Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Wait, did that happen before? ❯ Jounin Instructor Ryouga ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Chapter 8: Jounin Instructor Ryouga

Naruto watched in stunned silence as Sakura lunged at their new jounin instructor once again (a sharp contrast to Negi's cheering). '...Sakura was not this good the first time around. No way.' It was hard to say because Naruto had not seen her fight much prior to the chuunin exams, but by his estimate, she could probably kick his ass in a straight-up fight. 'Hell, she could probably kick Sasuke's ass. Well, the Sasuke from this point in time. If he still existed, which he apparently doesn't.'

However, despite the furious flurry of strikes she was sending at him, Sakura wasn't managing to land a single hit on Ryouga. She had made him block a few times, but that was it. It was like when Naruto had fought Kakashi during the bell test all over again. At least Ryouga wasn't reading a book while fighting.

"Hmm..." said Ryouga. And then he stopped moving. Sakura, on the other hand, did not. Immediately, she landed a haymaker to his face. And then leapt back, clutching her hand in pain, while Ryouga didn't even flinch.

"Good speed, decent power, and good form. Not bad, for a genin." Ryouga waited for a moment while Sakura rubbed her hand.

Naruto just stared. 'Okay, that's disheartening. Even Kakashi had the decency to leave us with the impression that we could have hurt him if we'd actually connected. I don't even see a red spot where she hit him.'

"Sakura, are you okay?" asked Negi, looking rather worried. Immediately, Sakura straightened.

"I'm fine," she replied casually, dropping her hands to her side. Unfortunately, regardless of how much she wanted to, Sakura couldn't make the red on her knuckles vanish. So instead she tucked her hands together behind her back, suppressing a wince as she grabbed her injured hand.

'And there she goes posturing in front of our instructor, again. Dammit, I want to hit something.' Naruto stepped forward. "I'm next!" he announced, taking a stance. Or a crappy imitation of one, anyway. Naruto took a moment to adjust his stance, as his memories from another time battled with his body's muscle memory. '...Ah, screw it.' Dropping the stance, he charged at Ryouga.

The next few minutes were spent by Naruto repeatedly missing Ryouga while Negi cheered him on and Sakura quietly fumed over being so thoroughly outclassed by their jounin instructor. Unlike with Sakura, Ryouga didn't have to block any of Naruto's blows, much to his chagrin. 'Dammit! I can't even touch him! Stupid short, twelve-year-old arms!' Jumping back, Naruto threw his hands together into his most used handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Fourteen shadow clones poofed into existence and charged Ryouga, only to vanish into fourteen puffs of smoke just as quickly as they reached the jounin.

"I'm testing your taijutsu, Naruto, not your ninjutsu," Ryouga said as he finished plowing through Naruto's shadow clones like they were illusory ones. 'His form is sloppy, he's not nearly as quick as Sakura, and he seems to think his arms are longer than they are. How did he pass with taijutsu this bad?' "And it looks like you need a lot of work. You're done." Stopping, he turned to look for Negi (in the wrong direction).

'Chance!' Naruto lunged forward and swung at the stationary Ryouga with all his might. Only to miss as Ryouga abruptly started walking. Overextending, he fell forward and landed in a heap on the ground next to him. Ryouga didn't notice as he kept looking for Negi.

"...Don't worry, Naruto," said Negi, as he walked up to him and started helping him up. "Everyone has an off day once in a while. You'll do better next time." He then pulled Naruto close and whispered, "although I'd advise against attacking a jounin from behind with an attack that won't immediately defeat them. Next time you might not miss." Releasing his teammate, Negi then turned to face Ryouga, who had finally located him once he'd started talking.

"Alright, your turn." With that, Ryouga took a stance and waited. Sakura abruptly stopped fuming and turned to watch while Naruto sat down next to her. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Negi abruptly charged forward, and Ryouga's eyes widened. 'He's fast!' Deflecting the incoming staff, he started dodging. At that, Sakura started cheering, prompting an odd look from Naruto. 'He's got quite a bit of range with that staff.' Again, Ryouga stopped and took a blow full on. 'Not much power, though. Let's see how he does unarmed.' With a swift motion, Ryouga disarmed Negi, sending the staff flying back toward Naruto and Sakura (who caught it). "Keep going," Ryouga said when Negi stopped to look at his staff. "I want to see how you are at unarmed combat."

"Yes, sir," Negi replied.

Unfortunately, Negi proved to be as bad at taijutsu as Naruto without his weapon of choice. 'Hmm... His limbs are too short. He can't keep up with me without the staff. Looks like he needs the extra range to be able to land hits.' "Alright, we're done with taijutsu." As Sakura rushed forward to return Negi's staff to him, Ryouga abruptly asked, "So, how's your genjutsu?" He then immediately cast one on them.

Of the group, only Negi had actually been able to perform genjutsu, although both he and Sakura had proven capable of breaking it. Naruto, despite knowing academically how to break genjutsu, had been unable to control his chakra well enough to do so, and when he had attempted to use a shadow clone to break him out of it, Ryouga had just placed the clone under the genjutsu as well. A few moments later, Ryouga dropped the genjutsu that still had Naruto trapped.

"Alright. Next, we'll test your shurikenjutsu."

0o0o0

The next several hours were spent following Ryouga as he led them on the most roundabout way to the target field any of the other members of Team Five had ever seen. After passing the memorial stone, the Hokage Tower, Ichiraku's, Naruto's bathroom, the Academy, briefly ending up in Suna, and somehow finding their way back to the training ground they started at, they entered the Hokage Tower. Naruto wondered not for the first time if Ryouga had simply forgotten where he was taking them.

"So you're taking your team on their first mission, Ryouga?" asked the Hokage, easily identifiable from his rather distinct hat and robes. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

"Er..." Ryouga started to reply, taking a sheepish expression. However, as his hand drifted to the back of his head, Naruto cut off whatever response he would have made with a loud outburst.

"HOLY CRAP YOU'RE JIRAIYA!!!"

"Yes?" Hokage Jiraiya replied, sounding confused.

"Uh..." Naruto racked his brain and quickly came up with a cover story. Letting out a fake cough, he started again. "I mean, I didn't realize that you personally handed out missions. I thought that was someone else's job." 'Note to self: I really need to brush up on this world's history. Who knows what else could be different?'

"Well, I just like to be here to see the looks on new genins' faces when they get their first mission," replied Jiraiya with a knowing smirk.

Naruto's expression soured. 'Yeah, I bet you do.' "Actually, Ryouga is trying to take us to the target field to test our shurikenjutsu. But he's been leading us everywhere but there!" Naruto then turned to glare at Ryouga. He was immediately joined by Sakura. Negi, on the other hand, held a pained expression.

Jiraiya turned a rather flat look toward Ryouga. "...I was a little surprised you actually used the door this time. Guess now I know why."

Ryouga laughed nervously in response. "...So, how about a D-Rank mission?"

Technique Index

Taijutsu - skill at hand-to-hand combat.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique: Naruto's technique that produces solid clones. Each clone can perform ninjutsu, are autonomous, and can be dispersed manually or by taking light damage.

Shurikenjutsu - Skill with shurikens (and other throwing weapons).