I am Naruto but where is Kurama!?

I stood in front of a waterfall to start the next training exercise for Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation. I charged my hand with lightning, and as the electricity crackled, I stuck my electrified hand into the waterfall. The next step is simple but hard: send a current of electricity up the waterfall to the top and maintain it.

I sent the current of electricity up the waterfall but could only get about a quarter of the way there. After getting a feel for the exercise, I summoned a dozen Shadow Clones, and we got to work trying to reach the top of the waterfall with our Lightning Nature Chakra. None of the Shadow Clones and I got no further than a quarter of the way despite training for the entire day.

Feeling drained, and went back to the shore to sit under a tree before dispelling the Shadow Clones. A wave of fatigue hit me like a sledgehammer, and I passed out.

.

.

.

Something smelled, what's the word? Musky, no, familiar, maybe. I opened my eyes to see Souji smiling at me and felt something firm but not too firm under my head. I got up and figured out that the fox boy was giving me a lap pillow... I threw a punch at Souji's face, and he dodged with a chuckle.

" Now, Naruto-kun, is that any way to treat someone who was looking after you?"

I replied plainly without much emotion, as I knew he was messing with me.

" I only want to wake up to a lap pillow from a beautiful woman or cute girl."

The fox boy gave me a playful smile as he said.

" That can be fixed."

I then saw him use a hand sign I hadn't seen before, and he started to change. His masculine features turned more delicate and feminine. His chest swelled with a pair of bountiful orbs, and his hips widened while his waist tightened, and he completely transformed into a female version of himself. Soushi then said with a new feminine, sultry tone.

" How's this, Naruto-kun?"

I blinked once, twice, and decided to punch him for messing with me. He dodged as he laughed and used mock tears as he fakely sniffled.

" Naruto, I am just trying to please you, yet you are so cruel."

My eye twitched at him, and I retorted with a dry tone.

" I would believe you if you weren't actually smiling so mischievously."

The female form of Souji giggled as he playfully smiled, and I felt exasperated at him since this wasn't the first time he tried to mess with me. Well, it's the first time he took on a female form, but regardless, I am not amused at being on the receiving end of a Sexy Jutsu or something similar. I sighed as I sat down while feeling my stomach gnaw at me until it growled.

I looked at the still female Souji and asked.

" Are you just here to annoy me, or did Haruhime-san or Senko-San send you with lunch?"

" I don't know. My memories are a bit fuzzy. Maybe you can remind me?"

Seeing his playful smile and threatened with a dry tone, I wasn't in the mood for joking around. I had a little less than a year left until graduation from the Academy, and even if the Canon is up in the air, graduating will still kickstart my Shinobi career.

" I will hurt you."

The female fox boy held his hands up in surrender and turned back to his usual pretty boy self. He brought out several bentos from a storage scroll, and I asked.

" I usually get Haruhime-san delivering lunch. Did something happen?"

" No, she was just busy helping Senko with organizing all the paperwork she is swamped with."

" Ah."

I replied with realization and renewed my views that desk jobs in this world are death traps. Even Jiraiya, as the Fifth Hokage, was confronted with mountains of paperwork that never seemed to get smaller. I only had to peek at him once out of curiosity to reaffirm my thoughts on desk jobs. I still remember Naruto from Boruto getting so caught up with paperwork, even with a freaking computer by his side, passing out from exhaustion and causing the Shadow Clone he sent to his daughter's birthday to dispel.

I finished off the bentos and went right back to training, or at least tried to, as Souji stopped me.

" Naruto-kun, a moment."

" Yes?"

I asked him while feeling curious about what he wanted.

" Care to spar with me for a bit?"

That was unexpected, to say the least. However, while I know Souji specializes in Kenjutsu with some Genjutsu mixed in, we never really sparred with one another as he did teach me a bit of what he uses in a fight, subtle but deadly Genjutsu in a fight. The Genjutsus he uses could manipulate the perception of the range of his blade, reversing or even changing direction where the attack is seen from, like attacking being seen from the left but actually coming from the right or above or below.

He even had an insidious Genjutsu that amplified the opponent's sense of pain, where a small nick feels like an amputation. Interesting but terrifying stuff to fight against as the way he transmits the Genjutsu can come from anything like a glance at his sword or the light reflected off it or even hearing it clang against something like another blade or weapon. He even demonstrated it, and I was placed under a Genjutsu unknowingly when I focused on him drawing his sword.

I considered his offer and asked.

" Just a light bit of sparring with no Jutsu or all out with every trick we can pull?"

" I wish to push you to your limits to see where they lie."

I thought to myself in surprise.

" All out, huh."

I brought a storage scroll to bring out one of the spears I forged. It was simple, with no Sealing Formula engraved on it, and made out of pure steel. Souji smiled as he brought out his sword, and part of me felt excited about possibly going all out. I wanted to see where I stand.

________________________________________

Souji and Naruto stood opposed to one another in their respective stances. The fox boy moved first, unbeknownst to the blonde, while under a subtle Genjutsu that manipulated his sense of time that twisted the moment before the fight. The blonde was almost struck by the blade of the fox boy, only to be met by a timely block as the blonde had gotten familiar with Genjutsu and broke out of it.

Souji smiled as his eyes narrowed as he made his katana scrape against the spear, aiming to cut off Naruto's fingers furthest away from the head of the spear. The blonde reacted quickly by pushing off the blade and then flowing into a thrust at the fox boy. The fox boy leaped back to evade the attack and reflected the sunlight off his blade at the blonde's eyes, forcing him to close them.

Souji used a Genjutsu to inflict blindness through the reflected light on Naruto, then leaped at the blonde and slashed at him. The blonde's training and instincts kicked in as he jumped back, falling into the shallow river and breaking out of the Genjutsu. The blonde dipped his spearhead into the river and ran Wind Nature Chakra through it, launching a big splash of water at the fox boy.

Naruto energized his body with Chakra and used the Body Flicker Jutsu to move rapidly to the left while sending a quick Shadow Clone Jutsu send a clone to the right and leaving one behind. The original Naruto met Souji first and stabbed at him with his spear, but the fox boy deflected the attack and then blocked the second attack from the Clone, charging at him from the right. The Clone left behind charged as the water hit the ground.

Souji gave in to let the Shadow Clone nearest him lose balance before grabbing it by the neck and using it as a shield. The first Shadow Clone got impaled by the other, and the original Naruto swung his spear at the fox boy only to be met with a Substitution Jutsu using his last Clone. The blonde looked around to find the fox boy, only for his hair to stand on end and instinctively evade by leaping forward and turning to see nothing.

" F*cking Genjutsu."

Naruto muttered as he grasped his spear tightly and braced himself to either counterattack or break out of another Genjutsu. While Genjutsu couldn't become part of his arsenal because of his Yin-Yang Imbalance stopping him from using higher-level Genjutsu, he did have Senko help him practice breaking out of them whenever she had a moment. Otherwise, he would've lost right at the beginning.

The blonde wondered to himself.

" Where are you, Souji?"

There is no sign on the left or right. The rear is clear, so either above or below by process of elimination was where he expected an attack from. Naruto looked and saw nothing, but there were no signs below either. Suddenly, he felt pain as he saw himself getting cut and leaped back. The blonde tried to see if this was another Genjutsu, but no, he was cut across the chest, but Souji reappeared from where he was initially standing.

Naruto touched his new wound and prepared a Jutsu he created as the blood pooled in his hand. Souji then instructed as he flicked Naruto's blood off his blade.

" Naruto-kun, when facing someone specialized in Genjutsu, you need to constantly try to disrupt your Chakra Flow even when you don't think you are under a Genjutsu, especially then since that is when you're most vulnerable to Genjutsu."

Naruto called out his new Jutsu in his mind as he cast it while flinging his blood from his hand.

" Wind Style: Blades of Blood Jutsu!"

Inspired by Inuyasha, the main character of an anime called a feudal fairy tale, that shared his name. It seemed like a good idea in the event of getting an unexpected injury to use the blood from said injury to launch a Ninjutsu. The drops of blood infused with Wind Nature Chakra became crimson crescents that flew out wildly like buckshot.

Souji's eyes widened as the Jutsu approached and... phased through him, shocking Naruto and realizing he was under another Genjutsu. While breaking out of the illusion, the blonde then felt the blade now at his throat. The fox boy comments as the blonde drops his spear in surrender.

" Not bad, but not great either, Naruto-kun. You are at Genin level already, and with a bit more training, you can easily reach Chunin level, and the only thing you really lack is experience."

Naruto huffed as he got a reality check that he was still weak in the grand scheme of things and nowhere near the level he needed to be at in the not-so-distant future. Souji withdrew his blade and said.

" Let's get you treated."

" Yeah, sure."

The blonde said, feeling despondent and a bit frustrated, but his determination only grew to become stronger.

________________________________________

I now had a new scar starting near my right shoulder across my chest down toward my lower left ribs. While the healer from the Fox Clan could easily prevent any scarring since the cut is shallow but, I kept it as a reminder that I still have a lot to learn. The spar with Souji got rid of any notion I had of my perceived strength. It was frustrating but enlightening.

I was probably as strong as Sasuke and Sarada at the Academy because, in the Canon, Sasuke graduated with strength around the higher end of Genin to the lower end of Chunin since he could use the Fireball Jutsu, a few other Fire Style Jutsus, Uchiha Style Shuriken Jutsu, and his Clan's Taijutsu. All this while he was completely by himself then, but in this universe, he has a twin sister to spar against.

After my first spar with Souji, he agreed to spar with me once a week. I say spar but mean royally hand my a*s to me. I get frustrated, sure, but I learn more about what I need to improve on. Months went by, and I had already completed Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation and moved on to Fire Chakra Nature Transformation. The two training steps were easy to understand, with a simple mental image to work with.

With Fire Chakra Nature Transformation, the image used is to rub two squares against each other, friction basically, to burn a leave into ash first, then rapidly boil water into steam, after getting all three of my Chakra Nature Transformations down, I decided to go for the next step of what I want to do before graduation from the Academy: fully becoming the Contracted Summoner of the Fox Clan.

One day, I entered Senko's office and asked.

" Senko-san, is it possible to take the remaining trials to be the Contracted Summoner of the Foxes?"

Senko looked up from her paperwork and set aside her pen before looking into my eyes and asking with a serious tone.

" Are you sure? Once you go through with it, there is no going back."

" I'm as sure as I will ever be since I will be graduating from the Shinobi Academy this year and already mastered the basics."

The petite fox girl gave me a slight smile and said.

"I will notify Lady Tamamo-no-mai, but be warned, Naruto-kun, I won't let you off if you fail to pass the trials."

A shiver went down my spine as Senko gave me the sweetest smile. It looked like I had another reason to pass the trails.