บท 58: Chapter 058

"Oh? So you've actually managed to find a jutsu that you can use?" Iruka exclaimed, looking the grinning child over once before fixing him with a curious gaze. "What is it exactly? It better not be something useless like that ridiculous Oiroke no Jutsu you pulled on me two weeks ago." Honestly, that was a shock he did not want to relive lest his dignity be dragged further through the mud in front of his entire class again.

"What? The Sexy no Jutsu isn't useless!" Naruto shouted in outrage, quickly forming the hand seal necessary to execute it. "It's my Sunday Punch and one of the greatest weapons in my arsenal! Want another demonstration?"

Before he could start gathering chakra his teacher grabbed his hand and pulled it away from the other with haste, disrupting his performance.

"Please don't," Iruka replied quickly, feeling immediate relief wash over him at stopping yet another embarrassing fiasco from taking place. When the blonde's hands dropped to his sides dejectedly, the Chunin continued. Despite how shameful and underhanded the Oiroke no Jutsu was, as a shinobi Iruka couldn't condemn it entirely. After all, the kid worked hard on it and, for the most part, it at least got results. "Okay… it's not entirely useless… I guess. It's effective, but only against a certain… uhh… target demographic." Naruto's expression brightened at hearing that, but Iruka wasn't done yet. "Just try not to use it too often when you're out and about. A jutsu like that can do you more harm than good if used excessively."

"What? Oh… but sensei…" the jinchuriki exclaimed but was cut short when he saw the seriousness appear on his teacher's face. After which Naruto huffed and folded his arms in resignation, "Fine." Though he agreed to it verbally, it didn't mean his heart had to be in it. "Come on. I spent hours trying to think up a good use for the Henge no Jutsu and Iruka-sensei says it stinks. The Sexy no Jutsu works great." No. It didn't just work great; it worked brilliantly. Why didn't he or anybody else see that?

Probably because his sensei and every single person in this village were prudes. That was perhaps the most logical explanation he could come up with, but Naruto made sure to keep this observation solely to himself.

"Anyway… about the actual jutsu you came up with," Iruka continued, getting them back on track. "Did you come up with it yourself from the material you learned at the academy or did you find it in one of the archive scrolls?"

Naruto snapped back into it quickly and smirked up at him. "It's a new one. I came up with it myself."

"Yourself?"

"Or… by accident. It was a really weird day for me," the jinchuriki replied with a distant wave of his hand. "An explosion happened, I was thrown into a wall, I heard a voice, Hokage-jiji broke into my house… it was a real mess. Seriously. I spent hours just trying to fix up my bathroom."

Iruka chuckled in amusement. "I'll bet you did." Man, Naruto had to have the most interesting day-to-day life out of everybody else in Konohagakure.

"I gave it an awesome name and everything," Naruto quickly informed with a shrug, feeling a renewed sense of confidence overcome him for that achievement. "And like I said, I've been practicing with it a lot so that I could get better control over it and see what else I could come up with."

"And? How's it working out for you? Is it coming along well?"

"It's getting there… though I still need a bit more time to master it. I've got tons of ideas that I'm experimenting with and you wouldn't believe some of the plans I already have written down. They're awesome. I can really put them to good use if I'm able to push them forward." This was a good thing, since it showed he was actually taking his education and training as a shinobi seriously. He was committing himself to getting something right, something that could help him when out on the field and needed some extra leverage when push came to shove. Iruka's expression warmed up at this information and he returned his student's words with an approving nod.

"Alright then," the Chunin exclaimed before gesturing towards the door. "Let's take this out onto the fields. You can show me what this original technique of yours is and I'll assess you on it. I need to determine for myself whether it is a genuine, working jutsu that is both practical and functional. Hope you're ready."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied with a smile, jabbing himself in the chest. "I'll show you what the future Hokage of this village can do, dattebayo!" He then left the classroom in a run. His teacher, smiling in amusement, followed him shortly afterwards.

OOO

Naruto and Iruka arrived at the training fields on the edge of the academy grounds shortly there afterwards, and quickly began searching for an area where they could test the former's new jutsu out to its fullest. Since he didn't want to trash the place during an official assessment, the jinchuriki led his teacher towards the shuriken range, where posts had been lined up specifically for the practice of shurikenjutsu. The area was perfect for any long reaching techniques to be used to their best effect without stirring up a fuss in the surrounding neighborhood and it helped that they were currently empty.

It was lunch period after all and the only group of students present in the academy was Iruka's class. With exams coming up tomorrow, the other year levels had been given the day off so as to not interfere with the proceedings or unintentionally disrupt the graduation ceremonies. Their time would come later.

Iruka situated himself on the sidelines in the ideal observation position, watching for the next few minutes as his student fussed over the setup. For some strange reason the blonde began running all over the place and grabbing miscellaneous objects of all shapes and sizes, from training dummies to barrels, to even a massive boulder lying beside the fence. That sucker must have weighed a ton from the way Naruto lugged it over in his arms, but he eventually accomplished his task of foraging and stood behind all the items collected with a determined smile on his face.

While Naruto caught his breath, the Chunin raised an eyebrow and tapped his clipboard with the tip of his pen patiently. "So? Are you sure this is a genuine article?"

"Sure I'm sure!" Naruto replied, slapping his hands together and rubbing them enthusiastically. "I'm a man of my word, Iruka-sensei. When I say I'm going to get something done, I get it done, no matter how impossible it is."

The man smiled impishly. "And yet you're still unable to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu properly. Care to explain that little discrepancy?"

"Hey!" the blonde shouted while jabbing a finger in the shinobi's direction, "Me screwing up that technique over and over again is totally not my fault. I told you a thousand times before that that jutsu is bullshit!" The boy had made it quite clear to everyone in his class that his efforts in trying to create at least one, live clone for the past two years had been more than just a frustrating venture. This was evident from his frequent and often profound swearing and cursing over the academy's most basic requirements.