Ascension of the Kitsune by Wandering Maverick

Chapter 6: Training: Year 3

Naruto Age: 8

Naruto Mental Age: 10

Unlike the last two villages Naruto visited, Kumo was insanely difficult get to frankly because he traveled more vertically, then horizontally. The terrain of Lightning Country was basically just a giant mountain range, which caused Naruto quite the problem to traverse. Not only that but because of the constant clouds he couldn't use the sky to tell the time nor direction he was heading in. Which is how we find our hero and his fox companion still resting on his shoulder.

"We're lost aren't we Natsumi-chan?" He grumbled.

"This land is a lot more treacherous and confusing then I thought Naruto-kun, just bear with it we'll be at the village soon" She retorted trying to defuse the agitation in the boy.

"BAH! I hate this country!" He shouted with a pout before hearing a loud thunderclap and what he thought was a scream. "Natsumi-chan did you hear something?"

Her head rose from his shoulder, ans swiveled a moment. "Yea...it was a man screaming by the pitch of the voice. Go check it out Naruto-kun...someone might have of fallen off part of the mountain."

Naruto nodded and jumped towards the origin of the voice, and thankfully for him the terrain seemed to stabilize into smoother ridges for more manageable climbing. After a few minutes of chakra-fused traveling he came upon a rather disturbing sight.

"Wha...whats the hell is this!?" Naruto gaped out at the scene.

He stood on a ridge above a large rock clearing he was observing from his stand point. The area was littered with large, round stones and dirt mounds in front of them with flowers placed upon them...the area seeming to be an unofficial cemetery. There was a small wooden shack beyond the farthest graves, probably for the grave-keeper he thought. But if that were true when the next thing he saw wouldn't make much sense. In the middle of the graveyard there was a man crying in both pain and terror being lowered into a box by a small mob of hooded figures. Naruto watched, needing to know the situation before he went jumping in. His attention was grabbed a man presumably to be the leader, he wore bandages over his upper body with a vest, along with dark shinobi pants and sandals. Naruto could also see him conversing with the man as the lid was being placed in top of the box.

"Rokusuke-san...why are you crying? If nothing else you should be happy that I'm giving you such a beautiful funeral. Because Kami-sama knows you don't deserve one after deceiving me like you did. So be a man and enjoy your funeral without fear, without regret. Just embrace the darkness and humbly thank me for giving you this gift of a beautiful funeral." He man said in a deep and quite insane voice.

"He...hes going to bury that man alive!? This guy is totally insane!" Naruto thought, before beginning a set of hand seals.

"Doton: Tsuchiketa (Earth Style: Earth Column)!" Naruto shouted, making four pillars of earth shoot out of the ground under the hooded figures, smacking them in the face easily knocking them all but the leader unconscious by the force of the blow.

Naruto quickly jumped down from the ridge and ran towards the scene, grabbing Shinku Kaijin after noticing that the crazed leader had a pair of rather vicious long swords attached to his back.

"My my what is this Rokusuke-san? Hiring a shinobi to protect you from me? You really want to live THAT badly instead of having a beautiful funeral like the one I was giving you?" He man questioned shaking his head in what appeared to be shame for the man. "Well it is no use...once I kill this boy, your death will go on as planned." He finished with a maniacal smile, making Naruto get into the beginning stance of 'Kitsune Issei Ryu'. "Oh a kenjutsu fight is it? Well I'm opposed to using my swords unless a beautiful funeral is guaranteed afterwards so I'm afraid you haven't earned such a privilege from me so..." He let his sentence hand in the air before doing a set of hand seals. "Raiton: Raikou Kyoubou (Lightning Style: Lightning Rage)" He yelled before a lightning bolt fell from the ever present storm clouds above head, striking is body like a lightning rod.