Ch 17) Ino's Training Begins

Before I start this chapter, I wanted to say something I forgot to mention in the previous chapter. I am aware that this is not how sealing works in Naruto. But the idea is so obscure and underdeveloped, and I wanted to put my own spin on it.

Without further ado, let us get back to it.

Naruto's P.O.V.

Where was that old man? If Naruto found him to be perving on women, he was going to make the man regret ditching him. This idea had already occurred to the blond when he noticed the sage was gone. Yet at the time, it was nothing but a small annoyance. It was now two hours later, and the boy was pissed. "When I find him, I will make him wish he never came back to the village!" Naruto was used to feeling abandoned, and the man leaving in the middle of his training was bringing up some painful memories.

Naruto continued to seethe in somewhat reserved anger, as he made his way down the street towards a bath house. The man had to be there. It was the only place the blond had yet to look. Naruto did not even notice that he had passed the Yamanaka's Flower shop. The Uzumaki was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a feminine voice behind him.

Ino ran up to her fellow blond and grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face her. "Naruto, I was just about to come looking for you." She smiled down at him. Naruto blinked at her, a silent question as to what she needed. "I know you trained Sakura,and I was wondering-" There was a moment of hesitation before she continued. "- Could you train me as well?"

Her request confused him, and he momentarily forgot about his anger towards the Sage. "Doesn't Asuma train you guys?" A look of annoyance flashed across the girl's face, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, but he only teaches us as a team. He doesn't help us with our individual skill." Naruto nodded his head at her explanation. A look of hope replaced the one of annoyance. "So will you train me?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment. Should he train her? He was pretty busy training with Jiraiya right now. His clone should be enough. That way he could still focus on what he learned from the sage. He gave the girl a smile. "Sure, Let's do it?" He reached out his hand to shake her's. She returned the gesture with a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you so much. I appreciate it." Naruto formed a cross with his hands, and a clone popped into existence.

"I am busy at the moment, but this clone will act as your trainee." The girl looked hesitant. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I have imbued it with extra chakra. It'll stick around for much longer now." Ino glanced back and forth between the two, before nodding.

"Okay, sounds good to me," she replied, flashing the clone a smile. "Let's head to training ground 10. My team does not use it this late in the day, and Asuma gave us all a week to rest. So no one should bother us. Both Naruto and the clone glanced at each other, then returned the girl's smile. Both Ino, and Naruto's clone walked away,leaving Naruto to once again formulate his plan for pranking Jiraiya. The evil smirk returned. He knew just what to do

Bath-house

Naruto walked up to the building, the evil fox grin still adorned his face. Thanks to his sense of smell, he knew the sage was near. In Fact he could see tufts of the man's white hair sticking out around the wall. He walked up behind the man as silently as possible.

Naruto formed the necessary hand signs, muttering softly under his breath. "Lightning Style: Lightning Stream." Naruto's hand shot out and a small blast of electricity sparked from his fingers and engulfed the sage. The man let out a loud shriek, alerting the women in the water of his presence. Naruto was not done yet. After the shock had faded. (Pun intended) The blond ran up to the man, grabbed him by the scroll on his back, and flung him over the wall into the water. Naruto made sure to mark him, just in case the old man manages to get away from him again. The Uzumaki tossed one of his Hiraishin Kunai into the air,and teleported to the blade. He replaced it in his pocket, and perched on the top of the wall.

Once Jiraiya had recovered, he sat up, only to see a bunch of angry women covered with towels glaring at him. "Now Ladies, there is a perfect explanation for this," he tried to explain, putting his hands up to placate them.

"You pervert!" One of the women screamed. Unlucky for the sage, she was a kunoichi, if the random kunai she seemed to pull out of nowhere was any indication. All the women started to beat on the man relentlessly. The only kunoichi present used the butt of her kunai knife to inflict injury on Jiraiya's head. If the Uzumaki didn't know any better, he would say she was trying to give the sage a concussion. Maybe so he wouldn't remember seeing them naked in the bath?"

Naruto reestablished his connection with the fox. Naruto could hear the beast laughing at the Toad sage's misfortune. "Hey Kurama, did I go too far?"

Kurama stopped laughing long enough to answer the boy. "Absolutely not, Kit. That's what he gets for being a perv." Kurama continued to laugh.

Naruto cut off the connection. The blond jumped down from the wall, before the women could notice him. He used the seal that he placed on Jiraiya and teleported the man to his side. The man appeared to have been knocked unconscious from a blow to the head. Naruto sighed in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He touched Jiraiya's shoulder, sealing the man into one of his scrolls, and bolted from the bath-house, before the women could find him,and think he was perving on them as well. That's the last thing the blond needed right now.

With The Naruto Clone, And Ino (Training Ground 10) Clones P.O.V.

The clone and Ino were standing in the middle of the clearing, and he was sizing her up. "Alright before we get started, there are a few things we need to address." The girl stared at him, questioningly. The clone held up a finger. "1) You need to quit your diet." She was about to retort, but he cut her off. "It's not healthy and with me training you, you will be burning more calories than you'll be consuming." She didn't protest, although there was a flash of nervousness in her eyes. He held up a second finger. "2) You need to take this seriously. So be here when I tell you, don't give me any shit, and listen carefully to what I say. If you follow those rules we shall have no problem."

"Okay, I promise I will. This is important to me." The determination in Ino's eyes made him smile. Maybe she will be a better student than Sasuke and Sakura. She isn't arrogant like the Uchiha, and the girl had more motivation than just impressing her crush.

"We're going to start with your chakra control, and chakra expansion. This is how I trained Sasuke and Sakura." A look of shock crossed the girls face.

"You trained Sasuke?" Naruto replied to her question with a smirk.

"Of course. How else do you think he became so strong?" Naruto enjoyed the moments where he could act cocky. It was a nice refresher from always having to demonstrate humility when it came to his own strength. "You see those trees over there," he says, gesturing to the small forest behind him. She nods. "Were going to be climbing them."

"How does that help?"

"This isn't going to be regular tree climbing. You see you can't use your hands for this exercise." The pair walked into the forest. "First, I am assuming you remember what chakra is from our teachings at the academy." The girl looked offended at the fact that he was doubting her. "Relax, I am just making sure," he explained.

She calmed down after a few moments. "For this exercise, you want to focus chakra into your feet, which is the hardest part of the body to do so. Once you focus your chakra, you will be able to stick to the tree." Naruto turned toward the tree. "Observe." The Uzumaki placed his foot on the bark and began to walk up the service. He got about 30 ft of the ground,before he walked onto a branch and hung on it upside down. Man this explanation sure gets tiring, he realized. How many times has he taught this exact same thing to people? "Something to remember. Too much chakra and the bark explodes. Too little and you'll slip. Try maximizing the use of the chakra in your feet before drawing more into your feet." Naruto made sure she was paying attention. The look of amazement on his face, made him smile. It was nice seeing any emotion besides hate and anger directed at him. Made him feel like he was not completely unwanted.

"I suggest a running start. Do this up and down the tree until you have exhausted your chakra. Then rest for an hour or so,and do it again. This will enhance your chakra reserves and chakra control at the same time." Ino nodded at the clone, and he smiled back, tossing the girl a basic kunai. "Use that to mark your progress."

The blonde took off running toward the tree, making it 15 ft,before she began to slip. Using her momentum, she tried to flip in mid-air, but still landed on her back. Ino groaned in pain as she sat up and rubbed the sore spot on her back. Naruto flipped off the branch,and landed by her side. "Here, let me." He rested his hand on her back, and sent his chakra throughout her body. "You'll be just fine now." He smiled as a look of confusion passed over her. "Trust me, just stand up. You'll feel a lot better now." The blonde stood up, and a confused,but happy look adorned her face. "My chakra healed all injuries your body has ever sustained," he explained. "Go ahead and try again.

She ran at the tree once again, making it up 20ft this time, marked her spot, and used the other trees in the area to jump to the ground safely. Ino continued the process for several hours. She managed to exhaust her chakra 3 times,before it was time to head home for dinner. "Thanks again, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow?" She smiled at the clone, and he returned it.

"Yes,make sure you are here at 4 p.m. That way you can do your normal stuff with your team, rest and be ready for my training," he instructed. "I'm proud of you, Ino." He gave her a thumbs up. "You made a lot of progress today." The comment made her blush. She turned her face away so the clone wouldn't notice.

"Thanks Naruto." Ino starts to leave,but turns back around at the last second. He's about to ask her what's up, when she surprises him by wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. His muscles immediately tense up. She doesn't notice though. The blonde turns her head and places a kiss on his cheek. Then she pulls back. "I'm glad you are okay, Naruto." She winks at him, and before he could blink, she was gone.

His hand reaches up to rub the spot where she kissed him. The look of shock is still on his face, as he vanishes out of existence.

That's it guys. Sorry it's short, but I didn't want you guys to have to wait any longer for a new chapter. And now I have officially kicked off the real beginning of Naruto and Ino's relationship. It will still be a bit before anything concrete happens between them though.

Have a great night,and I will see you guys next time