Training a Shinobi of the Leaf
by Nee
Summary: What set of circumstances would cause Umino Iruka to finally teach Naruto the shinobi arts from the very beginning?
Warnings: Rated M for language, violence, and sexual situations. No pairings.
Chapter 5: Understanding Nothing
There were times in Umino Iruka's life when he felt so exceedingly proud of himself that it took all of his considerable self-discipline to contain his emotions and actions so that he would remain within the limits of proper shinobi behavior. Therefore, it was very admirable that Iruka was able to maintain his composure when staring at the listings for the TBS program's final class rankings, because it was the dearest wish of his heart to smile and dance down the hallway, laughing and cheering at the top of his lungs in the spirit of pure celebration.
Umino Iruka was ranked ninth out of a graduating class of thirty-three students. Furthermore, as the ninth best student of this year's class, he had also been personally selected to become the teaching assistant to the academy's renowned taijutsu instructor, Jounin Umehara Tarou-sensei. Finally, Iruka had been acknowledged as one of Konoha's quality shinobi.
Umehara-sensei had taught all the great shinobi for the last twenty years, with such names coming out of his classes like, Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma, and all of the children from the large founding clans including the Inuzukas, the Naras, the Aburames, the Hyuugas, the Uchihas, and all the others he couldn't think of from right off the top of his head.
In fact, Umehara-sensei was so well respected that no child ever graduated from the Academy without first receiving Umehara's stamp of approval. In addition, no child was ever considered a genius, a prodigy, or gifted without first receiving the man's acknowledgement of their skill level. It had even been whispered that Uchiha Shisui's and Itachi's prodigy statuses had been faked and that it had upset Umehara so much that he had walked alone into the Uchiha compound and had demanded recompense from the clan-head.
Some shinobi, who swore up and down on their mothers' lives that they were witnesses of the event, said that there had been a fight between Umehara and all of the Uchiha men currently staying in the compound upon the time of the ultimatum. They said that no Uchiha could stand against Umehara and that he had only used a bō for a weapon. No taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu could touch him.
Another version of the story said that, in order to make good with the respected teacher, there was an immediate exhibition of Shisui's and Itachi's skills so that they might attain Umehara's approval. The ending to that rumor varied depending on who told it. Some said the boys were obviously geniuses, while others said that it was just another example of the Uchihas' lies coming to light.
Then the last rumor about Umehara and the Uchihas, which was actually the least credible of the lot, said that Umehara would no longer accept an Uchiha as a student and that they were now responsible for teaching their own children, given the fact that they obviously didn't need his help since they were already producing so many prodigies in every generation.
Of course, there were other rumors about Umehara, like how it was due to his teaching efforts alone that had managed to elevate the standard skill-set for the typical academy graduate. Apparently, before Umehara had started teaching twenty years ago, the quality of the Genin-hopefuls had been abysmal to the point that it was no wonder that, of the generation before the Yondaime Hokage, there had only been four well-known Konoha shinobi: Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo. Before that generation, there had only been Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been taught by Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama.
Once Umehara began his career as a teacher, suddenly Konohagakure was able to become an uncontested shinobi super-power, with the ability to produce quality shinobi in a relatively short amount of time. Umehara was also considered to be one of the major reasons why Konoha hadn't been conquered immediately following the Kyuubi attack, because it had been his students and his training regime that had enabled Konoha's youth to carry the burden of missions and reconstruction.
The power of a good teacher was limitless.
And now, that man was going to be overseeing his first year as an academy instructor. Iruka didn't know what he had done to warrant such good fortune from the gods, but he knew for damn sure that he was going to capitalize on it, because Umehara-sensei was an absolutely fantastic start for his teaching career.
Giddily, Iruka checked his wristwatch and noted that he had an hour before the graduation ceremony began. Since he had no family or any close personal friends interested in the milestones of his life, Iruka had originally thought that he would just skip the ceremony and pack up and move out of his dorm-room. However, after seeing how well he had done, he changed his mind, because for once he had something to be proud of and he wanted to be there, when they announced his name and took his picture. Besides, if he attended, he'd have the opportunity to brag a little to his fellow graduates.
With a burst of speed and chakra, Iruka was out of the administrative building and sprinting to the academy dormitory. It was a lucky thing that, as a result of six months of training and strict diet control, he had put on 14 kilograms (30.8 lbs) of hard muscle that had forced him to purchase new Chuunin uniforms, including a new shinobi black dress uniform; otherwise, he'd be wholly unprepared for this sudden change of plans.
Upon entering his room, Iruka was immediately shucking his clothing and dashing naked to the showers. He washed and shaved himself in record time.
With a full thirty minutes still remaining before the graduation ceremony began, Iruka presented himself before the TBS head instructor, Medic-nin Hiyama Yasuo.
"Glad to see that you decided to make it, after all," Hiyama-sensei said in greeting.
Umino Iruka just smiled in response.
_______________________________________________________
Two days after graduation, Umino Iruka had moved out of the dormitory and into one of the shinobi high-rise efficiency apartments. The move took less than ten minutes, since all he owned could be condensed into three storage scrolls.
The rest of the time was spent with Umehara Tarou-sensei, going over student files and curriculum plans for the upcoming Academy session that would start at the end of the week. The school year was broken up into 15-week-long trimesters, with a two-week break in between sessions. Although the children celebrated these breaks, they weren't actually for them but were instead for the Academy teachers, providing them with enough time to complete basic administrative tasks as well as review student performances and determine whether or not they were progressing as required or in need of remedial help.
The school week was long and involved. The children participating in the Genin Preparation Program (GPP) were welcomed through the Academy doors at 0600, where they started working on taijutsu. Umehara-sensei overlooked these classes, watching as the children moved through basic stretches, exercises, and kata forms in unison for the first forty-five minutes of class, before breaking off into their various year groups wherein they were instructed by a taijutsu teaching assistant for another hour and fifteen minutes.
At 0800, the children too young or not destined for the shinobi corp. (commonly referred to as a "soft child" or "soft student") arrived for school. During a normal soft child's day, they spent a total of nine hours at the academy, wherein they received an education in reading, writing, language, arithmetic, social studies, geography, history, health, science, and physical conditioning (reading, writing, and language was one class).
The children were grouped into classes of twenty to thirty students, organized by how many years they had attended the academy; therefore, it was a typical sight to have classes filled with mix-aged students. Each year-group was assigned to a sensei, called the Homeroom Sensei, whose main responsibility was to oversee the progress of the children under his care as well as to enforce good behavior. Since a majority of the students attending the academy were being trained to become shinobi, the existence of a homeroom sensei was deemed a necessity for the smooth operation of the school day.
Thus, while under the observant eyes of their homeroom sensei, the children were taught each of the nine soft subjects by visiting senseis. A visiting sensei was a man or women tasked with teaching one of the core subjects. In an effort to further restrict the movements of the children, the visiting senseis walked from homeroom to homeroom, teaching their subject, while the children stayed in place. This also allowed for the children to have a sense of classroom pride and identity, since they spent a majority of their education sitting amongst those same thirty individuals.
At 1700, the soft student's day came to an end. While they were packing up and heading home, the children in GPP started their warm-ups in preparation for their last class of the day that was three hours long.
From 1730 to 2030, the GPP academy students were taught shinobi-based subjects on a rotating schedule, with the entire three hours of class time being used for that day's subject. Therefore, the subjects of chakra manipulation, ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, weapons, hand seals, shinobi clothing, tools, and equipment were all taught by that year group's homeroom sensei.
Monday through Friday, this schedule was strictly observed, with no deviations. On the weekends, the children in the GPP program had to attend mandatory physical conditioning and practice sessions at the academy from 0800 to 1300. During this time, the students practiced their shinobi skills under the watchful and protective eye of their homeroom sensei, with further structured classes as needed.
All in all, the children of Konohagakure no Sato were in school for 60 to 80 hours per week, depending on which program they were currently enrolled. Most children switched from soft education to GPP by the time they were 7 or 8 years old, meaning they were eligible for the Genin Exit Exam by the time they were 10 years old.
In times of peace, like now, parental consent was required before a child could take the Genin Exit Exam. The current trend was for the parents to withhold their consent until the children were around 12 or 13 years old, believing that by that age, the children had attained the perfect balance of skill, size, and power, allowing for maximum chance of them surviving their rookie year.
However, in times of war or political unrest, a parent had no say in a child's readiness for active duty. Instead, it was left to the discretion of the homeroom sensei, seeing as he was the one adult most often in the child's company and in the best position to determine the child's readiness for active duty. To help expedite the children's training, the homeroom sensei was given as many teaching assistants as was needed.
All these thoughts rushed through Iruka's mind as he sat across from Umehara Tarou-sensei while they conversed about each child's strengths and weaknesses. The conversation had been going on for the last four hours, wherein student file after student file passed through his hands. Faces, names, and statistics were all starting to blend together until Iruka's head hurt and he desperately wanted to ask for a break so that he could make a cup of tea and eat a sandwich.
Sensing that Iruka had come to the end of his concentration, Umehara called a halt to their meeting. Sighing in relief, Iruka slouched in his chair and covered his eyes with his hands. The student profiles were dense with information and the font type was tiny and written in the confusing language-code that Konoha used for all of its official documents.
"Are you still happy that you chose to become a teacher, Umino-san?" Umehara-sensei asked, his voice thick with teasing sympathy.
Opening his eyes, Iruka watched as Umehara moved about the meeting room, and said, "Kind of. I needed a direction in my career and this is as good as any."
"That is very honest of you, Umino-san," Umehara said as he placed a plate of sushi rolls on the table by Iruka's elbow before filling a teapot with water.
Iruka looked away from Umehara-sensei, feeling as though he had unintentionally insulted the man. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that like how it sounded," he apologized.
Smiling, Umehara-sensei waved away the apology and said, "I did not ask you that question to receive a false answer. I am well aware that teaching is not perceived as a prestigious position for a young man, nowadays."
Reassured, Iruka looked back at Umehara-sensei as he positioned his hands into the tora hand sign and focused chakra. Iruka was struck again by how small Umehara actually was. The man had seemed so much larger in Iruka's memories, from when he had been an academy student, that it was shocking to realize that he was now taller than the taijutsu teacher.
Umehara breathed out steam from his nostrils and touched the side of the teapot. The focused chakra encompassed the vessel and, within a few seconds, steam was pouring out of the teapot's spout.
"The tea is ready," Umehara said, unnecessarily, as he brought the tea service to the table.
"I've never seen anyone do that before, sir," Iruka said.
In response, Umehara's black eyes crinkled at the edges with good humor, as he said, "I am an inpatient man. Better to have hot water now rather than five minutes from now."
Iruka smiled and, together, the two men ate their food and drank their tea in silence for several minutes. It was only the actions of Umehara-sensei neatly wiping his mouth with a napkin, before using the opposite side of the napkin to wipe the table that alerted Iruka to the fact that the other man was finished eating.
Umehara-sensei's black eyes caught Iruka's gaze and, with a slight gesture of his hand, indicated to Iruka to put down his food for a moment and pay attention. Iruka placed his food on the plate, licked his lips, and wiped his hand over his mouth, before nodding that he was ready for Umehara to begin speaking.
"Umino-san, before we call an end to today, there is one last student that we must discuss," Umehara said, seriously.
"Who is it? Should I be worried?" Iruka asked, partially in jest.
Umehara shook his head, and said, "I do not think so, but that is yet to be seen. Much depends upon how you react within the next couple minutes." Intrigued, Iruka straightened his spine and arched an eyebrow, inquiringly.
With his hands folded neatly in his lap, teacup resting on a napkin before him, Umehara-sensei said, gently, "When classes resume on Monday, you will be one of the teaching assistants for the GPP third year students. In that class is Konoha's 7-year-old-Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."
Iruka's jaw dropped, taken completely by surprise.
Everyone knew that the Yondaime had sealed the Kyuubi into a baby, but Iruka had never seen the host before, so concerned had he been with his own problems at that time, that the existence of a new Jinchuuriki was little more than a vague, but hated, imaginary figure in his mind. By the time he had been released from the orphan-tents and had graduated from the Academy, the baby Jinchuuriki had already been squirreled away, hidden from the very real threat of the shinboi populace rising against it in retaliation.
Now, confronted with the reality of such a creature becoming one of his students, Iruka didn't know what to do. He knew he wanted to kill it, but that thing had been kept alive for a reason. Then the Hokage had gone and created a whole host of laws protecting the damn thing that, should he ever move against it and was caught, he'd be swinging from a hangman's noose before the hour was out.
Not without pity, Umehara sat in silence, watching Iruka's reaction. After a moment, Umehara said, soothingly, "Breathe, Umino-kun. Find your center and calm your heart; find your breath. There is no reason to panic."
"No reason to panic?" Iruka incredulously repeated, his voice high and reedy. "How-how can they let that thing be around children?"
With a nonchalant shrug, Umehara said, "The Hokage wills it and so, the Jinchuuriki goes to school."
"That's insane!" Iruka snapped, his hand swiping through the air as he spoke. "At any moment, that thing could turn on us and kill someone. What are they thinking? It needs to be contained, not sent to school!"
Umehara smiled humorlessly and said, "Apparently, the Hokage disagrees."
Shaking is head in disgust and amazement at the perceived idiocy of his superiors, Iruka asked, "What are we going to do? Do you have a plan?"
Umehara's expression changed from one of sympathy to one of hard command, as he said, "There is nothing to do, Umino-kun. We shall do our duty and we will endeavor to teach the Jinchuuriki proper taijutsu and weapon control, as is expected of Academy Instructors. To do otherwise is to court the Hokage's anger and I, for one, do not wish to spend any time in an interrogator's cell."
Before the Chuunin could come up with any further protests, Umehara raised a hand, signaling his desire for Iruka's silence and said, "There is no choice in this, Umino-kun. Konoha cannot afford to ignore the existence of its potentially greatest weapon and, like it or not, that weapon needs to be taught and that is our responsibility. We do as we must, as we always have."
Sitting there, hunched over the table with his knuckles pressing hard against his abdomen, causing his nails to dig sharply into his palms, Iruka felt like he was going to be sick. The vessel was going to be in this class and he wasn't allowed to kill it or even to warn the children about what walked in their midst. This was a nightmare and he couldn't see any way out of it, unless he found a way to kill the creature before it killed him.
Iruka's eyes shifted back and forth, unseeing, as his mind raced through possible trap designs intended to kill the creature, but how did one stop a Jinchuuriki? Everything he had ever heard about the things was that they were neigh on indestructible and so god-awfully powerful that it was suicide to go against one.
To complicate matters, his mind kept flashing back to the caverns, beneath the Hokage Monument, during the Kyuubi's attack seven years ago. The sensory memories were so strong that he could still remember the smell from all those people jammed inside those caverns so tight that dozens of small children had been trampled and suffocated to death before the attack's end. He could still remember the claustrophobic, terror-filled cries that had erupted whenever the ground shook and the desperate, whispered, prayers to the gods for the cavern's ceilings to hold against the ferocity of the beast's constant attacks, and for the Hokage to please save them.
He remembered it all, because, he couldn't forget. He could never forget. No one could.
Forcefully, Iruka unclenched his hands and smoothed them over his eyes, trying to rub away the pounding headache beating behind his forehead.
Opening his eyes and looking directly into Umehara's, Iurka said, with finality, "I cannot teach that thing. I demand a reassignment."
Umehara Tarou-sensei was a small, slightly built man, with deep black eyes and shiny black hair, with only his temples going to gray. Normally, he was always unfailingly polite to everyone; with his kindness seeming more suited to the soft, academic subjects than to the brutal and often bloody classes of taijutsu and weapons. However, that kindness was gone from his expression as he regarded Iruka with distain, as he said, "Then I have made a mistake in requesting you for my assistant instead of taking someone else from your graduating class. I did not realize you were a coward."
Through clenched teeth, Iruka hissed, angrily, "You don't understand. The Kyuubi murdered my family. I don't want to teach it, I want to kill it. I don't care how powerful or useful it will be, I want it dead!"
"That is unfortunate," Umehara-sensei said.
Sensing a trap of some kind, Iruka asked, cautiously, "What do you mean?"
With steely resolve, Umehara-sensei coldly said, "That depends on you, Umino-san. If you persist with this desire to hurt Konoha's Jinchuuriki, then I will be forced to deal with you before you can cause any damage to the vessel. It is the Hokage's mandate that the vessel not be interfered with in any way. The Hokage believes that the Jinchuuriki is vital for Konoha's strength and future prosperity. As is my duty, I will see that Uzumaki-san is protected from all threats, from wherever they may come."
Sneering, Iruka said, "I haven't done anything, yet!"
Nodding, Umehara said, "Exactly. You haven't done anything, yet. However, by your own admission, you wish to do Uzumaki-san harm; possibly, even kill him. I cannot allow such a thing to happen. That alone is enough to have you arrested and interrogated about your intentions towards one of Konoha's most valuable assets."
"Yeah, well, that valuable asset is going to get us killed," Iruka stated emphatically.
"That is not your concern," Umehara said, simply.
Incredulously, Iruka sat back forcefully in his chair and opened his arms wide and asked, "How can that not be my concern? It involves me, doesn't it?"
Umehara nodded gravely and said, "That might be true but, as a Chuunin shinobi of this village, you are expected to sacrifice your life for the greater good at anytime. Furthermore, by law, you are required to abide by the Hokage's will and, in this case, the Hokage desires for the Jinchuuriki to be taught. Should you die in the performance of your duty, then you will leave this world knowing that your spirit will find peace in the next, because you have died honorably and the village appreciates your sacrifice."
"That's such crap!" Iruka shouted. "I think that –"
Umehara slapped the table hard with the flat of his hand and said overtop Iurka's angry words, "You are not paid for your ideas on policies concerning the Jinchuuriki. That is not your place. Your place is as a teacher and thus you are expected to teach, no matter who your student is. The Hokage wants the Jinchuuriki taught and, as a teacher and as a shinobi of this village, you will teach him or there will be consequences. Just know that if you can't act like a proper shinobi of this village and lay aside your anger, then you will most likely be dead before the end of this week. Do you understand?"
"No! I don't," Iruka said disturbed.
Umehara sighed and said, with stressed patience in his tone, "All I ask from you, Umino-san, is for you to withhold your judgment until after you have met the host. I want you to divorce all of your previous feelings, concerning the Kyuubi, and look at the vessel as though he is a possible mark. Understand him, figure out his habits, his weaknesses, and his strengths, and so on. Until then, it is time for you to act like a professional and not like some spoiled, undisciplined, civilian. Are we clear?"
Iruka nodded his assent. Observation was something he could do. He didn't have to touch the thing, just watch it from afar. Maybe he would notice something that would bring the Hokage to execute it.
"Good," Umehara said and stood up, fastidiously brushing at the seat of his pants. As Iruka sat there thinking about the logistics of tracking and observing the Jinchuuriki, Umehara cleared the table. Before he left the conference room, he called Iruka's name to get his attention and said, "Take the rest of this week and observe Uzumaki Naruto. Learn to see what is actually there and realize the boy is more than a projection of your fears. Come back Monday morning and be ready to work with the third-year-class. After the class is over, we will discuss him again and see if your perceptions have changed."
"Yes sir," Iruka responded.
"Then, one last thing, Umino-san. Remember, the Jinchuuriki is never as alone as he seems. He is too valuable to be left to the whims of outside forces. If you attack him, you will die before Uzumaki-san is even aware that you were there."
"I won't attack him, sir. You have my word," Iruka said gravely.
Snorting in disbelief, Umehara turned and walked out of the room. As he left, his voice was audible as he said, "We will see how good your word is on Monday, won't we, Umino-san? If you're still alive, that is."
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Chapter end notes: Author's Note: I wanted to take this time to write to you concerning the decisions of my story. A few reviewers have commented that there is too much back-story for Iruka. My response to these claims is that I respectfully disagree.
First off, Iruka has been listed as one of the two primary characters in this story; therefore, he deserves some screen time. Besides, in cannon, we know nearly nothing about Iruka's character or history, only that he had survived the Kyuubi's attack, he's a Chuunin, and he is a sensei at the Academy. In the few manga and anime scenes that Iruka is depicted, he comes across as a kind, but weak, shinobi, which is partially the reason why so many fanfiction authors are quick to label him as 'gay,' despite the fact that he reacted to Naruto's Oiroke no Jutsu in the pilot.
Since Iruka is perceived as a weak shinobi in cannon and in most fanfiction, it therefore becomes difficult for the reader to picture him as an authority figure for anyone, let alone Konoha's Jinchuuriki, without major power-ups or a strong history to justify and explain his decisions to the reader. I believe I have done that with the previous chapters and Naruto will be making more of an appearance from here on in.
Furthermore, this story is also an exploration behind the scenes of the Naruto manga. For instance, the reader needs to understand that Konoha has more shinobi in its forces than the 15 characters we constantly read about. The reader needs to understand the emotional and physical toll concerning the Kyuubi's attack and how the Hokage managed to guard an infant Jinchuuriki from a village of trained and bereaved killers. The reader needs to know what it was like for the children who had survived the Kyuubi attack, because that is the world Iruka grew up in. Readers need to understand Konoha's military response to suddenly having their forces decimated. And, possibly most importantly, the reader needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses behind using child-soldiers and why it was such a travesty that Naruto's education was so lacking from the very beginning.
Unfortunately, cannon doesn't provide any of this information and it is all undiscovered territory. Masashi Kishimoto is too involved in writing his linear story to worry about the background, and has therefore left it all up to the discretion of his readers. This story will try and provide viable explanations for various issues that I have noticed in the manga, while also following the plot line of Iruka teaching Naruto.
I hope that answers your concerns.