As a side note, I found out that the usual 100 Ryo to $1 USD that most stories use is actually incorrect. In reality, it is 10 ryo to $1 USD. Any future chapters that mention money will reflect this.

It turned out that the accident happened on a Monday and I had been out of it until waking up Friday. Who knew dimensional travel could be so dangerous? While I was rather confident I could graduate from the academy with no issue, I still needed to relearn the Academy three; kawarimi, bunshin, and henge. Good thing I was able to recover my academy texts, even if they were a bit charred.

At the moment I was looking for a nice open area so I could practice. I was alone, my miraculous recovery hadn't extended to Akamaru, unfortunately, and his wounds were expected to take another week or two to heal. My wandering eventually brought me to the gate of a basic training ground. It was bordered by a living fence of trees, like most of the smaller training areas in Konoha, with a line of bushes along the side adjacent to the street to ward off casual observers. Three weathered posts sat in a line on the far end of the field, nearly fifty yards from the entrance.

"Well, let's get started."

Despite coming out here to relearn the basic three, I wanted to check something I had noticed on the way home from the library. I began to dash around the field, both to warm up and to see just how fast I'd become, how well I could maneuver. To Run Free increased my movement speed for every level. This wasn't some spell or passive buff, but a subconscious technique. How I breathed, how my feet hit the ground and pushed off, how I held myself, all of these combined to achieve an end result. And that end result allowed me to easily surpass my previous limits. Even juking back and forth, veering around trees, my newfound speed held up. At least until a squirrel beaned me in the nose with an acorn hard enough to draw blood.

"Ack! What the hell! You overgrown rat, I'll use your tail as a toilet brush!"

All I got in reply was some rude chittering and the glimpse of a furry backside as it fled further into the forest.

Now, a squirrel attack isn't as embarrassing as it sounds, though I still wouldn't be mentioning this to anyone. The squirrels of Konohagakure had been around since the village had been founded. They had thrived and were now the size of large rabbits, and had a temper to match their abnormal size. Groups of squirrels ganging up on a particularly vicious cat or annoying dog weren't uncommon, though they still avoided Tora. The uninformed would joke, that they were Konoha's environmental defenses. This was false. They were only part of the defenses.

It has long been accepted that the term "Hidden Village" is a bit of a misnomer. Soon after their formation, the various leaders realized that stealth isn't good for advertising. After all, how can you accept missions and clients if no one knows about you? At the same time, they didn't want to be vulnerable to hostile forces, that was the original reason the villages were formed in the first place. Eventually, a compromise was reached. While the locations of each village would be generally known, their exact defenses would remain a highly guarded secret. Oh, there are the obvious traps and seals, not to mention the enormous wall most villages have built, but each village managed to change their static defenses enough that no spy would be able to map everything out before the information became outdated.

Then there were the more unique environment based defenses, which were well known, but still a danger. Suna is in the middle of the desert, forcing would-be invaders to trek through the unforgiving landscape for days if not weeks. Kumo is located atop a mountain, while Iwa is built into one. Mizu makes use of the prevalent mists and uncharted, submerged rock formations in addition to powerful, ever-changing currents.

And Konoha is in a forest. Nearly a hundred years ago, when Hashirama decided to found Konoha, there was no great forest in the Land of Fire. There were the Great Plains of Fire, so named for the fact that the grass seemed to catch on fire in the light of Summer sunsets. You can, in fact, still see this phenomena if you travel west toward the border shared with the Land of Wind, though it isn't as grand a sight as in days of old. This is because, in a single, mind boggling display of power, Hashirama Senju brought a forest into existence in the span of a single night. A forest that now covers most of the central region of the Land of Fire. A forest with paths that seem to move. A forest with trees that seem to close in and block the way of the unwelcome. A forest where you could hear titanic beasts moving through the underbrush, yet never spot anything more than enormous footprints, unrecognizable as any known creature. And yes, a forest full of squirrels that have an inexplicable urge to go for the nuts.

Most ridicule vanished after the first invading force was swallowed whole by the forest.

Done reminiscing about history lessons, I stopped running around like a headless chicken. All I had to show for the last half of exertion was a pleasant, nearly unnoticeable burning sensation in my legs and the fact that I was breathing a bit heavier than usual. I'd never been a stamina monster like Naruto, but I am still one of the best of the class in terms of physical ability, second only to Sasuke. Now though? Now I plan to give him a run for his money.

Moving on, I decided to work through the Way of Metal jutsu that I had obtained. As much as I would like to give Float a spin, it was too eye catching, too hard to cover up. Just because I had told my Mother and the Hokage, a close family member and the military leader of the village respectively, didn't mean I was going to be shouting my secrets from the rooftops. The only others I would reveal this to would be Hana, who, again, is my sister, my teammates after I trusted them enough, and certain enemies, who would be in no position to share my secrets when I was finished with them.

Pulling a kunai from my thigh holster, I wiggled it back in forth in my hand to catch the light and check for any visible cracks. Satisfied with my inspection, I began to shape my chakra for the first basic jutsu, Mold Metal. It went off without a hitch, and I slowly shaped the kunai to my needs, flattening and lengthening it to be more of a knife than a gardening tool reappropriated as a throwing weapon. Once I was satisfied with the result, I did the same for three others. Once I was finished with the smaller detains - shaping the handle so it was less likely to slip, reducing the ring on the end to a simple pommel, and making sure each knife still held an edge - I released the jutsu, pressing a fingertip against one of the modified kunai to double check.

Slipping three of the blades back into the holster for now, I focused on the one I had modified first. Shaping my chakra differently this time, I poured it into the kunai. This was basically what many higher rank ninja did, reinforcing their weapons with chakra, with a few differences. While they had to constantly use chakra to have their weapon constantly enhanced, my technique only lasted a certain number of hits, but also only required a single application of chakra. Succeeding a second time, I began hacking away at one of the training posts, marveling at how much deeper my strikes bit into the into the wood, contrasted more when the jutsu ran its course after a few seconds and I could compare earlier, enhanced cuts with the more recent, unenhanced ones.

Finally, possibly the most dangerous of the basic jutsu, Metal Within. Shaping the chakra felt incredibly similar to Mold Metal, simply targeting my own flesh instead of the metal of a kunai. Taking the modified kunai, I gently placed it against my forearm, grimacing at the cold metal as it entered my flesh like pushing through mud. Quickly, so as to get it over with as soon as possible, I repeated the process with my other forearm and both of my legs. Now if I was ever captured I would at least have access to a weapon. Releasing the technique, I prodded my arm where the kunai entered. Nothing. It was as if they had vanished. And it would stay that way until I performed the technique again to retrieve them.

Basic jutsu dealt with, I debated whether to move on to my only offensive median jutsu, or to work on the Basic Three like I had planned.

'Ah well, in for a penny, in for a pound.'

It would push me, I wasn't even sure I could pull it off, but there was no backing down now. I gathered chakra in my hands, squared up to the training post, and swung, a textbook punch.

BAM!

I was knocked back from the point of impact, skidding to a stop flat on my back. The metal that I had just embedded in my body was humming and vibrating uncomfortably, signaling that metal objects were not my friend at the moment.

"Okay, lesson learned. No median jutsu until I've trained up some more," I said with a groan.

Getting up and brushing myself off, I examined the result of my punch. It was impressive, for someone not even out of the academy. The crater was obvious, roughly the size of a large orange, but more interesting was the fact that the post was leaning backwards a bit. These training posts were usually embedded at their half point to provide stability for taijutsu practitioners. Granted, these things were more to practice form than to unleash all your strength on, otherwise Gai and Lee would be breaking these things all the time.

I pulled the book from my other leg holster in an attempt to find out what just happened. After paging through it, I found an answer. Apparently I had just experienced my first backfire that had been mentioned. If I had poured more chakra in I could have prevented it. Instead, I had to deal with penalties to wielding or blocking metal weapons for a while. Not something I wanted to experience again, but luckily I was finished testing the new jutsu.

Stowing the book, I took a deep breath and decided to get to the reason I walked out here in the first place. I slowly worked my way through the hand seals for the bunshin. The technique is more or less a hologram, only with chakra instead of light. Grass isn't crushed under its foot, the air isn't disturbed by its passing, and it makes no noise whatsoever. Basically, any observant enemy of equal or greater skill to the caster that's paying attention will be able to tell what's going on, to say nothing of sensors or the dozens of dojutsu out there.

It took a few tries to make the copies clear and not have any errors like indistinct features or fuzzy edges, but I managed to remaster the technique fairly quickly. Satisfied with relearning the first technique, I started going through the motions for the henge before stopping.

"Damn it. I don't have a mirror to see if I'm doing it right. There's not even a pond nearby. And I don't have someone else to point out any mistakes I make"

"KA-BOOOSH"

As if summoned by divine providence, a large pink mushroom cloud rose over a building a few blocks away from the training field. Nodding to myself, I slowly made my way over to the hedge-flanked entrance.

I counted down under my breath, "Three, two, one...yoink!"

With perfect timing, I reached out into the street and grabbed a passing collar - and its wearer.

"Hey Naruto, you wouldn't have anything to do with the paint bomb that just went off, would you?"

"Ehehe…" He scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Who, me? No, of course-"

"He went this way! Hurry!, Don't let him get away!"

A small crowd of pink ninjas dashed down the street.

"Uh huh. Well, If you aren't doing anything, you can help me practice."

With Naruto's help, I was able to pull off the Henge pretty well. The technique required you to hold the image of what you were transforming into firmly in your mind. Once the transformation occured, it took a small stream of chakra to maintain, and there was a sort of mental 'weight' as well. And of course, there was a level of mental strength required to correctly imitate the properties of whatever you were copying. Sure, you could turn into a sword, but unless you maintain focus on how hard steel is and how sharp a sword is, you're more likely to end up with a sword that acts like it's made from balsa wood that snaps when it hits something, which would in turn break the technique.

Finally, the kawarimi no jutsu. It's basically sleight-of-hand where the user has enhanced their speed, reflexes, and perception with chakra to pull off the optical illusion of being hit. It most definitely is not associated with any sort of space-time techniques like I had hoped. Still a decent little ability, for genin at least. I had Naruto toss a few rocks at me to practice. I, of course, offered to reciprocate, being the kind soul that I was. It had absolutely nothing to do with him getting me with a particularly hard throw right in the knee. Strangely enough, he nervously declined my generous offer.

Academy jutsu relearned and my potential graduation no longer in danger, I wondered what to do next.

'Oh, that could work.'

"...Hey, Naruto. It's getting close to noon. You wanna head to my place and grab some lunch?"

It took a while to convince Naruto I was serious, but thirty minutes later we were seated at the kitchen table, waiting for mom to put the finishing touches on lunch.

"Hey Naruto, graduation's only a month away. Are you ready?"

"Of course! Graduating is just the first step on the road to becoming Hokage! I just, you know…"

"Need to work on your bunshin?" I finished.

"Yeah, that."

Of course, I knew what the issue was, and I knew everything would sort itself out if it nothing changed, but...Even though he tried to hide it, I could tell how miserable Naruto was over his failure to perform one of the easiest jutsu in existence.

"How about we go to the backyard and I'll help you practice after we finish eating?"

"Really? You'd do that for me?" The hope in his eyes was almost painful to see.

"Sure, you helped me, it's only fair I return the favor. That's what friends do, right?" He visibly flinched in surprise before giving me a smile.

"Y-yeah, I guess it is."

"Alright, lunch is ready!" Mom swept in, her arms full of plates laden with food. I'd say too much food, but I knew what Naruto's appetite was like, not to mention my own. It was a simple meal, meat skewers and rice with chilled tea to drink, but it was filling. Naruto and I bowed our heads with a quick "Itadakimasu!" before we dug in.

"Alright, let's see it then. Try doing a bunshin and I'll keep an eye out for any mistakes."

"Right, here goes! Bunshin no Jutsu!"

An absolutely enormous plume of smoke exploded into existence before quickly fading away to reveal a single clone that looked like it was on death's door. The thing was pale, almost white, and there was next to no detail anywhere; no buttons or zippers on the jacket and only the faintest trace of Naruto's famous whisker marks. To top it off, the entire thing shimmered like a mirage in the desert heat. I couldn't help but whistle in disbelief. Not even my first attempt at the bunshin had been that bad.

"Okay then, lots of stuff to work on, no problem. First, let's try changing up how many clones you're making. How many were you aiming for?"

"I was trying to make three, since that's what you need for the graduation test, but I can't get more than a single clone, and they always turn out," he gestured towards where the clone had been, "like that."

"How much chakra are you using?"

"Chakra?" Oh yeah, Naruto was pretty ignorant on some of the basics. To be fair, I was similar. Who care what it's called as long as I know what it can do? Of course, I'd discovered that mindset lead to issues down the road.

"The energy used in jutsu. It's a combination of the energy made in your body and the energy that comes from your mind, your life experiences. That's why training your mind is just as important as training your body."

"Oh. Um, I don't know, a decent amount? I tried using more a few times, but I just ended up with more smoke."

"Uh huh. Try using as little chakra as possible. This is a jutsu for academy students, we aren't expected to have as much chakra as a jonin."

A few attempts resulted in slightly less fuzzy apparitions. Not much, but enough to tell that progress was being made.

"Good, good. It looks better already. The only other suggestion I have is to make more than three clones, but I don't know if they'll count off for that. We can ask Iruka-sensei later, but for now, we need to work on your control."

"My control?" Naruto asked with a scrunched up face.

"Yeah," I nodded sagely. "You were using as little chakra as you could those last few tries, right? Well, you need to use an even smaller amount, but you can't hold onto such a tiny fraction of your chakra. Luckily, I have a solution."

"Really? What is it?"

"We…" pause for dramatic effect, "are going to climb trees!"

'Huh, so that's what a face fault looks like in person. Painful.'

"How is that supposed to help?! I can already climb trees!"

"It'll help, because we won't be using our hands." Seeing Naruto was still confused, I continued with the explanation I had whipped up. "See, while I was in the hospital, I heard the nurses talking about another patient, a genin. He'd messed his arm up while practicing some chakra exercise called tree climbing. Apparently, if you keep a constant flow of chakra going from the bottom of your feet, you can stick to stuff, not just trees. The genin was practicing and lost focus, causing him to fall and land on his arm wrong."

"So," I gestured to the trees currently surrounding us, "We're going to give it a try!"

"Cool! But, how will this help with my control?"

"It's 'cause you're constantly messing with your chakra, see? You have to keep a constant flow, then stop everytime you pick your foot up, then re-apply the same amount of chakra when you put your foot back down. Too much and you'll fall off like that genin, too much and, well, I'm not sure, but the nurse mentioned something about splinters? Anyways, you're," I gestured with my hand, as if trying to pluck the right words out of thin air, "getting familiar with your chakra this way, see? How it flows, what it does when you aren't using it for jutsu and stuff. Now, enough talk, let's get climbing!"

Pulling out a kunai to mark my progress, I approached the nearest trunk. Naruto was already racing up his chosen tree, getting a few feet up the trunk from momentum alone, but I wanted to try a different approach. Placing on foot on the rough bark, I slowly sent out a tendril of chakra. Once I felt I had the right amount of flow, I lifted my other foot to do the same. And almost broke my ankle.

'Argh, right. Gotta reinforce pretty much my entire leg. And possibly my spine, too. The human body isn't meant to stand horizontal to the earth with no support like this. Probably the reason everyone goes with the running start, you end up reinforcing yourself subconsciously.'

Pulling myself to my feet, I tried again, this time making sure to pay attention to my ankle, knee, and hip, too. Swinging my other leg up and doing the same, I had done it. I was standing on a tree trunk. About two feet off the ground. And I was slowly sliding back down. Nearby, Naruto was still going strong, Kunai marks scattered along the first seven or eight feet of the tree. Okay, so maybe there was a reason for the running start.

Backing up a bit to get some room, I dashed toward the tree. Closer, closer, now! With a leap I began moving up instead of forward, frantically channeling chakra and maintain my momentum at the same time. Two or three meters up I messed up and pushed off, scoring the tree and flipping in mid air to land on my feet. Shaking my head, I rushed forward again.

Neither of us managed to get to the top of the tree that day, not even close, but I wasn't too concerned. We were training with far less urgency than in the anime during the Wave mission, so it was okay to not train far into the night and to the point of exhaustion.

After Naruto left, declining an offer to stay for dinner, it was just me and mom. Hana-nee was working late at the veterinary clinic again.

"So," mom said with a raised eyebrow, "that was Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yep. He seems to calm down quite a bit when people pay attention to him. It says something that today is the most focused I've ever seen him, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does," she agreed. "Is this going to happen frequently?"

"Training with him? Probably. He could use the help, and odds are we'll be teammates. Besides, he could use a friend. Why, worried?" I ask.

Mom snorted. "My only worry's that you two will eat us out of house and home." Changing the subject she asked, "Are you going to tell your sister?"

"About the alternate self thing? Yeah, she deserves to know why her little brother is acting twice his age. The new jutsu and knowledge of a possible future? No, probably not. I told you because there's no way I would've been able to hide it from you, and I'm likely not going to tell you everything I know anyways, OpSec you know? Only the Hokage will know that much, and that's because, well, he's the Hokage. It's his job to know everything. If my sudden attitude change attracts too much attention I'll let slip that I remember a past life as a middle class civilian and it mellowed me out a bit, should satisfy most."

And those that wouldn't be satisfied with such a response would have eventually been gunning for me anyways.

"I might tell my team down the line, but not until we actually trust each other. The Hokage might hint at it to the Jonin Sensei though. I hope he doesn't, the look on their face will be hilarious." Or rather, the look in Kakashi's eye will be hilarious. That man's surprisingly emotive for someone that covers up five-sixths of his face.

The rest of dinner passed in silence, though not an uncomfortable one. I helped mom clear the table and dried while she washed. Then, I bid her goodnight and went to sleep in the guest room that I would be using until my own room was repaired. Climbing into bed and pulling the blanket up to my chin, I closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

And just as quickly woke back up. I wasn't in the guestroom anymore.

"I'm starting to get tired of not waking up where I fall asleep," I muttered.

It was a plain room. Unpainted concrete walls, a single reinforced door, no window. Two chairs on opposite sides of a table bolted to the floor were the only pieces of furniture. All in all, it looked like a stereotypical interrogation room, minus the one way glass window. There were probably seals on one of the walls that did something similar without the giant weak spot a pane of glass would create.

The door opened, drawing my attention. The Hokage walked in, followed by another ninja I hadn't technically seen before, but still knew about. Ibiki Morino.

"Hokage-sama, I take it I'm here for debriefing?"

"That's right Kiba-kun. Morino-san here will be recording our talk and will cross examine you to ensure we get as many details as possible."

"Sounds good. Ah, before we start, Hokage-sama, how do you think you will die?"

Ibiki stiffened at such a question, while the Hokage stared at me for a while before nodding almost imperceptibly.

"Oh, probably something silly like a snake bite," he said casually.

Well, either this was actually the Hokage, or some group had managed to penetrate the Hokage's personal security measures, kidnapped me, and the two in front of me were in disguise. And speaking of such groups...

"Better than dying because you were careless and tripped on a root," I replied, with what I thought was a passable attempt at being casual myself. Something told me I needed practice. The Hokage's face could have been carved from bedrock.

"True, though a well tended garden should not have any exposed roots."

"Of course not, such roots could damage the tree and would be removed or covered up. However, improper root care will lead to rot. Left alone, and the tree's leaves will yellow and its growth become stunted."

"Oh, and what can be done to save the tree?"

"If the rot is too deep, nothing. The tree will die and enrich the soil for those that come after it. If caught early enough though...you excise it. Remove the rot at its source."

The Hokage looked thoughtful.

"I see. And how would one go about preventing any further instances of rot?"

I folded my arms, choosing my words carefully.

"Though the roots grow in the dark, never to see the sun, they are still an important part of the tree. Without them, the tree would soon fall. Remove the bad growth and nurture the healthy roots that remain. This way the tree will recover its strength and continue to grow."

"Hmm. Very well. Thank you for your gardening advice, it may prove useful. If you'll excuse me, Morino-san will handle things from here."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Oh! One last piece of advice before you go."

"Oh?" the Hokage paused, his hand on the door knob.

"All too often a gardener will remove the source of rot, only for it to pop up again almost immediately. Great care must be taken to completely purge the tree."

The Hokage's eyes gleamed. "Do not worry young man, I have quite a bit of gardening experience."

"Of course, sir. It's just…"

The old man's gaze softened. "I understand. I leave you in Morino-san's capable hands." With that, he left.

Ibiki raised an eyebrow. He might not know what was going on, but he recognized a coded conversation when he heard one. "Well then, with that out of the way, let's get started. From the beginning, please."

"Very well. It all starts with Naruto, somehow, managing to paint the entire Hokage Monument unnoticed…"

I went from there, detailing the failed graduation, the fallout afterwards, and team seven's first C-Rank mission. At that point Ibiki began grilling me on descriptions of various persons of interest, their preferred weapons and jutsu, their motivations, and so forth, starting rudimentary profiles for previously unknowns and adding to those that Konoha already knew about. He went on to important events, who was involved, directly and indirectly, and when they happened, not just what order but how much time passed from one event to the next.

The man was a genius of interrogation. I knew from second hand accounts that he could be pants-shitting terrifying, and that he was a master of torture both physical and mental, but he was able to guide the questioning so well that I was remembering minor details about stuff I had seen two or three years ago.

Finally, he asked for my opinion, how I felt about different people I had described, how I felt about the actions of this or that person. I wasn't entirely sure why, maybe to see where my personal opinions had colored things? I answered as best I could, and before I knew it, the interrogation was wrapping up.

"Alright, that's all for now. We'll be in touch. You're free to leave," Ibiki said, motioning toward the door.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. They had spirited me away in the middle of the night, presumably out of security concerns, and now they were going to just have me walk out? I gave a mental shrug before walking over and putting my hand on the doorknob. I gave it a twist and a pull and-

I woke up. For real this time. Hopefully. And in my own, temporary, bed.

"Was...was that all in my head?" I looked around. The window was untouched, the door was still closed, the battered sword at the foot of my bed was-wait. I reached down and grabbed the scabbard, partially drawing the blade. It was a simple weapon; straight, single edged, and judging by the black scabbard, roughly the length of my forearm. A chokuto, if I remembered correctly. A shinobi's sword of choice. Attached to the sheath by a bit of twine was a piece of folded paper. Removing it, I read the note.

For Services Rendered.

It was unsigned. Putting the note down for a moment, I fully drew the blade to examine it more closely. It was well maintained and cared for, but it definitely wasn't a new sword. The dings and scratches told of a long history in combat. Turning it over in my hand, I noticed there was a solitary marking at the base of the blade, just above the tsuba, the hilt, in the shape of Konoha's iconic leaf. Looking it over in hopes of finding who the previous owner was, the only clue I found was a small metal ornament, a menuki, in the shape of a monkey that had been woven into the tsuka, the hilt wrapping.

'Huh. Looks like I know what I'll be working on today.'

Getting up, I went about preparing for the day with a smile on my‒okay, so it was more of a grimace, and there was more than one agonized groan. I'm not a morning person. Not the best trait to have for a ninja, but hardly the worst. Still, I managed to put a clean change of clothes on and look semi-presentable at least. The only hiccup came when I had to decide how to carry my new sword.

On the hip would be traditional, if it was a katana. A chokuto was short enough that it would just look silly. Besides, I never really liked the whole draw-strike-resheathe of iaido. As for horizontally at the small of my back, I faced the opposite issue; I couldn't help but worry it would stick out too much on either side and catch on things. Eventually I decided on carrying it vertically on my back at a slight angle so the pommel was poking up over my left shoulder since I was right handed. Using some rope to act as a temporary harness until I could buy something better, I practiced drawing and sheathing the sword a few times to get a feel for it. I was able to draw the sword in a single smooth motion, no overextending or weird angles since the blade was shorter than most. I'd probably have to change things if I got a different sword, but I didn't see that happening anytime soon.

Finally ready to take on the day, I headed downstairs for a quick meal of cereal, toast, and orange juice. Mom and Hana had already left for work, so I scarfed down breakfast and headed for the training field I'd used yesterday.

Once I made my way back to the still empty training ground, I drew the chokuto and fell into a kata that I and my body knew without ever learning. I slowly let my mind go blank and focused on the movements in a sort of moving meditation.

I again ran into the problem of not having anyway to practice deflecting projectiles, so I focused on the Armor of Blades technique, my chokuto flashing this way and that until it looked like I had a wall of shimmering steel protecting me from all sides. It wasn't perfect, there were gaps obvious to even me, but it was definitely better than I had been a week ago in both lives.

'Now, do I go find Naruto, or do something else? It's still a bit early, and Hokage-sama did mention that I should try to shore up my weakness in Holistics. Learning from a book wouldn't be as effective as taking a class, but it should be fine for getting the skill to Novice.

Choice made, I headed to the Konoha Library. Fanfiction had made the place out to be some sort of repository of forbidden knowledge full of jutsu that was ripe for the taking, as long as one could get past the, usually negligent, guards. In reality, it was a public library. Sure, there were books on Chakra, but they were focused more on the theoretical side of things, not the spit-fireballs-from-your-mouth side of things. No jutsu. I wasn't looking for jutsu anyways, I had a reliable source for those already. Instead, I got a librarian's attention and asked for the location of a few beginner medical books. A quick computer check had her leading me to the right section of the building and pointing out the particular shelf. Grabbing a handful of books ranging from an Anatomy for Dummies book to what looked like a school textbook, I brought them over to a nearby table.

The next few hours were spent going back and forth from book to book, relearning half forgotten lessons from a first aid class I had taken in high school. By lunch time I had a reasonably good idea on how to stop someone from bleeding out, set a broken bone, restart someone's heart, and other battlefield basics. I wasn't anywhere near being considered even a field medic, I was still clueless about poisons, for example, but I felt I was as good as I would get without an actual teacher. Voluntary studying on a weekend complete, I left in search of lunch. Instead of heading to what would probably be an empty house, I checked my wallet and decided to eat out. And, both in hopes of finding Naruto and seeing for myself how good they are, I made my way to Ramen Ichiraku. Another thing the internet got wrong. It's not Ichiraku's Ramen, it's Ramen Ichiraku, meaning "Ramen is the Best Pleasure."

"Hey Naruto! I thought I'd find you here. One beef ramen please, Teuchi-san."

"Certainly Inuzuka-san. Coming right up."

"Hey, Kiba, what are you doing here?"

"Same thing you are, getting lunch. I've been training body and mind all morning and I'm starving."

"Huh? Body and mind?"

"Yup, Hokage-sama visited me while I was in the hospital and mentioned that a good foundation is important for aspiring genin. I did a little self evaluation and realized I was lacking in the medical department. All the power in the world won't help me if a teammate gets injured and I don't know what to do."

"Huh," Naruto had a contemplative look on his face. "I never thought of that."

"It's like I was saying yesterday. Chakra is mental and physical. You gotta keep things balanced, otherwise you'll end up in situations where you're useless."

Teuchi chose that moment to interject, "Your ramen, Inuzuka-san."

"Thanks, and you can just call me Kiba, I've never really been one for formalities."

There was a lull in the conversation for a few minutes as we were both distracted by food.

"Anyways," I began, motioning for a second bowl, "You wanna work on tree climbing some more after this?"

"You want to keep training with me? We didn't really do much yesterday."

"Maybe not, but I did a bit of snooping, and it looks like it usually takes people a week or two to get tree walking down." I neglected to inform him that such a feat was accomplished in part because of the looming fear that an A rank missing nin might attack at any moment. I figured that the threat of failing to graduate would work as a motivator just as well.

Naruto looked appalled. "A whole week!"

"Well, yeah, but we can switch things around. Do a little tree climbing, a little sparring, maybe some exercises to improve speed or strength or flexibility, stuff like that. Running up a tree for several hours a day for a couple weeks doesn't sound like my idea of fun."

"Oh. That sounds a lot better than what I was thinking. Yeah, let's do that."

"Good. So we can meet up after school and head to my place. It's not guaranteed that training ground we were at yesterday will always be available, and I'd rather not get yelled at by some genin that thinks I'm trying to steal his 'ultra secret moves'" I said with air quotations. "Not to mention that this way we can raid the fridge."

The blonde nodded sagely. "A very good reason."

In sync we drained our bowls and set them aside.

"So, you good to go, or are you going to eat even more ramen?"

"Hey, don't diss the ramen, it's best!"

I had to admit, despite my previous experiences consisting solely of instant ramen, this place made really good food.

"Yeah, it is."

Well, I didn't get this out on Halloween like I had planned, or even on Thanksgiving like I had wanted. Still, I hope you'll enjoy this early Christmas present and understand that this chapter was less of a reboot and more of a new chapter from scratch.

On another topic, how does everyone feel about the chapter length? I know the first chapter was something like eight or nine thousand words, but that's a lot to put out in one chapter. The only ones I can think of that release chapters like that on a semi frequent schedule are authors like Saphroneth or Vimesenthusiast, and I am most definitely not at their level. Would you guys mind if I stuck to chapters around 5k in length?

Please leave a review. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like, what made you laugh and what made you confused.

~Noxlux013