8 Presentations
"Now it's your turn" Looking at Sakura, Kakashi continued "You first."
"I'm Haruno Sakura!" with a sweet voice and a smile on her face, Sakura continued while looking sideways at Sasuke "I like... well, the person I like is... and my hobby is... well, my dream is the..."
With a bored look on his face as he listens to the girl's slight squeak, Kakashi asked "And what do you hate?"
"Well... bugs?" thinking for a few seconds, Sakura answered unsurely.
"Okay, next."
"There's a lot of things I hate, and there's not a lot of things I like..." Thinking for a few seconds while staring blankly into nothingness, Sasuke continued "Besides, I have an ambition that I have no intention of leaving as a dream. The revival of my clan, and... killing a certain someone."
"..."
"..."
"Okay, now the last one" Nodding as he turns his gaze towards Naruto, Kakashi looked at him silently.
"Uzumaki Naruto" Staring at Kakashi's eye, Naruto continued "I like ramen, while I hate..."
"..."
"I hate... I hate many things... but I would say hypocrisy is on top" Frowning slightly, Naruto remained silent for a few long seconds and continued "I have no hobbies, but my biggest dream is... to be happy."
Nodding while lowering his gaze, Kakashi remained silent for a while and spoke "Alright, you three have quite unique personalities, that pleases me."
"..."
"Tomorrow we'll start a mission" Staring at each of them, Kakashi continued "First we'll do something the four of us can do. Survival training."
"Why are we going to train when it's a mission? We already had enough training at the academy" With a slight frown, Sakura asked.
"Hahaha... Hahahahahaha.... Hahahahahahahaha!" Laughing openly while shrinking his body a little, Kakashi continued "I'm sure if I say this they're going to be surprised"
"Mn?"
"Out of the 27 graduates only 9 are going to be Genins, while the other 18 will be sent back to the academy" With a deadly serious face, Kakashi continued "In other words, this training is going to be a very tough test with a failure rate of 66%"
"..."
"..."
Looking at the serious and sullen faces of his two companions, Naruto rolled his eyes in boredom as he turned his gaze to the distance 'This is exactly as I remembered it... of course, changed a bit because of me.'
"Anyway, tomorrow will decide whether you pass the test or fail it. Bring your ninja gear and meet at 5 A.M."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Then the meeting is over" Nodding with satisfaction at the sight of the serious faces, Kakashi stood up and turned around, then turned to look at them sideways and continued with absolute seriousness "By the way... I recommend you not to have breakfast, you'll regret it if you do."
Looking at the jumping man, Naruto sighed and stood up, then stretching his body he commented "Although Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat breakfast, don't forget to bring even some spare food in case of emergency. We don't know what kind of mission we'll have just like we don't know how long it will take."
"Naruto!" Standing up quickly when she saw the young man leaving, Sakura ran to him and held him by the jacket, then stared at him and bowed slightly "I'm sorry, I doubted you without thinking even a little bit!"
"Don't worry, I know how hard it is to swim against the current" Staring at the young girl, Naruto remained silent for a few seconds and gently patted her shoulder and turned around while commenting "Let's work hard tomorrow, rest well"
"..."
"..."
Watching both of them Naruto's back walk away through the door, Sakura turned to Sasuke and muttered "Looks like he was really affected by Iruka-sensei's death..."
Shifting his gaze to Sakura, Sasuke watched her silently for a few seconds and shook his head, then walked over to where Kakashi was standing and jumped up.
"*Sigh*" Dropping her shoulders in defeat, Sakura shook her head and sighed.
***
-You won't train?-
"I'm not in the mood..." Leaning back on his bed staring at the ceiling, Naruto replied.
-They were also your team in those memories?-
"Yes..."
-And they were good friends?-
"With a faint smile, Naruto continued, 'We looked great...'-
-Then why not give it a try?-
"Same reason, I don't want to cause any more harm."
-What about your new sensei... Kakashi?-
"He wasn't bad, but he wasn't the best either... he only taught me one technique and it was when I was almost an adult... let's say that even though he wasn't a bastard, it's not like he made an effort... although I think he was always there for me... maybe he would be more of a relative than a teacher"
-What the heck is wrong with this village?-
"I wasn't the only one who was careless... Kakashi-sensei was only dedicated to Sasuke, while Sakura and I had to deal with other things"
-Who taught you?-
"The perverted sage, one of the three legendary sannin of Konoha."
-And the girl?-
"Tsunade-sama"
-That means she had talent-
"Her chakra control is quite exquisite"
-And Kakashi never taught her anything?-
"Maybe some of the basics, like tree walking."
-So he's a lousy teacher?-
"Why are you so talkative now?"
-Do I have to tell you?
"Yes."
-You need to express yourself to get rid of that sentimental burden... since you refuse to form any bonds because of your future defection, I guess I get that role-
Smiling softly, Naruto murmured "Thank you Kurama... I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."
-Didn't you say we were family?-
"We are"
-Then thank you is too much-
"Kurama..."
-Yes?
"I really wouldn't have the strength to go on without you... I love you, my friend."
-...-
"Good night Kurama" Turning around after a few minutes of silence, Naruto curled up between the blankets and closed his eyes wearily as he murmured.
-Good night kid...-
***
Yawning while walking quietly through the forest, Naruto asked "Kurama, do you know where the second hokage died?"
-Tobirama?-
"Mn"
-No-
"I'll have to investigate" Sighing wearily while stretching his muscles, Naruto muttered.
-It's important to know?-
"Do you remember some twins who attacked you with the weapons of the sage of the six paths?"
-How could I forget those vermin!?-
Hearing the anger in Kurama, Naruto laughed and commented "Apparently they and a team of elite ninja killed the second hokage, but not before being severely damaged... it is not known what happened to them but it is assumed that they died because they could not heal their wounds."
-That would be quite difficult, after all their bodies were mutated and in some ways they had genetics much more suited to my chakra than you do-
"You say they could have regenerated naturally?"
-That's normal-
"But don't forget who their enemy was"
-...-
"Although Tobirama was not as powerful and legendary a ninja as his brother, nothing detracts from the fact that he was a true monster who created a myriad of techniques that even today are considered legendary"
-You want his weapons?-
"They are too useful to be left to rot"
-... I have a recommendation that you may not like-
"Will it help me become stronger?"
-It should greatly improve your compatibility with me, and obviously that will make you stronger-
"I'm all ears"
-Eat their two corpses... especially their hearts and spinal cords-
Stopping his steps while frowning slightly, Naruto asked "Why?"
-Because of the way they adapted to my chakra, I believe they are descendants of the sage of the six paths, and their genetics were strong enough to be able to digest my chakra... I am confident that if you eat them and absorb them, your own genetics will improve... just as they devoured me and improved, you should be able to do the same-
"..." With a displeased but thoughtful face, Naruto was silent for a few long seconds and asked "But shouldn't they be just bones by now? After all they died long ago"
-My chakra is capable of preserving their bodies for many years without any problem-
"You say their bodies are intact somewhere?"
-I wouldn't say fully intact, after all if they really died from their wounds, those wounds must still be there to this day-
"And what if their bodies were already eaten by some animal or insect?"
-Do you really believe that mere inferior beings can even come close to my chakra?-
"Inferior beings?"
-Beings without conscience-
Shaking his head while sighing, Naruto replied "When I'm free I'll try to look for their bodies... if they're really still intact and you really think it will help me become stronger... I'll try"
-Don't forget that it has to be raw-
"Raw!?"
-We need everything raw, as the fire might burn the important stuff-
"Fuck" Clicking his tongue, Naruto muttered "Now I have to be a fucking cannibal."
-You're the one who seeks to be stronger-
"But eating a raw corpse..."
-Nothing is forcing you Naruto, you can just get rid of them and that's it-
"Tsk" Kicking a stone in his path while clicking his tongue in annoyance, Naruto was silent for a few seconds and continued "The day I escape, there's a chance I can make a deal to get your other half back"
-How would you do it?-
"I need Orochimaru" Noticing the incredulous but pleasant surprise in Kurama's voice, Naruto smiled and continued "Using his immortality, he has to invoke the seal of the reaper and open his stomach, something that will make the reaper himself do it and all the souls inside him will be free... then just make use of the Edo Tensei and that's it."
-Your father among them along with my other half will finally be free... then revive him and manage to transfer my other half to you... damn, you're a genius Naruto!-
"Are you excited?"
-Do you know how weird it feels to be incomplete?-
"No"
-Cut off half of your body and experience it-
"Let's take a rain check."
-Do you really think it's possible?-
"I know it is, I saw it in my memories"
-Well... that's good!-
Hearing the happiness in the grumpy voice, Naruto just laughed and went on his way.
-Didn't they say you should arrive at 5 AM?-
"They did"
-Is it okay for you to arrive at this time? It should be 10 o'clock by now?-
"It's okay, Kakashi-sensei is never on time, especially today with his plans to starve us to death while testing us" Laughing while patting his full stomach, Naruto continued "This time I won't fall into his trap"
Arriving after a few minutes towards a large area free of trees but filled with beautiful grass, Naruto looked at the bored duo sitting in the center and chuckled, then walked towards them and waved his hand in a much better mood than yesterday "Hi guys!"
"..."
"..."
Turning their gazes towards Naruto, the duo's face turned dark and Sakura quickly asked.
"How did you know!?"
"Know what?" Cocking his head to the side as he sits across from them, Naruto asked.
"That Kakashi-sensei wouldn't make it on time!"
"Of course I didn't know" Lying shamelessly, Naruto yawned and scratched the back of his head "I thought I was in trouble, but I'm glad to know I'm not!"
"..."
"..."
Yawning lazily as he let his back drop onto the grass, Naruto pulled a small cloth out of his clothes and put it over his face to shield himself from the sun, then commented "Why are you guys so tense?"
"Aren't you nervous?" looking at Naruto quizzically, Sakura continued "If we fail today, we'll have to go back to the academy again for who knows how long."
"You two finished the academy with excellent grades, I don't think you should worry" Shaking his head, Naruto continued "Today I think it will be a test of what you learned or something similar...even if you fail, we should be thankful that it's just a test and not a real mission, because at least here we can try again"
"Since when did you become so... smart?"
"Are you calling me dumb?"
"Your hands" Interrupting the conversation, Sasuke pointed towards Naruto's hands and continued "Because they bleed."
"Mn?" Lowering his gaze and noticing how his bandages have little red dots of blood on them, Naruto replied "I was training and I got hurt."
"Now you even train!?" Looking at Naruto as if she had seen a ghost, Sakura exclaimed in surprise.
