Chapter Text
Shisui looked down at the exhausted blond, ruffling his hair. The boy's chest rose and fell heavily while sweat covered his face and clothes. The boy's muscles trembled slightly from overexertion, but despite all of that, there was still a grin on his face.
The Uchiha shook his head with a small smile. "You'll become an awesome shinobi, kid."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock for about the hundredth time today as he laughed weakly. "That's because I'm gonna be Hokage someday, dattebayo!" He was happy that such a high caliber shinobi like Shisui thought that about him.
Shisui snorted reaching into one of the pouches attached to his flak jacket and pulled out a small scroll covered in sealing formulae, something Naruto immediately noticed. The Uchiha formed a hand sign. "Release!"
A puff of white smoke appeared beside him.
Naruto blinked as two bowls sat on the grass, one was large, almost the height of Naruto's knees, while the other was half its size, steam rising from them. The rich aroma immediately filled the clearing as the blond's eyes widened in horror and delight. "ICHIRAKU RAMEN!" he shouted and before Shisui could say anything else, the blonde was already sitting in front of the larger bowl which had plastered 'Ichiraku Ramen' on them.
The Uchiha stared, but Naruto ignored him completely as the blond grabbed his chopsticks before suddenly pausing. the blonde started to eat as he looked at Shisui, who sat next to him and ate. "You know Fūinjutsu too, huh. Wasn't that a storage seal?"
Shisui nodded, "Yeah, storage seals are among the more practical applications. You seem to know a fair amount about the seals, huh?"
Naruto looked down at the ramen. "Fūinjutsu is awesome." A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. "I'm learning it too!"
That earned Shisui's full attention. "Oh?"
"Jiji gave me a beginner book today." The blond puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm gonna become a Seal Master someday."
The Uchiha smiled softly. "I'll look forward to seeing that."
Naruto grinned back, then immediately began eating.
Shisui stared at the large bowl, the ramen was disappearing at an alarming rate. The blond devoured noodles faster than some shinobi finished entire meals and only a couple minutes later, Naruto was already halfway through his bowl.
Shisui glanced down at his own which he had barely started. The Uchiha sweatdropped. 'How does an eight-year-old eat more than I do?' The boy wasn't even slowing down.
Eventually Naruto finished the last of the noodles and leaned back against the log with a satisfied sigh. "That was amazing as always."
The Uchiha watched the blonde as his eyes drifted across the cuts and bruises covering the child's arms. 'Today's training was rough, and Naruto must have pushed himself harder than ever.'
Without saying anything, Shisui reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder as soft green chakra gathered around his hand. The glow illuminated the area around them making the blonde freeze. He felt the ache all over his body beginning to fade. The sensation felt strange. It was quite warm and comforting. His chakra reserves, nearly emptied from training, recovered slightly.
Several moments later, the green glow faded and Naruto stared at his hands, then flexed them as he quickly stood up. His muscles no longer ached and his cuts and bruises were gone.
Naruto looked at Shisui with complete surprise. "What was that?"
"Iryo ninjutsu."
Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Iryo ninjutsu?"
The Uchiha nodded. "It allows a shinobi to accelerate the body's natural healing process."
"You can do Iryo ninjutsu too? Is there anything you can't do?!"
Shisui laughed. "Only the basics Naruto. I learned Iryo ninjutsu to patch myself in case of emergencies. And basic fuinjutsu was to store the supplements for the missions. Nothin more, nothing less."
Eventually, the last traces of daylight began disappearing beyond the treetops.
Naruto stretched his arms above his head with a satisfied sigh before gathering his training equipment. The boy carefully packed everything away while humming to himself. Despite the exhausting training, despite the bruises, despite nearly collapsing several times throughout the day, Naruto couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed himself this much.
Shisui watched him quietly, packing his things. Once Naruto finished packing everything, he slung the bundle over his shoulder. "Guess I should head home now."
The Uchiha suddenly stepped forward and before the boy could react, he grabbed him by the shoulder. The blonde felt a familiar sensation of chakra surged around them. "W-Wait-"
Shisui smirked. "Shunshin."
The world blurred.
The forest vanished and trees became streaks of green. Wind roared past Naruto's ears and for a split second, he felt completely weightless. Then, everything stopped and the blond stumbled forward. "WAAAAH!"
Naruto barely caught himself before crashing into a table. The boy looked around and found that the forest was gone. "Huh?" he found himself standing inside his apartment.
Naruto froze for a second, then slowly turned toward the Uchiha as his jaw dropped. "You can do that?!"
Shisui ignored it as his eyes wandered around the apartment, noticing clothes hanging over chairs and books piled on the floor. Empty instant ramen cups were scattered here and there which made the Uchiha raise an eyebrow.
Naruto suddenly looked nervous. "W-what?"
Shisui pointed around the room. "You know, most people clean their apartments occasionally."
Naruto looked around, frowning. "It doesn't look that bad."
Shisui just stared and Naruto stared back, slightly nervous.
"..."
"..."
"Naruto... Clean it." The Uchiha spoke a few
The blond puffed out his cheeks. "I was gonna!"
"Sure, you were."
"I was!"
The Uchiha laughed as he took a step backward. Leaves began swirling around him. He smirked at the blonde, "Same time tomorrow, Naruto."
Naruto grinned. "You got it, Nii-san!"
The leaves swirled faster and a moment later, the Uchiha vanished completely. Naruto stood there for several seconds as he stared toward the spot where Shisui had disappeared. A huge grin spread across his face, equally with awe. "...He's so cool."
After leaving Naruto's apartment, Shisui moved across the rooftops of Konoha. The evening air was cool as the last traces of sunlight painted the village in shades of orange and gold. Within minutes, the familiar sight of the Uchiha Compound appeared before him.
For most villagers, the compound felt isolated from the rest of Konoha, but for Shisui and the rest of the Uchiha, it was simply home. The Uchiha landed atop a rooftop before casually dropping into the compound. Voices echoed from one of the nearby training grounds.
A small smile appeared on his face, knowing who it was. The clan training grounds sat directly behind the residence of the Clan Head. Several wooden targets lined the area while scorch marks covered sections of the ground from years of Fire Release training, and in the center of the field, two figures moved.
One was Uchiha Itachi and the other was his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sasuke, focus."
"I'm trying!"
The young boy's voice carried across the training ground.
Shisui arrived just in time to see Sasuke form several hand signs. "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!" A stream of flames erupted from the boy's mouth. The technique wasn't particularly large by Uchiha standards, but for a child his age, it was impressive.
The fire surged toward Itachi, but the older Uchiha just casually sidestepped, dodging the flames very easily, which made Sasuke frustrated.
A faint smile appeared on Itachi's face. "Try harder, little brother."
The young Uchiha huffed as he threw a couple of Shurikens at the older Uchiha.
Shisui chuckled knowing that neither brother noticed him, which was exactly how he liked it. The Shunshin user casually pulled two kunai from his pouch and threw them towards the youngest Uchiha.
The weapons sliced through the air, but the young Uchiha reacted instantly, as he pulled out a kunai of his own and deflected both of them. Almost simultaneously, Sasuke grabbed the two projectiles from the air and threw them towards Shisui.
A grin appeared on the oldest Uchiha's face. 'Good reaction speed.'
Unfortunately for Sasuke, the target was Shisui. The Uchiha vanished as the kunai struck empty air. Then a familiar voice spoke from directly behind Sasuke. "Not bad Sasuke."
The young boy nearly jumped out of his skin. "WAAH!"
Sasuke spun around so quickly that he almost tripped only to see Shisui stand behind him with his hands in his pockets, clearly openly amused.
Sasuke immediately recognized him. "Shisui-niisan!" A proud grin appeared on the boy's face, then he crossed his arms. "I almost got you."
"Almost? Whatever you say kid." The response immediately made Sasuke pout.
Itachi quietly chuckled and Shisui joined him and laughed.
"You've gotten better." The compliment immediately erased most of Sasuke's annoyance as the younger Uchiha tried very hard not to look pleased.
Itachi walked over toward his best friend. "You're late."
Shisui shrugged. "Had something to take care of."
Itachi studied him briefly. "What kind of something?"
The question sounded casual, but the look in Itachi's eyes wasn't. Shisui had known the 14-year-old long enough to recognize it immediately.
The Uchiha simply smiled. "Training." Which wasn't technically a lie.
"..."
"..."
Itachi sighed. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"
"Nope."
Before the conversation could continue, a familiar voice echoed from the nearby house. "Itachi! Sasuke!" The brothers immediately looked toward the residence as their mother's voice carried across the compound. "Dinner is ready!"
Sasuke brightened instantly. The boy had looked ready to challenge the Shunshin no Shisui himself if it meant reaching the dinner table first. "Coming!"
The younger Uchiha immediately sprinted toward the house as both older boys watched him go.
A small smile crossed Itachi's face and only after Sasuke disappeared inside did the atmosphere change. Shisui's expression became serious as well.
"Itachi, what's the situation about the rumors?"
The evening breeze moved through the trees surrounding the training ground. Itachi remained quiet for several moments as his gaze drifted toward the Clan Head's residence, then back toward Shisui.
"I haven't heard Father speak about it, but... the rumors exists."
Both understood what that meant. Rumors like that didn't appear from nowhere, not inside the Uchiha Clan.
"It hasn't spread beyond the compound yet." Itachi continued quietly. "At least not from what I've seen."
Shisui nodded slowly. That was both reassuring and concerning. The fact that it remained contained meant there was still time, but the fact that it existed at all was the problem.
"It may still be nothing." Itachi said.
"Maybe."
Both tried to be optimistic, but neither sounded convinced and for several moments, neither spoke.
Eventually, Itachi exhaled softly. "If I learn anything... You'll be the one to know first."
Shisui smirked. "I'd expect nothing less."
Itachi turned toward the house, then paused as he turned with as slight mischievous glint in his eyes. "Speaking of important matters, isn't it time you started to date?"
A groan came from Shisui's mouth as he rolled his eyes, but at least the topic was better than clan politics. The older Uchiha folded his arms. "At least I don't chicken out like you." He said back, and the words hit perfectly.
Itachi froze making Shisui's grin widen. "How long have you been dancing around Izumi now?"
"..."
"Years?"
"..."
"Are you aiming for a decade?"
A dangerous silence followed the comment made by Shisui, who felt genuinely victorious. Itachi slowly turned toward him, his expression remained completely calm. "Goodnight, Shisui, hope you have pleasant dreams." emphasising on saying pleasant with a bit of killing intent.
The Body Flicker user laughed. "Goodnight, Itachi." he said as he walked back home, with a slight teasing smirk on his face. For all of Itachi's intelligence and for being a generational talent, some things were apparently beyond even a prodigy.
After leaving his best friend behind, Shisui made his way through the Uchiha Compound. The compound was quieter now as most families had already gathered for dinner and warm lights shone from the windows of countless homes.
The Uchiha passed them silently, eventually, arriving at a modest house near the edge of the compound. The young shinobi stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The house wasn't particularly large and if he wanted, he could afford a much better one, but this was his parents' house, the very same house he was born and grew up in. It had enough space for with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living room.
Shisui removed his sandals and set his equipment aside before walking further inside. His thoughts naturally drifted toward Naruto, a child who grew up like him, without parents. The blond would probably be reading one of his books right now or trying to teach himself something he probably shouldn't be teaching himself. The thought made Shisui chuckle as he wondered if he would master the Shadow Clone or not.
Then his gaze wandered around the empty house, then to the two portraits hung on the wall. His parents had died during the Third Shinobi World War long before he was old enough to remember much about them. Most of his memories came from stories told by older clan members.
Shisui sighed as he felt the house become a little too quiet. Maybe Itachi had a point, he pondered as he leaned back against the couch. "...Maybe I should start dating."
The words left his mouth, but the very next second, a horrifying memory resurfaced. It was when he was still in the Academy aged ten. And he was running for his life from a crowd of screaming fangirls. One particularly determined fangirl somehow even kept up with him.
The memory was terrifying as Shisui visibly shuddered. The young Uchiha crossed his arms and nervously scowled at absolutely nothing. "...On second thought." He immediately shook his head. "No." he muttured sighed as he sank further into the couch. Maybe staying single wasn't so bad after all.
The next morning, Naruto was late again. The blond sprinted across the rooftops of Konoha while clutching a piece of toast in his mouth. "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!" he shouted to absolutely nobody, but the answer was simple. He had stayed up far too late reading his Fūinjutsu book even after the training, and stomach full of ramen.
By the time he finally reached the Academy, the large clock near the entrance informed him that classes had already started thirty minutes ago, making the boy freeze. "...Uh oh."
The boy immediately rushed inside hoping that he could senak in and Iruka-sensei wouldn't notice.
Naruto quietly slid open the classroom door. Inside, Iruka was currently writing notes across the blackboard while explaining the lesson. Several students noticed Naruto immediately along with Shikamaru, who glanced toward the doorway while Choji looked up from his snacks.
Naruto slowly raised a finger to his lips. 'Don't.' The blond carefully stepped inside, one step at a time, tip toeing as he noticed Iruka continued writing. 'It's working!'
The boy slowly began sneaking, but in only a blink of an eye, he felt a piece chalk suddenly made contact with his forehead, shattering into dust upon contact, making the blonde yelp.
WHACK!
"OW!"
Naruto clutched his forehead as he looked forward, only to see the chunin stand beside the blackboard holding another piece of chalk between his fingers with a frighteningly pleasant smile sat on his face, bringing shivers down of the blonde's and several other's spine.
"Good morning, Naruto."
The blond swallowed.
"Uh..."
The smile widened nervously as he sweated profusely.
"Would you like to explain why you're late?"
"..."
"..."
"...I got lost?"
The entire classroom erupted into laughter. Shikamaru snorted, Choji nearly choked on his own chips. Kiba just outright laughed.
Iruka's eye twitched as tick mark formed on his face. "You got... lost?"
Naruto nodded vigorously. "Yup."
"The Academy is five minutes from your apartment."
"Very confusing five minutes."
Another piece of chalk appeared in Iruka's hand and the boy immediately straightened. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei!"
The chunin sighed and pointed toward the empty seat. "Sit down."
"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said while rubbing the sore spot on his forehead as he walked further into the classroom. His eyes immediately drifted toward his usual seat, then he blinked.
"...Huh?"
Some random civilian student was sitting there making the blond frown. Normally, he sat with Shikamaru and Choji. Before he could ask what happened, a folded piece of paper hit him in the chest making him look up and he saw Shikamaru lazily pointed toward the note.
The blond unfolded it. Meet ya at the usual lunch spot.
Naruto smirked. Shikamaru must have gotten tired of waiting for him.
The blond gave him a thumbs up, but the Nara simply waved him off.
Naruto looked around the classroom again, but unfortunately there weren't many empty seats left and most seats left, where were with civilian students who only opened their mouths to make fun of him. but there was one seat which was a better alternative.
The blond immediately grimaced. "...Seriously?"
At the far side of the room sat Sasuke and beside him sat Sakura. Beside Sakura, was an empty seat. Seeing that, Naruto briefly considered standing for the rest of the lesson, but Iruka-sensei was already watching him. The chunin pointed toward the empty desk making the blonde sigh.
'There is no escape.' The blond thought as he slowly walked toward the seat which Sakura immediately noticed, a frown appearing on her face.
"Oh great."
Naruto frowned back, then somehow sighed even louder than before, making the pink-haired girl twitch in annoyance as the blond dropped into the empty seat. Since Sakura occupied the middle seat, it unfortunately left the blonde stuck beside her.
The blond looked around the classroom as he looked towards his friends or well, students he was familiar with, Shino was sitting together with Kiba and another boy he vaguely recognized. Further ahead sat Hinata as he found the Hyūga girl beside two other girls he didn't know very well.
As if sensing his gaze, Hinata looked back, causing their eyes to meet and making the girl's face immediately turned bright red. She quickly looked away.
"..."
Naruto blinked, a small frown making way to his face as certain thoughts ran in his head. 'She really doesn't like me.' Honestly, he couldn't figure out why as he'd barely spoken to her and the thought earned another sigh from him.
But hearing the repeated sighs from the blonde, a large tick mark immediately appeared on Sakura's forehead. "Baka-Naruto!" She shouted to him.
Naruto slowly turned toward her. "What?"
"Stop sighing!"
The blond stared at her, dumbfounded. His initial impression of Sakura had already collapsed months ago, though he had to admit, he still found her pretty, but not pretty enough for her behwavuiour.
Then she groaned and buried her face in her hands as she mumbled. "I wish Ino was here."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Me too." he said, unconciously, not because he liked the blonde Yamanaka girl, but he'd survive her than survive Sakura on her fangirl day. Though the answer caught her completely off guard for Sakura as the pink-haired girl froze.
Naruto looked straight ahead, then released the longest sigh in recorded history. "Siiiiiiiiiiigh..."
Sakura's eye twitched as the tic mark somehow grew larger, but Naruto ignored her completely. Instead, he turned toward Sasuke and found the Uchiha focusing on the class as usual, totally ignoring his existance, and Naruto decided to ignore the Uchiha, instead of challenging him, at least until he has grown stronger and have mastered the shadow cloned jutsu.
Eventually, Iruka's lesson, or as Naruto would say, his boring yapping came to an end.
The moment the chūnin dismissed the class for lunch, Naruto didn't waste a second as he immediately pulled out a cup of instant ramen from his bag and ignoring Sakura's complaints about "eating that stuff every day," he hurried out of the classroom.
Meanwhile... Sakura turned toward the empty seat beside her with a small smile on her face. "Sasuke-kun-"
The words died instantly as she found the seat, empty. Sakura blinked.
"Huh?"
She looked around the classroom and found no Sasuke, making the pink-haired girl frown.
"When did he leave?"
The Uchiha had apparently vanished sometime during the chaos of class ending.
Sakura slumped slightly. 'There went my lunch plans.'
A few moments later, several girls approached her desk. "Sakura!"
The pink-haired girl looked up and saw a couple of her classmates had gathered nearby. One of them sat beside her and another leaned against a nearby desk. The conversation quickly shifted toward Academy gossip, homework complaints, and the usual discussions surrounding a certain dark-haired Uchiha.
Meanwhile... Far away from the classroom, Naruto made his way toward a familiar spot beneath a large tree near the edge of the Academy grounds with the very familiar pull up rods. And sure enough, two familiar figures were already there.
Shikamaru was lying on the grass with his hands behind his head while Choji sat nearby with a bag of chips already opened. The larger boy looked up first. "You're late."
Naruto just grinned while scratching his head, as he dropped down beside them, opening his ramen cup, a very pleasant aroma escaping the cup.
Choji looked interested, but the blonde noticed instantly.
"No."
Choji looked disappointed as Naruto moved the ramen cup slightly further away from the Akimichi, making him sigh dramatically.
Shikamaru opened one eye. "So, where were you yesterday, Naruto?" The lazy Nara asked as he lazily sat and stared at the blonde. Shikamaru knew Naruto almost never missed the Academy.
The blond froze for a fraction of a second as Shisui's warning immediately echoed in his mind. 'If you tell a single person that I'm training you, this ends.'
Naruto swallowed, quickly making up half-truths, "I was training." Shikamaru continued staring which made the boy, very uncomfortable.
The blond scratched his cheek. "You guys helped me the other day, remember?" He grinned. "So, I trained a lot after that and I kinda overdid it." He coughed awkwardly. "Then I slept in."
Shikamaru remained silent as his eyes narrowed slightly, which made Naruto nervous. The silence stretched, but the Nara broke it with an aloof. "Whatever."
Naruto almost sighed in relief, then an idea appeared inside his head. "You know what?" A grin spread across his face.
Naruto jumped to his feet. "Watch this!" The blond quickly formed a hand sea and surged his chakra. "Kawarimi!"
Puff! A small cloud of smoke appeared. Where Naruto had been standing moments earlier now sat a stone and at the same instant, Naruto appeared several feet away, standing proudly on a tree branch.
The blond puffed out his chest. "Ha!"
Choji's eyes widened. "No way."
The Nara stared at the grinning boy who stood on the tree branch, "You learned Kawarimi?"
"Damn right!"
Naruto jumped down from the branch looking incredibly pleased with himself.
Choji looked impressed as he whistled. For someone who struggled with basic chakra control, that was actually impressive.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he folded his arms. "What about the Clone Jutsu?"
Naruto immediately deflated. The dramatic contrast was almost painful to watch. The blond sat back down and picked up his ramen cup, slurping it loudly. "...Still hard."
Choji laughed while Shikamaru snorted.
Naruto pointed his chopsticks at both of them. "Hey!"
Choji and Shikamaru exchanged a look before both stood up. A smirk appeared on Choji's face. "We could help you with the Clone jutsu, Naruto, just like before."
Shikamaru lazily nodded. "We've got time."
The Clone Jutsu was driving Naruto crazy, since every other technique seemed to be improving and even his chakra control felt a little better than before, yet the Clone Jutsu remained stubbornly out of reach.
Still... The blond shook his head. "Nah." he said as he grinned, continuing. "I'll figure it out."
Choji looked surprised. "Huh?"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
The grin widened. "Yep."
The confidence in Naruto's voice surprised even him. For some reason, he genuinely believed it. Maybe it was because of Shisui, because of all the training, or maybe he was just too stubborn to quit. Probably all three.
His thoughts drifted toward the previous evening, toward the forest as a certain Uchiha had shown him the Shadow Clone Technique and the blonde was far more interested in learning that than the regular Clone Jutsu.
A grin slowly appeared on his face. 'One step at a time eh, Shisui-Nii.'
Eventually, the lunch break began winding down. Naruto leaned back against the tree and glanced toward the Academy building, his eyes eventually found the old swing near the entrance. The same swing he used to sit on almost every day.
Back when he had nowhere else to go. The blond stared at it quietly, then he looked beside him. Choji was finishing another bag of chips, Shikamaru was staring at the clouds. Both looked completely relaxed, like this was normal.
A series of people came into his mind, his Jiji, Teuchi-oji, Ayame-Nee, Inu-san, and finally Iruka-sensei. His eyes widened as a grin spread through his face. He hadn't shown his improvements to Iruka, and he couldn't wait to see the shock on his sensei's face.
Before Shikamaru and Choji could speak, the blonde dashed towards the chunnin's office, and went saw the window open, which was in second floor. He climbed the tree nearby and found iruka enjoying his lunch. the blonde used henge jutsu to disguise himself as his idol, the Yondaime, then he suddenly used Kawarimi on the chalk case on Iruka's desk, appearing right in front of him.
Iruka nearly died due to the sudden appearance of a blond man where his chalk case had been a second ago, causing the chunin to inhale a mouthful of rice.
"Y-yondaime-sama?!! Cough! COUGH!"
Naruto's grin immediately faltered as he released the henge. "Iruka-sensei?!" he shouted in concern.
The chunin frantically grabbed his glass of water and chugged it down, and several tense moments later, he finally managed to breathe again. He looked at the blonde with a glare, "...I almost became a memorial stone because of you."
Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe... Sorry."
Iruka was just about to start lecturing him when something finally registered. His eyes drifted toward the chalk case, or rather, the lack of one. Then he focused his gaze back toward Naruto and toward the puff of smoke still fading in the air, caused by the disappearance of the henge.
The chunin blinked for a moment and his eyes widened. "...Naruto, you..." Iruka pointed toward him. "You just used Kawarimi and a perfect henge of the Yondaime."
Naruto's face changed from the slight nervousness, to slowly wearing a grin, a very proud grin. "Yep."
The boy knew Iruka-sensei would be happy on his progress, but he first had expected a lecture or maybe another chalk projectile, but none of that came, as a smile spread across Iruka's face.
The chunin laughed softly before reaching forward and vigorously ruffling Naruto's hair. "That's amazing!"
The blond froze with wide eyes and immediately began blushing. "W-Wha-"
"You actually did it."
Iruka looked genuinely proud and the reaction caught Naruto completely off guard. The chunin had seen Naruto struggle for months. He'd watched failed attempts, his botched chakra control and endless frustration.
Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly, with a goofy grin appearing on his face. "I worked really hard."
"I can tell."
The praise made the grin widen, then he suddenly puffed out his cheeks. "But I still can't do the Clone Jutsu."
Iruka chuckled at that. One success and Naruto was already worrying about the next obstacle. The chunin leaned back in his chair.
"Naruto." The blond looked up. "You learned Henge and the Kawarimi. Both of those were giving you trouble just a week ago." The boy blinked, but the chunin continued. "If you managed to learn those, then you'll learn the Clone Jutsu too. You've improved more this week than you realize."
The blond stared, then slowly smiled.
"Yeah..."
Iruka reached over and ruffled Naruto's hair once again, grinning at the blonde, "Besides. You still have plenty of time before graduation."
That immediately made Naruto feel better. Eventually Iruka glanced toward the clock, then toward Naruto as a nostalgic smile crossed his face.
"You know... It's been a while since we went to Ichiraku together."
The effect was immediate as Naruto's eyes lit up. "RAMEN!" The chunin laughed.
For a moment Naruto looked tempted but he then remembered his training with Shisui. The blond coughed awkwardly. "I can't right after class today."
Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Naruto nodded quickly. "I'm gonna train for a bit."
That wasn't a lie. The chunin smiled proudly, 'To think Naruto is actually training on his own initiative.'
The world really was ending. "Then I'll meet you there later."
Naruto immediately brightened. "You got it!" The blond hopped off the desk.
Then suddenly smirked devilishly which made Iruka immediately frown and became concerned.
"Naruto..."
The grin widened. "You better bring extra money. I'm gonna squeeze your wallet dry, Iruka-sensei!" The chunin just sighed as Naruto proudly crossed his arms.
Iruka stared, then gave a very pleasant smile. One that immediately sent warning signals through Naruto's brain, making the blond slowly stepped backward.
"Iruka-sensei...?"
BONK!
"OW!"
Naruto clutched his head as Iruka lowered his fist. "That's for not using the door."
BONK!
"Normal people use that." Naruto immediately pointed toward the window, with one hand clutching his head.
"Normal people don't climb through second-floor windows!" Iruka shouted back.
The rest of the Academy day passed surprisingly quickly. The moment classes ended, the blond practically launched himself out of the classroom. His destination was obvious. The forest behind his apartment.
The blond arrived several minutes early and immediately began waiting and five minutes later, a familiar figure appeared atop one of the branches.
Naruto's face lit up. "Shisui-nii!"
The Uchiha barely had time to react before a blond blur crashed into him. "Oof."
Naruto wrapped his arms around him in a quick hug. The action caught Shisui completely off guard and for a moment, the Uchiha simply froze, then a faint blush appeared on his face. "...Kid."
Naruto grinned up at him as the older shinobi sighed, then ruffled the blond's hair. "You're lucky you're small."
Naruto laughed. The boy had become surprisingly affectionate over the past couple of day, then again, Shisui knew he only had a small group of people on his side, and the Uchiha didn't dislike it at all as well.
"You're in a good mood."
Naruto immediately brightened.
"Oh! I showed Iruka-sensei my Kawarimi!"
The Uchiha smiled. Naruto immediately launched into the story. From sneaking into Iruka's office, to using Henge, to accidentally making the chunin choke on his lunch and to Iruka praising him afterward. The entire tale came out at frightening speed, but Shisui listened quietly, a small smile occasionally appearing on his face.
Naruto clearly hadn't noticed, but this was the most confident Shisui had ever seen him. The boy wasn't talking about becoming Hokage someday and he was talking about something he'd already achieved.
Something he'd earned, when the story finally ended, Naruto folded his arms proudly. "Then Sensei said that I had improved a lot!"
Shisui smiled as he nodded, still continuing to listen to the boy's rants about his academy. The Uchiha smiled as he eagerly heard him out, thinking of ways that he could train him extra hard.
And soon, hours turned into days, days into weeks and just like that, weeks turn into months. Since Shisui started to train Naruto, a month had passed...