Chapter 55 - Arc VIII: Death of the Flesh- Chapter 5

Naruto, Sakura, and the others were discussing their duty shifts for guarding the Daimyo, all of them a little bit intrigued by the new duty. Though he was more or less ceremonial, meeting someone as renowned as the Fire Daimyo would be incredible. They’d never seen anything but his outline as he approached his curtain once in a while. Most of the time, he was in the back of the mansion, working.

“Hey, knock knock!”

Jiraiya entered, a big smile on his face

“Pervy Sage!” Naruto declared, giving him a big grin. “Whatsamatter, all outta girls to peep a- ow!”

Jiraiya smacked Naruto on the head. “You little idiot! I TOLD you not to call me that in front of other people!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, you perv! OW!”

Asuma looked up from his shogi game and cigarette.
“Something I can help with, Master Jiraiya?”

Jiraiya stood with his hands on his hips. “No, no, just here to grab Naruto. He’s due for some more training. I’d like to tell you about it, Asuma. It would mean your group having to stay here for a while…”

The rising intonation at the end made Asuma think there was something to what Jiraiya was saying. So he nodded to Shikamaru, putting their game on pause, and made his way over to Jiraiya.
-

Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances. Jiraiya in a private conference with Naruto somehow worried Sakura.

Like they’re going to take Naruto away or something. But Master Jiraiya would never be so happy about that…right? So what is this about? I’m just starting to get used to having him around. I don’t know what I’ll do if they take him away. Will it be another three years? Can I wait for him that long?

This time, Sakura wouldn’t have Yuji for company; at least for a while. It seemed he was dead serious about serving this faux exile. She had let the matter drop; hopefully some time away would do wonders for his abysmal health. But she couldn’t help feeling lonely. Maybe even deserted.

He loved me…and for nearly five years, he said nothing. Then he was forced to serve me; all the while he had to watch me with another boy. And in the end, I ended up loving that boy. And…he knew. The whole time. He knew that’s what was likely to happen. I…I can’t imagine how painful that must have been. It’s no wonder he had to get away. After putting up with it for so long…
Sakura put a hand to her mouth.

I’m such an idiot! Naruto and I have been so busy getting closer that I never stopped to realize…Oh, Yuji…
--

Naruto didn’t have any of those thoughts. His thoughts were on his training. Yuji had helped sharpen his basic skills to a fine point; Naruto had learned how to deal with genjutsu as well. And Yuji was clever as hell. You underestimated him to your downfall. He looked as though he was sickly; but if you crossed him, or managed to force him to show strength, you couldn’t take the time to regret your mistake. Time and again Yuji had forced this lesson down Naruto’s throat. Naruto’s Rasengan would tear through Yuji’s defenses; Yuji would counter somehow. One time in particular, Yuji told Naruto that he relied on Shadow Clones and the Rasengan too much. He said that ‘Your average moron will come up with a way to counter a move even of that caliber if it’s repeated several times throughout the course of a single fight’.

“Naruto.”

The single name was spoken by Jiraiya. He was a little more serious now, but not like anything was wrong.

“Are you ready to continue your training? It’s time for you to progress. The most honored, sacred, secret ‘technique’ I can help you learn it next. And given the Akatsuki’s determination…”

“I’ll need to be prepared. Right. I’m ready.”
Naruto was ready to go instantly, having finished Jiraiya’s sentence for him. Unlike when he left for three years a few months ago, this time he felt a niggling feeling holding him back.
Sakura…

He looked to her, suddenly feeling as though he was deserting her. She put on a brave face, but Naruto could tell she didn’t want him to leave. So he stopped and said it straight:
“Pervy Sage, I can’t. I just…can’t.”

Jiraiya grumbled under his breath, despite a smile inside. He needed to continue this bit of cruelty if Naruto was to ever have the best of both worlds- love and skill.
“I knew it! I knew that little bastard put thoughts into your head!” Jiraiya roared, striking a tree hard enough to topple it. Withdrawing his bleeding fist, he swung an outstretched finger toward Naruto.
“Yuji stuck this in your head, didn’t he?! He told you to ‘be happy with her,’ didn’t he?!”

“So what if he did?!” Naruto fired back, his hands balled into tight fists. “He’s right!”

“He’s an idiot! An incompetent fool who spouted pretty words to justify abandoning his duty! And you learned from him!”
The last bit was spoken in a dismissive sneer. Contempt for Yuji exuded from every pore of Jiraiya’s body.
Come on, take the bait.

But Naruto didn’t. He simply took Sakura’s hand and pulled her away.
“I’ll find my own way to be Hokage. I don’t think I can learn from you anymore. I’ll do it. Together, with Sakura. And Yuji. He deserves to be involved, too.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Naruto added: “Thanks for everything, pervy sage. I mean it. Thanks.”
--

Yuji stared at nothing. The greens and browns of the forest were starting to blend together for him. It was like staring at one, jumbled, unending mass. It was tranquilizing and horrifying at the same time.

A wind kicked up, tossing Yuji’s coat around and causing a small tornado of leaves to swirl by. All at once, possibly due to the brisk air, Yuji felt his energy spike. He planted his feet, turning them both inward so that his stance was solid. He felt his chakra gather, just like usual. But he felt something different. Something that was somehow familiar…

? Azami’s training? But I never understood what she was trying to accomplish…maybe if I do this…

Yuji gulped in air as if he was going to perform a regular fire jutsu. But instead of exhaling hard, he actually yelled. Sort of. It was actually a silent scream. A violent wind clustered around the dead tree he had aimed his fury at. It swirled around, blowing the dead leaves on the ground back into the air.
Then the leaves burst into tiny flames. The fire spread up the swirling chakra, until it hit the tree.
PWOOF!
The tree was up in smoke; roasted down to the roots. But it wasn’t a fire jutsu Yuji had just cast.

That was just a release of chakra! I always do that to maintain a fighting edge! But that-
Sweat rolled down Yuji’s face as he watched the fire quench itself and the wind die down.
That wasn’t anything like what usually happens. I’ve never seen chakra do that. It’s as if my chakra started out neutral, then changed form in mid-jutsu.
--

“Say it again? I don’t follow…”

Yuji drew a diagram on some spare parchment. Miko was watching intently, fascinated despite not understanding. Shoki, who had actually seen the move (and was so shocked he dropped the load of firewood he’d been carrying, half expecting it to spontaneously combust), was engrossed in the explanation.

“See, chakra starts as a force inside the body. Through hand seals, those with the right skill can use this energy and direct it accordingly. At a young age, our chakra is immature-” Yuji nodded to Shoki “-Present company an exception. In most cases, the chakra takes no discernable element until we begin to use jutsu. To some degree, you can control what element you are- I believe, anyway. An entire research and development team would debate this point for hours.”
Yuji finished his diagram. It was a crude drawing of a person. Wavy lines here and there represented different energy flows.
“Due to my training with the Third Hokage, I became a fire and earth type chakra. My proficiency for genjutsu is a reflection of my personality. Now, when doing a fire jutsu, you intake air, then exhale. The hand seal decides what kind of jutsu you’re performing. When you exhale the air with the tiger handsign, you get a fire jutsu.”

Yuji demonstrated with his Dragon’s Ember Jutsu. A piece of wood in the fireplace lit up.

“The fire and chakra mix early, creating a steady stream,” he narrated, opening a window. “Now, instead of that, what I just stumbled on thanks to Azami is this:”
Leaning out the window, Yuji aimed his chakra at a log he had set about twenty meters out. The log met the same fate as the tree before.

“Amazing…” Miko managed, the fire reflecting in her eyes. “This must be the next stage of ‘Ten no Kishootsu’…”

Excited, Yuji went on with his explanation. “My illness was the key. The burning. Azami burned me during training, but I didn’t see her point. Now, it’s obvious: One element of my chakra has been strengthened. In addition, I’ve regained the ability to use ‘neutral’ chakra.”

Shoki frowned. There was something that he didn’t get. “What good is neutral chakra? It’s not very powerful…”

“No. Not by itself,” Yuji admitted. “But…well, let’s fight. Real quick. All you have to do is stand there and feel my chakra.”
-
Lining up across from each other, Yuji aimed his fire jutsus- old and new- in Shoki’s general direction. Shoki felt his chakra, just like usual. Then, it disappeared. It took Shoki a few seconds to realize Yuji was using ‘neutral’ chakra.

“I see! It’s like I can’t sense you anymore!”

“That’s the beauty of it!” Yuji exclaimed. “Your senses are more keen than most shinobi’s. If even you took a few seconds to realize it, with my telling you what I was doing, then that gives me a huge advantage over any opponent who can sense chakra with any skill. And that means a way to combat the Sharingan. And more importantly…”
Yuji knelt down, his hand on Shoki’s shoulder, and his eyes more alive than Shoki had ever seen them.
“…It means that I can fight Pain’s eyes. And we don’t need to make you into a weapon. I promised you we didn’t need to at all. Now we don’t even need to consider the thought.”

Shoki reached out for a hug. With a genuinely happy smile, Yuji supplied one. Miko smiled contently, wondering vaguely if these two were the ones actually related, instead of her and Shoki. But something niggled at her.

Yuji, I hope you don’t believe your own words. You know it’s a lie, don’t you? Pain doesn’t sense chakra- he has all six types. Shoki may still need to be the weapon you’re doing your best not to create.

Watching the two playfully wrestle, Miko was pulled towards a fantasy of having a stable life for Shoki. And for herself as well. She never considered Yuji as anything more than a reliable friend. But maybe that was enough, she wondered sometimes, for him to marry her. Even if it wasn’t love, maybe for Shoki’s sake, he’d become permanent.

Being that Miko was also honest with herself, she knew that she wanted that kind of stability as much for herself as for Shoki. What she didn’t know was how Yuji would react.

When she felt a certain chakra coming, she became even more worried. Yuji didn’t need this right now!

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