Naruto: Saviour of the Shinobi World

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 5

THUD

THUD

THUD

The sound of limbs smacking against the wooden stump rang throughout the clearing. Sasuke was panting heavily by now after close to an hour of training; the conversation with his father and his embarrassment at the youth ninja competition fresh on his mind. He had to get stronger faster, and if it took breaking every bone in his body to get there, he would do it. He wouldn't ever be disgraced or be a disgrace again… not if he had any choice in the matter.

He had run through all of his regular drills, and was now fagged out, but he still wouldn't take a break. He was determined to train till he dropped. Perhaps this was how he needed to train henceforth if he was to match his brother.

"Hello Sasuke-kun"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard a voice come from right behind him. He hadn't even sensed anyone at all… he was truly weak, he thought.

However, considering who it was that got the drop on him, he was probably being too harsh on himself. Itachi was in the ANBU after all.

Turning around to find out who had spoken, Sasuke's eyes lit up in joy at who it was. His beloved brother had come to see him.

"NII-SAN!" Sasuke exclaimed. He loved and admired his brother more than any other person, and even the constant pressure to be more like him by his father didn't change that.

"I can see you have been training a lot Sasuke-kun, so how about you take a break with me." Itachi said. He was happy that Sasuke was taking his training seriously now as that would enable him protect himself better, but he was still concerned about his reasons. Itachi knew that whatever inspired a man to be better than he is couldn't be that bad, but he still wanted to make sure he got him straight mentally.

"Alright Nii-san… I was just about done for today anyway" Sasuke said, with a wide smile on his face.

Itachi, seeing his brother's wide and happy smile couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face, nor did he want to.

"How have you been Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"I have been alright Nii-san… mostly" Sasuke replied, his smile turning into a frown at the end.

Itachi suddenly felt his mood turn sour seeing Sasuke sad.

"I heard what happened at the Youth Ninja Competition. You know you did nothing wrong, right?" Itachi said, getting no reply from Sasuke who had his head down at being reminded of his failure.

"But you would have never lost Nii-san… in fact, you never lost at anything. I'm a disappointment to the clan aren't I?" Sasuke said in a wistful melancholy.

"What do you think is the mark of the true Shinobi Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke took a moment to think before he answered the question. "Ehm… Nii-san, I think that the true Shinobi is someone like you: one who is strong and talented in all fields of the Shinobi arts."

A childish answer it was, and one that showed Sasuke's extreme admiration for his brother and the pedestal he subconsciously placed him on… and Itachi caught that.

"Why do you think I am so strong Sasuke?" Itachi asked his little brother.
At this, a confused look appeared on Sasuke's face. Why was his brother asking him all these questions?

"I don't know Nii-san. Tou-san always says that you are a born genius, so I guess that's why." Sasuke concluded uncertainly.

Itachi hard a reminiscent look on his face, "Have I ever told you about my life before you were born Sasuke-kun?"

"No you haven't Nii-san." Sasuke replied.

"Let me tell you a bit about it now then." Itachi said gaining Sasuke's complete attention. "When I was four years old, I experienced the Third Great Shinobi War. As is characteristic of war, there was death everywhere. As a young, naïve child, it was a lot to take in for me. I had grown up reading about the past wars that had taken place throughout the elemental nations but experiencing it first hand was totally different. It helped me mature." Itachi said and seeing that Sasuke was still listening, he continued, "Perhaps father is right in saying that I am a born genius – even I know that the rate at which I have been able to pick up things is unnatural and not many people can do so at that level – however it wasn't until I experienced war that I became a true Shinobi, at least mentally.

What I am trying to say Sasuke is that your level of natural talent only accounts for a fraction of your pedigree as a Shinobi. When you were born, I swore that I would do everything necessary to protect you, and this I will do till my dying breath. This, I believe, is the source of my strength." Itachi said with a fond smile on his face as he spoke of his love for Sasuke.

Sasuke already had tears in his eyes at Itachi's declaration; all the emotion becoming too much for him to handle. He immediately latched onto his brother and cried softly… tears of joy.

After about a minute Sasuke detached from his brother, and began rubbing the tears away with his five year old hands.

"I know that you think you have disappointed the clan by losing at that competition Sasuke, but do you want to know what I think?"

"What do you think Nii-san?"

"I think that you have the potential to be the strongest Uchiha ever." Itachi said with a smile.

"You really think I can be that strong Nii-san? Even stronger than you are?" Sasuke asked surprised and happy that his brother thought so highly of him.

"Yes I do Sasuke"

"But how can I be? You were already much stronger than I am now at my age… I don't know if I can match up to you Nii-san." Sasuke said.

Hearing this, Itachi knew he needed to do a bit more to get Sasuke where he needed him mentally… and he knew the story to do the trick.

"What do you know of the Sannin Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"The Sannin are comprised of Orochimaru-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and Tsunade-hime. They are reputed to be among the strongest Shinobi in Konoha, surpassed only by the Hokage." Sasuke answered.

"That's good Sasuke," Itachi complimented "But let me tell you a little about their beginning.

The Sannin were all a part of the same graduating class. At the age of six, they all graduated from the Academy and were placed on the same team. While Tsunade and Orochimaru showed remarkable skill and talent in various aspects of the Shinobi arts, Jiraiya showed no remarkable talent or skill and struggled to grasp the things he was taught. Jiraiya finished from the academy as the deadlast of the class and was only placed on the same team as Orochimaru and Tsunade to balance the teams. He seemed to be a lost cause to everyone at the time but through grueling hard work and determination he is now the strongest of the Sannin." Itachi finished his story and like before saw that Sasuke was listening to him, and so he continued, "So you see that the level of natural talent you are born with doesn't decide how powerful you will become. However, if you are to become as strong as I know you are capable of becoming, you will have to give it your all… and that is why I am happy that you have begun taking your training more seriously."

The pep talk did its job as Sasuke was looking considerably more determined – and for the right reasons – and believed in himself more.

"I will make you proud Nii-san."

"I am already proud of you Sasuke" Itachi replied with a small smile.

A few moments of silence passed before Sasuke broke it.

"Nii-san."

"What is it Sasuke?" Itachi replied.

"Do you know who that boy is? Naruto Senju." Sasuke asked. He needed to know who the boy that won so effortlessly – so it seemed to him – was.

Itachi had seen this coming already. His brother wanted to know more about his new rival. By defeating him, Naruto had proven that he was better – at least for now – and the Uchiha in Sasuke would not allow that defeat to stand. He had to draw level and surpass Naruto or he would not rest.

This posed further concern to Itachi. He had heard about what Naruto had done and the level of destruction he had caused, and he was already convinced that he was a special Shinobi. He had even begun drawing comparisons with himself. He had also mastered the Uchiha clan coming of age Jutsu at about the same age, maybe slightly older, and this left him contemplating what a rivalry with someone who could do that would do to his brother.

On one hand, a rivalry with someone who is stronger could and should help Sasuke become better, like it did for him with Shisui. On the other hand, it could lead to Sasuke becoming obsessed with power such that he would then lose himself to it. He could only hope that it led to the former scenario.

"Well… his name is Naruto Senju, as you know, and he is the only son of Tsunade Senju of the Sannin." Itachi replied.

"Wow, he is the son of one of the Sannin… no wonder he is so strong." Sasuke said.

"Now, now Sasuke, whose child one is does not decide their strength." Itachi said in a light scolding tone.

"I guess you are right Nii-san." Sasuke said. "But who is his father then?" He then asked.

"The status of his father remains unknown for now Sasuke," Itachi replied and then decided to end the conversation "Why don't we go in Sasuke… you should be hungry now."

And with that, all curiousity over Naruto's parentage that Sasuke had was forgotten in favour of sating the hunger that had so mysteriously taking a hold of him.

"All right Nii-san… let's go"

As they walked back to their home, Itachi gave some thought to the topic that his brother had brought up innocently. Who was Naruto's father? Itachi had already given considerable thought to it since he heard about Naruto the day before. Somebody of Tsunade's level and with the amount of class and pride she possessed – given her status – there was only a handful of people that could get close enough to her as was required to father her child. In fact, there was only one plausible option: Jiraiya.

But it couldn't be him, Itachi concluded. He would have no reason to hide it if he were the father. Tsunade had just as much enemies as Jiraiya did, so the excuse of protecting him from his parents' enemies was invalid.

'Perhaps young Naruto is not even Tsunade-sama's son.' Itachi mused. 'But who could it be then? They would have to be close enough to her for her to decide to take care of their son rather than place him in the orphanage.'

He was unable to continue with his thoughts however, as Sasuke began pestering him for training.

"Hey Nii-san… will you train me" Sasuke asked.

"You already have a sensei Sasuke-kun, why do you need another one?" Itachi asked.

"Aww… but you are so much better than my sensei is, plus, I feel like you can teach me much more than he can." Sasuke whined.

With a come hither motion, Sasuke drew nearer to Itachi and got a poke on his forehead.

"I'm sorry Sasuke… I won't be able to help you much. I am already swamped with my ANBU missions. However, I know you will advance well even without my direct assistance. So why don't you just continue under your sensei and learn everything you can, eh?" Itachi admonished, with a small smile on his face at the end, while Sasuke massaged his forehead with a pout on his face.

"No fair Nii-san. You always say the same things whenever I ask you." Sasuke persisted.

"Okay Sasuke, let's come to a compromise: if you drop this issue, I will let you watch me train when you have time. Deal?" Itachi asked.

After thinking about it for some seconds, a smile came upon Sasuke's face as he agreed with the compromise. "Alright Nii-san… we have a deal."

"Good … Now let us hurry home." Itachi said, ending the conversation.

With Naruto

A day had passed since Naruto's encounter with Kiba and Sasuke. He had informed his mother and Jiraiya of his victory at the Youth Ninja Competition, and while they were proud of him, they already expected that outcome so it wasn't much of a surprise. In addition to this, Jiraiya decided to share a piece of very important information with both Tsunade and Naruto.

Flashback

After his conversation with Kakashi, Naruto went to the garden to speak to his mother. He had sensed her. It was a skill he had recently discovered… he could always sense people's chakra whenever they were within a certain radius.

Quickly arriving at the garden behind the compound, Naruto made his way to where his mother was reading a book.

"Good evening Kaa-chan." Naruto greeted his mother cheerfully.

"How are you musuko? When did you get back?" Tsunade asked with a smile on her face. She always loved seeing her little boy

"I got back some minutes ago Kaa-chan" Naruto replied.

"Come, sit with me musuko" Tsunade requested, and Naruto complied. "And how did it go" Tsunade asked.

"It went well Kaa-chan. I was even able to make a friend." Naruto replied as he took a sip out of her drink. Sharing things was something they both did often.

"Really? What's his name then" Tsunade asked

Seeing an opportunity to have some fun with his mother and with the straightest face he could muster, Naruto replied, "What makes you think it was a guy Kaa-chan?"

"It's not a boy?" Tsunade asked, already fearing for the worst – for her at least.

"No Kaa-chan, it was a girl… and what a girl she was, if you know what I mean." Naruto said giggling perversely at the end – just like he had heard Kakashi and Jiraiya do severally.

Hearing the words out of her baby's mouth and the perverse laugh at the end, Tsunade saw red.

"Jiraiya! Kakashi! I am going to kill those two when I see them. Look what they've done to my baby boy… They've turned him into a pervert… Oh, I'm going to pulverize the both of them and then beat the pervert out of my little Naruto… Yes, I am going to make everything right again starting now." Tsunade raged like a mad woman.

Hearing Tsunade scream and rage, both Kakashi and Jiraiya hastily escaped for their lives. And maybe they soiled themselves a little at the raw killing intent that permeated the entire compound… maybe a lot.

Hearing what his mother planned to do to him, Naruto quickly decided to end the joke.

"K-Kaa-chan. Kaa-chan, please calm down. I-I was only joking with you. I met a guy…his name is Kiba… Kiba Inuzuka." Naruto said. His fear was real when he saw the look his mother turned to face him with.

He did succeed in placating his mother however, as she noticeably calmed down after he had spoken.

"So you didn't meet a girl?" Tsunade asked.

"No Kaa-chan, I didn't. I am not like that Kaa-chan… I only said that to see your reaction. Don't worry, neither Ero-sennin nor Kakashi Nii-san have corrupted me yet." Naruto replied.

"That's much better musuko, however I will still have to punish you" Tsunade said.

"But what are you punishing me for Kaa-chan?" Naruto said in a whiny tone.

"You have to learn that I am off-limits for your pranks musuko… Don't worry though, I will think up an appropriate punishment for you later on, but carry on with your story." Tsunade said with a mischievous smile on her face.

All the blood suddenly drained from Naruto's face as he looked as he suddenly looked pale… stricken with fright.

"O-okay K-Kaa-chan. I did meet a guy named Kiba… he is a member of the Inuzuka clan. He was quite nice and friendly." Naruto said.

"Oh… Tsume's kid… That's alright Naruto-kun… The Inuzuka are a distinguished and loyal clan of Konoha. He could be a good friend for you." Tsunade said. She knew of both children of the Inuzuka Clan Head, Tsume Inuzuka: Hana and Kiba although she hadn't met them before.

"That's great Kaa-chan… I'm glad you approve." Naruto said. "I also met another boy, Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke… I didn't get the opportunity to talk to him though." Naruto informed his mother.

This was odd to Tsunade. The Uchiha were a proud and confident clan… they would ordinarily not be caught in such a competition as it would be beneath them to participate in such a competition – and they wouldn't be exactly wrong to think so. The Youth Ninja Competition usually attracted competitors of low skill level or children who were aspiring to become Shinobi. Even Uchiha children would not be allowed to participate… they would rather be trained within the clan walls.

So why was the son of the Clan head in such a place? She knew of Sasuke Uchiha, second son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha and younger brother of Itachi Uchiha: the pride of the Uchiha clan.

She was actually interested in hearing how the brother of the Uchiha prodigy did.

"That's interesting…" Tsunade said. "So how did he perform?" She asked.

"He did quite well actually, Kaa-chan. He performed the Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu… it wasn't perfect but was still okay for a boy his age." Naruto said.

"Hmm… he must be talented" Tsunade mused aloud. "Alright then… did you win?" She asked.

A smile came upon Naruto's face as he heard the question, "Of course I did Kaa-chan." Naruto answered and then brought out the silver kunai he received as a prize to show to his mother.

Examining it for a second, Tsunade gave it back to Naruto as she smiled. She was proud and happy for her baby. He was already doing things on his own, and she knew that he was going to do great things.

"Alright then, why don't you go rest for a while, we will begin your training once the pervert gets back." Tsunade said.

"Alright Kaa-chan. See you later" Naruto replied.

When Jiraiya returned to the compound, he was informed of all that had happened with Naruto that day. He also shared the same sentiments as Tsunade regarding Sasuke and his new friend Kiba.

Afterwards, he decided to share the most recent development he had found out: a group of S-rank missing-nin had banded together and Orochimaru was one of them.

"Through the aid of my spy network, I have discovered some troubling news." He began, "I have been checking up on Orochimaru to know what the snake is up to and know if he has anything planned against Konoha.

"And what has he been up to?" Tsunade asked.

"My sources say he has been seen moving around with a new group that popped up just recently. They aren't doing much yet except taking missions from different villages that require their services." Jiraiya replied.

"And what is so troubling about that?" Tsunade questioned. "Although Orochimaru prefers to work alone most of the time, it's not too far-fetched that he would join up with a group, especially with our hunter-nin going after him."

"You didn't let me finish hime." Jiraiya said, giving her a pointed look. "What is troubling is that the group is comprised only of S-rank shinobi."

Tsunade's eyes widened a fraction upon hearing the news as her mind processed all the implications of the situation at hand. A group that comprised solely of S-rank shinobi would need a leader to keep them together and in check. Also, a group that comprised solely of S-rank shinobi would also be capable of causing immeasurable damage to the balance of the elemental nations. One S-rank Shinobi is capable of taking on an army of Jounins and coming out relatively unscathed and is also exponentially stronger than an A-rank shinobi.

"This is serious Jiraiya." Tsunade said.

"Is it really?" Jiraiya asked sarcastically. "Now you see why I was troubled."

Ignoring his former statement in favour of finding more information to sate her worries, Tsunade pressed on.

"Have you informed Sensei of this yet?"

"I did that immediately I arrived at the village." Jiraiya answered. "He also showed concern and asked that I keep my ears to the ground for any more information."

All the while his mother and god-father had been talking; Naruto had been listening in on their conversation. It wasn't eavesdropping as they didn't ask him to leave this time unlike they did when they wanted to discuss something which they didn't want him to hear.

He didn't understand much of what they were saying, but the little he did understand was enough to get him worried. He had read all about the system of Shinobi, its ranking and hierarchy and he knew how powerful S-rank shinobi were. In fact, there were only three S-rank Shinobi in the village at the moment: The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi; Tsunade Senju, Konoha's Slug princess and Jiraiya, the toad Sage. Naruto couldn't even dream of taking on any of them yet and the thought of having people potentially as strong as or even stronger than them running around set him on edge. He loved his village and wanted to be as strong as was necessary to protect it. And so he silently resolved to get strong enough to defend his village no matter the opposition.

"Now to the reason I allowed Naruto stay to hear this," Jiraiya began, "I think we should concentrate more on Naruto's training. While we don't know the plan of this new group, we have to make preparations as if they aim to harm us."

"And my son is some kind of super weapon that you intend to use to combat this group?" Tsunade asked, a strong glare at Jiraiya and a dangerous tone to her voice.

"Of course not Tsunade!" Jiraiya exclaimed, also with a glare. "You know Naruto is like the son I never had. This is for his protection as well".

"And how is this to protect him?" Tsunade asked, in a voice that said she wasn't too convinced but was willing to hear him out.

"Don't you want to be able to relax and know that you have prepared him enough to take on any adversaries he may face? We don't know the plans of this group yet but we know that they have the make-up of an incredibly dangerous foe. Naruto must be prepared to lead his generation against them. It is his destiny." Jiraiya ended his speech.

"My son's destiny is not to die like a chicken for this village like all the other hokages." Tsunade bristled hotly.

"The hokages' sacrifices were not in vain Tsunade. You should know that." Jiraiya said trying to douse the growing tension while passing his point across.

"Be that as it may, Naruto is too young now for that kind of responsibility." Tsunade maintained, although in a more calm tone.

"Hime, you and I both know that Naruto is anything but normal. He is already more mature than his peers and in a few years I believe that he will be ready for this."

"Can I say something?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Of course you can Naru-chan" Tsunade replied.

Ignoring his mother's pet name for him for the moment, Naruto spoke up "I don't know who this group is, what they can do or what they are about, but I do know that if there is anything I can do to stop them should they ever become a threat to Konoha, I will do it." Naruto declared with the utmost conviction and a fire in his eyes that took both Tsunade and Jiraiya by surprise. "When that time comes where I give my all in service to this village, I want to be able to give something worthwhile. So I ask that you both join me in training to my limits because I am doing so with or without your help."

Hearing what Naruto said and feeling his determination filled Tsunade and Jiraiya with a great deal of pride. He already had the spirit and will of a Hokage: The Will of Fire. They could tell that he would do great things not only because of his talents but even more because of his will and his heart.

"If this is what you really want musuko, then Jiraiya and I will teach you everything we know and until we see you become the Shinobi and man we know you can be." Tsunade said with a smile on her face while Jiraiya nodded also with a smile on his face.

Flashback End

After the discussion, both Jiraiya and Tsunade stepped up Naruto's training. They decided to teach him proper elemental manipulation. While he already knew jutsu for all the primary elements, he had not actually done the nature manipulation exercises for them but as they were all his nature affinities, he was able to perform them without much problem.

Jiraiya and Tsunade both believed that if he could complete the nature manipulation exercises, not only would he be able to learn higher ranked jutsu, but they would be more powerful and he would be able to reduce the amount of handseals necessary. And so they got him started on fire chakra transformation which happened to be the most common in Hi no kuni as well as being one of Jiraiya's natures.

"Naruto, I think it's time we got started on teaching you about elemental transformation." Jiraiya began. "As you may already know, Katon is the most common nature here in Hi no kuni (Fire country) and it is also one of my primary affinities, and for these reasons it would be the best for us to start with."

"I understand Ero-sennin, let us begin." Naruto said and it seemed his recently discovered fire hadn't waned in the slightest.

Seeing his readiness to train reminded Jiraiya of a young Minato Senju, and that brought a smile to his face.

"Alright then, the first step in Katon transformation is channeling fire chakra through a leaf in order to burn it. Once you can do this instantly, I will consider the exercise mastered and we can move on to the next stage." Jiraiya said.

"Wait when you say you will consider the exercise mastered when I can do it instantly, does that mean no one else has to be able to do it instantly before they can move on to the next stage?" Naruto asked.

"That is quite astute of you Naruto. Most other people do it in five seconds, but I know you can do it instantly." Jiraiya said with a smile on his face. "So… let us begin."

And so with that they began Naruto's training. It didn't take long for Naruto to master the first stage of Katon manipulation, after which he then advanced to the final level which involved superheating a moderately large pool of water to boiling point. It took a bit longer than the first stage to complete but he eventually did.

After completing the manipulation exercise for Katon chakra, Jiraiya decided to train Naruto's Doton chakra as it was his other primary element.

"Naruto, now that you have mastered Katon chakra, we will move on to training your Doton chakra. The first stage of the exercise involves converting a small rock to earth and back. Once you can do that instantly, I'll consider the first stage mastered and then we can move onto the next stage."

"Alright Ero-sennin, I'll get to it right away." Naruto replied Jiraiya.

And so he did, with the same determination he had when mastering his Katon chakra. His Rinne-sharingan allowed him an extremely powerful affinity with all elements; however, he still had to be able separate each individual chakra nature in order to use it. Therein lay the challenge for him.

"Are you having some difficulty Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, seeing as Naruto had been concentrating on the rock in his hand for close to an hour with no visible headway and was already showing signs of frustration.

"Yes ero-sennin. I'm having difficulty separating the Doton nature from my chakra in order to progress with this exercise."

With a smile at Naruto also experiencing the struggle that everyone else who attempted to master more than one chakra nature, Jiraiya decided to give him the same advice that was given him by his Sensei. "Figure it out then."

"Gee, thanks for the help ero-sennin." Naruto said sarcastically

Chuckling at his godson's displeasure, Jiraiya decided to explain, "The process of separating one's own chakra into different natures is something that cannot be explained, Naruto. As everyone's chakra network is different, you must discover the technique towards accomplishing what you want yourself."

Hearing his godfather's explanation, Naruto couldn't help but agree with the logic. If he wanted to master all chakra natures, he would need to understand his own chakra rather than merely having a general understanding of Chakra.

"Don't sweat it son," Jiraiya stated, "You will get it soon. Just give it time."
"I think I have an idea of what to do ero-sennin." Naruto said while standing up from his seated position.

"Where are you going Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'll be in my room for the rest of the day ero-sennin. Please let Kaa-san and Shizune nee-chan not to bother me. I won't be eating either." Naruto replied.

Completely stumped as to what his godson was going to be doing in his room for the rest of the day without eating, Jiraiya decided to ask for an explanation. "What are you going to be doing in your room for the rest of day Naruto? You know your mother is more likely to go to your room if I tell her what you've asked that I tell her."

"I want to test a theory. Just tell her that I am working on something very important and have asked not to be disturbed."

"Well, if that's what you want then I will oblige you, however, you better have an explanation tomorrow as we will all be expecting one."

"I will. Thank you ero-sennin." Naruto said as he made his way inside the house to his room.

Once in his room, Naruto got in the meditation position. His plan was to be able to understand his chakra network and its nature better by meditating. He had read in a book that meditation helped Shinobi understand the way their Chakra worked, and he believed it would help him in solving the problem he had.

And so Naruto began meditating and as he progressed he was growing in his understanding of his chakra and the way it worked.

He didn't know how long he had spent meditating and didn't even consider the time factor at all. He was determined to only leave his position when he was satisfied with his understanding no matter how long that took.

Being a Jinchūriki, Naruto immediately appeared in his mindscape when he began meditating. He was, however, careful to avoid the Kyuubi's cage as it was not his mission to talk to the Kyuubi this time except he had to in order to fulfill his current mission.

When he arrived at his mindscape the first thing he discovered unlike the last time he was here, when he first activated his Dōjutsu, was that it resembled a large hallway featuring red carpeting with gold thread designs, sparkling white walls and gold and marble statues of people and creatures that Naruto had no idea about.

'Why does this place look better than the last time…way better' Naruto thought.

It indeed looked majestic; however, Naruto was too determined to accomplish his mission to be distracted by the beauty of his mindscape or by his curiousity over the identities of the various statues.

As he went on through the hallway, he came to a large field featuring beautiful flowers, massive trees – magnificent in their grandeur and almost intimidating, and a brightly shining sun that could have fooled him into believing that he was back in the real world.

Straight ahead, he saw two large caves, made of marble of the most dazzling white colour. He knew that one of them must be where the Kyuubi would be, while the other would be the storehouse of all his knowledge, memories, experiences and the place he would need to go to understand his chakra better.

By the waves of dark and malicious chakra emanating from the cave to the left, Naruto knew that was the Kyuubi's and so he made his way to the cave on the right.

As he entered he noted that it featured similar furnishing to the hallway he had come through earlier. He discovered several grand doors with ornate gold designs as he toured the place, each having conveniently placed name plates on them describing what they were for. Reaching the end of the hallway and feeling a bit dejected at not having found what he came for yet, Naruto finally found what resembled a ball of energy shielded by what seemed to be a several-inches thick glass. Curious as to what it could be, and a bit excited over the prospect of that ball of energy being what the key to pathway to the information he was seeking, Naruto made over to grasp it.

As he made to touch the glass, he was surprised to find that his hand passed through the glass like it wasn't even there. However, he wasn't deterred in the least by this oddity; instead he reached for the orb of energy and as he grasped it he was transported deeper into his mindscape to the world of his chakra.

He had been in the world of his Chakra for what seemed like forever and was experiencing things that couldn't be explained with words. It was truly transcendent, the feeling and the knowledge he had received. He now knew why no one could be taught to separate chakra natures. It required more than any extrinsic knowledge – no matter how concise – to achieve such a thing. One had to intrinsically know and be acquainted with their chakra. It was a bond that couldn't be aptly expressed in words; however by constant practice many people could eventually reach that level of acquaintance with their chakra to separate it into other natures.

However, unknown to even Naruto was the fact that what he had accomplished was something that what he had accomplished was an understanding of Chakra that had been lost to Shinobi for millennia.

It was the desire of the Sage of Six paths – the Rikudou Sennin, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki – that people used the chakra he had given them to understand themselves and others better, but people instead weaponized chakra and turned Ninshū into Ninjutsu.

Naruto, by this, was the first person since the earlier adherents to the Ninshū creed to reconnect with chakra in this way.

Snapping his eyes open, Naruto immediately recognized the sweet sensation of his Chakra flowing round his chakra network. He also discovered that it was day outside as the sun was out. Looking at his clock on his bedside table, he discovered that he had been meditating for TWENTY-FOUR HOURS STRAIGHT! It was amazing to him as he hadn't felt as if he had been there for any more than an hour.

Deciding it was best he went to his family to ease their worries; he went downstairs to living room where he felt his mother's chakra along with Shizune, Jiraiya and surprisingly Kakashi.

'He must have arrived while I was still in my mindscape and stayed.' Naruto thought. 'Probably did it to keep mum and Shizune nee-chan company. They're most likely very worried by now… I better get there now.'

When he arrived at the living room, he found everyone he had sensed earlier seated, however the worry his mother and sister were feeling was clear to him.

"Umm… Hello" All eyes snapped up to him as soon as he spoke making him rub the back of his head while chuckling nervously.

What was clear to him was that he was in for a very scary questioning session. He only hoped it didn't take another twenty-four hours.

End.

Author's Note

What's up guys!

I know it took a really long time getting this chapter out to you guys and that is owing to a number of different reasons. Still for whatever reasons I do have, I apologise for the very late update.

I hope you guys read and enjoy the chapter.

Thanks and GOD BLESS YOU.