Naruto: Cautious Ninja

Stroking his chin, the Third nodded assuredly to himself before turning to leave. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright, Naruto, but try not to play around with that seal on your stomach anymore. It's not something to get worked up about, nor is it wise to mess around with. Understand?" Yeah, a general excuse that was left wide open for questioning. Hopefully the youngster wouldn't invest too much time into it.

"S-Sure. But… why do I have this funky tattoo on my stomach in the first place, gramps?" Naruto asked, rubbing the area in question while watching the elder slowly head toward his corridor. "Is it important?"

"Very, which is why I want you to keep it hidden from the other villagers and to not tamper with it," Hiruzen warned, stopping in his tracks and looking over at the youngster. "Trust me. Do NOT play around with stuff you don't know anything about. It could be harmful to both yourself and the people around you. Consider this an order from your Hokage." Seeing the downcast look come across the boy's face, the elder breathed out and gave him a small smile. "I promise to explain the seal across your stomach to you in more detail when you're older. Do you think you can wait a couple more years?"

Hearing the opportunity after the small bit of discouragement, Naruto nodded his head vigorously.

"Good. Now try not to get into anymore trouble, okay? Otherwise you'll have to answer to me the next time I wake up and find our most precious monument sullied with your handwriting," Hiruzen exclaimed, glancing back ahead of him to be on his way. However, when it seemed like he was about to leave, the old man hesitated and looked back at the jinchuriki with a puzzled expression. "Did you really glue all of the furniture in the academy to the ceiling?"

Remembering his underlying admittance from earlier, the blonde stiffened like a board before grinning sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his head when he saw the elder's eyebrow rise into his hairline, "Uhh… it was supposed to be a surprise for this coming Monday. I was bored…"

"Uh-huh." Figuring he would have to deal with another complaint in the week to come, the Third gave a tired groan before finally deciding to take his leave. "I swear you're going to make me completely bold by the end of this year, Naruto-kun. Ugh…." The opening and closing of the door in the hallway signaled his departure, allowing the resident of the flat to slump across his dining room table in relief.

That was an intense session he really didn't want to have again anytime soon.

What the hell was happening to him this morning?

OOO

Slapping his goggles over his forehead, Naruto headed off for a little walk around the neighborhood to clear his thoughts. He didn't just want to try and take his mind off of the matter of his ruined apartment but also to stroll off the swelling he still had from being slammed into a wall.

That seal across his belly was no joke. Who the hell put it there anyway… and for what?

These were the initial thoughts plaguing him as he trotted down the steps of his apartment and on his way out of the suburb. He kicked his form into autopilot and allowed his nose to steer him through the busy streets, all the while mulling over the problem he had been trying to deal with since before the whole thing with the exploding stomach occurred.

"So I can't do anything with the seal. That's a bummer," Naruto sighed in disappointment, hands behind his head and eyes directed towards the sky above. "I can use all the other stuff Iruka-sensei taught in class like Kawarimi and Henge. I can fight, I can climb, I can run, I can survive… but I can't do the Bunshin no Jutsu and I hate tests!" Oh yeah, he sucked at them badly.

His biggest failings. These two in particular were the areas that had been weighing him down the entire time in the academy and were currently the most irritating thorns in his sides. They were also the main reasons why he was still called a slacker and a failure despite his other successes, because he kept crapping out on the theory.

While given a chance to actually pass through use of another jutsu, Naruto was still wrapped up in figuring out which one to learn. An offensive technique that packed a punch and was not only catchy, but also spoke to him… he didn't even know where to start.

"A type of chakra armor? No," Naruto thought while shaking his head. "Not my style. Hmm. How about… a water controlling technique? Ahh… too many hand seals. They take too long and they're really hard to remember. Maybe… an exploding clone technique! Yes! Yes I… wait… no I… can't even create one clone yet. I guess anything involving clones would be a dead end. Shit." The blonde snapped his fingers repeatedly, believing a couple of times that he had it, but really he didn't. "A disappearing trick, an earth moving jutsu, something maybe I can use as a sword or a spear, or maybe the ability to conjure lightning?!"

That actually sounded awesome. Stopping in the middle of the road Naruto tried pulling off a 'Thunder God' pose, arm stretched out and everything. He grinned stupidly as he envisioned himself standing at the top of a mountain before an altar, bathed in lightning with thousands of people bowing at his feet with offerings of ramen.

"Yes! I can see it now! Uzumaki Naruto: God of Lightning!" the blonde shouted at the top of his lungs, drawing a huge amount of attention from the villagers out on the streets.

The boy's exclamations meant silence was swiftly brought to the neighborhood and the tumbleweed prop was immediately called into shot, rolling across the dirt track before disappearing down an alleyway on the other side of the path. A faint cough was Naruto's only applause as he stood with his hand still extended and a maniacal grin on his face.

"Mummy, what's that boy doing?" a young girl asked while point at the petrified academy student.

"Don't look at him sweetie, just keep walking," the mother exclaimed while hurrying the two of them along.

Sweat drop forming, Naruto deftly fell out of statue form and folded his arms. He glared at his feet in frustration while everybody else tried going back to their business, wanting to put the scene of the weird blonde kid striking poses in the middle of the main highway as far out of their minds as possible.