Training?

In an old fashioned and traditional room, a red headed boy who laid peacefully on the bed slowly began to wake up.

Cracking open his eyes to show his light blue colored eyes, he stared in confusion as he stared at the unfamiliar looking ceiling before he slowly lifted his body.

He adjusted himself and propped himself up, sitting on the bed as he took in his surroundings. The tatami matt flooring, the traditional walls, or shoji they were called. The almost translucent sheets of the thin walls were lit up by the sun's rays hitting it.

He got out of the bed and found that he was changed in newer pairs of clothing. Mainly a black robed yukata.

Walking towards the door, he slid it open as he closed his eyes at the brightness of the sun.

"Ugh" Naruto winced as he waited for a few moments until his eyes adjusted.

"...By the position of the sun... it's already past twelve. Class is almost over." Naruto mumbled as he walked along the wooden floors. He shook his head, since he was already late he'll just be absent. Navigating through as he inlaid the entirety of the path he took to memory. Suddenly he heard some sounds in one direction and followed it.

Walking along the path, each of his steps were light. Soon the path led to a large courtyard where the third hokage, who was in his own yukata, was practicing taijutsu.

Naruto was surprised, shouldn't the kage be working right now?

"Huah!" Hiruzen performed a simple kick before he stopped and turned to face the new arrival.

"Brat, you came" He said as the old man took a towel and wiped his sweat away.

"..." Naruto on the other hand merely looked at the man with an unreadable expression on his face causing the whole atmosphere to get awkward.

"...Brat move it!" Hiruzen ordered as he beckoned Naruto to come in front of him. "Look there, some wooden slippers you can use" He said pointing towards underneath the Engawa.[1]

"..." Naruto said nothing, but complied nonetheless. After all it was common courtesy to listen to the owner of the house, even if he was technically kidnapped.

Following orders, Naruto quietly slipped on the slippers and made his way towards the middle of the courtyard. He stood in front of Hiruzen from a distance of 4-5 meters.

Seeing Naruto in front of him, Hiruzen smiled before getting ready into a battle stance.

"First, I'll test your taijutsu" Hiruzen said as he rushed in front of the surprised Naruto.

"...!" Surprised at the sudden action that the kage took, he hastily tried to defend the flurry of attacks from the hokage. Dodging each punch but ultimately was sent tumbling back by a kick. The same kick he saw the old man practicing just moments ago...

"Ugh!" Naruto winced as he was sent tumbling back.

Glaring at the old man he roared as he slowly got back up.

"What the hell is wrong with you, old man!" He said as he patted the dirt off of him.

"... horrible, a ninja must always be ready for an attack. You failed" Hiruzen said as he shook his head, gaining a tic mark from Naruto.

"Hah?! Unfair, again!" Naruto said as he lunged at the old man who provoked him.

He rushed the old man with a flurry of his own, all of which were the basics from the taijutsu style the academy taught them.

"Good speed" Hiruzen said as he dodged and blocked with ease. "However..."

He soon started to smack away different parts of Naruto's arms whenever he would extent to hit.

"Your stance is slightly wrong"

"A little to the left" Hiruzen spoke as he smacked Naruto's extended arm slightly to the left, making his punch look a little more Natural.

"Fix your feet's placement" With that he lightly kicked Naruto's left shin making the red head wince a little. Though because of that kick, Naruto's left led was pushed a little back, giving him a better balance.

"Why are you slouching?" Hiruzen said as he forcefully smacked Naruto on the lower back.

*Smack!*

"Aah!" Naruto yelped as he put his left hand to the his lower back. Clutching it lightly as he glared at the old man.

"Bastard!" He exclaimed before getting hit in the back of the head.

*Smack!*

"Language!"

...

...

...

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled lightly, remembering the feeling of mentoring a student again brought back memories of his earlier days. Naruto was about the same age when he was still teaching the Sannin.

Back then children graduated quite early because of an ongoing war.

He couldn't help but sigh, at their age his students were already quite accomplished. Tsunade was quite a proficient taijutsu specialist and began learning medical ninjutsu. His then favorite student, Orochimaru, mastered a myriad of jutsu with ease. Then the most surprising, Jiraiya, at his age began learning Sage arts.

'The world is changing' Hiruzen sighed softly, although glad it was the time of peace, he couldn't help but worry at the growth of the new generation. He could only count with one hand a few competent shinobi in the new generation, but even then they are still lacking compared to the previous generations.

Then suddenly, his mood grew somber with a hint of melancholy...

'I really am a fool... so many talented shinobi's blood are in my hands' Hiruzen thought as he thought back to many different shinobi. Hatake Sakumo, Senju Nawaki, Kato Dan, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi...

As his emotions grew worse, the old kage's mind was brought back to reality by a sudden voice.

"A chance! Hah!"

Turning his head slightly, Hiruzen's pupil's constricted at the sudden palm making it's way towards his face. Though at the last second he smirked as the attack landed.

"Yes!" The red head cheered only for Hiruzen to explode in smoke and get replaced by a wooden log.

"Bastard! No fair, using ninjutsu in a taijutsu match!!" Naruto snarled as he began to look at his surroundings, trying to find the kage.

Hiruzen flickered behind the angry red headed boy and slapped his head lightly.

"Language Naruto, also so what if I used ninjutsu? A shinobi must always be prepared for what his opponent has in his sleeve's. You must be aware of everything, never let your awareness wane for it might be the death of you"

'Although I can't wash away my sins... it doesn't mean I can't change. One step at a time' The old man nodded as he suddenly began to teach the red head.

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Chapter End

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[1] - an engawa or en is an edging strip of non-tatami-matted flooring in Japanese architecture, usually wood or bamboo. The en may run around the rooms, on the outside of the building, in which case they resemble a porch or sunroom.