Chapter 6: Training and Love 1/2

Oooohhhh. Made it in the weekly timeline I'm trying to set for myself. Points for meh. So this should be the last chapter of character and world building. Setting up stuff for the future, etc. Kenta's love interest will make her first appearance. Try and make guesses now!

Thank you all so far for the love I'm getting on this story. The favs/follows/reviews are exciting to see and give me motivation to write the next chapter.

The common misconception is that I was the first user of 'Storm Release.' There is truth in that statement, but there is also a lie. I was not the first to use the 'Storm Release,' there were many others before me. What I did was perfect our bloodline, and take it to a level never seen before; earning me the title "Camie of the Flowing Storm."

The 'Storm Release' as you well know my descendent, is an advanced elemental release combining lightning and water. When combined it creates flowing beams of light capable of untold destruction. It is a fast and merciless element that is focused purely on piercing defenses and vaporizing flesh. It is not an element for those who want to defend or aid their allies. It is an element meant to protect by destroying your opposition before they can harm your allies.

Being made of lightning and water, you can imagine the control it takes to utilize these techniques. You, my descendent, are combining the two elements that are most resistant to being controlled. Lightning strikes fast, ruthless, and without remorse. It is sudden and it goes where it wants. Its destruction is indifferent and uncaring.

Water is an element that is constantly in motion. Even contained it flows and moves. A creek, a river, a sea, or the ocean. Water is always moving, even when it's calm. It can be the most peaceful and harmonizing element. It can also be the most destructive and unforgiving. Even the very earth we stand on cannot hold up to water's punishment. Given enough time, it will erode the ground we stand on. In 1000 years water can change the very landscape our descendants will walk on. It can wrap you in its loving embrace and soothe your worries away, or drag you to your grave.

Combining the two gives you an element with the want to flow as water does, with the haphazard and raw energy of lightning. As you can imagine, controlling a storm is almost as impossible as it sounds. I was the first to do so. Those who practiced the bloodline before me invented techniques that were made mainly for assassinations and surprise attacks. They were small, weak attacks simply designed to either kill instantaneously with a quick strike to a vital area, or to surprise the enemy enough to create the opening to finish them off.

From the day it was discovered that I possessed our bloodline, I knew I would take it to places that no one had before. And I did, my descendant, I did. I created techniques that wowed and awed all our clansmen. I created techniques that struck fear into my enemies as they quite literally saw their life flash before their eyes. I created techniques that made me famous and brought a sense of peace to our clan. For no one wanted to face "The Flowing Storm" on the battlefield willingly. They knew that only death awaited them.

If you are reading this scroll it is because you have the potential to unlock and utilize our infamous bloodline. I will attempt to guide you from the pure land. It is my hope, that one of my own flesh and blood will one day wield the storm the same way that I once did, and to eventually surpass me. For every teacher's main wish is for the student to become the master. We will start with basic chakra control exercises. The control required for our bloodline isn't quite medical ninja levels, but the more control you have, the easier it will be to guide and ride the storm. For you do not control a storm, no matter how good you are or how powerful. You create and guide it, guide it to destroy your enemies.

After control we work on each element individually. To utilize 'Storm Release' you must be at one with each element on its own. We will work tirelessly to seamlessly change our chakra into each element without second thought. For this step must be second nature if you have any hope of combining the two and riding the storm. By doing this, even if you cannot combine the elements like I once did, you will be a master of both lightning and water, and by proxy, make me and all our ancestors proud.

Finally, after mastery over your elements is complete, we will then dive into 'Storm Release' and the power it holds. This will not be easy descendant. It will be the toughest challenge you will face. By undertaking this endeavor you are committing yourself to a lifetime of constant improvement and training. For the second your control slips over a storm, it will turn on you and destroy. You must always be diligent, but without fear. For if you fear, you will lose your control and will surely meet your end.

Now, if you are reading this scroll it is because you have already shown the first sign that you have inherited the gift of our ancestors. You have a natural affinity to both lightning and water. This is a good sign. The second test is one that is much more difficult to perform. Well, it was living in the land of lightning. Many medical tests had to be done, and even with the improvement in medicine it is still a costly and time consuming test. Moving and living in Konoha, however, provides us with a much simpler, quicker, and if you're lucky cheap or free solution.

The strain on the chakra system is tremendous when transforming your chakra into two elements simultaneously and then combining them. To compensate, those with the gift have a much sturdier and enhanced chakra system. If you can, go ask a Hyuga friend to take a look at your chakra pathway and see if they can spot the difference. If they can, there is a good change you have inherited our bloodline. It isn't a guarantee, but the full training can be commenced if we know those two things.

My eyes widened and a smile broke out over my face. I just so happened to know a very kind Hyuga who would be willing to take a look for me. Especially by dangling the metaphorical carrot in front of her face. That carrot being a potential date with a certain blonde she's been eyeing since we were young kids.

I had been holed up in my room all night and into the next morning. The first 50 pages of great-grandmother's scroll had been the history of the clan and the events leading up to her fleeing her ancestral home. It was all so fascinating and a little disturbing. Apparently when great-grandmother fled, the desire to sire children with our bloodline became an obsession with our great-uncle. Since only having one parent with the bloodline greatly diminished the chance of the offspring having it, he apparently took 10 wives, each of them giving birth multiple times. Not to mention the concubines and mistresses he impregnated. His desire to see Kumo's strength grow with our bloodline was commendable, it also ensured that to this day anyone that wants to get married and have kids needed to have DNA testing done to ensure they weren't too closely related. His blood saturates the population. Gross.

I jumped out of bed, rolling up the scroll and putting it back into its protective casing. Upon closing there was a hiss and flash of light, letting me know the bloodseal was back in place and function. As mom told me, having the bloodline wasn't anything worth worrying over. Shinobi tend to be rash on missions and sometimes unexpected and unwanted pregnancies happen when your mission takes you far from home. Knowing exactly who gave me the bloodline was the problem. To this day great-grandmother is considered Kumo's biggest traitor and the mention of her name is almost as bad as mention Minato Namikaze to a Stone Ninja. Mother doubted with me being a third generation Konoha born shinobi that they would be too upset, it was still better to be cautious. Caution in the shinobi world saves lives. This was also the village that used peace talks as a cover to try and kidnap one Hinata Hyuga, and then when it failed tried to pin the blame on us. So we didn't want to take chances.

Speaking of Hinata, I had a Hyuga to see before going to see a certain broody Uchiha to ask him about a certain member of his clan I had started to hero worship. During my readings it was mentioned that 'Storm Release' had techniques fast enough to keep "Shisui of the Body Flicker" on his toes and pinned down. Sidetracking myself I did some quick research and needless to say, what I found had me floored and totally fanboying for the deceased Uchiha. S-Rank by age 15. Took a non-combat technique and turned it into his signature. His mastery and creativeness with the 'Body-Flicker Technique' allowed him to be feared as the fastest shinobi of his generation and in talks with Lord Fourth and the Raikage and their lightning armor. I will never have the chakra capacity to utilize the 'Lightning Armor' like the Raikage of past and present, nor will ever have the mastery of the sealing arts to even attempt to recreate the 'Flying Thunder God Technique.' However, if I could even get a hint into how Shisui took 'Body Flicker' to the heights he did, it would be the last piece of the puzzle into how I wanted to shape my fighting style.

My vision for myself was a fast and hard hitting shinobi. Incapacitating or killing my opponent before they could even react. Between my speed, poisons, and hopefully 'Storm Release' supplemented by my Yamanaka mind fuckery, I had a plan to be a force on the battlefield without putting myself face to face with my opponent. As much as I practiced and trained, I would never be more than average to above average in my hand to hand. Despite my maternal DNA gifts, I was still my father's son and had the Yamanaka genetics overwhelmingly. Tall for my age and slender, I will never be a powerhouse and I'm OK with that.

I finished getting ready and ran to the door. Mom and Dad were both at work and Kono was at school, so I simply grabbed an apple from the kitchen and headed to the door. I put my shoes on and opened the door, only to be greeted to the sight of my Captain with his fist raised ready to knock. I looked up at the grinning face of my obnoxious Captain.

"What do you want, Captain? We still have a day off before you can abuse us." I asked him, not at all impressed with him potentially ruining my perfectly planned day.

His grin morphed into a scowl. "Disrespectful brat, I came to get you. The Hokage needs to see you. It's about that nightmare you had in wave. He needs more information since your weird feelings tend to be more than feelings."

I stared at Genma for a moment, brain finally catching up to what he was referring to. "Oh. That. I had completely forgotten about that. Do you think it'll take long?"

"Nah. Your Uncle and Dad are both waiting. Doing a mind walk and projection. Your part shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

I nodded. "If it was either of your other students that would probably make them piss their pants. No one likes the thought of my clan being in their head. Think we're mind readers." 'Which we are, well I am, with that new technique I developed. Gunna save that one for when I can really make an impact on the elders.' I finished with the thought to myself. We started walking towards the Hokage Tower.

Cpt Genma laughed. "Can you blame them? Your clan CAN do some creepy shit. Plus no one wants a stranger in their head."

I smiled innocently at him, "At that's why we're so valuable. We scramble brains and turn them into human vegetables if they piss us off enough." I cackled at Cpt Genma's face.

"You're creepy, kid. Might even give Orochimaru a run for his money."

At the mention of Orochimaru I stumbled, clutching my head. Visions flashing before my eyes.

'Sasuke clutching his neck as an extended neck retracts'

'Naruto, blood red eyes staring at a blank masked shinobi with utter hatred.'

'Sasuke, black markings covering the entire side of his body, a manic look in his eyes'

'Lord Third, blood running down his face as the light leaves his eyes'

I took in a gasping breathe and steadied myself.

"Oi, brat! You OK? What happened?" Cpt Genma asked holding my shoulders, worry dancing in his eyes like I'd never seen before.

"Vision, again." I gasped out. "Sasuke in danger. Lord Third dead. A different Naruto facing down Haku on the bridge in wave. Last one doesn't make sense to me. He had blood red eyes, his scars on his cheeks were darkened and deeper, and his teeth were elongated like fangs. And the expression of pure hatred was something I've never seen on him. It was frightening."

Cpt Genma looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean a different Naruto?"

"It was him, his face at least. But he looked smaller and skinnier than the Naruto I know. He was also wearing that gaudy orange jumpsuit I convinced him to ditch years ago."

Cpt Genma stopped walking, hand coming to cup his chin. He was muttering something to himself but nothing I could make out. His gaze snapped to me. "Going to speed this meeting up, going there now." He grabbed my shoulder and in an instant the world blurred around me. A second later I crashed into Cpt Genma.

"The hell was that?!" I half shouted at my captain.

"Body-Flicker. You get used to it. Sorry, should have warned you." He said not sounding sorry at all. I instantly lost any irritation I had at the man.

"Body-Flicker?! Can you teach me that tomorrow at training?!" I excitedly asked.

He looked at me and must have seen something, for the worry that had permanently been etched into his face since my episode softened slightly. "Sure, kid. I'll teach you. It isn't too hard to learn."

I jumped up in excitement. Step one of my plan to be a badass complete. Only about 99 left to go! We quickly made our way to Lord Third's office. We checked in with his receptionist and were ushered in almost immediately. We both bowed to our leader and received a kindly chuckle in reply.

"Such manners. Please rise Genma, Young Kenta. Jiraiya, you should take notes from these two. This is how proper shinobi under my command should obey." Lord Third said sternly to the largest man I'd ever seen in my entire life. Though the twinkle in his eye gave away how he really felt.

"Sure thing, Old Man. The day I bow to you like these two is the day I take that hat from you as well." The now identified Lord Jiraiya laughed.

Lord Third instantly sobered up. Turning to my uncle Inoichi he gave his orders. "Inoichi Yamanaka. I command you to use your clan's technique to force my ungrateful student to bow, this instant. Someone needs to take this damned hat from me. I've worn it far too long!" He finished a little dramatically. Everyone chuckled at Lord Third's joke accept for me. I had eyes only for the Sannin and I couldn't contain myself. I rushed in front of the man bowing deeply at the waist.

"Lord Jiraiya. It's such an honor to meet you, sir! Please, after this meeting I have a request of you if you would indulge me."

The overly large man looked down and me and smiled. "Sure thing kiddo. What did you want to ask me? I'll let you know if I'll consider it now so neither of us wastes our time."

I nodded at the legend. "Lord Jiraiya, my teammate is an Uzumaki and he's been studying sealing on his own for a few years now. He says he's almost ready to start working on designing his own matrices, but he needs his questions answered by a true sealing master or he risks injury. I know you're the only master our village currently has. Please, sir. Will you take a few hours to help him out?" I finished with another low bow.

Had I not bowed, I wouldn't have missed the flash of triumph in the Sannin's eyes. "The Old Man and I were just talking about little Naruto this morning. I was already planning on reaching out to the kid. It's a rare thing to find someone with the potential I've heard about in sealing. It's good to see his teammates are looking out for him as well." He ruffled my hair before giving me the shooing motion. Indicating me back to my position. I smiled up at the large man and took my place back beside Cpt Genma. I turned to Lord Third and bowed once more, blushing a bit. In my excitement I kind of maybe forgot where exactly I was and who exactly I had just interrupted.

"Forgive me, Lord Third. I just-"He raised a hand cutting me off.

"As my disrespectful former student said, looking out for a teammate is displaying "The Will of Fire" quite brightly, young Kenta. Your excitement caught up to you, I'm just glad it's more restrained and respectful than that teammate you advocate for." He laughed at his own joke, earning a chuckle from me.

"Yes, sir. Naruto can be a bit… Overzealous."

Our aged leader smiled warmly at me before he put on his business face causing me to snap to attention. I might be a smart ass with my Captain, but this wrinkled man before me could crush me before I could blink. He's getting all my respect damnit!

"Now, you were informed why you were brought here, Genin Kenta?"

"Yes, Lord Third. About the nightmare I had in wave that I felt was more than that. You're aware of the few incidences I had in my childhood and the unexplained feelings I had at the time. It was that same gut feeling that led me to disclosing the events of the past to my team captain. I tried to remember what the dream contained, but it slipped away almost as soon as I woke up. Cpt Genma says my uncle and father are to perform a mind walk and projection so that those witnessing will be able to see exactly what I dreamed." I finished with a salute to my leader.

He nodded. "Concise and to the point. Well done. Yes that is the plan. Now if there- yes what is it Genma?"

I looked over at my team captain who was lowering his hand after getting Lord Third's attention. "Lord Third, on the way over here Kenta and I were talking. I made a joke about how he's a creepy little shit and made a comparison to your other former student. Upon hearing his name, Kenta seemed to stumbled and seized up. His eyes were glazed over and he wasn't breathing. It lasted only a moment but the name triggered more vision. Just thought you should know."

Lord Third looked over at me. "What did you see?"

I cleared my throat. "Just flashes this time Lord Third. Someone biting Sasuke Uchiha's neck, Sasuke covered in a dangerous looking seal of some kind. Also a vision of Naruto but it was different that the events that actually took place. Almost like it was something that could have happened had things been different. I cannot say for certain. Also…" I didn't know how to finish the rest.

"Go on, Kenta. He needs to know." Cpt Genma urged not unkindly. I nodded at him.

"I also saw… You, Lord Third. Blood running down your mouth and… well the light in your eyes was gone…" I finished awkwardly.

He sat there for a few moments before nodding. "We have no idea what these visions you've had are, or what they mean. We can only view them, discuss them, and take appropriate action if we feel that is the best course of action. Now, are you ready, Kenta?"

"Yes, Lord Third!" I saluted once more.

"Inoichi? Inoko? When you're ready."

They both nodded and then smiled at me. Uncle then kneeled on the floor in front of a blank wall with my dad kneeling beside him. "Come, sit in front of us, Kenta. This will only take a few moments. I know you don't remember much about the dream, but just try to focus on one thing you do remember and I can pull the rest."

I nodded and sat down between them. Uncle was to perform the Mind Walk, Father was performing the projection. Projection was another technique father developed. I hadn't learned it yet so I didn't know the intricacies, but it let him connect both with the patient and the user of the mind walk and to display the memories on a surface for anyone to see. It was almost like a movie in that way. Really cool if you asked me, and took the question that everyone had if our clan ever lied about what we saw in our Mind Walks.

Uncle and Father began their hand seals and placed their hands on my head. My world went black after that.

-KY-

As soon as the Mind Walk was over, I was kicked out of the office while everyone else stayed back to discuss whatever it was they saw. I wasn't too concerned, it was clearly far above my pay grade. I noticed the time and decided I still had plenty of time to get my two errands for the day out of the way with time to spare to make it home for dinner. I made my way to the Hyuga compound first. Jumping to the roofs, I quickly made my way there. Within 10 minutes I was outside the gates to the compound. I approached the gate guards.

"Pardon me, Lord Hyuga, but I'm a former classmate to Lady Hinata and I was wondering if she was available to speak for a moment?"

The two guards exchanged glances before nodding. One disappeared in a 'Body-Flicker' leaving me with the one I had approached.

"Lady Hinata was training with her father. My partner is going to see if she's available to speak with you Lord Yamanaka."

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Lord Hyuga. I will patiently wait."

I didn't have to wait long. The guard who left came back a minute later and informed me Lady Hinata was making her way to the gate. I smiled and thanked the man. He gave a curt nod, then both pretended I didn't exist. Such a formal bunch. They needed to live a little. Maybe a nice prank from Naruto would loosen them up. I chuckled to myself, so lost in thought I didn't even notice Lady Hinata's approach.

"U-um. Kenta? Ko said you wanted to see me?" A quiet little voice broke me out of my inner musings.

I turned to Lady Hinata and blinked once, twice, before smiling widely at her. I hadn't seen her since team formations so it really was good to see her.

I gave a small but formal bow to the Hyuga heir "Lady Hinata. You're looking well. I did in fact call on you to ask you a question and maybe a small favor if you have a few moments."

"Please, Kenta. You d-don't have to call me 'Lady H-Hinata.' W-what can I do for you?"

I nodded at her. "Well, you see I was given a scroll by my mother about her side of the family. I came across some information that said our family has been known to have a condition where our chakra pathways can become warped. It doesn't cause issues unless it's pushed too far, then complications can arise. I'm picking up my training here soon and I wanted to err on the side of caution. I was hoping you could take a look at my chakra network and tell me anything, ANYTHING different you see compared to a normal person." I quickly lied to the pretty Hyuga.

She smiled and nodded her head in agreement to my request. "I will t-take a l-look. I am sorry t-to hear that. I hope we d-don't find anything." She then activated her 'Byakugan' and gasped.

"Holy shit, what? What's wrong Hinata?!" I asked genuinely concerned. Did I jynx myself by telling that little white lie?!

"Your chakra points. All of them! They're… much larger and t-thicker than anyone's I've seen so far! It's amazing! It isn't warped at all. You should be g-good to intensify y-your t-training." She finished a lot more quietly than she started seeing my chakra network. Blushing she glanced and me and gave me a small smile.

"Thank you, so much Hinata! That is the best news you could have given me. Since you did me a favor, I'm going to do you one!" I grinned at the heiress.

"O-oh y-you don't h-have to do a-anything for me. I'm h-happy to help a comrade."

"Nonsense. Least I could do. Join us Friday for dinner."

"Us?" She inquired, tilting her head in a cute way.

"Yeah. Me and my team. I'm paying. I'll make sure the seat next to a certain blonde is wide open for you to slide into." I finished with a wink at her. The reaction was exactly what I was expecting and it was priceless. Instantly her face was bright red. She was pushing her index fingers together, staring at the ground and nervously shuffling her feet. But she couldn't hide the bright grin stretching her face.

"W-well, i-if you i-insist I g-guess I could j-join you and your t-team." Poor girl could barely finish her sentence.

"Great! It's Naruto's turn to pick this week so of course its ramen. Meet us at Ichiraku's at 1830 on Friday! See you then, Hinata! Thank you for your help!" I finished with a quick bow and started running towards the Uchiha district. I turned around once more with a wave and then took to the rooftops.

-NU-

After searching around the Uchiha district for a good 20 minutes I finally found the moody bastard. He was, of course, training. I stood at the edge of the clearing watching him for a few moments seeing if he'd notice me. Seeing that he hadn't I decided to have some fun. I casually flicked a shuriken at him, hoping to get him right in the ass cheek. He noticed the attack at the last minute and blocked it just in time. Onyx eyes bled red and instantly locked onto me. He turned off those rather (I'd never admit it to his face) badass eyes before turning back to the dummy he was currently pummeling.

"What do you want, Yamanaka?"

I casually made my way closer. "Two things. One, information on a certain Uchiha. Two, a spar with the famous rookie of the year." I noticed him tense when I mentioned his surname.

"And what Uchiha could you possibly want information on?" He hissed venomously.

I was actually taken aback by the malice laced in his voice but recovered quickly. "Calm your ass down, Uchiha. I was doing some reading and came across a certain name. After doing what research I could I actually developed a little bit of a hero worship of him. I was hoping you might know a few more things. A one, Shisui Uchiha. Dude was a fuckin' badass."

The tension seemed to lesson a bit in Sasuke's shoulders and he turned and faced me. "Shisui was my cousin. I'll try to answer your questions but I was pretty young when he died."

I nodded. "It's fine. We can talk about him in a bit. I feel like you'll be more talkative after a good ass kicking." I grinned wickedly at the Uchiha, he smirked back.

"You're on, Yamanaka. Once second, always second. Rules?"

I chuckled a bit at that. It was a good one, even I could admit that. To myself at least. "Hand to hand, weapons, and low rank techniques. You can use those eyes if you want. I know you need some practice with a real opponent with them."

Nodding, he grabbed a kunai and tossed it into the air. I tensed, waiting for it to strike the ground. The second it made contact, we charged one another. I opened with a straight jab to the nose, trying to ruin that pretty face; he blocked it and countered with a hard elbow right to my nose. Momentarily stunned I jumped back to gain some distance. I wiped blood from my nose (not broken, thank the gods) and pulled out a senbon with a mild nauseating toxin. Grinning savagely I began to bombard the moody bastard. This fight had just begun.

-AK-

The two of us lay panting on the ground. I looked a damn mess. Tears and cuts in my clothes, a couple nice bruises already forming, and let's not forget the burnt off eyebrows! I'm just glad the bastard didn't look much better. That black eye and small puke stain looked really good on him. We glared at one another before I burst out laughing. Even Sasuke let out a quiet chuckle.

"Let's go parade you around town looking like that. You'll either lose a good portion of your fangirls, or gain a few dozen more. Hard to tell what they'd do seeing their precious Lord Uchiha covered in puke." I laughed.

A "hn" was all I got in response, but there wasn't the normal heat behind the glare that accompanied it. Small victories, you learn to take them. We sat there for a few more moments catching our breath. Finally Sasuke spoke.

"Thanks for that, Yamanaka. It was a good spar. You've gotten better."

"Thanks, Moody. You're still as annoying to fight as you were in the academy. That hand to hand style is now a nightmare. I can see why you said you needed the 'Sharingan' to complete it. It's a style that utilizes the predictive nature of your eyes to block and counter, hard, isn't it."

He nodded. "I forget that you've got a brain under all that hair. You're 100% right. Now, you mentioned wanting to know more about Shisui, what did you want to know? I wanna get this over with so I can go wash up."

I let the comment about my hair go. I loved my hair and I wasn't going to give him ammo to use later. "Yeah, basically I just wanted to know if he ever mentioned how exactly he turned the 'Body-Flicker' into that style he used. If I could do it even half as proficiently as he could it would help build the foundation for my style."

Sasuke glanced my way before staring back at the clouds. "I only heard one thing. He was talking to my father and he said he practiced it so much, that he could mold the chakra for the technique from thought alone. Then he practiced more and more until it became second nature. I have no idea how he created the after-images he was famous for. Either illusion techniques or he was just moving that fast. Anything else you want to know?"

I shook my head. "Thanks, Sasuke. That actually helps more than you know. I think I know what he meant. I'll see you around."