Naruto’s Thoughts (2)

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I was staring at the seal engraved on the cornerstone in my Mindscape when Kurama called me a weirdo. That was his weakest insult yet, so I ignored them. You might be wondering why the seal was there. I had gotten close enough to Kurama, so I removed the bar separating us and turned it into a cornerstone. Kurama still couldn't cross past the cornerstone, though.

"I am contemplating removing it."

"Then, do it."

"The fact that you are incomplete makes me indecisive."

The Kurama I had was the Yang half. It messed with my Chakra balance growing up and I only managed to fix it with the Chakra Seal I invented. Although my body was sturdy enough to endure the full might of Kurama's Yang-half's Chakra, I didn't want it to mess with my Chakra control. My brilliant seal would be overworked, forcing me to rework my Chakra control.

"Just wait till your body is ready," Kurama suggested. "Your Chakra production is increasing since you are still growing. Letting my Yang-dominated Chakra flood your system will tilt the balance of your Chakra composition greatly. Your shit Chakra control will get shittier if that happens."

"Bitch, the bastard who sealed you into his wife's stomach praised me on my Chakra control," I scoffed.

"Hah! He didn't know your dirty secret. You would be nothing without your seal!" Kurama barked.

"Luckily, I have my seal," I sneered.

Kurama snorted, more amused than irritated at his loss. I resumed pondering and quickly came to a decision. My quick jab battle with Kurama gave me an idea. All I needed was balance. In other words, I needed to retrieve Kurama's Yin half. I needed to retrieve the Shinigami mask at the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Shrine to do that.

With that said, I didn't want to risk my life. Although I was confident in my Uzumaki's endurance, I didn't know the consequence of cutting my stomach open under the influence of Shiki Fujin: Kai. It would hurt normally, but it might cause my death under the accursed Jutsu's influence. In other words, I needed someone to perform that.

Someone resilient. Someone who doesn't easily die.

Orochimaru came to mind. He shouldn't know anything about Shiki Fujin and must be dying to know. I had the scroll and could give it to him in exchange for his stomach. The problem was whether he would do it. He was a sucker for knowledge, but I doubted he would waste his life easily.

But why do I have to be concerned about that?

So, I needed to find Orochimaru and beat him to submission. It would be difficult, but I was confident I could manage. Having made my decision, I returned to the outside world. Immediately, I found Hiruzen staring at me curiously. That reminded me I was training with him. We were on a break and I used that time to meditate.

"You are already powerful enough, but you are still learning Senjutsu?" Hiruzen remarked.

"There is no 'enough' in power, Sensei. The moment you feel complacent is when you rot," I retorted.

"Be obsessed with it and you will lose yourself," Hiruzen returned.

"Anyone who lets themselves be obsessed over something will lose themselves. This world had seen too many madmen for that fact to be refuted." I turned to Hiruzen. "With that said, I think I need to go to Mount Myōboku. My body is already acclimated to Natural Energy, but I don't want to risk turning into a stone."

"What do you mean by acclimated?"

"I can sense Natural Energy and draw it in without the help of the seal."

Hiruzen looked at me in astonishment. In his eyes, I must be the genius that Konoha had been waiting for since the day of its establishment. My kind of talent would have existed a long time ago if they stopped being primitive. Fūinjutsu was an easy way to gain power, but no one used it well. Minato did and it had made him a legend.

"Why don't we ask for Jiraiya's help?" Hiruzen suggested.

"I'd rather you tell me where Mount Myōboku is," I denied professionally.

"He doesn't hold grudges. Jiraiya is not that petty," Hiruzen assured.

Jiraiya was an amazing individual even though he was perverted. I knew that well. However, he had behaved weirdly the last time I met him. Conflicts briefly raged in his eyes as he looked at me. I didn't sense any malice from him, but my instinct told me he would rather not teach me anything for the time being.

"Nah, I don't want him to rub it on my face," I shook my head.

"Well, I'd like to tell you, but only Jiraiya knows where it is." Hiruzen caressed his beard, agreeing with how insufferable Jiraiya was when he was helping someone.

Jiraiya was not an option, so I either had to postpone my Senjutsu training or risk turning myself into stone. As I was about to give up on Senjutsu for the time being, an idea struck me. The toads were not the only ones capable of teaching Senjutsu. The White Snake at Ryūchi Cave could also teach me Senjutsu.

Man, why is every best course of action all pointing toward Orochimaru?

Shaking my head, I stood up and asked Hiruzen for another round. My weakness was Taijutsu and with his help, I had been improving by leaps and bounds. Just a month ago, it was hard for me to last more than ten minutes, but I could last, at least, thirty minutes against him. Arguably, though, it might be because of my Sekigan and Hiruzen's poisoned state. Regardless, I was way better than I had been one month ago.

"So good to be young, huh? Aren't you tired already? We had trained for seven hours."

"The Shodaime fought for two days straight against Madara. It's lightwork compared to it."

"Yeah, but I am old."

Now that I think about it, it must suck for Hiruzen. Either way, we resumed our training.

…

After two weeks of proper training, Tsunade was finally inaugurated as the Hokage. She gave her speech before the people and they reacted well. Hiruzen stood beside her and smiled proudly at her. I was watching the scene from afar. As an Anbu personnel, I needed to protect the Hokage in the shadow. Though, the said Hokage was looking at me throughout her speech.

Looking back, Tsunade vehemently denied my application to Anbu. Her immediate thoughts of my becoming an Anbu personnel was that I would become dull due to the number of killings I should do. It was a valid concern, but I reminded her that Shinobi had to kill one way or another. It was a long discussion, but she eventually let me join, albeit reluctantly.

Honestly speaking, I was also not so keen on joining Anbu, but it was necessary. I got more leeway to spy on Konoha's important figures by being an Anbu personnel. I would be sent outside more often, so I would be given more chances to do my things. On top of that, I could end Danzō's scheme more easily.

It was without a doubt that Hiruzen had a hand in my participation in Anbu. I wouldn't have joined Anbu easily if I hadn't convinced him that we needed to rid of Root members from the Anbu. With that said, he still thought I was wasting my skills in the Anbu. I agreed with him, but it was more beneficial for me this way.

"It's not like I stopped being a normal Jōnin all of a sudden," I mumbled. "I need to show up once in a while to keep up an appearance."

Swish!

"The Hokage is mobilizing. Time to move, Kitsune."

"Aye, aye, sir."

We followed after Tsunade silently in the shadow. It was quite unproductive given the lack of threat inside the village, but a job is a job. When Tsunade safely arrived at her office, we hid ourselves in various spots. I stood in the corner of the room and merged with the wall. A moment after she sat down, she called my codename.

"Kitsune."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

I knelt before Tsunade and lowered my head. I could feel her smile. It must have been a sight to see me this docile. Well, it was for the bigger picture, so I had to be willing to at least do this.

"Kusagakure is in a state of dismay given the war that they just faced. Now is their most vulnerable time and we need to secure the intelligence they have gathered throughout the years. I want you to infiltrate Kusagakure and retrieve the intelligence."

"All alone, Hokage-sama?"

I looked up at Tsunade. She shot me an uncomfortable look. The order must have not come from her. Although I had told her not to treat me like I was fragile, I knew she still didn't have the power to send me on such a mission.

"Yeah… Danzō and Hiruzen Sensei deem it necessary to prove yourself. Normally, we would send a team of three, but Kusa is not a particularly strong village."

Danzō was pulling the strings and Hiruzen was forced to play his game.

Has that senile old man finally decided that Jinchūriki is a threat?

I had to swallow my humorous chortle. The war was on.