing. The boy was listening to him with great concentration and interest which pleased Kagami.
It had been a few minutes since they were trying to catch a fish and Naruto was getting a little anxious.
"Why aren't we catching any fish?" asked Naruto with a pout.
"We will catch some, don't lose your patience. A person must be calm in order to understand things better," said Kagami patiently.
Silence followed for a few moments as both grandfather and grandson sat there in peace waiting for results. Both of them were sitting quietly and were enjoying the peace that nature was providing.
Something was bugging Naruto and he decided to ask his grandfather about it.
"Hey Jiji," said Naruto slowly. His voice was very low; it was as if he didn't like to talk about whatever subject he had in mind.
"Hm..," said Kagami silently.
"What is a war?" asked Naruto curiously.
Kagami was quite surprised by Naruto's question, he looked at Naruto and he could clearly see Naruto was not at all enthusiastic about this subject. He gave a silent nod and was quite content that his grandson was different and was not like most of the children who would be too eager to become a hero and listen to war stories.
"War is a situation when people forget about each other's feelings and fight for their own greed. Everyone claims that their war is for justice or for prosperity but there is no such thing. In every war people die. It doesn't matter whether you are rich, poor, strong, weak, or anything else. All of us share a common fate and that is death," explained Kagami briefly.
"Then why do wars happen?" asked Naruto sadly.
"Humans are very complicated Naruto. All of us have some darkness within us. Even you have darkness within you," said Kagami simply.
"I..," said Naruto hesitantly.
Kagami put a hand on Naruto's head and gave him a gentle smile.
"But more than that you have a good heart, everyone has darkness but they also have light within their souls. It's just people have to find that light and understand each other, then maybe there won't be any more wars," said Kagami with a tired sigh.
"Have you fought in a war?" asked Naruto hesitantly. If war was such a bad thing then it must have been very painful for his grandfather.
"Yes, I have fought in three great ninja wars," said Kagami disappointingly. Many people would boast about how they fought in a great war, but the real soldiers knew there was nothing to boast about a war.
"You must have been a hero," said Naruto curiously.
Kagami chuckled a little on hearing his grandson's innocent answer.
"Naruto I am not a hero. The real heroes are the ones who never made it back home and gave their lives to protect what was precious to them. Just like my sensei Tobirama Senju," said Kagami sadly, as he remembered his mentor.
"You were the student of the Second Hokage?" asked Naruto in shock, making Kagami chuckle again.
"Well yes, I was a part of his team," said Kagami with a smile.
"What kind of person was he?" asked Naruto curiously.
"Tobirama-sensei was a very odd person. He was very strict, but he also cared very much about the village, and everyone in it. He even gave his life to protect his team," said Kagami proudly.
"How did he die?" asked Naruto sadly.
"It was during the first great ninja war, our team was surrounded by a lot of skilled Kumo ninja. They were a part of the famous Kinkaku unit. We were outnumbered," said Kagami sadly.
Naruto thought about the entire battle scene, his analytical mind had already started working. He had heard about this Kinkaku unit from his father, they were Kumo's best ninja.
If his grandfather's team was surrounded and outnumbered then the only chance they had of escape was...
"He acted as a decoy, didn't he?" asked Naruto sadly.
"How did you guess?" asked Kagami in shock.
"There was no other choice, your team was outnumbered and surrounded. Even if they didn't know your exact position, your conditions were not good. Suppose if you can make a surprise attack on the enemy, but you will soon be overpowered as you didn't have the numbers, and which would lead to total massacre of your team. This left only one option, one member had to act as a decoy to buy the others time to escape. It had to be the strongest person of your team as the Kinkaku unit is heard to be the best. Since the Nidaime was the strongest, he was the only logical option as a decoy, but that would...," explained Naruto strategically, but refrained from saying the last part as he knew his grandfather was quite close to the Second Hokage.
"He thought exactly the same thing like me, but I was much older than him when I was in that situation," thought an amazed Kagami.
"Naruto, you will make an excellent squad leader," said Kagami proudly.
"But I don't want to kill anybody. I have a family; I love Kaa-chan, Itachi, Tou-chan, you, and Shisui-ojisan. But there are also others who may have a family like me, aren't there?" asked Naruto curiously.
"I understand. I know exactly what you are feeling right now. Shinobi are protectors not killers," said Kagami seriously.
Kagami looked at Naruto briefly, the boy sure asked a lot of questions. But it was natural, many kids his age were like that and since Naruto knew he had to fight in a war, he was anxious.
Kagami was happy that his grandson considered him trustworthy to share his feelings.
He knew these questions were very important in shaping Naruto's life and his beliefs, and as his grandfather it was his duty to guide him, and show him the right path.
"Jiji, what is a village, and what are shinobi?" asked Naruto curiously
"A village is a place where people come together. It is a place where people put aside all their past differences and end the chaos. It is a place where the children and the old are protected, the young prosper. It is a place where people can spend their life in peace," said Kagami carefully.
"And shinobi, what are they?" asked Naruto firmly.
"Shinobi are people who endure and protect what is precious to them. Inside every shinobi of this village burns the will of fire," said Kagami simply.
"Will of Fire?" asked Naruto curiously.
"It's the unbreakable bond that every shinobi in the village has with each other. It gives us the strength to protect our village," said Kagami gently
"Do I have a Will of Fire too?" asked Naruto excitedly
Kagami chuckled a little and patted Naruto's shoulders.
"Of course my boy. The Will of fire burns brightly in you," said Kagami proudly.
"Thank you," said Naruto with a smile.
"Naruto, first of all look at yourself rationally and know yourself, if you don't know who you are then you will put the lives of your comrades in danger," said Kagami sagely.
"Hai," said Naruto firmly.
"Can you fulfill one last wish of mine?" asked Kagami slowly.
"Anything for you," said Naruto happily which brought a smile on Kagami's face.
"Don't be hasty, you are still young. Your time to die will come, until that time, live your life to the fullest. Protect those who love the village, and those who believe in you, and pass the Will of Fire to the next generation. This is your duty," said Kagami seriously.
Naruto gave a very determined gaze to his grandfather, and gave a small nod to him.
"I promise you Jiji, as long as I live, I won't let anything happen to this village, and my family. I'll even give my life to protect them," said Naruto fiercely.
A wide, proud smile came on Kagami's face, and he embraces Naruto in a warm hug.
"You are the future of this village. I leave the rest to you," said Kagami gently.
"Hai," said Naruto firmly and hugged his grandfather.
"Sensei, I have finally passed your legacy and your will to the next generation," thought Kagami happily.
(Flashback end)
A small smile came on his face as he remembered what his grandfather had taught him.
"I will never go back on my word," thought Naruto with determination.
"What are you thinking, Naru-chan?" asked Mikoto kindly.
Naruto was brought out of his thoughts; he looked up, and saw his mother looking at him. She was in her medic uniform indicating she had just returned from the hospital. She had Itachi in her arms and he was also looking at him curiously.
"It's nothing Kaa-chan," said Naruto sheepishly and scratched the back of his head with a small chuckle.
"Naruto..," said Mikoto with a giggle.
"Baka Nii-san..," said Itachi with a laugh
"What was that shrimp?" asked Naruto with narrowed eyes. A small tick mark had already formed on his forehead.
Naruto looked at his brother for a few moments, as Itachi gave him the best poker face. Naruto sighed, he knew he had heard something, but since he didn't have any proof he let it slide.
Itachi was quite surprised when Mikoto grabbed his small ear gently and brought him closer to her face.
"You've got quite a loud mouth" said Mikoto sternly
"Sorry," said Itachi cutely.
"(Sigh). What am I going to do with you?" said Mikoto tiredly making Itachi laugh.
Naruto watched both his mother and brother with an amused smile on his face.
"Maybe this was what Jiji meant. I'll become a strong shinobi to protect my precious people," thought Naruto happily.
"So, Naru-chan, I heard from Minato that you have mastered the tree walking exercise?" asked Mikoto curiously.
"Yes, I am now good at it," said Naruto modestly.
"Well would you like me to teach you the next exercise?" asked Mikoto kindly
"Hai," said Naruto excitedly.
Mikoto came forward and handed over Itachi to Naruto so that she could show him the exercise.
She gave Naruto the signal to follow him; both the brothers followed their mother until they reached the small lake of their house.
"What are we doing here, Kaa-chan?" asked Naruto curiously.
"Today I'll be teaching you the water walking exercise," said Mikoto seriously.
"Walking on water?" asked both Naruto and Itachi in shock.
Mikoto giggled a little on seeing the shocked faces of both her sons.
"Well yes, comparatively to tree walking this exercise is a lot harder. It won't be easy to master Naru-chan," said Mikoto with a challenging smirk.
"Bring it on," said Naruto firmly.
"Alright. This training method is used to gain better chakra control. To do this, the user has to be emitting a constant stream of chakra from the bottom of their feet, and using the repellent force to walk across the water's surface," explained Mikoto briefly.
"Can you show me how it's done, Kaa-chan?" requested Naruto.
Mikoto nodded and slowly channeled a small amount of chakra in her feet; she then gracefully started walking on the water of the lake.
Naruto and Itachi both were shocked when they really saw their mother walking on water.
"Nii-san, Kaa-chan..," said Itachi in shock.
"She is amazing," said Naruto in awe.
"Well, if you two are done praising me, I'd like to explain something to you," said Mikoto with a gentle smile.
Both the boys gave a sheepish smile to their mother. Naruto gave her a nod indicating he was ready to learn.
"With tree walking, you learned how to gather chakra in specific quantity in your feet. But water walking is very different," said Mikoto seriously.
"How so?" asked Naruto confusedly.
"Well, trees are stationery, and the energy you mentioned that trees have is also constant. Water is not like that, it is constantly moving and the flow of energy in it is irregular," said Mikoto briefly.
"So how can I walk on water, Kaa-chan?" asked Naruto intriguingly.
"First of all, focus chakra in your feet and try to walk on the water," said Mikoto with a devious smirk.
She knew what was going to happen, but she wanted to see if Naruto could figure out the exercise by himself. Plus his face would be hilarious.
Naruto gave a nod, Mikoto came forward and took Itachi back in her arms earning a small smile from the little boy.
Naruto did as his mother told him and put his right leg on the water, and then slowly put his left leg on the water too.
He was shocked when suddenly he lost his balance and fell into the cold water.
He could faintly hear both his mother and his brother's laugh coming from the surface.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. All he could see was blue color around him.
"What should I do?" thought Naruto worriedly as he slowly started drowning.
He was scared, he didn't know what to do, he tried to move his hands but the water was far too cold, he felt his energy leaving his body.
His eyes started to close.
He could hear his mother's worried voice to come up but he couldn't.
"Am I going to die?" thought Naruto fearfully.
He didn't want to die, at least not yet. He had so many dreams, so many things to do. He had made a promise to his grandfather.
His eyes suddenly widened when he realized something.
"Naruto, you must look at yourself rationally and know who you are, otherwise you would put your comrades life in danger."
He remembered the exact words his grandfather had told him.
What was he?
What was his power?
He had to protect everyone.
How could he become successful and make it back alive.
"Water is not like that, it is constantly moving and the flow of energy in it is irregular."
Realization struck him as he understood the meaning behind his mother's words.
He had finally found a way.
He quickly used his sensor abilities and to his utter amazement he could feel the energy in the water.
He could feel how different it was in each and every molecule.
He could feel the nature's power all around him.
The water was looking calm but the energy which it had in itself was enormous.
He felt the power of his own chakra and the stability it had in it.
He felt a strange sensation in his gut, he didn't know what this weird feeling was. It was as if he had a life force of his own.
"It is not possible to reduce the amount of energy that water has, but maybe if I can increase the power of my chakra then I can control water," thought Naruto analytically.
He had finally found a plan.
(With Mikoto)
She was scared to death, it had been 30 seconds since Naruto hadn't come out and she was just about to jump in the lake to rescue her son.
Even Itachi was yelling at his older brother to come out, a few tears had already formed in his eyes.
She was just about to jump when she felt the huge blast of chakra.
Violent waves started forming in the lake, a few even crashed near Mikoto and Itachi.
She quickly jumped and got her younger son out of the way. She hopped on a nearby tree in order to save Itachi from the waves.
She put her younger son on the branch, he was crying loudly as he was worried for his big brother. But Mikoto knew she didn't have time to comfort him, at first she had thought that Naruto was joking but it seemed he was in trouble.
She jumped towards the lake but was shocked when she saw what was in the center of the lake.
There stood Naruto on top of a 20 foot tidal wave.
His face was calm, his eyes were closed. His wet hair was falling on his face making him look more handsome. His clothes were drenched but what shocked Mikoto was that her son was standing on top of a tidal wave which was not stable at all.
In her stupor she forgot the small wave of water that was about to hit her violently.
But when she sensed the water coming towards her, it was too late.
"Shit" thought Mikoto and prepared to substitute herself.
She was quite surprised when the sound of colliding water waves stopped around her, there was complete silence.
She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see every wave, small or big was standing still. It was as if they had been frozen.
She looked at Naruto and was shocked when she saw he had his hands spread and it looked as if he was controlling the waves itself.
"Impossible," thought Mikoto in amazement.
Naruto Namikaze was controlling water!
Jiraiya was crying his eyes out, this was blasphemy. How could the elder torture him like this?
Even Fukasaku was giving him a sympathetic look.
Finally after a few moments the elder slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
"Where am I?" asked the elder toad sleepily.
"Mount Myoboku," said Fukasaku tiredly, it was always like this. The geezer would always wake up and would have no idea where he was.
"You summoned me?" asked Jiraiya eagerly, his patience was over.
The elder toad looked at Jiraiya and gave a yawn. Jiraiya's eyebrows twitched a bit in annoyance.
"Who are you?" asked the elder in confusion.
"This is Jiraiya, JIRAIYA!" said Fukasaku irritatingly
"Oh...you have come. You made me wait a lot," said the elder toad with a chuckle.
"I'm gonna kill him," thought Jiraiya frustratingly
"The prophecy which you said you had to tell," suggested Fukasaku quickly as he sensed Jiraiya's anger about to burst.
The elder looked at the small toad in amusement.
"Who are you again?" asked the elder sleepily
"Now I'm gonna kill him," thought Fukasaku angrily.
The elder sensed both the young lings patience decreasing and he decided that it was enough joking for now.
"I have called you here as I had a dream that showed me a little bit about the future and the fate of the shinobi world," said the elder toad and closed his eyes.
"What did you see?" asked Jiraiya seriously.
"I am sure that the child of prophecy has been born in this world," said the elder seriously.
"But Minato is the child of prophecy," said Jiraiya in confusion.
"No, your student and you will be the ones that will be guiding this revolutionary," said the elder toad firmly.
"Did you see who it was?" asked Jiraiya anxiously as guiding that child of prophecy was his destiny and the goal of his life.
"A boy who has exceptional visual prowess and physical power. I haven't seen such a powerful child in ages. He will be a master of every ninjutsu, and will be one of the strongest shinobi in the world. He has a portion of the Sage of Six Paths power," said the elder shocking Jiraiya and Fukasaku both.
"What kind of power?" asked Fukasaku curiously.
"The power which only one man had in the past," said the elder toad and gave Fukasaku a knowing look.
"It can't be..," thought a shocked Fukasaku, only he knew the entire truth.
"But how can he have such a power? Where can I find him?" asked Jiraiya curiously.
"That is your destiny. I don't know the identity of this boy, but I can feel his presence in the shinobi world," said the elder toad.
"I'll find him, no matter what," said Jiraiya hurriedly and turned to leave but was stopped when he heard the elder toad's words.
"Jiraiya, there is something that you should know," said the elder toad in a dark tone.
Jiraiya was shocked when he heard the elder being so serious, it must be really important.
"That boy has a sea of darkness in him, waiting to be unleashed on the shinobi world. There will come a time when the boy would be asked to make a choice," said the elder toad warily.
"What kind of choice?" asked Jiraiya hesitantly.
"One that would determine the fate of the shinobi world," said the elder toad seriously.
Fukasaku could see how serious the elder was and he got very nervous. There was only one time in the past where the elder had gotten this serious and a great change had occurred after that, which changed the shinobi world.
"Jiraiya, if that boy loses himself to do the darkness then the world is doomed. There would be no force in nature that can stop him," warned the elder toad.
"Is he that powerful?" asked Jiraiya in shock.
"He will either become our greatest savior or our worst nightmare. One who would bring great peace or who would destroy the entire world," said the elder toad seriously.
"But how could he turn to darkness?" asked Jiraiya hurriedly.
"I sense a big event happening in his life, one which would change him forever. For better or for worse I don't know," said the elder tiredly, he had started to feel sleepy again.
"I will find him," said Jiraiya with determination.
"And I will not let him fall in darkness."
