章 15: Academy CH 15
Naruto was woken up later when he heard Iruka calling the class to attention. He opened his eyes and rubbed it a bit to get rid of bleariness. After the class rosters have been called, Iruka addressed the class.
"Good morning everyone. Today we are going to do a little bit of review on the different ninja disciplines. This will be a practical exam which will include shuriken/kunai throwing, a taijutsu spar, and finally, breaking down the cloning technique before giving it a try yourself." explained Iruka which got a groan from everyone else.
The class started with Iruka's droning voice giving them all a review on weapon throwing and finer points of the Academy Taijutsu style. According to Iruka, the Academy Style is considered as a basic style that will allow them to branch off easily to other styles. The style includes basic knowledge and muscle memory in throwing punches, kicks, landing when thrown, and basic evasion maneuvers. He already knew about it no thanks to the Taijutsu instructors that took care of the subject.
Naruto already knew from previous months that the instructors in the Academy, except for Iruka, are disrupting his education. During one Taijutsu class, he noticed that his instructions were WAY different from his classmates. He also felt clumsy from the style taught to him since it seems to put him off balance instead of correcting them. He questioned Saji about it when he got to work that afternoon and the old man asked him to show him what he was taught. Saji was livid and proceeded to correct the boy and even expanded on the subject. He found out then that Saji was a retired Chunnin who quit due to an injury and proceeded to follow the family business of working with metals.
After the lecture on Taijutsu, Iruka proceeded to teach them the basics of Clones. Naruto was interested at this point since this was the first ever jutsu that the Academy would teach them due to their age since the chakra requirement for the technique was too small to even have a side-effect on their developing chakra coils.
Iruka explained that the basic clone is creating an exact illusionary copy of yourself and preprogram it with moves for it to perform. He introduced the seals and told the class to practice for 10 minutes without using chakra. Naruto tried it out and was proficient with it when their sensei called a halt and asked them to go out for weapon throwing and a class spar.
Iruka called the class to order when they reached the training ground where dummies are lined up for weapons throwing. Since he would be second-to-the-last to be called, he proceeded to lean on a lone tree and observed his classmates. Thanks to Saji, he was given lessons on the various clans in Konoha. He didn't know if he was lucky or not but being told to maintain a grade twice since 2 years back made it possible for him to be in his age group despite the fact that he started the Academy early when he bullied the Hokage for him to do so. He chuckled at the memory before proceeding to observe the class.
The first one to be called was Aburame Shino who belonged to a clan who controls bugs incorporate it as part of their techniques. His weapon throwing skills was average at best since he got 7/10 in Kunai and 6/10 in shuriken.
He was followed by Akimichi Chouji, the sole heir of the Akimichi Clan was known to utilize Jutsu that expands their body size to gigantic proportions, making them great front line fighters. Choji scored 5/10 and 4/10 respectively before going back to the bench and pulled out a bag of chips and started munching, not caring that he got low scores.
Haruno Sakura, her one-time crush, is a first generation aspiring kunoichi in her family which was mostly comprised of merchants. Her parents were wealthy merchants and controls large businesses in the village. He used to have a crush on her but lost interest when she started to develop a fanatical obsession to the sole Uchiha survivor. She scored 6/10 on both weapons, pretty average but good enough for a civilian.
Hyuuga Hinata was called next to showcase her skills. Despite being part of the strict and serious Hyuuga clan, Hinata seems to be shy and friendly. However, he was confused when she starts to stutter and blush, and sometimes faint, when he is near. He shrugged it off as a personality quirk or something. She scored 8/10 and 7/10 on her try which was above average compared to the rest.
The next on the list was the dog-like Inuzuka Kiba and his faithful companion, the puppy Akamaru, who scored 7/10 on both weapons. It was good considering that their clan are born with great hand-eye coordination along with the strength to back it up thanks to their bloodline.
Nara Shikamaru, the laziest of their classmates was called next. The Nara always confused Naruto. He knew that the lazy boy was smart and comes from a powerful clan in Konoha but his laziness to exert a modicum of effort was confusing. Due to his laziness, he scored a passing grade of 5/10 without trying. Naruto mused that the Nara must be hiding his strength or thinking that it was too 'troublesome' to exert some effort.
A sudden cry from the female students brought Naruto out of his study of the Nara habits, realizing that it was the Uchiha's turn on the field and the cheer he got from his 'fan girls' was loud enough to make him wince thanks to his advanced hearing. The urge to put his hands to his ears was almost unbearable but he persevered since that would give away his abilities.
In truth, Sasuke also confused the blonde. He was quite friendly when they were kids but after the massacre of his clan, he became a brooding emo that shoved everyone out of his emotional and physical space. It wasn't a healthy lifestyle to Naruto's observation. He could never deny the fact that Sasuke was a prodigy as their instructors loves to point out but having an attitude is never an excuse. Anyway, he scored 8/10 and 9/10 on both his weapons which brought a loud cheer from his fan club.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka called out.
Naruto took in a deep breath and pushed himself off the tree and went to his teacher and took the offered weapons. 5 shurikens and 5 kunais. 2 points each – a point each for both accuracy and strength of the throw.
Naruto placed himself in front of the dummy and took a stance that Saji taught him to relax himself before throwing a weapon. He was thankful for his work in Saji's workshop since his ability to use ranged weapons dramatically increased. After all, you have to test the weapons you make so Saji taught him the how-to's in weapon's throwing. He threw his weapon one-by-one without pause and got him a score of 9/10 and 10/10 easily.
Silence greeted him.
"Nice work Naruto. It seems you've improved your weapon skills compared to last year's scores." praised Iruka, giving the blonde a smile which the boy happily returned.
It was then that the flood of complaints came out from Sasuke's fan girls that there was no way for Naruto to score more than their beloved Uchiha. Said Uchiha, however, stomped towards Naruto and questioned him about it.
"What did you do, dobe?" asked an irate Sasuke.
"Huh?" asked a confused Naruto while ignoring the jibe to his abilities.
"What did you do to get a score like that? There is no way you're better than me in weapons throwing. I trained for months!" grated Sasuke almost to the point of being hysterical.
Naruto shrug and observed the Yamanaka heir when she was called to throw. However, he answered Sasuke all the same.
"I worked in a weapon shop for a year now and Saji-san taught me how to make shurikens, kunais, and senbons. Since it is necessary to test the weapons we make, he taught me how to throw properly and I have been throwing the weapons I make everyday. I guess that is how I improved." He explained calmly. He omitted the fact that Saji also gave him some in-depth advice on how to improve his throwing stance and accuracy since he knew Sasuke wouldn't like that information.
In most cases, the Uchiha would just demand from him to teach him what he knows and he didn't want that to happen. He had no intentions of teaching the arrogant ass anything if he can help it.
Sasuke calmed down when he heard the explanation and gave a grunt before turning his back and going back to his brooding. Naruto noticed the action and just shrugged. He learned a few months ago that the best way to pacify the Uchiha ego is to always give a clear and concise explanation. After all, how can he argue when the results are quite obvious?
The weapon's throwing session ended when the Yamanaka heir scored an average 5/10 and 7/10. He made a passing note that Ino was better than Sakura before focusing his attention back to Iruka who was already announcing that the Taijutsu spar will start after a 10 minute break.
The Taijutsu spar ended well in his favor. He was partnered with another Academy student from a civilian stock. He dodged the attacks easily and ended the contest by getting under the student's guard and a punch to the gut that knocked his opponent unconscious.
They were all herded back to the classroom to practice their clones, which was a big disappointment for Naruto but he was determined to perfect it if it was the last thing he ever done.
He kept doing clones for an hour and all he was able to make is a sickly replica of himself which was lying down on the ground as if it was out of energy. He frowned while the rest of the class was laughing at him but he ignored it. He did everything right and gave it chakra but no matter how hard he tried, he did know why his clones looked that way. He asked Iruka about it but he didn't have any explanation as to why.
The class ended in failure for Naruto but he was adamant to perfect the clone technique before he graduates from the Academy in the future.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Senju Tsunade were looking at the Hokage's crystal ball that was showing Naruto's class in the academy. They were doing that almost everyday for 2 major reasons:
One, to observe Naruto and the growth of his bloodline under the Academy's controlled setting;
And two, see the changes in the Academy's performance firsthand if their original plan was working or not.
Both were looking at the scene with interest; and frowned when Naruto failed the cloning exercise.
"You know, it is impossible for Naruto to make a basic clone with his chakra reserves. Even the chakra control exercises he will learn when he becomes a Genin would be useless since there is just too much for him to properly control. Heck, I'm not even sure if I can control it at all if I was in his shoes." observed Tsunade, always interested in the development of Naruto's bloodline. The level of chakra Naruto possess will require a better chakra control exercise if he got around to asking for help.
"I agree. I got the same conclusion myself. If I recall, Kushina had the same problem as well since the Uzumaki clan is quite well-known for their dense and powerful chakra. It was one of the reasons why we have the Kage Bunshin in our possession. She offered it to Konoha when she transferred here from Uzu as a sign of goodwill." stated the Hokage, taking a puff from of his favorite pipe while thinking of the hot-tempered red-head that was Naruto's mother.
Tsunade looked at her sensei with a frown. "Why don't you teach him then? It is his birthright after all. If I remember correctly, Kage Bunshin is considered as a basic technique in Uzu and is a requirement in their Genin exams before the village was wiped out.
The Hokage hummed in agreement. "True, but I prefer to let Naruto come to me with the problem instead of me just offering it to him. I don't want him to become too dependent on me. If I know him well, he will keep trying at it considering his bullheadedness but if he presents the problem to me then I will teach it to him." explained the aged Hokage to his former student considering how distraught she was over Naruto's continuing struggle with the technique.
Ever since the 'Council Coup' and 'Leaf Renovation Plan' as they called it, Sarutobi Hiruzen reverted back to the persona of the 'Professor' that scared Konoha's enemies during the Third Great Shinobi War. No longer was he a complacent leader, giving second chances and letting this runs for themselves.
No, he was now a man who analyzed things on a greater perspective, allowing him to determine whether a peaceful solution is needed or the application of brute force to ensure compliance. He was also grooming Tsunade to take the position one day when he retires which is one of the reasons why both of them were checking on the Academy almost everyday to see if the changes were being followed to the letter.
He trusted Homura and Koharu to follow his directives but it never hurts to check once in a while to make sure that everything is as it should be.
It seems that introducing jutsus and increasing weapon's proficiency in the Academy classes was yielding positive results. However, he was still considering whether it was a good idea to introduce Maito Gai to the Academy's physical program. He shuddered as he envisioned a graduating class of Genins wearing green spandex running around Konoha doing missions. The horror of it all. He might need to visit Inoichi later to remove the traumatic vision from his mind.
"So Tsunade, do you have any news on Naruto's bloodline?" asked Sarutobi, finally breaking the patient façade since he was quite interested in Naruto's bloodline and want to make sure that his surrogate grandson will not be suffering from serious problems in the future.
Tsunade opened up a scroll that contained her conclusions and theories regarding Naruto's condition.
"Nothing much sensei. It seems that the improvement to his senses, mainly his hearing, smell, and taste have stopped so we can expect it to be at this level even after he reached maturity." Tsunade reported with a clinical detachment that medic-nin should emulate when giving medical reports.
"However, these senses are still greated than that of the strongest Inuzuka so he got the best in the bargain. Actually, it is a godsend that it stopped or else he will be suffering from it in the future since there is no way to turn it off. I was even surprised when he told me that he could control his senses depending on the situation. "
"His physical body is still improving at an astounding rate and his work in Saji's shop is doing wonders to his core strength. I guess it was a stroke of genius on Iruka's part to have the kid work there considering his bloodline. When he reaches puberty, he would be somewhere around 6'3 in height with a body as powerful as a bodybuilder but springy as an athlete."
The totality of the report pleased Sarutobi immensely. Not only was his surrogate grandson a powerful shinobi-in-training, he was silently relieved that the boy's ability will be used for the safety of the Leaf.
"That is great news Tsunade. Yes, Iruka did earn my respect when he helped the boy out." He paused a bit, remembering a tiny info in Tsunade's notes. "How about the activation of Naruto's wolf 'transformation' as you called it?"
The Legendary Slug Sannin shrugged while sealing the medical reports back into her personal storage scroll.
"Nothing so far. We know that it is a mental and emotional trigger but we haven't determined anything yet. We have come to a conclusion that the change might require him to age a bit first or it will require a massive amount of mental and emotional trauma to initiate the change. Aside from that, we got nothing concrete. Only time can tell how it would come out."
The Hokage nodded. There was nothing he could do about it but pray that the emergence of this phase of Naruto's bloodline wouldn't be detrimental to the boy's health.
"Keep me posted after every check-up to make sure that no harm comes to Naruto. I have failed him once before and I will not do so again." declared the aged Hokage with determination in his eyes that mimicked Tsunade's.
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