I'M BACK BABY! Got a new laptop, hopefully this one will last a while. Enough yapping though, first a brief recap since it's been so long and then we move on with the chapter:

Okay, so the last chapter was spent introducing Naruto to the masters of Ryozanpaku and saying goodbye to Hiruzen. We got to see Hayato meet with Kushinada for a sec and setup some grounds for the future. Naruto went to bed and his training was to begin the next day.

That is where we pick up with this chapter…ON WITH THE TOR-uh…*ahem* I mean TRAINING!

Naruto's training began early and violently. With careful steps Akisame moved across the dojo, the fresh wood holding firmly as his slender body took each step with gentle ease. Once he stood over the resting Naruto he paused long enough to commit the loveable scene of the blonde curled up with the tiger to memory. Such a natural scene in real life was a rare thing, he may even considering immortalizing it later in a painting. Once the image was secured in his mind the master a deep breath. His eyes opened to reveal shining lights in a manifestation of his fighting spirit as he let out his battle cry. "WAKE UP!"

Tora bolted the instant he shouted, leaving Naruto screaming bloody murder as he tried to follow only to be snagged by the collar by the jujitsu master. "Well, now that you're awake let's begin your morning training," he said before dragging the blonde child to the doorway.

Naruto was, of course, not amused. "What?! It's still dark out!"

"Yes, early morning is the perfect time to do training," Akisame argued. "The cool air, the feeling of waking up through physical exercise as the world slowly joins you in its rise from the slumber of night. Truly there is nothing like a morning of training!"

In an instant they were standing outside the gates of the complex. The young blonde was currently dressed in an odd contraption of springs and straps that made it difficult for him to even take a step. It happened so fast he was suffering from whiplash. "Uh…Akisame…what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Why you're going to run of course," the pale-eyed artisan replied, smirking as he gazed down at the dumbstruck eyes of his new disciple. "Get to it, five laps around the compound. After that Kensei will be giving you some exercises to help with your leg strength and then you'll have breakfast." When Naruto looked like he was about to argue the master played his trump card. "What's the matter Naruto? Are you planning to give up so soon?"

The five-year-old balked at the question while Akisame simply stared at him with his eyes aglow with an ominous light. "We of Ryozanpaku have endured much more than a simple endurance exercise. Do you plan to quit before you've even begun?"

From his perch on the wall above them, Hayato smiled as he watched the look on Naruto's face change to one of determination. He felt a slight sense of pride he couldn't explain as he took that first step of five laps, gaining speed with each step until he was managing a slow jogging pace.

"He's really gonna do it grandfather?" He looked down to see Miu staring at the boy with wide eyes, unable to believe the effort he was putting into such a thing. Even if he had trained her since the day she could walk, it still intrigued her to see the determination of others.

The giant known as the Invincible Superhuman placed a gentle hand on his granddaughter's head as he smiled down at her confused stare. "Of the many Uzumaki I had the privilege of knowing in my time, all of them were known to be excessively stubborn," he said. His features darkened for just a moment as he recalled why that very stubbornness could also be a double-edged weapon. Still, he shook it off and continued to smile at the young girl. "I can tell just from what I see now that he bears that same fighting spirit and that he will truly become a powerful warrior…and I intend to make sure you can walk at his side when the time comes Miu. Now come, you have your own training to get to."

"Yes sir!" The little blonde girl gave a cute salute and hopped onto her grandpa's shoulder. He paused long enough to make sure she was secure, spared one last glance at the retreating boy's back as he rounded the first corner, and then launched from the wall into the trees.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two hours of running plus another hour of leg exercises left Naruto drained and a pile of putty on the floor of the dojo. The Kenpo master soon returned bearing a plate with a healthy amount of fish, rice and eggs which he placed next to the exhausted pupil. It was quickly joined by a bowl of miso soup and a pair of chopsticks.

"You'd best eat Naruto," he instructed. "We begin your basic training in one hour."

His only response was a groan as the boy managed to haul himself to his feet and give the vertically challenged man the evil eye. Like a man possessed he attacked the food, scarfing it down in only a few seconds before returning to his place on the matted floor.

True to his word, Kensei returned an hour later and ordered him to walk around the island while swinging his arms high above him, switching their position with each step. "Many forms in Kenpo require one to utilize their arms in a manner similar to that of a whip," he had said. "In order for that to happen you must first loosen the muscles of your arms so they are accustomed to the movement and you'll be able to attack like so."

Facing a wooden pole, the master stepped forward while lashing out with his right hand. It connected and sliced through the beam like a hot knife through butter to the astonishment of the observing child. The green-clad man slipped his hands into the sleeves of his robes and turned to face his wide-eyed disciple. "Now begin."

So the morning passed until he made three trips around the island alternating exercises each time. After arm swings it was what he called a duck walk, keeping his knees bent low to the ground with his fingers interlocked behind his head. After that it was lunges. Finally they had lunch.

After that Akisame appeared once again and whisked poor Naruto to his room. There he began learning how to read and made his first attempts at calligraphy. Of course the attempt was horrible but the master insisted it had taken him a long time to master the art himself. He also said that it was a good way to help him learn the martial arts.

"Such activities require discipline and the ability to perform fluid motion with your hand and wrist," Akisame explained as he drew the character for sword. "It was once believed that if you were a true master of martial arts then you were also a master in the art of calligraphy as well." He paused to chuckle to himself. "Of course I and possibly Shigure are the only ones who seem capable of living up to that particular legend."

Master and disciple shared a brief moment to appreciate the humor of his statement before continuing in their work. After the lessons it was dinner and then straight to bed. It was only as he began to drift into the pleasant embrace of slumber that Naruto realized the awful truth. This was exactly what was going to happen tomorrow.

XXXXX-Timeskip-XXXXX

Three weeks. Three weeks had passed since the first day Naruto had begun the physical training under the tutelage of the philosophical jujitsu master and the perverted master of all Kenpo. In that time period he had grown until he was capable of finishing his morning workout in only two hours and could read quite well. His writing still required a great deal of work but was almost legible now.

"Listen closely Naruto," Akisame addressed his disciple seated across from him on the floor of the dojo. "I realized that you are frustrated by the lack of technique training we have provided you and I wish to explain. In order to make sure you could handle both the physical and mental strain our training will place on you, we devised a plan to build your strength and stamina while testing your resolve. I'm proud to say you've passed with flying colors, but don't think you're out of the woods yet."

Naruto nodded, he had learned early on that it was best to sit quietly and let his master finish before he began to ask questions. Being rude tended to result in a particularly nasty bit of training later in the day. His patience was rewarded when Akisame decided to move on with his next point.

"Now then, first I need to explain the role of martial arts in the world of the shinobi and samurai." With a snap of the fingers, Apachai appeared holding a large scroll in his even larger hands. The good-natured giant unfurled the scroll showing a long series of ink paintings. Akisame pointed to the first illustration decorating the parchment that depicted a large battlefield of men in armor. "A long time ago there was only war," the learned master explained. "It covered the land like a plague and all suffered its wrath. Nobody knew how to use chakra in the beginning, thus a different type of combat was born, the martial arts."

The pale-eyed master moved a finger from the battlefield picture to the next one, a design detailing a group of men and women all in various stances. "Different regions and cultures gave birth to different versions of the art best suited for their purposes."

Next he indicated a drawing with a man sitting in a meditative position, a powerful aura surrounding his body and little kanji floating around him with the names of the five basic elements. "Of course when the world of ninjutsu was created, many would believe that something as simple as martial arts would not survive with all the extravagant techniques that appeared. However, those people fail to take one thing into consideration…that martial arts are always evolving."

Apachai backed away while Akisame held out his right hand and after only a few seconds it was covered in a barely visible blue aura that flickered like a heatless flame. "The masters of old incorporated the lessons bearing the use of chakra into their art and created a new branch of techniques and styles using that inner power. Just as each art is different, so too are the ways they use chakra. Jujitsu bases its practice primarily on creating a layer just over the skin of the user's body. This layer makes them incredibly sensitive to the nearby environment and allows them to react with record timing."

The aura faded and the pale-eyed master couldn't help but smile at the awed look he was once again treated to see on Naruto's face. He truly could never get enough of the awed wonder with which a child gazed at the world. "Anyway, before we get into any of that fun stuff, you need to unlock your chakra. Normally, an instructor would have the student meditate in order to do such a thing. The problem with our situation is that, unlike most children your age, you have a massive pool of chakra that is at least as large as an average chunin. Large chakra reserves in a child can affect your ability to calm your mind and meditate. So we'll need to use an alternate method. ATTACK ME!"

Naruto blinked…and blinked again. "What?"

Akisame rose from his standing position and squared off with the young blonde. "You can't meditate in the usual way. Your chakra levels make it literally impossible to calm your mind. So, instead of calming your mind, I want you to try and strike at me. I won't attack, I promise. I will only block and redirect your movements. The goal is not to hit me, but to fall into a constant pattern of movement. When you start acting on instinct instead of directed planning you should start to feel your chakra pools activating out of instinct."

Naruto swallowed nervously. He had watched the masters sparing before. He knew just how powerful they were and he was not very comfortable with the thought of attacking one of them. "Y-you promise not to attack me?"

Akisame nodded and Naruto sighed. The blond shifted his stance, pulling his right foot back slightly and keeping his thighs close together, raising his fists to chest level. For a moment they paused, and then Naruto charged, fist extended. The punch met the master's palm and was deflected harmlessly to the side.

"You have to do better than that Naruto," Akisame said, once again deflecting another strike with ease.

The next half-hour was filled with endless movement. By then Naruto was covered in sweat as he tried again and again to hit the man that had organized most of his training. Meanwhile, Akisame observed his disciple closely. They had been working for quite a while and yet, instead of labored breathing the boy showed no signs of tiring.

When he noticed the boy's deep blue eyes were beginning to zone in and out of concentration thin lips curled into a slight smile as he observed Naruto's actions. 'It's starting to work,' he thought to himself. 'It won't be much longer now.'

Within Naruto's own mind, things were different. He was beginning to feel a steady pace sink into his movements. With each moment that passed he began to feel calm and he could hear the steady drumming of his heartbeat in his ears. There was a calm blanket falling over his mind, wait...he could feel something other than his heartbeat. Energy, moving through his body like a powerful current in a raging river.

"You can feel it can't you," Akisame's voice seemed to echo around the boy. "You can feel the power in your body." The boy's vision turned completely black and yet he kept moving, somehow instinctually knowing where his master was standing. Through it all he felt the current, slowly gaining in strength as the man's hypnotic words rang through his mind. "It's boiling to the surface with an intensity that demands it be set free! Cling to that feeling Naruto! That is your power, draw it the surface, and let it erupt!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Energy, pure energy erupted from the boy like an eruption from a volcano. Like a tsunami the energy swept across the dojo with the fury of a storm. Akisame raised a hand to block the light coming from his disciple. As quickly as it had appeared the bright glow was gone and all that was left was the occasional light gust of breeze that ruffled the sleeves of the child's white karate gi. "Well done Naruto," Akisame said. "You've awoken your chakra."

From his seat leaning against the outer wall of the dojo, a certain karate master smiled as he took a sip of sake. "Jeez, I can feel his chakra from here," he mused. "I guess he really is a maelstrom after all eh gramps?"

Hayato chuckled from his place next to the brawler. He paused in the licking of his lollipop to reply to the younger man's inquiry. "The name suits him quite well, don't you think?"

Kensei smiled as he turned yet another page in his ero-magazine before adding his own two cents to the pot. "A true storm incarnate. With power like that and the training we'll be putting him through he could very well become a living force of chaos."

Even though he could hear the peanut gallery outside the dojo, Akisame kept his eyes on the young boy in front of him. "Now that you've unlocked it, are you ready to begin learning how to control it?"

Naruto grinned and returned to his original stance. "Bring it on!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, the masters of Ryozanpaku took on a disciple?"

Kushinada stood in the center of a room dimly lit by the few torches lining its thick stone walls. Her ever stoic expression was directed to a shadowed figure resting in a covered box. "Yes and the elder has expressed an…interest in me training him occasionally."

"And do you plan to?"

"The boy interests me," she admitted after a moment of silence. "I will see how he progresses in the future. If he continues to interest me then I may consider stepping in."

Unseen by the mistress of ancient martial arts the figure smiled slightly. "To have caught your eye he must have been an interesting one indeed." A gauntleted hand rose to hover just in front of a dazzling blue eye and clenched into a fist that the woman knew could break stone with the ease some show when breathing. "Perhaps I too should take a look at this…Naruto Uzumaki."

XXXXX-Timeskip-XXXXX

"Ninety-eight...ninety-nine...one-hundred."

"Alright, you've finished your morning exercises," Kensei told his student, who had currently just finished his second set of vertical push-ups. "Be sure to give your present to Miu. The Elder wishes to leave immediately after breakfast so you better be sure to say goodbye before it's too late."

Naruto nodded and turned to make his way toward the main house, the Kenpo master watching him over the top of his ever-present ero-magazine. The boy had grown much during his four months of training with the masters of Ryozanpaku. Kensei and Akisame both worked diligently to bring his already impressive stamina to god-like levels and they had taught him a few basic techniques. Even the Elder had ordained to teach him a defensive technique, Kouho Haiho, a technique that utilized an opponent's blindspot and used their own attack against them.

With a hearty diet packed with nutrients and a physical training schedule that would leave some grown men quaking in their boots, Naruto was well on his way to becoming a powerful warrior, of this he had no doubt.

With Shigure guiding him in basic stealth and trapping techniques, the boy had taken to the lessons like a fish to water. Every day you could find the young teenager and five-year-old slipping through the ruins of the lost city of Uzushiogakure, avoiding each other's traps while seeking to ensnare their opponent.

Stealth, strength, speed and well-practiced chakra control. Kensei began to wonder just how powerful their disciple would become in the coming years.

While the second eldest master of the dojo was off in his thoughts, Naruto had taken a shower and was just stepping into his room to grab a fresh change of clothes when he noticed the little figure resting on his dresser. "Well hello Arashi," he greeted the capuchin monkey as it jumped to his shoulder and offered him a scroll.

"Hiya Naruto!" he replied. "How's the training?"

"Brutal as always," was the terrified return as the blonde disposed of his towel and slipped on a pair of loose black pants similar to the ones Kensei wore. "How's Kaname-chan?"

"She's getting pretty good with that staff of hers. Wouldn't wanna tick her off in the future."

Naruto chuckled before plopping down in a chair and breaking the seal keeping the scroll tightly rolled up. The small smile on his lips was one of content as he read the words written by his oldest friend.

'Good day Naruto,

I hope this letter finds you well. From your last letter it seems your training is progressing favorably. I honestly look forward to seeing what you're capable of when you return.

Grandfather has begun to teach me the first steps in our clan's bojutsu style. I can't help but wonder if his training methods are legal though. Tell me, do any of your masters acquire a strange glow before they begin, as you put it, 'pound you into paste?'

Sadly, I don't have long to write. It is late and grandfather is planning to send the messenger tonight. I hope I can receive your reply in short time.

Sincerely,

Kaname Sarutobi

Naruto grinned and set the scroll down. "I'll send you back later," he told the silently observing monkey as he got up to make for the main house. "I've got a meal waiting on me."

"Ah, Naruto," Hayato greeted the young boy with a smile and wave. "And little Arashi-kun as well. You're just in time, we were just beginning to wonder where you were. I see you finished your morning exercises in time for breakfast."

Naruto returned the wave with one of his own before sitting down next to Miu and picking up a pair of chopsticks. Arashi quickly jumped to the giggling blonde girl's shoulder where he was quickly offered a small peach he began to devour with gusto. The simple meal of fish and rice provided for Naruto was quickly devoured and the others were dismissed to attend to their own time-wasting hobbies until it was time for the final farewells.

For most of the masters, training was the usual method of passing time. For young Naruto and Miu, the two had decided to spend their last hour or so together by sitting on the roof. Miu was sitting on the very peak of the building while Naruto decided to stretch himself out on the slope next to her. Arashi curled himself up on the boy's stomach and began soaking in the rays of the rising run.

"I don't wanna leave," the blonde girl said, staring up at the sky, just turning bright as the sun peeked over the horizon. "I'm happy here. I can play with you and we train together. Why can't I just stay here?"

"Because we both have different styles to learn," Naruto said. "The old man said he plans to hand down all of his techniques and knowledge of martial arts to you. Sure he'll teach me a few things when he gets back but you'll be the one who succeeds him."

The poor girl shook her head, puppy pout in full bloom as she did so. "But why can't he train me here?"

"I overheard Akisame-sensei and Kensei-shifu talking about it a few days ago," Naruto sat up and faced his friend. "They said we'd distract each other too much. We'll spend so much time worrying about each other that we'll slack in our training and that isn't good. Besides, the old man promised to bring you back a couple years before I have to go back to Konohagakure so it's not like we'll never see each other again."

As Miu silently pondered her friend's words, Naruto was inwardly thanking those two for drilling proper logical thinking into his head otherwise he'd be in hot water with his fellow blonde right then. Finally, the young girl sighed. "Fine but I still don't like it."

Naruto laughed, watching as Miu's pout grew even cuter, something he believed impossible. "I don't either. I just accept it. Oh yeah, I almost forgot." the boy rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in purple paper with a bright red bow. "I got you something," he said, offering the box to Miu. The girl quickly grabbed the package and ripped through the paper like a cat would a bag of catnip.

Inside she found a small hair-clip colored a burnt orange with a black Uzumaki swirl in the center. "I found it when I was exploring the ruins," Naruto explained. "I thought it would help remind you of me and that we would always be friends."

Miu smiled and wrapped her arms around the nervous blond, calming his fears of rejection with that simple gesture. The blonde girl quickly placed the clip in her hair, along with the two red ones she had as remnants of her mother. Now she had two things to remember her precious people by.

"I don't have anything to give you though," the girl suddenly became distraught. She had gotten such a nice gift but she didn't have anything to give him. Dawning realization struck the girl and she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Wait right here," she ordered and jumped down to the floor and ran into the house. A few minutes later she came running back out and jumped back up to retake her place next to Naruto.

"Grandpa gave this to me after he came back from one of his travels," she said, holding a small yin-yang pin. "I want you to hold onto this until I get back okay?"

Naruto nodded and attached the pin to the waist of his pants, since he had yet to don a shirt. "We'll keep these with us. We'll never lose them and we'll never forget each other."

The two hugged...just in time for the Elder to begin calling for them. They jumped down to find the masters gathered at the gates of the compound. Hayato had a bag slung over his shoulder and a smaller one held in his right hand, which he offered to Miu. The young girl took it and climbed onto the old man's back, peeking over his left shoulder.

"We best be off," Hayato said. "I'm trusting you all to make sure Naruto becomes a powerful disciple." The masters all nodded in return and the giant turned his eyes down to the blonde in question. "Naruto, I expect you to train hard and not to complain. Your will is strong and your heart is pure. Never lose that, you remind me of myself so much when I was your age. This means I expect great things from you, don't let me down."

Naruto nodded, grinning broadly as he gave him a thumb's up. "You can count on me old man."

The masters chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. They were all eager to see just how far their disciple would grow under their tutelage. Hayato and Miu bid them all a final farewell before the old man turned and charged off into the horizon, leaving only a cloud of dust as evidence of his ever being there.

"Well then," Akisame said, getting the attention of the remaining inhabitants of the dojo. "Now that we've said our goodbyes, I believe it's time we gathered and began to plan out our young disciples training schedule. Every master suddenly became tense and Naruto could have sworn he saw their eyes glowing. "Let's go inside the dojo and I'll show you a plan I've been working on," the philosophical jujitsu master said, turning and walking toward said dojo with the others in tow. During the small walk back Naruto couldn't help but wonder whether or not he should have begged to go with the old man after all.

Once inside, everyone sat down on the floor while Akisame pulled out a chalkboard from a nearby room. Once it was in front of the group, he took a piece of chalk and wrote Jujitsu, Karate, Muay Thai, Kenpo, Weapons, and Shinobi along the top part. Once that was done he turned and addressed his audience.

"Now, not only are we teaching young Naruto our separate styles of martial arts, we have also been tasked with teaching him shinobi skills by the Hokage. Now, Shigure and myself have the most experience in shinobi techniques, she spent some time learning amongst them and I've studied many of their arts during my days of traveling so we will take care of that. We must not only create a schedule where Naruto has enough time with each of us to master our skills, it must also include a physical workout section where we focus on his strength, speed and flexibility."

The masters nodded, agreeing with the man so far.

"Now, I realize we couldn't fit time in for every style every day. So I've come up with a small plan that we can use as a foundation to formulate the perfect schedule." Akisame turned back to the chalkboard and began to write.

"We will start every morning with a run around the island and then some strength exercises followed by some stretching. This will serve as his training from five until six-thirty, where he will break for breakfast. After breakfast he will train with one of the masters until eleven-thirty when we break for lunch. After lunch he will train with a different master until it is time for dinner at exactly seven. After dinner he will spend at least one hour studying the basic curriculum of the academy provided by the Hokage. Any questions?"

Sakaki was the first to raise his hand. "Yeah, who trains the gaki when?"

Akisame smiled and turned back to the chalkboard to begin writing a more detailed schedule.

Monday – Morning: Jujitsu; Afternoon: Kenpo

Tuesday – Morning: Karate; Afternoon: Muay Thai

Wednesday – Morning: Weapons; Afternoon: Muay Thai

Thursday – Morning: Karate; Afternoon: Kenpo

Friday – Morning: Jujitsu; Afternoon: Shinobi

Saturday – Shinobi/Weapons with Shigure and Akisame

Sunday – Strength, Endurance, Speed, Flexibility

"This way the training is in a constant cycle. It will keep his body from setting into a state of normalcy and keep it from adapting to the different parts of the body used for different arts. Sunday will be his day to fully focus on his body, no style work, just pure physical tor-training."

Naruto felt a cold chill run down his spine. He could see a familiar look in his teachers' eyes that could only mean one thing...things were going to be interesting.

Akisame suddenly dispersed the tense atmosphere by clearing his throat. "Now, there is one last thing we must discuss. Tell me Naruto, what do you know of the beast known as the Kyuubi?"

XXXXX-Timeskip-XXXXX

"Now, remember what I taught you," Kensei said to his disciple as his shadow clone interlocked his fingers behind the blonds head in a strong grip. "Apply the technique properly and your clone will be sent flying."

Naruto nodded and placed his right hand against the clones chin. A moment passed and then his right hand snapped up, grabbing his elbow and both arms pushed together. The force behind this sudden blow was strong enough that the clone was forced to let go and sent careening into the wall behind it. It crashed to the ground moments later and dispelled with a loud *pop*.

"Well done," the master said. "Now for the next step."

The blond nodded and made a cross handsign with the index and middle fingers of each of his hands. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The shout was followed by an explosion of smoke. When it cleared the room was filled with exact replicas of Naruto Uzumaki.

Kensei nodded. "Remember, if you mess up one time than you must start all over again." Naruto nodded and turned to face the first of many clones.

Kensei watched his disciple as he practiced his newest move, eyes trained to find any flaw in the execution. It was at this moment that Akisame approached his fellow master. "Kensei, there is a man named Hakubi in the living room requesting to meet with you."

Kensei frowned slightly. "Uncle Hakubi? Did he say why he was here?"

The visiting master shook his head in the negative. "No, he simply said it was important he speak with you and asked me to bring you to him."

"No need," the master said, slipping his hands into his sleeves and turning to walk toward the house. "Keep an eye on our young disciple, I'll see what my uncle needs with me."

When Kensei stepped through the doorway, his gaze instantly fell on the man sitting at the table, a cup of green tea in his hands. The man was dressed in violet version of the master's robes as and a pair of spectacles rested on the bridge of his nose. Also like Kensei, the man sported a bald crown and mustache, but coupled it with a thick beard as well. He had also allowed the hair on the sides of his head to grow freely until it reached just past his shoulders. "It's good to see you again Kensei," the man greeted his nephew, setting the tea down and standing to embrace the Kenpo master. "How are you?"

"I've been well Uncle," Kensei responded while returning the embrace. "Why have you come so far from home?"

Hakubi chuckled and the two sat down. "Actually it was for a few reasons to be honest. Your wife asked me to check in on you when she heard I was passing this way so I took a small side-trip to see you."

Kensei's eyes softened at the mention of the woman. "How is she?"

"She's doing surprisingly well, considering how you handed everything off to her and left so quickly. However, there's something you should know."

"What?"

Hakubi opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the voice of a...young girl. "Uncle Hakubi! There's a weird giant man chasing me!"

The old pervert's face went as white as a sheet of paper. "P-please tell me that's not who I think it is," he pleaded, only for his uncle to sigh.

"I'm sorry Kensei, but she would not take no for an answer." The moment the words left his mouth a pink blur came running through the doorway from the kitchen, followed closely by a laughing Apachai.

The blur stopped running, revealing itself to be a young girl around the same age as Naruto and dressed in a pink Chinese-styled dress. Her dark blue hair was tied back in a ponytail and her bright blue eyes were focused on the Muay Thai master as he stopped in front of her.

"Why did little girl run?" Apachai asked.

"Why are you chasing me?"

"Apachai was just trying to ask why you were here. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Well next time just ask!" The girl sighed and turned to see her uncle staring at her, and Kensei trying to sneak out a nearby door. "And where do you think you're going papa?"

Her words froze the man mid-step and he turned to glance fearfully over his shoulder. "Well, Renka, why is my darling daughter so far from home?"

The girl continued to glare. "I could ask you the same thing."

Suddenly the frightened man sighed and composed himself. "Well, I know you want me to return home but I can't right now."

"Why not?"

"I have a disciple here and I cannot leave him at such a crucial part of his training nor can I bring him with us if I were to leave."

Renka pouted and it looked like she was fit to explode, if Hakubi had not stepped in. "Perhaps I can help." Father and daughter turned to face the gently smiling man as he took another sip from his tea. "Kensei, you have had almost no interaction with your daughter in the recent years, including her training in the martial arts. What I suggest is a way to rectify that while still allowing you to spend your days here at Ryozanpaku. Let her stay here for half a year each year and the other half she will spend with her mother. You both get to train her and raise her while still going about life as you've been living for these past few years."

Kensei cupped his chin in his hand, thinking about his uncle's words. It was an interesting offer, but he was concerned about her traveling the Elemental Nations without some sort of guard. Sensing the possible reason for his hesitance, Hakubi decided to 'sweeten the deal.' "I will also have my very own disciples escort her during the trip between here and your home."

"Ah, how have those two been lately?"

"They are doing quite well to be honest. I am fully confident in their skills as martial artists and I know they will be more than capable of protecting young Renka here."

Kensei sighed but nodded with a small smile. "I assume she already has the necessary supplies." Renka cheered while Hakubi's only response was to pull a single scroll from his sleeve and hand it over to his nephew. "Of course. Well Renka, since you're going to be staying for a while, how would you like to meet your fellow disciple?"

The girl happily nodded and fell in step with her father, but stopped when he turned to address Hakubi once more. "Will you be staying the night?"

"Goodness no," the man laughed as he finished off his tea and rose to his feet. "I was merely stopping by to pay a quick visit. I have more work to attend to elsewhere and I must be going."

Kensei nodded. "It was good to see you again, hopefully we'll meet again soon."

The old man nodded and turned to walk away as the father led his daughter out of the house and toward the dojo. 'I wonder how Naruto will react when I tell him he has to give his room to Renka.'

Back in the dojo, a practicing Naruto sneezed, leaving him open for a clone to slam a knee into his gut. The blonde crashed into the wooden walls of the training area, gripping the point of contact and grunting. 'What was that?'

"Too bad Naruto," Akisame's voice grabbed the blonde's attention away from both his pain and confusion. "You'll have to start over."

"CRAP!"

And Cut!

And that's a wrap, hope y'all enjoyed but I don't have much to say on this level. Not much changed really, just added a little more detail and now I've setup for another timeskip in the next chapter.

Next time on Fist of the Sentinel: A summoning contract, more training…and perhaps even a visit from a master of the shinobi way? Will Naruto survive? Will he come to master of martial arts? Well considering if he didn't survive this would be a very short story now wouldn't it?

Love it? Hate it? TELL ME HONESTLY! FLAMES WILL BE USED TO COOK MY MEALS AND WARM MY ROOM AT NIGHT!

Now then, a brief statement of what I'm up to right now: I'm currently cleaning up Half-Ghost Kitsune, filling in some plot holes, adding some context and improving the overall general flow. Working on new chapters for 3 Course, The Four Ride Again and The Immortal.

I will say this now I am suffering a major block when it comes to Shaman of the Elemental Nations, mostly because I am trying to find some way to make this unique without falling into cliché pits everywhere…obviously I am having trouble with that and I am sorry for that but nothing I write just feels…well right.

Fear not, I shall persevere until the day I am able to publish a new chapter for that one as well. Also, those keeping up with all of my works have noticed I have not mentioned my little monster project and if you are following my work it's because…that little beauty had an update too. Hope you like it.

That's all I have to say for now…hope y'all aren't too mad with me. Till next time, Yurei King signing out!