Chapter 4 – Birth of a prodigy

Five more months passed in a blur to Naruto and Kakashi as the blonde's training escalated in level of both hardship and skill. Needless to say, his weights more than doubled as well as the repetitions required by Kakashi in order to complete the exercise. And as usual, in every physical exercise, by orders from his sensei, Naruto would keep his Sharingan active at all times.

This way the blond not only improved his muscles, but also his already considerable chakra control as constantly doing the tree walking exercise could only help him improve so much. Kakashi chose not to teach Naruto the water walking exercise yet. He would wait until he started grilling the blonde in ninjutsu. Regarding the art in question, Naruto already proved to his sensei that he was ready to be taught the art of fire manipulation as it happened to be the blonde's affinity.

Usually Kakashi wouldn't be surprised because fire type chakra seemed to run inside every Uchiha's chakra coils. But Naruto wasn't an Uchiha, at least not by birth. The Jounin only reasoned that since Sasuke's DNA mingled with the blonde's than Naruto now possessed a fire affinity as well. Another extraordinary feat was his Sharingan. Seeing that the eye evolved to the second stage a couple days ago, increasing both his taijutsu style and his speed. Right now, the Sharingan users were sparring and Kakashi, this time, wasn't slowing his movements. At least, not like he was before, anyway. His speed was adequate to keep up with a low-level chunin, but he held back a little regarding the strength behind his punches. Nevertheless, he was impressed with his student as Naruto always managed to be one step ahead of his strikes. If he didn't out right dodge he was managing to block almost all Kakashi's strikes.

Just as Naruto blocked a high kick from Kakashi, he aimed a kick of his own at his sensei's legs. However, the man simply back-flipped a couple times and threw some shuriken at Naruto. Kakashi was already expecting the blonde to dodge so that he could charge and attack when he least expected. Instead Naruto just let the shuriken hit him. His body was replaced with a log. That movement alone made Kakashi smile and focus his attention to see where Naruto would come from. Suddenly a hand came from the ground fast and grabbed his ankle, surprising Kakashi.

Doton Shinjuu Zanchu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Groundhog Decapitation Jutsu)

As Kakashi went inside the ground until only his head remained above the surface, Naruto showed up with a grin on his face. The jounin was surprised that Naruto managed to copy this low-level doton jutsu from seeing Kakashi using it. But what surprised him more was the flawless execution of the technique. A feat that only those with a doton affinity managed to execute.

Naruto, however, frowned as Kakashi never stopped smiling at him, meaning that something was wrong with this picture.

"Good job Naruto. You kind of surprised me with the jutsu. However..."

Suddenly, the voice came from behind followed by a kunai being placed right below Naruto's chin.

"Don't simply expect that a jounin would fall for such a simple technique"

Seeing that his plan backfired, Naruto didn't have a choice but to give up seeing as Kakashi already won the match. However, he knew that his sensei didn't know about the doton jutsu and he managed to surprise Kakashi a great deal. The man for his part kept the kunai inside his holster and picked two chakra papers this time before handling both to the blonde.

"I was trying to think why your doton affinity didn't appear last time we checked your affinity, but now I realize why. When your affinity is fire, the entire paper burns and when your affinity is earth then the entire paper crumbles into dust. So in other words, one paper wouldn't be able to show both affinities. Now, focus chakra on both papers and let's confirm your affinities."

The result were as Kakashi predicted, seeing that the paper held by Naruto's right hand was on fire and the one on the left crumbled into dust. Seeing the predicament he was now in the sensei considered what he would choose to teach the blonde. Both natures weren't hard to learn, but fire jutsus had to be practiced with care. The silver haired jounin lost count of how many unfortunate shinobi had to retire, because of badly executing fire jutsus. Cases like burning lungs and severe sore throats were only a few of the problems and he didn't want Naruto to practice on his own. Thus he chose doton to teach the boy.

Also since Naruto learned this one jutsu on his own, Kakashi figured that Naruto already knew how to use earth based jutsus with efficiency.

Looking at his student, Kakashi saw that he was waiting for some kind of explanation, but first he needed to reach a second level of chakra control before beginning fire manipulation.

"Okay Naruto, I'll teach you some fire jutsus but for now we'll focus on more chakra control as well as cover some theory about fire manipulation. It's important for you in the long-run to control the exact amount needed to produce a fire technique. You don't know the implications of a jutsu blowing on your face..."

The look of the blonde's face told him different as a sudden realization hit Kakashi. The very reason that Naruto had the Sharingan was because he was hit by a fire jutsu courtesy of Itachi causing him to lose his original set of cerulean blue eyes in the process.

"Ok so you do know, sorry about that. What I meant is if you don't have a good grasp of chakra control there will be a high chance that you either burn your lungs or your throat which would end your ninja career immediately. So I will teach you an exercise called water walking and the principle is similar to the tree walking, but a little different. It's like this..."

===At Konoha===

Sarutobi Hiruzen was inside his office, checking the never-ending pile of mission reports just like any Kage did before him. Today was considered a normal day for the 'Professor' as he gathered all D and low-C ranked mission reports and stamped his signature repeatedly, without even bothering to read them. These types of mission didn't require his attention apart from those that the chuunin responsible placed in a separate pile. This kept Sarutobi from having to check every damn report before giving his signature. After his secretary took the whole lot, she left a cup of warm tea in front of the aged Hokage to which he appreciated and bid the lovely woman goodbye for the day.

A cup of tea meant one of his much deserved breaks throughout the day, not only because of his duty but also because of his old age. Taking his time to smell the delightful herb's scent, Hiruzen took a nice sip of the warm liquid as he looked at the village he was responsible for through his office window. The kids were playing like they were supposed to do. Anbu were patrolling the village. Everything was like it should be, in the Hokage's opinion. However, for no reason whatsoever, the image of Naruto appeared in front of him and it was showing that old goofy smile of his, screaming to everyone that he would take the Hokage's hat and replace the old man as he used to call Hiruzen. After a while, a new image of Naruto appeared in his mind and this time, it was the current Naruto after the tragic events surrounding the deceased Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi, so far, wasn't able to swallow the recent turn of events and Naruto's sudden quiet demeanor. As you grow old, there were only a handful of occasions that manage to fill the heart with joy and it pained Sarutobi to realize that the Naruto he knew back then probably was killed along with the Uchiha Clan. Of course, the Hokage blamed himself for such a predicament.

In Naruto's position, being at the wrong place at the wrong time almost cost him his life, but the aged Hokage always thought he could've done something to avoid this tragic event. If he had managed to maintain some level of diplomacy with the Uchiha Clan, he would have been able to reach a compromise meaning none of this would have happened. Also, he supposed Naruto deserved better than having to fetch food by himself by looking in the garbage. Had his fridge remained full, the blond wouldn't feel the need to search for food, thus he wouldn't be close to the Uchiha Clan compound at the night of Itachi's assault.

Nevertheless, dwindling on the past wouldn't solve the issue. No matter what happened, nothing would be able to reverse time and salvage the blond from suffering the agonizing pain of witnessing firsthand the brutal massacre of one of the strongest clans in Konoha. The least Sarutobi could do was to dissuade the council from pressing the manner further, seeing as Naruto's presence inside the compound raised some unwanted questions. In this department, though, Sarutobi had enough skills both as a respectful shinobi and as a politician to relay the true story of what happened, therefore discharging the blonde from any misjudged accusations. Problem was that, as he feared it would happen, Sarutobi was forced to reveal Naruto's new possession the Sharingan.

At the time he saw the faces of shock displayed by his council members and the clan chiefs as they all thought the bloodline was extinguished with Itachi being the only one left. It took a long time of discussions and medical reports, but in the end, the entire council was convinced that while Naruto could use the Sharingan to its full capacity, there wasn't any cientifical proof that the blond would be able to pass the Uchiha DNA to his offspring. This was upsetting to a few members especially to the old war hawk Danzou as this happened to be his idea at the time. With said issue being declared impossible by the council, Sarutobi turned to more pressing matters like the boy's training mission under Hatake Kakashi and the constant improvements proven by Kakashi's written reports.

Obviously, Danzou showed his claws once more, trying to convince the council that the boy was to be trained by him in order to reach his fullest capacity. However the entire council knew of Danzou's old (to some, still current) training methods and voted against it. All were in favor of Hatake Kakashi training the boy as he happened to be an elite jounin and also possessor of the Sharingan eye. After that, there wasn't much to be discussed so Sarutobi closed the meeting, appreciating the ones present.

This happened a month ago and since then, the subject of Naruto was rarely discussed between the Hokage and his advisors except when it was regarding any new skill the boy learned under Kakashi's guidance. Some clan heads were interested in the boy's development, like Hyuuga Hiashi, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Inoichi and Tsume Inuzuka. All four of them knew how arrogant the Uchihas turned out to be in time and they worried that Naruto would display similar behavior. Hiruzen explained to them that there was little chance of someone liked Naruto becoming arrogant. It simply wasn't in his nature to be consumed or blinded by power. At first the clan heads were skeptical, seeing as none of them had knowledge of any Uchiha displaying lessons of humility, but the Hokage chose to relay to them Naruto's constant conversations with Kakashi about what happened at the Uchiha massacre and his desire to train harder in order to protect what's sacred to him.

Since then no one bothered him anymore about Naruto and the Hokage smiled knowing that with the blonde out of the village, he managed to handle the situation with ease and convince the council that there was little ground for worry.

Back to the present, as the herbal tea was almost finished a little plume smoke appeared on his desk before Kakashi's personal dog summon Pakkun appeared holding a scroll in his mouth.

"Ah Pakkun, I'm glad Kakashi isn't tardy when it comes to sending the reports. How is Naruto doing these days?"

As the dog released the scroll from his mouth, he explained that everything was written on the scroll and that he had little to no interaction with the blonde to know anything about his training. Of course, Sarutobi knew that and yet every time he asked the same thing to the dog, but his intention was merely to start any possible conversation. He dismissed Pakkun, before opening the scroll to read its contents.

According to Kakashi, Naruto met both his and the Hokage's expectations as he evolved the Sharingan to the second level. His taijutsu was improving exponentially as well as both his muscularity and agility. Sarutobi knew and favored Kakashi's harsh training method, considering that Naruto would need to be prepared for what lay ahead in the future. But what shocked him the most was Kakashi's surprised statement saying that Naruto didn't have only fire affinity like previously stated, but also a secondary earth affinity. It wasn't strange to see shinobi possessing more than one affinity, but Naruto will be ten years old in a couple months and certainly only a few like Kakashi himself and Itachi displayed such level of ninjutsu skills by the age of nine.

Sarutobi knew the implications of comparing Naruto with Itachi as young prodigies were frowned upon by the villagers and shinobi of Konoha.

Nevertheless, by Kakashi's report, Naruto could very well learn fire jutsus by the time he came back and it wouldn't be much harder to know a few earth based jutsus, meaning that Naruto could very well be considered a prodigy by the Hokage's standards. Another fact was that Kakashi managed to drill in the blonde's head the importance of the Sharingan being considered a mere tool to be used and not to become dependent on it. Right now, Kakashi was teaching Naruto some heavy chakra control exercises as he didn't want Naruto's fire jutsus to hurt his organs.

This was an intelligent precaution in Hiruzen's opinion, considering the number of accidents caused by failed attempts in the past. All in all Naruto was training to become a well-rounded individual as all arts were covered in Kakashi's training. Genjutsu, while being the less trained, was also covered by Kakashi as he taught the blond how to dispel them effectively. Not to mention that the blond could very well learn some kenjutsu as well if Kakashi agreed to teach him in the future.

Kakashi must be excited to teach Naruto as much as possible and Naruto doesn't complain, absorbing all this knowledge like a sponge. Surely, I'll expect great things from you Naruto-kun.

Back to his work, Sarutobi started to read the A and B mission level reports with a smile on his face as he was imagining the blonde in a couple of years as a shinobi of the Leaf.

===With Naruto===

At the end of the day, Naruto was soaked. Unlike the tree walking exercise, he couldn't escape from falling in the river every time he couldn't get the exercise right. And the fact that Kakashi was finding his numerous attempts humorous didn't help matters. Naruto could see that his sensei was controlling himself not to hold his stomach from laughing so hard. Problem was that chakra control exercises required both concentration and patience and somehow, the blond was lacking both as his mind was running a mile a minute. Thoughts about ninjutsu, taijutsu, Uchiha massacre, Sasuke's memories, his memories, genjutsu dispelling…all this information was fighting for dominance inside his mind and he couldn't bring himself to concentrate.

Lack of patience was obvious as at the same time he thought about everything, he also wished to finish this god damn exercise.

Kakashi knew of his problems right now, but considering the number of accomplishments in the last two months he figured that Naruto shouldn't rush into things and learn how to focus on the task in hand. After a few more failed attempts, the silver haired jounin looked to the sky and realized that the sun was already setting and the moon was already up, meaning that the exercise was finished for today.

"Okay Naruto, let's wrap it up for today. Tomorrow will be another day for you to try to complete this exercise." Kakashi said, earning a nod from the blonde as he got out of the water and picked up his clothes. Student and sensei went back to their cottage together. On the way, though, Naruto kept cursing himself for not being able to complete the exercise. Kakashi tried to explain that this method is taught to genins and above for better improving chakra control. For Naruto to manage in one day would be counter-productive to his training as he wouldn't take full advantage of it. It was better to learn at a slow pace then rush it and not fully improve his chakra control.

"I know Kakashi-sensei. I was just over-whelmed a bit. I'll try and relax some…what's for dinner tonight?" Naruto asked before he sighed upon seeing a couple of vegetables near his sensei. Those, in his experience, would certainly be used for a stew that Kakashi learned to make.

"You know better than to ask questions all the time, Naruto. Now why don't you grab some water as I prepare the vegetables?"

As Naruto grabbed some water, the stew was prepared as both student and sensei ate their dish in comfortable silence. It wasn't long before the dish was separated and the two got inside the respectful sleeping bags.

===Next day===

As the sun rose on the horizon, Naruto and Kakashi were already up and the blonde was going through some warming up exercises around the clearing. The jounin, though, focused solely on reading his favorite book as Naruto now finished his required ten laps around the vicinity, followed by some push-ups and sit-ups. After he finished, it was once more time to strip his clothes as he would be attempting the water walking exercise at the lake nearby. Naruto nodded and went straight to the lake, while considering the last failed attempts. He knew that with the damn weights on his body the entire time, he would never finish the exercise.

"I suppose that if I could drop the weights, I'd be able to finish the exercise much sooner."

Kakashi's smile told him the answer he was already expecting, but no one could say he didn't try. As he ran towards the lake ahead of Kakashi, the man considered reminding the blonde not to use the Sharingan, before he grinned once he heard his student's silent mumbles and considerable list of curses to his slave driver sensei.

As Naruto neared the river margin, he took one step at a time as the water level reached his knees, just like every attempt before. Yesterday, he didn't consider at least standing on top of the water before walking as he was lacking the needed patience and concentration to break the exercise. Immediately focusing chakra to his feet, Naruto slowly started to flow almost on top of the water, before he had to relinquish control over it. Kakashi saw this and frowned, even though Naruto understood the importance of walking before running.

"Naruto, I can see you learned what you need to attain first and that's good. However you're doing it the wrong way. You can't just increase the chakra amount and expect it to flow on its own. You have to learn the appropriate amount of chakra needed to step on the water. Then you have to hold that same amount of chakra as you walk on top of the water. Try using a specific amount of chakra to stand on top of the water. If it's not enough, try again increasing the chakra. If it's less than required, do the opposite. Once you learn how much chakra is needed to maintain afloat, you have to memorize the amount as you start walking. Why don't you try again?"

Naruto accepted the teaching and tried just as Kakashi advised him. This time Naruto managed to reach the ankle's region, before he started to sink. Within thirty minutes, the blonde was already able to at least stand on water as he closed his eyes. Memorizing the needed chakra was a tough procedure and he needed time to focus on exactly how much was being used at the moment so that he could start the water walking exercise. Kakashi would remain there patiently as he watched Naruto concentrate. He knew the blond would manage the exercise in time. He only needed to process the information.

Suddenly, Kakashi felt the need to turn his attention from his book as he had a feeling that the next attempt would prove fruitful. True to his instincts, the blonde opened his eyes and focused on maintaining the necessary chakra amount as he started walking on top of the water the same way he would walk on solid ground, albeit a bit slower like Kakashi advised. Within time, Naruto increased his steps and after a couple of minutes focusing on chakra control, the blonde was getting the hang of the exercise, much to Kakashi's satisfied grin as Naruto took his explanation to heart and applied it accordingly.

"Okay Naruto, keep walking until you feel able to run. I want you to focus on this until lunch time. After we eat, I'll give a crash course of fire manipulation and even teach you a low-level fire jutsu. Now after you're done here meet me near the cottage. I'll be responsible for preparing lunch as a reward for you finishing this exercise. But tonight is your time to cook and wash the dishes."

After their stomachs were satisfied, Kakashi and Naruto now stood in front of the lake as Kakashi would be teaching Naruto fire manipulation. The theory was pretty much covered by understanding the fusion between chakra and gathering air inside the lungs. The air will serve as ignition for the fire to accumulate at the throat, before the technique is to be released towards a certain target. The only problem was accumulating the fire inside Naruto's throat for a while as this happened to be the part where most shinobi failed in learning the art of fire manipulation, burning their throats beyond salvation.

"Okay Naruto, you learned about the procedure from the books and from what I explained. Now, you'll have to use your chakra more than ever as it will serve to protect your organs against the accumulated fire. There is one jutsu you'll learn for now and this happens to be the easiest jutsu to learn. Also, for the purpose of your safety you can use the Sharingan to copy both the hand seals and the chakra needed for this technique, now activate and pay attention."

Naruto only nodded as Kakashi started a sequence of four hand seals, finishing with the tiger seal as Naruto's Sharingan suddenly gave him the image of chakra being gathered at Kakashi's lungs, before growing to his throat. Kakashi then positioned his right hand in front of his mouth to direct the fire technique.

Katon Endan (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)

The blonde could only see a considerable fireball emerged from Kakashi's mouth as it maintained hovering atop the small river.

The temperature was unnaturally hot as Kakashi explained it was being increased by chakra. The technique went on for a while, before Kakashi stopped and the temperature fell back to normal.

"By now I believe the information gathered by your Sharingan is enough for you to perform this technique. So go right ahead and try."

He understood the consequences of the fire technique backfiring. It sure left a scar, though it didn't show in the mirror. The memory of Itachi's fire attack that night played in his mind consecutive times as he actually believed it would be the last image he would ever see if he didn't have this new set of eyes. And to believe it could happen again, Naruto was reluctant to try as he continued to stare at the river in front of him. Kakashi knew what his student was thinking at the moment, but Naruto needed to forget about that if he wanted to be a master at using fire techniques.

Suddenly he gathered his resolve and closed his eyes in concentration as he focused on the information gathered by the Sharingan regarding the fireball technique. Kakashi watched closely as the blonde's hands began to gather together to form the first hand seal. The jounin actually expected Naruto to stop the hand seals because of what happened in the past, but he continued now reaching the third hand seal. By this time, Naruto must be fusing chakra with the air inside his lungs, thus igniting a fire induced chakra. Finally the tiger seal was formed. As the blonde positioned his hand in front of his mouth, he exhaled a thin layer of white fire, before the thin layer expanded just like Kakashi's technique. Maintaining the technique for a while, he turned his eyes to see a smiling Kakashi which always meant a job well done.

"Nice job, Naruto. Now, I know your throat is hurting at the moment but you'll get used to in the future. Now practice the technique without the Sharingan. When I feel you're adequate with the technique I'll teach you another." Kakashi said as he suddenly grabbed his orange book and started reading as Naruto repeated the technique time and time again.

===At Konoha===

Hiruzen Sarutobi was considered a patient man. Day in and day night, though, he was considering slicing the throats of every member of the council as right now they were bickering about the discovery of Naruto's second affinity before he even graduated the academy. He considered holding the information for a while, but he in the end decided to show it to the council…big mistake!

Some of them demanded the boy needed to be executed from fear that he had too much power and could eventually turn against the village. Of course, this came from a lone civilian member, but the idea was discarded by the War Hawk Danzou, before he offered the stupid idea that Naruto needed to be tutored by him, instead of Kakashi. Although this idea was already vetoed by this very council, Danzou still wanted to pressure this topic much to Sarutobi Hiruzen's agonizing headache.

"For the last time Danzou, Naruto's training won't be transferred to you nor will he be at any point in the future. Now, I just called this meeting to inform you all about his development, that's all. Now, this meeting has ended. Shikaku, Hiashi, please follow me to my office, I wish to talk to you two."

===At the Hokage's Office===

Once the Hokage took a sit behind his office, he started addressing a matter of great concern to his now most trusted individuals.

"I'm worried about Danzou and his never-ending interest in Naruto. I fear that he may use his Root ninja for something I dare not mention out loud"

Both Hiashi and Shikaku narrowed their eyes at this as Danzou was a threat no matter which side he was on. It was Hiashi who spoke first.

"I happen to share your concern as well, Hokage-sama. If you so wish, I could choose a group from my clan to keep close watch with Kakashi, just in case he decides to step out of the shadows."

Hiruzen was considering the offer, but an entire group may prove suspicious and Danzou might use his political influence in the council to cause trouble.

"No, he could be up to anything given the circumstances and I don't want to give him more ammunition. Perhaps it would be wiser to select one member from your clan Hiashi to watch for any of Danzou's Root Anbu. I wonder if Kasumi is available for such a task."

"She is Hokage-sama. I'll tell her to come here right away." Hiashi said, as he reached for the Anbu was in charge of protecting the Hokage in order to call Hyuuga Kasumi, while Shikaku remained talking to the Hokage. The man thought he was there for no reason as he kept hearing Hiruzen and Hiashi's conversation regarding Hyuuga Kasumi's new guardian mission.

"Shikaku, while Hiashi calls Kasumi I'll ask something of you as well. You're one of the brightest minds this village has ever produced and as such, I wish for you to keep your eyes on Danzou."

The man had the decency to look at Hiruzen with incredulity. Sure, it wasn't impossible as the lazy genius had already managed to spy on important Daimyos in the past, but surely for Hiruzen to ask this of him meant that either he wanted to silence Danzou for good or expose him and his undercover Roots Anbu program. Nevertheless, this request had its merit. After all a Hokage couldn't have someone by his side controlling the turn of events from the shadows. The Nara wouldn't be surprised if Danzou was behind some of the major murder events in the history of Fire Country now that he thought about it.

Hiruzen was watching the lazy genius with patience as he knew the seriousness of this mission. Spying one of the most influential individuals in Fire Country, a part from the Hokage and the Fire Lord, was dangerous and could even lead to the man's death, if he managed to dig deep enough.

"Shikaku, I understand if you're reluctant to…" Hiruzen said, but Shikaku interrupted him.

"I'll accept the mission Hokage-sama. Danzou's acts have remained to go on for far too long. Now, is there anything you wish me to focus on?"

Hiruzen smiled, before explaining the details behind this SS-class mission.

===Two days later===

Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)

The now doubled in sized fireball emerged from Naruto's mouth, before it hovered atop the river. The fire was so hot that it increased the speed in which the water was evaporated. When the water level pretty much reduced to half, Naruto relinquished the control over his technique before looking to Kakashi. In two days, Naruto did nothing more than practice his two fire jutsus, much to Kakashi's approval as he envisioned great things going on for Naruto in the future.

"Okay Naruto, for now we'll remain with these two techniques as I believe it will be enough for you to learn how to use fire techniques appropriately. Now, deactivate your Sharingan and come at me with the intent to kill."

Naruto happily obliged as he charged at the jounin with a roundhouse kick. He saw Kakashi lifting his right arm to block the incoming kick. Naruto suddenly flipped in mid-air, switching both his legs and the side of the attack. Kakashi was surprised, but he quickly recovered and managed to evade the kick before it connected. Naruto used the flight momentum and flipped, before stepping on the ground. He threw four shuriken at Kakashi, but all four of the projectiles were imbedded on the tree as Kakashi evaded them all by jumping to the right. Naruto had been counting on Kakashi doing so as he made some hand seals before exhaling a regular fireball jutsu straight towards Kakashi's future position, forcing Kakashi to create a water barrier around him for protection.

Of course, he could have simply dodged and conserve chakra, but Kakashi felt that showing Naruto how to utilize jutsu for defense as well as attack would serve him well in the future. Naruto learned that his sensei's vision was obscured by the water around him, so Naruto charged Kakashi until he landed a solid punch to Kakashi's face. The problem was that in Kakashi's place was a log. Naruto turned to his right, only to receive a strong kick on his face which sent him flying towards the river.

Controlling some chakra to his feet, Naruto just skidded along the water until he stopped near the margin. He slowly wiped some blood from his mouth while watching for Kakashi. Suddenly, Kakashi started some hand seals and, quite to Naruto's horror, finished with the tiger hand seal, before gathering a great deal of air inside his lungs

Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu)

Naruto could only watch as the fireball kept increasing in size until it was easily twice as strong as the Great Fireball technique. Suddenly activating his Sharingan, Naruto saw the ball of doom charging at him slowly. He focused chakra to his feet and jumped away from the attack as it hit a tree behind the blonde, pretty much destroying the entire area. Even though Naruto managed to dodge, he couldn't help but witness the scene of destruction that a strong fire technique could cause. He landed on the ground once more and saw that the fire was spreading to the other trees as not only the wind but also the wood increased the fire's destruction.

Kakashi landed near him as he suddenly did a large series of hand seals. Naruto sensed the chakra molding and looked to Kakashi with his Sharingan active. The information was transferred instantly, just as Kakashi finished with the bird hand seal.

Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)

The remaining water of the river transformed into a fierce creature of water as it charged towards the fire in order to extinguish it. The effect was instantaneous as water chakra dominated fire chakra, thus saving the forest from being burned to a crisp.

"I take it you wish to talk about something, Naruto…" Kakashi said, awakening the blonde from his daydream.

Naruto looked at him for a while, before looking at the forest in front of him now covered in smoke.

"I was just imagining what would happen if I was hit with that technique instead of the forest. I'd be dead easily…"

"Indeed, you would. But I knew you'd do the right thing. You activated your Sharingan in order to dodge the technique. In case you didn't, I'd stop the technique right away before it ever reached you. Another thing, while I know you copied the water technique I just did I don't want you trying it any time soon. You just don't have the chakra for it yet. For now let's remain with the techniques you just learned and tonight I'll give you a scroll on some earth techniques for you to learn in your own free time."

The blonde nodded before both returned to the place they were sleeping only to see a woman there wearing black cargo Anbu pants and a jounin jacket as she stood there with her arms crossed with a bored expression on her face. She had black hair which happened to be tied up in a pony tail, thus showing her Hyuuga like eyes. While her body language was calm the woman's expression told Naruto otherwise as he could suddenly feel a bad tension arriving.

"Good evening Kasumi. I'm surprised to see you here of all places. Last time, we saw each other was at the Anbu corps"

"Can I talk to you in private, Kakashi?"

Her voice was clear, meaning she wasn't the type to sugarcoat things at least in Naruto's opinion as he saw Kakashi following the Hyuuga. Deciding that whatever the woman needed with the jounin wasn't his business, he went inside the cabin as some relaxation was in order. Once alone, Kasumi and Kakashi looked at each other. The man was waiting for a slap to come, but none came much to his surprise as Kasumi just stood there glaring daggers at him presumably from what he did to her at the time they were a part of the Anbu force. Suddenly he heard a sigh escaping from her as she started talking.

"Okay as much as I protested to Hiashi-sama, I'm stuck with you in order to protect Naruto-kun."

Kakashi always knew Kasumi wasn't very talkative, rather preferring to get right to the point, but she wasn't finished.

"Hokage-sama felt that Danzou might want something with Naruto and he assigned me to aid you in protecting the boy for reasons that seems strange to me considering no one would attack you but here I am." Kasumi said, earning a nod from Kakashi as he was already informed of her presence from the Hokage. In the scroll, Hiruzen alerted him of Danzou's never ending interest in Naruto's training and that he may resort to kidnapping the blonde. Kasumi's presence here meant that her Byakugan would be more than enough to alert them of any intrusions in the vicinity. Plus Kakashi considered it would be nice for Naruto to practice his skills against the Byakugan and the Jyuuken as it happened to be the most deadly taijutsu style in existence.

Even though he knew she was coming, it didn't mean he liked it as both had their fair share of history in the past. Kakashi at the time was already an Anbu captain and to him, nothing mattered other than the safety of his team and the mission's completion. However over time he met Kasumi and the two started hanging out together. Afraid of her being killed because of being with him, Kakashi ended their relationship. Everyone important in his life had been killed and he couldn't bear to lose someone else precious to him. But the woman didn't take it that well. Needless to say, she was very irritated at Kakashi and hadn't spoken to him since he blew her off without any proper explanation.

"So tell me Kakashi…since I'm stuck with you until Naruto-kun returns to the village, why don't you tell me something about his skills and what can I do to help him improve. People are talking about this boy and I want to know some more about what he can do."

"Needless to say the boy is a prodigy. Taijutsu is high genin level and ninjutsu is off the charts for even a low-level chunnin. He's already improved a lot, but you'd be able to increase his taijutsu skills greatly, considering that you're a master in the area."

Kakashi and Kasumi talked a lot about the blonde's skills, thus starting a conversation for the first time in almost ten years.