Hiruzen watched with keen eyes as Naru… Jay, as Jay gave him an answer far from what he expected …
The young boy just told him that his happiness was a product of finally understanding ‘emotions’ … a puzzle he finally figured out and was now acting accordingly …
And Hiruzen could see that the boy wasn't going to take no for an answer …
[Hiruzen] - Are you sure ? … Your parents gave you the name ‘Naruto’ with much love … -
Hiruzen was immediately interrupted.
[Jay] - I don't really like that name, fishcake or whirlpool, I don't like it … and I don't know my parents, why should I stay with something they gave me without me asking for it ? -
Hiruzen blinked slowly as his mind caught up with the logic … in his peripheral vision, Yūgao and Guy were as stunned as he was …
[Hiruzen] - Na…Jay-kun, you were a baby, you couldn't have chosen … -
[Jay] - Then it was something forced on me without my consent ? -
Jay made sure to cross his arms and scrunch his face slightly in frustration and indignation.
***
Jay was almost breaking character to give a giggle … No matter how many times he did this, it was always funny to see people floundering around because of a name change.
Especially when they tried to argue with him about it … if said culture valued self determination, Jay could always simply argue that he didn't choose it. They would either have to cave or say that he didn't have a choice, either way, Jay won … He either got his name change or he got an excuse for future rebellion …
***
Hiruzen watched with tired eyes as the boy Minato tasked him to protect renounced the name given to him …
And Hiruzen couldn't even argue against that … Young Na…Jay was intelligent beyond his years, the threat was made inside his own question … ‘... forced on me without my consent ?’ … Hiruzen couldn't say yes, he could see in the boy's eyes that he wouldn't forget it and if Hiruzen did this with his name, what would happen when young n…JAY asked about his tennant ? …
No, Hiruzen would much rather not seed this kind of distrust over a name change …
[Hiruzen] - Very well young Jay, I can see you're determined, I'll handle the paperwork -
[Jay] - Many thanks Hokage-sama … -
Jay performed a deep bow before standing back up and taking a step back from the adults but standing at attention …
[Hiruzen] “ It's almost like he knows he will be asked to leave … “
[Hiruzen] - Just one moment Jay-kun, promise me that you won't do something as dangerous as you did today … -
[Jay] - I … Can't do that Hokage-sama … -
Hiruzen blinked, having expected a yes no matter if he was going to stop or continue …
[Hiruzen] “ I keep forgetting the minds of prodigies work differently “
[Hiruzen] - Why is that my boy ? -
Hiruzen watched as the boy's eyes lit up.
[Jay] - There is so much to learn about chakra … I'm just now starting to really get it … And moving so fast and jumping so high like Yūgao-san does looks like so much fun … and whenever I get hurt, she also uses chakra to heal me. That's sooo cool … like, how does it do that ? I know it can attract things … Is it attaching the wound ? … I read a book that said we are all made of tiny tiny things, is that what the chakra is pulling ? Like … like pulling the correct pieces back in the correct place ? … -
Jay said animatedly like an excited child would … it wasn't even a lie, he was just playing up the act.
***
Yūgao's mouth was almost hanging open … N- … Jay-kun … Jay-kun just deduced the principles of Taijutsu Katas, Handseals and Medical Ninjutsu … He was barely at the age to start at the academy …
***
Maito Guy's eyes narrowed at the opportunity presented …
[Maito Guy] - Hokage-sama, if I may, Jay-kun here seems determined to learn Taijutsu Katas … such youthful endeavor would be greatly helped by a qualified instructor … I, Maito Guy, Konoha's Green Beast, promise to teach young Jay to the VERY BEST of my talents … -
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his ears trained, waiting for the rest … and there it was, a whisper, a complete contrast with Guy's exuberance, even his mouth barely moved, such breath control … his voice was almost whispered by the wind itself, like Hiruzen's own consciousness telling him ‘a favor for a favor’ …
[Maito Guy] - I only ask for a proper consideration of my request … -
Hiruzen smiled his grandfatherly smile and nodded.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
[Hiruzen] - That would be greatly appreciated, Guy-san … Chunin Yūgao, your mission now includes helping Jounin Maito Guy with his apprentice during his training with young Jay … if that's okay with you Jay-kun -
Jay nodded.
[Jay] - It is greatly appreciated Hokage-sama, Guy-san, Yūgao-san … please take care of me -
Jay gave a bow to his new instructors.
[Hiruzen] - Very well, dismissed -
[Maito Guy] - Jay-kun, Yūgao-san, please come to the training ground four at dawn for our training and Yūgao-san, is a pleasure to be working with such a youthful lady -
Guy gave a deep bow to Yūgao.
[Yūgao] - It's alright Guy-san, it will be an honor to work with you -
*** *** ***
Leaving the hokage tower, Yūgao took ‘Jay’ back to his apartment.
Yūgao was ready to leave when the boy of the hour decided to be cordial …
[Jay] - Would you like something to drink Yūgao-san ? I would like to know one of my caretakers as well as they know me … -
Yūgao wasn't sure what to respond … but politeness only offered one answer.
[Yūgao] - Of course Jay-kun, green tea would be lovely … -
Yūgao said, going towards the only table in the frugal room … Yūgao always found it odd how little na-Jay … how little Jay required … no toys, no ‘frivolities’ that a child would want … just a filled pantry and appliances that he learned to use as soon as he was able … even the maids responsible for taking care of the place only came once a week …
[Jay] - Pure, Milk, Sugar, Cream ? -
Yūgao's wandering mind was brought back towards the moment.
[Yūgao] - … A little bit of sugar and cream -
[Jay] - Biscuits ? -
[Yūgao] - No need … -
There was a deep sense of awkwardness to the situation that Yūgao couldn't put her finger on … but Jay-kun was the picture of politeness …
Yūgao just shook her head and prepared herself for their conversation.
***
In Jay's mind, Kurama stirred …
It was late into the night and the LIAR was preparing to sleep after the female went away …
Kurama would have his vengeance … the LIAR thought he was the only one able to annoy ?
Kurama rose from his place, preparing to roar and bash the bars of his prison throughout the night and beyond …
But before he could do it …
[Jay] - Don't even think about it, this place is still on my mind if you don't remember … I can still silence everything just like I did before … -
Kurama huffed and laid back down, glaring at the LIAR.
[Jay] - You know, you still didn't tell me, how were you born ? I’m pretty sure someone made you, on account of your age, but I prefer to confirm from the source … -
Kurama's eyes narrowed, he turned his body so he didn't have to look at the figure.
[Jay] - Nice talk as always -
Jay rolled his eyes and left the Fox to its devices, letting his consciousness fade into restful sleep.
The next day started at dawn, where he would meet with Guy-san and his apprentice …
[Jay] “ I'm already making some valuable contacts and I almost didn't have to do a thing …”
Jay giggled and shook his head, sometimes luck really did smile at him.
*** *** ***
Yūgao was ready before dawn, she went to collect Jay-kun and go to the training ground …
She stopped at the door of the apartment, a small feeling of hesitation …
The conversation she had with Jay the day before was awkward to say the least …
A prodigal child he may be, but that didn't take away from the oddness of the experience.
Yūgao could barely drink her tea without almost spitting it out every other question …
Jay had almost no sense of propriety … he was polite, he made questions in the same curious and interested monotone … he asked personal questions that had Yūgao doing a double take just to make sure she heard correctly …
When Jay said he wanted to know Yūgao better, he meant it like she was a puzzle to be solved …
It started out harmless, likes, dislikes, hobbies …
But before she noticed it, Jay was taking charge and she was unknowingly giving him the reins of the conversation …
By the end of it, Yūgao felt like she HAD to answer whatever it was asked of her … just like when she was being interrogated …
She forgot she was speaking with a child …
Yūgao felt like she was back in the information and interrogation department, talking with a Yamanaka that was looking straight into her mind …
It didn't matter what kind of answer she gave, even her non-answers gave him information … her body language, facial expressions …
And Jay deduced things out of the little pieces of information she gave him or he would imply things outright and confirm them based on her reactions …
Yūgao left the apartment feeling raw and exposed … she would have another report to make …
Hokage-sama might want to have another Yamanaka to check on him … Jay was even more than he seemed …
***
Kurama watched as the LIAR interrogated the female in the same way he did with Kurama … he could only grind his fangs while listening to the Liar’s voice mull over the information he gathered …
[Jay] - Hmmm, Kurama, do you have anything to add ? Because honestly, for a being made of chakra you know almost nothing about it … -
A growl came out of Kurama's …
[Jay] - Fine, be like that … What about history ? Yūgao didn't know much outside of recent history and some things about how this hidden village works … I still can't believe every piece of tech out here is of artisanal make, that's, that's just not how these things are supposed to happen … Kurama, was the spread of information just as bad during the past ? -
Kurama narrowed his eyes but refused to answer. Kurama would not give the Liar anything else …
[Jay] - Did you ever have sex or something ? You must be pretty pent up with a stick this size up your ass … -
A roar came out of Kurama's mouth before he could reign in his temper, the Liar simply shook his head at him.
[Jay] - You know you can just ask for things right ? This is my mind, your stay here didn't need to suck, you only need to be polite … -
Jay walked a bit closer to the bars to offer …
Kurama's claws crashed against the bars in a quick motion, as he did his best to send his caustic chakra to the Liar, he got complacent, he got too close …
Kurama's chakra was cut off as the seal clamped on him, but not before a small fraction of it made its way towards the Liar …
Kurama smiled, that would show him, that would get a proper reaction …
Only for the Liar to spit on his efforts …
[Jay] - You really have an anger problem … you really don't get it do you ? … -
Jay released a sigh.
[Jay] - This is my mind Kurama … you may have some amount of power inside your prison, inside your seal … but in my own goddamn mind ? … -
Kurama could feel the surroundings changing.
[Jay] - … Let this be a lesson of SCALE -
Kurama could only cower behind the bars as the Liars' mind lit up and Kurama was made to see … so much, so many things, things so big they defied Kurama's notion of space … It was a view from further and further away, higher and higher … the planet itself, shrinking to a point besides the enormity of a star … the star a mere spec besides a bigger one, the bigger one a single star admits a galaxy … at the center of the galaxy an enormous void that swallowed everything … the same scene that mesmerised Kurama before, but now the context for it … More scenes, more scale … constructs and works at a size that defied Kurama's own sense of self … the growing sense of smallness admits everything else … Kurama was nothing but a spec in that enormity and that enormity itself was one of countless others … anything Kurama did, would it even matter at all ? …
[Jay] - My mind, My imagination, My perception … you can't even admit to yourself that you need to learn and get better … How can you even compare ? Can you even imagine any of this ? … You had a thousand years to learn about chakra, yet in mere years, I already know more about it simply because I ASKED and thought about it … Get off your pedestal and try to climb to my level before attempting something so foolish … I’m a speck worth of nothing in the grand scheme of things, and I'm fine with that … but if I’m nothing, what the hell does that make YOU ? … -
Kurama saw the scene evaporating like a mirage that was never there … The small sliver of chakra that Kurama sent over to damage the figure, was now contained … But Kurama's mind was still rattling over what he just witnessed … A universal truth … despite his power, despite his age, despite it all … Kurama was a fish in an insignificant pond …
[Jay] - … Anyway, thanks for the sample, this will take a while for me to study properly, but it will go a long way to getting you out of my body faster … -
Kurama's rage couldn't get past the somber feeling … he couldn't shake away the sense that the figure was simply disappointed with him …
Even his rage was silenced after witnessing the fullness of the universe … the sheer scale … the dismissal … the smallness … and even that … if even that was nothing … if all of that was still nothing … What was Kurama himself worth ? … What was his struggle worth ? …
Kurama never felt such an empty feeling as now … This feeling of being confronted with something he simply couldn't see himself compared to … the figure said he himself was nothing … What was Kurama then ? … Less than nothing ? …
The figure simply went to sleep, like it was no big deal … like he didn't just show how small Kurama was … like he didn't care …
And maybe … maybe he didn't … maybe the Liar wasn't lying after all …
Kurama growled at himself for still being shook … curling against his tails as he went to sleep too, his mind still spinning over the brief ‘lesson’ the figure gave him …
***
Rock Lee waited with his sensei at their usual spot … the sun was almost ready to rise above the horizon, bathing Konoha’s green with a warm orange glow …
Lee was almost vibrating in place …
Lee couldn't believe his luck … he was chosen as an apprentice … he … he wasn't performing the best at the academy …
His theoretical grades were average … and that was being generous … His ninjutsu was practically non-existent, his genjutsu were on the same boat … Lee was getting better at detecting genjutsus, but he could only purge his own chakra to get rid of them … but Lee didn't really know how much he needed to purge, which tanked his grade on efficiency …
Sure, there was no genjutsu in existence that couldn't be removed by purging a sufficient quantity of chakra … but the key was purging only the necessary amount and Lee wasn't good at that either.
His only shot was physicality … but without a personal instructor, Lee was left trying to perform Katas by himself … Something that is not advised to put it lightly …
Lee knew he wasn't any genius, but what else could he do but try ? … Being a ninja was the path he had to take, his parents and young siblings were counting on him … he was their big bro, and he would not disappoint …
Especially now that he got an opportunity of a life … Guy sense took him as an apprentice and even said he would get a med-nin to help his Taijutsu training …
***
