Konoha : Naruto's playground

A year. It's been a year already,' Naruto sighed as he thought back to what had happened with his only friend. It depressed him; he still didn't understand why she had been so angry with him. He had lost countless nights simply pondering over his actions, trying to find the solution to what he had done.

The Villagers' hate had been unconditional; they needed a scapegoat and he had been the prime target. But TenTen was different. He had lived with her, ate with her, trained with her even and he knew that she didn't hat him. There had to have been a reason for her actions, just he couldn't understand it.

'Argh!' He scratched his scalp with both hands in his agitation. 'I can't think about this again. I need to concentrate.'

In the year since TenTen had stormed out of his apartment in anger, Naruto had trained like crazy. Jiraiya had returned from his two week mission to find the blond with the first two stages of the Rasengan down-pat. If he had been surprised, it was nothing compared to the shock he had when he found the blond 8 year old making his own storage seal. Jiraiya had stood in the hallway of Naruto's apartment simply staring at him for a good five minutes, his mouth hanging open and his eyes bugging out of his head.

Once he had learned that TenTen had taught the skill to the boy, he had decided to give the blond Jinchuuriki some more guidance. He couldn't tip off the council that he was helping the blond though, so he would help one day and disappear the next, whenever he wasn't on missions. This quickly turned into a routine and after Naruto finished the Rasengan (It had taken him a total of 5 weeks.) Jiraiya had started him on the basics of Elemental training and Fuinjutsu.

But every night, the 8 year old would simply vanish and return the next morning with bumps and scrapes all over his body. On one occasion, Jiraiya found him slumped against his door with his hands clenched to his side, where a wood scalpel was buried deep into his flesh. Jiraiya had hastily performed first aid and was unsurprised to see the wound close within seconds after the offending weapon had been removed from the body.

Naruto refused to tell him what had happened. And although Jiraiya would question him many times, the blue-eyed brat just wouldn't answer. So Jiraiya gave up. And after a year had passed, Jiraiya was astounded at his godson's growth.

He hadn't focused on Ninjutsu at all apart from the Rasengan. No, what was amazing was his progress in the Sealing Arts and Elemental abilities. Although he wasn't so good with using advanced seals, he could adapt the smaller ones to do anything he wanted, for instance the Gama-Sennin had once caught him in a Konoha Public Training Ground using a modified Explosive Tag to boil the Village River. Every time someone would jump in for a swim they would get scalded by the hot water and Naruto would laugh quietly from the bush he was spying from.

It was even funnier when one day a fisherman had been trying to catch his lunch when Naruto had activated the tag. The fish had died quickly due to the change in temperature and all their bodies began to rise up to the surface. The fisherman thought he was being attacked by the un-dead or something similar, as he jumped up and ran screaming into town, ranting about "Cursed Tuna" and some other rubbish.

Similarly, Naruto could manifest his Elemental Affinity, but had not learnt any techniques to go along with it. His raw use of the skill though, said much for his ingenuity. When Jiraiya had explained that a kunai could be sharpened using wind Chakra and so it would cut through more things, Naruto had stared at him before his eyes had widened as if having an epiphany. Jiraiya had thought that there had simply been a delay in him understanding what he had been told, but then he had seen the blond's use of his affinity 2 days later. The blond not only coated the Kunai in wind Chakra to make it sharper, but he also caused a strong, yet focused burst to leave his hand as soon as he threw it and this caused the Kunai to travel far faster than any human could throw.

After the first few trees were toppled, Jiraiya advised him to stop lest the Rangers had to replant the whole training ground.

Needless to say, that although Naruto was very excited with his new skills, he was still affected by TenTen's departure. He had a constant conflict going on in his mind over whether it would have made a difference if had told her his secrets, but somehow that didn't seem like it was the reason for her ire at all. There was something else, but for the life of him, he simply couldn't figure out what it was.

Hence his dilemma, when he discovered a useful combination of his two newest skills.

XXXXXXX

Naruto gazed at his handiwork critically. He had created a seal to regulate his Chakra into wind without him having to channel it through his body and mentally convert it. The possibilities of this seal were limitless. Its prank potential was also infinite and he promised himself to place an ever present gust of wind in the home of the next person that annoyed him. Maybe he'd make it so strong that they could be blown out of their beds early at the crack of dawn?

Shaking himself, he decided to try out his new invention. He had placed the seal onto his own improvised surfboard. If it worked he should be able to surf, but in the air! He'd always wanted to try dive-bombing and most of his other 'rides' were becoming boring to the 8 year old.

The most hilarious use of his 'rides' had been when he had coerced Jiraiya into having a go. Having dubbed the man 'Ero-Sennin' for his shameless ways, the Gama-Sennin had agreed on the condition that the Uzumaki legacy stopped calling him such a derogatory nickname. Naruto had stipulated that as long as he didn't scream once in the whole ordeal, he would go along with it.

Poor, poor Jiraiya.

Naruto decided that to get 'Ero-Sennin' to scream, he would have to use his most dangerous one. As Naruto could attest, the perfect one to fit the bill was his self-dubbed TSS, or the 'Trampoline SlingShot'. This time he made sure to purchase 'A half' rubber for the actual slingshot, he wanted it to snap so that the guy would scream loud and clear. It made for a slightly awkward moment when Naruto walked into the Higurashi Weapon Store and TenTen had been manning the counter. Luckily he had managed to get what he needed and simply paid his money and left; TenTen's eyes had lingered on him all the while, and he could feel her glare boring into his back as he left the shop.

They had quickly set up the stunt in the same location that he and TenTen had originally tried it out. Naruto reflected on the fact that it had been her 8th birthday then, how could she not see that he wasn't trying to be rude or horrible or anything else?

Jiraiya had decided that he definitely wasn't going on the TSS unless it was proven to be safe; he didn't want a repeat performance of Naruto's human cannonball after all. And so Naruto had gone first. The novelty of the 'ride' had worn off since the last time he had tried it, maybe because TenTen wasn't with him, or maybe because his past events had changed him so much that he was no longer as excited about these kind of things as he was before.

Life and death situations could do that to a person.

As he plummeted to the ground, his mind went through everything that had happened and his future plans. He was going to try out his 'Air-board' and if it worked, he was going to leave Konoha for a while. There was no reason to stay, nothing to hold him back and no-one could stop him from just leaving without papers; they couldn't stop a bird from flying away could they? What convinced that he was right was the memory of that fateful day. He had returned from the Hospital and had refused to explain to TenTen what had happened that night.

"But why can't you tell me? I want to know and it's not like it's a secret is it? You told the Hokage and Jiraiya-sama didn't you?"

Naruto hung his head. He just couldn't bring himself to tell her. His mind was a whirlwind of emotion and desperation, his senses heightened to incredible levels as if he was expecting an attack from all directions at any moment.

"I just can't. It's my secret and mine only, and I almost died because of it!" Naruto's reply was tinged with despair, and yet, he didn't whisper.

"So you can't trust me? Is that what you're saying? After everything we've been through, you can't trust me?!" TenTen's tone had hit a height that she seldom used even when she was angry.

"I waited here for you all this time you know? I was so worried when they told me you were in the hospital and I came to see you straight away! What's so important that you can't trust me with it?! You know how we've lived; we can't survive without trusting each other! It's why I left that Orphanage in the first place!"

Naruto raised his head and stared hard into the girl's chocolate eyes.

"What do you mean by that? You were the one who forced yourself in here and I didn't force you to stay! You can't understand how I've felt all these years on my own! I've been betrayed too many times to allow it to happen again!" Naruto's eyes were beginning to moisten, his heart was shaking in his chest at the question he knew she would ask next.

"So you've been betrayed before and you still can't trust me? When have I betrayed you? I heard about the Kyuubi or whatever it is you know!"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. How could she know? Who would tell her? Hadn't the Sandaime said that he had banned anyone from talking about it? His heart hardened at this revelation and his voice became monotonous.

"I can't trust you, not with this.'

Her hand rose so fast that he almost didn't see it. But he didn't dodge the stinging slap that forced his head to the side.

There were no more words. She simply turned and ran into her room and slammed the door shut. Naruto stood staring at the door with a look of silent contemplation on his face. Why was it so important to her that she knew his secrets? Were friends meant to tell all their secrets to each other? It wasn't like she had told him any secrets, so what was she angry about?

Just before he impacted the ground, a strong breeze originated directly beneath his falling body, preventing him from slamming into the ground and gently laying him on the grass of the clearing.

"Alright brat, looks like fun. My turn!" Naruto smiled sourly.

Jiraiya was far heavier than Naruto and TenTen combined. The stress on the rubber would be enough to snap it almost straight away and Naruto hadn't minded going first if it meant the rubber would be weakened some.

As Jiraiya's form rocketed past him towards the parallel trees at the other end of the clearing Naruto remembered the last conversation he had had with his bun-haired roommate before she had left.

It had been a warm day in Konoha and the girl had gotten home slightly later than usual and as Naruto glanced up from the seal array he was making, he noticed a slightly grim expression on the older brunette's visage.

"I'm leaving." Such a simple statement and yet Naruto froze at the words.

"What do you mean?" TenTen simply stood in the doorway of the apartment as she regarded the younger blond.

"I can't live like this. It's like the Orphanage all over again. You still can't tell me what happened that night?" Naruto shook his head stiffly. TenTen sighed.

"Right, bye then. I'll be at Naoto-san's place if you need me, which you probably won't" the last bit came out scathing and Naruto could only stare glumly as the front door shut after TenTen's retreating form.

It had been such a simple departure and yet there wasn't any more finality than that. The moment the door had closed, the blond-headed Jinchuuriki felt the claustrophobia of being alone in the world once again. The gaping chasm in his soul that had begun to fill was once more completely empty.

He couldn't stay here because he'd go crazy. There was nothing left for him at the moment, only a fake grandfather-grandson relationship that Naruto really didn't know how shallow it went, and another 'pseudo-uncle' bond with an elite ninja whom he had no idea as to what were his true intentions. His only friend had left him; maybe it was time to try something new.

At Jiraiya's shout of surprise, Naruto glanced up quickly. He had to hand it to the man, the rubber had snapped and he was sent flying through the air at roughly the same angle Naruto had when he had landed near the hot springs, and yet, all he did was shout; he didn't even scream. Naruto immediately began sprinting in the direction of the bath-houses, sending Chakra to his feet and leg muscles to increase his speed to maximum.

He wouldn't reach there in time, but with any luck he should at least be able to see where the red-clad elder Shinobi would land.

He saw from a distance, the legendary Jiraiya's form fall into the women's side of the hot spring. Oh that wasn't going to end well at all! He was definitely getting a scream out of him though! Sure enough, through all the female screams emanating from the bath-house, one male scream was louder than all the rest, although, Naruto snickered, his scream sounded quite girly too.

XXXXXX

"It doesn't count!"

"You screamed, see? It's still a scream!" Naruto nodded sagely as he explained his reasoning.

"Yes but that was because I was getting beaten up by about 20 different women! Tell me you wouldn't scream if that happened?!" Jiraiya asked incredulously. The nerve of Minato's brat!

"Oh, I probably would scream too, just I wouldn't be in there in the first place. You still screamed Ero-Sennin, so I'm gonna keep calling you that!"

Although Jiraiya projected an angry demeanour on the inside he smiled. At least he made the kid act happier. It showed that he wasn't a lost cause. Now just to get him to patch up his friendship with the Higurashi apprentice.

"And since I won, you can't annoy me for the rest of the day ok? I'm goin' up to the monument for a bit." Jiraiya nodded quickly. If the brat needed alone time to think, who was he to stop him? At this rate, he could keep up with his 'research'!

As Naruto turned to begin his short trek, Jiraiya studied the back of his student's son's head. They were so alike at times, and yet so unlike each other in terms of experience. The Gama-Sennin frowned at the direction his thoughts had taken. Sarutobi was wrong about the kid being off his nut. The kid was fine; he was just trying to carry all the burdens of his world on his small 8 year old shoulders. It was unhealthy and stupid, but Jiraiya had faith in him, he was Minato's kid after all.

And with a smile he turned to begin his day's 'research' only to stare at the snapped piece of rubber hanging from the tree. Squinting Jiraiya read the frayed lettering inscribed on the material.

"A...Half...Max-Maximum weight...50kg." He stared dumbly for a few seconds.

"50KG! DAMN YOU NARUTO! YOU KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN, DIDN'T YOU?!"

Naruto smiled widely as he heard the shout.

Yep! All was not lost!

XXXXXX

Naruto stepped lightly onto the plank of wood he had hewn his 'Airboard' from. Now to test the seal.

Channeling his Chakra into the seal beneath his feet, the array lit up in an ocean blue glow. Immediately, a strong yet precise wind sprung up underneath the board and lifted it, Naruto included, slowly into the air.

'Now to test speed' Naruto increased the amount of Chakra going to his soles and the board responded almost immediately, jumping up almost a foot before Naruto cut his Chakra in surprise. As he landed with a thump, the 8 year old congratulated himself mentally.

'YES! It works! Now to test the handling.' This time the blond applied a constant amount of Chakra to the seal whilst spreading his Chakra to 4 other seals in equal amounts. In order to bank in different directions, Naruto had to add a seal that would channel wind Chakra to a specific part of the 'Airboard'. By altering the amount of Chakra to each 'direction seal' (as he began calling them) and keeping a constant amount to the main seal, he could effectively manoeuvre the board in almost any way he wanted. But the final test was needed before he set out on his world tour.

At least, Naruto grinned viciously, he could show the whole of Konoha his invention. And he was going to do it in the loudest way possible!

XXXXXX

It was a gentle summer, this year in Konoha. The air was free and pure, with nary a cloud to be seen in the sky. The heat from the sun was bearable for most and a light, refreshing breeze would occasionally blow, creating a fresh spring feeling in the atmosphere. As the Konoha Villagers went around their daily business, the natural equilibrium was soon to be very rudely broken.

Many looked up as a speeding black blur lifted from the Hokage Monument, directly above the Yondaime Hokage's stone head. It then proceeded to shoot toward the Hokage tower at the center of the Village. Banking on top of the tower, the figure turned 90 degrees facing vertically upwards and shot off, becoming smaller and smaller to the bewildered Villagers' eyes.

What in the world was going on?!

The figure rose fast, becoming nothing more than a speck and some foolish people thought it was another 'reach the moon experiment' by a stupid team of Genin. That was, until the speck started to grow bigger and bigger at a faster rate. As the figure rocketed downwards like a torpedo, the Konoha populace instinctively ducked as the person, and they knew it was a person now, pulled up from his insane nose-dive, a shockwave of wind and dust exploding on the ground just a foot below his hovering form.

Belatedly, the Villagers realised it was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, the Village pariah. Naruto once again zoomed forward at insane speeds, cutting a deep trench through the crowds of people as they jumped and dived to get out of the way, screams and shouts of shock rent the air as he zipped past; all the while cackling like a lunatic.

It was time to leave.

And just like that, the success of his latest stunt fresh on his mind, he turned and sped off in a North-Westerly direction. He didn't know what he was heading for, but he hoped it was fun!

Little did he know that he was in for far more than fun. The direction he had randomly chosen would lead him to a place where nearly everyone despised anything and everything to do with Konoha.

It would lead him to Iwa.

The country his father slaughtered in the last Shinobi war.

The father, he looked extremely alike.

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