I woke up feeling like a truck had hit me. Backed up. Hit me again.
«Good morning. Your muscle recovery is at 67%. Your fatigue level is...»
I don't need the numbers, JARVIS. I can feel them. In my bones.
«I could accelerate healing with chakra»
Alright.
I dragged myself out of bed. My arms were shaking just from lifting my blanket. My legs felt like they were made of wet paper. Every step was a negotiation with my own body.
Clone me was already gone poofed sometime in the night. Good. That meant Nonō hadn't woken up and found two of me.
I washed my face, put on my uniform, and walked to the Academy like a zombie.
---
Naruto spotted me the second I walked in.
"Whoa. You look like crap."
"Thanks."
"No, like, really bad." He leaned in close, squinting at my face. "Are you sick? You look sick. Your eyes have bags under them. Big ones. Like a raccoon."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. Here" He shoved something at me. A carton of milk. The cheap kind from the convenience store. "Drink this. Milk fixes everything."
"Milk doesn't fix everything, Naruto."
"It fixes bones! My bones are super strong 'cause I drink milk every day!"
I looked at the carton. It was warm. Probably been in his bag all morning.
"You drink milk every day?"
"Uh-huh!"
"Where do you get milk money?"
He scratched his head. "I don't know why but the hokage gives me money every month."
I took the carton. Drank it, I finished the whole thing.
"See?" Naruto grinned. "You'll be better in no time!"
«Your 'friend' has offered you spoiled milk. Your immune system should handle it, but I note the gesture was genuine.»
He's trying. That's what matters.
«Agreed. But it was still spoiled.»
"..."
---
Class started. Iruka was in a good mood for once, which meant he wasn't gonna spend the whole period yelling at Naruto.
"Today," Iruka said, "we move from theory to practice."
The class buzzed. Finally, something that wasn't just listening to Iruka talk, or some propaganda about will of fire.
"The Clone Technique. E-rank. Basic illusionary replication." He made a hand sign. Three copies of himself appeared beside him. "The uses are obvious. Reconnaissance, misdirection, basic utility. It's one of the first techniques you'll need to pass the Academy."
He explained the hand signs. The chakra flow, and The visualization.
I already knew it. Had known it for years. The real clone technique was harder. Shadow Clone was a forbidden jutsu for a reason.
«You will need to perform poorly.»
Yep.
«Not too poorly. You are the student who needs to keep his reputation. Performing at Naruto's level would raise questions.»
So what's the plan?
«Create a clone. Make it flicker. Hold for three seconds. Let it fail. This is consistent with a talented civilian student attempting a technique beyond their current refinement.»
Iruka called us up one by one.
Ino went first. Perfect clone. Held for thirty seconds. She flipped her hair and walked back like she'd just won a medal.
Shikamaru's clone lasted ten seconds before it melted into smoke. "Troublesome," he muttered, sitting back down.
Sasuke went up. One hand sign. Poof. A perfect clone. Held for a 3 minutes. Didn't even look satisfied. Just sat back down like it was nothing.
Then Naruto.
He walked to the front like he was marching into battle. Made the hand sign. Focused. Squeezed his eyes shut so hard his whole face scrunched up.
Poof.
A green blob appeared. Not a clone. A limp, saggy, melted-looking thing that looked like a deflated balloon. It made a sad wheezing noise and vanished.
The class laughed. Iruka's face went tight.
"Try again, Naruto."
He tried again. Same thing. Another sad green blob.
"That's enough," Iruka said. His voice was flat. "Take your seat."
Naruto walked back with his head down. His fists were clenched. He sat next to me and didn't say anything.
"Ryū," Iruka called.
I stood up. Walked to the front. Felt everyone watching.
Made the hand sign. Pushed chakra through the pattern. Made sure it wasn't too much. Just enough to make something that looked like a clone but wouldn't hold.
Poof.
A copy of me appeared. Solid. Clear. For eight seconds, it looked perfect.
Then it started flickering. Fading at the edges. Like a bad TV signal.
I let it dissolve. Stepped back.
"Acceptable," Iruka said. "Work on maintaining the form longer."
I nodded. Sat down.
Naruto looked at me. "That was awesome! It looked just like you!"
"It fell apart after eight seconds."
"Yeah, but it looked nice! Mine was all... bleh." He made a face. "Why can't I do it? I'm doing the same thing everyone else is doing."
«Naruto's chakra control is below acceptable thresholds. His reserves are enormous, currently rivaling a jōnin in raw capacity, but he is unable to regulate output. He is flooding the technique with too much chakra, causing the form to destabilize.»
I figured. How do we fix it?
«He needs to develop baseline control. The leaf exercise is a starting point. With consistent practice, he can»
We'll start today.
---
After class, I grabbed Naruto's arm before he could run off.
"Hey! I was gonna get ramen..."
"We're training."
His eyes went wide. "Training? Like, real training?"
"Yeah. Come on."
I dragged him to Training Ground 3. The same place I'd met Kakashi. The memorial stone was in the corner, but I didn't look at it. Didn't wanna think about all the ghosts hanging around this place.
"Okay," I said, turning to face him. "You wanna know why you can't do the clone?"
"Yeah!"
"It's your chakra control. It's trash."
He blinked. "My what?"
"Chakra control. The thing Iruka's been talking about for a week. You've got too much chakra and you're dumping all of it into the technique. It's like trying to fill a cup with a fire hose. You're gonna make a mess every time."
Naruto stared at me. "I got too much chakra?"
"Yeah."
"Huh." He looked at his hands. "I thought I didn't have enough. 'Cause it never works."
"You got plenty. You just don't know how to use it right."
I picked up a leaf from the ground. Pressed it to his forehead.
"Hold this. Keep it there with your chakra. Don't let it fall."
He concentrated. The leaf stayed for about two seconds, then fluttered off.
"It fell!"
"Do it again."
He put it back. Two seconds. Fell.
"Again."
Three seconds. Fell.
"Again."
He was getting frustrated. His face was scrunching up the same way it did in class.
«Observing. His chakra output is erratic. He is applying too much force, then overcorrecting and applying too little. The oscillations are creating instability.»
How do I explain that to a six-year-old?
«Metaphor. The fire hose. He understands that.»
"Naruto. Stop trying to force it."
"But I gotta"
"You're doing the fire hose thing. You're blasting it. Then when it falls, you get scared and use too little. You gotta find the middle."
"How?"
I thought about it. What would make sense to him?
"Remember when we had those rice balls? At lunch?"
"Yeah?"
"You didn't grab 'em hard, right? You just held them. Not squeezing, not dropping. Just holding."
He nodded slowly.
"It's like that. You're not crushing the leaf. You're not letting it go. You're just holding it."
He put the leaf back. Closed his eyes. Took a breath.
The leaf stayed.
Five seconds. Ten. Twenty.
Naruto's eyes snapped open. "It's still there!"
"Keep going."
Thirty seconds. Forty. A minute.
The leaf fell. Naruto was grinning so hard I thought his face might split.
"Did you see that? I did it! It stayed!"
"Yeah. You did."
"You're the best, Ryū!" He grabbed my arm, shaking it. "Teach me more! Show me the clone thing!"
"We gotta get the basics down first. This leaf stuff. You do this every day. For a week. Then we try the clone again."
"A whole week?"
"Yeah. A week. Can you do that?"
He nodded so fast I thought his head might come off. "I'm gonna be so good at clones! I'm gonna make a hundred of 'em!"
«He cannot make a hundred. He could theoretically make several thousand, but his control...»
JARVIS. Let him dream.
«Acknowledged. But he cannot make a hundred.»
---
What we didn't know was that someone was watching.
The Third Hokage sat in his tower, pipe in his mouth, crystal ball on his desk. The image showed two kids in a training ground. One blonde, one dark-haired. One bouncing around like a pinball, the other trying to explain chakra control in terms that made sense to a six-year-old.
Hiruzen smiled.
He'd been watching Naruto for years. Making sure he was fed. Making sure no one hurt him. It was the least he could do for Minato.
Ryū...
He'd seen the fight with Sasuke. And now he was seeing this. A six-year-old who had nothing, sharing his food, his time, his knowledge, with the kid everyone else hated.
Minato, he thought. If you could see this.
He took a long drag from his pipe. Watched as Naruto tried to stick a leaf to his forehead for the hundredth time. Watched as Ryū patiently corrected his posture. Watched as Naruto finally got it to stick for a full two minutes and screamed so loud birds flew out of the trees.
Hiruzen chuckled.
"This kid has a lot of potential." (A/N: potential man)
---
A week passed.
Every morning, I woke up at 4 AM. Trained until dawn. Went to the Academy looking half-dead. Naruto told me I looked like a zombie. I told him his chakra control was still trash. He stuck his tongue out at me.
After class, we went to Training Ground 3. Naruto practiced the leaf exercise. I ran drills. Push-ups. Squats. Lunges. Running until my lungs burned. Every day, it got a little easier. the leaves stayed on Naruto's forehead a little longer.
By day three, he held one for five minutes.
By day five, he could hold two leaves. One on his forehead, one on his palm.
By day seven, he could do the clone.
I made him try it in the training ground, not in class. Didn't want Iruka's reaction to mess with his head.
He made the hand sign. Concentrated. Poof.
A clone appeared. Solid. Not a blob this time. An actual copy of Naruto.
It held for ten seconds before vanishing.
"I DID IT!" Naruto tackled me so hard we both went down. "I DID IT, RYŪ! I MADE A CLONE!"
"Yeah, Yeah." I pushed him off, coughing. "You did."
"I'm gonna be Hokage! I'm gonna be the best Hokage ever! I'm gonna!"
"You're gonna crush my ribs if you don't get off."
He rolled off, laughing. Jumped to his feet. Did a victory dance that looked like a drunk squirrel having a seizure.
«Progress acceptable. His control has improved by 34%. He will likely pass the clone portion of the Academy exam at this rate.»
Noice.
---
Hiruzen had been watching this whole time.
Every morning, after his paperwork, he'd pull out the crystal ball, and spy on kids... I mean Check on Naruto. Check on Ryū. See them training and See them laughing.
He watched Ryū show Naruto the leaf trick for the tenth time. Watched Naruto fail, get frustrated, almost give up. Watched Ryū say something that made him laugh and try again.
He's good with him, Hiruzen thought. Patient and Kind. The way Minato was.
He set down his pipe. Pulled out the latest edition of Icha Icha Paradise. Jiraiya had sent it last week. The old pervert was still writing, even after all these years.
Hiruzen opened to the first page.
Then his assistant knocked. "Lord Hokage? Hatake Kakashi is here."
"Send him in."
He tried to hide the book. Tried. It slipped. He fumbled. The book hit the floor, pages splayed open to a particularly... descriptive illustration.
The door opened.
Kakashi walked in. Saw the book. Saw the Hokage's face. Said nothing.
"I was... researching," Hiruzen said, grabbing the book and shoving it into his desk.
"Of course, Lord Third."
There was a long, painful silence.
"Sit down," Hiruzen said, clearing his throat. "I have something to discuss with you."
Kakashi sat. His visible eye was doing that thing where it was perfectly blank but somehow also laughing at you.
"There's a boy," Hiruzen began. "An orphan. Ryū. He's in the same class as Naruto."
Kakashi's eye flickered. "I've seen him."
"You've been watching him?."
It wasn't a question. Kakashi didn't deny it.
"He trains at 4 AM," Kakashi said. "At Training Ground 3. His form is improving."
"He's been helping Naruto. With his chakra control. With everything."
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair. Studied Kakashi's face. Or what he could see of it.
"He reminds me of Minato," Hiruzen said.
Kakashi's whole body went still.
"The way he is with Naruto. The patience. The instinct to help." Hiruzen paused. "I want you to guide him."
"Guide him?"
"Train him. Watch him. Keep him on the right path." Hiruzen's voice got heavier. "And keep him away from Danzo."
Kakashi's eye narrowed.
"Danzo has been watching the Academy. Looking for promising candidates. Ryū beat Sasuke Uchiha in a spar. He's been noticed."
"You want me to protect him from Root."
"I want you to protect Naruto's friend." Hiruzen met Kakashi's eye. "If Danzo takes Ryū, Naruto loses the only person in this village who treats him like a human being. I won't let that happen."
Kakashi said nothing for a long time. His hand was resting on his hip, near where his hitai-ate covered his Sharingan.
Finally: "I'll watch him."
"Train him. Properly. The boy has potential. More than you know."
Kakashi stood. "I'll see you next week, Lord Third."
He turned to leave. Paused at the door.
"Lord Third?"
"Yes?"
Kakashi glanced back. His eye was doing that thing again. The laughing thing.
"Maybe keep the book in a drawer next time."
The door closed before Hiruzen could respond.
He sat there for a moment, face burning. Then he pulled the book back out. Opened it to the page he'd been on.
"Icha Icha Paradise is a literary masterpiece," he muttered to the empty room. "Jiraiya is an artist."
The crystal ball showed Ryū and Naruto walking home, Naruto still bouncing, Ryū looking like he was about to collapse.
Hiruzen smiled.
Maybe this village still had a future after all.
---
END CHAPTER 9
Xx-----xX
If you want to support me and also want to read +10 advanced chapters then go ahead and check out my P@treøn, links in the synopsis. I have currently 15 chapters on my P@treøn but I will try to update two chapters per day so I can reach upto 19.