Log; Complete
When; Dec. 29, afternoon
Rating; PG-13, for violence and language
Characters; Kiba aninjaandhisdog and Naruto relimited
Summary; Kiba and Naruto train their respective nature manipulation elements in the forest. Chaos ensues.
Log; Kiba waited in the forest for Naruto, Akamaru beside him. Instead of his usual furry jacket, all Kiba wore was a mesh shirt and black pants; he was even devoid of shoes. He petted Akamaru impatiently, wondering when Naruto would show up for their training.
Despite everything that was happening, Kiba's offer of training was something that was very much welcomed. A chance to not only try to develop his jutsu, but to also take his mind off of things. Making his way toward the forest, it didn't take long for him to sense the two familiar chakras. And so, moments later, he was bursting into the clearing in his usual flourish of energy.
"Kiba! Akamaru!"
Seeing Naruto, Kiba grinned and waved. He was eager to train; since arriving in the City, everything felt awkward to him. In addition to heaving to deal with new enemies, being without missions, without the constant need to improve, was something that needed getting used to. This chance to train gave Kiba a sense of normalcy. No longer being petted, Akamaru perks up, panting in joy and anticipation as Naruto entered the clearing.
"Hey Naruto. Glad you could make it."
"I'm glad you suggested it. It's been a while."
Especially since he last got the chance to try to develop his current skills. The training with his father had revolved around certain newer abilities. Making his way over to the two of them, Naruto crouched down in front of Akamaru, a hand dropping to pet the giant dogs head.
"How long have you guys been training in nature manipulation for?"
Kiba grinned.
"About a year now, like I told ya. I've almost gotten the earth manipulation down, but Akamaru still needs work with his fire manipulation. Then again, I had a lot of help. Kurenai-sensei, Shino and Hinata, Mom and Sis. If they weren't around, I'd probably still be practicing the basics."
As if to illustrate his point, Kiba bent down to grab three stones. Standing up, Kiba began spinning them in the air; not juggling them with his hand, but with his chakra.
"So are you guys plannin' to combine them then?"
As if he really had to ask. The two were a pair, so he doubted they'd accept anything less.
"That didn't take you long then," he added, grinning as he stood back up. "How about you?"
The question was posed to Akamaru, wanting to see how far the canine had gotten too.
Akamaru bowed his head slightly, then looked up to Kiba. Kiba looked at Akamaru, then grinned at Naruto.
"Yeah, of course we're planning on combining them. Problem is, Akamaru has a tougher job of adding nature manipulation to his chakra then I do. However, Akamaru has learned a couple jutsus during our training."
Still grinning, Kiba hopped onto Akamaru's back, then performed some hand seals before placing his hand on Akamaru's head, whose mouth was open.
"Katon Gokyaku no jutsu."
In a flash, Akamaru shot out a massive fireball, identical to the ones Sasuke was able to perform.
His eyes widened as the familiar blast shot out from Akamaru's jaws. He followed as the blast reached the trees, shaking his head to stop himself from noting any other familiarities. Turning back, he pulled his grin back, looking between the pair.
"That was great!"
If they could both do that much, it wouldn't be long before they managed to work out a combined attack of their own.
"You guys have really been working hard at it then."
Kiba hopped down from Akamaru's back, grin refusing to leave his face.
"Any time we didn't have missions, we were training until we collapsed, trying to master nature manipulation. I'm close to adding it to one of my jutsus, but I need some help. That's why I asked you if you wanted to train. If we do it right, we can kill two birds with one stone and get you a little closer to mastering nature manipulation, too."
Now that sounded familiar. Taking whatever time they had to train until they dropped. That had been how his past few weeks had been especially. And it was also the reason he could be proud enough to say...
"I've gotten nature manipulation as far as I need it. I'm just trying to combine it with Rasengan now!"
Something that he'd been really close to during his last training session with Yamato-taichou.
"I'm wind element though, so I don't know how much I can help. But I'll do whatever I can."
And in exchange, it'd give him a good opportunity to gain better control over his abilities, and possibly, combine them.
"I figured as much. Here, put this on."
Kiba reached into one of the packs Akamaru had in his backpack, then tossed Naruto a can of cologne; really powerful cologne.
Catching the can, Naruto stared down at it in confusion.
"What's this for?"
Pulling the cap off, it wasn't long before he found himself almost choking as the smell went straight down his nose and throat.
Kiba curled his nose a bit at the stench of the cologne, then moved into a stance to begin charging his chakra.
"This isn't the first time I tried adding Earth element to my Tsuuga. The problem is, in order to do it, my Tsuuga has to be spinning as fast as Garouga; to the point where it becomes impossible to see clearly. For that matter, unlike Rasengan, which you charge in your hand, I have to use Tsuuga on something in order for me to add the nature manipulation. Unless you actually want Akamaru to piss on you, I figure that cologne will work for a scent for me to track."
"Whoa, wait!" He held his hands up for good measure. "You're gonna aim this at me?!"
Okay, he knew he offered to help, but to become a human target wasn't quite what he'd had in mind. Then again, from the sounds of it, Kiba using clones of himself wouldn't work. Well, beside the fact it would probably just disappear the moment he tried to mark it.
"...okay."
Covering his nose, Naruto sprayed a little of the cologne on himself, coughing as he tossed the bottle to the ground.
"Right."
Kiba grinned. Naruto still didn't quite get it.
"Shikyaku no jutsu!"
Kiba moved down onto all fours, chakra flowing from his body.
"Well, aren't you going to start charging up your Rasengan?"
Blink.
"Huh?"
Was he being serious? What if things didn't go to plan? What if Kiba got hu-- He cut his thoughts off right then and there. Bringing his hands up in front of him, he formed a quick seal, before,
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A moment later, two copies stood there, one appearing in an unconscious move to keep an eye on himself. If Kiba wanted him to prepare the attack, then Naruto would be glad to oblige. Even if he had been told to not use it against others, this was simply training. He wasn't going to purposely try to kill the other. And besides, Kiba could take care of himself. He was a ninja too.
"Get ready then!"
Holding a hand out to his side, the second Naruto began to quickly gather together the required chakra, the sphere forming in no time at all. Obviously Kiba wasn't the only one who training had paid off for.
Kiba smiled. Slowly, Kiba's chakra began levitating the rocks around him.
"Alright, now try and add wind manipulation to it! We're gonna try and hit each other's jutsus head-on!"
It was just as well he'd made the third clone in that case. Though it now meant there was no one to watch over him. "...okay," he muttered through gritted teeth. The third clone moved round into place as his Rasengan was being formed. Bringing his hand round to steady the other, he stared ahead at Kiba, focusing on keeping the chakra forming in one place. Meanwhile, the second clone began to force the element into the swirling attack.
Kiba smiled, then immediately leapt into the air.
"Tsuuga!"
Kiba quickly span into his usual move, but something was wrong. He wasn't moving as quickly as he said he was. Then again, the target wasn't Naruto at the moment. Missing Naruto completely, Kiba dug deep into the ground
As Kiba disappeared, Naruto felt himself begin to loose his control over the attack. The swirling ball of chakra began to morph out of shape, the two clones doing all they could to try and get it back. But it was too late. The pair dived out of the way as his hand plowed toward the ground, an explosion of blue chakra lighting the forest for a moment before the sound of the explosion caught up with it. And seconds later, Naruto found himself slumped in the middle of a crater, the two clones staring back in annoyance at the fact they'd failed again.
"...shit."
As Naruto's clones disappear, Kiba re-emerges from the ground, his Tsuuga now relative to a giant stone drill, coated with stones.
"Tsuuga Dosekiryuu!"
Kiba goes after Naruto, unaware that he now has no Rasengan to parry Kiba's jutsu with.
It was the clones that leaped into action, one moving to grab a hold of the 'real' Naruto, dragging him away from the scene. The second could do little more than stand there, his chakra increasing to improve his defense against the oncoming attack.
The jutsu managed to plow through the clone without much effort, but before Kiba could retarget Naruto, the jutsu backfired, sending stone and dirt flying everywhere, and sending Kiba barreling onto the ground. Fortunately for Kiba, Akamaru quickly ran up and slowed Kiba down before he damaged himself any further. Still conscious, Kiba looks up at Akamaru, petting him thankfully, then pounds the ground in frustration.
"Damn it!"
Collapsing back to the ground, the clone soon disappeared, followed moments later by the second vanishing. Looking up from his current position, seated on the edge of the crater, Naruto grinned down at Kiba. It seemed neither of them had quite managed it yet. But that was only the first time. Next time...
"That was awesome!"
Kiba stood up and grinned at Naruto.
"Thanks. You did pretty good yourself...gah!"
Kiba fell to the ground in pain. Although the mesh shirt could hide it from a distance, most of Kiba's body was bruised and battered from the jutsu.
Glancing over the crater, Naruto nodded to himself. Maybe he hadn't been able to master it this time. But judging from the size of the hole he'd left, the attack seemed to be growing stronger. It wouldn't be long before he managed to finish it. Turning back, his eyes widened as he realized that Kiba was injured.
"You alright?"
Already, the majority of his own injuries were healing, courtesy of a certain fox. At least he was well enough to jump down and land beside the other.
With Akamaru's help, Kiba stood back up.
"Yeah, I..I'm fine."
Motioning over to a fallen tree, Kiba sat down and began petting Akamaru, and then reached into one of the packs on Akamaru's backpack, grabbing three sticks of beef jerky. Kiba gave one to Akamaru, then munched on the second, offering the third one to Naruto
Following the pair over, Naruto stood, his gaze moving to the hole that Kiba had been the cause of. Had he been hit by that attack, he highly doubted that he'd still be standing there right now. Kyuubi would've gone into overdrive fixing him up. When it was completed though... Taking the offered jerky, he began chewing happily as he turned back to the pair.
"That was close."
Kiba looked over at the crater caused by Naruto's failed Rasengan. Kiba had barely missed getting nailed by that explosion while he was underground.
"Yeah, it was. Looks like we both need some work. Though, at least you got away from your jutsu before it could hurt you. The problem with mine is I'm right there when the jutsu fails, like you saw."
Akamaru, who had already finished off his piece of jerky, began shaking on the ground.
"Poor Akamaru has it worse than me, though. If his Tsuuga fails, he gets burnt over most of his body. Sometimes I think it's not a problem with chakra control, but a matter of Akamaru being too afraid of getting burned from his own technique."
He laughed nervously at that. Sure he'd managed to divert most of the blast, but that hadn't stopped the injuries from occurring. At least he healed quickly, so it didn't last all that long. But for Kiba...if he had the same problem even half as much as he had...
"Is there no way to call off your attacks at the last moment?"
Kiba shook his head.
"Tsuuga by itself is pretty easy to call off, but when I'm going that fast, it makes it harder. Plus, I kinda cheated. You turn your chakra into wind when you add it to Rasengan. I dug into the earth, using my chakra to collect the stones and earth I used for the attack. Trying to hold all that chakra together just becomes too taxing, and I lose control almost immediately."
"But can the two of you create element only attacks?"
If that was the case, then perhaps his own method could work for them too.
"If one of you controls the jutsu, and the other controls the nature manipulation, it might make things easier at the start."
Kiba and Akamaru looked at each other, then at Naruto.
"What do you mean?"
Now to try and explain himself.
"I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I'm tryin' to mix the two, I can't focus on both things at the same time. So I just use another clone to mix in the element while I focus on the Rasengan. If one of you focuses on your attack, the other can focus on the nature manipulation, so things could be easier."
Again, Akamaru and Kiba looked at each other, realizing what he was referring to, then looked back at Naruto and shook their heads.
"I don't think that would work. Tsuuga is too mobile for that to work. For that matter, Akamaru and I have different elements. Your clones all have your element, so you can have one focus on the nature manipulation while the other focuses on the Rasengan."
Kiba lowered his head into his hand, rubbing his forehead as he thought.
"Tsuuga, Gatsuuga, Garouga. All of my offensive jutsus are mobile jutsus. They don't have a charge time, but they still take chakra to keep them moving. Adding elements to the mix is tricky, since it forces me to focus and charge up before attacking, and unlike your Rasengan, where you add to the orb you make, adding elements to my jutsus are the same as trying to add the element to my body."
As with most things related to training, Naruto was quick to catch on to what Kiba was talking about. Naruto remained stationary during his attacks, giving him a chance to combine the two attacks together. Kiba's attack meant he had to be moving. It was then that he added his element to the mix. So how about...
"Reverse it?"
If the trouble was trying to combine the earth element into his attack,
"Have you tried calling on your nature manipulation before you draw your chakra for Tsuuga? Then you'll be calling on prepared chakra instead of trying to convert it after."
Kiba looked at Naruto, a bit shocked.
"Reverse it?"
It sounded so simple. Why hadn't Kiba thought of it before?
"Yeah! If I surround myself with the element first, then doing the attack would be no problem! Akamaru, the same can go for you. If we can make a jutsu that surrounds you in fire, but doesn't burn you, doing the Tsuuga would be easy."
Akamaru barked in agreement, tail wagging joyously. Kiba turned to face Naruto, too excited even to feel the pain from his wounds.
"Naruto! Thank you! You're a genius!"
Strange, calling Naruto, the guy who always seemed to have more luck than brains, a genius. Kiba immediately jumped up from the fallen tree, seemingly invigorated.
"Let's try it agai-"
Despite Kiba's excitement, the pain from his injuries returned once more, causing him to collapse.
Having half expected the other to have already tried something like that, Naruto was surprised by his reaction.
"If it makes things easier, then yeah."
A grin. Which quickly turned into worry.
"Kiba?"
He was back at the boy’s side, a hand on his shoulder.
"You should get some rest. No one can keep going all the time without sleep."
No matter how hard a person tried.
Kiba looked up at Naruto, then nodded, a bit embarrassed of himself.
"Yeah, let's go."
Kiba stands up, accompanied by Akamaru, then looks at Naruto.
"Naruto, your jutsu, the one you're working on? It's gonna be a killer one, trust me. Not even my highest-powered Garouga could keep up with it. Seeing that kind of power, coming outta someone who we all thought would never go anywhere when we were kids..well, it's what drove me to master nature manipulation. Ever since you beat me in the Chuunin exams, you've been a rival of mine. Now, you're one of my biggest."
Scratching his head in a nervous gesture, Naruto looked away. He was clearly embarrassed by Kiba's words.
"I dunno about that. I think your Tsuuga Dosekiryuu is gonna be a challenge!"
And once Kiba and Akamaru managed to combine their attacks...
"We've gotta have a match once we've both got these attack down."
Kiba grinned and chuckled.
"Heh, sure. I'd love to."
With that said, Kiba and Akamaru head back to the City, waving goodbye to Naruto as they leave the clearing.
Rating; PG-13, for violence and language
Characters; Kiba aninjaandhisdog and Naruto relimited
Summary; Kiba and Naruto train their respective nature manipulation elements in the forest. Chaos ensues.
Log; Kiba waited in the forest for Naruto, Akamaru beside him. Instead of his usual furry jacket, all Kiba wore was a mesh shirt and black pants; he was even devoid of shoes. He petted Akamaru impatiently, wondering when Naruto would show up for their training.
Despite everything that was happening, Kiba's offer of training was something that was very much welcomed. A chance to not only try to develop his jutsu, but to also take his mind off of things. Making his way toward the forest, it didn't take long for him to sense the two familiar chakras. And so, moments later, he was bursting into the clearing in his usual flourish of energy.
"Kiba! Akamaru!"
Seeing Naruto, Kiba grinned and waved. He was eager to train; since arriving in the City, everything felt awkward to him. In addition to heaving to deal with new enemies, being without missions, without the constant need to improve, was something that needed getting used to. This chance to train gave Kiba a sense of normalcy. No longer being petted, Akamaru perks up, panting in joy and anticipation as Naruto entered the clearing.
"Hey Naruto. Glad you could make it."
"I'm glad you suggested it. It's been a while."
Especially since he last got the chance to try to develop his current skills. The training with his father had revolved around certain newer abilities. Making his way over to the two of them, Naruto crouched down in front of Akamaru, a hand dropping to pet the giant dogs head.
"How long have you guys been training in nature manipulation for?"
Kiba grinned.
"About a year now, like I told ya. I've almost gotten the earth manipulation down, but Akamaru still needs work with his fire manipulation. Then again, I had a lot of help. Kurenai-sensei, Shino and Hinata, Mom and Sis. If they weren't around, I'd probably still be practicing the basics."
As if to illustrate his point, Kiba bent down to grab three stones. Standing up, Kiba began spinning them in the air; not juggling them with his hand, but with his chakra.
"So are you guys plannin' to combine them then?"
As if he really had to ask. The two were a pair, so he doubted they'd accept anything less.
"That didn't take you long then," he added, grinning as he stood back up. "How about you?"
The question was posed to Akamaru, wanting to see how far the canine had gotten too.
Akamaru bowed his head slightly, then looked up to Kiba. Kiba looked at Akamaru, then grinned at Naruto.
"Yeah, of course we're planning on combining them. Problem is, Akamaru has a tougher job of adding nature manipulation to his chakra then I do. However, Akamaru has learned a couple jutsus during our training."
Still grinning, Kiba hopped onto Akamaru's back, then performed some hand seals before placing his hand on Akamaru's head, whose mouth was open.
"Katon Gokyaku no jutsu."
In a flash, Akamaru shot out a massive fireball, identical to the ones Sasuke was able to perform.
His eyes widened as the familiar blast shot out from Akamaru's jaws. He followed as the blast reached the trees, shaking his head to stop himself from noting any other familiarities. Turning back, he pulled his grin back, looking between the pair.
"That was great!"
If they could both do that much, it wouldn't be long before they managed to work out a combined attack of their own.
"You guys have really been working hard at it then."
Kiba hopped down from Akamaru's back, grin refusing to leave his face.
"Any time we didn't have missions, we were training until we collapsed, trying to master nature manipulation. I'm close to adding it to one of my jutsus, but I need some help. That's why I asked you if you wanted to train. If we do it right, we can kill two birds with one stone and get you a little closer to mastering nature manipulation, too."
Now that sounded familiar. Taking whatever time they had to train until they dropped. That had been how his past few weeks had been especially. And it was also the reason he could be proud enough to say...
"I've gotten nature manipulation as far as I need it. I'm just trying to combine it with Rasengan now!"
Something that he'd been really close to during his last training session with Yamato-taichou.
"I'm wind element though, so I don't know how much I can help. But I'll do whatever I can."
And in exchange, it'd give him a good opportunity to gain better control over his abilities, and possibly, combine them.
"I figured as much. Here, put this on."
Kiba reached into one of the packs Akamaru had in his backpack, then tossed Naruto a can of cologne; really powerful cologne.
Catching the can, Naruto stared down at it in confusion.
"What's this for?"
Pulling the cap off, it wasn't long before he found himself almost choking as the smell went straight down his nose and throat.
Kiba curled his nose a bit at the stench of the cologne, then moved into a stance to begin charging his chakra.
"This isn't the first time I tried adding Earth element to my Tsuuga. The problem is, in order to do it, my Tsuuga has to be spinning as fast as Garouga; to the point where it becomes impossible to see clearly. For that matter, unlike Rasengan, which you charge in your hand, I have to use Tsuuga on something in order for me to add the nature manipulation. Unless you actually want Akamaru to piss on you, I figure that cologne will work for a scent for me to track."
"Whoa, wait!" He held his hands up for good measure. "You're gonna aim this at me?!"
Okay, he knew he offered to help, but to become a human target wasn't quite what he'd had in mind. Then again, from the sounds of it, Kiba using clones of himself wouldn't work. Well, beside the fact it would probably just disappear the moment he tried to mark it.
"...okay."
Covering his nose, Naruto sprayed a little of the cologne on himself, coughing as he tossed the bottle to the ground.
"Right."
Kiba grinned. Naruto still didn't quite get it.
"Shikyaku no jutsu!"
Kiba moved down onto all fours, chakra flowing from his body.
"Well, aren't you going to start charging up your Rasengan?"
Blink.
"Huh?"
Was he being serious? What if things didn't go to plan? What if Kiba got hu-- He cut his thoughts off right then and there. Bringing his hands up in front of him, he formed a quick seal, before,
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A moment later, two copies stood there, one appearing in an unconscious move to keep an eye on himself. If Kiba wanted him to prepare the attack, then Naruto would be glad to oblige. Even if he had been told to not use it against others, this was simply training. He wasn't going to purposely try to kill the other. And besides, Kiba could take care of himself. He was a ninja too.
"Get ready then!"
Holding a hand out to his side, the second Naruto began to quickly gather together the required chakra, the sphere forming in no time at all. Obviously Kiba wasn't the only one who training had paid off for.
Kiba smiled. Slowly, Kiba's chakra began levitating the rocks around him.
"Alright, now try and add wind manipulation to it! We're gonna try and hit each other's jutsus head-on!"
It was just as well he'd made the third clone in that case. Though it now meant there was no one to watch over him. "...okay," he muttered through gritted teeth. The third clone moved round into place as his Rasengan was being formed. Bringing his hand round to steady the other, he stared ahead at Kiba, focusing on keeping the chakra forming in one place. Meanwhile, the second clone began to force the element into the swirling attack.
Kiba smiled, then immediately leapt into the air.
"Tsuuga!"
Kiba quickly span into his usual move, but something was wrong. He wasn't moving as quickly as he said he was. Then again, the target wasn't Naruto at the moment. Missing Naruto completely, Kiba dug deep into the ground
As Kiba disappeared, Naruto felt himself begin to loose his control over the attack. The swirling ball of chakra began to morph out of shape, the two clones doing all they could to try and get it back. But it was too late. The pair dived out of the way as his hand plowed toward the ground, an explosion of blue chakra lighting the forest for a moment before the sound of the explosion caught up with it. And seconds later, Naruto found himself slumped in the middle of a crater, the two clones staring back in annoyance at the fact they'd failed again.
"...shit."
As Naruto's clones disappear, Kiba re-emerges from the ground, his Tsuuga now relative to a giant stone drill, coated with stones.
"Tsuuga Dosekiryuu!"
Kiba goes after Naruto, unaware that he now has no Rasengan to parry Kiba's jutsu with.
It was the clones that leaped into action, one moving to grab a hold of the 'real' Naruto, dragging him away from the scene. The second could do little more than stand there, his chakra increasing to improve his defense against the oncoming attack.
The jutsu managed to plow through the clone without much effort, but before Kiba could retarget Naruto, the jutsu backfired, sending stone and dirt flying everywhere, and sending Kiba barreling onto the ground. Fortunately for Kiba, Akamaru quickly ran up and slowed Kiba down before he damaged himself any further. Still conscious, Kiba looks up at Akamaru, petting him thankfully, then pounds the ground in frustration.
"Damn it!"
Collapsing back to the ground, the clone soon disappeared, followed moments later by the second vanishing. Looking up from his current position, seated on the edge of the crater, Naruto grinned down at Kiba. It seemed neither of them had quite managed it yet. But that was only the first time. Next time...
"That was awesome!"
Kiba stood up and grinned at Naruto.
"Thanks. You did pretty good yourself...gah!"
Kiba fell to the ground in pain. Although the mesh shirt could hide it from a distance, most of Kiba's body was bruised and battered from the jutsu.
Glancing over the crater, Naruto nodded to himself. Maybe he hadn't been able to master it this time. But judging from the size of the hole he'd left, the attack seemed to be growing stronger. It wouldn't be long before he managed to finish it. Turning back, his eyes widened as he realized that Kiba was injured.
"You alright?"
Already, the majority of his own injuries were healing, courtesy of a certain fox. At least he was well enough to jump down and land beside the other.
With Akamaru's help, Kiba stood back up.
"Yeah, I..I'm fine."
Motioning over to a fallen tree, Kiba sat down and began petting Akamaru, and then reached into one of the packs on Akamaru's backpack, grabbing three sticks of beef jerky. Kiba gave one to Akamaru, then munched on the second, offering the third one to Naruto
Following the pair over, Naruto stood, his gaze moving to the hole that Kiba had been the cause of. Had he been hit by that attack, he highly doubted that he'd still be standing there right now. Kyuubi would've gone into overdrive fixing him up. When it was completed though... Taking the offered jerky, he began chewing happily as he turned back to the pair.
"That was close."
Kiba looked over at the crater caused by Naruto's failed Rasengan. Kiba had barely missed getting nailed by that explosion while he was underground.
"Yeah, it was. Looks like we both need some work. Though, at least you got away from your jutsu before it could hurt you. The problem with mine is I'm right there when the jutsu fails, like you saw."
Akamaru, who had already finished off his piece of jerky, began shaking on the ground.
"Poor Akamaru has it worse than me, though. If his Tsuuga fails, he gets burnt over most of his body. Sometimes I think it's not a problem with chakra control, but a matter of Akamaru being too afraid of getting burned from his own technique."
He laughed nervously at that. Sure he'd managed to divert most of the blast, but that hadn't stopped the injuries from occurring. At least he healed quickly, so it didn't last all that long. But for Kiba...if he had the same problem even half as much as he had...
"Is there no way to call off your attacks at the last moment?"
Kiba shook his head.
"Tsuuga by itself is pretty easy to call off, but when I'm going that fast, it makes it harder. Plus, I kinda cheated. You turn your chakra into wind when you add it to Rasengan. I dug into the earth, using my chakra to collect the stones and earth I used for the attack. Trying to hold all that chakra together just becomes too taxing, and I lose control almost immediately."
"But can the two of you create element only attacks?"
If that was the case, then perhaps his own method could work for them too.
"If one of you controls the jutsu, and the other controls the nature manipulation, it might make things easier at the start."
Kiba and Akamaru looked at each other, then at Naruto.
"What do you mean?"
Now to try and explain himself.
"I don't know if it's the same for you, but when I'm tryin' to mix the two, I can't focus on both things at the same time. So I just use another clone to mix in the element while I focus on the Rasengan. If one of you focuses on your attack, the other can focus on the nature manipulation, so things could be easier."
Again, Akamaru and Kiba looked at each other, realizing what he was referring to, then looked back at Naruto and shook their heads.
"I don't think that would work. Tsuuga is too mobile for that to work. For that matter, Akamaru and I have different elements. Your clones all have your element, so you can have one focus on the nature manipulation while the other focuses on the Rasengan."
Kiba lowered his head into his hand, rubbing his forehead as he thought.
"Tsuuga, Gatsuuga, Garouga. All of my offensive jutsus are mobile jutsus. They don't have a charge time, but they still take chakra to keep them moving. Adding elements to the mix is tricky, since it forces me to focus and charge up before attacking, and unlike your Rasengan, where you add to the orb you make, adding elements to my jutsus are the same as trying to add the element to my body."
As with most things related to training, Naruto was quick to catch on to what Kiba was talking about. Naruto remained stationary during his attacks, giving him a chance to combine the two attacks together. Kiba's attack meant he had to be moving. It was then that he added his element to the mix. So how about...
"Reverse it?"
If the trouble was trying to combine the earth element into his attack,
"Have you tried calling on your nature manipulation before you draw your chakra for Tsuuga? Then you'll be calling on prepared chakra instead of trying to convert it after."
Kiba looked at Naruto, a bit shocked.
"Reverse it?"
It sounded so simple. Why hadn't Kiba thought of it before?
"Yeah! If I surround myself with the element first, then doing the attack would be no problem! Akamaru, the same can go for you. If we can make a jutsu that surrounds you in fire, but doesn't burn you, doing the Tsuuga would be easy."
Akamaru barked in agreement, tail wagging joyously. Kiba turned to face Naruto, too excited even to feel the pain from his wounds.
"Naruto! Thank you! You're a genius!"
Strange, calling Naruto, the guy who always seemed to have more luck than brains, a genius. Kiba immediately jumped up from the fallen tree, seemingly invigorated.
"Let's try it agai-"
Despite Kiba's excitement, the pain from his injuries returned once more, causing him to collapse.
Having half expected the other to have already tried something like that, Naruto was surprised by his reaction.
"If it makes things easier, then yeah."
A grin. Which quickly turned into worry.
"Kiba?"
He was back at the boy’s side, a hand on his shoulder.
"You should get some rest. No one can keep going all the time without sleep."
No matter how hard a person tried.
Kiba looked up at Naruto, then nodded, a bit embarrassed of himself.
"Yeah, let's go."
Kiba stands up, accompanied by Akamaru, then looks at Naruto.
"Naruto, your jutsu, the one you're working on? It's gonna be a killer one, trust me. Not even my highest-powered Garouga could keep up with it. Seeing that kind of power, coming outta someone who we all thought would never go anywhere when we were kids..well, it's what drove me to master nature manipulation. Ever since you beat me in the Chuunin exams, you've been a rival of mine. Now, you're one of my biggest."
Scratching his head in a nervous gesture, Naruto looked away. He was clearly embarrassed by Kiba's words.
"I dunno about that. I think your Tsuuga Dosekiryuu is gonna be a challenge!"
And once Kiba and Akamaru managed to combine their attacks...
"We've gotta have a match once we've both got these attack down."
Kiba grinned and chuckled.
"Heh, sure. I'd love to."
With that said, Kiba and Akamaru head back to the City, waving goodbye to Naruto as they leave the clearing.