"They know what they fight for, be it for the home they spent so long protecting, or the bonds they made with the people they care about in order to protect them." The elderly monk sighed, even he had at one point fought and killed. "You know Naruto, after some men experience war and bloodshed they forever vow never to harm anybody ever again, to shy away from all conflict." His eyes hardened at that as he almost lost himself to a lifetime of nostalgia and regret. "Those people are cowards." Naruto's eyes widened at that, his shuddering had stopped and the tears were no longer flowing. Seemingly remembering what he was doing, Chukaku looked back around, a warm expression back on his face.
"You see Naruto, peace is not about avoiding fights, it's about choosing them." Naruto blinked in an uncomprehending manner as Chukaku once again grasped him firmly on the shoulder; he didn't shy away from the touch this time.
"Choosing them?" The head monk nodded once, a rather far-off look in his eye before he shook it off.
"You have a great power at your disposal and with patience and training you can master it, becoming strong, very strong. But it is what you do with that strength that will define what kind of person you will become. Knowing how and when to use that power is what matters. The quest is finding what exactly you are willing to fight for, and that is a journey every human will embark on at some point in their lives." Chukaku left it at that as the room descended into a calm but not uncomfortable silence. Finally the small blonde seemed to find some resolution deep inside himself and nodded firmly, spurred on by the kindly monk's words.
"I think I understand now, thank you master." Chukaku just gave a small serene smile as he watched the blonde quietly exit his room, a thoughtful expression that had no place on any child's face firmly set into his features. Chukaku sighed as he got back up and walked back to the spot he was in before to resume his meditation. Before he did though he took one last look at the retreating shadow he could see through the fusama.
'I hope so Naruto-kun, for your sake.'
"Dammit Naruto! Stop moving around so much!" The sound of limbs slicing through air and the occasional grunt of exertion echoed through the small training room on the eastern edge of the Fire Temple as two combatants constantly moved back and forth in a graceful dance of punches and kicks.
"Maybe you just need to move faster Sora." A grinning blonde ducked under another high kick before gracefully sliding through his opponent's legs. Before he could remove the other combatant's base though the other boy jumped up, aiming for a heavy axe kick. At the last moment though he suddenly found himself falling faster than he expected, throwing him off balance and leading to him falling in a crumpled heap on the ground.
"That's another point to me Sora." The dark blue-haired boy looked up with a pained groan at the hand outstretched in front of him before taking it with a few mumbled curses. "How many does that make now? Five to two?" Sora scowled at the grinning blonde before pushing the hand away in irritation.
"I would have had you that time if you hadn't used your gravity manipulation. It's cheating." Naruto just chuckled as he patted his friend on the back.
"All's fair in love and war as Chiriku-sempai says." Sora just scoffed as a smile finally broke out on his face.
"Yeah, and what would Chiriku-sempai know about love?" At that both boys burst out laughing, the joyous sound bouncing around the small training area.
"Oh?" At the sound of a third voice both boy's immediately froze before shakily turning their heads to look into the amused expression of the very man they had been talking about. "And what does Chiriku-sempai know about love?" Outside two monks were passing by the training ground when they heard two loud gulps followed swiftly by two even louder thumps. The monks simply looked at each other once before sighing and continuing on with the same thought.
'Naruto and Sora again.'
"Sorry Chiriku-sempai." Back inside the training ground Sora and Naruto were rubbing their aching heads while Chiriku was the picture of serene innocence, despite the shakujou he was subtly resealing into a pouch on his hip.
"Now now boys, final bell is about to ring, we don't want you all sweaty before you go to bed, you know how Chigasu would feel about that." Both boys nodded immediately with slight fear in their eyes. They knew exactly how the old grumpy keeper of the temple would feel about that and the mere thought had them rubbing various phantom pains.
"Alright Chiriku-sempai, but first I gotta show you something!" The older monk simply raised an eyebrow at the excited blonde, a year living in the temple really hadn't done all that much to calm his energetic spirit.
"Would this thing happen to be a certain technique Master Chukaku has forbidden you from using in any of the indoor training grounds?" The blonde smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, glaring at Sora as the other boy chuckled behind his hand. He was remembering the other times Naruto had supposedly 'mastered' the more powerful techniques at his disposal.
"No no come on Chiriku-sempai I swear I have it this time. I know what I was doing wrong!" The older monk stared at the whiskered child for a few moments as Naruto bravely met his gaze before sighing and gesturing outside.
"Fine, but not inside, we don't need a repeat of last time." As if to stress his point he looked across the open field they were entering to a large hole in the wall on the far side. The result of Naruto's latest attempt at his technique.
"Not gonna happen, just watch me!" With an excited cry Naruto dashed across the fields to face one of the pre-prepared training dummies before adopting a standard fighting stance. Sora dropped to the ground, getting comfy for something he was sure was going to be hilarious while Chiriku watched more intently. Naruto relaxed himself, concentrating on the pool of energy deep inside himself, drawing it out and directing it through his body. He allowed it to build up inside him but controlled it from becoming too strong; he had learned the consequences of that the hard way.
Finally he pushed the chakra to his eyes and hand at the same time, simultaneously bringing one arm up so his palm faced outwards in one smooth motion.
"Shinra Tensei!" Sora and Chiriku could only watch on amazed as the training dummy was summarily obliterated by the veritable wall of gravitational forces slamming into it. It soared across the field, flying out of sight over the roof of the next building over, raining stuffing and bits of hay down as it went. Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that went flying.