Chapter 122 - Naruto Fanfiction 7 - Unexpeted Love (2/2)
Sighing with a warm grin, Tenten was reminded again how much Naruto cared deeply for all his friends and comrades that he considered like a large extended family to him. She happened to be one of them, and it warms her being to know the blond would always be there to provide emotional support to anyone within his family who needed it.
Reaching out, she clasped his hand that was resting on the counter. ”As I said, I'm fine,” the brunette repeated. ”As you know, it came as a shock to Neji and I, when his clan arranged for him to marry one of his distance cousins. Least it's someone he knew and certainly not Hinata or Hanabi, whom he would not have been comfortable to marry.
”As for today, it's no big deal for me,” Tenten shrugged slightly. ”After the break-up, I'm not looking to suddenly find a boyfriend.” One side of her lips curled up slightly. ”After all, I'm still young. It's not like I'm an old maid.” Both young ȧduŀts chuckled at that.
Letting go of his hand, Tenten grinned teasingly at her fellow chuunin. ”So what about you?”
Knowing what she was referring, Naruto shook his head with a tiny sad grin. ”No one and you already know why.”
Dropping the teasing expression, Tenten nodded with a slight sympathetic grin. ”Yeah.” Everyone knew how much he loved Sakura, so it was easy to tell Naruto's heart was crushed when the pink-haired kunoichi became Sasuke's second girlfriend/fiancée. It was just too bad, in Tenten's opinion, that Hinata had started dating Kiba a few months before Sakura and Sasuke became an item. If Hinata had waited just a little longer, the Hyuuga heir would have gotten her chance with Naruto.
So the two young shinobi stood there quietly, until the silence was broken upon the return of Kyohaku, who was holding a wrapped clothed bundle. ”Here we are,” she grinned as the older brunette placed the bundle onto the counter before untying the strings. The two young shinobi noticed the cloth appeared to be dusty, indicating it had been in storage for many years, and once the cloth parted, Tenten slightly gasped while Naruto raised his eyebrows at the contents.
There laid two elegant kodachis in their equally stylish sheaths/scabbards. The hilts were wrapped with intertwined white and gold leather strips to provide easy grip, while the buŧŧs and guards were exposed silver steel. The sheaths were black and embroiled with gold & white Japanese designs, particularly two striking dragons, whose bodies wrapped around the sheaths with the tails starting at the tip and heads ending near the mouths. Overall, the two short swords appeared to be made for display purposes and not for combat use.
Taking one in hand, Naruto unsheathed the sword and held it up as he and Tenten admired the gleaming steel. ”It looks like they have not been used,” the blond commented, while his female friend nodded in agreement to his observations.
”No, they haven't,” a grinning Kyohaku confirmed. ”These chakra kodachis were crafted by my husband under a special order by a famous Konoha ninja.” Her grin and eyes became a bit depressed. ”Sadly, they were finished the day before the Kyuubi attacked the village, thus their owner, who paid in advance for the swords, died fighting the fox along with my husband. These swords have been sitting in storage ever since then.”
”And who was the customer Dad made these swords for?” asked a curious Tenten, whose eyes didn't stop admiring the steel blade of the kodachi in Naruto's hand.
A proud expression appeared on Tenten's mother. ”The Yondaime Hokage.”
”SAY WHAT?” both young ninjas shouted as they trained wide eyes on the older woman.
”Th-The Fourth?” Tenten sputtered in awe before eying the sheathed kodachi on the counter. ”Dad made these for The Fourth?”
Kyohaku bobbed her head once at her daughter. ”Yes, he did. The Yondaime owned several swords, but none of them were chakra blades. He'd thought of experimenting with a pair of chakra konachis to see what kind of jutsus he could come up using his elemental chakra. Your father was proud to do the job, for he was also responsible for making a special order of kunai for The Fourth. What those kunai are for, I will not say, but I can say they helped win the war against Iwa.”
His mind reeling, Naruto sheathed the kodachi he held and placed it back next to its twin. ”I… I can't accept this,” he stammered, his eyes never leaving the two short swords. ”I can't buy this.”
A reassuring grin came to Kyohaku's face. ”There is no need of payment, Naruto,” she said, causing her daughter and the blond man to once again look at her in astonishment. ”The Fourth already had paid for them, and I can not think of a better person more suited to wield these blades than you.”
”Are you serious, Kyohaku-kaasan?” Naruto questioned, not truly believing what he was hearing. Even Tenten couldn't believe it, for who would even give away anything that belonged to The Fourth Hokage? After all, such items would be treasured artifacts.
The warm grinning, 40-something woman nodded. ”I'm sure, Naruto. Everyone knows now that The Fourth had sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi in you.” Both young ȧduŀts became somber on that. ”He had wanted you to be viewed as a hero, but you know that didn't come to pass. Think of this as his way to help you protect yourself as well as everyone you love and care deeply. Knowing The Fourth, I have a good hunch he would not mind you having the blades to continue protecting the village and uphold The Will of Fire.”
His cerulean eyes locked with emerald ones, the young Hokage-wannabe saw the hidden message Tenten's mother was conveying in her words and in her eyes. I do not think your father would mind. The swords are your heritage. Take them.
Warmth of love and family slowly bubbled into his heart. Naruto knew Kyohaku was one of a few who knew the Yondiame was his father. It bolstered his being that she would give him something of his father's to help him protect his precious people and achieve his goal in following his father's footsteps – to be Hokage.
With a determined grin slowly appearing onto his face, Naruto nodded gratefully at the wise older woman. ”Thanks, Kyohaku-kaasan.” She simply nodded with a pleased grin and began rewrapping the kodachis in the protective cloth. No other words were needed to say.
Not fully understanding what went on between her mother and her friend, Tenten let it go and focused on the fact that Naruto was now in possession of The Fourth's custom-made chakra blades. ”You better take care of those, Naruto,” she slightly teased. ”It would be a shame if you neglected the kodachis that anyone in the village would highly prize.”
”I will,” Naruto grinned back fiercely. ”I swear it on my word. Dattebayo!”
Both women smiled at that. There was no doubt now that Naruto would take care of the two short swords with all his being. After all, it was known by all that when he gave his word, he would always keep it. It was part of his nindo, his ninja way.
”Well now,” Kyohaku nearly sing-sung as she finished tying the swords up, ”that's that.” As she pushed the bundled kodachis toward their new owner, the female blacksmith raised an eyebrow. ”So tell me, Naruto. From what I overheard you telling Ten-chan, you have no kenjutsu training at all. How are you going to handle them?”
Blinking in stupefaction at first, the whisker-faced young man then shrugged. ”Just wield them around, I guess.”
Letting out a breath of disbelief, both women sweatdropped and closed their eyes. It seems Naruto really did not understand. It was Tenten who opened her eyes and started explaining.
”My Mom has a point, Naruto,” the bun-haired girl began. ”I know you wanted to use the swords to create new wind jutsus, but what happens if an enemy manages to get in close to use a sword or a weapon while you have both hands occupied with the kodachis? If you know a form or two of kenjutsu on how to use the kodachi, you could able to defend yourself against such attacks, long enough for you to put some distance to use wind jutsus or free your hands to use any of your ninjutsu.”
Kyohaku nodded at her daughter's explanations. ”You do not wield the blades as they were mere weapons, Naruto-kun. They become an extension of your body, and any shinobi, who becomes one with his or her weapons, is not to be taken lightly.”
”Take Asuma-sensei,” Tenten added, mentioning the late-jounin who died two years ago against the immortal Akatsuki Hidan, ”he wielded a pair of chakra knuckle blades. He didn't thrash them around wildly with his elemental chakra extending the blades. He knew how to use them, and he became quite an expert on wielding those blades.”
Naruto nodded in understanding. ”I see. That makes sense.” He frowned as a thought occurred to him. ”But I do not know anyone to teach me kenjutsu.”
Tenten's lips curled into a knowing smirk. ”I can teach you.”
”You can?” the blond raised his eyebrows in surprise.
”Duh, Naruto,” the brunette rolled her eyes, still smirking. ”With all the weapons I carry in my scroll, I do have a few swords, so I have to know some forms of kenjutsu in order to use them properly.”
A bashful Naruto rubbed the back of his head. ”He, he. Good point,” he chuckled.
Ignoring the chuckle from her mother and the unintentional pun Naruto produced, the young weapons mistress sighed before continuing. ”You do not need to become a master in order to properly wield the kodashis. I'm no master myself on any forms of kenjutsu. I do know a couple of forms to be use with the kodashi, and knowing the forms might help you create wind jutsus. I doubtful Temari had created her wind jutsus by just wielding her fan carelessly.”
Naruto brightly grinned. ”Thanks, Tenten.”
”That's what friends are for,” Tenten mentioned with a friendly grin. ”To be there to help and support one another. I don't mind at all helping you, for you are my friend.”
The bright grin on his face became a friendly one. ”Right. Friends stick together.” Tenten nodded in return, pleased that she would be able to help Naruto with his training.
”So,” Naruto said while picking up the wrapped swords, ”where and when do you want to start the training?”
”We have to agree first that training with our perspective teams and missions for the village come first. I don't think our teammates and Tsunade-sama would appreciate us skipping out on them just for me to teach you kenjutsu.” Naruto nodded, showing his agreement and understanding, before Tenten carried on. ”Good. Other than that, I might be required to help Mom mind the store, so there will be days the training will be early in the morning, late in the afternoon, or none at all.”
Kyohaku mock scoffed at her daughter. ”Never mind me, Ten-chan. If both of you are freed to do the kenjutsu training, you tell me and I'll be okay to mind the store for the day.”
Tenten smiled gratefully at her mother. ”Thanks, Mom.” She turned back to her would-be student. ”I'm freed tomorrow. You?”
”Yep,” Naruto grinned.
”Good,” Tenten chirped. ”Meet me at the Memorial Stone training field at 8 tomorrow morning. I'll start on teaching you the stances for a kenjutsu form I know, and in the afternoon, you can start trying molding elemental chakra into the swords to begin getting use to using the kodachis as a medium. From what I know, it takes a lot of practice for anyone to use their elemental chakra to form jutsus through a medium.”
The blond man smiled his trademark foxy smile. ”No sweat, Tenten! I'll learn that kenjutsu form, and I'll soon be pumping out wind attacks out of these two swords in no time flat! Dattebayo!” With that said, he waved good-bye at the two women as he headed toward the exit. ”I'll see you tomorrow, Tenten! Bye, Kyuhaku-kaasan!” Both women waved and said their good-byes in return, before the blond boy left the store.
Sighing, Tenten shook her head in amusement. ”I think Naruto will soon learn that learning kenjutsu is no easy task. Not to mention that it takes control to properly channel the right amount of chakra into a medium to form a particular jutsu on top of finding the right stance to launch the jutsu.” Sighing again, Tenten chuckled. ”He'll have his work cut out for him.”
”Indeed,” Kyohaku concurred prior to proudly grinning at her daughter. ”Yet, if anyone has the patience to teach Naruto-kun kenjutsu, it'll be you.”
Tenten grinned at that. ”Thanks, Mom.” She then left to journey into the back room and upstairs to fetch something to drink.
Left behind to look after the store, Kyohaku smirked, knowing well that things were going to be quite interesting from tomorrow onward in the village.
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