FicWad

Chapter 2

"Oi, Iruka-sensei!" The loud blonde's voice tore through the calm serenity of the Ninja Academy, much like the blonde tore through the classroom door. "I'm back from my mission and I gotta tell ya about it!"

The silence that followed the blonde's entry was so absolute, individual heartbeats could be heard from across the room. Each and every one of the thirty students, and even their teacher, stared at Naruto in abject shock, most unable to look away from the fiery Higan. Naruto, being used to stares with far more malice, easily shrugged off the eyes and went straight to the scarred chuunin. Before he made it halfway though, a shout from amongst the students stopped him short.

"Niisan! Your eyes! What happened?!" Konohamaru's worried voice had Naruto immediately turning to reassure his pint size 'eternal rival'.

"Eh, not much, Konohamaru. I just activated the coolest bloodline ever!" The obvious enthusiasm and lack of any'demonic' actions seemed to reassure the students that he was not some sort of strange demon. After a moment, Iruka managed to snap his attention off Naruto's eyes as the blonde continued. "It's called the Higan, and with it, I'm gonna be Hokage for sure!"

"Wow, oyabun, that is so awesome!"Moegi called from her seat. "You gotta show us how it works sometime."

Naruto's affirmative answer had all three of the Konohamaru Corps grinning eagerly, barely able to contain their impatience for the next time they get to play ninja. "Alright, alright, everybody settle down. Class still has a few more minutes. Naruto, wait by the door 'til class is over, we can get some ramen then," Their sensei's command settled the class quickly, but the students kept sneaking glances at the fiery blonde. Naruto settled against the wall, waiting for the class to end so he could drag his brother in all but blood to get some of the food of the gods, more commonly known as Ichiraku Ramen.

The last few minutes of the class passed agonizingly slowly for the energetic blonde. He couldn't help but fidget as he waited anxiously under the combined weight of thirty pairs of eyes. Finally, Naruto managed to escape the stares as Iruka dismissed the students for the day. As the last of the students walked out the door, Iruka turned to his favorite student and began his first line of questioning.

Naruto, putting the cunning of Konoha's most notorious prankster to good use, repeatedly refused to answer any questions, claiming that they could only be answered on a full stomach. Iruka relented and led the way to the pair's favorite ramen stand. As they walked, Iruka noted the rapidly darkening glares leveled on his jinchuuriki companion. He felt a wave of sympathy for his old student, and a reaffirmation of his desire to help the young blonde.

Within a matter of minutes, the duo arrived at their destination, one eagerly anticipating the meal he'd gone so long without, while the other mourned his soon-to-be-empty wallet. They entered the stall to witness a scene of ordered chaos. Ramen broth, noodles and toppings were flying through the air while Teuchi and his daughter worked diligently for their customers.

"Oi, old man! Two rounds of the usual," Naruto called as he took a seat, receiving a quick glance from the owner of the stand before he returned to his cooking. Iruka promptly followed, placing his order with Ayame as he sat next to the blonde.

"Naruto! It's about time you stopped by. This place has been too quiet without ya," the old man's friendly greeting, as it did every time, warmed Naruto's heart. "From the look of things, you've worked up quite the appetite haven't you?"

"You bet! Going three weeks without any ramen means I've got lots of missed time to make up for!"

"Haha, good to hear kid. Uzumaki special, headed your way."

As the ramen was prepared, Iruka stole several glances at his drooling friend, silently prompting his blonde friend to explain his bloodline. He would be left waiting for a long time, though, as the blonde was fully fixated on the enticing scent of fresh ramen. Finally, the ramen was finished and Ayame brought the bowls to her favorite customers. When she moved to hand Naruto his bowls, she finally saw his face and she dropped the bowl in shock. "Naruto-kun! What happened to your eyes?!"

His daughter's worried exclamation caught Teuchi's attention immediately. His reaction to the Higan mirrored his daughter's, though it lacked the falling bowl. Before they could panic any more, Naruto quickly explained that it was his bloodline, which had manifested on his last mission. After Naruto managed to reassure the Ichiraku staff, Iruka managed to worm the whole story out of Naruto, everything from the fights with Zabuza and Haku, to the abilities of his Higan.

"...and that's pretty much it. I'm able to see and control chakra, though it takes a lot of effort to control someone else's, plus I look so badass with these eyes."

"I'm not sure badass is the word Iwould use Naruto..." Iruka cautioned as he paid the bill. "To put it bluntly, your new eyes look almost demonic. Be extra careful for a while, some of the more persistent villagers may think you signed a contract with the Kyuubi."

"You worry too much Iruka-sensei. I'll be fine."

"He's right though, it never hurts to be careful. Just don't get yourself killed; I'd never be able to keep this place in business without ya." Teuchi's sound advice followed the jinchuuriki out of the stand as the two ninja left.

"Thanks for dinner, Iruka-sensei. I'm off to go train now," and with that, Naruto was gone. Iruka was left behind to work his own way home, his worried thoughts his only companion.


After leaving Iruka, Naruto went straight to Team 7's training ground, where, less than three months ago, he had taken Kakashi's bell test and officially became a ninja. Upon arriving, he went through a warm-up, a few taijutsu katas and stretches before getting to the real training.

A moment later, a few score of clones filled the clearing, returning the blonde's burning stare. "Come on, boys, let's get wild!" Naruto called to his assembled clones signaling them to attack him. Two clones came in the first wave, the first throwing a wild punch towards the back of his head, while the second attempted to take out one of his legs with a fast sweep kick. Ducking under the punch, the original dove over the kick and planted a kunai into the skull of the second clone. As he came out of his roll, a third clone joined the fray, landing a solid kick to his side, launching the real Naruto towards the first clone. Naruto's pained gasp was silenced as the clone struck, sending a punch towards his unprotected middle. Naruto blocked the attack, and managed enough of a counter to dispel the clone, but he couldn't stop himself from hitting the ground hard. As he tried to regain his breath, he focused on the clone that had kicked him, barely dodging a punch from behind by a new clone. Hurriedly jamming a kunai into the overbalanced clone's back, he turned into the attacks of the newest pair. Rolling with the strength of the blows, he absorbed the hits, bringing himself within range of the first clone. Stabbing it with a kunai, a grinning Naruto turned back to the others as their comrade was dispersed.

The clones kept coming, and he fought them as best he could for several long minutes, pushing his body as far as it could go. An interminable time later, he had whittled down the army to asingle clone, readying itself for the final fight. As the clone charged, Naruto found his body far too exhausted to move. He had tried with everything he had, and now it took everything left just to stand. Eyes widening as the clone approached, he made a desperate push for more chakra. Come on! I have to have something left! Naruto's desperate thoughts raced as the clone approached, kunai in hand. Briefly, he felt a glimmer of chakra deep within his body, which vanished as he reached for it. I don't care what it takes, Imust reach it! As soon as he finished the thought, he felt a massive surge of strength pour through his aching limbs. /That's it! Now it's showtime./Whipping out a kunai, he locked blades with his clone, instantly halting the clone's momentum. Clone and creator stared each other down, pushing against the other's kunai. As the wide-eyed clone began to slide backwards, Naruto took the initiative to strike, simultaneously releasing his kunai and dodging to the side. The sudden shift in weight threw the clone off balance and directly into the path of the fist Naruto sent into its face.

"Ahhh that was satisfying!" Naruto declared as he turned with a satisfied grin to survey the training ground. The smile slid off his face as he realized what had happened during his training. All of the grass, trees, and even a lone deer looked as if they had been poisoned. The flora was a sickly shade of yellow and the deer almost appeared drunk, from the way it was stumbling. Frowning, Naruto began looking for the cause of the sudden decline in health, but nothing in the area looked suspicious. He gave up on looking for the mysterious cause when his stomach gave a loud rumble.

"Ehehe, sounds like I worked up an even bigger appetite," the blonde observed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, as he began the trip to Ichiraku. As he turned to leave, the boy was struck by an alarming, and dizzying, sensation. Naruto, too dizzy to stand, collapsed to the ground in a heap. While the bearer of the Higan tried to quell his stomach, he missed the forest around him beginning to spring back to life. Previously sickly and yellow grass straightened and returned to a vibrant green color, while trees whose leaves had all but rot away sprung anew with life. Even the lone deer gained a sure step and quickly left before whatever strange malaise had gripped it came back. As the last of the wildlife regained its luster, Naruto finally gave in, allowing unconsciousness to claim him.




The sound of a high-pitched bark and muted voices greeted Naruto's return to consciousness the next morning, as the sun's bright rays kept him there.

"... Huh? Morning already?" Naruto sat up, taking in the view of the fully restored training ground. "How did Ifall asleep out here? ...Ohh yea! What the hell was that last night?" Lapsing into thought, the blonde almost missed the approach of a trio of Konoha genin.

When another bark sounded to draw him out of his musing, the blonde's attention was directed to the approaching ninja, obviously unaware of his presence. Letting a foxy grin cross his face, he stealthily made his way behind the brunette that was speaking.

"...so Akamaru cornered the guy, right? He was about to finish it whe-"

"'sup dog-breath!" came the call as someone pounced on the speaker's back.

"AIYAAH!" Kiba twisted violently, tossing his assailant over his head. Noticing the blonde hair and loud laugher of the body uncurling from its resting place at the base of a tree, he began yelling. "Damnit, Naruto! Don't do that, dobe!"

"Haha, you shoulda heard yourself!" Naruto managed to choke out between laughs. "I didn't know men could scream that pitch."

Naruto finally managed to right himself, turning to greet the team and proudly displaying his Higan to the members of Team 8. Dusting himself off, Naruto began talking a mile a minute, to the thoroughly shocked clan heirs. "How've you guys been? I just got back from a C-rank mission that was freaking amazing! I even managed to unlock aKekkei Genkai, but by the looks on your faces, you've already noticed the bundle of pure awesome that is the Higan! You guys won't believe the kind of stuff I can do with it!"

After listening to Naruto ramble about the 'incredibly super amazing' powers of his Kekkei Genkai, Kiba composed himself enough to speak a very simple statement to the blonde. "Naruto." The blonde cut off his current ramen tangent, directing his fiery orbs to Kiba as he spoke. "Your eyes are on fire."

"Yeah... so?"

"Your. Eyes. Are. On. Fire."

"I know." Kiba's eye began to twitch at the blas